ORLANDO, FL — The Winter Meetings didn’t have a flurry for the New York teams through the first two days until Tuesday morning which was when the Los Angeles Dodgers swooped in and stole Edwin Díaz from the New York Mets.
Díaz, 31, got the deal he wanted with a record average annual value (AAV) for a relief pitcher at $23 million per season. In total, the deal is three-years, $69 million, as the news was broken by The Athletic’s Mets beat reporter Will Sammon. The Mets offered three-years, $66 million with some deferrals.
The rich got a whole lot richer this week as the Dodgers signed the best closer in baseball Edwin Díaz to a three-year/$69 million contract – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
This will further shake the landscape of Major League Baseball and add even more firepower to the Dodgers. If it’s one thing the back-to-back World Series Champions may have been lacking, it was a closer.
That is no longer the case, as Hollywood is now the new home for one of the best flamethrowers in MLB.
It was a bad Tuesday for the Mets because they also had interest in Kyle Schwarber, but he went back to their NL East division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies, on a five-year/$150 million deal.
Kyle Schwarber re-signed with the Phillies on a five-year/$150 million shortly before the news of Edwin Díaz signing with the Dodgers on Tuesday morning at the Winter Meetings – Image Credit: Simon Lindenblatt/Latino Sports
As it goes, the trumpets are leaving Queens and will be going cross-country all the way to Los Angeles. The Puerto Rican right-hander looked as good as ever for the Mets this past season with an ERA of 1.66 in 61.1 innings, earning his third career All-Star nod. He saved 28 games, struck out 98 batters and had a bWAR of 3.0.
The recent signing of Devin Williams will help soften the blow, but the Mets have serious work to do to rebuild the bullpen.
“It’s a little bit of a surprise here. I always figured that the Mets would come back with the best offer here,” Mike Puma of the New York Post told Latino Sports on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings. “Diaz has been such a big part of this bullpen since he got here.”
“I think David Stearns has models of what he’s willing to do, and at some point he’s not going over those numbers. At some point, a line appears to have been drawn, and the Mets didn’t have the best offer.”
The question now becomes how will David Stearns and the Mets’ front office reshape the bullpen after Edwin Díaz’s departure to LA – Image Credit: George Napolitano/Latino Sports
On another note, the native of Naguabo, Puerto Rico, is also considering a return to Puerto Rico’s national team for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, despite the freak injury he suffered in the 2023 WBC. According to reports, Diaz is on Puerto Rico’s preliminary WBC roster, but that doesn’t guarantee that he is a lock to play.
Puerto Rico’s general manager Carlos Beltrán, a Mets franchise icon, still playing a role in the organization, weighed in on the WBC situation at the Winter Meetings:
“He’s on our roster. I count on him, but at the end of the day, you know, you have to wait and see what happens. You know, a lot of times, organizations might be a little bit opposed for those guys or those investments to play.”
He later added that, “in his heart, I know that he wants to play,” referring to Díaz’s desire to represent Puerto Rico.
Edwin Díaz talking with Latino Sports in Team Puerto Rico batting practice during the 2023 World Baseball Classic – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Beltrán also discussed Díaz signing with the Dodgers:
“Yeah, I mean it’s a guy that I look up to. It’s a guy that, in the years that I’ve been around the Mets, I’ve seen him be a great teammate, and a great person. He prepares extremely well and he dominates, so as a Met, you know there’s no doubt that some of the Mets fans probably are a little down right now. And, you know, as a Dodge fan, you gotta feel good about adding a guy like that, that you know that you can count on in the ninth inning.”
The final question is how the Mets will pivot in their bullpen construction? The best option on the free agent market is Venezuelan reliever Robert Suárez, who saved 40 games with the San Diego Padres last season.
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