It appears Edwin Díaz and the New York Mets will have a reunion this week after all.
Before Monday’s series-opener against the Mets, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that he expected L.A.’s new $69 million closer –– who is facing his former Mets team for the first time since leaving as a free agent this winter –– to pitch at some point this week, if the Dodgers have a save situation.
That represented news in the wake of a strange weekend for Díaz, who squandered a three-run lead in a blown save on Friday, was bypassed for a save situation on Saturday, and seemed to be potentially unavailable Sunday had another ninth-inning opportunity cropped up.
The reason for the conservative usage, Roberts said, was concern over Díaz’s diminished fastball velocity early on this season.
During the two days Díaz didn’t pitch, the team did manual tests –– but no medical imaging –– on the knee he blew out back in 2023.
Díaz noted this weekend that he’s had early-season velocity problems in the three seasons since that injury, though also emphasized that he has felt good physically since this campaign began.
“He’s wanting to pitch, says he’s available,” Roberts said. “I think now it’s just me kind of consulting with the training staff to figure out what’s the best case.”
Roberts struck a more optimistic tone with his Monday comments than he had over the weekend, voicing hope that this recent episode with Díaz –– who was 4-for-4 in save situations prior to Friday’s clunker –– was “behind us.”
“I talked to Edwin briefly, just a little bit ago, and he feels great, which is a good thing,” Roberts said. “I think now it goes to me having a conversation with the training staff … But now, just watching with my eyes and having him playing catch and talking to him, we feel very confident that he’s in a good spot.”
Though Díaz has dealt early-season velo dips before, his 95.8 mph average so far this season was almost a tick and a half below what he threw last year. On Friday, the three-time All-Star also struggled to keep a seemingly flat slider from hanging in the middle of the strike zone.
Though Díaz told reporters on Saturday that he felt good physically, Roberts revealed on Monday that Díaz told the team following Friday’s outing that “he just didn’t feel right.”
Thus, at this early stage of the season, the club wanted to ensure he didn’t have any underlying health problems before sending him back to the bump.
“I would say a huge part of it is based on the calendar,” Roberts said. “Obviously his health is paramount. But I do think that us just being even more conservative right now certainly is that.”
Now, moving forward, Roberts said the Dodgers expect to see Diaz’s velocity start to tick back up.
“If he feels good,” Roberts said, “then the expectation is that the velocity will mirror that.”
The Dodgers did have another injury concern in their bullpen on Monday, placing right-hander Ben Casparius on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
A third-year big-leaguer, Casparius had struggled mightily early this season, posting a 9.64 ERA with four walks and four strikeouts in five appearances.
With his injury, Hurt will get his first opportunity in the big leagues since undergoing a Tommy John procedure back in 2024. A USC product and former fifth-round draft pick, Hurt made only four career appearances before that surgery, but impressed with his performance in spring camp this year and pitched scoreless appearances in five of his six triple-A outings to begin this season.
