November 17: Jon Heyman of The New York Post provides a full breakdown. Diaz will make $17.25MM in 2023 and 2024 with $5.5MM deferred with no interest. He will get a bump to $17.5MM in 2025 with $5.5MM deferred. Then he’ll get $18.5MM in 2026 and 2027 with $5MM deferred. The club option is for $20.4MM and has a $1MM buyout.
November 9: The Mets have officially announced the deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post has more details on the deferred money, noting that it will be $5.5MM per year for the first three seasons and then $5MM per year for the last two. This means his CBT number will be $18.6MM (Twitter links).
November 6: The Mets have kicked off the off-season in spectacular fashion, inking superstar closer Edwin Diaz to a record-breaking five-year, $102MM deal. The deal comes with a $12MM signing bonus, full no-trade clause and has a team option for a sixth year which could take the total value of the deal to $122MM. Diaz will also have the ability to opt out of the contract after the third season, when he’ll be approaching his age-32 season. $26.5MM of Diaz’s salary is deferred. Diaz is represented by the Wasserman Agency.
The contract takes one of the top free agents off the board before free agency opens on Thursday afternoon, and it also sets a new standard as the biggest contract even given to a relief pitcher in terms of both total value and average annual value. Aroldis Chapman’s five-year, $86MM contract was the previous benchmark for total value, while Liam Hendriks’ ongoing three-year deal with the White Sox had given him the previous AAV high of $18MM.
Diaz, 28, was lights out for the Mets in 2022, tossing 62 innings of 1.30 ERA ball. He struck out more than half of the batters he faced, while walking just 7.7% of batters. He gave up just three home runs all year, and converted 32 of his 35 save opportunities. His fastball/slider combo has always been a nightmare for opposition batters, but he leaned far more heavily on his slider in 2022, going to it 58.1% of the time against his usual usage in the mid-30s, and the results were staggering. He led the majors in reliever ERA, strikeout rate and reliever fWAR. The strikeout rate was so dominant it tied Craig Kimbrel’s 2012 effort for the third best strikeout rate of qualified relievers in MLB history. Only Aroldis Chapman’s 52.5% mark in 2014 is better, but that came against an 11.9% walk rate, well above Diaz’s rate this season.
Though Diaz established himself as the best reliever in baseball this season, the deal does present a fair degree of risk particularly given Diaz’s career as a whole has been something of a roller-coaster. After being drafted in the third round of the 2012 draft by the Mariners, Diaz emerged as powerhouse arm out of Seattle’s bullpen. He averaged a 2.64 ERA over three seasons in Seattle, highlighted by a phenomenal 2018 season that saw him notch 57 saves, while posting a 1.96 ERA and finishing eighth in AL Cy Young voting. That prompted the Mets to acquire him that off-season, sending over their own top prospect Jarred Kelenic and taking on the bulk of Robinson Cano’s hefty contract to get him. That off-season blockbuster also featured Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Justin Dunn and Gerson Bautista.
The deal looked a shocker initially, as Diaz pitched to a 5.59 ERA in his first season in Queens. He maintained his strong strikeout rates, but struggled mightily with the long ball, giving up an average of 2.3 home runs every nine innings. He could have been an outside non-tender candidate that winter, but the Mets stuck with him, and their decision paid off immediately. Diaz bounced back in the 2020 pandemic-shortened season, curing his long ball problems and posting the best strikeout rate at that point of his career. He experienced a slight dip in 2021, posting a 3.45 ERA, although advanced indicators such as FIP suggested his performance was largely in line with his previous season (2.48 in ’21 against 2.18 in ’20).
Diaz has become a legitimate superstar of the sport in Queens. His performance speaks for itself, but his entrance to trumpets at Citi Field captivated all of sports and sparked a number of other theatrical entrances that look to mimic the atmosphere that Diaz’s entrance creates. While no reliever is a sure thing, Diaz is the best in the game at what he does, and Mets owner Steve Cohen has shown a willingness make money a non-issue when it comes to signing, or in this case re-signing, the game’s top talent.
It’s the first move in what could be a busy off-season for the Mets. Both their rotation and bullpen will significant addressing. Diaz was set to join Tommy Hunter, Adam Ottavino, Joely Rodriguez, Trevor May, Seth Lugo and Trevor Williams as relievers headed for free agency, while Mychal Givens has a mutual option for next year, meaning they effectively have to rebuild their bullpen entirely. Diaz is a major piece of that, but the Mets will still be heavily active in the relief market this winter. On the rotation side of things, Chris Bassitt has already declined his mutual option and will be a free agent, while Jacob deGrom is expected to confirm he’ll opt into free agency in the coming days. Taijuan Walker has a $7.5MM player option with a $3MM buyout, while Carlos Carrasco has a $14MM club option with a $3MM buyout, so the team could be seeking a number of starters as well. That’s not even getting into the offensive side of the ball, where the Mets will lose outfielders Brandon Nimmo and Tyler Naquin.
It shapes up as another busy off-season, and one which could see the Mets payroll soar to even greater heights. Cohen has never seemed too concerned with the payroll, but RosterResource has the Mets payroll at $251MM for 2023 currently, although that figure doesn’t assume deGrom will opt out. Even so, the team spent $282MM in 2022 on player payroll, and there’s definitely a path to them spending that or more in 2023 if they’re serious about competing in the tough NL East.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today was first to report that Diaz and the Mets were close to a deal. Jeff Passan of ESPN was first to report the deal was done and included an option, opt-out and no-trade clause. Tim Healey of Newsday had financial details of the option year and the time of the opt-out. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic had details of the signing bonus, while SNY’s Andy Martino reported about the deferred money.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Glad the Mets are stupid. With that being said, this makes sense for them both.
Jealous ur team couldn’t sign the best closer?
So jealous. Now I want the Braves to give Jansen a 103 million deal.
