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DODGER STADIUM (Los Angeles, CA) — Nearly 2,800 miles away from Queens, the sound of trumpets will soon fill Dodger Stadium.
Entering this winter, adding the best closer on the market didn’t seem like the most realistic avenue for the Dodgers to address their most glaring area of need. They knew they needed to add to the bullpen, but they sought shorter-term deals, particularly after the first year of Tanner Scott’s four-year, $72 million deal went awry.
Edwin Diaz, one of the best closers in the sport over the past decade, figured to command at least four or five years entering his age-32 season after opting out of the final two years of a record five-year, $102 million contract with the Mets. Plus, most in the industry expected Díaz to return to the Mets, one of the few teams capable of operating in the same financial hemisphere as the reigning champions.
And yet…
“You don’t know how things are going to play out and what ultimately is reported versus what the player is comfortable with and where he wants to be,” said Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes. “You don’t always know. It’s why you put in the work along the way.”
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
So the Dodgers did, checking in on the reigning National League Reliever of the Year as the closer market was thinning. The Mets had already signed Devin Williams. Ryan Helsley went to the Orioles. Raisel Iglesias returned to the Braves. The Dodgers expressed to Díaz’s representation how much they valued him.
“It was more like, ‘Hey, we’re here if something makes sense, and we’d love to have you join our group,’” Gomes recalled.
As it turned out, there was mutual interest.
“That’s why you shouldn’t play the game of assumptions and just do the due diligence on the front end, and sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t,” Gomes told me. “But having those conversations and making sure you’re doing the work that’s needed to really understand the situation is important, especially when you see situations like this play out.”
Over the last week, discussions between the Dodgers and Díaz intensified. Los Angeles offered three years and $69 million. It wasn’t the length of contract many expected Diaz to receive, but it was the highest average annual salary ever given to a reliever.
And it was enough for Diaz to make the surprising choice to leave the Mets, where he had spent the last seven years.
“It wasn’t easy,” Díaz said at his introductory press conference Friday. “They treat me really good. They treat me great. I chose the Dodgers because they’re a winning organization. I’m looking to win. I think they have everything to win, so picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
It didn’t hurt that the Dodgers had a couple voices in their corner.
Kiké Hernandez, a fellow native of Puerto Rico, and Díaz’s brother, Alexis, both vouched for the organization before the three-time All-Star closer made his decision.
“I heard great things about this clubhouse,” Díaz said. “My brother played here, he told me great things about the Dodger clubhouse. They treat every single player the same. That’s something really nice. I know they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Famers here. I heard they treat the young guys like they’re the same guys.”
Díaz believes that aspect is crucial to a winning clubhouse, and it worked in favor of the Dodgers, who now have their most elite ninth-inning option since Kenley Jansen departed four years ago.
Jansen recorded 38 saves in his final season with the Dodgers in 2021 and saved at least 30 games in each of his final seven full seasons in Los Angeles. The Dodgers, despite winning 111 games in 2022, 100 games in 2023, 98 games in 2024 and 93 games in 2025, have not had a closer with even 25 saves since Jansen’s departure.
Last season, Scott led the club with 23 saves, but he had a 4.74 ERA and was ultimately a non-factor in October.
There will be no closer by committee in 2026.
“We have a high bar,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “To name someone the closer, you have to be one of the best.”
Díaz, who’s coming off an All-Star 2025 season in which he led all qualified NL relievers with a 1.63 ERA and ranked second among all MLB relievers in strikeout rate, fits the bill.
He won’t be taking his usual No. 39 to Los Angeles — that number is retired for Roy Campanella — and is instead switching to No. 3 in honor of his three kids.
But he will be taking one of the most electric walk-out songs in the game.
Díaz said he can’t wait for Timmy Trumpet to get a new crowd going as he enters in the ninth.
“Now, we are in a new family,” Díaz said. “We’re with the Dodgers. I came here to win.”
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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