Edwin Díaz faced hitters on Sunday, July 5, for the first time since undergoing right elbow surgery to remove five loose bodies.
Things have progressed well for the right-hander, and facing hitters represented another positive step in the right direction for him.
“A little bit hot, but finally back on the mound throwing,” Díaz said after throwing in the roughly 85-degree heat. “I feel really good. So it’s a really good step.”
Díaz faced Alex Freeland twice and Kiké Hernández once, who is also rehabbing his way back from an oblique injury. The All-Star closer recorded three strikeouts and looked back to his usual, dominant self.
“I feel really good,” Díaz said. “I feel way better than early in the season. I can see them missing the fastball. That’s something I couldn’t do early in the season, because I wasn’t right.
“Now I just got to keep throwing strikes, making pitches, trying to throw my slider a little bit more for a strike. I didn’t do it today, but I feel great. My fastball shape was good; they gave me good feedback.”
Díaz also said he feels “pretty close” to where he expects to be when he takes the mound in a game again. His next main goal is to refine his slider and get it back to game-ready.
“I was throwing my fastball for strikes,” he said. “I always try to miss up. I don’t want to miss in the middle, so I was getting some up misses, so that’s good for me. I take it.
“With the slider, I just want to throw it more in the zone. I was throwing good sliders down, but out of the hand, they were balls, so I want to move a little bit up and try to make the hitter chase.”
Edwin Díaz starting rehab assignment soon
The next big step for Díaz is to go out on a rehab assignment, but he still has some hurdles to clear before that begins.
Díaz is expected to face hitters again on Wednesday and then again over the weekend. The plan is for Díaz to throw those two live sessions before starting his rehab assignment with a Minor League affiliate, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
However, that is unlikely to start before the All-Star break on July 13.
“I think there’s some situation where he’s going to do some work in Arizona as well, so that could actually be constituted as a live,” Roberts said. “So I know he’s got another one here this weekend, and at that point in time, I think he’s going to eject and go somewhere.”
The expectation remains that Díaz will return soon after the All-Star break ends.
“As of now, we are on schedule, so everything is going the positive direction,” Díaz said. “That was a great step today. Threw a live, went good, I feel great right now, and now, see what they want to do with me. So I’m ready to go.”
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