{"id":180838,"date":"2026-02-17T01:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180838\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T01:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:02:11","slug":"edwin-diaz-wants-los-angeles-dodgers-to-make-world-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/180838\/","title":{"rendered":"Edwin Diaz wants Los Angeles Dodgers to make World Series"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOENIX \u2013 Edwin Diaz<\/a> hasn\u2019t thrown his first pitch for the Dodgers, but he has already envisioned what it would be like to be to throw the last one of a World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d Diaz said in Spanish.<\/p>\n

The sound of the crowd. The celebration on the mound. The overwhelming emotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI imagine it\u2019s an incredible feeling,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n

Former New York Mets relief pitcher and now Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Edwin Diaz throws during spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR CA POST<\/p>\n

In each of the three championships the Dodgers won in the last six years, the final out was recorded by a starting pitcher.<\/p>\n

Julio Urias in 2020.<\/p>\n

Walker Buehler in 2024.<\/p>\n

Yoshinobu Yamamoto last year.<\/p>\n

As a closer for nearly his entire 10-year career, Diaz has aspired to share that distinction with them. His chances dramatically improved in December when he signed a three-year, $69-million contract<\/a> with the two-time defending World Series champions.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery person, every player dreams of winning the World Series,\u201d the former Mets fireman said. \u201cIf they give me the opportunity and I\u2019m the last person on the mound, it would be a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plans are for Diaz to have that opportunity.<\/p>\n

The three-time All-Star will be the Dodgers\u2019 most established ninth-inning specialist since Kenley Jansen, the franchise\u2019s all-time saves leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d manager Dave Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Edwin Diaz is seen during spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR CA POST<\/p>\n

Last year showed why. The Dodgers<\/a> had two closers in Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, but neither of them pitched well. The late-inning instability forced Roberts to constantly move his relievers into different roles, with inexperienced arms occasionally forced into high-leverage situations for which they were not ready.<\/p>\n

Injuries to the starting pitchers contributed to the relievers being overused, the Dodgers\u2019 bullpen leading the majors in innings pitched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Heading into the postseason, it looked as if the relievers might cost the Dodgers another championship. Ultimately, they were saved by the unexpected emergence of Roki Sasaki<\/a> as a closer, as well as the heroics of Yamamoto.<\/p>\n

Even before the Dodgers signed Diaz, they were hopeful the bullpen results would improve. Scott and Blake Treinen have recovered from their respective injuries. Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and Brusdar Graterol are coming back from surgeries and expected to return at some point this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, having everybody healthy and with a good reset, adding a guy like Edwin, with the young guys coming back, it will be good,\u201d Treinen said.<\/p>\n

As Treinen referenced, the Dodgers have some high-throwing youngsters, including Edgardo Henriquez, Justin Wrobleski, Jack Dreyer, Will Klein and Ben Casparius.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Left-hander Alex Vesia also returns after a season in which he pitched a career-high 68 games. The workhorse missed the World Series because of the death of his newborn daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cMyself, being able to be a part of this bullpen is a plus,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cI came here to help this team win another championship. At the end of the day, if I do my job, we\u2019ll be in good position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz addresses the media. JASON SZENES FOR CA POST<\/p>\n

From Roberts\u2019 perspective, everything starts with Diaz\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s one way to manage a \u2018pen, but when you have a guy like Edwin Diaz as your closer, I do think it frees up the other guys, myself included,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Because Diaz will pitch the ninth inning regardless of who\u2019s batting for the other team, Roberts will be able to deploy the team\u2019s other relievers more strategically based on specific matchups.<\/p>\n

An example: The left-handed Scott can be unleashed against the portions of lineups containing the opponents\u2019 best left-handed hitters.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to use Tanner in any inning of leverage is going to be good for him and going to be good for us,\u201d Roberts said.<\/p>\n

Roberts said he likes what Diaz brings to the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watching Diaz from the opposing bench, Roberts said he found him to be fearless. In three postseason games against the Dodgers in the 2024 National League Championship Series, Diaz pitched 5 \u2153 scoreless innings with six strikeouts and a save.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot afraid,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cWhen he\u2019s in the game, it\u2019s an uncomfortable at-bat for lefties and righties. Just a great competitor.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Roberts as manager, matchups have dictated bullpen roles, especially in the postseason. Diaz said the team could deploy him however it sees necessary.<\/p>\n

Edwin Diaz at spring training workouts at Camelback Ranch Stadium. JASON SZENES FOR CA POST<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that in the postseason, there aren\u2019t any defined roles because there could be a situation in any inning and the manager will look at how to get out of that and win the game,\u201d Diaz said. \u201cSometimes, the game isn\u2019t won in the ninth inning. Sometimes, it\u2019s won in the sixth or seventh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Diaz acknowledged it would be special for him to pitch the final out of the final game.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, if they give me the opportunity to close the final game of the World Series, it would be an achievement for me,\u201d Diaz said.<\/p>\n

He has already pictured the scene in his head. He\u2019s now ready to live it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOENIX \u2013 Edwin Diaz hasn\u2019t thrown his first pitch for the Dodgers, but he has already envisioned what…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180839,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7,4396,8797,48,52,51,47,53,50,49,1334,127,4470],"class_list":{"0":"post-180838","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-dave-roberts","10":"tag-edwin-diaz","11":"tag-la","12":"tag-la-headlines","13":"tag-la-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-dodgers","16":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","17":"tag-los-angeles-news","18":"tag-mlb","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-world-series"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180839"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}