Edwin Diaz‘s first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers hasn’t gone as planned. He has been on the IL for much of the year. On Aug. 18, the Dodgers placed the right-hander on the IL with neck inflammation.
Diaz, 32, began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sept. 6. He has made four appearances with the Comets since beginning the rehab stint.
Two of the outings have gone well, as Diaz threw a scoreless inning in each. The other two have not gone well. In his second appearance of his rehab assignment, Diaz allowed a run on a hit and two walks in 2/3 of an inning.
On Sunday, Diaz had a horrific outing, surrendering five earned runs on two hits and three walks in 2/3 of an inning.
Ahead of the Dodgers’ game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Monday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts made an honest statement on Diaz’s struggles.
Los Angeles Dodgers’ Dave Roberts Drops Blunt Edwin Diaz Quote
From MLB.com’s Sonja Chen on X:
Edwin Diaz (0.2 IP, 5 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 K yesterday) will have another outing for OKC on Wednesday. This was supposed to be a short rehab assignment, but the Dodgers have not seen enough from Díaz.
Dave Roberts: “He needs to pitch better. It hasn’t been good.”
Diaz signed a three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers over the winter.
The right-hander also missed time with an elbow injury earlier in the season.
In his first season with the Dodgers, Diaz has posted an awful 11.85 ERA over 13 2/3 innings.
Since making his MLB debut in 2016, Diaz has recorded a 3.06 ERA with 260 saves and 858 strikeouts over 533 innings.
Los Angeles Dodgers Right Now
Monday’s game between the Reds and Dodgers is scheduled to begin at 3:40 p.m. PDT.
The four-game series will wrap up on Thursday.
The Dodgers won eight of their last 10 games. They are coming off a 2-1 series loss to the Miami Marlins.
Los Angeles is in first place in the National League West with a 90-59 record. The club has a nine-game lead over the second-place San Diego Padres.
Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Drops Blunt Edwin Diaz Quote Before Reds Game