
Crew owners get 18th NWSL team for record fee
Columbus gets NWSL expansion team for $205 million, starting in 2028!
Edwin DĂaz has been placed on the injured list due to loose bodies in his elbow, requiring surgery. The Dodgers will need to adjust their bullpen strategy as he is expected to be out for several months.
Mentioned in this story
Edwin DĂaz never seemed quite right.
In the weeks leading up the Los Angeles Dodgersâ offseason bullpen addition landing on the injured list on Monday, only on occasion had DĂaz looked like his shutdown closer self. He secured two saves in the Dodgersâ opening series sweep of the D-backs, but since then, DĂazâs outings increasingly inspired more concern than confidence.
Most glaringly, DĂazâs velocity was below what weâre accustomed to seeing from him. Before his knee injury in the World Baseball Classic that cost him all of the 2023 season, DĂazâs four-seam fastball sat comfortably in the 98-99-mph range, climbing as high as 102.8. Even after returning from his torn patellar tendon, DĂazâs heater still hummed at around 97 mph, and he could touch triple digits when needed.
This year, however, DĂazâs heater is averaging 95.7 mph. He hit 98.6 in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals against Italy on March 14, 98.0 in his final spring training outing on March 23 and 97.9 to close out the Blue Jays for his fourth save on April 7. Even so, this is a noticeable decline from last season, when he threw 160 pitches 98 mph or faster, including 43 in excess of 99 mph.
This spring, DĂaz insisted that he wasnât dealing with any sort of physical limitations and that he has navigated early-season velocity struggles ever since returning from his knee injury. But after DĂazâs woeful outing on April 10, in which he allowed three earned runs against Texas, the Dodgers decided to take it easy for a while and didnât use their new closer again for more than a week. When DĂaz got even more disastrous results on April 19 in â four batters faced, one walk, three hits allowed, zero outs recorded â a more startling revelation came to light: He was dealing with âloose bodiesâ in his elbow, necessitating surgery that .
Edwin DĂaz is dealing with loose bodies in his elbow, which will require surgery.
Edwin DĂaz is expected to be sidelined for several months following his surgery.
DĂaz's injury forces the Dodgers to reevaluate their bullpen strategy and find a replacement closer.
Before his injury, DĂaz struggled with decreased velocity, averaging 95.7 mph on his fastball, down from previous seasons.

Columbus gets NWSL expansion team for $205 million, starting in 2028!

Colts QB Daniel Jones back to throwing as he recovers from Achilles injury
Payton Tolle, the Red Sox's top prospect, may be called up as injuries hit the rotation.
Vanderbilt adds former Auburn forward Sebastian Williams-Adams to their roster.
Bryce Young is excited about mastering the offense under new play caller Brad Idzik.
Catch Spurs vs. Trail Blazers Game 2 tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBC!
See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.
Itâs a devastating development for DĂaz, who was in the early stages of endearing himself to a new fan base after seven years as a fan favorite with the Mets. Outside of his horribly unlucky knee injury, he has been one of the most durable high-leverage arms in baseball since debuting in 2016, with his only other injured list stint coming in 2024, when a right shoulder impingement cost him a couple of weeks.
DĂazâs decision to join the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million deal this past offseason sent a jolt throughout the industry, as the two-time defending champs splurged once again to address one of their few weaknesses with the best option available. But now, for the second season in a row, an expensive bullpen solution has gone off the rails. Last year, it was left-hander Tanner Scott who signed a four-year, $72 million deal and proceeded to fumble the closerâs job by late May, before a series of injuries rendered him largely irrelevant for the remainder of the season. This year itâs DĂaz, who arrived with far more hype than Scott, sidelined after just seven appearances, forcing the Dodgers to find a new path to victory late in games.
Now healthy and looking more like the lights-out version of himself that motivated Los Angeles to grant him that lucrative free-agent deal, Scott is suddenly a crucial character in manager Dave Robertsâ plans to replace DĂaz late in games. Scott has allowed just one run (a solo homer to JosĂ© RamĂrez) across 10 appearances this season and has yet to issue a walk, racking up eight strikeouts in 8 â innings. But he wonât be given the ninth inning to handle on his own; Roberts is expected to lean on several arms to secure the final outs.
Joining Scott in that effort will be another left-hander, Alex Vesia, who has allowed just five baserunners across 8 â scoreless innings. This is Vesiaâs sixth season as a staple in the Dodgersâ bullpen; he has recorded at least one save (but no more than five) every year with Los Angeles. So far, that includes this season, as Vesia notched two saves during DĂazâs down period before he landed on the injured list. In fact, Vesia is the only non-DĂaz Dodger who has recorded a save through the teamâs MLB-best 16 victories this season.
Another mainstay of this unit who could emerge as an option to close is 37-year-old Blake Treinen, whose tenure in the Dodgersâ bullpen stretches back to 2020. Treinen delivered eight scoreless outings to begin the season but faltered badly on Sunday, surrendering three runs without recording an out. He was one of baseballâs best bullpen arms at his peak but has been far less reliable since the start of last season. DĂazâs absence could present Treinen the chance to restore his once-sterling reputation as an impact relief arm, but it could also thrust him into situations heâs no longer equipped to handle.
Beyond those two familiar faces, some more recent additions to the Dodgers bullpen will vie for Robertsâ trust in high-leverage situations. An unexpected hero last October for his epic effort in the 18-inning World Series Game 3, Will Klein has continued to contribute as a capable middle reliever. Lefty Jack Dreyer doesnât feature elite velocity, but his fastball/slider combo gives opposing hitters fits. On the other end of the stuff spectrum is Edgardo Henriquez, whose average fastball velocity is higher than every pitcher in MLB not named Mason Miller. Injuries and command woes have prevented Henriquez from establishing himself as a reliable relief option thus far, but his sharp early form suggests he might be turning a corner.
All of which is to say the Dodgers have options, though the shakiness their bullpen exhibited for much of last season might resurface in DĂazâs absence. And of course, looming above all is the tantalizing possibility that Roki Sasaki, still struggling immensely in the rotation, could return to the bullpen, where he shined in the postseason.
However, Dodgers brass have been adamant that no such transition is in the works anytime soon and that theyâd prefer Sasaki continue to progress toward becoming a reliable starting pitcher, rather than putting him in the bullpen permanently at age 24. While those questions will continue to be asked until Sasaki proves his worth as a starter, it doesnât appear that DĂazâs injury will spark a change on that front.
Ultimately, for DĂaz, this injury marks a sour introduction to his Dodgers tenure, a disappointing setback at a pivotal juncture in his career. But the Dodgers are no strangers to overcoming injuries on the mound en route to winning a championship, so to label this injury as something that could derail their World Series ambitions would be naive.
With baseballâs best record already, fueled in large part by the leagueâs most potent offense and terrific starting pitching, the Dodgers are good enough to win most games without facing the headache of managing a narrow lead in the ninth.