Why Dodgers pitcher Edwin Díaz might return sooner than expected after elbow surgery

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz, five days removed from surgery, called finding loose bodies in his elbow "a best-case scenario" and said he is "100%" confident he will return to his All-Star form this season.

"Right now, just a couple days after surgery, I can move my arm really good," Díaz said Monday. "My range of motion is completely back to normal, so that's something I like. Just get stronger and be ready for the second half."

Díaz described his arm as feeling "tired and tight" when he took the mound at the Colorado Rockies on April 19, following an eight-day layoff predicated largely on lingering pain in his surgically repaired right knee. After an outing that saw him get charged with three earned runs without recording an out, the Dodgers sent Díaz to imaging, which revealed five fragments of bone or cartilage floating around his right elbow.

Díaz, 32, said he has had loose bodies in his elbow since getting drafted in 2012 but that they never caused pain until recently. The Dodgers hope that by removing them now, Díaz can return in July or August.

In an interview with ABC7, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert C. Klapper noted that "there is a motor oil in all of our joints that lubricates the joint."

Klapper explained that elbows not only flex and extend but are also responsible for supination and pronation. "But here's something else that's in the fluid: nourishment. How does it get nourishment? The synovial fluid."

Díaz allowed just one run over his first five appearances this season but proceeded to allow three in each of his past two. All told, his four-seam fastball is averaging 95.7 mph, more than a tick down from his 97.2 mph average from 2025. Díaz believes the loose bodies in his elbow limited the range of motion in his arm, which might have impacted his velocity.

"It's like you took a door stop and stopped it in the door -- it keeps it from opening and closing," Klapper said, making a comparison to loose bodies.

Díaz said he expects to resume throwing two weeks after getting his stitches removed. "Now, after surgery, I'm getting close to what I was," he said.

The Dodgers signed Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract in December, swiping him from the New York Mets to fill their biggest offseason need. For the foreseeable future, though, L.A. will continue to mix and match in the ninth inning, giving the likes of Tanner Scott, and save opportunities.