Dodgers seek another back-end reliever. But will

LAS VEGAS — Last offseason, the Dodgers swung big in their offseason pursuit of influence bullpen additions.

After largely placing out, however, they could now have to resolve if they’re comfy doing it again.

The Dodgers don’t have obtrusive wants this winter, but the back end of the bullpen is one space they will look to improve. Although the group has ample reduction depth, it has no clear-cut nearer as it enters 2026.

The main purpose why: Tanner Scott’s struggles after touchdown a profitable four-year, $72-million pact last winter.

Scott’s signing represented the second-largest contract, by assured money, the Dodgers had ever given to a reduction pitcher (only behind the five-year, $80 million deal nearer Kenley Jansen obtained in 2017). It was a high-risk, high-reward transfer that, at least in Year 1, rapidly felt like a bust.

Scott posted a 4.74 ERA in the common season, transformed only 23 of his 33 save alternatives, and didn’t pitch in the postseason (in half because of an abscess incision process he underwent in the National League Division Series).

The Dodgers’ other big reliever acquisition last winter, Kirby Yates, suffered a related destiny, posting a 5.23 ERA on a one-year, $13-million deal before accidents also knocked him out of postseason competition.

Scott will be back next 12 months, and is one of a number of veteran reduction arms the membership is hopeful will make enhancements. Still, for a group vying for a third straight World Series title, including a more established nearer stays of curiosity.

The query now: Will they be prepared to do so on another long-term deal? Or will last 12 months’s failed signings make them more hesitant to traverse that same path again?

It won’t take long to start discovering out.

Already at this week’s normal managers’ conferences at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the Dodgers have expressed curiosity in two-time All-Star Devin Williams, according to people with data of the state of affairs not approved to converse publicly.

The 31-year-old right-hander had a down 12 months with the New York Yankees (4.79 ERA, albeit with 18 saves in 22 alternatives), but his underlying metrics stay strong, and the Dodgers’ curiosity in him dates to last offseason when he was a commerce goal of the membership before finally touchdown in the Bronx.

With a mid-90s mph fastball and signature “Airbender” changeup that has made him one of the most prolific strikeout threats in all the majors over his seven-year profession (in which he has a 2.45 ERA and averages more than 14 strikeouts per 9 innings), he would considerably improve their ninth-inning outlook.

But the Dodgers’ pursuit of him, which was first reported by The Athletic, may come with a difficult resolution.

Williams is predicted to have a number of severe suitors this offseason. And, though some shops projected him to signal only a one-year deal upward of $20 million, others have him pegged to land a three- or four-year contract.

By nature, the Dodgers sometimes want shorter-term offers, notably in a function as risky as reduction pitching. If Williams does obtain longer-term presents from other golf equipment, it’s unclear if the Dodgers could be prepared to match.

The group may face related dynamics if it goes after other top relievers on the market, including three-time All-Star and top free-agent nearer Edwin Díaz (who also comes with the added complication of a qualifying offer that would value them a draft decide).

They may wind up having to once again weigh a high-risk, high-reward transfer.

And on Tuesday, normal supervisor Brandon Gomes struck a decidedly risk-averse tone in the wake of last 12 months’s failed signings.

“It’s one of those things that, I don’t think it’s a ‘need,’” Gomes said of the group’s curiosity in making another splashy reliever acquisition. “But it could be a nice-to-have, depending on how it all plays out.”

There are other options, of course.

Former Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Pete Fairbanks is one doubtlessly shorter-term goal some in the industry see as a match in Los Angeles, after racking up 75 saves with a 2.98 ERA over the last three seasons.

Former Angels and Atlanta Braves right-hander Raisel Iglesias is doubtlessly another, after amassing 96 saves with a 2.62 ERA over the last three years, thanks to a mid-90s mph fastball and swing-and-miss changeup that have stored him productive even at age 35.

There are other acquainted free-agent relievers accessible this winter, too, from former San Diego Padres nearer Robert Suarez to former St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets right-hander Ryan Helsley (who has also been linked to the Dodgers in commerce rumors in the past).

The Dodgers may also explore the offseason’s commerce market, or roll the cube with a current reduction corps that still consists of Scott (whose 2025 points had more to do with execution than high quality of stuff), Alex Vesia (who has established himself as one of the top left-handed relievers in the game) and Blake Treinen (another reliever the group sees as a bounce-back candidate after he struggled with accidents last season in the first season of a two-year, $22 million deal). They will also be getting Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips back from accidents, with Graterol on monitor to be prepared for the start of 2026 after lacking last 12 months with a shoulder drawback, and Phillips anticipated to return at some level in next season after present process Tommy John surgical procedure last June.

For now, however, the group’s search may rely on how the markets for Williams, Díaz and others develop — and whether or not it’s prepared to take another big bullpen swing on a longer-term deal.

“We have so many guys that are capable of closing and have done it in the past,” Gomes said, highlighting the group’s current returning bullpen arms. “But it’s one of the areas we’ll look to potentially add to the team.”

Skenes wins NL Cy Young Award, Yamamoto third in voting

Yoshinobu Yamamoto will always be remembered for his historic efficiency in the Dodgers’ postseason this past October.

On Wednesday, his regular-season efficiency acquired some deserved recognition, too.

While Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes received the National League Cy Young Award as anticipated, after main the majors with a 1.97 ERA in just his second MLB season, Yamamoto completed third for a marketing campaign in which he went 12-8, posted a 2.49 ERA over 30 begins, and anchored a Dodgers rotation that was ravaged by accidents for a lot of the season.

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez was the NL’s other Cy Young finalist, and was runner-up. Skenes garnered all 30 first-place votes while Sánchez acquired all 30 second-place votes. Yamamoto collected 16 third-place votes.

Yamamoto’s end was the best by a Dodgers pitcher since Julio Urías got here in third in 2022.

It caps a 12 months in which the 27-year-old Japanese star made important strides from his debut rookie MLB season (when he had a 3.00 ERA and was restricted to 18 begins because of a shoulder injury) and helped carry the Dodgers to a World Series with a 1.45 ERA in six playoff outings and a grueling 37 1/3 October innings — including back-to-back full video games in the NL Championship Series and World Series, before back-to-back victorious appearances in Games 6 and 7 of the Fall Classic.