Bro get him!
Diaz’s younger sibling could be Amazin’s answer at closer
THE METS’ answer to their sudden closing issue is as easy as checking out the Diaz family tree. And they don’t even have to pay the $100 for 23andMe, either. They should look no further than the Reds roster, where they’ll find injured star Edwin Diaz’s kid brother Alexis.
Alexis isn’t Edwin — who is? — but he has a lot going for him, even beyond the five years of control left before he’s a free agent, which in itself is big.
Most don’t know too much about Alexis beyond the family tie and the tears he shed watching his brother go down as Team Puerto Rico’s triumphant closer in an aborted WBC quarterfinal celebration following the victory over the Dominican Republic. Alexis had a big 2022, too, but he started as an unknown 12th-round draft choice who originally signed for $130,000 and rose for a team that remains mostly a mystery to a vast majority of fans outside western Ohio and northern Kentucky. But consider:
1. He has closer stuff.
2. He has some closing experience at the big-league level.
3. He’s only 25 and missed two years (one for Tommy John and one like all minor leaguers for COVID), so there’s plenty of potential and mileage to go.
4. He presumably would be thrilled to take Edwin’s spot in his season of need and even more thrilled to team up with him over the following four years, which coincidentally coincides with his big brother’s relief record $102 million contract.
5. He might even consent to befriending Timmy Trumpet and “borrowing” Edwin’s entrance song “Narco,” which we were all expecting to miss terribly.
6. And this is the big one. He’s presumably available (at the right price, of course).
It’s hard to imagine there’s another team willing to give up a talented, proven and uninjured closer on the cusp of the regular season, much less a relation to our fallen hero. Say what you want about Reds ownership but their front office has to know this isn’t their year.
Of course, Reds higher-ups also value Diaz — who limited opposing batters to a ridiculous .131 average last year, saved 10 games and is affordable (even by their standards) at just over the $720,000 minimum. They also have to understand the desperation of the Mets. This isn’t just a small setback.
“It’s going to be tough. We lost the best closer in the game,” Team USA member Jeff McNeil said before expressing faith in the holdovers.
“We’re going to miss him. We’re going to miss him on the field but we’re going to miss him in the clubhouse,” Team USA member Pete Alonso said of Edwin Diaz. “It’s extremely unfortunate. We’re still going to be an incredible ballclub.” At these prices, they better be. As we well know by now, this is the very first $364 million roster in major league history. And it’s a better idea to take a chance trading the wrong prospect than risk wasting it by being unable to close out games that should be won.
From here, the roster generally looks worthy of the $364 million outlay — now $344 million with Diaz out — with one obvious exception. It’s no surprise Mets people will stiffen their upper lip and tell you now that they intend to go with David Robertson as closer, and indeed, that’s probably the likelihood.
Big trades are rarely made this time of year. And Mets people now guard their prospects like gold. Mets general manager Billy Eppler didn’t immediately return a text, and let’s hope he’s working on this trade (but I’m not too confident he is).
I’m also hearing some dissenting opinion from Mets-connected folks who point out that while Alexis has the same DNA, they aren’t the same person (that was true of Hank and Tommie Aaron, older folks may recall). They also mention Cincinnati isn’t New York, Alexis got hit in the WBC and even Edwin needed two years to adjust and become the game’s best closer in Queens.
Most likely, the Mets may also have gotten wind of the prospect price tag, which has to be high. They surely do not want to trade Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty or maybe even spring sensation Ronny Mauricio.
But the Mets do have prospects. They had five high picks last year, and folks like those picks, especially the catcher Kevin Parada, the 11th overall pick in last year’s draft out of Georgia Tech who can really hit.
The Mets’ current plan seems to be to hope that Robertson, with his 157 career saves, can tough it out. And maybe he can. He has average stuff now but gigantic cojones. So maybe that works.
But maybe not.
There’s nothing worse than a great team being undone by its inability to finish games. The Braves had three Hall of Famers in their rotation (one more than the Mets have now) for a decade, and only won one World Series because they never got a closer until they moved one of those Hall of Famers into the closing role. We don’t want to see the Mets resort to anything that drastic. The best and easiest solution would be to just bite the bullet on the prospects and bring in Eddie’s little brother.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Eduardo Escobar enjoyed the “unbelievable” energy that came with playing in the World Baseball Classic for Venezuela, but his focus returned Monday to the Mets.
Unlike others returning from the event — Francisco Lindor and Omar Narvaez were also back with the team — Escobar admits he doesn’t know if he’s got the same job (starting third baseman) as when he departed.
In his absence, Brett Baty received the most action at third base and didn’t disappoint. It has left third base as maybe the one position to watch with less than a week remaining before the Mets break camp.
“I don’t know,” Escobar said, when asked if he still views himself as the starter. “For me I am coming in here with the idea that I am working hard and control what I can and working and seeing what happens.”
Baty owns a .937 OPS in 19 games this spring and has shown a steadiness at the position that could leave team brass with an interesting decision with the 26-man roster. One possibility would be inserting Escobar into a right-handed DH role (which would likely entail trading or releasing Darin Ruf) and giving the 23-year-old Baty an opportunity.
Last year Baty received a chance with Escobar on the injured list and showed flashes — which included hitting a home run in his first major league plate appearance — before a torn thumb ligament ended his season only 38 at-bats into his tryout.
He agrees with the assessment that he seized his opportunity this spring, particularly during Escobar’s WBC stint.
“I didn’t know what the lineup was going to be every single day, but I tried to treat every day like Opening Day and play hard and do my thing,” Baty said. “I got some starts just because [Escobar] was away and I feel like I played pretty well: I had competitive ABs and was pretty consistent over at third, so I am just going to try to continue that.”
Baty cautioned that there’s still over a week remaining before the Mets have to finalize rosters and he can’t afford complacency.
But he indicated he’s proud of what he’s shown defensively.
“I just think it’s been a lot more consistent, but I have always thought I could make every single play over at third base,” Baty said. “These past couple of weeks have been a lot more consistent and I think that is the biggest thing in the big leagues. You can do it one night, but then you have got to come back and do it the next night too. So just being as consistent as possible has kind of been my goal, so I feel I have done a pretty good job of that.”
Mark Vientos also received a dose of third base in Escobar’s absence and had the added benefit of playing at the other corner of the infield with Pete
Alonso away with Team
USA, which will play in Tuesday’s
WBC final. Vientos entered play with an .811 OPS this spring.
“These guys are the future of the team,” Escobar said. “They are doing a great job and I am so happy these two kids are doing a great job in spring training.”
As much as manager Buck Showalter would have preferred having his starters in camp all spring, the silver lining was receiving an opportunity to evaluate his high-end rookies. Francisco Alvarez, who received chances behind the plate with Narvaez away, also falls into that category.
Asked about Baty seizing an opportunity, Showalter added Vientos to the equation and said both have thrived.
“They are probably playing more in spring training than workload management might allow them,” Showalter said. “It’s been good for them. They have gotten into a good groove and whoever gets them to start the season is going to get some guys ready to play.”