New Los Angeles Dodgers nearer Edwin Díaz was included on the listing of MLB Top-10 Relief Pitchers Right Now heading into the 2026 season.
The right-hander was ranked because the third-best reduction pitcher for this 12 months by MLB Network’s The Shredder. It is his first time on the listing since 2024, when he positioned sixth for relievers.
MLB Network host Brian Kenny additionally included Díaz in his private rankings (fifth), and analyst Mike Petriello has him because the No. 4 reduction pitcher.
Boston Red Sox nearer Aroldis Chapman was ranked because the No. 1 reduction pitcher going into the 2026 season. He’s adopted by Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres, Díaz, the Cleveland Guardians’ Cade Smith, Andrés Muñoz of the Seattle Mariners, the Red Sox’s Garrett Whitlock, Matt Strahm of the Kansas City Royals, the Padres’ Adrian Morejon, Josh Hader of the Houston Astros and the Padres’ Jason Adam.
Key components that The Shredder takes into consideration when compiling its positional rankings embody previous efficiency, superior stats and conventional numbers, in addition to evaluation by the MLB Network analysis staff.
The Dodgers final had a consultant in The Shredder’s top-10 rankings for reduction pitchers in 2024, when Evan Phillips positioned fourth. Tanner Scott (No. 7) and Kirby Yates (No. 8) had been included in final 12 months’s rankings earlier than they signed with the Dodgers, and Blake Treinen was fell in the just missed category.
The Dodgers signed Díaz to a three-year, $69 million contract that features greater than $13 million in deferrals and a $9 million signing bonus. His common annual worth of $23 million is the very best for a reduction pitcher in MLB historical past.
Díaz is coming off a dominant 2025 season with the New York Mets that noticed him acquire 28 saves to associate with a 1.63 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. He earned a 3rd profession All-Star Game choice and was voted the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year for a second time.
Díaz is now set to grow to be the Dodgers’ first devoted nearer since Kenley Jansen in 2021, and it’s a task that he takes very significantly.
“Pitching in the ninth is a big responsibility because the ball is in your hand for the last three outs of the game,” Díaz stated throughout his introductory press convention with the Dodgers.
“I feel they’re the hardest three outs of a recreation. Personally, I take it good and simple. As the final man, I all the time go batter-by-batter, pitch-by-pitch. I don’t suppose a lot about finishing the inning, as a result of plenty of issues can occur in a single inning.
“So personally, I prefer to take it simple and make pitches. At the tip of the day, if I get my job carried out, the staff might be in an excellent place. If I don’t get my job carried out, we’re in hassle. So each time I’ve the prospect to pitch, I all the time suppose I’ll win. That’s how I take it.
“If I don’t have a good result that night, I flush it right away and the next day I come ready to go again. That’s how I think I’ve been able to perform. Whatever happens on the mound that day, even if it’s good, or if it’s bad, I just flush it right away and come the next day ready to go again.”
MLB Top-10 Relief Pitchers Right Now for 2026
| Rank | The Shredder | Mike Petriello |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox) | Mason Miller (Padres) |
| 2 | Mason Miller (Padres) | Jhoan Duran (Phillies) |
| 3 | Edwin Díaz (Dodgers) | Cade Smith (Guardians) |
| 4 | Cade Smith (Guardians) | Edwin Díaz (Dodgers) |
| 5 | Andrés Muñoz (Mariners) | Josh Hader (Astros) |
| 6 | Garrett Whitlock (Red Sox) | Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox) |
| 7 | Matt Strahm (Royals) | Andrés Muñoz (Mariners) |
| 8 | Adrian Morejon (Padres) | Griffin Jax (Rays) |
| 9 | Josh Hader (Astros) | Devin Williams (Mets) |
| 10 | Jason Adam (Padres) | Grant Taylor (White Sox) |
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