The New York Mets have gone from a scrappy underdog to a legitimate World Series contender, just three wins away from the 2024 National League pennant.
They’ve seen star production from the likes of Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso as well as breakout performances from Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias.
But one of their highest-paid players, closer Edwin Díaz, has had more mixed results. And Zachary Rymer of Bleacher Report is now urging the front office to trade him away in the offseason.
“Ordinarily, a trade of a closer who missed all of 2023 and who wasn’t great in 2024 would be a hard sell,” Rymer noted. “And in this case, we’re talking about a closer on a $ 102 million contract. However, the Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer deals from last year prove Mets owner Steve Cohen is amendable to eating a ton of money for the sake of maximizing returns in trades. And he should want to go to that well again with Díaz this winter.”
From 2018 to 2022, Díaz was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball, making the All-Star team twice in that span. In 2022, the season before he earned a five-year, $ 102 million deal from the Mets, he maintained a 1.31 ERA with 118 strikeouts and 32 saves in 49 games finished.
But then he missed all of 2023 after sustaining an injury while celebrating on the field at the World Baseball Classic. And he hasn’t looked quite the same since.
He finished 2024’s regular season with a 3.52 ERA and was relegated in and out of the Mets’ closer role. He has pitched only 3.5 innings in the postseason so far, giving up three earned runs to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series.
As such, it’s understandable that the Mets might look to move away from him this winter. But there are several factors that could make finding a trade partner a challenge.
“Committing $ 102 million to the 30-year-old was always risky, and the potential reward is clouded after a year in which both his fastball velocity and whiff rate were below his career norms,” Rymer added. “Díaz’s no-trade protection is indeed a variable in this scenario, but that alone shouldn’t stop the Mets from at least trying to offload him before his deal truly goes bad.”
If Cohen and the Mets are willing to pay down some of the money still owed to Díaz, as they did to move on from veteran pitchers Verlander and Scherzer in 2023, that could clear the path to a reset for both the player and team.
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