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Mets reliever Edwin Diaz could have some challengers for the closer job

By James Richards |
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets celebrates after the Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Opening Day at Nationals Park on March 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 28: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets celebrates after the Mets defeated the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Opening Day at Nationals Park on March 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
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PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during Photo Day at Clover Park on February 20, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during Photo Day at Clover Park on February 20, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

While the New York Mets bullpen appears to be set, there is some debate as to who should be New York’s closer to start the 2020 season.

In 2019, the New York Mets came into the season with Edwin Diaz entering the season as the team’s closer, who was coming of a historic season, saving 57 games with the Mariners the previous year, tied for the second-most saves in a season by a pitcher in MLB history.

However, despite starting the year strong, Diaz struggled mightily in the second half of the year, due to a combination of overuse early in the season, along with injury and difficulty locating his slider, although he did finish with one of the highest strikeout rates in the MLB.

The Mets entered 2019 expecting the bullpen to be one of their strengths, but they ended up blowing 27 saves to finish the year, tied for 8th most in the major leagues.

With Diaz’s struggles, the Mets turned to a few other options to close out games late in the year, namely Justin Wilson and Seth Lugo, which served them well in their late-season run.

Going into 2020, the Mets have a few different players who could take up the role of Spring Training, namely three: Edwin Diaz, Seth Lugo, and new signee Dellin Betances.

While Justin Wilson did record a few saves in 2019, he looks to start the year as the only lefty, so it would be smart not for him to be limited to just the 9th inning this coming year.

Who gets the gig? Let’s examine each option.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 08: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citi Field on September 8, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 08: Edwin Diaz #39 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citi Field on September 8, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The Case for Edwin Diaz

While he struggled in his debut season for the Mets, Edwin Diaz has a lot of natural ability, as he demonstrated in his 2018 campaign where he had one of the best seasons as a closer in MLB history.

Despite his issues in 2019, he still managed to save 26 games for the Mets and was one of the league leaders in strikeouts among relievers. His main issue was giving up the long ball, which he gave up a career-high 15 times last season.

Despite these issues in last season, Diaz will likely enter Spring Training slotted as the closer, with it being his spot to lose. If he regains his old form, or at the very least is a more consistent pitcher, than this debate hopefully should be over.

Diaz attributes this to an issue with his slider, which was one of his knock out pitches in 2018 but was flat in his debut season for the Mets and commonly hung over the plate, which led to his increased home runs allowed.

Now that he has had a season to recover from any nagging injuries and believed he found the cause of his second-half struggles, hopefully, he’s taken steps to mitigate these issues in 2020, New York hopefully will have the closer that they thought they originally traded for.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 31: Seth Lugo #67 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on August 31, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 31: Seth Lugo #67 of the New York Mets in action against the Philadelphia Phillies during a game at Citizens Bank Park on August 31, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Mets defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

The Case for Seth Lugo

While Diaz looks to enter Spring Training as the incumbent closer, if he should faultier, the next man up looks to be Seth Lugo, who has been arguably the team’s top reliever over the past few years.

Despite still considering himself to be a starting pitcher, Lugo has enjoyed a lot of success out of the bullpen for the Mets. He recorded a 2.66 ERA in 101.1 innings in 2018, and a 2.70 ERA in 80.0 innings in 2019, and when Diaz was originally demoted from the closer role, Lugo was the next choice for New York, and he didn’t disappoint.

Particularly late in the year, he had a perfect ERA in the month of July, going 12.2 innings without allowing a run, and a 1.29 ERA in 14.0 innings in September.

With this consistency for the Mets in recent years, Lugo is the ideal candidate to be slotted at closer in the event new manager Luis Rojas decides to replace Diaz in the role.

Again, while he wants to start, he has been one of the league’s top relief pitchers over the past two seasons, and with not much downside to his game, Lugo looks to enter 2020 as one of the premier set up men, but if the need arises, he could be a very capable closer as well.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: Dellin Betances #68 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during Photo Day at Clover Park on February 20, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA – FEBRUARY 20: Dellin Betances #68 of the New York Mets poses for a photo during Photo Day at Clover Park on February 20, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

The Case for Dellin Betances

A newcomer for the Mets, but certainly not a stranger in New York, before signing a 1 year deal with the team this past offseason, Dellin Betances was a multi-time All-Star with the crosstown Yankees and was one of the top relievers in free agency before the Mets scooped him up.

Over his 8 season’s in the Major Leagues, Betances has compiled a 2.36 ERA over 381.2 innings, warranting himself 4 All-Star selections as he cemented himself as a fixture in the Yankee’s bullpen and one of the most feared relievers in baseball.

The reason the Mets managed to score him on a one year deal is because he missed all but one game last season due to a shoulder injury he suffered prior to the season, and during this his one appearance late in the year, he suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon.

Betances appears to have recovered from both injuries, and if he pitches anything like he used to, he should be a very formidable setup man for New York, but in the event the spot opens, he would be one of the teams best candidates to assume the role of closer.

With a mid to high 90s fastball, a nasty curve, and a hard change-up, Betances has always been a high strikeout pitcher, which always makes for a great closer.

In the event both Diaz and Lugo are each unable to closer out close games for the Mets, Betances would be the best option the team could ask for.

Next. Should the Mets extend Syndergaard or Conforto?

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