Mets plan for closer role with Edwin Diaz struggling revealed

The New York Mets thought they had their closer position locked up for years to come. And that may be the case. But for right now, in May of 2024, the closer spot is anything but certain.

Edwin Diaz, who signed the most lucrative contract for a reliever in 2022 at five years, $102 million, has struggled since returning from the injury that ended his 2023 season. He's on the verge of being demoted.

"Mets are believed likely to close by committee with (Adam) Ottavino and possibly (Reed) Garrett, (Jorge) Lopez, (Jake) Diekman and others until Diaz regains his confidence," Jon Heyman of the New York Post tweeted. "(They're hopeful it won't be long)."

Diaz had 32 saves for the Mets in 2021 and 2022. The year he signed his big contract he was an All-Star with a 1.31 ERA in 61 appearances.

This year, he's got a 5.50 ERA in 18 games with five saves and three blown saves. In his outing on Saturday, he gave up four runs in 0.1 innings while blowing a save.

Mets planning to move to closer-by-committee as Edwin Diaz struggles

Diaz himself admitted that he's not in a good place mentally and it seems the Mets agree he needs a break to get himself right.

Ottavino is the only pitcher in the Mets bullpen with a WHIP under 1.00. Garrett has been excellent this season with a 5-0 record and ERA of 0.78 in 16 games. The rest of the regular bullpen arms include ERAs of 2.49 for Lopez and 3.07 for Diekman.

It's not clear if the Mets plan to move to the closer-by-committee set up immediately or see if Diaz can work his way out of this slump under better conditions. It's also not clear if Diaz will be taken out of the bullpen completely and given time to clear his head in the minors of if he'll simply take on a setup role.

Carlos Mendoza has some decisions to make. The important thing is that he makes them before the Diaz situation gets more out of hand.