On Wednesday, Brodie Van Wagenen spoke to reporters at the GM Meetings once again and did not give an answer in either direction when asked if Edwin Diaz would be the team’s closer in 2020.
“We don’t play our first game until the end of March,” Van Wagenen said as detailed by Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I think the combination of Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia and Seth Lugo and Justin Wilson, we’ve got four guys that have closed games at the major league level.”
If you had asked the question of Diaz being the closer after the team acquired him last offseason, you would’ve gotten an immediate answer of yes.
Now, though, it appears it’s no certainty and with the team pursuing bullpen help, it is fair to wonder whether the team might sign someone that can eventually take over that role on a more permanent basis.
Seth Lugo took over the closer role late last season as Diaz proved to be ineffective. Lugo had a 2.70 ERA, 0.900 WHIP, and 2.70 FIP in 2019 while Diaz had a 5.59 ERA, 1.379 WHIP, and 4.51 FIP.
On Tuesday, Van Wagenen also spoke about the matter during his appearance on WFAN with Mike Francesa in which he referred to Diaz as a “crucial part” to this team’s success in 2020.
“He needs to be on our club and pitch in high leverage situations,” Van Wagenen said. “Our projection systems still believe in Diaz’s talent and we know we’ve got a guy who can rebound and be an All-Star type performer for us. We expect him to get those outs in the ninth inning.”
So one day after labeling Diaz as their expected closer, he gave a more convoluted answer about the topic.
It will certainly be a question that gets asked more often this offseason and Van Wagenen’s response to it each time is something to keep an eye on.
