PORT ST. LUCIE — Edwin Diaz is waiting as eagerly as a kid on Christmas for his cue.
Diaz is waiting for the low rumble of the baseline, the opening of the bullpen door and the warning track dirt beneath his cleats as he starts his run out to the mound as the crowd cheers.
Then, finally, the trumpets.
The Mets haven’t heard Blasterjaxx’s “Narco” at Citi Field since October 2022, hitting pause after Diaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee last spring at the World Baseball Classic. Surgery and rehab kept him out of action last season.
But Diaz has still heard the song he helped make famous plenty of times over the last year. The Mets used it the first time he pitched in a minor league game on a backfield at the Clover Park complex. They used it to signal his arrival in his first Grapefruit League game this spring.
And his kids play it all the time.
“They love the trumpets,” Diaz told the Daily News. “Twice a day, at least, they put that song at home. They go to YouTube [to listen]. I’m always pulling up the video when I’m going to the page so they really, really like it.”
Mets fans also like it because they know what it signals: That the best closer in baseball is coming in to secure a win.
The Mets didn’t make any splashy acquisitions this winter, acquiring mostly depth pieces. The 29-year-old Diaz might not be a new addition, but his return will provide an impactful addition.
“He was a big loss for this team last year, and you could feel it,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “The first time he took the mound in a big league game, there was a special feeling in the dugout. You could tell. Everybody was up in the dugout. It’s a different feeling.”
The Mets like their bullpen depth, but Diaz’s return gives them an elite upgrade.
“Having Sugar back is just going to help everybody,” said right-hander Drew Smith. “It really does. You can’t quantify that. Having him back and back into the game, it just takes pressure off literally every other reliever. That’s going to be big for everybody.”
A lot went wrong with the Mets in 2023, but the pitching created a domino effect. The starters couldn’t throw strikes and couldn’t go deep. For a while, the bullpen bent but didn’t break, but it was only a matter of time before it would. The long relievers weren’t effective, the middle relievers were taxed and the high-leverage guys weren’t always available after pitching consecutive games.
Diaz watched helplessly while rehabbing in New York.
“It probably wasn’t the main factor of our struggles, but you could feel it,” said right-hander Adam Ottavino. “It would have really helped to have him there because it could have shuffled some things around. But we have an opportunity to do that now.”
Diaz isn’t one to dwell on the negative. He took advantage of the time he had with his family. It was their final year as a family of four, as Diaz’s wife Nashaly gave birth to their third son, Lucas, a few weeks ago.
There were periodic visits to Citi Field, which always boosted clubhouse morale. Now back in a clubhouse himself, it’s Diaz’s morale that is as high as ever.
“It’s been great,” Diaz said. “Coming from the rehab, doing everything to come back and pitch the games, my baby everything — everything is really good. I’m really happy about how spring training has been going.”
Diaz has been so revved up that the Mets have had to slow him down at times. He was already throwing 97-98 in early live batting practice sessions when he should have been throwing 94-95
“I want to be throwing hard, but [the coaches] say, ‘Let’s tone it down, let’s wait until the time is right,’” Diaz said. “But I feel really good.”
One of the last times Diaz was on the Citi Field mound, the Mets were fighting for their playoff lives in Game 2 of their 2022 NL Wild Card series against the San Diego Padres.
Former manager Buck Showalter made a bold decision to bring him in at the top of the seventh to face the bottom of the San Diego order, with the Mets holding on to a 3-2 lead. Diaz held that lead, allowing the Mets to pad it in the bottom of the inning. He then pitched the eighth as the Mets evened the series. The comeback fell short as the Padres won Game 3, 6-0.
A month later, he signed a historic $102 million, five-year pact. Again, he represented hope for the Mets and their fans.
That hope disappeared as he crumbled to the ground in Miami last March. His Puerto Rican teammates gathered around him in shock. His brother, Cincinnati Reds closer Alexis Diaz, was in tears.
But with Diaz set to make his long-awaited return, hope and optimism have been reignited.
“I’m counting the days,” Diaz said. “I missed all last year, so I just can’t wait to be back in New York on Opening Day.”
