The Los Angeles Dodgers have a big problem at the back end of their bullpen after Edwin Díaz blew yet another save opportunity Thursday night against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Díaz allowed four hits and three runs in just two-thirds of an inning, blowing his third save opportunity in his last four chances. The right-hander has seen his season ERA balloon to 11.57 after allowing 15 runs in just 11.2 innings of work.
With Díaz showing no signs of regaining his dominant form, many fans are clamoring for his removal from the closer role. However, manager Dave Roberts doesn't see that happening right now for one simple reason.
"Give me another option,” Roberts said. “I can't just say change in low leverage. I have to have other options and to be quite honest, none of those guys have really thrown the baseball great.”
Roberts' blunt admission about the current state of the Dodgers' bullpen is certainly concerning. That's especially true for a team with legitimate aspirations of winning its third straight World Series.
Yet, when looking at Los Angeles' other options, it's hard to disagree with Roberts' assessment.
The Dodgers' two best relievers this season have been left-handers Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia. While both could certainly close games, they have also been vital to Roberts' strategy against opposing teams' best left-handed bats.
Meanwhile, former closer Evan Phillips has struggled since returning from Tommy John surgery this season. The right-hander is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA across 11 innings.
The rest of the Dodgers' bullpen doesn't have much closing experience to speak of. That makes Díaz finding a way to turn things around all the more important.
Los Angeles signed Díaz to a lucrative contract this offseason, giving the three-time Reliever of the Year winner a three-year, $69 million deal. So far, they haven't gotten anything close to the dominant closer they expected.
Díaz hasn't tried to downplay his poor results, either. He admitted he's struggling and said he's willing to pitch wherever the Dodgers need him to.
“I gotta see what they want to do. I know I’m struggling, so I want to do the best thing for our team," Díaz said. "If they give me the ball in the ninth, I’ll try to do my job. If they give me the ball in another inning, I will try to do my job. I just gotta be better, be consistent.”
The good news for the Dodgers is that they still have 40 games remaining before the postseason begins. That's plenty of time to sort out their bullpen issues.
However, Los Angeles simply can't go into October without someone it can trust to lock down the ninth inning.
