NY Mets skip an opportunity to further incentivize Edwin Diaz to stay in Queens

Replacing Edwin Diaz will prove difficult for the New York Mets. Undecided about his player option, the Mets will always have an opportunity to re-negotiate or re-sign him after he tests the free agent waters.

They should already be considered the front runners to have him on their roster next year. Diaz seems to be comfortable with the Mets. The desire for a reunion feels mutual; at the right price.

Roster changes aren’t happening aplenty with any team. Several players have opted out of their deals already electing free agency, including now former Mets Jose Siri, Richard Lovelady, and Kevin Herget. The waiver wire has been actively adding new names. The Atlanta Braves had no nibbles on several of the players they placed there. Included were two names Mets fans will know. Jarred Kelenic was one of them. The other was Alexis Diaz.

The Mets proved they have little faith in Alexis Diaz by passing on him in waivers

The move now means Diaz and Kelenic are no longer on the Braves 40-man roster, opening up space for other additions. Atlanta was incredibly active late in the year taking fliers on fallen players. Along with taking Diaz from the Los Angeles Dodgers (the team that traded for him early in 2025), they added Alek Manoah and Joel Payamps. The Braves took full advantage of their horrific season by being among the first to select players on waivers late in the year.

That doesn’t mean anyone will work out. Obviously, with every team passing on players like Kelenic and Diaz, no one seems to have much faith in either.

Diaz had an 8.15 ERA this year including 3 earned runs in only 2.2 innings with Atlanta. He’ll be a project for them that might never see the light of major league day again. The Cincinnati Reds knew him better than anyone and willingly sent him packing after only 6 innings this year. Just 9 more innings with the Dodgers before going to the Braves to finish the year, it’s an incredible fall for the 2023 All-Star.

The connection to the Mets is clear. Would selecting Diaz off of waivers have helped them convince his brother, Edwin, to opt in? Probably not. But if the Mets did hold that card, the thought of teaming up with his brother might have been too tempting for him to not give th eMets the tie-breaker in any contract negotiations.

Alexis made $4.5 million this past season. It’s pretty rare for an arbitration-eligible player to see a decrease in pay. It’s a lot of money for a guy who’ll be on the roster bubble immediately or spend the full year in Triple-A. He did have options, though. And considering the Mets were willing to pay Shintaro Fujinami about a million less to rot in the minors for all of 2024, it wouldn’t have been a horrific idea to make the other Diaz brother a candidate to throw in the lab and recreate.

There’s no shame in passing on teaming up the Diaz Brothers. Fans would have surely had a revolt of sorts, claiming it was “typical David Stearns” or something similar. We should still expect the Mets to add players in a similar situation this winter. Just because many of their projects didn’t work this year doesn’t mean they throw out the idea entirely moving forward.