Díaz (neck) tosses scoreless inning in Triple-A rehab outing

LOS ANGELES -- It may not be long until the Dodgers are able to find out what Edwin Díaz can do for them down the stretch.

Díaz began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday, tossing a scoreless inning against the Round Rock Express. The Dodgers' closer is nearing the end of his second stint on the injured list this season, this time due to neck inflammation.

In the first season of a three-year, $69 million contract, Díaz has yet to perform like the lights-out arm who was the top reliever on the free-agent market this past offseason. The Dodgers were hopeful that loose bodies in his right elbow -- which were surgically removed in late April -- were behind his early-season struggles, but he did not look much better after being activated from the IL at the end of July.

Díaz has recorded an 11.85 ERA (18 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings) in 16 appearances this season. He has four blown saves in 11 opportunities after just blowing three saves in 31 chances last season with the Mets.

"It’s a little bit frustrating because I know the pitcher I am," Díaz said last month. "I know when I'm good, I can do really good things. I'm working to come back in that form."

Earlier in the season, Díaz's diminished velocity was a red flag. After he returned from elbow surgery, Dodgers pitching coaches identified his arm angle -- which has been 15 degrees on average this year, compared with 19 degrees last year -- as the main mechanical issue for him to address.

Díaz spent his rehab at Dodger Stadium working on his delivery, and now he has progressed to putting it into practice in a game setting. Here's everything to know about Díaz's rehab assignment:

How did he perform?
Díaz threw 16 pitches (seven strikes) across one inning, recording one strikeout and one walk. He averaged 96 mph on the five fastballs he threw, which is right in line with his season average.

None of the fastballs Díaz threw were swung at. He threw 11 sliders, of which three were swung at, but did not generate any misses. Díaz's whiff rates have steeply dropped off this season compared to 2025, falling from 39.4% to 17.1% on his fastball and from 44% to 27.5% on his slider.

What are they saying?
In the past week, manager Dave Roberts had been encouraged by the progress Díaz made while facing hitters in L.A. He viewed Sunday as a solid step forward for Díaz.

"It was good," Roberts said. "I'm sure Edwin's going to want to get back here as soon as possible. But I'm probably more on the ‘Get another one and then get back with us’ [approach]."

What's next?
If Díaz indeed makes one more rehab outing, that could come as soon as Tuesday, likely also with Oklahoma City. The Comets play at home vs. Sugar Land this week.

What else?
When Díaz returns to the Dodgers, he is expected to get some outings in lower leverage rather than immediately slot back into the closer role. The goal is for him to reclaim the ninth inning, but unlike the previous time he was activated from the IL, he will be eased back into action.

Tanner Scott has gotten the majority of save situations with Díaz sidelined, converting 21 of 24 opportunities.