The New York Mets will likely be without All-Star seamer Edwin Díaz for the entire 2023 MLB season. On Thursday, GM Billy Eppler announced that Díaz suffered a full-thickness rupture of the patellar tendon in his right knee during onfield celebrations in Puerto Rico after beating the Dominican Republic in Wednesday night’s World Baseball Classic game. Díaz will have surgery on Thursday and the recovery time is generally eight months.
“In general, when a player goes (to the WBC), we don’t have too many opportunities to get in the way. There are certain criteria that must be met for a player not to leave.” Eppler told the Washington Post he kept players out of the WBC. “When we got that runway, we took it. We took her with (Starling) Marte. We contradicted Marte because we could. But I don’t want to go into the details here.”
Teams can only suspend players from the WBC under certain injury conditions, and Marte was suspended after an off-season abdominal surgery. New York’s entire starting infield — first baseman Pete Alonso (USA), second baseman Jeff McNeil (USA), shortstop Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico), third baseman Eduardo Escobar (Venezuela) — is still playing the WBC like it should man Adam Ottavino. Ottavino is a candidate to replace Díaz in the role of Closer.
It’s hard to say how Díaz injured his knee, but here’s a look at the incident in question:
Díaz recorded the final three outs in Puerto Rico’s upset victory over a heavily-seeded Dominican Republic side. He and his teammates didn’t party excessively, and he wasn’t caught at the foot of a dog poo or anything. It appears that Díaz was simply jumping up and down with his teammates when his knee gave out.
Other players have sustained serious injuries at the WBC. Among them, New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira tore a tendon in his wrist while practicing batting practice with Team USA in 2013. This sabotaged his year and eventually required season-ending surgery. Lefty Drew Smyly, then with the Seattle Mariners, injured his elbow with Team USA in 2017 and required surgery from Tommy John.
Díaz, who turned 29 on March 22, signed a five-year deal worth $102 million last season. It’s the largest relief deal in history, both in terms of total warranty and average annual value. Díaz has had a historic season in which he has a 1.31 ERA (297 ERA+) and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.56 in 62 innings. He also finished with 32 saves over the course of 61 appearances.
While Díaz is irreplaceable in the ninth inning, the Mets still have an experienced late-inning relief team that includes former All-Star closer David Robertson, left Brooks Raley and Ottavino. However, the Mets recently lost right-handers Sam Coonrod (lat tight) and Bryce Montes de Oca (elbow stress reaction) to injuries, so their bullpen depth took a big hit this week.
Zack Britton, who spent all those years in Baltimore with Mets manager Buck Showalter, remains available as a free agent and has been speculated as a suitable fit for New York for weeks. Veterans Ken Giles, Corey Knebel and Mike Minor are also not signed. Trading pitching is difficult in March, although a rebuilding club could be willing to part with a high-priced deal before opening day.
Edwin Diaz
NYM•RP•#39
Statistics 2022
ERA1.31
WHIP.90
IP62
BB118
K18
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Major League Baseball players participating in the WBC must have insurance so the Mets will be compensated while Díaz is sidelined. The inability to obtain insurance has at times forced players to withdraw from the tournament. For example, Los Angeles Dodgers leftist Clayton Kershaw was reportedly one such case earlier this spring.
Indeed, The Ringer’s Ben Lindbergh compiled the numbers following the 2017 WBC and concluded: “The evidence of an injury effect is not strong enough to justify discouraging players from participating, especially given a well-stocked tournament so much.” It’s fun for fans – and potentially beneficial for baseball in the long term, which in turn enriches teams.
The Mets went 101-62 last season but lost to the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series. Owner Steve Cohen approved a free agency spending spree — a spending spree that included the re-signing of Díaz — that took the team’s payroll to well over $350 million. The club’s competitive balance sheet tax bill will be in excess of $100 million.
With that payroll and luxury tax bill, there’s immense pressure on the Mets to win the World Series in 2023. Díaz’s injury is unfortunate and a major blow to the Mets, but the WBC remains a worthwhile endeavor.