BREAKING: Edwin Diaz signs with the Dodgers

The Mets lost their long-time closer to the two-time World Champion

The Mets bullpen and prospects for 2026 took a serious blow on Tuesday morning, as Edwin Díaz has decided to leave the Mets to join the Dodgers, according to multiple reports.

Diaz’s new contract with the Dodgers is for three years, $69 million, according to multiple reports, an average annual value of $23 million per season. He opted out of his deal with the Mets, which had two years left on what was originally a five-year, $102 million deal. So, in essence, the Mets had to come up with another year and around $9 million extra over three years from what Díaz walked away from.

I don’t even know where to begin.

All along this winter, I firmly believed that Díaz was merely seeking a contract extension and perhaps a little extra coin from the deal he opted out of with the Mets. And, because he was tied to draft compensation, that would limit his market and ultimately lead him back to the Mets, even if there was pressure from other clubs to get a deal done.

In the end, Díaz’s market was generally small with the Mets, Dodgers, Blue Jays, and Braves all reportedly interested, but with the Dodgers always seemingly lurking on Díaz’s market and the Mets reportedly reluctant to go beyond three years in a new contract for Díaz, that left the door open for the Dodgers to make their move and entice him to join the best team in baseball for the next three years.

But how the Mets could let their closer go knowing full well their bullpen could not possibly be as good without him over a matter of essentially one extra year and $9 extra million spread over three years is flabbergasting from a baseball perspective.

Perhaps Díaz simply wanted out entirely? Perhaps the Mets got too cute with the deal? Either way, it just seems unexplainable.

At this point, the Mets have Devin Williams and Brooks Raley as the only shoo-ins for their bullpen heading into 2026. AJ Minter is still recovering from lat surgery he underwent last May and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. They do have several options on their 40-man roster, but the Mets lack a strong overall presence in the eighth and ninth innings in totality, and one that certainly cannot be as credible without Díaz no matter who they ultimately sign to augment the bullpen.

They’ve reportedly shown interest in Robert Suárez, but it remains to be seen if the Mets actually pursue him to be a closer or a setup man to Williams, or if they go with the next tier of relievers to build up to Williams, who they signed to a three-year deal last week.

Díaz, 31, leaves the Mets having recorded 144 saves in 332 games since joining the club in 2019, posting a 2.93 ERA in 328.1 IP with 538 strikeouts with an extraordinary 40.4 percent strikeout rate (1330 batters faced) during that span. He is third all-time in Mets history with those 144 saves behind only Armando Benítez (160), and John Franco (276).