Dodgers’ delay in naming new Edwin Díaz injury is more than a little fishy

The Los Angeles Dodgers are back at the drawing board with Edwin Díaz. Upon his return from elbow surgery, Díaz has been a disaster. Over the past week, Dave Roberts sounded exhausted while talking about the concern, and it finally reached a head on Tuesday afternoon.

The Dodgers randomly placed Díaz on the 15-day IL, and the timing was suspicious. While Díaz has been awful since his return on July 29, the Dodgers haven't given any indication that he was hurt. Even after giving up three runs against the Colorado Rockies on Monday, there were no immediate indicators that Roberts and Co. were concerned about an injury.

Then, shortly before Tuesday's game, Díaz was back on the IL. What made the move even stranger is that the Dodgers didn't immediately provide a reason for the move. It was eventually revealed that Díaz is dealing with neck inflammation.

The old adage applies here. If it looks like a horse, smells like a horse, and walks like a horse, it's a horse. In this case, if it looks like phantom injury, smells like a phantom injury, and reads like a phantom injury, it's a phantom injury.

One thing is also clear, the Dodgers simply couldn't move forward as if nothing was wrong. Díaz has tossed just under eight innings upon his return and been tagged for 11 runs on 16 hits and five walks. The definition of insanity would have been Roberts continuing to trot Díaz out there with the hope that he would just magically find his dominance again.

While it sounds like grasping at straws, Roberts seems to believe this diagnosis will be the first step toward Díaz getting back on track.

“I think this is something where Edwin -- I don’t know if he’s encouraged -- but there’s just knowing that there could be a reason why his stuff has not been playing like it has in the past,” Roberts said. “With the neck, obviously, there are ties to the whole body. I’m personally excited that we can find something that’s going on.”

As much as Roberts is trying to talk his way out of this latest mess for Díaz's run in LA, it sure sounds like the Dodgers don't know what else to do. If it works and Díaz is a difference maker in October, no one would bat an eye. Reality suggests there will be a different outcome, however.

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