The time has come to examine what’s going on with Edwin Díaz.
The All-Star closer, trumpet-loving Díaz, who has previously established himself as one of the best and most promising young relief pitchers in the league, has certainly disappointed so far this season.
His recent outing in San Diego was brief, as he entered a tied game and surrendered a walk-off home run in a contest that stunned the Mets. Then, last night, after a few games of rest, Díaz got another chance but was disastrous, throwing eight of his first ten pitches for balls before giving up a go-ahead grand slam to young phenom Corbin Carroll.
Edwin Díaz just melted down. Entering with two outs, a man on first and a one-run lead, he threw eight of his first 10 pitches for balls, then served up a go-ahead grand slam to Corbin Carroll.
It’s Díaz’s first blown save in seven weeks but potentially his second straight loss. pic.twitter.com/Bz8Otq6lbF
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 29, 2024
Díaz, who now holds a 4.30 ERA and 1.12 WHIP through 37.2 innings this season, is coming off a missed 2023 campaign while recovering from a torn ACL.
His last full season came in 2022, during which he was the best closer in baseball, pitching to a 1.31 ERA over 62 innings.
Although he has missed some time due to suspension and injury, Díaz is still posting sabermetric stats that place him in the top percentage of the league. His 2.64 xERA ranks in the top 10 percent of the league, as do his xBA, average exit velocity, whiff percentage, and strikeout percentage.
Díaz has struggled this year with walk and barrel percentage, both of which are in the lower half of the league averages.
Compared to 2022, Diaz pitched to a 4.1% barrel percentage, which was within the top seven percent of the league. That number has nearly doubled, with opposing batters barreling up Diaz’s pitches at a 7.5% mark.
When examining Díaz’s pitch usage, the effectiveness of his fastball and slider has seemingly reversed over the past two years.
In 2022, batters hit a meager .114 against his slider, while his four-seam fastball was hit .266. Now, in 2024, Díaz is having success with his fastball but has allowed a .206 average on his slider. His whiff percentages on both pitches have also dropped. His slider Run Value was an elite 22 in 2022, but is currently at -3 for the 2024 season. We recently took a deeper look at the struggles of his slider.
Long story short, Edwin Díaz is having a worse year than his potential suggests.
“He’ll get through it. Two outings obviously, but I’m not concerned,” said manager Carlos Mendoza after the game. “He’ll get right back on the fire, and he’ll be ready to go. He’s been through it before and he’ll get through it this time again.”
With the Mets currently four games out of a wild-card spot and only a month remaining in the season, it will be crucial for Díaz to get back on track before it is too late.
“Just flush it. When I was struggling early in the season, I was coming from the injury; I didn’t pitch a whole year. But now I know what I have to do to get better, so I gotta keep working and doing it every single day, and I’ll be good,” Díaz said.
The post The Woes Continue for Edwin Díaz appeared first on Metsmerized Online.
