Morning Briefing: Edwin Díaz to Begin Throwing Off Mound Today

Good morning, Mets fans!

Mets closer Edwin Díaz, after suffering a torn right patellar tendon tear during the World Baseball Classic, will begin throwing off a mound today, according to Mets manager Buck Showalter.

The Mets bullpen will look completely different if Díaz truly makes a comeback this season. At the time of his injury, the Mets had traded for reliever Brooks Raley and signed David Robertson to seemingly give the Mets one of the best bullpens in baseball this season.

Latest Mets News

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Pete Alonso was the talking point of a trade between the Mets and Milwaukee Brewers. While Rosenthal says how close the deal had come to fruition was unclear, with one source saying they were in “field-goal range,” it remains a matter that Alonso’s future with the Mets came into serious question and will remain that way as the final year of his contract looms next season.

According to a Mets official who spoke with Rosenthal, on the contrary, conversations never accelerated to that level.

The Brewers, who had acquired Carlos Santana from the Pittsburgh Pirates instead of Alonso, rank last in OPS at first base and in the designated hitter position. The asking price for Alonso would have included at least one of the Brewers’ top five prospects.

Speaking of Alonso, he was drilled by a Bryce Elder pitch in the top of the fourth inning and was met with cheers from the Atlanta faithful.

The Mets fell to the Braves, 3-2, and fall nine games below .500. In Tylor Megill‘s start, he went 4 2/3 innings, surrendering eight hits, two walks and three earned runs to the Braves while striking out five. The Mets bullpen, which pitched the other 3 1/3 innings, gave up one hit, a walk and struck out three.

The two Mets runs came off the bat of a Daniel Vogelbach two-run homer that scored Francisco Lindor. The Mets had five hits on the night compared to the Braves’ nine.

Dennis Santana elected free agency, according to Tim Healey of Newsday. The Mets designated him for assignment three days ago.

John Curtiss had surgery on Tuesday to remove the loose body in his right elbow, according to Tim Britton of The Athletic.

“Be the best version of yourself. Don’t be anybody but you out there.” On Tuesday’s Visit Syracuse Pregame Show for the Syracuse Mets, Mike Vasil was on to talk about the bit of advice from David Peterson that has helped lead to his red-hot month of August.

The Florida Complex League semifinals have been set, with the top-ranked Mets facing the fourth-seeded FCL Braves. On the other end of the bracket, the second-seeded Yankees will play the third-seeded Pirates.

Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Latest MLB News

Major League Baseball has placed Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave as the league and authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate Franco’s alleged relationships with underaged girls, sources tell ESPN‘s Jeff Passan. Franco’s administrative leave has now been made official by MLB and the MLBPA. Franco, according to the release, is on leave “until further notice.” The league’s release notes that admin leave is not disciplinary. Franco will continue to be paid and accrue service on it.

MLB is investigating cyber-hate messages directed towards the 13-year-old nephew of Tommy Pham, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Pham had a verbal altercation with Padres fans over the weekend in San Diego and had recently had Mets owner Steve Cohen and Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo coming to his defense.

Also from Nightengale, the San Francisco Giants have just signed shortstop Paul DeJong to a major league contract. He joins the team Wednesday after being designated for assignment from the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays had acquired DeJong from the St. Louis Cardinals at the trade deadline.

The Chicago White Sox had announced that executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn have been relieved of their duties on Tuesday. The White Sox will begin their search for “a single decision maker” to lead baseball operations department and anticipate hiring someone by the end of the season.