After his last failure, Edwin Díaz of the Mets is in a flexible role.
With Edwin Díaz’s disastrous save against Miami, the closer’s position with the New York Mets has become more flexible.
With Edwin Díaz’s disastrous save against Miami, the closer’s position with the New York Mets has become ambiguous. Three of the last four save opportunities have been lost by the two-time All-Star, the most recent of which came when he blew a four-run lead in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 10-inning loss. Carlos Mendoza, manager of the Mets, stated on Sunday that “he’ll do whatever it takes to help this team win a baseball game, whether that’s pitching in the seventh, eighth, and ninth, losing, or winning.” “It’s up to me and the rest of us to decide where I want to use him as the game goes on.
Díaz is in the second season of a $102 million, five-year contract. After allowing four home runs in eight and a half innings, he has a 10.80 ERA over his previous eight appearances. The right-hander, who is 30 years old, has a 5.50 season ERA. “I’m up for anything,” Díaz declared on Saturday. “I wish to support my team in winning. That is my biggest concern. I’m fine with them talking to me about that if that’s what they want to do. In any situation they put me in, all I want to do is win games. With 62 innings pitched and 32 games saved, Díaz struck out 118 batters to lead the Mets to 101 victories and an NL wild card place in 2022.
In the midst of celebrating his team’s triumph with Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, he tore his right patellar tendon and missed the entire season. Mendoza remarked, “Edwin is ultimately a big part of this team.” Edwin Díaz needs to be himself for us. He’s going through a difficult time right now. Our task is to help him regain his bearings. Mendoza stated that after experiencing symptoms for the previous two days, slugger J.D. Martinez would not play on Sunday due to illness. Due to sickness, outfielder Brandon Nimmo was out for two games earlier this week.
