One of the players that New York Mets fans are most looking forward to seeing is the return of their closer Edwin Diaz.
There are many reasons for it.
First, his presence in the ninth inning of a save situation. There was no doubt that Diaz’s presence at the end of games was sorely missed in 2023.
In 2022, Diaz was clearly the best and most dominant closer. With his 1.31 ERA and over 100 strikeouts, whenever Diaz entered the game, it was game over when the Mets had a lead.
In 2023 without Diaz, the bullpen struggled all year and was a big reason for their disappointing season.
So Diaz’s return as the closer in 2024 is definitely a welcome sign.
Second, his walk-up music. “Narco” to the sound of trumpet blasts, will bring more entertainment again to Citi Field when Diaz is called upon to pitch.
Despite the Mets quiet offseason, once again, Spring Training is a refreshing sign of baseball starting, and seeing players warm up on the field.
Watching Diaz throw on the mound feels like the most refreshing sign of all after missing the entire 2023 season. His throwing meant the return of his hard throwing stuff, that struck out many batters, to save games. He will give the bullpen a huge boost.
There are many other names to look forward to in Mets camp. But probably none so more than Diaz, with his dominant stuff at closer, along with his walk up music at Citi Field which is perhaps the most entertaining of all in baseball.
Seeing Diaz is great. Getting to him will be the challenge. He could very well be a little used treasure night in and night out. That would be sad.
His return is a huge step toward a better season, and it looks like some of the added bullpen pieces will be sufficient to bridge the gap till the trumpets sound. We do need 6 innings from our starters or as was commented, we sadly won’t see enough of Diaz.
Edwin Diaz is a refreshing sign in Spring Training. The most refreshing sign would be lf the middle relievers improve. Robertson, Ottavino and Raley were all good year but that was it. Diekman, Lopez, Fujinami, Smith, Tonkin etc have to do their jobs because the middle innings were a disaster last year.