New York Mets Place Struggling Closer Edwin Díaz on Injured List With Shoulder Issue

Edwin Díaz is set to miss the next few weeks with a shoulder impingement, dealing yet another blow to the New York Mets closer who was already having a rough May.

May 18, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) reacts as he leaves the mound after giving up four runs against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Mets have placed closer Edwin Díaz on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder impingement, the team announced Wednesday.

Díaz last took the mound Saturday, giving up two hits and an earned run against the San Francisco Giants. That marked Díaz's fourth blown save of the season, and the Giants went on to win 7-2 in extra innings.

New York recalled left-handed pitcher Josh Walker from Triple-A Syracuse to take Díaz's place on the active 26-man roster.

RHP Edwin Díaz has been placed on the 15-Day IL with a right shoulder impingement.

LHP Josh Walker has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse.

— New York Mets (@Mets) May 29, 2024

Díaz, who started the regular season on fire, had fallen on hard times even before this latest injury.

Through April 28, Díaz owned a 0.93 ERA, a .121 batting average against and a .423 OPS against. He was a perfect 4-for-4 in save opportunities to that point, and the Mets were 7-3 when he took the mound.

Since April 29, however, Díaz has a 9.58 ERA, .326 batting average against a 1.034 OPS against. The Mets are 4-6 in his last 10 outings, during which time Díaz is a mere 1-for-5 in save opportunities.

Manager Carlos Mendoza said on May 19 that Díaz would no longer be the Mets' full-time closer, and that his role would be more fluid moving forward. He posted a seventh-inning hold and a blown save in his only two appearances after that media availability.

This isn't the first injury that will disrupt Díaz's time with the Mets, although it remains to be seen how much time the 30-year-old will miss with this shoulder impingement. Díaz tore his right patellar tendon during last year's World Baseball Classic, knocking him out of the entire 2023 season.

Díaz made his MLB debut with the Seattle Mariners back in 2016. In 2018, he posted a 1.96 ERA and led the American League with 57 saves, finishing eighth in Cy Young voting and 18th in MVP voting while winning the AL Reliever of the Year Award.

The Mets traded for Díaz the following offseason, although he put up a 5.59 ERA in his first campaign with his new team. After rebounding in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and going through an up-and-down 2021, Díaz took the league by storm in 2022.

Díaz went 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA, 32 saves, a 0.839 WHIP, 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings and a 3.2 WAR for a 101-win Mets squad. He placed ninth in the NL Cy Young race and 19th in NL MVP voting in addition to his NL Reliever of the Year Award win.

That's when New York rewarded Díaz with a five-year, $102 million contract – the largest ever given to a relief pitcher. He hurt his knee a few months later, though, and he didn't make another appearance until 2024.

Díaz is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 13.5 strikeouts per nine innings, five saves and a -0.6 WAR on the whole this season.

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