Contract For Mets Closer Edwin Diaz Could Be A Big Surprise

One of the more interesting issues as the offseason rumor mill heats up in advance of the winter GM meetings is the size of the contracts some of the major players will be getting. There seems to be a lot of wiggle room in some of the numbers that are being floated, and New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz is one player who’s been getting plenty of speculation.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN wrote something very worthwhile about this, largely because he interviewed multiple team executives who were polled anonymously about several hot stove issues.

The question that raised Diaz’s name as a focal point was “Which free agent contract is going to raise the most eyebrows?” As you might expect, this generated a wide range of players who got votes, with Diaz being one of four who received two votes each.

The reasons he popped up on this list aren’t exactly inside baseball secrets. They included the length of the deal and the volatility of the position.

"Diaz is set to cash in, but how many times do we see that backfire for closers?" another voter brought up. "Not always, but often."

Mets GM David Stearns is well aware of the dangers here, and he he also knows he’d being played by Diaz to at least some extent. The Mets closer has said he wants what he’s called “Diaz money,” with the starting point for that being his last contract for five years and a total value of $102 million. The money number would be higher this time around, and Stearns' initial big move indicated that that might not be happening.

Specifically, this week’s trade that sent Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo to the Texas Rangers for Marcus Semien was basically a swap of two bad contracts to at least some extent. Semien’s defensive capabilities and smart base running moves fit the Mets needs, while Nimmo’s offense matches up with what the Rangers are looking for, but there’s more than that to the story.

Stearns got back a shorter contract to save money, even though the annual value is larger by relatively small amount. The Mets GM will have the opportunity to pursue the same strategy with whoever he goes after as his closer, and there are free agent options like closers Robert Suarez of the San Diego Padres and Devin Williams of the New York Yankees who would also likely take fewer years that would save money.

It’s all a game of cat-and-mouse right now, and the Toronto Blue Jays are also rumored to be in on the action with Diaz. They just missed winning the World Series with a closer who couldn’t close the deal, and they’re supposedly more willing to pay “Diaz money” if you believe some of the rumors that are being tossed into the wind, although the signing of starter Dylan Cease could be a factor in what happens there.