It won't be long before New York Mets fans hear the iconic trumpet intro of "Narco".
In fact, those trumpets were heard on Tuesday as the Mets played an intrasquad minor league in the backfields, which was held prior to a spring training game against the New York Yankees at Clover Park.
Team closer Edwin Diaz continued his rehab by starting the intrasquad game. He would pitch a one-two-three inning, throwing just 14 pitches and striking out Jett Williams, one of the team's top prospects, to conclude the day. Diaz's velocity continued to climb, reaching 96-98 mph on his fastball, while he struck out Williams with a slider.
The 29-year-old flamethrower is expected to throw one more minor league game on Friday, after which he will join the major league club for full spring training action. Diaz would also confirm that he feels as good as he currently looks on the mound.
"I just feel like I need competition. I'm 100% ready," Diaz said to the media after the simulated game. "I'm throwing my pitches like I want to. I just need games, and today was really good.
"After my last live [BP] I told them I wanted to [raise] my level of competition, so I wanted to feel like I was in a real game. I know that was an intrasquad game, but I knew I had to make pitches and field my position if they hit it by me or cover first. So, I told them I was ready to be in the games."
Diaz missed the entire 2023 season after tearing his right patellar tendon while celebrating a victory for Puerto Rico during the World Baseball Classic; the Mets bullpen would desperately miss his electrifying stuff, which allowed him to save 32 games with a 1.31 ERA and a record-setting strikeout rate in 2022.
But with Diaz progressing back to full health, the trumpets are playing once again. That means just one thing to the Mets closer:
"It's game time."
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