Edwin Diaz has so far managed to be exactly what he hoped for, to be the stabilizing force in the closer role for a Mets bullpen that has struggled thus far in 2019.
However, Diaz has been doing this while clearly not being at his best and Mickey Callaway thinks he knows what his issues revolve around so far, as detailed by Tim Healey of Newsday.
“It’s just throwing the ball over the heart of the plate doesn’t seem to work most of the time against major-league hitters. All those balls that are getting hit hard are right down the heart of the plate. The strikeout numbers are there [42 percent of Diaz’s batters], so I’m not concerned about that. He just needs to keep the ball out of the center of the plate a little bit more.”
Dave Eiland is also very aware of his struggles so far to command his pitches, but admits that it has really not hurt him and is not concerned in the slightest.
“He’s not at his best yet, and he’s still doing very good. It’s early, it’s a new league. People need to take into account, I don’t know if he was the centerpiece of that trade, but he was a huge part of that trade. And now he’s coming in here and he’s trying to be really good. I have no concerns about him.”
Diaz, 25, has appeared in seven games (5 2/3 innings) in 2019 and has notched five saves while having a 1.29 ERA, 1.235 WHIP, 2.42 FIP, and 10 strikeouts (15.9 SO/9).
Last season, Diaz made the All-Star team for the first time in his career with the Seattle Mariners while recording a major league-high 57 saves.
The Mets will control the right-hander for three years after this one, in which he is currently making the league minimum. After this season, he will have three seasons of arbitration before hitting free agency at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
