Apr 11, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman before a game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Dodgers Predicted to Steal Padres Star in Blockbuster Free Agent Move

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By Nelson Espinal | Last updated Nov 28, 2025 2:30 PM ET

The most obvious area for improvement for the Los Angeles Dodgers is the bullpen, a group that struggled during the regular season, causing manager Dave Roberts to stretch his starters to avoid relying too much on relievers in the postseason.

Los Angeles, despite winning consecutive World Series titles, is aiming for a three-peat. If they want to make another deep playoff run, the Dodgers will need a new group of relievers, including a star closer.

In the free agent market, there are a few quality, established closers, though San Diego Padres longtime closer Robert Suarez stands out as one of the more consistent arms whom the Dodgers will certainly monitor. The Athletic's Andy McCullough expects the Dodgers to bring in Suarez.

"'Need' is a relative term for a club coming off consecutive championships, so let’s go with the softer, less pressing, more optionality-friendly usage of 'would like to.' The Dodgers would like to improve their outfield and find a closer," McCullough wrote on The Athletic.

"The team would prefer to get younger around the diamond, although that is a hard thing to accomplish through free agency. Tucker would be an excellent fit as the World’s Best Paid No. 5 Hitter, but the Dodgers may prefer to just drive up the price for someone else.

"Same story with Edwin Díaz: do the Dodgers really want to enter another long-term pact with a reliever after watching Tanner Scott combust in 2025? Of course, Díaz has a much more accomplished resume than Scott.

"But so does Suarez, and he’ll likely cost less, for fewer years, than Díaz. A splash — or, really, multiple splashes — is always possible for the Ohtani Era Dodgers, but let’s keep it more reasonable, for the purposes of this exercise."

Suarez has made two straight All-Star teams, and last season, he achieved a career-high 40 saves, demonstrating that although he is 34 years old, he is still on the rise and should be able to continue performing at a high level in the coming years.

He has a 2.91 ERA over his four seasons in the majors, racking up 5.8 bWAR, a high figure for a reliever.

The Dodgers were let down by Tanner Scott last season, who performed poorly after signing a big-money contract, but Los Angeles isn’t in a position to ease up and needs to keep investing in their bullpen.