Every year, teams are tasked with retooling their bullpens and the Mets are no different.
However, this offseason adds an extra wrinkle to the plans of president of baseball operations David Stearns. The free agency of Edwin Diaz.
The Mets closer opted out of his contract to test free agency, and after a dominant 2025, the right-hander is looking for a big payday. And while Diaz says he would "love to come back" to the Mets, he and the organization will need to undergo negotiations to make that happen.
"We love both Pete [Alonso] and Edwin. They've been great representatives of the organization," Stearns said of both free agents at Tuesday's GM Meetings in Las Vegas. "We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."
The last time Diaz approached free agency, he signed a five-year $102 million deal during the Mets' exclusive negotiating window in November 2022. He made $21.155 million in 2025 and will likely receive a raise after converting 28 saves and pitching to a minuscule 1.63 ERA across 62 appearances last season.
But are Stearns and the Mets willing to offer a high-dollar contract to a closer like Diaz? Stearns remained coy but didn't rule out the possibility.
"We’re always evaluating each situation on the individual situation," he said. "I try not to draw lines in the sand. We understand the benefits and risks of investments in every segment of the player market; that’s part of the work that we do. We’re never going to rule out any type of player or go after any type of player."
Aside from Diaz, the Mets will also have to fill holes left by Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers, and Gregory Soto, among others, so Stearns has work to do this offseason, but the executive was asked if there's an internal option to be a closer if Diaz were to sign elsewhere.
Stearns was non-committal but said the team will be involved in the reliever market.
"I’d imagine over the course of the offseason, we’re going to add to our bullpen," he said. "You never know how the back-end of your bullpen is going to take shape, but I imagine over the course of the offseason we’re going to add to our bullpen. We have plenty of vacancies and I think we have the opportunity to improve in that area."
