☀️ Good Morning:
We are a little more than two weeks away from pitchers & catchers reporting.
Baseball fans like to use the Super Bowl as the event that shifts focus back to the diamond. We are getting closer to being able to talk about something other than Pete Alonso’s contract.
In that spirit, I want to focus on a few non-Alonso-related items that could be keeping the front office up at night.
☕️ Grab your coffee for your morning dose of Mets Fix!
👀 Worth Watching
A few storylines to consider as we move closer to the start of spring training.
🔷 Edwin Díaz’s mechanics and future
It has been a roller coaster for the Mets’ closer since he turned the sound of trumpets into a team rallying call. After missing the 2023 season with a knee injury, he returned to the mound with mixed results last year. His struggles early in the season one of the key reasons why the club got off to a slow start.
We know with Díaz, like all pitchers, everything comes down to mechanics. When things are going well, they are consistent, his fastball rides at 97+ mph and his slider becomes impossible to hit.
While he made adjustments to produce dominant results for a large stretch over the 2024 summer, the Mets still got a different reliever than the one that justified a $102 million contract. The command isn’t what it once was and opposing hitters are simply seeing the ball better out of his hand, as highlighted by their chase rate.
2025 BECOMES A PIVOTAL YEAR for the 30-year-old closer. At the end of the season, he must decide to exercise or decline his 2026 and 2027 player options. He is due $37 million over those two years (with $5 million deferred each year), before reaching a $17.25 million club option in 2028 with a $1 million buyout.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Mets Fix to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.