With Edwin Diaz now serving as closer, Mets no longer considering unconventional tactics

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – In the months leading up to his managerial debut last year, Mickey Callaway stressed he would embrace unconventional bullpen ideas. If a game could be won or lost in the seventh, he had no qualms using his closer at that time.

One year and key addition later, that philosophy has shifted. 

With Edwin Diaz, the 2018 saves leader, now wearing blue and orange, Callaway wants to return to a more conventional method. He's trusting those in front of Diaz to handle the bridge innings, and then Diaz will be handling the final three outs.

"We didn't have Diaz last year. We didn't have a guy that did that. The way he went about his business last year and was probably the best closer in baseball, to take him out of that role would be tough," Callaway said. "He knows he's got the ninth. He's going to go out there and pitch well in the ninth for us. He knows what to expect going in."

Diaz's arrival is one of the reasons the Mets believe their bullpen will rebound in 2019, and the new-look unit could be the best in the NL East. The Mets also brought back former closer Jeurys Familia, and added lefty Justin Wilson.

The three all pitched in Saturday's 8-7 loss to the Astros with Diaz throwing a scoreless inning and Familia and Wilson each allowing two runs in one inning. 

“It will be fun. We got a great bullpen," Diaz said after walking two batters and striking out one. "Wilson, Familia, (Robert) Gsellman and (Seth) Lugo, I feel pretty happy to be here with them in New York. I’m happy to here with them this season.”

A leaky bullpen has contributed to the Mets' struggles the last two years, forcing new general manager Brodie Van Wagenen to invest significant resources into the unit this offseason. Acquiring Diaz from the Mariners cost a 2018 first-round pick Jarred Kelenic, a consensus top-100 prospect. 

Familia signed a three-year deal averaging $10 million per year, and Wilson signed a two-year, $10-million deal in late January.

Those three, along with Gsellman and Lugo, give the Mets a bullpen that has five legitimate options. But it's Diaz who is generating the most buzz.

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The 24-year-old led MLB with 57 saves last year while posting a 1.93 ERA. He's yet to hit his prime and the Mets have him locked up for the next four years.

The Mets held Diaz back to start their Grapefruit League schedule, and he finally appeared in a Mets uniform for the first time Saturday.

He walked the first two batters before ending his day with a strikeout. He admitted he was a little excited which led to his mechanics being off. 

"Electric stuff. It looks hard from the side over there. It comes in hot, it has great ride to it. When he clicked the sliders, they were really good," Callaway said. "A little rusty because he hasn’t pitched in a game until today for a while. He’ll get it all honed in and get it over the plate an be aggressive. The stuff is great."

Callaway said Diaz would be open to being used at any point, but the Mets believe that they have the proper pieces to avoid meltdowns in the bridge innings.

Gsellman, Lugo and Wilson should handle the sixth and seventh innings depending on the matchups, and, on most days, Familia will handle the eighth inning. 

Those four each have closing experience.

Last year, the Mets had Familia as their closer, Anthony Swarzak as their setup man and Jerry Blevins as a lefty specialist. The latter two were unreliable and ineffective. 

"It's the four other guys we have in front of him that we feel can put out those fires that we feel some of these other teams probably don't have the luxury to have," Callaway said. "And they kind of have to use their best guy in the highest leverage situation in the seventh or eighth or whatever. I feel like we have five deep that no matter who's coming up, we're going to be able to get those guys out."

This will be Diaz's first time in a baseball-craved city after spending his first three years in Seattle, and he will learn early that blown saves lead to boos.

There have been too many games over the past few seasons that featured a dominant showing by a starter only for the reliever to blow it. 

Diaz, after his dominant season, is meant to be the answer to that problem, provided the Mets can get him the ball in the ninth.

“I don’t think it’s pressure," Diaz said of joining a new organization. "I just have to do my job. I know what I have to do on the mound so I come in with the same mentality, attack the hitters and get in front in the count and end it.”

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