The Dodgers on Friday activated Edwin Díaz off the injured list, with a week and a half remaining in the regular season to see if his slim chance of pitching his way onto the postseason roster comes to fruition.
Díaz, who signed a three-year contract with the Dodgers in December, struggled to open the season before undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in April, which cost him three and a half months.
In 16 appearances with the Dodgers this season, Díaz has allowed
runs in nine of them, with an 11.85 ERA, 6.37 xERA, 19 strikeouts and 10 walks in 13 2/3 innings. In nine games after returning from elbow surgery, Díaz had a 19.6-percent strikeout rate, down from 30.3 percent in seven games before surgery, and well below his 39.9-percent career strikeout rate through 2025.
The latest malady for Díaz was neck inflammation, sidelined since August 18. His rehab assignment with Oklahoma City didn’t go well at all, throwing more balls than strikes in three of his five appearances, with six runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings, seven walks, and four strikeouts. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday in Cincinnati that Díaz will need to throw more strikes, and quality ones at that, in order to be considered to pitch in October.
“Like anything, it should be a meritocracy. You have to earn the right of opportunities, and you’ve also got to perform. Eddie understands that,” Roberts said, as shown on SportsNet LA. “Where we’re at now, we need guys to buy in, perform and go from there. That’s what he’s about.”
Landon Knack was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City, after fulfilling his role with aplomb on Thursday. Called up for a day, Knack tossed four scoreless innings in relief and earned the win in the Dodgers’ division clincher in Cincinnati.
In Knack’s three stints in the majors this year, he pitched in four of the eight games for which he was active, with a 3.86 ERA and 4.09 xERA in build relief, with eight strikeouts and two walks in his 11 2/3 innings, plus one save of 2 2/3 innings, the Dodgers’ longest save of the season.
