Edwin Diaz, RHP
Player Data: Age: 25, B/T: R/R
Primary Stats: 66 G, 58 IP, 2-7, 5.59 ERA, 15 HR, 22 BB, 99 SO, 1.379 WHIP
Advanced Stats: 73 ERA+, 4.51 FIP, -0.6 WAR
Free Agent: 2023
2019 Salary: $607 K
Grade: F
2019 Review
Where to start with Mr. Diaz…
After a 2018 season that saw Edwin Diaz achieve so much- an AL-leading 57 saves, an eye-popping 1.96 ERA, a spot on the AL All-Star team- the Mets ended up receiving so little from the righthander in 2019.
When Diaz initially came to New York in the months leading up to the 2019 season- in a deal that also brought along veteran infielder and Seattle Mariners teammate Robinson Cano– both fans and the front office alike believed that Diaz’s dominance from the previous season would roll over, and that he would ultimately provide stability to the back of the Mets’ bullpen. Diaz would shut the door on games started by any of the five members of a stacked Mets rotation, and the Mets would rarely have to worry about wasting away what should be W’s.
The chips, however, just did not fall in that way.
Diaz’s 2019 started off on a positive note. He earned saves in each of the first two games of the season, and went on to earn six more over the course of the next month. Come end of April, however, Diaz stumbled; he suffered losses in two consecutive appearances before eventually righting the ship in the first three weeks of May.
By the end of May, inconsistency began to rear its ugly head. On May 25, Diaz blew his first save of the year against the Detroit Tigers-and swiftly followed this with another blown opportunity on May 29 against the Dodgers.
In June, Diaz earned his fair share of saves- four to be exact, placing him at a total of seventeen- but continued to demonstrate a now-concerning inconsistency, racking up two more blown saves (and losses) while his ERA ballooned to 4.78. By the time July had rolled around, Diaz’s record boasted four blown saves, one win, and five losses. The runs continued to rack up as well, resulting in a 5.14 ERA by the end of the month.
July mirrored June for the closer, as he earned an additional seven saves- while also tallying another L and another blown save. August was relatively quiet for the righty, as he racked up just one save in ten appearances. The runs, however, remained an issue; it was becoming increasingly clear that Diaz’s former out pitch, his slider, now looked like a beach ball to hitters at the plate. Said hitters were not simply knocking him around- they were knocking him out the park. By August’s end, the closer had inexplicably allowed a total of twelve homeruns in 50.2 IP.
Diaz’s incredibly disappointing 2019 ended as one would expect, with two blown saves and a loss in September- accompanied by six additional earned runs in just 7.1 innings, saddling him with an ugly 5.59 ERA for the season.
2020 Outlook
It’s hard to be encouraged by anything that we witnessed from Edwin Diaz in 2019. However, if there’s one key to a turnaround for the closer in 2020, it’s that one pitch- the slider. If Diaz can find a way to bring back the bite in that pitch, the sharp break that struck out 124 batters in 2018, he could potentially give himself a chance to prove that he can be an asset- rather than a hindrance- to the Mets going forward.
