METS LOSE STAR CLOSER TO EJECTION AFTER FOREIGN SUBSTANCE CHECK ON HANDS
Mets closer Edwin Diaz was ejected from Sunday night's game due to an apparent use of an illegal substance on his hands. Diaz was taking the field in the bottom of the ninth to try and preserve a 5-2 New York lead, but after the standard check every pitcher receives before entering and exiting games, crew chief Vic Carapazza tossed Diaz from the game. Drew Smith and Jake Diekman combined for a scoreless inning to preserve the Mets’ victory over the Cubs.
As per league rules, Diaz now faces a mandatory 10-game suspension for use of foreign substances. He won’t be paid for those 10 games and the Mets aren’t allowed to replace him on the roster, so the club will have to field a 25-man roster over the course of Diaz’s suspension. Diaz has the right to an appeal, so it is possible he might receive fewer than a 10-game ban, even if that scenario is rather unlikely given the seemingly apparent evidence.
Diaz is the third Mets pitcher in the last two seasons to be tossed from a game for use of an illegal substance, as both Smith and Max Scherzer received 10-game suspensions during the 2023 campaign. Similar suspensions were issued to the Astros’ Ronel Blanco earlier this season and to Robert Suarez and Domingo German last year.
Sunday night’s incident is the latest turn in an up-and-down comeback season for Diaz, who missed all of the 2023 season due to a torn patellar tendon. Diaz has a 4.70 ERA over 23 innings and 23 appearances this season, recording seven saves in 11 chances. While he looked pretty close to his past All-Star form early in the year, a few shaky outings led the Mets to move Diaz into lower-leverage situations and he was then sidelined entirely due to a shoulder impingement.
The right-hander missed a little over three weeks due to the injury and has looked sharp in his three outings since being activated off the 15-day IL. Diaz has tossed three scoreless innings and earned two saves and a win in those three games, while allowing two hits and no walks, and striking out three batters.
He’ll now get another unwelcome break from action while serving his suspension, leaving the Mets likely to return to the closer committee approach they used earlier this season when Diaz was both injured and out of the closer’s role. Diaz’s absence throws a wrench into the momentum of a New York that has won 13 of its last 17 teams, and gotten back into the hunt for a wild-card berth.
More must-reads:
- Mets reliever undergoes knee surgery
- Mets' Pete Alonso received free-agency advice from former teammate
- The 'New York Mets managers' quiz
Trending slideshow: The best MLB closers of all time (Provided by Yardbarker)