Maybe the Braves can use some of the money they saved by not offering Freeman an extra year to reunite with Kimbrel. 🙂
He Just signed, now is going to be different pitcher….. BAD
And Chapman is good for the winter season he makes you swet very hard
Frankly, Diaz was always a very good pitcher, with exception of the one year with the Mets. He will probably be the best closer through the entire contract and it wouldn’t surprise me. The problem is he was basically and literally unhittable….unbeatable this season. He will not replicate that again. With every save he inevitably blows, people will start to look back at the contract. That is the problem. He will not do his job every outing. As opposed to starters and offensive players, all his misfortunates will directly cause the Mets to either lose or go into extra innings, effectively amplifying his struggles.
Never happen again? Look at his 2018 stat line, then look at 2020 as far as ERA and he only struck out 50 in 25 innings. Granted 2020 was a small sample but numbers don’t lie. He is more than capable of putting up these type of numbers. He’s done it before
Or you could just say it bluntly: it’s a lot of money for a relief pitcher.
This is only a good deal for Mets if they intend to run far and away the largest payroll in the league for the next six years. Maybe they do. Otherwise, it is a bad move.
Cleveland already signed the best closer.
This thread stinks of jealous Atlanta fans who will see their SS walk away in free agency.
I’m pretty sure most Braves fans here don’t care if Swanson walks. I’m probably one of the few who does. Speaking of, the Mets have far more important FA’s to worry about than the Braves. Worry about that and not how Braves fans feel about their problems.
I’m not flaming the Mets. The Mets just happen to be the team to give a closer stupid money. I’d say the same, including the Braves.
I have a Trump photo so people can comment how offended they are I have a Trump photo. Sometimes it’s funny how people hate a guy they don’t know.
*him chopping is icing on the cake frankly. It truly is funny how the world is today.
I’d worry about your Big Time Stud Pitcher Strider? Remember when he ran his mouth and got smacked in the short post season your team had? “Come see me in October” yeah the Phil’s saw him and Mopped him up and knocked that stupid Stache off his face also lmfaoooo
Hey, don’t you dare talk mean about Strider. He did stink it up but he was not 100% towards the end of the season. The Braves are nowhere near 101 wins without him or Harris.
Lmao fair enough as a die hard Mets fan I do love strider until he opened his mouth and came off a little too cocky IMO. Just make sure your Braves do not sign Jake so i will be able to at least enjoy a chance of a World Series with him being healthy for once and this team with a big time owner like Cohen. Fingers crossed
Not 100% but they gave him a long term contract for top dollar. His future injuries are easy to predict.
The Braves paid two relievers 32 million this year. 20 million is not really stupid money when he is a lot better then those two.
My biggest problem with Stride is his quads. I can’t concentrate when he wears such tight pants, showcasing those beautiful quads. My wife is starting to have questions.
In all seriousness, the Braves have a beautiful organization. They did a phenomenal job. My contact at one of the local golf courses I frequent is friends with a few of your guys and my buddy was Lance’s AP. You have a few guys who played HS Ball in Seminole County.
Zingggg. As a Florida Native Met Fan. Can confirm. Worst games to go to in Miami are Met games because there’s actually a crowd.
Phils killed the kid……but he has a future
I only wish I could upvote this to the moon
“Not flaming the Mets”…. but literally, your first post talked about how stupid the team is. LOL
So not only are you a troll, but a hypocrite as well. Bravo….
@NYMetsFanatic
I know that I’m not the wises man in the world, but can you explain why Braves fans would be jealous of the Mets.
If the braves let Swanson walk it will be because they acquire someone who is just as good. Also remember Swanson has been a over average for one year. @tradeacuna and I have discussed this thoroughly. Have giving 5 years to trumpet boy. Oh btw isn’t he the same guy Mets fans hated and wanted to trade two years ago?
The Braves are right around the luxury tax. They aren’t signing big name free agents.
As a brewers fan I don’t think brave fans are jealous.. if anything there prob happy 20 mil + for a one inning guy….
For 20 mill you should get a six inning guy not a one inning guy
Lol. Don’t give relievers $100 million contracts.
When you have unlimited money, why not. Easier than to find another dude to close.
No team has unlimited money. No owner spends his own money signing players. The benefit of having rich owners is they don’t need the profits from the team so there’s a bigger budget with profits being reinvested.
But even with unlimited money, exceeding the CBT threshold to the point where the team loses draft picks becomes counterproductive.
@tad2b13 tell that to the Dodgers.
That’s not true at all. Cohen put a couple hundred million in the Mets coffers. I love how people think they are smarter then everyone else and have no idea about the inner finances.
Give it to the best one in the game
Clase > Diaz
Clase>everybody
Oh what planet
Texas traded clase for a washed up kluber. Unbelievable
San Diego traded him to Texas as a player to be named later for an earlier trade.
When SD traded him he was coming off a season with an ERA of 6.00. Despite a lot of SOs, he gave up 11.9 hits per 9, 5.1 walks per 9, with a 1.821 WHIP. The Padres can’t really be blamed for not seeing what he would become.
Clip/Ryan, you may be right but to the Mets, Diaz is money. Puts fannies in the seats and keeps them buying all game long. Just a great atmosphere whenever he enters the game. Will he regress at some point? Of course but a couple two tchree more seasons like 2022, Mets fans won’t care.
We would comments on clueless brewers fans but there won’t be any news about their organization all off-season to comment on.
who were the Mets bidding against – themselves?
They were smart to get it done before it got too crazy. And it would’ve gotten crazier.
Lol! Pretty much. Good luck to them building an all new bullpen (everyone in their current one is a free agent) after dropping all that cash on Diaz. Diaz is worthless if the Mets can’t find a crew that can get the ball to him. I mean they’ve got $66m on Scherzer & Diaz. They also have Cano on the payroll for $22m.
Yeah but I don’t think Cohen is restricting himself to much of a budget next year… unless we call $320M a “budget”
watch and learn. best bp in mlb will be in queens
Lugo, May, Trevor Williams, Ottavino all FA. Is that declaration with the assumption that they’re upgrading or re-signing some/all? If so on the upgrade, who ya got?
Fulmer going back to Queens where it started would be interesting. Andrew Chafin would be the southpaw to get.
