Turns out, the loose bodies that Edwin Díaz had surgically removed from his elbow this week had been there a while.
As in, since the verystart of his professional career.
Speaking to the media Monday for the first time since having an elbow procedure last week that will sideline him until the second half of the season,Díaz said that he’s had loose bodiesin his elbow “since I think I signed as a professional player back in 2012.”
For most of his 10-year MLB career, however, the issue hadn’t bothered the three-time All-Star.
It was only this season that the problem finally reared its ugly head.
During the opening weeks of the campaign ––Díaz’s first with the Dodgersafter signing a three-year, $69 million contract –– the closer’s fastball velocity had been below average, even for a veteran who has dealt with slow starts in recent years.
At first, he said, he believed the problem was with his knee, which he also had surgically repaired in 2023 when he suffered a torn patellar tendon celebratinga win in that year’s World Baseball Classic.
Thus, after suffering a three-run blown save against the Rangers on April 10, the Dodgers stayed away from him for the next eight days while he worked through that issue in side sessions and bullpens.
By the time he returned to action on April 19 against the Rockies in Denver, Díaz insisted he was once again “feeling great” and expecting an uptick in his stuff.
Instead, he suffered a disastrous outing, failing to retire any of the four batters he faced while bottoming out with a fastball velocity of 92.8 mph (one of the 10 slowest heaters of his career).
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
