New York Mets relief pitcher Edwin Díaz will not have a new role going forward despite struggles as their closer.
The New York Mets have had everything go right for them over the past few weeks. Their the hottest team in baseball, having won 15 of 17 games as they climb the NL Wild Card standings. One of their main issues, however, remains their closer, Edwin Díaz.
The former Seattle Mariner, sporting a 5.60 ERA through 49 appearances this year, was called to the mound on Sunday against the Washington Nationals. In the top of the ninth inning with New York trailing 5-4, Díaz allowed a walk and an additional two-run home run. This extended the Nats’ lead to 7-4, which was eventually the final score.
Despite the obvious and apparent struggles with Díaz as the Mets closer, manager Mickey Callaway noted that his role won’t be changing.
“At this point, the way we’re set up, we really can’t afford to do that,” Callaway said, per Corey Hersch of SNY. “He’s going to continue to get big outs for us and pitch in big games. We’re going to pick our spots and do the best that we can with him to win a game every single night.”
The loss ended the Mets winning streak at eight.
Thus far in 2019, Díaz has had a problem when it comes to allowing home runs. He’s already let up 11 bombs this year, which surpasses his single-season career-high of 10. Despite that being a major issue, Callaway and his staff still believe in Díaz as the season rolls on.
“It’s been tough,” Callaway said. “The common denominator in all of his homers is that they’re right down the middle. We didn’t execute a pitch. That’s normally what happens when you give up a home run. But we’re going to work hard and be diligent in getting the ball where we need to. We still have faith in Edwin.”
The Mets have an off day on Monday before they begin a three-game series against the Braves in Atlanta on Tuesday.
