Remember that Craig Kimbrel trade?
The Red Sox decided it was worth it to give up one of their top position prospects, Manuel Margot, along with three other minor-leaguers (including promising young pitcher Logan Allen, who had just completed his first pro season). Kimbrel was going to be 28-years-old in his first go-round with the Sox, had lived life as an elite closer for five seasons and was under control for three more years.
For Kimbrel, it was undeniably deemed worth the investment considering the Red Sox' need for a game-ender. The Koji Uehara era was coming to an end and there really weren't any other options to fill out the final few innings.
Now we are presented with the Edwin Diaz conundrum.
Much like Kimbrel, Diaz is being shopped by a team that had acquired him for a pretty big haul of players not too long ago. And also as was the case with the former Red Sox closer, he has three years of team control left (at much shorter money than what Kimbrel was living life with).
The difference, of course, is that Diaz doesn't have the track record Kimbrel did, and he has hit the kind of performance bump in the road (4.95 ERA) the former Braves stopper never experienced.
Still, the conversation isn't all that dissimilar. Should the Red Sox allocate a lot -- and we do mean A LOT -- to get what they deem as some certainty at this particular position?
The Mets are asking for a ton for Diaz, and they should. They certainly don't need to deal the 25-year-old reliever, who cost one of the game's best prospects (Jarred Kelenic) to get. That's why when you hear New York's asking price it doesn't end with a Margot-type (think Bobby Dalbec) but continues to names on the big league roster like Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Michael Chavis.
There are plenty of signs that Diaz's struggles in New York are somewhat of an aberration, leaving us to sign off on any deal that might involve perhaps one key minor-leaguer (not named Triston Casas or Bryan Mata) along with some other young pieces along the lines of what Allen represented. But more than that? It feels uncomfortable.
The Red Sox surely can use a game-ender like Diaz, not only for this year but for the coming seasons. But unlike in the time Kimbrel came aboard there is hope that they might be able to get by with what they have along with perhaps a reliever not quite as costly as the Mets righty.
There is also the reality that is what awaits this team's roster after 2019.
Sure, Diaz potentially covers the Red Sox at the closer spot, but is that more important than using the likes of Dalbec and/or Chavis to fill in once Mitch Moreland moves on, or Mata to get an internal option for the final spot in the rotation?
Dave Dombrowski hasn't really dealt a prospect that was truly regrettable. Sure, Ty Buttrey, Yoan Moncada and Shaun Anderson would have been nice to still have around, but it's not as if the Red Sox haven't been able to fill the positions they play with palatable options. And the ones that were supposed to really hurt -- Margot, Anderson Espinoza and Michael Kopech -- haven't really gotten off the ground.
Now will be the president of baseball operations biggest test. If he can get Diaz on his terms, great. But if the Mets continue to bank on the Red Sox' perceived desperation, forget it.