When the New York Mets traded Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Gerson Bautista, Justin Dunn, and Jared Kelenic to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for the MLB 2018 saves leader Edwin Diaz and Robinson Cano last winter, the deal was met with many reservations.
Cano was an overpaid player on the other side of his better days and Diaz, although he appeared to be an effective closer, had yet to prove he could do it over time. For what the Mets gave up, it looked as if general manager Brodie Van Wagenen got ripped off.
He offset the Cano risk by scoring Diaz, who was expected to secure the closer job and make the Mets contenders in the NL East.
Then, the season began and it became obvious that Van Wagenen got taken. Cano got injured and played at half-speed in many of the games he did dress for. Diaz was a complete disaster, recording less than half of the saves he did in 2018 (26), blowing seven in a pitiful performance that saw his ERA balloon from 1.96 to 5.59 in 66 appearances.
But as we all know, receivers can be hot and cold. Last year, Diaz was cold. This year, he hopes to reverse that and become the team’s closer again. He knows the pressure he’s under in New York this season.
“Everybody got their eyes on me for this season,” Diaz told WFAN’s Marc Malusis and Maggie Gray. “That’s why I prepare the way I prepare. I worked really hard in the offseason. I started working out in October — every time when the season’s done I get a month off with time with my family. But right away when the season done I take the week off and I start working out. I feel ready for the season. I feel really, really good.”
There are some things to consider when it comes to Diaz. A change of venue can be a positive most times. Other times it can be a negative.
Diaz was forced to endure multiple staffing changes. Former pitching coach Dave Eiland was fired in June and Phil Regan, Eiland’s successor, retired following the 2019 season. New York settled on former Mets pitcher Jeremy Hefner to fill the void.
“He went to Puerto Rico to see me, my first bullpen when I started throwing bullpen in Puerto Rico,” Diaz said. “He’s a great guy. I’ve got a couple of friends from Minnesota who played with him and they told me he was a great guy, he talked to us every time, he tried to get knowledge about us.”
Diaz has also changed his diet and his outlook. It can’t get any worse than it was in 2019. We hope…