Edwin Díaz is available for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the series finale against the New York Mets, manager Dave Roberts shared before the game.
Díaz last pitched on April 10 against the Texas Rangers and blew the save while his velocity was down by nearly 2 mph. The Dodgers initially brushed off any concerns, but Díaz reported knee discomfort to the training staff.
Roberts did not reveal that Díaz had a knee issue until Tuesday night, and that he was unavailable for the previous few days. Both he and the club previously said there was nothing physically wrong with Díaz, but he underwent multiple tests to clear him.
On Tuesday afternoon, Díaz threw a bullpen session under the eyes of the pitching coaches and training staff. That happened around 4 p.m. PT, so he was unavailable for the game.
“I think they said something like mid 90s,” Roberts said. “So for a bullpen, just what you want to see.”
After being cautious with Díaz, the Dodgers don’t expect this to be a continued issue.
“No, no, I’m not,” Roberts said when asked if he had any remaining concerns. “I mean, honestly, I felt it was benign from the outset, but we were going to be cautious, which we were.
“And for his ‘pen, he wanted to pitch tonight, which I respect and I admire, but you know, you’ve got to go through protocol and certain channels, and they wanted to see a bullpen.”
Roberts said Díaz would be available on Wednesday if there was no lingering discomfort from the bullpen session. After missing the last four games due to the issue, Díaz came in feeling no issues, so he is now available again in a save opportunity.
Shohei Ohtani not in Dodgers lineup, but still pitching
Shohei Ohtani is making his pitching start Wednesday night against the Mets but he is not in the Dodgers lineup as their designated hitter.
Following Monday’s game, when Ohtani was hit by a pitch in the back of his right shoulder, Roberts said he remained on track to start in the series finale. Roberts reiterated that after Tuesday’s game, though only specified that Ohtani was going to start “as a starting pitcher.”
After the lineup was set without Ohtani, Roberts confirmed he would have been included if not for getting hit by the pitch. “This one game, it just makes the most sense to give us the best chance to manage the shoulder and back,” Roberts said.
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