Both from a commercial and on-field production sense, Edwin Díaz is the hottest closer in baseball right now, and that's going to translate to generational wealth this offseason.
ESPN's Jeff Passan appeared on "The Pat McAfee Show" Thursday afternoon, and in talking about the electricity surrounding Díaz's entrance at Citi Field, he suggested that the free-agent-to-be could become the first closer to land a $100 million deal this offseason:
The 28-year-old is putting together one of the most dominant seasons that a relief pitcher has ever had. Díaz has 29 saves in 32 attempts, leads the National League with 42 games finished, has a minuscule 1.38 ERA and an even lower 1.02 FIP.
Díaz is probably the only closer in baseball who can make the case that fans come to the ballpark just to see him. Not only has he been virtually unhittable in his fourth season with the Mets, but his trot out to the mound in the top of the ninth inning to the song "Narco" has become appointment television in its own right:
Certainly, Steve Cohen and the Mets have to be seen as the most likely team to give Díaz the deal, whether it tops $100 million or falls just shy of that. But the Mets do also have Jacob deGrom, Brandon Nimmo and Taijuan Walker, among others, set to become free agents this offseason, so Díaz returning to Flushing isn't a sure thing. You can bet that there will be at least a few teams in line if Díaz doesn't re-sign in New York, and perhaps they'll pay to bring Timmy Trumpet along too.
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