Cue the trumpets…for the next five years.
According to multiple reports, the Mets and closer Edwin Diaz are in agreement on what at baseline is a five-year, $102 million deal, pending a physical – the largest deal ever for a reliever.
The deal reportedly includes a $12 million signing bonus, an opt-out after year three, a full no-trade clause, and a $20 million team option for 2028.
Diaz, 28, had a rocky start in Queens after being acquired from Seattle (along with Robinson Cano) prior to the 2019 season, but has been back to the dominant form over the last three years that made the Mets go after him in the first place.
In 2022, Diaz was 3-1 with a career-low 1.31 ERA in 62 innings over 61 appearances, recording 32 saves and 118 strikeouts – a 50.2 percent strikeout rate, third-best ever by a pitcher with at least 20 IP in a season – and posting a 0.839 WHIP and 0.90 FIP. He was an All-Star for the second time, and his entrance theme, “Narco” by Blasterjaxx and Timmy Trumpet, became a viral phenomenon.
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Diaz has a 3.20 ERA and 96 saves in 216 games in Queens, and now will have at least five seasons’ more worth of opportunities.
It had been reported that the Mets had been prioritizing two of their own free agents, Diaz and outfielder Brandon Nimmo, over anyone else, and now, it looks like one of those is back in the fold less than 24 hours after free agency “officially” began.
In doing so, the Mets give Diaz a contract that eclipses now-former Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, who got five years and $86 million from the Bombers before the 2017 season, as the largest deal ever for a non-starting pitcher.
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