Dave Roberts explains why Edwin Daz remains Dodgers closer (for now): Need to show him that I believe

Dave Roberts has walked this tightrope before.Managing big-name closers at the back end of his bullpen.Watching them struggle with performances far below expectations.

Having to figure out how much leash he is willing to extend, and when the time for a change is ultimately needed.“Every year, when somebody’s struggling, [people are] always like, ‘You gotta take them out.You gotta move the role,’” Roberts said in an interview with The California Post on Friday.

“But, no matter what, I have to be the person that doesn’t overreact.I have to wait longer than everyone wants to.

I have to.”That, indeed, is the position in which Roberts finds himself once again this season, trying to manage $69 million offseason signing Edwin Díaz through what has become a prolonged 2026 slump.On Thursday, the veteran closer who was hand-picked this offseason by the club to address its ninth-inning problems instead delivered nothing but further late-game headaches.He squandered a two-run lead in the Dodgers’ 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.He blew his third save opportunity since returning from a three-month absence following a late April elbow procedure.

He saw his ERA rise over 11.00 and calls for his demotion from the closer role grow deafening.On Friday night, Díaz returned to the mound and converted a save in the Dodgers’ 3-1 win, but not before loading the bases on a hit-batter and two walks and needing clutch defensive plays behind him from Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández to escape.“It wasn’t pretty.I watched the inning too,” Roberts said afterward.

“But he found a way to make a pitch when he needed to.”Thus, his tenure as Dodgers closer will live to see another day.Really, Díaz’s spot in the ninth was not under imminent threat, at least not yet.In the wake of Thursday’s loss, Roberts made that much clear with a defiant answer when asked about a possible switch.While the skipper cited Díaz’s track record for the decision –– the 32-...