Failed Raisel Iglesias pursuit officially kicks off Dodgers' search for new relievers

On Wednesday, the Braves re-signed closer Raisel Iglesias on a one-year, $16 million deal. Iglesias led the National League in games finished at 57, and even though he wasn't quite as dominant as he was in 2024 (3.21 ERA this season versus 1.95 in 2024), he's been one of the most consistent closers in baseball throughout his entire career, making it a no-brainer for the Braves to lock him up again.

Francys Romero reported following the signing that Iglesias had entertained offers from both the Dodgers and Blue Jays around the $16 million he ultimately got with the Braves, but he opted to stay in Atlanta.

There had been no previous reporting that the Dodgers were interested in Iglesias, but it stands to reason if there's also mutual interest between them and Devin Williams and loose links to Edwin Díaz. The Dodgers can't win 'em all, but they'll surely try to.

The offer the Dodgers made to Iglesias sets the tone for their bullpen revamp this offseason. If they had gotten him, $16 million would've made him the highest-paid reliever on LA's payroll by AAV. Dodgers brass has been firm that Tanner Scott will still get opportunities in high-leverage situations in 2026, but they're not going to take their chances.

Dodgers reportedly made $16 million offer to Raisel Iglesias before he re-signed with the Braves

Williams had an awful year with the Yankees, but if we're being charitable about it, there's more reason to believe that he's going to bounce back than stay that bad forever. The Dodgers are definitely banking on that.

The question becomes what kind of contract he's going to get in free agency. Something in the realm of their offer to Iglesias would be, while not ideal, easy for fans to swallow given Williams' many years of dominance with the Brewers. A multi-year deal at that kind of AAV is where it could get hairier after the failure of Scott's first of four years in LA.

The five years and $100 million that Díaz wants makes him a far more distant candidate for LA. The Dodgers already have a pretty old roster, and Díaz turns 32 right before Opening Day.

But the Iglesias pursuit signals that the Dodgers are already very active on the reliever market — even if they're moving in silence — and are willing to take a chance on even more high-spending deals despite the failures of Scott and Kirby Yates this season.