@Smacky what don’t you realize? We have The richest owner in all of professional sports lmfaoooooo it ain’t your money my dude only Uncle Stevie will stop spending when he see’s is fit plain and simple. Lifelong Mets fan and minority owner all these years and NOW HE FINALLY gets to the run the show and shows with his bankroll he wants to win and compete. As a Mets fan yeah i am good with trusting him lol
No you don’t. The dude’s that own the Cleveland Cavs and Carolina Panthers are worth more lol.
Here are the sports team owners on the 2022 Forbes 400 list:
1. Steve Ballmer, Los Angeles Clippers
Net Worth: $83 billion
2. Rob Walton, Denver Broncos
Net Worth: $56.7 billion
3. David Tepper, Carolina Panthers
Net Worth: $18.5 billion
4. Robert Pera, Memphis Grizzlies
Net Worth: $17.6 billion
5. Steve Cohen, New York Mets
Net Worth: $17.5 billion
6. Daniel Gilbert Cleveland, Cavaliers
Net Worth: $17.3 billion
7. Jerry Jones, Dallas Cowboys
Net Worth: $16 billion
8. Stanley Kroenke, Los Angeles Rams
Net Worth: $12.9 billion
9. Stephen Ross, Miami Dolphins
Net Worth: $11.6 billion
10. Shahid Khan, Jacksonville Jaguars
Net Worth: $11.2 billion
who were the Mets bidding against – themselves?
==========================
Yeah, because certainly no one was going to go after a bum like Diaz.
Half the league. Do you really think no one was ready to knock on his door in five days?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mets also go for both Suarez and chafin
@JPR teams are not allowed to negotiate with any free agent but their own until later this week. So the Mets weren’t bidding against any team, they were avoiding having to bid against teams, and the Dodgers I think would have paid more to fill one of their biggest holes.
it’s what the market dictated. he just had one of the best RP seasons ever. Chapman got 5/86, what’d you expect was going to happen? Mets have money to spend and didn’t want to lose their star closer.
Taking a hometown discount…
Wow
Stop with Nightengale he’s always wrong!
I think he was right once…..accidentally.
Crazy money for a reliever not named Mariano they better hope he doesn’t revert back to 2019 form.
Diaz is a amazing but dang…that’s a lot of money for a reliever. But if anyone can afford it, it’s the Mets…
If diaz made it to the open market he would of gotten that money so no problem to sign 29 yr old closer for that. Mets have 0 future obligations after 2024 outside of lindor
“Mets have 0 future obligations after 2024 outside of lindor”
I really don’t like this approach from the Mets. They should have Alonso and McNeil signed up longer term atleast. Those two are great players to build around and the Mets should be looking into resigning both imo
LOLMets is alive and well. They just have money now. 100 million for a RP is laughable.
It’s pocket change for Cohen
“LOLMets” would’ve cheaped out and let all their star FAs walk. Now they re-sign the best closer in the league and somehow it’s bad. You guys are really obsessed. I’ve never been so concerned about a team I don’t root for. It’s such a weird phenomenon.
You can read any comment section on this site about any team and they’re pretty normal for the most part. There will always be some back and forth and some playful ribbing. But if it’s a Mets article, the group of anti-Mets warriors is insane, they are more concerned about what the Mets do than their own team, if they even have one. It’s not even in good fun, it’s pretty sad actually.
If they lose deGrom, signing Diaz for 100 million is inexcusable. Heck, I would rather pay Nimmo than Diaz.
Diaz was probably the one of their most important players this year… I’m not big on giving closers huge money, but they prob won an extra 10 games because of him easily… any other met fan will tell you the same – he literally “saved” so many games that we’re getting away from them
Can he keep it up 5 more years? Idk, but they had to take the chance
Nimmo is their next priority.
Right. A NY player with Florida residence pays NY state tax for 81 games and not 162 games.
I can’t stand the Mets but when they never spent money, they were ripped on.
Now they do spend money, they’re ripped on.
All players pay taxes in the state or country in which they play the actual game. If a Marlins player plays in a game in Canada they pay roughly 56% tax on the pay for those games. If they play in Texas or Washington state they pay no state income tax.
That’s not actually the case. Closers are wildly overrated by the average fan.
That’s only because they’re spending money foolishly. You think people weren’t ripping on the Rockies for spending $182m on Bryant, specifically? If it was a 7 year deal for Correa, fans would have been just fine with it.
When you spend $300m on old players and they’re gassed at the end of September, you’ve spent that payroll foolishly. Especially the $43m AAV for Scherzer., Cohen’s desperate bid for respectability.
“Right. A NY player with Florida residence pays NY state tax for 81 games and not 162 games.”
83 games, not 81 games.
@JackStrawb I think you hit the nail on the head. Cohen is over spending to make that team respectable and hopefully buy a WS. Overpaying for old star players shortens the window of winning titles in a way unless you are always overspending trying to replenish the fallen off older stars. Maybe Cohen intends to spend like the Dodgers. I also would be wary of Cohen, is he one of these owners who will win one WS and forget about his pet project Mets after winning the hardware. Idk Some Mets fans may not care as long as they win a WS bc it’s been so many years.
Maybe because their fans relentlessly antagonize everyone who’s a fan of the other NL East teams. There’s the un-legendary MetsFan22 & ThePutItInTheBooks account that are pure trolls very committed to their craft.
@smacky
Exactly, no one would talk about the Mets like that if they if the fans weren’t such a holes to everyone.
It’s a done deal according to Passan.
It’s what I expected – $20M per. Was thinking 4 years, but hey, it’s Cohen, go for 5.
Ton of money for a reliever and a long commitment to a position that very few can be consistent at except Rivera.
Mo’s retired. Mets are hoping/praying that Diaz can continue his dominance. He’ll never match Mo but has the best chance of being this era’s “Mo” closer.
I wouldn’t say he has the best chance. I wouldn’t even say he’s the best closer right now, but he’s very good and the Mets need him.
