Mets' Edwin Diaz 'ready to pitch in a big league game' Monday on SNY
The Mets’ Monday night game against the Miami Marlins in Port St. Lucie will feature a sight that fans have been eagerly anticipating for nearly a full calendar year: Edwin Diaz pitching in a major league game.
Manager Carlos Mendoza announced on Sunday morning that Diaz will make his spring debut on Monday night. Diaz will follow starter Tylor Megill, with first pitch on SNY set for 6:10 p.m.
"Just throw strikes," Diaz told MLB Network of what he hopes to accomplish. "I know I'm healthy. I just want to go out and compete. I was throwing live BP and I told the team, 'I'm ready to pitch in a real game.' So they sent me to minor league (spring training), pitched a couple games, feel really good and I'm ready to pitch in a big league game."
Diaz, who has thrown live BP sessions and minor league intrasquad games to this point, will have a 20-pitch limit.
"I was dominating the hitters the way I want to," Diaz said of his minor league sessions. "I was throwing my slider good. My fastball command was great. I want to do the same thing in a big league game -- just control my fastball really good and throw my slider down and away."
The Mets closer threw a perfect inning in an intrasquad game on Tuesday, striking out top prospect Jett Williams in the process. Diaz said he felt “100 percent ready” following that outing, and he followed that up with another live BP session on Friday.
"I just feel like I need competition. I’m ready," Diaz said on Tuesday. "I’m throwing my pitches like I want to. I feel 100 percent ready, so I need games, I told them.”
Diaz’s knee injury in last year’s World Baseball Classic all but derailed the Mets’ season before it even began. Now, the closer will look to get back to his dominant self, which was on display in 2022 when he pithed to a 1.31 ERA with 17.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
