Dodgers Cut Ties With Pitcher, Officially Activate Edwin Diaz on His Bobblehead Night

Sound the trumpets.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have activated All-Star closer Edwin Díaz off the 60-day injured list, paving the way for him to make his long-awaited return to the mound just in time for his bobblehead night on Wednesday.

In order to make room on the active and 40-man rosters, left-handed pitcher Charlie Barnes has been designated for assignment.

Dodgers Finally Get Edwin Diaz Back

Díaz, 32, joined the Dodgers on a three-year, $69 million this offseason. The right-hander was expected to fix one of the few problems the reigning two-time defending champions had, giving them a true closer.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Díaz made just seven appearances — sporting a 10.50 ERA and showing a dramatic decrease in velocity — before the Dodgers discovered an issue in his elbow they wanted to address.

Díaz underwent surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow and has been sidelined for the last three-plus months. He last pitched for the Dodgers on April 19.

The Dodgers hoped that this surgery would help address the early-season issues that plagued Díaz, especially in terms of his velocity. Based on his rehab assignment, it appears that's the case.

Díaz made a total of seven rehab outings, allowing two runs over 5.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. More importantly, his velocity was back up in the high 90s.

Manager Dave Roberts has no plans to ease Díaz back into action. The three-time All-Star will reclaim his role as the team's closer, with Tanner Scott moving to a setup or fireman role.

Dodgers DFA Charlie Barnes

Barnes, 30, has been up and down multiple times for the Dodgers this season, and has now been DFA'd for the second time.

Overall this season, he's made four appearances at the big league level, allowing seven runs over 10 innings. In his three one-inning outings, though, he hasn't given up a run.

The Dodgers initially claimed Barnes off waivers from the Chicago Cubs in May. He was assigned to Triple-A OKC, and quickly earned his first call-up.

He was optioned a few days later, and then recalled again in July. He was then optioned again, and a little over a week later was designated for assignment.

He cleared waivers, rejected an outright assignment, elected free agency and ultimately ended up re-signing with the Dodgers.

He was brought back to the active roster last week, and will now head right back to waivers.

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