The changes in the Mets’ bullpen will begin with Edwin Diaz, whose “Sugar” nickname is now a misnomer.
Many of the names, faces and arm angles among Mets relievers will be new when the season begins Friday against the Brewers at Citi Field.
Their closer will not technically be new, but he will be welcomed back by a crowd that sorely missed him last season, when Diaz did not pitch after tearing his patellar tendon.
Relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) pitches in the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Clover Park. Jim Rassol-USA TODAY SportsIn his time away from the field, Diaz said he focused on his body. Still long and lanky, the fireballer said he has worked with Mets nutritionists and cut down on candy, which he had been eating “a lot.”
“I’m eating more healthy [foods] like salads, all those things,” Diaz said Wednesday, before Thursday’s opener was rained out. “Before I didn’t eat it, so [the nutritionists] pushed me to do that.”
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The Mets hope his diet will be the only thing that has changed since the last time he took the mound, when Diaz emerged as a lights-out and trumpets-out superstar who pitched to a 1.31 ERA in 2022 and received Cy Young votes.
Without Diaz last year, the Mets’ bullpen was a mess and finished as the second-worst in baseball, as measured by FanGraphs’ Wins Above Replacements.
The best closer in baseball returning will help.
Mets relief pitcher Edwin Diaz throws at practice, Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTDiaz hopes the new arms and styles around him will help, too.
“We got new guys, a lot of new faces in the bullpen,” Diaz said. “[Jorge] Lopez has been an All-Star. I think Brooks Raley’s great. [Jake] Diekman is a veteran, been around the league a lot. I think they will help us.”
New Mets president David Stearns consistently built strong bullpens with the Brewers, and this year’s version — at least at the outset — is mostly filled with veterans, rather than the type of option-able relievers who did not work out last season.
Diuaz missed all of last season after a knee injury at the World Baseball Classic. Getty ImagesThe vast majority of the Mets’ Opening Day bullpen already has tasted major league success.
Adam Ottavino may be the usual eighth-inning arm in his 14th big-league season.
Lopez, as Diaz referenced, was excellent and an All-Star in ’22 with the Orioles but struggled for much of last season (5.13 ERA). In eight spring innings, the righty allowed two runs.
Raley, a ’23 addition who has not yet pitched with Diaz, is a trustworthy lefty with a deep repertoire who pitched to a 2.80 ERA last season.
Diekman, another veteran, will be the other southpaw in the bullpen after a strange ’23, when he was awful with the White Sox (7.94 ERA in 13 games) before he was brilliant with the Rays (2.18 ERA in 50 games).
Diekman, who throws a ton of four-seamers and some changeups and sliders, slings pitches across his body, a different look — which is part of the point.
Righty Michael Tonkin is a 6-foot-7 righty who throws sinkers, sliders and nearly sidearm, a unique option able to pitch multiple innings.
Mets relief pitcher Jake Diekman throws live batting practice at Spring Training, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. Corey Sipkin for the NY POSTYohan Ramirez relies most on his hard sinkers. It’s four-seamers and sliders from returning Drew Smith, who throws more over the top than most.
The Mets hope this season’s bullpen will not just be better but more different, with an array of different release points and arsenals to throw at opposing lineups.
“I like our pitching staff as a whole, our bullpen and the versatility that we got, the different looks that we got back there,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Guys that can come in and throw from different angles, different pitch shapes and things like that.”
Smith is the only reliever in the pen with a minor league option, so the Mets will not be able to freely demote and promote relievers as they did last season.
Underperformance likely would lead to DFAs, and the Mets have several interesting relievers at Triple-A — including fireballing Shintaro Fujinami and prospect Nate Lavender, another distinct look whose arm extension makes him hard to hit.
The Mets’ relievers will be mostly different from last season, different from one another and likely will be different as the season wears on.
“Everyone in the bullpen has the chance to perform really good,” Diaz said, “and give me the ball in the ninth to end the game.”
