Edwin Diaz Addresses Job Security As Mets Closer After Fourth Blown Save

Tom Dierberger | May 25, 2024

Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz reacts as he leaves the mound after giving up four runs against the Miami Marlins in the ninth inning on May 18. / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

Edwin Diaz, the once-feared New York Mets closer, is in the middle of an uncharacteristic slump.

Diaz blew his third straight save opportunity Saturday in the Mets' 7–2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field. With the Mets leading 2–1 in the ninth inning, Diaz came in to close the game and allowed two singles and the game-tying run. The Giants went on to score five runs in the 10th inning and won 7–2.

It was Diaz's fourth blown save of the season in nine chances. He has allowed at least one run in four of his last five outings and nine total runs in the month of May—the same number of runs he surrendered across 61 appearances in 2022.

Diaz blew two saves in a series last week against the Phillies and allowed four runs in the ninth in a loss to the Marlins on May 18. He was demoted to a seventh-inning appearance against the Giants on Friday before blowing another save opportunity Saturday.

Does Diaz still feel like he is the Mets' closer?

"Yeah, I think so," Diaz said after the game [via ESPN]. "I think I got to do my job better, obviously, but I feel like I'm the guy in the ninth inning like they always say. I feel like that. And I'm ready. When they give me the ball in the ninth, I will do my job."

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza agreed with Diaz's sentiment.

"He's our closer," Mendoza said Saturday. "In order for us to win games and get to where we want to get to, he's got to pitch. And I felt like that was the right spot."

Diaz is far from the Mets' only rough part of the 2024 campaign. New York has lost five straight games and is 6–16 in May, dropping 15.5 games behind the red-hot Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.

The Mets will wrap up their weekend series against the Giants on Sunday. They certainly hope they will be hearing the two-time All-Star closer's signature Timmy Trumpet entrance song blaring through the Citi Field speakers again soon.