CINCINNATI -- At one point this season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts proclaimed his "trust tree" of high-leverage bullpen arms to be as large as it had been in quite some time. But in the final two weeks before the postseason, his proverbial tree has grown far more bare.
The Dodgers lost hard-throwing right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, who had emerged as one of the team's most reliable relievers, to the 15-day injured list due to lower back discomfort before Monday's series opener against the Reds. Henriquez is not eligible to return during the regular season, but he could return for the postseason.
The loss of Henriquez came after Roberts acknowledged that the rehabbing Edwin Díaz could be pitching himself out of a postseason bullpen role if he does not show improvement in what could be his final rehab outing with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Wednesday.
Right-handers Paul Gervase and Bobby Miller were recalled from Triple-A to shore up the bullpen on Monday.
As the most important games of the year draw near, the Dodgers' bullpen situation is starting to feel similar to last year, when they had more questions than answers for piecing together the late innings.
Henriquez posted a 2.85 ERA through 60 innings, striking out 71 against 25 walks. He hit 103 mph or higher 17 times, more than any Major League pitcher not named Jacob Misiorowski (140 pitches) or Mason Miller (33 pitches). But Henriquez became more than just a hard thrower this year, developing the command and the confidence to be a leverage weapon for the Dodgers.
With Díaz on the IL as he deals with inflammation on the right side of his neck, the Dodgers have not had a set closer, although Tanner Scott has gotten the bulk of save situations. Henriquez established himself as not only part of the bridge to the ninth inning, but also as a legitimate option to close out games.
"He’s got just really electric stuff, and in the ninth inning that stuff plays," Roberts said earlier this month. "In all honesty, there’s four or five guys that I feel can finish a game. But yeah, Edgardo is certainly high up the rungs."
The Dodgers have not seen enough from Díaz on his rehab assignment -- which was initially expected to span just a couple of outings -- to bring him back to the bullpen, further complicating the leverage picture.
Through four outings with Oklahoma City, Díaz has allowed six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He has struggled mightily with his command, issuing seven walks against four strikeouts. The hope was that he could use the stint in the Minors to work on his mechanical issues, but it is unclear whether he has made much progress.
Accordingly, it's questionable whether the Dodgers can afford to carry this version of Díaz on the postseason roster.
"We have to go with our best pitchers, as far as performance, talent, all that stuff," Roberts said. "My bet is that he will be [on the postseason roster]. But again, there's got to be some kind of evidence or something for us, again, to sort of bet on. So my bet is yes, but we still got to see something."
Díaz is on his second IL stint of the year after having surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow in April. In the first season of his three-year, $69 million contract with the Dodgers, Díaz has recorded an 11.85 ERA and blown four of his 11 save opportunities.
Roberts has already said that Díaz is set to pitch in lower leverage, rather than return to the closer role, when he's activated. If Díaz can earn back the ninth inning -- or any leverage opportunities -- it would partially solve the Dodgers' growing bullpen problem. But it comes down to whether he can perform when called on.
"He needs to pitch better. It hasn't been good," Roberts said. "He's going to pitch on Wednesday, and so I guess we'll evaluate then. I think the world of him. The baseball card looks great. But it's like, where we're at, there's got to be something for us to be able to hang our hat on. And he knows that. He wants to pitch well."