Who’s better though? He was so far ahead of everyone else last year, and has been that dominant before. We know RP can be flaky, but last three years he’s the best by most measures. And if you look, that’s w a BABIP that’s much higher than most.
Yeah. I like Clase, Pressly, Hader. but Diaz is right there with those dudes. So top 5 for sure.
Same group for me. I see Pressly the most and Diaz the least, but of my team’s playing I don’t want to see any of them.
How though? Even the numbers will tell you Díaz is the best of them all. Unless you’re still leery of how bad he was in 2019?
I’m more leery because of the inconsistency (not that he’s not good, he’s just not consistently as good as he was this year), if that makes sense.
If we are talking strictly about this season, there’s absolutely a solid argument that he’s the best reliever in the league, you’re right.
Oh he’s very much the best closer right now
Perhaps I should have worded it: There’s an argument to be made for Clase, then?
They’re very, very close statistically, but Diaz obviously has the edge there.
Hell yeah LGM
LFGM
Dafuq?
Diaz is 28. This what the market is nowadays. No Mets fan wants to see Diaz in another uniform. Especially in NL east. If he even comes close to his performance this past year for 3 more years it might add the security Mets need for DeGrom to resign. I am sure he’s not signing to lose games where he goes into 8th with a 1 or 2 run lead. What are the other options at an elite level?
They’re not signing deGrom unless payroll is going to $330m.
Besides, if he’s looking for more than the $32.5m in guaranteed money an opt-in would have brought him, why would you give that to a guy who may not make it out of ST?
DeGrom is looking for one last multiyear contract. If it was 4/130 he might take it because its nearly $100 million more than he would have made in 1 year.
I think its going to take 4/150 to get it done, but then I am not deGrom. He might prefer staying with the Mets on a team that is sure to contend than taking his chances elsewhere and will take a few million less annually to stay there.
Okay, that’s 1 down, 8 more to go.
Let’s see 102 million dollars with the tax rates ln NY he be lucky to take home about 45 million after Taxes
I guess that what Is so great about living in a Blue State
Players pay state tax depending on where each game is played. It will be high, but not that bad.
And the red hats have entered the chat. Go to fox, CNN, or some other political site to peddle your garbage.
Please keep politics out of this. Also, your math is way off but that’s expected.
I’m sure you’ll cry yourself to sleep in a rolling power outage over the whole affair
An honest broker conclude that red v blue foolishness is nonsense devised by the rich to keep people at each other’s throats.
Let’s get this debt revolution started already! Lower the voting age to the working age and revoke the right to vote to anyone over the current life expectancy! Dig up all the graveyards and toss those losers into the sea to make room for the living.
I’m going Lord Humungus on every development I see!
LOL not even close
They may have to wait, but Hader and Clase are very excited men right now.
Clase would need to wait until like 2029 and 31 years old so not sure he is very excited because of this.
Oooh you’re right. Didn’t know Clase already signed an extension… he’s a very irritated man today. Very…
Steve Cohen is wasting no time. The stock market re-opens on Monday.
Yeah, I do wish our Yankees would operate with a bit of urgency now that they’re on a budget. It was okay to sit and wait when they would simply write a check bigger than anyone else, but to let guys hit FA to receive competing offers (and potentially initiate a bidding war) probably won’t fit with their austerity budget model.
They’re content on letting the market determine value rather than creating the market value.
What budget? They spent $250 million in 2022
A) Horribly allocated funds only spent because of the budget restrictions (ironically), and
B) A lot of that money comes off the books the next two years. Unless of course Cashman does Cashman-like things.
Since Rizzo has opted out and Severino’s option has been picked up, the Yankees have approximately $201 million on the books for 2023 including all the arbitration cases.
Cashman has already said they are not in the market for a SS so their decisions are do they sign Judge and what bullpen moves do they make. Maybe a mid to back of the rotation starter, but with Cole, Cortes, Montas, Severino, and German already in that rotation, that is a luxury not a necessity. Sounds like that is slam dunk time with $50+ million to spend.
Hal said last season at the trade deadline that Cashman was not restricted on payroll. I would be willing to bet that is still and always is the case.
Rizzo OPTED OUT??
He was subpar in 2021 and projects to around 1.5 WAR in 2023, and at the easiest position on the diamond.
This is bizarre.
Rizzo had a .817 OPS and 131 OPS+ in 2022. That is really good hitting.
The shift is going away and no one in baseball was bit by the shift more than he was. You can expect his hitting to at the very least maintain his 2022 level.
He will certainly get more than $16 million. Probably more than that AAV on a 3 or 4 year deal.
@Pads Clarke Schmidt is also in the mix so German’s role isn’t secure. Michael King who was lights out is also coming back from injury. I don’t expect them to acquire a closer so it’s Clay Holmes’ job to lose. I’ve lost trust in what Hal has to say. His dad at least backed up his words.
Yeah, he is restricted, if not in number certainly in operational theory. The Yankees (Hal & Cashman) have openly talked about how Hal can’t justify spending “x” amount of money when the Rays only spend “x” amount of money and get the same, or better, results.
It’s most often when we say: yes, that’s because you’ve spent it poorly. Fire Cashman, fire Boone, spend better.
I get you though, man. It dropped $60MM or so this year (before FA) and will drop (off the books) precipitously over the next two years. Obviously, if they sign Judge that’s going to be app $40MM tacked back on.
Lol Mets weren’t playing. They said to Diaz you ain’t getting free MFer lol.
But I like it if you have your guy and can get a deal done then get it done already.
I don’t think Eppler was good in Anaheim, and I don’t think he is doing anything special in NY, but this can can spend money.
Huh?
I think it’s to safe to say Starling Marte will not be closing out 50% of save opportunities.
Timmy Trumpet and his Merry Mariachi Band will be back too
I know Ms Met will be happy as well
Speaking of….I wonder if Contreras will change his walk-up song now that Timmy has chosen the Mets (or perhaps the Mets have chosen him, is more appropriate) due to Diaz.
Could be a serious walk-up song war coming – and those are noooo joke. You don’t take another man’s walk-up song artist.
