The Braves entered the offseason with a minor bullpen issue thanks to Raisel Iglesias testing free agency, but they turned it into a full-blown crisis when they declined the options on Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley. Now, Atlanta must acquire multiple high-leverage relievers — including a closer — and the best one on the market just so happens to be a familiar foe: Mets right-hander Edwin Díaz.
Díaz was dominant again in 2025, posting a 1.63 ERA with a 38.0% strikeout rate over 48 appearances while converting 28 saves. It marked the fourth time in his nine-year career he’s finished with an ERA under 2.00, cementing him as arguably the most overpowering closer in baseball.
Naturally, the first question Braves fans ask is: Why would the Mets ever let him walk? Steve Cohen has more money than any owner in the sport, and Díaz is the exact type of star you’d expect him to retain.
I thought the same thing, but according to several reports, New York letting Diaz walk is not as far-fetched as it might seem.
“I know what Mets fans are thinking: Steve Will Save Us, Steve being owner Steve Cohen, who fancies the best of everything, from his art collection to his major-league roster,” Ken Rosenthal writes. “The Mets re-signing Díaz very well could be the outcome if the Blue Jays or some other club makes him a massive offer and Cohen tops it in the end. But speaking to reporters Thursday night at the MLB Awards in Las Vegas, where he won the Trevor Hoffman Award for National League Reliever of the Year, Díaz said his chances of returning to the Mets were “50-50.”
“Díaz, who turns 32 in March, wants the same kind of deal he signed with the Mets in November 2022, according to a person briefed on his wishes – five years, $102 million. He opted out of the final two years and $38 million in the deal, and is certain to turn down the Mets’ one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer.”
A five-year, nine-figure contract would be the largest free-agent deal Alex Anthopoulos has ever given out, but historically, closer is one of the few positions where he has been willing to spend. The Braves signed Will Smith to a three-year, $40 million deal in 2019, traded for Raisel Iglesias and absorbed the remainder of his four-year, $64 million contract, and were linked to Tanner Scott last winter before he signed for $72 million with the Dodgers.
There’s enough precedent to believe Anthopoulos won’t shy away from paying for elite bullpen talent, which is why Rosenthal views the Braves as a plausible landing spot.
“Could it come from the Mets’ NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves? Chairman Terry McGuirk recently said on an earnings call that the Braves aim to carry one of the game’s five highest payrolls. President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos listed the additions of a shortstop, starting pitcher and multiple relievers, in that order, as the team’s biggest needs. For Díaz, though, he might adjust.”
Diaz’s relationship with new Braves pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, who was previously with the Mets, makes the situation even more intriguing. However, it’s difficult to envision the Braves committing $100+ million to a reliever given the sheer number of holes they must patch this winter, especially considering this free-agent class is unusually deep in late-inning arms. If Díaz’s price unexpectedly drops, the conversation changes. Otherwise, the Braves would need a genuine payroll surge to make a move of this magnitude feasible.
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Photo: Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire
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