ORLANDO — Edwin Diaz is taking his trumpets to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers and the All-Star closer are in agreement on a deal, according to sources. Diaz, a stalwart stopper with the Mets since he was acquired in 2019, became a free agent in November after opting out of the final two years of the five-year $102 million contract he signed in 2022, the largest-ever contract for a reliever at the time.
The Athletic was the first to report Diaz’s deal.
The Mets were hoping to re-sign Diaz in an effort to build a super ‘pen. They signed right-hander Devin Williams to a three-year, $51 million contract last week, with much of the money deferred to allow salary to be allocated to Diaz. Ideally, the Mets wanted Williams to set up for Diaz, but the former Milwaukee Brewers and Yankees closer will now step into the role vacated by Diaz.
The club found out just how valuable he was when the Mets were forced to go without him.
While playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in March 2023, Diaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in a freak accident. He had just struck out the side to eliminate the Dominican Republic team, and his teammates surrounded him as he came off the mound, jumping in celebration. Somehow, Diaz got caught up in the middle and his knee came out from underneath him.
He underwent surgery the following day, and spent the rest of the season rehabbing. The Mets crumbled without him, trading the veterans at the deadline and failing to make the playoffs. Diaz worked his way back to the mound before the end of the season, but the club went the conservative route, opting to save him for 2024.
The injury was the subject of significant controversy, with fans, players and pundits alike arguing that it was too risky for teams to allow their players to participate in the WBC. However, Diaz said he would do it again. One of the enduring images of the tournament was his brother, right-hander Alexis, on the field in tears. It was the first time the two had been on the same field in years. Since their time together was cut short, the two are hoping to play in baseball’s premier global event again this upcoming spring.
The Mets are losing a fan-favorite and a popular clubhouse figure. Since being traded from the Seattle Mariners in 2019, Diaz has posted an ERA of 2.92 with 144 saves in 332 appearances with the Mets. Diaz, who will be 32 next year, is coming off of a stellar season, having gone 6-3 with a 1.63 ERA — the second-lowest of his career — and 28 saves in 62 appearances. For his efforts, he was rewarded with his third trip to the MLB All-Star Game and his first since 2022, and was named Reliever of the Year for the third time.
A quintessential closer, Diaz owns two devastating swing-and-miss pitches, a high-90s four-seam fastball and a slider. Since 2022, his 14.84 strikeout-per-nine-innings rate has led all qualified relievers. Over the last two seasons, only two other qualified relievers have struck out hitters at a higher rate per nine innings, Mason Miller and Fernando Cruz.
Diaz is adept at getting out of jams with runners on base, even if those jams are of his own creation. Since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2023 season, Diaz has stranded 80.3% of runners on base. Since 2022, he’s left 83.4% on base, the third-best rate in baseball.
Traded from the Seattle Mariners in 2019 along with former second baseman Robinson Cano, Diaz struggled his first season in New York before returning to his elite ways the following season. In 2020, he started using the song “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet as his walk-out song again, which became an instant hit with the fans when they were allowed back in the ballpark in 2021. Timmy Trumpet even played the song live as Diaz ran out of the Citi Field bullpen for a save opportunity in 2022. It went viral, helping popularize the song and Diaz himself, whose star rose rapidly as he saved 32 games for the second year in a row.
The number of longtime players beloved by fans is dwindling. Brandon Nimmo was traded to the Texas Rangers in a stunning deal for Marcus Semien last month, and Pete Alonso could leave in free agency.
Should the Mets decide they still need another closer-type of reliever in the back end of the bullpen, they can pivot to right-hander Robert Suarez, or right-hander Pete Fairbanks. A multi-year contract for a nearly 35-year-old pitcher probably isn’t palatable, so if that’s the case, the club might prefer going the trade route to continue building the bullpen.
