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Edwin Díaz is on the 15-day injured list with neck inflammation — his second IL stint of the season — but he hasn’t given up on closing games for us in October. Díaz told reporters he hopes to reclaim the closer role for the postseason, per staff at Dodger Blue.

It’s been a brutal 2026 for Díaz. He started the year recovering from surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow, costing him more than three months. That alone would be a tough hand to play. But what followed his return was arguably worse: Díaz allowed 16 earned runs in limited action, getting hit hard enough that the team moved him out of high-leverage situations entirely. Just days ago, we covered his acceptance of a reduced role — a candid acknowledgment that he hadn’t performed well enough to justify closing. Now he’s back on the IL, this time with a neck issue, and the tone has shifted from acceptance to ambition.

For context, Díaz was one of the most dominant closers in baseball during his peak years with the Mets, posting a historically great 2022 season that saw him record a 1.31 ERA with 32 saves and 118 strikeouts in 62 innings. The Dodgers brought him in knowing the upside was immense if he could stay healthy. That health has been the problem all year. The elbow surgery, the rough outings after his return, and now neck inflammation — it’s been one setback after another. His fastball velocity and slider bite were noticeably diminished in his post-surgery appearances, raising real questions about whether we’d see vintage Díaz again this season.

I’ll say this plainly: wanting the closer role back is fine. Díaz should have that mentality. But wanting it and earning it are two different things, and right now the bullpen has moved on without him. Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips have been handling the late innings, and the pen has actually stabilized since the team reshuffled roles. Díaz would need to come back from this IL stint healthy, pitching with the kind of stuff and command we haven’t seen from him in a Dodger uniform yet.

The bigger picture for us is this: having a healthy, effective Díaz in October would be a significant weapon. We all know what he’s capable of at his best. But the Dodgers can’t plan around hope — they need to see real, sustained production before handing him the ball in the ninth inning of a playoff game. He’ll need to prove it in meaningful regular-season innings first, and with September approaching, the window to do that is narrowing. For now, this is aspirational more than actionable.

Source(s): Staff (Dodger Blue) | First reported: August 24, 2026 5:37 PM UTC

God Bless and Go Dodgers