Heading into MLB free agency, the Los Angeles Dodgers played things coy.
Dave Roberts hyped up Tanner Scott as a bounce-back closer option, preached continuity, and made it seem like this would be a quiet winter in Los Angeles. This, when coupled with rumors that the team wasn't going to go big game hunting in free agency, passing on players like Kyle Tucker, Kyle Schwarber, and Kyle Finnegan for a more measured approach targeting players like Harrison Badder, and it seemed like the 2025 World Series team would largely be competing for the Commissioner's Trophy once more in 2026, only one year older with a few marginal moves.
Instead, it would appear Andrew Friedman and company were purposefully flying under the radar as the market took shape, swooping in when baseball least expected to sign Edwin Diaz, the top closer on the market, to the largest deal in MLB history, as Jeff Passan reported for ESPN.
Were the Dodgers lying? Did reporters receive misinformation? Or worse, are Friedman and Roberts not on the same page regarding their plans, with the executive going over his skipper's head to provide him with a new bullpen weapon?
Ultimately, it makes sense that the Dodgers would temper expectations on the rumor mill and that Roberts would support his current players instead of stumping for a hypothetical option who isn't on his roster until a deal was struck. But after watching Scott blow almost a dozen saves last season, and Roki Sasaki have to jump into an unfamiliar role in the highest-leverage situation imaginable to secure another World Series win, the Dodgers went out and definitively solved their problem with the best option on the market, an incredible development considering some fans were disappointed to miss out on Devin Williams, coming off a down year, the week prior.
The Dodgers and Edwin Diaz both got what they wanted
When news broke that Williams was going from one New York team to the other in a Subway Series switch-a-roo, some fans wondered if the Mets would keep both closer and go all-in on an impressive bullpen arsenal San Diego Padres-style, or if this spelled the end of Diaz's time at Citi Field.
At $51 million over three seasons, the Mets were betting on Williams re-gaining his former glory after a down year with the Yankees, but for just $18 million more over the same time frame, the Dodgers don't have the same worry, as Diez is coming off of one of the best seasons of his career. Of his 62 games pitched in 2025, Diez earned a save in 28 of them, allowing just 37 hits, 14 runs, and four home runs over 66.1 innings pitched. While Diaz didn't hit his career-best mark from 2018, it was good enough to earn an All-Star big and a WAR of 3.0, just .1 below his high-water mark.
For a Dodgers team that seemingly wiffed on every relief pitcher they added last season, with Scott struggling mightily, Kirby Yates just as bad, and trade deadline addition Brock Stewart basically a non-factor, Los Angeles just landed a certified closer who can hold down that ninth inning multiple times per week. Diaz's presence kicks Scott into lower leverage spots, just like Sasaki did for Blake Treinen during the playoffs in October, and opens up more defined roles for players like Justin Wrobleski, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Vesia, and Jack Dreyer.
Is the price high? Most certainly so, as no closer has ever been paid as much as Diaz in AAV, but when has that stopped the Dodgers before? They gave Shohei Ohtani a record-breaking contract that now looks like a bargain, handed 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto a record-breaking contract, and have now locked up Diaz on that caliber of contract too, happily forgoing a pair of draft picks in 2026 and $1 million from their international signing bonus pool as simply the price of doing business.
In 2025, the Dodgers entered the season with a clear plan at the back end of their bullpen only to watch it fall apart in spectacular fashion. Every player they acquired underperformed versus expectations, and their biggest additions in terms of money and profile were healthy scratches against the Toronto Blue Jays. While that could theoretically happen again in 2025, Friedman and company decided to pay up for the best option on the market in the hopes of fixing their issues for good, and deserve credit for that aggressiveness.
Edwin Diaz grade: A
Los Angeles Dodgers grade: A-
