Edwin Díaz became the latest Los Angeles Dodgers player to announce he will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Díaz will join Team Puerto Rico for the third time in his career. He becomes the fifth Dodger to be placed on a WBC roster this year, along with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Japan), Will Smith (USA) and Hyeseong Kim (Korea).
Sound the trumpets 🎺
Edwin Díaz returns for a third #WorldBaseballClassic with Team Puerto Rico! pic.twitter.com/GRwNMik3Kt
— MLB (@MLB) February 2, 2026
Díaz last pitched in the 2023 WBC, appearing in two games without allowing a run, while adding four strikeouts to no walks and one save.
However, he suffered a complete patellar tear in his right knee during a celebration after defeating the Dominican Republic. Díaz ended up missing the entire 2023 season for the New York Mets.
Things were much better for Díaz when he participated in 2017, as he tossed 5.1 innings over four games. He finished with a 3.38 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and .143 average again while striking out nine and walking four with two saves in two opportunities.
Puerto Rico went on that season to lose to Team USA in the finals at Dodger Stadium, and they lost in 2023 to Team Mexico in the quarterfinals. Puerto Rico has twice lost in the finals, also in 2013, but they have yet to win the title.
Díaz is entering his first season with the Dodgers after signing a record-setting three-year, $69 million contract. His $23 million average annual value (AAV) is the highest ever for a relief pitcher.
Díaz collected 28 saves to go along with a 1.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 66.1 innings for the Mets this past season. He had the second-lowest ERA among relievers with at least 50 innings, trailing only Aroldis Chapman’s 1.17 mark.
Over the course of his career thus far, Díaz has amassed 253 saves and holds a 2.82 ERA. Kenley Jansen (476), Craig Kimbrel (440) and Chapman (367) are the only active relief pitchers with more saves than Díaz, who turns 32 years old in March.
Roki Sasaki unable to pitch in WBC
Roki Sasaki was included on the preliminary roster for Samurai Japan in the WBC, but he will not be on the final roster, and it was out of his control.
Due to the amount of time Sasaki spent on the injured list last season, the Dodgers had the final say on whether Sasaki would be allowed to compete in the tournament, and they decided against allowing him to pitch.
“I didn’t have a conversation, per se, with the team,” Sasaki said through his interpreter at DodgerFest. “It was really up to the team. You know, it was really the team that decided. But for me, my mentality is it’s going to be a lot of competition to earn the spot in the rotation, so that’s my mindset going into Spring Training.”
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