The Dodgers didn’t hand Edwin Díaz a $69 million contract just for fun — they did it because they wanted to know if they took a lead into the ninth, they were going to win.

But a few months in, it's been the exact opposite.

On Thursday night against the Brewers, Díaz was handed a two-run lead and did what he’s supposed to do at first — he struck out the leadoff hitter, William Contreras. Then everything unraveled. Four straight singles came immediately after. The lead disappeared. And by the time the dust settled, the Dodgers had turned a winnable game into a 5-4 loss.

It was Díaz’s third blown save in his last four chances and his fourth in just 10 opportunities this season. His ERA has ballooned to 11.57 over 14 appearances.

This is not what the Dodgers signed up for. Not even close.

The Dodgers Bought Certainty And Got More Questions

Díaz wasn’t some gamble off a fluky contract year or anything like that. This was a guy who was absolutely dealing last season — 1.63 ERA, 28 saves, 98 strikeouts in just over 66 innings for the Mets. That’s the kind of production that makes a front office feel like they’re buying certainty, not hope. So when the Dodgers handed him a $69 million deal, it wasn’t because they were rolling the dice. It was because they thought they were locking down one of the most reliable ninth-inning arms in baseball.

But something’s very clearly off.

He came out of the gate with a 10.50 ERA in his first seven appearances, which already had people uneasy, and then the elbow issue popped up — he ended up needing surgery. He missed 85 games, came back on July 29th, and immediately slid back into the closer role like nothing had changed. The Dodgers were clearly hoping the surgery was the fix, the reset button. Dave Roberts even went as far as saying they “just got a lot better” the moment Díaz returned.

Since coming back, Díaz has given up 12 hits, three walks, and eight runs in just 5⅔ innings. And it’s not just the results — it’s how it’s happening. The slider doesn’t have that same sharp bite that used to make hitters look foolish, and even the fastball has been a tick down, sitting around 96.5 mph on Thursday compared to 97.2 last year.

Against Milwaukee, it wasn’t like he was getting absolutely shelled on every pitch, but everything seemed to find a hole. Four straight singles later, and another ninth inning was suddenly out of control.

“Give Me Another Option”

When Roberts was asked whether Díaz should maybe step into lower-leverage spots for a bit to sort things out, he didn’t really dance around it:

Give me another option.

And honestly, that one sentence kind of says everything. Because if you move Diaz, then who actually closes?

Tanner Scott is the first name that comes to mind. He’s been solid this year with a 2.25 ERA and he handled 16 of 18 save chances while Díaz was out. But there’s also the other side of that coin — Scott led the league in blown saves last season with 10, and Roberts has still been leaning on him in high-pressure spots earlier in games instead of locking him into the ninth.

After that, you start running through the rest of the bullpen, and it gets a little thin. Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez, and Jack Dreyer all have ERAs under 3.20, which on paper looks fine, but none of them have really been pitching like that lately. Blake Treinen is still on the 60-day IL. Will Klein and Brock Stewart are both hurt. Roki Sasaki could be an option in theory — he was electric closing games last October — but he’s back in the rotation now and just threw six innings Thursday.

So yeah, there are arms Roberts can try. It’s not like the cupboard is empty. But there isn’t a clear, obvious guy he can point to and say, “That’s my closer now,” without creating a domino effect somewhere else in the bullpen.

And that’s really the bigger issue here. This isn’t just about Díaz having a rough stretch anymore. The whole bullpen has been shaky, posting a 4.71 ERA since July 1st. If you move Scott into the closer role, maybe the ninth gets steadier — but then you’re just shifting the chaos into the seventh and eighth innings instead.

A bullpen committee only works when you’ve got multiple guys throwing well enough to share the load. Right now, Roberts doesn’t really have that luxury.

The Dodgers Are Running Out Of Cheap Chances

Thursday’s loss dropped Los Angeles two games behind Milwaukee for the best record in the National League. It also burned through five relievers and turned a two-run lead into a loss.

This isn’t an early-season slump anymore. Every game matters now, especially when it comes to playoff positioning. And the guy they brought in specifically to lock down the ninth is, right now, the one making it feel the least secure.

Díaz still deserves some patience after missing three months. You don’t just erase what he’s done in his career because of 11⅔ rough innings. But at some point, the Dodgers also have to stop treating every ninth inning like a rehab assignment and hoping it magically clicks.

All stats courtesy of MLB.com.

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