Edwin Diaz deal finalized, with a bonus for Mets
Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz delivers against the Padres during the seventh inning of Game 2 of a National League wild-card playoff series on Oct. 8 at Citi Field. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
LAS VEGAS — When the Mets finalized on Wednesday their five-year, $102 million contract with Edwin Diaz, officially making the closer the highest-paid reliever in the history of baseball, general manager Billy Eppler said all of the regular stuff: He was excellent last season, they’re thrilled to have him back, both parties wanted to get a deal done quickly.
And then there was this: The Mets were enthused about a specific piece of the structure of the deal, with more than a quarter of Diaz’s total payday being deferred. So instead of his full $20.4 million average annual salary going toward the Mets’ luxury-tax calculation, he will count as an $18.6 million hit, a source said.
That is a complicated technicality that matters little to fans but a lot to teams, especially this team. The extra $1.8 million per year is apparently significant wiggle room.
“On our end, that was — I don’t want to use the word ‘dealbreaker.’ It was a very big element for us, though. We needed to have that in there for [collective bargaining tax] purposes,” Eppler said.
The Mets and Diaz’s agents began negotiating a new pact late last month, Eppler said. They hurried over the past week, with free agency looming, before coming to an agreement over the weekend.
“He wanted to get something done, he wanted to stay here — he was very upfront about that. We felt like it was a really good match,” Eppler said. “The manager trusts him, fans trust him, owner trusts him, I trust him. I think everybody feels good when he comes running into the game.”
Also on Wednesday, the Mets declined their portion of the 2023 mutual option on reliever Mychal Givens’ contract. He will get a $1.5 million buyout.
The Mets still have blank spaces on most of their bullpen depth chart. Eppler mentioned “some other internal candidates” but acknowledged that they’ll have little choice but to make at least a few additions. Adam Ottavino, Seth Lugo, Trevor May, Joely Rodriguez, Trevor Williams and Tommy Hunter are free agents.
Relatedly, the Mets claimed lefthander Tayler Saucedo off waivers from the Blue Jays. Saucedo, 29, had a 5.40 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 33 relief appearances the past two seasons. He figures to be in the Mets’ bullpen picture come 2023 but can be sent to the minors.
“We’ll keep looking at all the options and attacking the available players and see what the market bears out,” Eppler said. “Whether it’s free agency, whether it’s trade, there’s more work to do and a number of pitchers we want to bring in.”
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.
