As expected, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz received a 10-game suspension from MLB on Monday, per Jon Heyman of the New York Post.
Diaz’s suspension comes after he was ejected from Sunday night’s game against the Chicago Cubs following a foreign substance check.
Diaz entered Sunday’s game in the bottom of the ninth to close things out but was removed before he even threw a pitch. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza told reporters after the team’s 5-2 win that crew chief Vic Carapazza said he had too much rosin on his hand. Carapazza asserted that it wasn’t solely rosin that caused the issue.
“I touched his hand,” Carapazza said in a pool report after the game. “Grabbed his hand. The substance was extremely sticky. Discolored … it definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat. We’ve checked thousands of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”
Diaz contended that he only had rosin, dirt and sweat on his hands, so the ejection came as a shock to him.
“I use the same thing, always,” he said. “I rub rosin, sweat and I put my hand in the dirt a little bit so I can have some grip on the ball. … I was really surprised because I didn’t have anything on my hand, glove or belt. They always check everything.”
Diaz has the opportunity to appeal his suspension, but this is a continuation of a disappointing season. After returning from a torn patellar tendon in his right knee that caused him to miss the entire 2023 season, he has a 4.70 ERA this year with just seven saves and four blown saves.
Without Diaz, the Mets will have to rely on the likes of relief pitchers Drew Smith, Reed Garrett, Adam Ottavino and Jake Diekman to make up for his production at the back end of the bullpen.
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