Mets place struggling former All-Star closer on injured list

The Mets announced on Wednesday that right-hander Edwin Díaz had been placed on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Left-hander Josh Walker has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move.

It’s been a trying time for Díaz, to say the least. He missed all of 2023 after tearing the right patellar tendon in his right knee during the World Baseball Classic. He and the Mets were undoubtedly hoping for him to be healthy and back in form this year, but it hasn’t played out that way.

He has pitched 20 innings for the Mets this year, allowing 12 earned runs, a rate of 5.40 per nine. His 35.3% strikeout rate is still quite strong but a big drop from the absurd 50.2% rate he had in 2022. He’s allowed five home runs already this year, almost as many as the eight combined homers he allowed in the three seasons from 2020 to 2022. That’s why his 4.58 FIP and 2.27 SIERA are far apart, as the former assigns home runs as the pitcher's fault whereas the latter normalizes home run rate.

Perhaps this year’s struggles have been a small sample blip caused by a clustering of some home runs, but Díaz won’t have a chance to even things out for a while. Whether the shoulder issue has been bothering him for a while or just recently cropped up isn’t known. The club also hasn’t provided any information about how long they expect the righty to be out, with the IL placement coming just minutes before Wednesday’s game.

The Mets will have to proceed without Díaz in their bullpen mix for at least the next couple of weeks. That could leave Adam Ottavino taking over the closer’s role, with pitchers like Jake Diekman, Jorge López and Reed Garrett in line for setup work.

In the long term, the Mets will obviously be motivated to get Díaz back on track. He signed a five-year, $102M deal going into the 2023 season and will, therefore, be a part of the club’s plans through 2027, with a club option for 2028 as well. Díaz will have the opportunity to opt out after 2025 and 2026, though his health and performance would have to trend in a better direction between now and then for that to be a consideration.

Before missing the 2023 season, Díaz was one of the most dominant relievers in the sport. When he re-signed with the Mets, he had a 2.93 ERA in 399 1/3 innings. That included a 2022 campaign in which he posted a 1.31 ERA with a 50.2% strikeout rate, a 7.7% walk rate, and a 46.9% ground ball rate.