Edwin Díaz responds to Steve Cohen comments,

PHOENIX — Dodgers nearer Edwin Díaz has been settling in with his new workforce at Camelback Ranch, but in his first feedback to the media since camp opened, he confronted questions about his previous workforce.

In an interview with workforce broadcaster Howie Rose on Friday, New York Mets proprietor Steve Cohen called Díaz’s choice to a signal a three-year, $69-million contract with the Dodgers “perplexing.” Though Díaz was caught off guard by the feedback, he said Saturday he has no unhealthy emotions toward the Mets or their followers.

“It’s a market and I was a free agent, so I got the chance to talk with everyone,” Díaz said. “I think the Dodgers did a great job of recruiting me, so at the end of the day, I chose to be here. I have a lot of respect for the Mets organization — players, staff, ownership — they treated me pretty good. I don’t have anything bad to say about them. But at the end of the day, I’m here, so this is a new journey for me. I’m happy to be with the Dodgers, so let’s see how it goes.”

Díaz participated in the Dodgers’ first day of official exercises Friday, throwing a clean bullpen session without any hiccups. Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts likes what he has seen from the three-time MLB reliever of the 12 months.

“I’m very excited to get to know him more,” Roberts said. “Just a great teammate, really good person, loves baseball, a good heartbeat. You can tell he knows what he needs to do to get ready. [He’s] likable, and at the end of the day, he chose to be here, so that’s something that is of a lot of value for us. High character. I’m really looking forward to getting to know him.”

One factor that attracted Díaz to the Dodgers was the workforce’s tradition.

“That’s how they’ve been so good,” Díaz said. “They have a really good clubhouse… They’ve got different personalities in the clubhouse. They’ve got different players from different countries, and they all get together and have fun, so that’s something good.”

Part of having a melting pot of a clubhouse means lacking some key ingredients for an prolonged period of spring training. The Dodgers could have a number of gamers collaborating in the World Baseball Classic, including Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith and Díaz.

Each major leaguer competing in the WBC runs the risk of an injury that may curtail their season, one thing Díaz is aware of all too properly. Moments after placing out the facet to ship Puerto Rico to the quarterfinals in 2023, he sustained a season-ending knee injury.

Despite that unhealthy expertise, Díaz told reporters it was a no-brainer when he was requested to compete for his nation again.

“It wasn’t in my mind,” Díaz said of the injury. “I have the chance to play in front of my family in Puerto Rico. It was an easy decision.”

Díaz’s fearlessness is one trait Roberts admires in his new nearer. Díaz confronted Roberts’ squad in the 2024 National League Championship Series, in which the Dodgers managed only two hits off him across 51/3 innings, scoring no runs.

“He’s not scared,” Roberts said. “When he’s in the game, it’s an uncomfortable at-bat for lefties and righties, and when we did see him in the postseason, [we were] really trying to keep him out of the game, knowing that he can go one, two, even three innings. That he’s done against us in the postseason; [he’s] just a great competitor.”

Díaz ought to stabilize the back end of the bullpen. Since bidding farewell to Kenley Jansen after the 2021 season, the Dodgers haven’t had a nearer tally more than 25 saves in a season. Over his nine-year profession, Díaz has 253 saves.

With Díaz anticipated to be the common ninth-inning man, Roberts seems ahead to having more flexibility when managing his bullpen.

“It’s huge,” Roberts said. “I don’t think that there’s one way to manage a ’pen, but when you have a guy like Edwin Díaz as your closer, I do think it frees up other guys, myself included. Not having to worry about matchups for the ninth, I think that’s freeing for me and allows for getting the matchups we need in the prior innings.”

Dodgers staying cautious with Graterol

One key reduction weapon Roberts hopes to have in his armory is Brusdar Graterol. The hard-throwing right-hander underwent surgical procedure on the labrum in his proper shoulder shortly after the 2024 World Series and hasn’t pitched in a sport since.

Roberts offered an update on Graterol’s recovery Saturday.

“He’s in the picture, but I do think that coming back from the shoulder, it’s going to take some time,” Roberts said. “He’s in the bucket of, we’re going to slow-play him. I think yesterday he threw off the mound, and the velocity is not near where it’s going to be, so I think that it’s a slow progression. I just don’t know where that puts us, but it’s a slow process.”

Staff author Anthony Solorzano contributed to this report.