Dodgers might've made a huge mistake with Edwin Diaz signing originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Los Angeles Dodgers landed two of the top names in free agency this offseason, inking massive new contracts for Kyle Tucker and Edwin Diaz.
They were the clear winners of the winter, but during the 2026 season, it's not worked out at all. Tucker hasn't played remotely close to being worth the $60 million per-year price tag, and Diaz might be even worse.
Josh Peter of USA Today blasted Diaz with a few brutal comments on the struggling reliever after his latest blown save opportunity. It's been a rough year for Diaz with the Dodgers for many reasons, bad enough that his $60 million deal looks like a mistake.
Dodgers might've made a huge mistake with Edwin Diaz signing
"The Dodgers have a massive problem. His name is Edwin Diaz," Peter writes. "The sound of trumpets are now the sound of alarm for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Oh, dear. Here comes closer Edwin Diaz again."
It's an absolutely brutal description from Peter, but it's not far from the reality for many Dodgers fans lately since Diaz returned from the injured list.
Diaz allowed four straight hits on Thursday night, squandering the lead, blowing the save, and leading to another loss for the Dodgers.
He landed on the injured list earlier this season and missed from mid-late April until July 29, when he returned from injury. In the seven games since coming back from the IL, Diaz has been a total disaster.
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Across 5.2 innings of work since that July 29 return, Diaz has a brutal 12.71 ERA. On the season, he has allowed a 11.57 ERA in 11.2 innings of work.
Diaz has pitched in 14 games, and yet his ERA is higher than his total innings pitched. That's terrible. His -1.2 bWAR is one of the worst marks in all of MLB this season, and is so far removed from being worth more than $60 million over the next three years.
Peter summarized the Dodgers' problem with a brutal but simple comment: "Edwin Diaz cannot be trusted to save games, no matter how loud those trumpets play."
This signing might've been a massive mistake for the Dodgers, as Diaz has been a nightmare this season. He could turn things around, as Tanner Scott has done, but this season, such a turnaround feels so far away from Diaz's reality.
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