Edwin

Díaz

Díaz made his first appearance in a Dodgers uniform without a ton of fanfare, averaging his typical 95.7 mph on his four-seam fastball, and needing just 12 pitches (nine strikes) to navigate his lone inning of work. The 31-year-old elite closer will leave camp to join Team Puerto Rico for the World Baseball Classic at some point in the coming days. He’ll be one of the first closers off the board in all fantasy drafts this spring.

Presumably, that will only kick if Díaz suffers a specific injury that costs him most or all of one of the next three seasons. Should that happen, the Mets could keep him around at a nice discount for one extra year. Díaz’s deal includes a $9 million signing bonus and salaries of $14 million next season and $23 million in 2027 and ’28. $4.5 million will be deferred each season.

The deal is now official. What do you get for the team that has everything? An elite closer. Díaz shores up the lone metaphorical fatal flaw in the Dodgers’ ever-expanding Death Star as they make a run at their third consecutive World Series title. The 31-year-old stabilizes the ninth inning for Los Angeles after a dominant six-year run with the Mets where he compiled 144 saves to accompany a sparkling 2.93 ERA — 2.56 FIP — and 40.5 percent strikeout rate across 329 1/3 innings. He’ll be one of the first closers off the board in all fantasy drafts next spring.

Díaz reportedly got $69 million over three years from the Dodgers. His exit means that Devin Williams, who signed a three-year, $51 million deal with deferrals that brought its value down to about $45 million, probably will be the Mets’ closer. Perhaps there’s still some chance the team could sign Robert Suarez to pitch the ninth.

The big moves keep on coming. ESPN’s Jeff Passan adds that Díaz’s new AAV (average annual value) record for a reliever at $23 million. Díaz also held the previous record AAV at $20.4 million. Apparently the Mets just weren’t willing to go that high. Regardless, it always made sense that the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers would make a play, as their bullpen was the glaring weakness for the club this past season. It’s safe to say they shored up their glaring hole in the ninth inning with this splash. After an up-and-down first season back from knee surgery in 2024, Díaz posted a 1.63 ERA with 28 saves and 98/21 K/BB ratio over 66 1/3 innings this past season. He’s quite simply one of the best closers in the game.

Fairbanks just doesn’t seem to be on the team’s list at all, and Díaz is looking for more years than Suarez and also has the qualifying offer hanging over his head. Suarez is pretty clearly the No. 2 reliever on a market that has lost previous Dodgers targets Devin Williams, Raisel Iglesias and Ryan Helsley. Of course, old friend Kenley Jansen is still out there, too.

Williams will pitch at the back-end of the bullpen for the Mets in 2026, but whether he will be their closer or set-up man depends whether New York re-signs Edwin Díaz. At this point that seems unlikely, and assuming Williams is the closer, the 31-year-old should be one of the better relief options in fantasy; even after his less-than-spectacular season with the Yankees in 2025.

Sammon also reported that Williams chose the Mets without knowing if he would be used as an ace setup option ahead of Edwin Díaz or as a closer to replace him. “According to a person close to Williams, the decorated right-hander is open to pitching in whatever role the team needs him for and wants to win a World Series in New York.” The Mets have now protected themselves in case Díaz does sign elsewhere, and perhaps give themselves more leverage in contract negotiations, but it seems that their goal is to form an elite one-two punch with two former All-Star closers.

Passan adds that deal doesn’t include any opt-outs. Williams takes over as New York’s primary closer in the event that Edwin Díaz departs via free agency. However, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports the Mets remain interested in re-signing Díaz and that Williams is open to pitching in a setup role. The dynamic 31-year-old evolved into one of the premier stoppers in baseball during his Brewers tenure before being traded to the Yankees last offseason and stumbling to a career-worst 4.79 ERA across 62 innings. New York’s willingness to make a multi-year commitment suggests real confidence in their ability to get him back on track. He’s the latest domino to fall as the closer market continues to accelerate in advance of next week’s Winter Meetings. It’s a phenomenal landing spot from a fantasy perspective — assuming the Mets don’t re-sign Díaz — as Williams walks straight into the ninth inning on a contending roster with a clear opportunity to reestablish himself as an upper-tier closer.

The team would prefer a three-year deal and has been in contact with Devin Williams and Robert Suarez as potential alternatives to Díaz in the ninth. Díaz, 31, opted out of his previous five-year deal with the Mets this winter. He was set to make $38 million over the last two seasons of the contract.