PORT ST. LUCIE — Edwin Diaz searched for an answer, but couldn’t find one, when he was asked if there were anything he could improve upon this season.
“Last season was a great season for me, so I just want to try to do the same thing I did last year,” Diaz, the Mets’ All-Star closer, said upon arriving at spring training on Tuesday. “Throw strikes, command my pitches and try to pitch every night and help the team to win.”
Jokingly, he was asked if he planned to start throwing a curveball this year.
“I will keep throwing my two pitches: my fastball and my slider, and keep striking out everybody,” Diaz said.
In 2022, Diaz had maybe the best season by a reliever in Mets history, posting a 1.31 ERA with 118 strikeouts in 62 innings. He finished with 32 saves in 35 opportunities and converted 22 straight saves to close the regular season, beginning on May 27.
The breakout season came at an opportune time for Diaz, who cashed in with a five-year contract worth $102 million that makes him the highest-paid reliever in MLB history. This season, he will spearhead a bullpen that includes veterans David Robertson and Adam Ottavino in addition to left-hander Brooks Raley, who was acquired in a trade with the Rays.
Now, Diaz is preparing to join teammate Francisco Lindor and represent Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic next month.
“I prepared myself to be ready the first thing in spring training because we know I am going to the WBC,” Diaz said. “I am 100 percent ready to go and I want to help this team to win and I want to help Puerto Rico, too.”
Diaz’s entrance music — “Narco” — will return to Citi Field in 2023. Timmy Trumpet performed the piece live last August as Diaz entered for the ninth inning of a game against the Dodgers. A return engagement this season, according to Diaz, could be in the works.
Diaz’s acting debut came in a commercial promoting the Mets that aired locally in New York during the Super Bowl. In the ad, patrons buying tickets are transferred to Diaz — “the closer” of the deal.
“I have to ask Steve [Cohen] how many [tickets] we sold,” Diaz said.
Is Diaz getting a commission on the tickets he sold in the commercial?
“I have to ask Steve,” he said.
