ESPN’s Jeff Passan provided some insight on SportsCenter Tuesday night into what went wrong between the New York Mets and closer Edwin D\u00edaz before he reportedly left Queens to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers.<\/p>\n
According to Passan, the split between D\u00edaz and the Mets started when the pitcher “did not get a call giving him a heads up” about the decision to sign reliever Devin Williams to a three-year contract<\/a> on Dec. 3.<\/p>\n “Now, he’s a free agent so perhaps that’s understandable, but he was not happy about that,” Passan said about that reported lack of communication.<\/p>\n Williams then became interested in the Dodgers because his brother Alexis D\u00edaz, a pitcher who appeared in nine games for the organization before he was DFA’d last season, “reported back to him that everything there is as great as they say,” Passan said.<\/p>\n “This deal came together quickly,” Passan said. “The thought was that Edwin D\u00edaz was looking for five years, might get four years, the Dodgers did not want to go any more than three years. <\/p>\n “But putting that $69 million out there\u2014the highest average annual value ever for a closer\u2014 the Mets simply were not going to match that.”<\/p>\n The Dodgers reportedly<\/a> signed D\u00edaz to a three-year, $69 million deal after the reliever opted out of the two years and $38 million remaining on his previous contract with the Mets.<\/p>\n Per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo<\/a>, the Mets’ final offer to D\u00edaz had been a three-year, $66 million deal “with slight deferrals.”<\/p>\n MLB.com’s Sonja Chen and David Adler<\/a> reported Mets officials “made it known they had room to improve,” but that “D\u00edaz chose the Dodgers before that happened.”<\/p>\n Passan<\/a> previously reported Williams’ contract with the Mets had “no opt-outs or options.”<\/p>\n The Athletic’s Will Sammon<\/a> reported at the time of Williams’ signing that the Mets remained “open to a reunion with D\u00edaz.”<\/p>\n Williams could slot into an eighth-inning role, Sammon wrote, should D\u00edaz return as the Mets’ go-to ninth-inning man.<\/p>\n D\u00edaz’s departure will instead put Williams on track to serve as the Mets’ closer in 2026.<\/p>\n He’ll have big shoes to fill. In 31 save opportunities last season, D\u00edaz converted 28 while posting a 1.63 ERA and 0.874 WHIP.<\/p>\n After an embarrassing playoff miss despite one of the highest payrolls in baseball last season, however, the Mets could be ready for some change. General manager David Stearns said<\/a> after trading Brandon Nimmo in November he doesn’t plan to “run it back” with the same team.<\/p>\n