The Dodgers landed free agency’s top reliever on a three-year, $69MM contract last week. It wasn’t the reported five-year, $100MM deal which Edwin Díaz had sought going into the offseason, but the $23MM average annual value allowed him to break his own record for tops among relief pitchers.
The incumbent Mets reportedly weren’t keen on going beyond three years either. However, Díaz evidently had at least one team that was willing to pay him for his ages 32-36 seasons. ESPN’s Jorge Castillo reported this week that the Braves made a five-year proposal. Salary details and the contract structure aren’t known. In any case, whatever the Braves offered wasn’t enough for Díaz to prefer it to the (presumably much higher) annual value that the Dodgers put on the table.
Details on a team’s unsuccessful free agent pursuit can sometimes provide a hint for where they’ll go next. This one is probably little more than a footnote, as the Braves moved quickly once Díaz came off the board. They signed Robert Suarez to a three-year, $45MM contract two days later. Atlanta spent another $20MM to bring back Ha-Seong Kim on a one-year deal this week. They’re now projected above the $244MM luxury tax threshold, with RosterResource estimating their CBT commitments around $256MM. The Braves paid the luxury tax in 2023 and ’24 but dipped below the line this year.
The Díaz offer at least confirms that the Braves aren’t opposed to giving up draft capital. The three-time All-Star had rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets. Atlanta would forfeit the 26th overall pick in next year’s draft to sign a qualified free agent. That’s the bonus selection they received from the Prospect Promotion Incentive thanks to Drake Baldwin winning Rookie of the Year. The Braves would have also surrendered $500K from their international amateur bonus pool in 2027. They did not lose a pick for Suarez, who did not receive a QO from the Padres.
That may also be a moot point if the Suarez and Kim signings took up the remainder of the budget. If they’re willing to continue spending, there are still six qualified free agents. The Braves aren’t signing Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, but any of the four starting pitchers — Framber Valdez, Ranger Suárez, Zac Gallen or Michael King — would be a sensible fit on paper.
The Braves have made four big free agent signings and one notable trade but have yet to do anything to solidify a rotation that was wrecked by injuries. They can’t assume that their top five of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep and Reynaldo López are going to stay healthy. A depth group led by Bryce Elder and Didier Fuentes isn’t sufficient. Adding a mid-rotation arm should be the priority now that they’ve addressed the bullpen and shortstop.
I think he regrets that in 3 years
Who cares that’s in the past. He only wanted LA.
Yes hopefully they play the trumpets for him in LA
Yep, it has already been announced that Timmy Trumpet will be making appearances in LA.
This song?
youtube.com/watch?v=WChTqYlDjtI
chippersmoltz: I believe you completely missed the point Rsox was making. Diaz signed with LA for 3 yrs for $69,000,000.00 while the Braves got Suarez for 3 yrs for $45,000.000.00 PLUS they re-signed Kim for 1 yr at $20,000,000.00. Is Diaz better than Suarez? Sure. Is he $8,000,000.00/per yr for the next 3 yrs ($24,000,000.00) better? Doubtful. Atlanta could’ve made Diaz a 5 yr offer @ $18,000,000.00 annually ($90,000,000.00 total) which is still a nice chunk of money but still well under the AAV that he’s getting from LA. Personally,I like what Atlanta did better.
It’s literally in the future.
@mlbnyy. He only wanted the most money.
He has money. Giving himself the best chance to win a ring in a good organization that treats their well might be worth the extra years to him.
I think Diaz basically preferred LA to NYC, ATL, or anywhere else.
His brother played a part in his decision-making. Alexis had nothing but praise for the organization and how they treat players.
He was out for the best deal he could get. His brother had nothing to do with it. Neither did team quality or location. It’s about the money almost every time.
Diaz said otherwise. His offer from the Mets was similar to one he received from the Dodgers. He made his decision to sign with the Dodgers after talking with his brother and Kike Hernandez. Do you need to see the quotes?
BSLA
Did you see the quotes?
“But Díaz, who turns 32 in March, wanted an annual average value of at least $20 million after deferrals were taken into account and less deferred money spread over a shorter period. The Mets, according to a source, refused to meet those terms”
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47314814/mlb-2025-free-age…
Several.
latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2025-12-12/dodger…
“I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win. So picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
Díaz said he received rave reviews about the club from both his brother Alexis (who spent most of last year with the Dodgers, after they acquired him from Cincinnati following an early-season demotion to the minors) and his Team Puerto Rico teammate Kiké Hernández (a longtime Dodgers fan favorite who is currently a free agent).
