It’s here! It’s finally here! The Dodgers will be playing baseball in less than a week’s time.
As the team begins to regroup at Camelback Ranch, old faces and new alike make their way into the clubhouse, and among the new faces to the Dodgers is Edwin Díaz.
Díaz was the first major signing this offseason for the Dodgers, as he inked a three-year, $69 million deal to become the new closer during the winter meetings. The Dodgers still have relievers who at one point in their careers have done well closing games, such as Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott and Blake Treinen, but Díaz will now be the guy called upon with a close lead in the ninth inning.
While Dodgers fans anticipate the blaring of trumpets with his first entrance, fans of the New York Mets are left with the memories of Díaz’s tenure, illustrated by both frustration and triumph. With Mets fans wondering why Díaz chose greener pastures in Los Angeles, the right-hander explained his decision to join the Dodgers, noting that their recruitment process played a huge role in him abandoning New York, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com.
“I was a free agent, so I got the chance to talk with everyone,” Díaz said Saturday from Dodgers camp in Glendale, Ariz. “And I think the Dodgers did a great job recruiting me. At the end of the day, I chose to be here. I have a lot of respect for the Mets organization, players, staff, ownership. They treated me really good. I don’t have anything bad to say about them. But at the end of the day, I’m here. This is a new journey for me and I’m happy to be with the Dodgers, so let’s see how it goes.”
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Brusdar Graterol has not thrown off of a big league mound since the 2024 World Series against the New York Yankees. After undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, Graterol, just like many young Dodgers arms, had his 2025 season dashed before it could begin.
Although Graterol has had a full offseason to recover and ramp up, his velocity is not up to par with where the Dodgers want it to be, and that might delay Graterol’s return until after opening day, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“It’s still kind of the velocity’s not near where it’s going to be,” Roberts said. “So I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us. But it’s a slow process for Brusdar.”
Last season, Yoshinobu Yamamoto showed baseball fans why he received a 12-year, $325 million deal from the Dodgers without ever throwing a major league pitch, finishing third in NL Cy Young voting and being named the World Series MVP.
Yamamoto’s trophy mantle already boasts some serious hardware from his time in both the NPB and MLB, but his sights are set on a new challenge this upcoming season; winning the Cy Young award, notes Chen.
“He’s just such a good competitor. He takes care of himself, but he wants to be great,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He wants to win a Cy Young. He hasn’t done that yet, so that’s a carrot. But I think he prides himself on being consistent and being really good.”
Team Japan will only get one half of the Shohei Ohtani experience during the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but Dodgers fans will finally get the full experience in his third year with the team. While a Cy Young award is something that Ohtani does dream of receiving, the goal for two-way superstar this season is simply to stay healthy on the mound, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“Getting a Cy Young means being able to throw more innings and being able to pitch throughout the whole season, so if that’s the end result, that’s a good sign for me. What I’m more focused on is just being healthy the whole year.”