Edwin Díaz is the Dodgers’ closer. How rest of the bullpen shapes up

PHOENIX — In Game 7 of last year’s World Series, the Dodgers’ flawed bullpen problems were apparent, even in the midst of a dramatic triumph.

Not only did the Dodgers use all four starters in their postseason rotation – Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto – but they also used Justin Wrobleski and Emmet Sheehan, who started 14 games together in the regular season, to earn a 5-4 victory in 11 innings that secured the team’s second straight championship.

The Dodgers strengthened the bullpen over the winter, signing three-time All-Star Edwin Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract. With a tighter role firmly defined for the first time since Kenley Jansen was with the team in 2021, how the rest of the bullpen falls into place remains a work in progress during spring training.

“Obviously adding Díaz at the back is huge for us and getting Alex Vesia [back] it’s going to be good, and also Blake [Treinen]”said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Blake clearly wasn’t right last year. He throws the baseball very well. Having guys you trust is everything to the pen. … You definitely have to rely on these veterans.

Now part of that group of veterans is left-hander Tanner Scott, who joined the Dodgers before last season on a four-year, $72 million deal. Scott struggled to find his place, primarily as a closer, before a left elbow injury landed him on the injured list in mid-July, causing him to miss a month of action. He returned the last week of August and never looked quite well. Scott posted a 4.74 ERA in 61 appearances and a 57.0 IP in his first year with the Dodgers.

On Saturday against the Chicago Cubs in a split-squad game at Camelback Ranch, Scott made his Cactus League debut and pitched a scoreless inning, recording one strikeout and allowing one hit on 17 pitches. With the ninth round scheduled, Roberts believes this will allow Scott to bounce back this season.

“I think being able to use Tanner in any round with leverage is going to be good for him,” Roberts said. “And it’s going to be good for us.”

Díaz, for his part, settled in and made his second appearance of the spring on Saturday. He worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless inning, striking out one. Vesia, who missed the World Series due to the death of his newborn daughter, pitched two scoreless innings while Treinen pitched a perfect inning Thursday against the Chicago White Sox in his first Cactus League outing.

Treinen, 37, who was part of the Dodgers’ three recent World Series teams and was a mainstay in the 2024 postseason, struggled last season, going 1-5 with a 9.64 ERA in September.

“You never know what the body is suppressing,” Treinen said earlier in camp. “I had a UCL injury, so I don’t know if that’s part of the problem, but something was different. I mean, the speed was there, the movement was there, the execution wasn’t, and when the pitches were in the zone, it was a harder strike rate. So, that tells me something was different, how to deal with hitters. So, I’m just trying to go back and clean things up where the ball does what it does most made most of my career.

On the other hand, right-hander Brusdar Graterol – who hasn’t pitched since the 2024 World Series – remains sidelined through spring training as he returns from right labrum surgery. And right-hander Evan Phillips isn’t expected to return for several months after Tommy John surgery ended his season last June. But for the most part, healthy relievers have provided a glimpse of what it could look like this season.

“I don’t think there’s one way to run a bullpen,” Roberts said. “But when you have a guy like Edwin Díaz as your closer, I think it frees up the other guys. … I think it frees me up to get the matchups we need in the earlier rounds.”