Edwin Diaz Likely Out For 2023 MLB Season After Tearing Patellar At WBC
Did the Mets season end before it even began? The Mets suffered a crushing blow to their season and have not lost their premier closer in a meaningless game that doesn’t even count. Edwin Diaz recorded the final out in a win for Puerto Rico over the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic. It turns out he would have been better off giving up a home run.
In the worst turn of events ever, Diaz tore his patellar in his knee AFTER Puerto Rico already won the game. Diaz was hurt during the celebration. You know, the only thing that would ever happened to the Mets.
Jeff Passan later reported today the full details of the injury. The only thing being clear is that Diaz likely won’t throw a single pitch for the Mets this year.
The Mets are obviously devastated by this news even if they’re not going to come right out and say it. Owner Steven Cohen and general manager Bill Eppler both chimed in with their thoughts on the news.
“He will have the surgery [Thursday] and we will see how the recovery starts and how much he is able to weight bear and how active he is,” Eppler said. “I’m thinking we are not updating this timeline for a while.”
“We built a bullpen that we walked into the year – on paper – that we felt was pretty deep,” Eppler said. “We have a good amount of guys that have a good amount of closing experience on our roster right now. … As far as the immediate, that is going to be the conversations that [Showalter], myself and [pitching coach Jeremy] Hefner have as spring rolls on. It’s going to get opportunities for other people.”
“He is a resilient human being. That’s why he is the closer that he is. The dude doesn’t get rattled,” Eppler said. “ … That’s the athlete that we have come to love.”
Diaz, 28, was coming off the best year of his life after sporting a 1.31 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 62 innings. Diaz was also rewarded with a monster contract extension this offseason. Just the absolute worst possible news you could get at this time of year. Let’s just hope Diaz can rebound and regain his star form for 2024.