I’m telling you, the music has some of voodoo attached to it. It is bad luck. Let the Mets keep it.
Baby Shark is available again, right?
On a serious note, kid has talent though, man. I wonder if he will end up as good, or better, than Willson.
That’s a question I don’t have an answer to. With that being said, the Braves are fortunate William ended up taking a solid step forward because it makes the unnecessary Olson trade a little less… stupid.
I am still surprised they gave up Shea with his early evaluations at C.
Catching is probably the least important offensive position to fill and the Braves obviously realized replacing Freeman with another good player is far more important than filling the catchers spot with strong talent. By unnecessary, I mean letting Freeman go btw. I don’t blame AA if Oakland made Shea the dealbreaker.
The problem is, everyone has Timmy Trumpet
It is way over used
Interesting deal for a reliever
Only thing eppler is good at is spending other peoples money. He got taken to town opt out no Trade clause. What a joke he is. At least wait for a market, mets are a Mess with this guy.
That was the market. Pretty much all the articles about Diaz prior to the World Series said he would be bringing in $20 million AAV. I think the only surprise was 5 years instead of 4.
An opt out at 32 for a closer is not a bad thing. If he pitched well enough to opt out, then they got 3 insanely good years and Diaz is expecting a new contract for more than $20 million AAV and at least 3 more years for ages 33-35 or older.
From 1980 to today, you can count the number of 32-35 year old relievers with 35 plus saves on two fingers. Quisenberry and Jones. That’s it.
Kenley Jansen is 35 years old. He had 41 saves this season and 38 last. Just saying
Great. Now we get another offseason of overconfident Mets fans who think spending money will help their team get out of the wild card round lmao.
Let the off-season begin and the clueless Mets fans go wild!
Yes I’m a brewers fan and we know we are a mid team. At least we admit to it 😉
Hey, man, lots of [speculation] around trading one of your top two SP. You think the Brew Crew will do that? Hard to find guys that good, but they could probably get quite a nice haul for one of them.
At least you admitted that you root for an inferior team. The Mets won 101 games and made the playoffs. Enjoy mediocrity…as the Mets are moving in the right direction, instead of sideways.
Blowing a 10 plus game lead in the division after spending all that money only to lose to the padres in the wild card round is “moving in the right direction?”
Hmmm
Hmmm, I’d say having a team go from 77 wins to 101 wins and getting into the playoffs would be interpreted as moving in the right direction. I realize that you’re a bit salty with your team’s regression but I’d be disappointed if my team was going sideways as well. ✌️
Oh, so you’re a bandwagon fan? You only started rooting for the mets when they became good? Or are you just being a hypocrite…
Hey poop. Do you remember Craig Swan or Pat Zachary? If not, stfu and get ready for school tomorrow. You seem to have a lot to learn.
When your ballclub leads the division for 170 days, it expects to win the division at a canter. Said ballclub went through a lost weekend in Atlanta and found themselves in a 2-out-of-3-falls match with San Diego.
LOLmets is a meme that endures.
Everyone and their mother can already hear the Mets fans in the future hating on him as he stinks and has a fat contract.
Your projection is interesting,though not unanticipated. Maybe you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Citi Field and experiencing when Diaz enters a game. The results from his pitching, combined with the ancillary benefits through merchandising, makes it a worthwhile investment.
Merchandise $ is split between teams and you’re ignoring the outcome where he is bad @ closing. Yeah, people like him now, wait until he’s bad. I guess you just chose to ignore that possibility.
Okay, one more for the kid. You do realize that players like Diaz put fannies in the seats, right? And please provide evidence that Diaz is “…bad @ closing.” Or are you just another clown that has nothing to back up your posts? And, “…wait until he’s bad.”?!? Sure kid.
I seriously doubt that a closer places butts in the seats. You may not even see the guy pitch that night. It’s not like a closer is marketable like a guy like Judge or Soto or any other top tier position player
That just isn’t true. Mo Rivera brought fans into the ballpark no question to hear Enter Sandman. Diaz has been lights out and absolutely brings fans in to experience him coming into the bottom of the 9th in Queens. Its like you want to argue just to argue.
Better that than having no fans and an empty stadium like the Marlins.
That’s not fair. Some fans come out to the games in Miami. Mainly Mets fans on vacation down in Florida, but still… some fans do show up at the ballpark.
Haha the homeless people that are given tickets so they can enjoy some air conditioning during the Miami summer.
I would have liked to have seen to how he handled the heavier workload of a longer postseason with multiple 2 inning appearances, but it wasn’t to be and that wasn’t his fault.
Otherwise, no complaints.
Those trumpets will be made of gold now !
When can he opt out?? Didn’t see that in the post…
Yeah, third year. That’s a huge benefit for him on an already-huge contract. But, if we look at it like many other contracts, even if he’s good for 3-4 years of that I’m sure the Mets will take it. Dude was completely lights out this year. Plus, I really don’t think they’re worried about 3 years down the road. Pretty sure everyone from Cohen all the way down to Mets22fan is thinking about winning in 2023. If that happens, they’ll take whatever after that.
Yea Braves fans saying this is a stupid deal. How about signing players with 1 year of service to long deals.
One year? How about 1/3 of a year. When Olson continues to regress, Swanson leads the leagues in K’s, Harris has an OBP of .280 and Acuna is too lazy to catch a pop up it’ll be fun to watch. Imagine if Bellinger was a Brave he’d be in year 5 of a 10 year deal.
A lot of criticism of the team that has been the best in our division for the last few years.
Stupid Braves locking up all that young talent to team friendly deals so they can be a contender every year for the rest of the decade. Idiots.
Don’t you know….signing guys on the cheap and continuing to win division titles and be a championship contender is not as good as spending three times as much for the hopes of being a Wild Card team.
