For the last two seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers have resided over Major League Baseball’s proverbial throne after being crowned as the victors of the World Series in consecutive seasons.
Now, Los Angeles will return its sumptuous roster in hopes of a three-peat, and this time, it will do so with the addition of another All-Star: Closer Edwin Díaz.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Dodgers’ move for Díaz was significant, no doubt. But it is not a Shohei Ohtani-level signing. Still, the front office addressed the team’s glaring issues in consistent late inning relief with the best available option, and it has ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan appointing them winners of the offseason.
“The Dodgers haven't done much,” Passan wrote. “There's no $700 million contract. And no array of deferral-laden deals. You win two World Series in a row, you return every meaningful player, you're entitled to bask a little bit.”
“Through that prism, the Dodger's three-year, $69 million poaching of closer Edwin Diaz from the New York Mets qualifies as a win. The Dodgers spent the entire postseason running starting pitchers out of their bullpen, so to get arguably the game's best reliever registered as another coup in a yearslong campaign full of them.”
The Dodgers have also worked the margins; complimenting the signing of Díaz with another veteran presence in third baseman Andy Ibanez.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Beyond Díaz and a low-dollar deal for Andy Ibanez, the Dodgers are exercising patience,” Passan added. “They just don't have to be proactive in markets they believe will come to them. Would they like Tucker? Sure. Anyone would. Will they chase him? Nope. Not unless it's on a shorter-term deal.”
The Dodgers have the pedigree and the roster in place to continue winning, which is why Passan believes they will not overreach for talent.
“Same with any free agent, really, because the Dodgers are now at the point where players believe their best chance at a World Series ring runs through Los Angeles, and the calendar is starting to force them to consider options they might not have otherwise.”
It is possible that Los Angeles does not orchestrate another marquee move this winter and instead go into the 2026 season with the faith that the roster will remain as dominant as it has been.
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