THIS DAY IN BÉISBOL November 6: Edwin Diaz gets largest contract for a reliever in 2022 deal

Edwin Diaz has no doubt caused plenty of anxiety attacks among Mets fans over the years, considering his roller-coaster career as an elite closer interspersed with some rough years as an unreliable reliever where no lead seemed safe while he was on the mound.

But on this day in béisbol, November 6, 2022, New York rewarded the then-28-year-old Diaz with a five-year, $102 million contract that was the highest amount ever for a reliever.

Diaz, from Naguabo, Puerto Rico, was coming off an all-star season in ’22, when he placed ninth in Cy Young voting with 32 saves, a career-low 1.31 ERA and only 3 blown saves, his lowest total in seven years.

Compare that to his worst season in 2019, his first year as Met after a trade with the Seattle Mariners brought him and star 2B Robinson to New York. Diaz blew 7 saves in 33 chances and had a 2-7 record with an unacceptable 5.59 ERA that had hordes of Mets fans reaching for their TUMS all year long.

After his excellent 2022 season, the Mets would have to wait a year to get Diaz back on the mound, however. In a freak injury, he tore a tendon in his right knee celebrating a win by the Puerto Rico team while playing in the World Baseball Classic.

Diaz regained his stature as one of the game’s best closers in 2025, with 28 saves and a 1.63 ERA, but he opted out of the last two years of his Mets contract after the season.

Also on this day: Seven of the nine 2014 Silver Slugger Award winners in the American League are Latino players, a sign of how the game continues to evolve as an international sport: 1B Jose Abreu, 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Adrian Beltre, SS Alexei Ramirez, outfielder Jose Bautista, and DH Victor Martinez.

In 2020, Alex Cora was allowed to return as Red Sox manager for the 2021 season after a one-year suspension for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal three years earlier when he was a coach.

D. Benjamin Miller, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration