Mets closer Edwin Díaz sent off for sticky stuff, automatically suspended for 10 games

CHICAGO – New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz was ejected Sunday night after umpires checked his hands and glove before pitching against the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning.

Crew chief Vic Carapazza confirmed that Díaz’s dismissal was due to sticky stuff.

Carapazza said: “I touched his hand. Grabbed his hand. The substance was extremely sticky. Discolored. That was all. It was definitely not rosin and sweat. We’ve checked thousands of them. I know what that feels like. That was very sticky.”

Mets closer Edwin Díaz was sent off because he had a substance on his throwing hand 😳

🎥 @espn pic.twitter.com/NIwLtG7oKO

— The Athlete (@TheAthletic) 24 June 2024

An ejection for sticky material automatically results in a 10-game suspension. Due to Díaz’s suspension, the Mets will play with 25 players instead of 26; they cannot use substitutes.

The Mets continued their winning streak with a 5-2 win, but the loss of Díaz – who recently returned from the injured list with improved results – presents a significant challenge.

After missing all of 2023 due to knee surgery, Díaz had an up-and-down season that is emblematic of the Mets’ imbalance in 2024. Díaz was strong in the first few weeks (0.93 ERA through April 28), but then struggled mightily – blowing four saves and allowing 11 runs in 10 appearances – which led to him temporarily losing the closer’s role. On May 29, the Mets placed Díaz on the injured list with right shoulder impingement. Díaz’s struggles and injury coincided with a miserable month of May for the Mets.

Since his return on June 13, however, Díaz has resembled his old self. In his last three appearances, Díaz has pitched three scoreless innings, earning two saves. On his first day back from the injured list, his fastball reached over 99 mph three times. Before that, his average velocity on both his fastball and slider had dropped. Then, in a game on June 14, Díaz reached over 100 mph for the first time this season.

Díaz will be the eighth MLB pitcher suspended for foreign substances since the new rules were implemented, joining two other Mets pitchers – Max Scherzer (now with the Texas Rangers) and reliever Drew Smith – who were suspended last year.

“They thought it was too much,” Mendoza said. “Díaz kept saying it was rosin, sweat and dirt. And Vic thought he had crossed the line. Of course, the rules are the rules and they made the decision to kick him out.”

Díaz said he used the same mixture he always applies before pitching: rosin, sweat and a little dirt. Although television cameras showed clear residue of some sort on Díaz’s hand, he said his hand always looked that way when entering a game. He said he explained that to the umpires, but they said it was too much. Díaz said he understood their stance, even if he didn’t expect the result.

“I was really surprised because I didn’t have anything on my hand, neither my glove nor my belt,” Díaz said. “They thought it was very sticky. I just said, ‘Hey, you can check my hand, smell my hand.’ But they threw me out of the game.”

After Díaz’s ejection, Mendoza brought Smith into the game. Smith didn’t warm up in the bullpen, not expecting to be used until the ejection occurred. So Smith warmed up on the mound. After recording two outs and during the third at-bat against him, he motioned to catcher Francisco Alvarez to meet him on the mound. Mendoza jogged in from the dugout. Smith said he was fine, but Mendoza took him out after he allowed a single to left-hander Jake Diekman that ended the inning.

Smith, who has played six times in the last 10 days, said he was stiff and had trouble relaxing. He said he should have taken more time to warm up, but said the problem he had was “nothing serious.” Like Díaz, Smith recently returned from the injured list, doing so on June 3.

The looming suspension of Díaz comes at a bad time for the Mets (37-39). They have won 13 of their last 17 games and are one game away from a wild-card spot with about a month to go before the transfer deadline. The Mets have Monday and Thursday off this week, but starting Friday, New York will play 17 days in a row.

The Mets have entertained the idea of adding another starter, perhaps in early July, due to their schedule. Top pitcher Christian Scott would likely be recalled in that scenario. With a small bullpen, however, the Mets’ pitching plans may not be as straightforward as they were before Díaz was fired.

Besides Díaz, the rest of the Mets bullpen consists of long relievers Adrian Houser, Smith, Diekman, Danny Young, Dedniel Nunez, Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett. On Saturday, the Mets lost Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder) to the injured list.

Díaz stabilizes the Mets’ bullpen; they struggled last month during his struggles and absence. Without Díaz, the Mets would rely on a combination of Ottavino, Nunez and Garrett for key positions, along with Diekman and Young, another left-hander. Ottavino has pitched several innings recently, but that was more a matter of circumstance than anything else, given his struggles, his rest and the availability (or lack thereof) of the rest of the bullpen. Mendoza said the Mets will have to “get creative.”

“We’ve been through a lot this year,” Mendoza said. “We’ll find a way to get through this.”