According to a report in 'The Athletic,' the Jays could be in the market for Edwin Diaz, formerly of the Seattle Mariners and the New York Mets.
According to a new report in The Athletic, the Toronto Blue Jays could be in the market for elite closer Edwin Diaz this offseason.
We had heard that the Jays were interested in high-end relievers, but this is believed to be the first report of interest in Diaz, specifically.
The Toronto Blue Jays, who were two outs away from winning the World Series until closer Jeff Hoffman stumbled, are poised to spend big. Meanwhile, Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns, whose initials might as well stand for Disciplined and Steady, would not be afraid to replace Diaz by diving into a deep market for closers.
The Diaz file
Now 31 years old, Diaz will turn 32 in March, right before Opening Day. A nine-year veteran of the Seattle Mariners and Mets, Diaz has been one of the elite relievers in baseball for years. He saved a league-high 57 games in 2018 for Seattle and has 253 saves in total. Lifetime, he's 28-36 with a sparkling 2.82 ERA, and he's coming off a 1.63 for New York this season.
Reports indicate he could want a $100 million deal this offseason, though it remains to be seen if he'll get it.
He struck out 98 batters in 66.1 innings in this campaign as the Mets missed the playoffs.
Why this would work for Toronto
Look, the money has to be right for everyone, that's certain, but beyond money issues, this just fits.
Hoffman was signed before last season to be the closer, and he did the job admirably. He saved 33 games, striking out 84 batters in 68.0 innings. However, when he got hit, he was hit hard. He had an ERA of 4.37. He was better in the playoffs, aside from the ninth-inning home run in Game 7 of the World Series.
Jays leadership left open the ability to get another high-leverage reliever this offseason, figuring Hoffman would be OK with it. While only he knows how he'd feel being replaced in the ninth inning, it seems as if Diaz is someone that most relievers would be OK stepping aside for. Especially as Toronto feels it's right on the verge of a World Series title.
Up next
The baseball world could be largely dormant until the winter meetings, which take place from Dec. 7-10 in Orlando. That's when several big-money deals could go down, and the Jays have already been connected to several big-money targets, including Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker.
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