Los Angeles Dodgers star Edwin Diaz was very impressive during the first rehabilitation start of his recovery with the Ontario Tower Buzzers.
Diaz has faced a long road just getting back on the mound, with his last pitching appearance coming on April 19th against the Colorado Rockies.
The righty had a very rough start to the season; he made seven appearances, allowing nine hits, seven runs, five walks, with only five strikeouts.
There is clearly something wrong with Diaz, as he was one of the best closers in baseball for years at this point.
He looked far from the pitcher LA paid $69 million for, but after medical imaging, Diaz was found to have loose bodies in his right elbow, something quite common for pitchers with a ton of innings under their belt.
The Dodgers had Diaz undergo surgery at the end of April, with a return targeted after the All-Star break.
After multiple bullpen outings and live innings, Diaz finally set out on a rehabilitation assignment, stopping by one of the finest cities in the Inland Empire — Ontario.
Edwin Diaz is back to his best
He faced four hitters in total during the fourth inning, getting two strikeouts, allowing just one hit, and ultimately, having very little trouble.
Diaz touched 98 MPH, a high figure considering he averaged 96.1 MPH on the year and 97 MPH in 2025.
During his outing, he went heavy on the fastball, mixing in some sliders.
Single-A competition is not the highest level of baseball, but his mechanics looked sharp, the delivery was on point, and most importantly, he felt good during his bullpen warm-up.
Next for Diaz are some more rehab appearances, with hopes of ramping up quickly. I
Ideally, he gets back into the mix right after the All-Star break, perhaps after the two road series for the next homestand, coming back around the same time that Kike Hernandez does.
