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Ranking 3 candidates to replace Edwin Diaz as the closer if the Mets pulls the plug
Should the Mets make a change at the closer spot for one of these three?
All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, will try to put New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz back together again.
The discussion today is whether or not he will get another save opportunity. After blowing Saturday’s game in a non-save situation, Diaz spoke defeated and open to a change.
Edwin Díaz says he would be open to moving out of the closer role:
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2024
"I want to help this team to win, that's my main thing." pic.twitter.com/RpIdFnisCG
Just when Mets fans were knocked down, the baseball gods delivered a few more kicks. Saturday’s failure was his first time on the mound back in Miami since his 2023 injury during the WBC. Diaz admitted it’s not a physical problem, but a mental one. We should wonder if he’s afraid of getting hurt again.
Edwin Díaz says his body is "not an issue"
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 18, 2024
"I think I'm thinking too much." pic.twitter.com/0KWejcfHKG
This leaves the Mets with a whole lot of questions. If they pull the plug on Diaz as the closer, who takes on the role? Taking out the closer-by-committee option, these are the three best candidates right now.
3) Adam Ottavino
One part of me wants Adam Ottavino in the closer role because of his excellent strikeout numbers this year and MLB experience. Another part is a tap on the shoulder and a reminder of how he struggled in the role last season while sharing the duty alongside David Robertson.
Ottavino is in no way a bad choice as a backup closer. He has locked up one save this year in the lone game he finished. Why not turn to your most experienced reliever in a time of need?
With Ottavino, I wouldn’t want to break what’s working so well for him right now. A 2.95 ERA in 18.1 innings is great to see. He is one of the few pitchers not walking batters excessively either. His place as the eighth inning guy shouldn’t change because it’s not as if Diaz will simply move down one spot on the depth chart. If removed from the closer’s role, he needs to work his way toward regaining confidence.
No one will need to rant at an NJTransit station if Ottavino was named the closer. A perfectly fine option to turn to as needed, there are better choices.
2) Reed Garrett
Tell yourself two months ago that we’d seriously be talking about Reed Garrett replacing Edwin Diaz as the closer and you’d think the world had gone mad. The world has been mad for a really long time. Diaz’s fall and Garrett’s rise is just one example.
Garrett’s excellence cannot be understated. His gutsy save against the Los Angeles Dodgers with Diaz handling the eighth was the only example we got of him in a high-leverage save situation. No one on the pitching staff has been better at run prevention. His strikeout numbers are tops on the roster.
Elevating Garrett so high up the depth chart would be a case of riding the hottest arm you have. A majority of fans wouldn’t be opposed to this. The same rationale for not doing so is similar to Ottavino. Let’s not break someone else.
Garrett can pitch multiple innings. While some closers can, he is far more important to have on a night where the team needs more than three outs earlier than the ninth. Garrett should be an alternate at the closer spot. Fixating him around only save opportunities, however, would take away some of his best abilities. Much like the Mets kept Aaron Loup in innings six and seven for the 2021 season and saw him have one of the better pitchers for a middle reliever in team history, the team should consider not changing up Garrett’s role too quickly.
1) Jorge Lopez
The best choice right now for the Mets to maybe replace Diaz is a guy who has been an All-Star closer in the past. Jorge Lopez doesn’t have huge strikeout numbers and his WHIP could certainly use some work. He has logged 2 saves for the Mets and finished 5 total games. The 2.49 ERA is between where Ottavino and Garrett are. So why pick him as the top choice?
Lopez has a bit of an undefined role for the Mets. In a perfect scenario, he doesn’t quite fit into the original blueprint from the bullpen during a team win. Garrett in the sixth. Brooks Raley in the seventh. Ottavino in the eighth. Diaz in the ninth. That’s how you draw it out.
Lopez was signed mostly as a project to see if the Mets could somehow recapture what made him a special pitcher for a half-season back in 2022. He hasn’t been close to the same pitcher, however, his performance has been more than acceptable.
How important are strikeouts in the ninth inning anyway? It’s a typical quality of closers in Major League Baseball and yet not the only way to secure outs.
If you’re yanking Diaz from the closer role, choose a guy who has done it most regularly the most recently. Give him a role and have a quick hook. It doesn’t even need to be announced that he has become the new closer. Mask it as a closer-by-committee.
The Mets have been fortunate to have such a great bullpen this season. If Jake Diekman can find his command and Sean Reid-Foley does the same while continuing to pile up huge numbers elsewhere, this is a battle the team can get through.
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