The desert was still yawning to life on Thursday when Edwin Díaz stepped out onto the manicured grass at Camelback Ranch — and just like that, spring training flipped from a warm-up to the starting line of a three-peat in the making.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, long looking for someone to lock down the 9th inning, now have a closer whose résumé reads like a gauntlet thrown down across baseball.
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Last season, with the New York Mets, Díaz posted a 1.63 ERA across 66⅓ innings, converting 28 of 31 save opportunities while fanning 98 hitters and walking just 14.
Edwin Díaz warms up with his new Dodger teammates. X/MasayaKotani
That performance vaulted him into the upper echelon of relief arms — a No. 3 ranking in “The Shredder,” a No. 5 nod from Brian Kenny, and a top-5 placement from Mike Petriello.
The traffic through the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2025 was a carousel of uncertainty — veteran closers like Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates flamed out and October saw starting pitchers closing games, a surreal twist that culminated in a World Series Game 7 victory built on Snell, Glasnow, and Yamamoto.
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L.A. needed a high-leverage reliever. They got Díaz.
Edwin Díaz speaking at his introduction as a new member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. AP
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He arrives not as a reclamation project or a placeholder, but as a reigning force. His heater sits in the upper 90s, his slider wipes batters out, and his track record of dominance demands respect.
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The trumpet is ready to blare. DJ Severe has “Narco” queued up on his playlist. And for the Dodgers, spring training just got its newest bullpen star.