How market for Edwin Diaz is shaping up entering MLB Winter Meetings | Mets Hot Stove

The question on Mets fans minds is, okay, Devin Williams in the fold. What does that mean for Edwin Diaz who is still out there as a free agent? Well, Steve, it doesn’t mean a whole lot for Diaz in the sense that the Mets are targeting multiple relievers and probably multiple high-end like top of the market type relievers. Williams was one of them, but it certainly doesn’t preclude a Diaz signing. Uh, but there’s no way around the fact that it gives the Mets a little more leverage and cover and the fact that they have an elite I mean I cannot emphasize enough how insanely elite Devin Williams is when he’s at his best. Obviously some struggles with the Yankees last year. Uh, but that puts the Mets in a position to continue to talk to Diaz, who they very much want to bring back, uh, but not feel in a a situation where there’s desperation to stretch for that four or five year deal uh, that they don’t want to do. I don’t get the sense that resolution is too near on this one. Uh but really it’s as we’ve been talking about in our hot stove shows so far uh back in New York that they want Diaz and we’ll see uh we’ll see how the years thing plays out where it’s at. Well, Todd, as Andy put it, maybe not a lot of interest right now and going four or five years. And that shouldn’t be totally surprising if you’ve watched how David Sterns operates and really how most of the league operates right now. The thought is, hey, a relief pitcher is a volatile asset, not just from year to year, but month to month, half to half. So, not a lot of trust in giving those guys long-term deals, but is Diaz the type of reliever that you would stretch for? Yes. Personally, yes. And I think there’s a lot of other underlying reasons why he might be that guy. Certainly, um, aside from the knee injury that was a freak injury, he’s a healthy guy. He stays healthy. He pitches whenever he’s called on to pitch and he’s one of the most effective relievers in all of baseball. And then I think you add on top of that at 31 years old, he’s only a year older than Devin Williams. They stressed three years for Devin Williams um at this point. And I think if you really read into David Sterns talking about run prevention, it’s not just defense, it’s pitching. and run prevention um at the elite level is Devin Williams followed by Edwin Diaz where he can shut down the back end of a baseball game. And so yeah, I would consider doing it. I think he’s shown that he is a guy that you can put that kind of faith in even as a relievers. Yeah, and he can do it in big spots in this market, which is always a question with these types of leverage guys playing here for the first time. Now, we know that Diaz had a horrible first season, bounced back in a big way. Devin Williams up and down looked a lot better at the end of last season and we’ll see if year two can be a similar trajectory to Edwin Diaz. But if Diaz ultimately does get that fourth or fifth year deal deal somewhere else, where do the Mets go? Hey, they’re talking to Robert Suarez and Pete Fairbanks. And as I was saying before to your first question, Steve, they’re engaged in the top of the relief market. So they could go there. Uh but for the same reasons of uh David Stern’s rationality and desire for deals that make sense, it’s not like a sure thing it’s going to be one of those guys either depending on where those markets go. Uh they’re in pretty good shape in the back end of the bullpen right now now they’ve signed Williams and Williams Brooksley who was so dominant coming back from Tommy John last year. AJ Mer who’s expected back that’s a great place to be right now and they’re going to add somebody else might be one of those guys I mentioned might be Edwin. uh they are an organization also that has an increasing amount of confidence in itself to find undervalued assets, use their pitching resources to turn them into uh you know star players. So it’s not it could be a star, it could be a former all-star, but it could people who we might not target at the beginning of the year as like a big name and the Mets could turn someone into a big name. So a lot of different ways they could still go here. Yeah, I do agree with that that obviously Mets fans and the Mets front office want Edwin Diaz back, but if they don’t resign him, it doesn’t automatically mean that they’re going to go out and sign another big name at the back end of that pen. Now, if Edwin Diaz is not resigned, that means that Deon Williams goes into the season as the closer. Are you comfortable with him right now, Todd, as the closer going into this year? Uh, look, I’m comfortable with him if there is no Edund Diaz. I mean, the fact is he’s been a great eighth inning guy and he’s been a phenomenal ninth inning guy when he’s been in the role where he’s been comfortable and he’s been on a roll. And I think given the fact I I don’t know if I would have said that had he not gone through the struggles in New York City and then rided the ship last year and then he struggled again middle of the year and then got it right again in September and October. So, I think he is a guy that can close down games. I think he is a guy that’s motivated to show that he’s still an elite closer. So, yes, I would rather have Edwin and him be guys that you can go to in the eighth and the ninth, but if it were not Edwin, Devin Williams is a guy that can close down games. Yeah, I agree. And I I think, you know, it’s funny because even when the initial signing took place, I had this reaction as well, like, well, hold on a second. Is this the replacement for Edwin Diaz? And when it quickly became obvious that the Mets were still engaged in Edwin Diaz, you say, okay, I like the move on its face. Beyond that though, if Edwin Diaz walked, who would you rather have than Devin Williams? Understanding the ups and downs of last year, if you look at the last six, seven years, who would you rather have on the free agent market right now than Devin Williams? So, it was a great signing for this team and I do think he’s going to bounce back and have a more consistent year in 2026.

On Mets Hot Stove, SNY’s Steve Gelbs, Andy Martino, and Todd Zeile discuss the most recent developments in the free agency of Edwin Diaz, and debate alternatives should the Mets need to look elsewhere for a closer.

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8 comments

  2. Williams' struggles last year with the Yankees reflected some adjustment to NYC and handling the pressure involved in being the closer for the Yankees. Do we really want to count on him fully conquering those issues when faced with the pressure he'd feel from Mets fans if he's the replacement for Diaz? They'd be an absolute beast of a 2-headed monster working together, and we'd be flirting with disaster if not.

  3. Diaz will remain with Mets. He wants to stay and Mets want him back.
    Same situation as Bo.
    They are testing their market and will give their home team the chance to match at the end.
    They will probably allow only their home teams the option for deferrals which would give them the huge advantage, next best thing to a hometown discount.

  6. THE METS PAID 765 MILLION FOR A 263 HITTER LAST YEAR DID NOT MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THE PITCHING WAS TERRIBLE HOPEFULLY PITCHING IS THE BIGGEST CONCERN.

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