Evil Empire Strikes Again, As Dodgers Make Big Free Agency Splash
Edwin Diaz signing addresses Los Angeles' biggest weakness after back-to-back World Series wins
Well, they're at it again.
The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2024 World Series over a team from the American League East, and spent the 2024-2025 offseason adding to their roster. Blake Snell, Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki, and resigning Blake Treinen and Teoscar Hernandez. Major League Baseball fans went nuts, saying the Dodgers were ruining the sport. Trying to win, you see, is bad. If it was bad after the 2024 season, it's going to be intolerable after the 2025 season.
The Dodgers went back-to-back, winning the World Series, again, by beating a team from the American League East. And it clearly hasn't stopped them from, *gasp*, wanting to continue winning.
On Tuesday morning, multiple reports broke that the Dodgers had signed the top available reliever on the market, former New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz.
Have the Dodgers just locked up a three-peat?
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 08: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets exits the game during the eighth inning against the San Diego Padres in game two of the Wild Card Series at Citi Field on October 08, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
Edwin Diaz Signing Addresses Dodgers' Biggest Weakness
The answer is no. There is no one player that can guarantee a World Series, and the inherent randomness of the small sample size tournament of postseason baseball makes "buying" a championship impossible. As just one example, the second most valuable player throughout the 2025 postseason was Toronto Blue Jays utilityman Addison Barger. Barger, a 26-year-old who hit .243 with a .301 on base percentage in the regular season, hit .367/.441/.583 in the postseason, significantly outperforming superstars like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman or Julio Rodriguez.
Ernie Clement, a journeyman who'd been released by the Cleveland Guardians a few years ago and was a below league average hitter in the 2025 regular season, set a record for most hits by an individual player in a single postseason and hit .411. That's what small samples generate, and why randomness will always play a major role in playoff outcomes.
But the Dodgers did have one glaring weakness throughout the regular season, the postseason, and the World Series: their bullpen. Yoshinobu Yamamoto closed out their Game 7 win with 2 ⅔ innings on zero days rest because the Dodgers simply didn't trust their relievers with the game on the line. Their pitching plan in the deciding game was Ohtani, Justin Wrobleski, Tyler Glasnow, Emmett Sheehan, Blake Snell, then Yamamoto. All starting pitchers.
Tanner Scott, their high-priced reliever signing last winter, was ineffective in the regular season, then never pitched in the playoffs before going down with an injury. Roki Sasaki was overused in a new role. Blake Treinen, the 2024 playoff hero, had a 5.40 ERA in the regular season, then gave up 10 baserunners and four runs in 5.1 innings in the postseason. Kirby Yates followed up a dominant 2024 with a 2025 season so bad he too was left off postseason rosters.
And the Dodgers front office apparently decided they'd seen enough, necessitating the Diaz signing. Three years and $69 million later, Diaz is headed to Los Angeles.
The statistics for the 31-year-old are, to put it mildly, spectacular. He had a 1.63 ERA in 2025, struck out 98 hitters in 66.1 innings and blew just three saves in 31 opportunities. His analytics-based stats are even better. By expected batting average allowed, Diaz ranked in the 99th percentile. Same with expected ERA, whiff percentage, expected slugging percentage allowed, and strikeout percentage. He was also 94th percentile in barrel rate allowed.
He's very, very hard to hit. And he immediately makes the Dodgers bullpen one of the best in the sport, challenging the San Diego Padres.
A rotation with Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnow and Ohtani. Edwin Diaz closing out games. A lineup still anchored by Ohtani, Freeman, Mookie Betts, Max Muncy, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez. The Dodgers core is aging, but there's a veritable feast of talent. Again, there's no way to guarantee a championship, but LA has put themselves in the best possible position to try for a three-peat. As a fan, that's all you can ask for.