[Woo] - Can Edwin Díaz, amid a brutal season, pitch his way back into the Dodgers’ closer role?（海外の反応）

Díaz knows he has little margin for error. If he does not pitch better, he’ll be left off the Dodgers’ postseason roster.

“It’s been really disappointing,” Díaz said of his season. “But now I’ve found growth to come back and perform the way everyone was expecting.”

Díaz faced four batters in the eighth Saturday night without allowing a run, his second straight scoreless outing since returning from the injured list on Friday. He struck out two batters, both on fastballs, which he dialed up to 99 mph. Díaz hit his spots with an authority he lacked over the last two months.

The Dodgers have six regular-season games remaining, meaning Díaz will have three to four opportunities to make his case. The sample since his reinstatement is small but encouraging.

Relief pitching is volatile by nature, but not to the degree of Díaz’s demise this year. When the Dodgers signed the three-time All-Star to a three-year deal over the offseason, securing him the highest-ever annual average value for a reliever, they believed they had locked down the best ninth-inning man in the game. Now, the Dodgers aren’t sure who will close the games that matter the most.

They have options. The Dodgers will spend the final week of the regular season configuring their October bullpen. Tanner Scott has been the most consistent option for the ninth this season, a redemption arc of sorts since the Dodgers envisioned him as their closer last season. Roberts said Roki Sasaki will be activated off the IL on Tuesday. The right-hander will pitch in relief, beginning an audition for the same role he served in last October.

But in a perfect world, the Dodgers’ closer in October is Díaz. The question is whether he can be trusted in that role. He has a Hail Mary shot to prove it, and he and the Dodgers are willing to give it one last try.

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Source: r/Dodgers