Edwin Díaz WBC celebration injury is a nightmare scenario for the Mets
Edwin Díaz suffers a right knee injury while celebrating Puerto Rico's victory in the World Baseball Classic. He will undergo an MRI later today.
What’s Up with the Mets? 🌴
RHP Edwin Díaz limped off the field after suffering what appeared to be a severe injury to his right knee while celebrating Puerto Rico’s win in the World Baseball Classic
The Mets lost to the Cardinals 4-1 on Tuesday in Port St. Lucie (box)
RHP Justin Verlander pitched five shutout innings allowing just one hit while striking out eight
Verlander now has a 1.59 ERA over his first three Spring Training starts
RHP Drew Smith struck out a pair of hitters in a scoreless 9th inning
3B Brett Baty went 1-for-1 with a walk coming off the bench, and is now batting an even .400 this spring
C Tomás Nido clubbed a solo home run, his third in Grapefruit League play
SS Francisco Lindor had a scintillating performance in the WBC, collecting two hits, driving in a run and coming home on a Little League home run in Puerto Rico’s victory
Injury Updates 🏥
RHP Edwin Díaz suffered a right knee injury and will undergo an MRI later today
RHP Sam Coonrod has a high-grade strain in his right lat – there is no timetable for his return
Mets in the World Baseball Classic 🌎
Pete Alonso (USA) 🇺🇸 0-for-4
Eduardo Escobar (Venezuela) 🇻🇪 1-for-4, HR (1)
Francisco Lindor (Puerto Rico) 🇵🇷 2-for-4, RBI, run scored
Edwin Díaz (Puerto Rico) 🇵🇷 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K (save)
Today’s Game 🦩
Game 1️⃣8️⃣ of 3️⃣0️⃣
Match-up: Mets at Nationals
Where: The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches — West Palm Beach, FL
Starters: TBD vs. RHP Josiah Gray
When: 6:05 PM EDT
Where to Watch: (untelivised)
Edwin Díaz’s WBC injury is a nightmare scenario for the Mets ✍🏻
There is no other way around it — Wednesday night was an unmitigated disaster for the New York Mets.
Following Puerto Rico’s victory in the World Baseball Classic to advance them to the second round, Mets closer Edwin Díaz suffered what appeared to be a major injury to his right leg. Adding insult to injury, Díaz didn’t even hurt himself while pitching but instead while celebrating his team’s clinching win on the field.
While it has yet to be reported what Díaz’s specific injury is, it does not look good for New York’s closer. Díaz was unable to put any weight on his right leg after going down and had to be carried off the field by his coaching staff before being moved into a wheelchair. Díaz has been diagnosed with a right knee injury and will undergo an MRI later today. The confirmation of it being his knee makes you fear that this could be an injury to his ACL or MCL, which would end Díaz’s season before it ever even started.
Edwin, his brother Alexis Díaz and a large majority of their teammates were seen in tears after the injury took place.
“It's real easy to set aside the game and worry about us as humans,” teammate Kiké Hernández said during Wednesday night’s postgame. “It definitely doesn't feel in there like we just beat the Dominican Republic to advance.”
If there was a single player on this roster that the Mets need the most to compete this season, you could argue that its Edwin Díaz.
Díaz was baseball’s greatest closer one season ago, racking up 32 saves with a 1.31 ERA and 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings, earning him the biggest contract for a reliever of all-time. Now, the Mets are likely left to pick up the pieces and turn to David Robertson as their closer, at least until the trade deadline where they can potentially explore external options. And with that, a bullpen that recently looked like a strength for this team appears to be a far bigger question mark.
This injury certainly reignites the narrative about the World Baseball Classic and team’s hesitations on loaning out their star players for a few weeks every three years. It’s been an exciting start to the tournament and I’ve enjoyed watching, but it’s moments like this that make you nervous. And while you can argue that this injury could have taken place at any point — in the WBC, in Spring Training or even in another random off-the-field way — one thing does remain evident: The New York Mets chances at winning a World Series have taken a massive hit due to a celebration-gone-wrong in an exhibition game.
Now, New York is left to try and pick up the pieces and move forward into the regular season.
“The Mets appear to have avoided any major injuries to players expected to be heavily relied upon this upcoming year.” These were the words I had just finished writing for today’s original newsletter not three minutes before I got word of what happened last night in Miami.
If only we could live in that world again. Instead, it appears as if we’ll have to live in a world without Edwin Díaz in 2023.
Around the League 🚩
USA advanced to the second round of the World Baseball Classic after their 3-2 win over Colombia on Wednesday night
Rangers RHP Jake Odorizzi will begin the season on the injured list, manager Bruce Bochy confirmed
Cuba advanced to the second round of the World Baseball Classic after their 4-3 victory over Australia
Mexico advanced to the second round of the WBC after Randy Arozarena went 7-for-14 with six extra-base hits and nine RBIs in the opening round