The Los Angeles Dodgers got the best closer on the free agent market Tuesday, reaching a three-year, $69 million deal with former New York Mets reliever Edwin Diaz, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jorge Castillo on Tuesday.
The deal by the Dodgers, who were targeting bullpen help this winter, set an average annual value record for a relief pitcher.
Their bullpen is coming off a season in which it posted a 4.27 ERA, which ranked 21st in the majors. The Dodgers are seeking to become just the third franchise to win three consecutive World Series titles since Major League Baseball introduced divisional play in 1969.
Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million deal as an insurance policy should Diaz go elsewhere.
Diaz’s decision to opt out with the Mets was preceded by a vintage season for the righty closer, who logged a 1.63 ERA and converted 28 of 31 save chances for the Mets last season. With an elite combination of a high-velocity fastball and vicious slider, Diaz has posted high strikeout rates throughout his career. In 2025, Diaz struck out 98 in 66 1/3 innings while walking just 14 batters.
The Dodgers’ front office held a staunch belief, sources told ESPN this offseason, that their bullpen depth should inspire confidence in 2026.
If everyone is healthy, seven of the Dodgers’ eight bullpen spots are already accounted for: Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia, Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, Brusdar Graterol and Anthony Banda. Then there are as many as eight optionable relievers on the 40-man roster, all of whom are promising in their own right: Edgardo Henriquez, Ben Casparius, Will Klein, Jack Dreyer, Paul Gervase, Bobby Miller, Kyle Hurt and Wrobleski, assuming the latter three remain in the bullpen.
Diaz’s time with the Mets was marked by wild year-to-year swings. Diaz posted an ERA under 2.00 three times but in other years was at 3.45 or worse, blowing six saves or more in each of those three campaigns.
Diaz missed the 2023 season altogether after suffering a serious knee injury while celebrating a save in that year’s World Baseball Classic. The Mets acquired him in 2018 as part of a seven-player trade with the Seattle Mariners.
ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle and Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.
