The New York Mets have been a bit of a disappointment to begin the 2024 season. On Sunday, they defeated the Miami Marlins and improved their record to 21-25, good for third place in the National League East behind the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves. However, one major storyline is the demotion of closer Edwin Diaz.
Over the weekend, the Mets finally made a change and removed Diaz as the team's closer, at least for now. But, he spoke on the demotion and aims to get back to his regular role soon, per Jon Heyman of The New York Post.
“I feel good. I feel great…I talked to them, and we’re on the same page. I’ll just go to work and get my confidence back and be back in my closing job.”
This had been in the works for a while. But, after he blew a save on Saturday against the Marlins, he said he was “open to everything” as he and the team try to get things on the right page. He gave up four runs on four hits in just 0.1 innings on Friday. Heyman also desired the change as a ‘temporary demotion' for Diaz, so there is hope that he comes back into the closer role this season.
A look inside the struggles of Mets' Edwin Diaz
On the year, Diaz has a 1-1 record with a 5.50 ERA. But, he has just five saves compared to three blown saves and had given up 11 earned runs in 18 innings. His WHIP is 1.22 and he has struck out just 27 batters, numbers which are all far down from the pace he was on during his marvelous 2022 campaign.
In 2022, Diaz went 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 32 saves and just three blown saves in 61 games. He missed the entire 2023 season with a brutal injury he suffered during the World Baseball Classic, so his return to the Mets was expected to be a massive step forward for the team.
But, now he has three blown saves already in just 18 games, so the struggles have been evident for him. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza admitted they will try the best they can to get him back on track: “Our job is to put him in situations where we feel like he’s going to have success. The game will dictate and he’s willing to do whatever it takes, and we’ll go from there.”
On Sunday, it was Reid Garrett who was credited with the save after he threw two scoreless innings and struck out four. Garrett has a 5-0 record this season with a 0.72 ERA and four holds in 17 appearances, so he should be the primary closer until Diaz returns.
The Mets travel to face the Cleveland Guardians for a three-game series before returning home for a 10-game homestand against three different National League West teams.
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