“They treat every single player the same,” Díaz said of the message he received. “That’s really nice, [especially] knowing they have a lot of great players, future Hall of Fame players. … That’s really good. That’s how a winning clubhouse is.”
He’s fantastic and a lot of fun to watch. Just make sure you have heart meds because he has a tendency to make it look like he’s about to blow it before he strikes out the next 3 batters. Grats and enjoy, your team treats your fans the way all teams should.
With over $150 M in the bank by then, the only way he “regrets” it is if the Braves knock down another WS win and the Dodgers don’t.
regrets?? he’s had a few.
But then again too few to mention…
But now the time has come.
He did it his way.
Braves probably made out better in the deal
5 years on a reliever and give up a pick??? I doubt it
My thoughts exactly, sounds nothing like what the Braves or AA would do for those exact 2 reasons….I guess every team and GM gets these fluff pieces about ‘swinging but missing out’ on free agents.
@braves. Exactly the a’s offered a ten year deal for 12 million in total, but they tried hard. Lol.
That’s too much for a reliever.
Well what about Josh Hader’s 5 years
Guy wants a ring. What can you do?
@ 10cent
Exactly. No hate. Win and they will come. If the Dodgers want you they can have you. They put themselves in that position. Good for them, mad respect.
Mad respect? Lmao
@Howiedizzle
Howiedizzle? LMAO
He went there for the money. He would have gone to Pittsburgh if they offered more.
@Hammerin..
So u saying if the Mets would have offered more he would have gone back to the Mets? Hes on record saying otherwise so just curious.
The Mets offered the same amount of money with more money deferred. He went to the Dodgers.
“Díaz, who turns 32 in March, wanted an annual average value of at least $20 million after deferrals were taken into account and less deferred money spread over a shorter period. The Mets, according to a source, refused to meet those terms”
espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47314814/mlb-2025-free-age…
I would love one more starting pitcher, then whoever is not in top 5 we could put in bullpen making it stronger.
How many pitchers have gone to the Dodgers and NOT gotten injured? Any?
Kind of a vicious cycle, they sign guys, they get injured, they sign more guys.
I mean they all get paid and they win so there it is.
I love to criticise this team and their FO but then they win another WS and I should just keep my mouth shut because a winning organisation is always right.
How many pitchers go to the Dodgers, pitch well, get injured, and still come out of the season with a ring for their effort?
Pitching injuries are not unique to the Dodgers.
Just more common.
Prove it.
SF
“Just more common”
Citation requested
Or, are you just guessing?
Well, it is the comments section; and not the dissertation section.
rn
Sigh
Pathetic that people that providing evidence for your belief (A thing you’re taught in ELEMENTARY SCHOOL) is a “dissertation”.
Ahhh. Perhaps I went overboard with the dissertation comment. I just think people should be able to make a comment in the comment section without having to provide sources for their opinion.
I think it’s a bit of a chicken and egg thing. They tend to sign high end pitchers who may have higher injury incidence rates. I’m not against them at all, just a casual observation. Last year they had 17 different pitchers start games. 10 of those started at least 5 games. 11 relief pitchers appeared in at least 20 games. It seems excessive and is highly injury driven.
Yes, Dodgers pitchers get injured frequently, leading MLB in IL placements and total days missed in recent years, a trend attributed to a strategy of acquiring high-upside pitchers with past injuries, prioritizing velocity/stuff (which strains arms), and potentially the rigors of modern pitching; though other teams also face this epidemic, the Dodgers’ high-profile acquisitions and sheer volume make their injuries highly visible.
So I was curious and googled it. This is obviously AI, but there are about a half dozen articles that provide similar information. Probably not the scientific research you were looking for.
I think we all know by now that AI produces a lot of slop. Incorrect information that gets repeated often enough becomes truth. (As if we don’t already have enough of this, AI is making it even worse.)
So the argument that the Dodgers have more pitching injuries than other teams is basically folklore until proven otherwise. An educated answer to this question would require a lot of research over several seasons (at least three), and a consistent definition of the terms.
Where this gets really silly is when someone claims that any pitcher who signs with the Dodgers is almost automatically an injury risk, as if it’s something in the water. That’s a piece of nonsense that AI will probably also tell you is true.
rns
Sure
People can make up whatever they want
We don’t have any idea they are right or wrong. And they don’t either. Because they don’t have a source. They made it up.
The Dodgers had the most pitcher IL days in history in 2025. I cannot post a link or I get the dreaded your comment is awaiting moderation.
The information is easy enough to find.
The Dodgers also had the most overall players on the IL at 29 and the most player days on the IL with 2501.
Look it up. I am correct. The Dodgers had both the most pitchers on the IL in one season at 21 and the most pitcher player days on the IL in one season in MLB history.
Overall, meaning both pitchers and position players, they lead MLB in players that went on the IL at 29 and player days on the IL at 2501.
Baltimore also had 29 players go on the IL, but only had 2148 player days on the IL.
Please, verify that I am correct. By all means.
You are only correct in answering the wrong question. So not really correct at all.
Any superstar that goes to LA now is a coward
and…and a b-word!
And any loser who goes to your team is a fool.
In your world all superstars should sign with the bottom 3-5 teams?
Weird self-coping comment of the day!
@Marc that’s a losers mentality.
As a Braves fan, let them sign all the players they want. Victory will taste much sweeter for us when we knock them out
BS..no way AA had that drawn out.
Hear,,,hear. Go Braves!
Just another sell out. Can’t wait for the Smurfs to destroy his arm too!
And get him a ring.
Not enough deferred money for his liking 😉
Sh
Exactly the opposite
“However, the 32-year-old was determined to get an average annual value of at least $20 million and wanted less deferred money over a shorter period.”
Why Edwin Díaz chose the Dodgers over the Mets si.com/mlb/mets/onsi/news/why-edwin-diaz-chose-the…
Otherwise, great comment!
Can’t take a joke I see
Can’t make a joke, I see.
Sh
Why would I take a joke that was neither funny nor intelligent?
Must be dodgers fans
Sh
Appears to be the kind of person I have 0 interest in engaging with
Muted
OMG no. Please what will I do without your sensitivity to deferred money comments
Diaz: This is my ring from when the Dodgers won the third time.
Anyone else: You were on that team? Huh. Cool. Congratulations.
Clearly wanted to go to the Dodgers and win
If the Braves are going to spend for a SP, I want them to go after Imai.
If they are ok with giving up the 26th pick, Valdez or Suarez would be worth it. I personally don’t think Gallen or King are worth giving up the pick.
Bassitt would be ok on a 1 year deal.
Want to do an interesting study?
– Look at all the pitchers over the past 25 years that have had knee surgery that required rehab of 3+ months.
– Follow those same pitchers for the 3 seasons after the surgery.
– How many had shoulder issues that required IL trips?
– How many had UCL issues that required IL trips?
– How many had multiple IL trips in the 3 seasons after returning from surgery?
Correlation is not causation. Playing pro sports is an occupational hazard.
Do the research then come back if you still think correlation is not causation in this case.
Injuries cause pitchers to change things in their pitching mechanics. That is a fact. Some changes in mechanics lead to other injuries.
So instead of the snide comment, take a look at what the facts are first.
Another botched take by Franco on the Braves rotation, especially in his depth ranking. Failed to mention either of Holmes or Ritchie. Both easily trump Fuentes in the pecking order, w/Holmes above Elder as well. Ritchie might be too, and probably has a better than even chance of taking the 5th spot over Elder.
I agree NashvilleJeff
This is the order I have them in right now. Obviously some health concerns in this list.
Sale
Schwellenbach
Strider
Lopez
Waldrup
Holmes
Ritchie
Elder
Wentz
Fuentes
Yep, that ranking looks good 25. Maybe Jose Suarez ahead of Wentz and Fuentes. We could also add Lucas Braun and Blake Burkhalter (small chance because he’s been used as a reliever in AAA) to the back end of it. The Braves have a lot of 4/5 back end starter depth w/upside.
$20m for Ha-Seong Kim still might be the stupidest deal I’ve ever seen. In the realm of Stearns giving Montas $17m a year.
Agreed…as dumb as it gets
Nah, Stearns gave Montas $34M for 2 years.
1 year at $20M is a good deal
Who wouldn’t want to play for the Dodgers at this point. They are the best team in baseball. The only downside of playing for the Dodgers is having to play in Los Angeles.
Yes, I’m sure the players consider playing conditions to be much nicer in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, and St. Louis.
Lol. I see your point.
I’m just curious… have you ever been to LA?
Yes.
Are you referring to the stadium or the city. The stadium is actually really nice now, although parking is still a pain. As for the city, there some really nice places to live too, if you can afford it and they can