To the shock of absolutely no one, it would appear that the Boston Red Sox are in on any and every available closer this deadline, with the Mets’ Edwin Diaz reportedly joining the long list of Sox trade targets, according to MLB insider Jim Bowden.
While there continues to be a lot of talk regarding Noah Syndegaard......more GM's are actually pursuing Edwin Diaz both contenders and teams building for 2020. #RedSox #Twins #Dodgers amongst others. Diaz age 25. 61 SO in 39.1 IP. Salary: $607, 425. Controllable thru 2022.
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) July 27, 2019
Traded from Seattle to New York in a seven-player deal with the Mariners last December, the 25-year-old Diaz hasn’t exactly had a blast pitching for the Mets this season. With saves on 22 of his 26 opportunities this season, Diaz has career-worst figures in ERA (4.81), WHIP (1.45), and BAA (.278) in 43 appearances for the Mets.
But Diaz was phenomenal for the Mariners last season, converting 57 of his 61 save opportunities, and finishing with a 1.96 ERA en route to the 2018 American League Reliever of the Year Award. And on an affordable deal and with team control through 2022, Diaz will not be cheap, even with those aforementioned struggles in New York counting against him.
The Red Sox have already been connected to Blue Jays closer Ken Giles and the San Diego finisher Kirby Yates, of course, and will surely find themselves connected to any other high-leverage reliever that enters the trade market over the next five days.
The MLB trade deadline is Wednesday, July 31.