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Edwin Diaz recently shed light on his decision to part ways with the Mets and join the Los Angeles Dodgers. This move sees the accomplished closer heading to the West Coast under a three-year, $69 million contract with the reigning World Series champions. Notably, this agreement comes in spite of the Mets presenting a similar offer, albeit $3 million less, with some flexibility to negotiate further.
In his inaugural press conference in Los Angeles on Friday, Diaz emphasized that financial considerations were not the sole factor driving his decision.
“Leaving was challenging after spending seven memorable years in New York, where I was treated exceptionally well,” Diaz reflected. “However, I was drawn to the Dodgers because of their status as a winning organization. My main focus is on winning, and with the Dodgers, I believe I have the best chance to achieve that goal. Ultimately, the decision was straightforward.”
Diaz, a three-time All-Star, acknowledged having various options during free agency. Nonetheless, he was particularly impressed by the Dodgers’ consistent success and reputation, which ultimately made them stand out in his eyes.
The three-time All-Star closer acknowledged that he had options in free agency, but said the Dodgers stood out due to their track record.
And, unfortunately for Mets fans, he’s bringing the trumpets with him across the country.
“It would be fun. I think that music will get into the fans right away,” he said of his high-octane “Narco” entrance. “That’s a nice walk-up song, so I can’t wait to, first game of the season, come in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and get the W for the Dodgers.”
He’s not alone.
Diaz joins a loaded roster with a bevy of arms that should be in the World Series mix for the duration of his contract and beyond. And the Dodgers are eager for him to bring his game to their bullpen.
“I think just watching him compete over the years, seeing the selflessness in the postseason or in the last weekend of this year … whenever the game is potentially on the line,” said Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. “And it fits in really well with our culture and the selflessness of a lot of our superstar players. So many boxes were checked in our mind, but again, just a very high bar to say, ‘This person is our closer,’ and ‘Sugar’ checks all those boxes.”
“The opportunity to add somebody of this caliber to what’s already a really talented bullpen was something that we weren’t sure was going to be able to actually come to fruition,” general manager Brandon Gomes added.
“But we’re really fired up that it did.”