Edwin Díaz rejected the Mets’ one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer Tuesday as expected. The National League’s Reliever of the Year will continue to test the free agent market.
Photo Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Díaz, 31, went 6-3 with a 1.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and struck out 98 in 66 1/3 innings pitched this year. He saved 28 games in 31 tries. The Mets signed Díaz to a five-year, $102 million contract in 2022, but he opted out of the last two years and $38 million of that pact earlier this month.
If another team signs Díaz, the Mets will receive a 2026 compensatory draft pick after the fourth round. The team signing Díaz will lose a pick, with the round (likely second or third) depending on the club’s payroll.
Díaz told reporters last week that the odds of him returning to the Mets are “50-50.” The Blue Jays met with Diaz’s representatives last week. Some other clubs rumored to be interested include the Dodgers, Cubs, Orioles and Rangers.
In a bit of a surprise, four players accepted the QO:
- Gleyber Torres (Tigers)
- Trent Grisham (Yankees)
- Brandon Woodruff (Brewers)
- Shota Imanaga (Cubs)
Woodruff, specifically, is surprising—both in that he was offered and accepted. Woodruff will now make $32 million next year because he received a $10 million buyout after decline a mutual option for 2026. Jeff Passan reported earlier Tuesday that if the Brewers kept Woodruff, they’d likely try and trade Freddy Peralta more seriously.
