In Wednesday night’s game, we saw something from Edwin Diaz that has been rare from him in a Mets uniform — dominance. Was it because he was wearing #21 and channeling his inner Roberto Clemente? Maybe.

But it’s more than that.

As Mets fans, we know the dirty, great stuff that Diaz has in his arsenal. We know that Diaz — not Robinson Cano — was the real highlight of the blockbuster trade with the Mariners. The Mets acquired him after he had a career year, ending the 2018 season with a 1.96 ERA in 73.1 innings. He had 57 saves, which led the league at the time (and why it made sense for him to come in as the Mets closer). He held a 3.5 WAR which placed him second for a reliever in a single season since 2005. If that wasn’t enough, he had struck out 15.2 and walked just 2.1 per nine innings. Oh, and he was an All-Star.

Mets fans know all of that. We know how great he was with the Mariners. We can acknowledge that he can be a great closer and that he does have the stuff to do so.

The issue is, we just have not really seen him do it in a Mets uniform. To come off a 2018 season like that, to a 2019 season, where, if graded, he would’ve definitely received an F, is a quick and steep fall. His 1.96 ERA became a 5.59 ERA. His 57 saves became less than half of that, as he ended the 2019 season with just 25 saves. His 3.5 WAR became a 0.2 WAR and ranked him 138th among relievers with at least 30 innings pitched.

There have just been so many games where he blew it. The 2019 season for Diaz was just such a horrific one. Because of this, it is still too early to put full trust into him. Mets fans are scarred… and they have a right to be.

Now, Diaz has been looking sharper so far in this 2020 season. He too was frustrated by his 2019 season (who wouldn’t be) and made adjustments during the offseason to better succeed in 2020. And it’s worked for the most part.

As of right now, Diaz holds a 1.89 ERA for the season. If you just look at the 16 games since August 1, his ERA is lower than that, coming in at just 1.08 — which is fantastic, there is no denying that. In addition, he currently has a 18/47 K/9 and an under .200 BAA, all of which is also great, and does show how good he is and can be, if he stays consistent, which is something that is still to be seen. I do have to note though, that he does still have more blown saves (4) than saves (3) so far this year.

Diaz’s 2019 season continues to weigh heavily on Mets fans, and rightfully so. Success in a shortened 2020 season is not going to make that fully disappear. Fans are still going to be worried when Diaz comes in for the save and there’s a man on first. That likely will not go away until Diaz can show consistency in a Mets uniform. However, this does not take away from the dominance we have seen him have in the past in another uniform. That dominance just needs to not only come back, but stay.

It is possible to acknowledge that Diaz is a good pitcher, while also not trusting him yet.