The Winter Meetings were relatively quiet for the New York teams through the first two days, that is until the Los Angeles Dodgers swooped in and stole Edwin Diaz from the New York Mets.

Diaz, 31, got the deal he wanted, setting the record for average annual salary for a relief pitcher at $23 million per season. In total, the deal is three years, $69 million, and the news was broken by The Athletic’s Mets reporter Will Sammon. The Mets offer came in at three-years, $66 million.

Edwin Diaz on reason for choosing the Dodgers:

“I chose the Dodgers because they are a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win.”pic.twitter.com/KJj1eyVHRf

— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) December 12, 2025

This shook the landscape of Major League Baseball and added more firepower to the Dodgers. If it’s one thing the back-to-back World Series Champions may have been lacking, it was a closer. Now, the Dodgers have one of the best closers in MLB. The loss of Diaz piled on to was already a bad day for the Mets as they also had interest in Kyle Schwarber, but he went back to their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies, on a five-year, $150 million deal.

The signing of Devin Williams will help soften the blow, but the Mets have serious work to do in order to the rebuild the bullpen. Diaz looked as good as ever for the Mets this past season, earning his third career All-Star appearance, and he had an ERA of 1.66 in 61 1/3 innings. He saved 28 games and struck out 98 batters with a bWAR of 3.0. Diaz was the Mets’ most reliable reliever for the majority of his five-year tenure with them.

“It’s a little bit of a surprise here. I always figured that the Mets would come back with the best offer here. Diaz has been such a big part of this bullpen since he got here,” Mike Puma of the New York Post told Latino Sports on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings.

“I think David Stearns has models of what he’s willing to do, and at some point he’s not going to go over those numbers. At some point, a line appears to have been drawn, and the Mets didn’t have the best offer.”

On another note, the Naguabo, Puerto Rican native is also considering a return to Puerto Rico for the upcoming World Baseball Classic, despite the injury he suffered in 2023. Diaz is on the preliminary roster, but that doesn’t mean he is a lock to play. Puerto Rico’s manager and former Mets legend Carlos Beltran weighed in on the situation on Tuesday at the Winter Meetings.

“He’s on our roster. I count on him, but at the end of the day, you know, you have to wait and see what happens. You know, a lot of times organizations might be a little bit opposed for those guys or those investments to play,” Beltran said.

Diaz tore his Achilles in the 2023 WBC after celebrating a Puerto Rico win, and he missed the entire 2023 season with the Mets.

Edwin Diaz appears to have suffered an injury during Puerto Rico’s celebration pic.twitter.com/G9Md6SBrEj

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 16, 2023

“Especially in his case, he went through a crazy injury years ago so he has proven that he’s healthy since then. So in his heart, I know that he wants to play,” Beltran said

Beltran also discussed Diaz’s free agency decision to sign with the Dodgers.

“Yeah, I mean it’s a guy that I look up to, you know. It’s a guy that in the years that I’ve been around the Mets, I’ve seen him be a great teammate, and a great person,” Beltran added. “He prepares extremely well and he dominates, so as a (former) Met, there’s no doubt that some of the Mets fans probably are a little down right now. And as a Dodger fan, you gotta feel good about adding a guy like that, that you know that you can count on in the ninth inning.”

The final question is how the Mets will pivot as the trumpets depart Queens and go cross-country all the way to Los Angeles.

WBN MLB: https://worldbaseball.com/league/mlb/

Photo: Edwin Díaz, middle, poses for photos next to General Manager Brandon Gomes, right, and President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman during his introduction as a new member of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)