Seriously it’s a better gamble than paying guys in their 30’s large sums of money for the Braves. I’m sure many Braves fans would have rather given Riley the money than Donaldson as an example. Mets take the win now approach and the Braves take the 8 year window approach. Also money plays a part in both their thinking. Mets just don’t get it. The Braves would have already locked up Alonso to a cheaper deal than what he is going to get in FA. Maybe the Mets just don’t care as much about the money they throw around. It’s two different ways to construct a team. You can knock the Braves but they already have a WS victory with this core of players. Even if they don’t win another one which would be disappointing, it’s still would be considered a somewhat success. All you Mets fans should know that winning a WS doesn’t happen often.
Can’t sign older players to big deals because they rarely workout and you cannot lock up young talent either…
If I was a Mets fan, I’d be torn between feeling glad my team retained the best Closer, or worried Diaz will turn into a very expensive pumpkin long before the contract expires.
One thing is for certain, it’s definitely good to have an Owner who is willing to gamble his money on retaining productive vets, even if it’s likely a bad bet due to volatility of Relief Pitchers.
If you are going to give a reliever 100 million this guy is as good as any at his age. I would spend 100 million differently but great for Diaz and hope he stays healthy and dominant.
If I’m a Mets fan, I’d be ecstatic knowing that the team owner is on a mission to win a championship after a very long drought. It’s a lot of money for a closer but it’s not like the Mets are stopping there with new signings. Cohen has a long track record of very successful risk assessment. Not all of his deals are going to work out but he sure is positioning the Mets to win.
He’s very good….and that’s a very long and expensive contract. Mets can afford it, it probably going to be excellent for 2-3 seasons, and maybe that’s enough.
Stupid move for Mets. No reason to pay that much to a closer. Especially one without lights out previous seasons.
And on top of that, they gave an opt out clause and a no trade clause? I could understand one or the other but not both. Not on top of a record breaking contract.
Stupid is as stupid does Mets
Already? I figured it’d be February before this happened
They want to make sure they get paid
Recession coming
Coming??
What are the chances he ever uses a opt out?
Chapman joined the Yankees at age 28 and was more or less effective until he turned 34. But relief pitchers are notoriously volatile. I wouldn’t recommend this contract for most teams, but it’s couch cushion for Cohen, so I guess it makes sense.
And also is a longer play to attract FA starting pitchers.
The reasoning being that they can feel more confident that a win in a close game won’t be squandered in a blown save?
Just a hunch but I think for a desirable starting pitcher who cares about compiling W’s, it’s a worthy consideration whether a team has a legit closer.
Makes sense, YBC.
Both right, and guess what else? One of the Nay managers isn’t playing closer by committee next year…. I’ll give you one guess which manager?
Don’t worry… Cashman has been neck deep with Zack Britton negotiations for months.
I’m waiting for the matching “Aroldis Chapman Signed to 3-year $60MM Deal”
Cashman/Boone: “Well, we really liked when he located it last season. He’s one of the best in the league by our internal metrics. We think it’s just below the surface. He’s going to be an important part of keeping us championship caliber”
Man, you’ve got the front office rhetoric down pat!
Maybe Yankees can trade for Diaz’s brother.
Makes complete sense now. I did a deep dive, tons of research, bought people off and found out the secret. Hal’s origins full name on his birth certificate is: Halbert Steinbrenner Wilpon.
Yeah, I’m guessing the Yankees will opt for another year of Holmes in the hope they can get him back to his All-Star form.
Meant to say “couch cushion money for Cohen.”
Chapman went into decline at 29 and was done as elite at 33.
In fact, after age 28, his best season wasn’t as good as his *average* season from ages 24 to 28.
That’s a lot of decline.
In Chapman’s age-30 through age-33 seasons, he ranked second in K/9, fifth in saves, eighth in fWAR and ninth in FIP among all qualified relievers.
Dumb.
It’s an overpay but it’s NOT our money. Glad both parties were able to consumate a deal to their liking!
LFGM!!!
Lol. Had to be a stupid deal to get Diaz to not even test the open market…
This was the proper priority move. Lock down closer is so important. Need a real set up man and a legit lefty.
Nimmo should be next up. Chafin in FA as soon as the period opens. I believe it’s time to replace deGrom with a younger guy. Lots of work to do but solid start.
In a NY Minute, this record setting deal was as predicted. 5 Yrs $102 MM with a 6th Yr Option for $ 20 MM
Way too much for a closer unless you’re owner is Cohen. Then you’re fine.
*Your
Would not be shocked if they trade for his brother as well.
That would be fun to see. His brother was fire this last season. Would probably take way more than anyone would be willing to give up to land him, though.
Who ends the games is answered. Now the question is who will start the games. 4 of their starters are FA.
He was terrible in 19, great in 20, ok in 21 and great in 22.
Pretty spotty track record for that many years at that aav.
Mets may actually have a 400m payroll this year. Not my money so good for him.
While teams willing to spend money is fun. It also shows just how unbalanced mlb is.
As always with these things, it’s not the money it’s the length. Five years for a closer very rarely gets done, let alone ends up well. Add to that a full no trade, and as a fan I’d go yikes. But I’m not and so good luck Mets.
Does $$ win titles?
Hardly.
Already 37 million over the luxury tax? That cannot be right can it?
I like the deal. You knew it was going to be fat. You hope he’s a great closer for 3 years and then he opts out and you walk away while someone else pays for the decline.
Five more years of Rhys Hoskins looking like an idiot at the plate in the ninth inning. Great move Mets
Mets don’t play the Phillies that much anymore. The new balanced schedule starts next year. Mets will actually be playing some AL teams more than the Phils.
Stevie Cohen’s beautiful money.
Being a Latino sports star in NYC must be a fantastic experience. I’m sure the $ didn’t hurt his decision either!
Disappointing. I would’ve liked him to test the market and hopefully see the Marlins make a run at him, even if it just was to run up the price tag on the Mets.
He got what can be expected thought.
Just like the ran up the price of Marte
The Marlins actually did, and forced the Mets into giving that fourth year.
Know the facts before trying to be sarcastic.
I was agreeing with you. Must be the first smart post you ever made if your instinct is to go on the defensive.
Sorry @YourDreamGM.
