Inside The Mets

New York Mets star listed as 'overhyped', per MLB expert

Is there too much hype behind Mets reliever Edwin Diaz?
Grant Young|
Oct 14, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) celebrates after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Oct 14, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) celebrates after defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in game two of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

If the New York Mets are going to have the 2025 season they're hoping for, they'll likely need a resurgent campaign from closer Edwin Diaz.

Diaz is undoubtedly one of the game's most elite relievers when he's at the top of his game, which he has proven numerous times across his career. However, there were stretches where he struggled during the 2024 season, and his velocity was also down during 2025 spring training.

It remains to be seen which version of Diaz Mets fans will experience in 2024. But that didn't keep Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly from calling Diaz one of 'MLB's Most Overhyped Stars for 2025 Season' in a March 31 article.

"Edwin Díaz has two top-9 finishes in Cy Young Award voting in his career — 2018 as a member of the Seattle Mariners and 2022 with the New York Mets. That's a pretty remarkable accomplishment for a relief pitcher," Kelly wrote.

Read more: Mets 'bold prediction' projects superstar power surge

"But while no one is denying that at his best Díaz is must-watch TV, his results outside of those two campaigns haven't been nearly as dominant. From 2019-2021, Díaz posted a 4.00 ERA across 155 appearances. He missed the entire 2023 season with a patellar tendon tear in his right knee, and then was underwhelming relative to expectations last season, finishing the campaign with a 3.52 ERA and seven blown saves over 54 games.

"It's now been three years since Díaz's season for the ages where he finished the year with a minuscule 0.90 FIP in 61 appearances," Kelly continued.

"With quite a few question marks in their starting rotation, the Mets need the superstar version of Díaz in 2025."

Diaz has a golden opportunity to prove his doubters and detractors wrong with a big 2025 season.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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