Dodgers Have Clear Free Agent Answer to Replace Edwin Diaz
The last two offseasons have seen the Los Angeles Dodgers spend big on a star reliever.
Ahead of the 2025 season, the defending champions signed Tanner Scott to a four-year, $72 million deal. While he wasn't named the Dodgers' official closer, he was expected to regularly come out in the ninth for LA - that unfortunately didn't happen.
Scott posted a 4.74 ERA in his first season with the Dodgers, landing on the injured list twice last season. The left-hander completely missed the playoffs because of a lower body abscess procedure.
Ahead of the 2026 season, the reigning champs signed another All-Star reliever in Edwin Diaz to a three-year, $69 million deal. He entered the campaign as the team's official closer and after just seven games with the Dodgers was sidelined with loose muscles in his elbow.
Diaz will have to undergo surgery and is not expected to return until after the All-Star break. And so, that leaves another Dodgers closer on the IL for the second consecutive season.
How Will the Dodgers Replace Edwin Diaz?
The Dodgers will need their veteran relievers to step up in Diaz's absence, which includes Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen and Scott. While Scott struggled mightily in 2025, he has turned things around early this season as he's posted a 1.04 ERA across 8.2 innings of work.
Vesia has also gotten off to a strong start, sporting a 0.00 ERA across 8.2 innings pitched. The lefty is one of the Dodgers leaders in ERA this year.
Aside from veteran relievers performing well for LA, the Dodgers can also get a sufficent replacement for Díaz by signing free agent Michael Kopech.
Kopech sported a 1.13 ERA with the Dodgers in 2024. He went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts across nine innings throughout the postseason.
The Dodgers acquired Kopech at the 2024 trade deadline in a three-team deal with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. It was also the trade that sent utility player Tommy Edman to LA.
Kopech was sort of forgotten last season, not because he isn't a solid reliever, but because he spent the majority of the year on the injured list in 2025.
The right-hander made just 14 appearances for the Dodgers last season, posting a 2.45 ERA. The Dodgers could have used Kopech, especially because Treinen and Scott were one of the many relievers who struggled in 2025.
Kopech became a free agent at the conclusion of last season and has yet to sign with a team. He's been linked to two NL West teams, the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, as well as the New York Yankees throughout his lengthy free agency process.
No team has snagged Kopech, a reliever who had the potential to emerge as the Dodgers closer in 2025 had he not been injured.
The Dodgers should consider re-signing the World Series champion reliever amid their quest for the three-peat.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/dodgers/onsi as Dodgers Have Clear Free Agent Answer to Replace Edwin Diaz.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 10:30 AM.