I’m on the Mets board so I’m kind of used to so many posters on here living in a fantasy world of the uninformed, and making counter arguments and attempted sarcasm without knowledge. One of them would’ve used the same words you did, but it would’ve meant what I responded to.
Sorry about getting you caught in the crosshairs.
No problem. I know many NY fans and find them the most annoying. I think it was good Marte got away. His bat didn’t like that ballpark as much as he liked the rest of south Florida. I love it and imagine a young latin man who likes narco would as well. NY is good fit for him and at that price they can have him.
That’s a lot for a reliever, even a great one.
Check back in three years…I don’t think this will age well.
The Mets will have close to 206 million in payroll (including Cano, Bonilla, Saberghagen) after Diaz new deal and non-tendering Dominic Smith. Could reduce it to 203 million by offloading Darin Ruf, who didn’t perform in 2022 for the Mets.
The Mets will likely pickup Carlos Carasco’s option valued at 14 million, which is a net 11 million decision. Thus raising the payroll to nearly 220 million.
The Mets will need to address 3 rotation spots, CF or RF, bullpen (outside Diaz and Drew Smith), and bench. Seems like a hard ask to do while remaining at 2022 payroll levels.
Some teams could pay their entire team with money the mets overpay and waste.
They can’t ‘offload’ Darin Ruf. He’s untradable. They’ll cut him in advance of Rule V, assuming we still do Rule V.
Beyond Scherzer and Carrasco in your scenario, who are the starting pitchers?
For me, I always judge a contract extension by whether you can find teams that would be willing to trade for it. If a majority of teams would, good job. If not, overpay.
I don’t think a single team in baseball would trade for that contract. They actually would’ve saved 20 million by allowing him to hit free agency. Good luck with that one
Mets are going to have the biggest payroll in baseball by a significant margin when this offseason is over, imo. It’s not my money so I don’t care, but right now, they only have:
-Two starting pitchers, Max and Carrasco, unless they buy out Carrasco instead of picking up his option. I imagine Walker will turn down his option. So three rotation holes, potentially four, with few in-house options in the minors, unless they want to try Peterson or Megill.
-Tons of holes in the bullpen, as outlined in the article above.
-Only two OF (Cahna and Marte), unless they want to move McNeil out and play Marte in CF, then play Escobar at 2B with Baty at 3B, which is honestly a good move from a cost perspective.
I expect them to run Vogelbach and Alvarez/Vientos as the platoon DH, with Alvarez catching with Nido (or McCann) and Vientos filling in wherever needed in the field.
But even if they run with what they have for position players, filling out the pitching staff and bullpen is going to skyrocket the payroll past $300 million.
And they’ll still finish behind the Braves.
Braves should remain the favorite, but I think the Mets have another legitimate shot at the division, but I also think the Phils will be more consistent this year as well. That division will be tough, but the interesting wrinkle is, those teams won’t be playing each other all that much because of the new balanced schedule.
Any of the 3 could take it. Younger has better odds of being healthier so I will go with the Braves yet again.
Braves are the favorite right now, sure, but they’ve got a lot of young players who may come down to earth, specifically guys like Strider and Harris.
It was a must make move Glad to see it!
M’s fan love Eddie and salute the great contract for the greatest receiver ever.
It is Eddie Day and exaggeration is allowed on Eddie’s Day.
That’s stupid money .. I don’t think teams should sign relievers to big deals like this. Long term contracts. They are easily the most up and down cluster of players on the rosters. If Diaz is a perfect example of the ups and downs. 1 year, 2 year deals fine.. 6 years is crazy
An overpay but im glad they resigned him. Now they need to work on signing some starters and revamping their entire bullpen
He’s only really good on even years, so wait until 2024 for this to pay off.
Met land a huge right cross at the opening bell, taking the top reliever off the board before the other gms knew what hit them.
Heck of a first day.
Everyone expected him to resign with the mets. The fact that he was already a met last year makes this a nothing to other teams. Big for the mets but nothing to anyone else. If anything the other teams are laughing at the cost.
Yeah, heck of a day to throw a ton of money at a team’s pending FA reliever and get him to sign. What an achievement.
I hear you, all quality guys, but he’s been the top of that group overall… but you know how it is – next year Clase could be the cream of the crop… or pressly.. etc
I feel like hader was so bad second half this year and actually finished terribly in 2020 and also awful in summer of 2019. He has some stretches where he kills the team. Seems like every year now he has long stretches where he kills the team.
Great start to the Mets offseason, resigning Diaz, next I would try and sign Trea Turner if he’s willing to play 2b there’s our new lead off hitter, next if deGrom opts out let him go along with Bassitt, Walker, May, Lugo and I hate to say Nimmo because Scott Boras will be asking for the moon for him, he’s a great defensive player but not a power hitter or base stealer, the Mets can replace these players with Rodon, Verlander, Chafin, Fulmer and Joc Pederson to play CF. Sign Abreu to DH.
Rotation: Scherzer,Verlander, Rodon, Carrasco and Megill or Peterson (the other goes to the bullpen)
Turner (2b), Pederson (CF), Lindor, Alonso, Abreu (DH), McNeil (LF), Marte, Baty (3b) and Alvarez C
By not resigning deGrom ($45), Bassitt ($20+), Walker ($15), Nimmo ($20), May ($5) and Lugo ($5) = $115
With that $115 the Mets can sign Verlander($25), Rodon,($25),Turner ($30), Abreu ($15), Chafin and Fulmer
If you pay him enough money he will gladly play 2b imo.
The history of these contracts for relievers at this length isn’t great, yet for a team like the Mets it does make sense. If Diaz is non effective by year five, the team moves on. This is just a way to spread out the contract costs, even if slightly.
I’m sure the “Cohen has infinite money” crowd will love this. Can’t wait for the day they have to walk it back when those luxury tax payments get so high that even he will have to tighten his purse.
Depends if he ever wants to make a dime off the Mets.
Conventional wisdom says that will happen but Yachts don’t make money either & the mega wealthy cruise around on those money pits.
