June 25: Diaz will not appeal and will begin serving his suspended sentence tonight. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to relay the news to X.
June 24: As expected, Diaz received a 10-game suspension. Jon Heyman of the New York Post was among those to relay the news to X. The righteous can challenge the decision but it is not clear whether he will challenge this decision.
June 23: Mets closer Edwin Diaz has been ejected from tonight's game for apparently using an illegal substance on his hands. Diaz was pitching in the bottom of the ninth to try to preserve New York's 5-2 lead, but after the standard check every player receives before coming in and out of games, team manager Vic Carapazza threw Diaz into the game. Drew Smith again Jake Diekman put together a scoreless inning to preserve the Mets' victory over the Cubs.
According to league rules, Diaz now faces a mandatory 10-game suspension for using foreign substances. He won't be paid for those 10 games, and the Mets aren't allowed to replace him on the roster, so the club will have to field a 25-man roster during Diaz's suspension. Diaz has the right to appeal, so it's possible he could get a ban of less than 10 games, though that scenario is unlikely given the clear evidence.
Diaz is the third Mets pitcher in the last two seasons to be thrown out for using an illegal object, as both Smith and Max Scherzer received a 10-game suspension through the 2023 campaign. A similar suspension was issued to the Astros' Ronel Blanco earlier this season, and to Robert Suarez again Domingo German last year.
Tonight's incident is the latest of the season for Diaz, who has missed the entire 2023 season with a torn patellar tendon. Diaz has a 4.70 ERA over 23 innings and 23 appearances this season, recording seven saves in 11 chances. While he looked very close to his All-Star form earlier in the year, a few shaky outings led the Mets to move Diaz to subpar situations, and then he was completely sidelined due to shoulder impingement.
The right-hander has been sidelined for just over three weeks with the injury, and has looked sharp in three outings since his 15-day IL start. Diaz threw three scoreless innings and earned two saves and a win in those three games, while allowing two hits and no walks, and striking out three batters.
Now he will get another unwelcome break from action while serving his suspension, leaving the Mets to potentially revert to the closer committee approach they used earlier this season when Diaz was injured and out of the closer role. Diaz's absence challenges the momentum of New York, which has won 13 of its last 17 games, and is back in the hunt for a wild card.
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