Mets ought to look to Alexis Diaz to fill older brother’s nearer void
The Mets’ reply to their sudden closing problem is as simple as testing the Diaz household tree. They usually don’t even should pay the $100 for 23andMe, both. They need to look no additional than the Cincinnati Reds roster, the place they’ll discover injured star Edwin Diaz’s child brother Alexis.
Alexis isn’t Edwin — who’s? — however he has quite a bit going for him, even past the 5 years of management left earlier than he’s a free agent, which in itself is large.
Most don’t know an excessive amount of about Alexis past the household tie and the tears he shed watching his brother go down as Team Puerto Rico’s triumphant closer in an aborted WBC quarterfinal celebration following the victory over the Dominican Republic. Alexis had a giant 2022, too, however he began as an unknown Twelfth-round draft selection who initially signed for $130,000 and rose for a workforce that is still largely a thriller to a overwhelming majority of followers exterior western Ohio and northern Kentucky.
However take into account:
1. He has nearer stuff.
2. He has some closing expertise on the big-league stage.
3. He’s solely 25 and missed two years (one for Tommy John and one like all minor leaguers for COVID), so there’s loads of potential and mileage to go.
4. He presumably can be thrilled to take Edwin’s spot in his season of want and much more thrilled to workforce up with him over the next 4 years, which coincidentally coincides along with his large brother’s reduction document $102 million contract.
5. He may even consent to befriending Timmy Trumpet and “borrowing” Edwin’s entrance track “Narco,” which we have been all anticipating to overlook terribly.
6. And that is the massive one. He’s presumably out there (at the right price, of course).
It’s arduous to think about there’s one other workforce keen to surrender a proficient, confirmed and unhurt nearer on the cusp of the common season, a lot much less a relation to our fallen hero. Say what you need about Reds possession however their entrance workplace has to know this isn’t their 12 months.
After all, Reds higher-ups additionally worth Diaz — who restricted opposing batters to a ridiculous .131 common final 12 months, saved 10 video games and is inexpensive (even by their requirements) at simply over the $720,000 minimal. Additionally they have to grasp the desperation of the Mets. This isn’t only a small setback.
“It’s going to be powerful. We misplaced the perfect nearer within the sport,” Workforce USA member Jeff McNeil mentioned earlier than expressing religion within the holdovers.
“We’re going to overlook him. We’re going to overlook him on the sector however we’re going to overlook him within the clubhouse,” Workforce USA member Pete Alonso mentioned of Edwin Diaz. “It’s extraordinarily unlucky. We’re nonetheless going to be an unbelievable ballclub.”
At these costs, they higher be.
As we nicely know by now, that is the very first $364 million roster in main league historical past. And it’s a greater concept to take an opportunity buying and selling the incorrect prospect than threat losing it by being unable to shut out video games that needs to be received.
From right here, the roster usually appears worthy of the $364 million outlay — now $344 million with Diaz out — with one apparent exception. It’s no shock Mets folks will stiffen their higher lip and let you know now that they intend to go with David Robertson as closer, and certainly, that’s most likely the chance.
Huge trades are not often made this time of 12 months. And Mets folks now guard their prospects like gold. Mets basic supervisor Billy Eppler didn’t instantly return a textual content, and let’s hope he’s engaged on this commerce (however I’m not too assured he’s).
I’m additionally listening to some dissenting opinion from Mets-connected people who level out that whereas Alexis has the identical DNA, they aren’t the identical individual (that was true of Hank and Tommie Aaron, older people could recall). Additionally they point out Cincinnati isn’t New York, Alexis obtained hit within the WBC and even Edwin wanted two years to regulate and grow to be the sport’s greatest nearer in Queens.
Almost certainly, the Mets can also have gotten wind of the prospect price ticket, which needs to be excessive. They absolutely don’t wish to commerce Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty or perhaps even spring sensation Ronny Mauricio.
However the Mets do have prospects. That they had 5 excessive picks final 12 months, and folk like these picks, particularly the catcher Kevin Parada, the eleventh total choose in final 12 months’s draft out of Georgia Tech who can actually hit.
The Mets’ present plan appears to be to hope that Robertson, along with his 157 profession saves, can powerful it out. And perhaps he can. He has common stuff now however gigantic cojones. So perhaps that works.
However perhaps not.
There’s nothing worse than a fantastic workforce being undone by its lack of ability to complete video games. The Braves had three Corridor of Famers of their rotation (yet one more than the Mets have now) for a decade, and solely received one World Sequence as a result of they by no means obtained a better till they moved a type of Corridor of Famers into the closing position. We don’t wish to see the Mets resort to something that drastic. The perfect and best answer can be to only chew the bullet on the prospects and herald Eddie’s little brother.