New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz addresses the steps he took this offseason to prevent another disastrous campaign.
Last year, Edwin Díaz was arguably the lowest point of what was a struggling New York Mets bullpen. The right-hander — who the Mets acquired in a trade with the Seattle Mariners prior to the 2019 season — finished 2-7 with a 5.59 ERA and 1.379 WHIP through 66 appearances. He recorded just 26 saves after racking up a major league-leading 57 the year prior.
It was a significant contribution to the bullpen’s combined 4.95 ERA. But this past offseason, Díaz took strides in order to prevent last year’s issues from trickling over to 2020.
“I was able to make adjustments to my mechanics — that’s really what I was really focusing on,” Díaz told Steve Gelbs of SNY, per Garrett Stepien. “I took a short vacation right after the season with my family, and right after that, I started to really got into a lot of work with my mechanics, with my body — mentally, physically — just so I could come in this spring and feeling like I was really ready to go.”
Díaz received the opportunity to work with Mets legend Pedro Martínez this offseason. The Hall of Famer spent time in Queens from 2005-08 and was selected to two All-Star Games during that span.
The team’s bullpen is already off to a not-so-good start, and the spring training game schedule hasn’t even begun yet. Seth Lugo, who could be New York’s best reliever, fractured his left pinky toe in his hotel room on Monday night.
Fortunately, Lugo isn’t expected to miss a significant amount of time.
