NEWS: Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz needs elbow surgery

A big contract doesn’t guarantee your stars will stay healthy.

The deep-pockets Los Angeles Dodgers were cruising atop the NL West standings when their bullpen took a sudden and troubling hit: All-Star closer Edwin Díaz will undergo elbow surgery to remove loose bodies, sidelining him for months and leaving a first-place club scrambling to protect late leads.

Díaz’s first season in L.A. has already been uneven. He has four saves in seven appearances, but his numbers told a more concerning story: a 1-0 record paired with an ERA north of 10.00 and a WHIP around 1.67.

His struggles peaked in a disastrous outing against Colorado Sunday, when he allowed three runs without recording an out—an appearance that raised alarms about his health.

Injuries are not new territory for Díaz. Though dominant at his peak—including multiple All-Star seasons and elite strikeout rates—his career has been punctuated by physical setbacks that have interrupted his rhythm and availability.

Now 32, and after signing a $69 million deal with L.A. in late 2025 making him the highest-paid reliever in history, the latest elbow issue adds another chapter to a pattern that teams have learned to monitor closely.

For the Dodgers, the timing couldn’t be worse. Sitting in first place with championship expectations, they must now piece together the ninth inning without their marquee fireman. Whether by committee or a new emergence, the defending World Champs face a critical test: maintaining dominance while their bullpen anchor recovers.

D. Benjamin Miller, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration