The Los Angeles Dodgers were extremely aggressive in free agency, coming off back-to-back World Series championships.
They signed the best reliever on the market, Edwin Díaz, to a three-year, $69 million deal and the best position player, Kyle Tucker, to a four-year, $240 million deal.
$309 million committed to two players who have been terrible all season for the Dodgers.
Díaz was the National League Reliever of the Year Award winner last year, posting a 1.63 ERA across 66 1/3 innings of work and recording 28 saves.
Tucker started off last season with the Chicago Cubs as an MVP candidate, but he struggled in the second half, battling injuries, and did not have good overall numbers at Wrigley Field. Still, the belief was that he would be a 30-homer threat and thrive in Los Angeles.
Instead of two dominant players, the Dodgers got a reliever who has spent most of the year injured and has an 11.85 ERA and a right fielder who cannot hit at Dodger Stadium.
Díaz had a 10.50 ERA through seven games to start the year. He then spent a chunk of time on the injured list after having surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow. After returning from the injured list, he had a 12.91 ERA and blew three saves. He is now back on the injured list.
Díaz's struggles are difficult to figure out. His spin rate and velocity are on par with last season. He is getting more vertical drop and less horizontal break on his fastball, however. The biggest change is his arm angle, which has been at 15 degrees this season.
Last season, his arm angle was at 19 degrees. In 2022, when he also won a Reliever of the Year Award, it was at 23 degrees.
As for Tucker, his issues may be mental. On the road, he is slashing .269/.362/.458 with nine home runs. At home, he is hitting .189. There is seemingly no reason for the drastic difference in his numbers, but here we are.
Despite two huge whiffs in free agency, the Dodgers have the second-best record in the National League. Most teams would be set back a few years if they missed like that in free agency, but not the Dodgers.
Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, Max Muncy and Teoscar Hernández have carried the offense. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Ohtani, Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki have done a good job in the rotation.
Now, they have Tarik Skubal as well. Not to mention, Blake Snell is back and Tyler Glasnow will be back next week.
Photo: Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Edwin Díaz during a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Los Angeles, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)