Los Angeles Dodgers’ star closer Edwin Diaz is on the injured list for the second time this season. While his recent performance has been concerning, the team received some positive news. An MRI conducted on Wednesday confirmed only initial neck inflammation, which manager Dave Roberts described as the ‘best case’ scenario.
As reported by Owen Perkins of the Orange County Register, Roberts stated, “It went well. There were no findings, so that was good. The MRI was clean. It doesn’t change the fact he had this sensation in his neck, but keep working on it, give it some rest as far as throwing a baseball.” He also said, “It’s probably going to be a couple days of Diaz being shut down, then do some soft tissue stuff and more manual stuff to get him back. Again, best-case scenario.”
This update implies that Diaz, who underwent surgery earlier to remove loose bodies from his elbow, could still return this season. The Dodgers aim for their third consecutive World Series title, with Diaz being their major offseason pitching acquisition through a three-year, $69 million contract.
Despite this, Diaz has recently faced difficulties, blowing multiple saves. He attributed these issues to mechanical faults, possibly linked to the neck inflammation. Diaz remarked, “I think I’m leaning too much to the right-handed hitter; instead, go straight to home plate. I think today was way better, I think I was rushing myself a bit.”
He added, “They told me that my arm angle was a little bit low, so I was trying to work on that a little bit today. My posture is the main focus in that; I think today was better. My fastball rise was way better than yesterday.”
Roberts emphasized that Diaz’s injury is muscular and not nerve-related, suggesting Diaz might be able to adjust his posture and play without neck pain in the future.
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