ORLANDO, Fla. — There were some in the industry who believed the Dodgers would be dormant this week at the MLB winter meetings. But the thing about the reigning World Series champs is that when they decide to push their chips in, they do it big.
L.A. made its first major move of this offseason on Tuesday, reportedly agreeing with All-Star closer Edwin Díaz on a three-year, $69 million contract. The deal comes with a $23 million average annual value, the highest ever for a closer.
Díaz comes with bona fide credentials and has been in the conversation about the game’s best reliever for the better part of the past five years. The Dodgers’ new closer had another standout year in 2025, with an electric 1.63 ERA, 98 strikeouts and 28 saves for the New York Mets.
Since the departure of the franchise’s all-time saves leader, Kenley Jansen, in 2022, the Dodgers have been looking for a shutdown arm for the ninth inning and have left no stone unturned in their attempts to find one. L.A. has gone through different combinations of closers, including Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson and even Craig Kimbrel.
The Dodgers believed they’d found their closer of the foreseeable future last offseason, when they signed left-hander Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal. But then Scott was beyond ineffective in 2025, sporting a 4.74 ERA in 61 games, and injuries ended his season prematurely. The result was the Dodgers turning to rookie Roki Sasaki as their de facto closer en route to another World Series title.
And so, having lost confidence in Scott as the answer, the Dodgers renewed their search for their next closer. This time, the result is a record agreement with the top reliever on the free-agent market.
While the Dodgers landing a high-priced star is never a surprise, the fact that Díaz ended up in L.A. and not back with the Mets, like many in the sport expected, does come as a bit of a shocker. Díaz was one of the most beloved figures in the Mets’ clubhouse, with the production to match. And after the team signed right-hander Devin Williams last week, the belief was that Williams would complement Díaz as the Mets’ eighth-inning weapon.
Instead, the Mets now find themselves in a precarious position and needing to pivot, either giving Williams the closer job or turning their attention to right-hander Robert Suárez, the next-best arm still available. With Díaz headed out of town, further bullpen reinforcements in Queens will be necessary
According to sources, Suárez and his camp were waiting for a resolution with Díaz before signing. Now that Diaz has found his next home, expect Suárez’s market and the market for former Rays reliever Pete Fairbanks to move quickly.
Even before the addition of Díaz in the L.A. bullpen, it was hard to look at the Dodgers’ roster and find many holes. But the one major need they had has now been addressed.
With that, the back-to-back champs have made themselves even stronger as they set their eyes on a three-peat.
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