{"id":96042,"date":"2025-02-20T16:54:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-20T21:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=96042"},"modified":"2025-02-20T16:54:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T21:54:01","slug":"edwin-diaz-opt-out-watch-mlb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/02\/20\/edwin-diaz-opt-out-watch-mlb\/","title":{"rendered":"All-Star Reliever Could Test Free Agency \u2013 Top Landing Spots"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the biggest names in free agency have found new homes, it’s not too early to look ahead. One of the most intriguing potential free agents who’s not Vladimir Guerrero Jr.<\/a> of the Toronto Blue Jays is New York Mets closer Edwin D\u00edaz. The electric right-hander signed a record-setting deal<\/a> for a reliever, but holds an opt-out clause that could allow him to test the market once again. If he returns to his dominant form, Diaz could be another headliner for next winter’s free-agent class.<\/p>\n

Edwin D\u00edaz Could Hit Open Market Next Winter<\/h2>\n

D\u00edaz holds an opt-out clause that would allow him to forgo the final two years and $38 million of his current deal with the Mets. As Mike Axisa of CBS Sports<\/a> explains:<\/p>\n

“D\u00edaz is owed $18.5 million in both 2026 and 2027, and his contract includes a $17.25 million club option for 2028. That club option comes with a $1 million buyout. D\u00edaz bounced back nicely last year from his lost 2023 season. Though, he wasn’t as good as he was in 2022, and that’s fine. That was one of the best seasons by a reliever ever. With his 31st birthday coming up next month, D\u00edaz remains a one of the game’s premier strikeout pitchers, and a high-leverage dominator.<\/p>\n

“He may not want to opt-out and leave the Mets after the season, but if he repeats his 2024 performance in 2025, Diaz would be in a position to leverage his opt-out into an extension. He could tack an extra guaranteed year or two on top of what he’s already owed. At the end of the day, that’s what the opt-out is. Leverage.”<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz’s decision will ultimately hinge on his performance in 2025 and whether he sees an opportunity to maximize his value. If he dominates again, he could have plenty of suitors ready to offer a lucrative deal.<\/p>\n

Potential Landing Spots for D\u00edaz in 2026<\/h3>\n

New York Mets<\/strong> – The most obvious option. If D\u00edaz opts out, it may not necessarily mean he wants to leave. He could negotiate an extension with the Mets and add more guaranteed years to his deal, securing long-term financial stability while staying in Queens.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Phillies<\/strong> – The Phillies have been aggressive in recent years and could look to bolster the back end of their bullpen with a proven high-leverage arm like D\u00edaz. Philadelphia may begin the season with Jordan Romano as the team’s closer.<\/p>\n

San Francisco Giants<\/strong> – If the Giants can stay in the thick of the postseason hunt, they could invest in an elite closer to lockdown games. D\u00edaz would provide a reliable late-inning weapon.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: \u00a9 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the biggest names in free agency have found new homes, it’s not too early to look ahead. One of the most intriguing potential free agents who’s not Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays is New York Mets closer Edwin D\u00edaz. The electric right-hander signed a record-setting deal for a reliever, but holds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":96043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22,1071],"tags":[1931,3359,640],"class_list":["post-96042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mets","category-mlb","tag-edwin-diaz","tag-jordan-romano","tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96042"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":96044,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96042\/revisions\/96044"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}