Might end up being an Ego/Desire to win over Money situation. I’m sure the hedge fund is still raking it in. If the Mets are his “toy” he might continue to throw gobs of money at it
I’ll admit, it is possible. I suppose I take more issue with the pure assumption this will be the case rather than it merely being a possibility.
It’s entirely possible that these investments will pay off for him. The Mets are capable of selling 3M+ tickets, if they maintain a high level of excellence.
Technology changes so fast that in six years there may be fan immersive experiences where your view is from a camera on the batter’s glasses or holographic projections surrounding your family room.
You don’t have that yet?
Good lord, please don’t tell me you’re still watching ‘MLB.tv’ !!
Cohen isn’t there to make money off the Mets, that’s true. That said, the escalating restrictions already in place will make it difficult for the Mets to function within the MLB sandbox, especially if he wants to build a sustainable model similar to the Dodgers as he’s stated. There’s a new CBA every five years. If he is reckless, the other owners will make further rules to constrain him. He’s aware of that.
Closers are so volatile but if Diaz is pretty good and even if he gives the Mets four good seasons it’s worth it
I agree. I’d have been fine with a RS offer of $95M/5. In a world where guys like Kimbrel, Iglesias and Jansen are getting ~ $15M, you might as well push a few more chips into the middle to get the best.
Since Diaz has only been great every other year of his career, Stevie’s paying for 2 great years in 2024 & 2026 if the pattern holds.
Anyone who thinks this is a bad deal clearly isn’t a fan of a NL East team. It scares the heck out of me that he’ll stick around. Much scarier than deGrom
You are a Phillies fan. Of course you would be afraid of the Mets given they destroyed and embarrassed you all season.
They don’t really play each other much next year. Mets also never really played a healthy Phillies team, but they did own the Phils no doubt.
C’mon Von. Don’t pull the Met fan excuse with injuries. You were destroyed in ’21 because of the bullpen and bad defense against the Mets. When you were saying how the Phillies are just bad and the Mets are good, I was the one defending the Phillies saying they were giving games away. Funny, how the season turned out at the end though. Nice try though, but the Astros are just way better than the Phils.
The Mets played a ton of games against the Phillies without Harper. Not an excuse. Pure facts. Mets were still a better regular season team than the Phils. Wasn’t close. Both these things can be true. The Phillies/Mets schedule was insane last year. Tons of games upfront. Very few late in the season. Mets caught the Phils at their worst. Still think the Mets were the better team overall. Not ssying otherwise. Either way, like I said, doesn’t matter…they hardly play next year.
$400k per inning?
that’s about 600 K per save. Well worth it.
Should have waited until after they QO’d him so that they wouldn’t be able to QO him if he opts out.
100 million for a relief arm … Mets spend money like it’s nothing, so a payroll doesn’t really matter to them. But to think he can keep up from where he left off this last season, that would be asking for a whole lot. I don’t believe in paying relievers this much money… at all. But then again, if you don’t actually have to worry about a payroll.. who really cares. The Mets certainly don’t.
The guy I’d like in the bullpen is not Edwin, it’s Alexis Diaz. He’s just 25 and has a great future. He’ll be wasted if he stays with the Reds.
How many big-time games has he saved with the Mariners and the Mets? $20M/year and 6 years for a reliever? I don’t think anyone else would give him that, unless out of desperation.
Diaz is worth 20 million per, but not for 5 years. Three years, maybe. How many relievers have sustained success for 5 years? Not many. Relief pitching is notoriously volatile and not where I would sink so much money.
But hey, the Mets aren’t my team.
Diaz is top flight and we get to hear the trumpets again this coming year :).
Just looked through Diaz’s comps, and nearly all of them crash and burn around age 30-31 or just become ordinary.
The human arm isn’t made to take that much torque. The opt-out and no-trade clause make this borderline criminal for the Mets. It would border on reasonable if they had the Red Sox clause instead, where if the pitcher misses a year, he owes them a year for $1—but this? This is bizarre.
Worst overpay in a long time. Nobody was going to give him anywhere close to that.
@Chemo850
Good re-signing by the Mets for a guy with electric stuff other teams would have coveted in bidding war.. This very important signing sets the tone for Mets offseason. Happy they got it done.
Yes every team would love to have Diaz, but not for that price. He’s too inconsistent season to season.
“Give him whatever he wants! Get it done!! Get it done!!! Just get it done, god damn it!!!!”
There’s a reason why there are never any hometown discounts with players that decide to stick with the Mets. They always have to pay these players right at the tippy top of the market.
Great for Diaz, but that’s a stupid contract.
Mets throw cash at anyone. Considering how they have money, I don’t think it’s that bad so long as he produces. Didn’t realize he was that young
I still refer to the Mets as Pond Scum from the 80’s, but man did I enjoy watching this guy pitch. all year.
Are you sure that deferred money doesn’t count against the luxury tax? That’s not my understanding.
Yes.
truebluela.com/2022/3/18/22982575/freddie-freeman-…
Thanks YBC, I wasn’t aware of that. I’m guessing teams could use that to manipulate the system a bit.
Anytime. Yeah, the Yankees did that with Brett Gardner’s final contract in the form of mutual options. It was understood that neither side was going to exercise the additional option year.
It is beyond my comprehension the amount of money these players make.
Not a smart deal for the Mets. Relievers are volatile. Especially Diaz. He’s had 2 elite seasons spread out between bad/mediocre/good seasons. I keep hearing he’s the best closer in the game. The best last year? Sure I’ll grant you that, but it takes more than 2 elite seasons to be called the best.
He’s got one decent year left in him. The rest is dead money. Signing a closer long term is just plain stupid.
as was that comment
So what will Josh Hader want after his promise of becoming one of the biggest free agents after the 2023 season?
This kind of money can really make or break a person entirely.
Over 61 games
This works out to $352,459 per game
He threw 62 innings
That works out to $346,774 Per inning
With the pitch clock next year call an inning 15 min
That works out to making about $49, 768 for 15 min of work.
@ Buff… Nice breakdown. Life changing money for sure.