The Los Angeles Dodgers are officially playing baseball with cheat codes. Coming off their second consecutive World Series title, the Guggenheim group decided that hoisting the trophy wasn’t enough; they needed to rip the heart out of the Mets to celebrate.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, Edwin Díaz has signed with Los Angeles, taking his electric fastball and “Narco” entrance music to the West Coast. Losing a franchise icon always stings, but watching him join a superteam that is actively trying to monopolize the sport feels like a punch to the gut for every Mets fan who spent the last few years worshipping at the altar of the ninth inning.
While the emotional blow is severe, the financial reality is stark: Díaz wanted to reset the market again. The 31-year-old closer was reportedly seeking to replicate his previous five-year, $100 million deal, a price tag that Steve Cohen—despite his deep pockets—was rightfully hesitant to match for a reliever entering his thirties.
The Mets drew a line in the sand, refusing to be held hostage by nostalgia, even if it meant watching their best bullpen arm walk out the door.
The “Steve Cohen Tax” Has Its Limits
There is a difference between spending to win and spending recklessly, and the Mets front office clearly viewed a nine-figure commitment to an aging closer as the latter. Díaz was phenomenal in 2025, posting a sparkling 1.63 ERA and striking out 98 batters, proving he is still arguably the most dominant reliever in the game when healthy.
However, paying a speculated $20 million a year for 60 innings of work is a luxury that restricts flexibility elsewhere, especially when you are trying to build a sustainable contender rather than a fantasy baseball roster.
By letting Díaz walk, the Mets are betting that their internal evaluations are smarter than the Dodgers’ checkbook. It is a calculated risk, trading the certainty of Díaz’s dominance for the financial maneuverability to address other holes in the rotation and lineup. The Dodgers can afford to overpay for a luxury item; the Mets, currently retooling on the fly, decided that money was better spent diversifying the portfolio.
Devin Williams: The “Insurance Policy” Is Now the Guy
The sting of losing Díaz is significantly mitigated by the arrival of Devin Williams, who the Mets wisely secured on a three-year, $51 million deal before the market exploded. While Williams’ surface-level 4.79 ERA from last season looks ugly compared to Díaz’s numbers, the underlying metrics suggest the Mets might have pulled off a heist.
Williams posted a 2.68 FIP and struck out 90 batters in just 62 innings, indicating that his “down year” was largely a product of bad luck rather than diminishing skills.
The Mets essentially replaced an elite closer with another elite closer for half the price and half the term. Williams has the “Airbender” changeup that baffles hitters just as effectively as Díaz’s slider, and now he steps into the spotlight with a massive chip on his shoulder. He isn’t just an “insurance policy” anymore; he is the undisputed king of the bullpen, tasked with proving that the Mets didn’t need to spend $100 million to lock down the ninth inning.
Looking Ahead: A Business Decision That Hurts the Heart
Rationalizing this move on a spreadsheet makes perfect sense, but baseball is played with emotion, and Citi Field just lost its heartbeat. The adrenaline dump of hearing the trumpets blare as Díaz jogged in from the bullpen was a defining feature of the Citi Field experience, and replacing that energy is impossible. The Dodgers didn’t just buy a closer; they bought a vibe, leaving the Mets to find a new identity in the late innings.
Ultimately, winning cures everything. If Devin Williams slams the door in October and the Mets make a deep run, nobody will care how much money they saved on the closer role. But if the bullpen falters while Díaz is closing out games for a Dodgers dynasty, this decision will haunt Steve Cohen for a very long time.
The Mets made the smart play, but the Dodgers made the power move, and now we have to wait and see which one pays off in the standings.
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