Mets closer Edwin Diaz faces hitters for first time since knee injury
Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz during a spring training workout, Thursday Feb. 15, 2024 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Edwin Diaz reached a major checkpoint in his comeback Thursday, facing hitters for the first time since the March knee injury that prevented him from pitching last season.
In an empty Clover Park, with the dugout filled with Mets people — including manager Carlos Mendoza, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and Kodai Senga — Diaz stepped onto the mound for a late-morning session against catchers Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido. A dozen largely impressive pitches later, he walked off with a big smile.
“That was my biggest step, to come here and face hitters,” Diaz said. “I know I’m good. My leg is good. But that was on my mind: I want to face hitters, I want to face hitters. Finally, I did it.”
Edwin Diaz just faced batters for the first time since March, a major checkpoint in his comeback. He kept his fastball in the mid-90s — by design.
Here he is against Tomas Nido (throwing to Francisco Alvarez): pic.twitter.com/1XEzozaXZs
He threw his fastball at 94 to 96 mph by design — a less-than-all-out effort that is typical at the start of spring training, never mind for a guy who hasn’t done this in a year — and mixed in his slider.
“My 100 [mph] would be there easily,” Diaz said. “I was supposed to throw 94-96. On one pitch I threw 96-point-something, and Hefner says to me, ‘Calm down a little bit.’ I was feeling great.”
Narvaez said: “He was already throwing gas.”
Diaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee while celebrating a victory in the World Baseball Classic exactly 11 months ago Thursday. Surgery left him with an outside chance at joining the Mets late last season, but it didn’t happen, so his imminent return is a big storyline for the Mets this spring training.
His next test: practicing fielding bunts and covering first base. He sees that as a formality.
“I don’t think that will be an issue for me,’’ he said, “but that’s the next step.”
Lindor a ‘full go’
Francisco Lindor is a “full go” at the start of camp, Mendoza said, after October surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow.
That bothered him since the early days of spring training last year, and the Mets’ athletic training/medical personnel told him he probably would need an operation, but he insisted on staying on the field (and went on to compile an impressive 30-homer/ 30-steal season).
“It was one of those where I swung and missed and I felt it right away,” Lindor recalled. “And the swelling never came down. We have really good trainers and they did an amazing job of trying to keep me in line and they educated me throughout the process. I had an idea of what was happening. I just didn’t want to do an MRI or X-ray because I knew it was going to show something they weren’t going to let me play through.”
Numbers game
Drew Smith accidentally has developed a side hustle: choosing desirable uniform numbers.
From 2018-22, he wore No. 62. But when Jose Quintana arrived last year, he wanted it, so Smith obliged. Quintana gave him a “very nice” suitcase, Smith said.
For 2023, he picked No. 40. But when Luis Severino signed, he wanted it, so Smith obliged again. Severino bought him a watch.
Now Smith is No. 33, selected because clubhouse manager Kevin Kierst said it was available and Smith was No. 3 in high school
He would be comfortable if some future addition wants it, though. Especially if there is a present.
“I’ll change again,” he said with a smile. “I don’t care.”
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Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
