New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz declined to appeal his 10-game suspension for violating the MLB policy on foreign substances and began serving his punishment on Tuesday night.
Diaz will be eligible to return to the Mets on July 6 when they play the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Diaz didn’t speak to reporters prior to Tuesday’s home game against the New York Yankees. The right-hander is expected to address his situation on Wednesday, according to the club.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said the lack of an appeal is because the Mets want to move past the situation.
“We don’t want this hanging over the team for too long,” Mendoza said before Tuesday’s contest. “Obviously, he talked to his people. We talked to them. And we thought it was best if we just move forward, get it over with and then move on from that.”
The incident with Diaz occurred during Sunday night’s 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Before the bottom of the ninth inning, Diaz was ejected by crew chief Vic Carapazza before throwing a single pitch. Carapazza checked the right-hander’s cap, hands and glove and said the substance he found was “extremely sticky” and discolored.
“It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat,” Carapazza said after the game. “We’ve checked thousands of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”
Diaz is the third New York pitcher to be suspended for a sticky substance issue in the past two seasons. Since-traded Max Scherzer and Drew Smith served suspensions last season.
Mendoza said the closer’s role will be “mix and match” while Diaz is sidelined.
Diaz, who missed all of last season because of knee surgery, had five saves and a 2.30 ERA through his first 15 appearances this season but has struggled since. He is now 2-1 with a 4.70 ERA on the year, with seven saves in 11 opportunities.
Diaz just returned from the 15-day injured list on June 13 after recovering from a shoulder injury. After Sunday’s game, he was aware that he had put his team in a bad position.
“It’s tough because I will let my teammates down for 10 games,” Diaz said. “That sucks, because I’ve been able to come back from the IL, I’ve been good and helped this team to win. Now to be out 10 more games, it sucks.”
–Field Level Media