Dodgers Weighing Drastic Edwin Diaz Decision Amid Disastrous Rehab Stint

There's a chance Edwin Diaz doesn't make the Dodgers postseason roster.

Aug 7, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Edwin Diaz against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's been far from a dream season for Los Angeles Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz.

After the Dodgers made Diaz the highest-paid closer (by average annual salary) in baseball this offseason, the 2026 season has turned into a lost cause for the All-Star pitcher.

Diaz is currently on the 15-day IL due to neck inflammation, and his rehab stint has not been ideal. He made his latest appearance on Sunday, and it was abysmal.

The 32-year-old faced eight batters and retired only two of them. He allowed two singles, three walks and hit another en route to allowing five earned runs.

Prior to his appearance on Sunday, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Diaz needed one more outing before he returned. However, after Sunday's performance, Roberts said Diaz will remain on his rehab assignment for the time being.

“He needs to pitch better. It hasn’t been good,” Roberts said to reporters on Monday. “He’s going to pitch on Wednesday, and I guess we’ll evaluate then. I think the world of him. The baseball card looks great. But where we’re at, there’s got to be something for us to be able to hang our hat on. And he knows that. He knows that. He wants to pitch well.

"So for me, Wednesday, we’ll be watching closely.”

Will Edwin Diaz Make the Postseason Roster?

If the Dodgers secure a top-two seed in the National League, they will have six days off from the end of the regular season to the start of the NL Division Series, which would start on Oct. 3.

Roberts couldn't commit to Diaz being a part of that 13-pitcher roster.

“We have to go with our best pitchers, as far as performance, talent, all that stuff," Roberts said. "So my bet is that he will be [there]. But again, there’s got to be some kind of evidence or something for us, again, to sort of bet on. My bet is yes, but we still have to see something."

The 2026 season has been disastrous for Diaz, with multiple stints on the IL, elbow surgery and an alarming regression.

In 16 appearances this year, Diaz has recorded a 11.85 ERA, 2.56 WHIP and 19 strikeouts in 13.2 innings of work.

The mechanical changes that Diaz made before his rehab assignment haven't led to results yet. If they don't over the next week or so, a return to the big leagues this season could suddenly be in jeopardy.

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