Dodgers' Edwin Diaz clears the air on potential injury, attributes velocity dip to past trend

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Dodgers' Edwin Diaz clears the air on potential injury, attributes velocity dip to past trend originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made several top-tier free agent signings over the past few years, and this winter was no different. They added standout reliever Edwin Díaz.

“The Dodgers downplayed expectations, but once again, they're making a big offseason splash. Free-agent reliever Edwin Díaz and the Dodgers have agreed to a three-year, $69 million deal, the club announced Friday afternoon,” MLB.com’s David Adler and Sonja Chen wrote.

From the start, it was clear Díaz would take over as the closer in an already stacked Dodgers bullpen. However, he recorded a blown save on Friday night. By Saturday, there was speculation that he might be dealing with an injury. Díaz quickly addressed those concerns, saying his velocity was simply down and there was nothing to worry about.

“Edwin Díaz said he isn’t dealing with anything physically. Felt during the outing Friday he didn’t have his usual life on his fastball, but said he’s had issues with early-season fastball velocity every season since injuring his knee in the 2023 WBC,” The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya wrote.

As if Díaz’s comments weren’t enough, manager Dave Roberts also made it clear the situation was precautionary.

“Dave Roberts said the Dodgers are still gonna "tread lightly" with Edwin Díaz's workload as he works to get his velocity up. His usage will be evaluated "day-to-day" for now. Roberts clarified that the concern level with Díaz is low & that "it's not an IL thing we're talking about" Instead, he framed it as just wanting to be cautious with their new closer until his stuff is back to where it normally is,” California Post’s Jack Harris wrote.

The Dodgers understand that Díaz will be a key arm down the stretch, so there is no need to rush him back into a heavy workload. Giving him extra rest early in the season is a calculated move.

Before his injury during the WBC, Díaz was arguably the best reliever in baseball. With the Dodgers viewed as favorites to win another World Series, there is no reason to overextend their closer this early in the year. Díaz also did well to quickly shut down any injury speculation.

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