Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mets closer Edwin Díaz is set to become a free agent this offseason as the clear top choice among relievers coming off a huge season year. The 28-year-old started the season as still more of a reminder of a bad trade and now could receive a record-breaking contract.
Díaz did that by striking out more than half of the batters he faced (50.2%), posting a 1.31 ERA, and simply dominating for a large portion of the 2022 season. His appearances became must-see TV with his ‘Narco’ entrance and a slider that no one in baseball could hit.
- 235 batters faced
- 118 strikeouts
- 34 hits
- 3 home runs
- 18 walks
The dominant season was given a 3.0 value by FanGraphs’ WAR, well above the second-best in the league by a reliever, 2.4 fWAR for Emmanuel Clase. It was also the second-best season by fWAR for a Mets reliever in team history with only Armando Benitez‘s 3.1 in 1999 being higher.
MMO reported recently that the Mets would love to get a deal done with Díaz before he hits free agency, and understandably so given all the free agents they have and a relatively weak reliever market. If the Mets can get a deal with Díaz done soon or if he does hit the open market, one big question is will he get $100 million and set the new record for a reliever contract?
Jeff Passan of ESPN reported last month that he thought Díaz may become the first $100 million reliever. Liam Hendriks currently holds the record at $18 million for annual value and Aroldis Chapman got the biggest overall deal for a reliever at $86 million. Hendriks received his deal last year while Chapman was given his back in 2016.
The answer from a majority of Mets fans (54.5%) is that Díaz should get that record deal to stay in New York according to a survey by The Athletic. The survey also shows that 43.9% of Mets fans think the team should “Offer him what other top closers have made and hope he signs” and only a few (1.7%) believe the Mets should move on.
Everything I’ve heard from sources makes it certainly sound like Díaz is one of the Mets’ top priorities as they head into a monumentally important offseason and that could certainly lead to Edwin hitting the $100 million mark over a long-term contract.
