The trumpets will no longer resound in Queens.
Edwin Diaz has closed his last game for the New York Mets. He's heading for the Los Angeles Dodgers in free agency on a three-year, $69 million contract, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Diaz had been with the Mets since 2019, when he arrived in a trade from the Seattle Mariners.
For seven years, and six healthy seasons, Diaz appeared in 332 games with the Mets had had a 2.93 ERA. He saved 144 games, and he struck out 538 batters in 328.1 innings pitched.
But he will now be pitching for the back-to-back World Series champs.
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Why did the Mets let Edwin Diaz leave for the Dodgers?
Even Steve Cohen's checkbook apparently has a limit.
This is a two-way street, of course. The Mets may have offered the same money as the Dodgers, and Diaz could've just opted for a new beginning.
But the Mets had already signaled in various comments this offseason that they may be prioritizing their salary in other places.
A closer isn't the most efficient asset in terms of financial value. Relief pitching is the most volatile year-to-year position in baseball, and the value of a closer, at times, can be overdone by the saves statistic that doesn't always represent level of difficulty.
Now as far as the ranks of closers, Diaz is clearly one of the best. So the Mets have opted for a downgrade in that specific role.
But if they use their financial might elsewhere this offseason, it could still work out just fine for them.
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