The Mets’ closer in the World Baseball Classic Edwin D. Az sustains a knee injury while partying with Puerto Rico and leaves the venue in a wheelchair.
The emotional impact of Puerto Rico’s victory over the Dominican Republic in the game that decided their elimination was felt immediately after the match on Wednesday.
Although he was able to close out the game and advance Puerto Rico to the WBC quarterfinals, Edwin Diaz, the closer for the New York Mets suffered a knee injury in the ensuing celebration and had to be wheeled off the field.
As On the pitcher’s mound, Diáz was observed sitting with his head resting in his hands., several of the Puerto Rican players, who had been ecstatic just a moment earlier, were visibly upset and crying. Among those present was his brother, Alexis D.az, who is a reliever for the Cincinnati Reds.
After an hour, the Mets made the announcement that Daz had suffered an injury to the right knee and would have imaging done on Thursday.
The only thing left for Puerto Rico and the Mets to do is hold their breath at this point. After having a stellar season in which he recorded a 1.31 earned run average, a 0.839 WHIP, 32 saves, and in 62.0 innings 118 strikeouts, D.Az was a very significant figure for both teams.
Due to his outstanding performance in 2022, Dáz was selected for the All-Star Game for the second time in his career and received the Trevor Hoffman National League Relief Player of the Year Award. As part of his entrance routine, he used to play a song “Narco” by Timmy Trumpet and Blasterjaxx. This helped him get widespread recognition.
After the conclusion of the season, D. inked a five-year contract with the Mets worth a total of $102 million to remain with the team. The Mets are anticipated to once again compete for the National League pennant. This is the largest contract ever given to a reliever in the history of Major League Baseball.
Until suffering an injury on Wednesday, Daz appeared to be performing well for Puerto Rico. He struck out three consecutive outs against the Dominican batters in the 9th inning to close up a 5-2 victory in the game that was effectively an elimination game and advance Puerto Rico to the semifinals. Due to the current state of his situation, the World Baseball Classic can be projected in a negative light.
