The fatal mistake the NY Mets made with their contract offer to Edwin Diaz

Who’s the bad guy here? The difference between what the New York Mets offered Edwin Diaz, $66 million over 3 years, and what he got from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the same years and $3 million more, is peanuts in MLB free agency. Going from the Mets to the Dodgers is impactful. Diaz now has a chance to play for a team going for a three-peat as opposed to sticking with the Mets where he could have gone on to become one of the franchise legends sans championship.

Maybe there is no bad guy here. The Mets clearly made him a competitive offer. Diaz didn’t circle back to the Mets, but perhaps he wanted something else.

The mistake the Mets made wasn’t low-balling Diaz or failing to make a competitive offer altogether. Their error was not going for a fourth year from the start.

There’s no reason why the Mets should have been so against a fourth year for Edwin Diaz

Pitching at age 32-35 on a massive four-year deal is no death sentence for a reliever of Diaz’s abilities. Robert Suarez is already 34. What are we missing here?

Closers, maybe more than any other notable role in the game, age well. Kenley Jansen is still out there slinging. He turned 38 back in September. Aroldis Chapman is still pitching well and is coming off of a fantastic season at age 37. What gives? Diaz would have been several years younger than both of them by the time a four-year contract ran out.

Without inserting ourselves into the minds of both sides, we can’t fully tell exactly what was cooking. For Diaz, it’s not inconceivable he plays out his three years and re-enters the market place only to secure another multi-year deal for more money. The safer bet for him, however, would have been to guarantee himself money now rather than wait.

Four years and $88 million seems like a safe enough offer the Mets should have made. There’s no evidence to suggest Diaz is collapsing after the 2028 season. This strange obsession of not giving long-term deals to pitchers proved costly. It may have been the difference in their negotiations.

There is no telling how the Dodgers would have operated, though. In their talks with Diaz, the result would have been that they’ll give him just a little more than whatever the Mets come with. If so, there never was a battle to win here.