Edwin Diaz explained his decision to leave the Mets for the Dodgers.
The closer headed west for a three-year, $69 million contract with the two-time defending World Series Champions over the same terms and $3 million fewer with the Mets — who reportedly “had some wiggle room” on their initial offer.
But it wasn’t just about the money, the 31-year-old said in his first Los Angeles press conference on Friday.
“It wasn’t easy. I spent seven years in New York — they treated me great,” Diaz said. “I chose the Dodgers because they’re a winning organization. I’m looking to win, and I think they have everything to win, so picking the Dodgers was pretty easy.”
The three-time All-Star closer acknowledged that he had options in free agency, but said the Dodgers stood out due to their track record.
And, unfortunately for Mets fans, he’s bringing the trumpets with him across the country.
“It would be fun. I think that music will get into the fans right away,” he said of his high-octane “Narco” entrance. “That’s a nice walk-up song, so I can’t wait to, first game of the season, come in the ninth with Timmy Trumpet and get the W for the Dodgers.”
He’s not alone.
Diaz joins a loaded roster with a bevy of arms that should be in the World Series mix for the duration of his contract and beyond. And the Dodgers are eager for him to bring his game to their bullpen.
“I think just watching him compete over the years, seeing the selflessness in the postseason or in the last weekend of this year … whenever the game is potentially on the line,” said Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman. “And it fits in really well with our culture and the selflessness of a lot of our superstar players. So many boxes were checked in our mind, but again, just a very high bar to say, ‘This person is our closer,’ and ‘Sugar’ checks all those boxes.”
“The opportunity to add somebody of this caliber to what’s already a really talented bullpen was something that we weren’t sure was going to be able to actually come to fruition,” general manager Brandon Gomes added.
“But we’re really fired up that it did.”
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