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Dodgers’ Edwin Diaz attributes diminished velocity to annual slow start

April 12, 2026

LOS ANGELES – Edwin Diaz says he’s a slow starter. His fastball definitely is.

In his first six games with the Dodgers, Diaz’s fastball velocity has been 95.8 mph – a respectable average but one that would be the lowest for a calendar month at any point in his career if it holds. He averaged 97.2 mph over the full season in 2025 and 97.7 mph over his career.

“I think the last couple years, it’s been like that. It starts kind of slow. And then as the season goes, my velo comes back to normal,” Diaz said Sunday. “So I’m not worried about it. I feel good. I’m just competing.”

Diaz said he feels fine physically and thinks his mechanics are in order. He has no explanation for why this has become a part of his pattern since he missed the 2023 season with a devastating knee injury suffered during the World Baseball Classic that spring.

“After my injury in my knee, it’s been like that my last two years,” he said. “But as soon as the season starts going, I start feeling better and better and better. And my velo at the end of the year will be what I’m throwing always.”

There was no reason to be overly concerned during his first five appearances. Diaz converted his first four save opportunities, allowed just two hits and struck out 8 of the first 21 batters he faced.

But Friday night against the Texas Rangers, Diaz blew a three-run lead, giving up a two-run home run to Evan Carter and four hits in the ninth inning.

“I think I didn’t have my life on my fastball, and I couldn’t command my slider the way I wanted to,” he said Sunday. “I was feeling good. But I didn’t have my best stuff that day. That’s part of the game. I just flush it right away.

“I’m a competitor. So if I’m there, I don’t have my best stuff, I will keep competing, trying to give the team the chance to win, always. At the end of the day, if I didn’t do my job –– the other day, I didn’t get the save –– but I kept the game tight, and we ended up winning. So that’s something good. For me, my stuff, I was a little bit mad about me. But as a teammate, I’m happy because the team won.”

The blown save gave the Dodgers enough of a pause to give Diaz Saturday off. Before Sunday’s game, Manager Dave Roberts said it would be a “day-to-day” decision on Diaz’s availability. He called his concern level “below moderate, so it’s low” and said he is “confident” as of now that there is no physical issue behind the diminished velocity.

A year ago, Blake Snell developed a shoulder problem in spring training, tried to pitch through it to make a good impression with his new team and wound up never feeling right. He missed four months on the Injured List and still had a “cranky” shoulder through the postseason and into the winter. He has started this season on the IL to let the issue fully subside.

Roberts acknowledged that it was “a fair comp” to point out Diaz is in the same position of joining a new team. The pitching coaches have spoken to him about being honest and not trying to push his way through any physical issues, Roberts said.

“Players want to play. They want to perform. Sometimes they’re their worst enemy,” Roberts said. “I think that’s another reason why we’re kind of just, again, treading lightly is the word I’m using. Because you’ve got to respect that they want to be out there. But then we all kind of end up with the short straw if the player goes down.

“That’s kind of what happened with Blake. All the right intentions, but at that point, he would do it over again. Eddie’s trying to obviously make an impression, wants to be a part of things. We’re trying to kind of take that with a grain of salt.”

JT TORO

At age 41, Justin Turner is not quite ready to retire. The former Dodger posted on social media the news that he had signed to play for Los Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League.

Turner spent last season with the Chicago Cubs and hit just .219 with three home runs and a .602 OPS in limited playing time in his 17th big-league season.

Turner spent nine seasons with the Dodgers (2014-22), batting .296 with 156 home runs, an .865 OPS, two All-Star selections and one World Series championship (2020).

PITCHING PLANS

The Dodgers plan to start left-hander Justin Wrobleski on Monday, Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Tuesday, and Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday against the New York Mets this week.

The rotation gives each of the three starters six days’ rest between starts and backs Ohtani’s start up against the off day Thursday, giving him a chance to recover following his next two-way day.

UP NEXT

Mets (LHP David Peterson, 0-2, 6.14 ERA) at Dodgers (LHP Justin Wrobleski, 1-0, 4.00 ERA), Monday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM

Orange County Register

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Dodgers’ Edwin Diaz attributes diminished velocity to annual slow start

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