Ranking 3 candidates to replace Edwin Diaz as the closer if the Mets pulls the plug

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.