Suspension of Mets closer Edwin Diaz raises questions about MLB's sensitive matters policy

Once again, the Mets are without their closer.

Edwin Diaz was suspended 10 games by MLB on Monday after being ejected from the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field the night before because his hand was deemed too sticky. Diaz decided not to appeal the suspension, and it took effect Tuesday when the Mets opened the home half of the Subway Series.

“We have to get over it,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Tuesday at Citi Field. “We don’t want that cloud to hang over the team for too long. We decided it was best. Obviously he talked to his people, we talked to him, and we thought it was best to just move on, get it over with and then move on.”

There are still unanswered questions about Diaz’s ejection. The Mets insist he only used rosin, sweat and dirt, while umpire Vic Carapazza said it was a foreign substance.

In this case, no one can definitively prove what exactly was on Diaz’s hand. Much like the suspensions of Max Scherzer and Drew Smith last year, it’s difficult for pitchers to know what the difference is between sticky and too sticky, as well as acceptable and unacceptable rosin use.

It was a hot, humid night in Chicago and Diaz said he needed more rosin to get a firm grip on the ball, but insisted he hadn’t used anything different than he always had.

“I think it’s the same thing,” Diaz said Sunday night. “They always control me. They always control me and make me throw, but today was harder than it was earlier in the season, so I don’t know. They thought it would be harder.”

Diaz told his manager the same thing.

“He had to go there a lot more often than he did earlier in the year when it was cold,” Mendoza said. “So maybe that had something to do with it.”

Diaz said he wanted to continue using the same three legal substances he’d always used. Smith didn’t change anything after his suspension last year. He didn’t have a chance to wash his hands, as other pitchers — including Scherzer — were allowed to do. Diaz didn’t ask, but he wasn’t sure he was even allowed to ask.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, umpires offer this option when they find discoloration or sticky substances on the glove or hand. Sticky substances are a different story, and league officials explained to Martino that sticky is binary.

However, after last year’s examination, Scherzer washed his hands and was asked to change his glove. Scherzer’s hand was sticky enough to warrant a warning, which doesn’t seem very binary.

The league’s intention is good, but the implementation is lacking. Pitchers complain about the lack of clarity in the process. Umpires are trained to identify the various substances pitchers use, but players feel some transparency is necessary.

Failure to properly grip a pitch can result in poor form and injury. Even worse, failure to grip a 99 mph fastball can result in it hitting the batter in the head.

To be clear, it’s not all pitchers who are complaining. Yankees closer Clay Holmes has no problem with the system.

“I think there was a long enough induction period where … your hand was studied enough that you know what’s expected and what your hand should be,” Homes said Tuesday at Citi Field. “I don’t know exactly what it was like here with Edwin, but sometimes the games, especially in the summer, get sweatier. There’s more rosin.”

Ultimately, it’s up to teams to properly communicate and control their pitchers. Diaz was the third Mets pitcher suspended for violating the foreign substance ban, and the sixth in the organization. Members of the Triple-A Syracuse Mets (Dylan Bundy, Eric Orze and Jeff Brigham) received the same suspensions last season. Mendoza said he was clear with his players.

“I’m obviously behind Edwin when I talk to him,” Mendoza said. “I really believe what he told us. But yes, we were pretty strict with the rules from the beginning and you don’t like to see that happen. But we have to keep going and stop this.”

At a crucial stage of the season, the Mets will lose a man in the bullpen as manager Carlos Mendoza intends to return to a closer-by-committee approach. It’s the same approach the Mets took in Diaz’s absence last season when he was out with a knee injury and earlier this month when he was injured. Pitchers with options will be sent back and forth between Syracuse, New York, Washington and Pittsburgh to keep the pitchers fresh.

“We have to get creative,” Mendoza said. “But we live day by day.”

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