Before free agency began and all 30 teams could have taken a run at Edwin Diaz, the Mets agreed to bring back their closer on a five-year, $102 million deal.
The deal includes a $12 million signing bonus, a sixth-year option and an opt-out after three years, plus a full no-trade clause through the opt-out year.
The contract is a record for a reliever, surpassing the five-year, $86 million deal Aroldis Chapman signed with the Yankees in 2016. The average annual value of $20.4 million also exceeds Liam Hendriks’ reliever record of $18 million, set in his 2021 deal with the White Sox.
Diaz is coming off arguably the most dominant season of any reliever, in which he recorded a 1.31 ERA and 118 strikeouts across 62 innings. He had 32 saves in 35 chances, with no blown saves over the final four months of the season.
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