![]() ![]() And lastly, I thank the writers for giving me the award for Good Guy. Cohen as well as Eppler and Showalter “for trusting me, supporting me.” He added: “I thank all the fans for their support also. The closer, smiling some more, thanked the Mets owner Steven A. Díaz said that the Mets phoned his agent within a couple of weeks of their elimination in the playoffs by San Diego and that the talks went smoothly.ĭíaz said what matters most to him regarding the trailblazing nature of his landmark deal is “thinking I can help all the guys coming behind me.” He added, “I keep pushing the value of relievers up, and I feel really happy about that.” ![]() Given the mutual desire to renew their partnership, Eppler and Díaz said the deal came together quickly. The latter was the second-best rate in major league history over a full season, behind Aroldis Chapman’s 17.7 in 2014.ĭíaz also set a Mets record in 2022 by reaching 100 strikeouts in 52⅓ innings pitched, which also trails only Chapman’s 2014 season for the major league record. He led all relief pitchers in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (17.1). And his impact goes beyond his ability on the mound.”ĭíaz was a strikeout machine in 2022 with a whiff rate of 50.2 percent (235 batters faced, 118 strikeouts), the third-highest mark in major league history. “When we think about building teams that can really compete, having the type of elite talent he possesses for a game’s most important moment is critical. “Edwin has everything we look for in a closer,” Billy Eppler, the Mets’ general manager, said in formally announcing the deal Thursday. Díaz has racked up 64 saves over the past two seasons (in 73 opportunities), finished 100 games and given his managers, Buck Showalter (in 2022) and Luis Rojas (2021), enormous comfort in the final innings. The reverberations of that day continue to ripple out more from Díaz than from the marquee name in the deal (Canó) or the best prospect (Kelenic). “So I feel really happy, really blessed, and I can’t wait to start the season again.” “I started laughing because I signed this past week, and four years ago I was getting traded to here, and now I’m signing the biggest deal for a reliever,” Díaz said. He said he learned that it was the fourth anniversary of a seven-player trade that sent him, infielder Robinson Canó and cash from Seattle to the Mets for a package that included Jay Bruce, an outfielder who last played in 2021, and outfielder Jarred Kelenic, a onetime hot prospect who has yet to find his footing with the Mariners. Not only is he the proud recipient of a five-year, $102 million contract - the richest ever for a relief pitcher - but he also signed the deal with the team he hoped would retain him and in the city where he wanted to remain.Īnd as Díaz, the All-Star Mets closer, scanned social media before a video call with reporters on Thursday to officially announce the deal, he found one more thing to brighten his day. Edwin Díaz has many reasons to smile this winter. ![]()
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