There was a time when the Dodgers didn’t should suppose twice about who can be closing video games for them. However since they moved on from Kenley Jansen on the finish of the 2021 season, the nearer function has been a revolving door.
With Roki Sasaki transferring again to the rotation after serving because the membership’s major nearer in the course of the 2025 playoffs, Los Angeles finds itself looking for readability within the ninth inning as soon as once more.
Though the Dodgers’ current ninth-inning instability hasn’t stopped them from profitable back-to-back World Sequence titles, fixing their ninth-inning riddle might be key as they chase a uncommon three-peat. Listed here are three questions that may outline the Dodgers’ hunt for a more in-depth this offseason.
1. Is the reply already on the roster?
However the plan didn’t go as hoped. Scott blew 10 saves and posted a 4.74 ERA, and Treinen and Yates additionally struggled. The large query now’s whether or not the Dodgers imagine that Scott can recapture his 2024 All-Star kind. If not, they could have to show again to the free-agent market.
2. Will they go after the highest nearer accessible … once more?
Díaz grew to become a free agent after opting out of the ultimate two years of his five-year, $102 million cope with the Mets — nonetheless the richest contract ever signed by a reliever. The 31-year-old will possible be searching for an analogous deal this offseason — if not in complete {dollars}, then actually in common annual worth. Are the Dodgers keen to go there when Scott has three years left on his deal?
3. Ought to they take a threat on a former All-Star returning to kind?
If the Dodgers wish to reduce their reliance on Scott subsequent yr however aren’t within the Díaz market, they could have an fascinating dilemma on their arms. That’s as a result of two of the perfect free-agent alternate options to Díaz — Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley — discover themselves in the identical state of affairs as Scott, coming off disappointing 2025 seasons.
If Los Angeles is not keen to roll the cube on a type of hurlers when it already has a lot uncertainty with Scott, it will additional slender the staff’s choices.
