#Mets’ Edwin Diaz has solution for ending his pitching troubles

“#Mets’ Edwin Diaz has solution for ending his pitching troubles”

ATLANTA — Edwin Diaz’s solution to resurrecting his season and Mets career is to pitch more often.

During a meeting Friday with manager Luis Rojas, pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and assistant pitching coach Jeremy Accardo, the reliever blamed his poor performance the previous night against the Red Sox on rustiness. His message to the group was he needs to pitch more, not less.

“It had been five days since I last threw, so I felt I didn’t have my mechanics in order,” Diaz said before the Mets suffered a crushing 11-10 loss to the Braves. “I felt like my body just wasn’t in sync and I felt like I was trying to overpower the pitches too much at that point.

“Five days without pitching isn’t the same when you are more and more accustomed to pitching three days in a row or sometimes one day and then two days after. It’s a little bit different when you have that much of a layoff.”

Diaz, who did not pitch Friday, faced five batters Thursday and allowed four of them to reach base after entering in the ninth inning. Included were two walks and a hit batsman.

As much as Diaz’s results were troubling to Rojas, so too was the manner in which the pitcher unraveled emotionally if he didn’t get a call or execute a pitch as he had planned.

“The stuff is there, obviously,” Rojas said. “We talked a little bit about the emotional part. During the inning he was aware of it as well, so it was a really good conversation among coaches and player just to get things back on track where they can be.”

It was a contrast to Diaz’s performance last Saturday, when one pitch — which Marcell Ozuna belted over the right-field fence with two outs in the ninth inning at Citi Field — defined his outing in a blown save against the Braves.

The Mets have other high-upside options in the late innings, with Seth Lugo, Dellin Betances, Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson available, so it’s possible Diaz could be bumped into a lower-leverage role to get on track. But Rojas wasn’t about to say if he’s planning a change for Diaz.

“I’m open to pitching whenever, so that doesn’t matter to me,” Diaz said. “It’s just one of those things where I would like to pitch more frequently as opposed to having those longer layoffs.”

Rojas was removed from the closer’s role last year during a disastrous first season with the Mets. He returned to the closer’s role on Opening Day this season, but now his hold on the job appears tenuous. He was asked if he still considers himself as the Mets closer.

“I feel like I have the stuff to be a closer,” Diaz said. “I have proven over the last four or five years that I have the stuff and I can be the closer because I have done it before. Whether it’s here or wherever I think I am a closer.”

Marcus Stroman’s session throwing to hitters Friday at the Mets’ alternate training site in Brooklyn included fielding drills.

The right-hander pitched four innings, according to Rojas, but Stroman’s return to the Mets from a left calf tear hinges largely on his ability to move off the mound to field his position.

“He’s been going full tilt with his sides and now facing hitters,” Rojas said. “The report is he did real good and he did some [pitchers fielding practice] drills to test coming off the mound and covering first and doing some fielding. I heard it was a very productive day for us.”

Rojas would not place a timetable on Stroman’s possible return to the rotation. David Peterson, who replaced Stroman in the rotation, is scheduled to start Sunday against the Braves after giving the Mets a solid performance against the Red Sox in his MLB debut on Tuesday to earn the victory.

The Mets placed catcher Rene Rivera on the injured list with a hyperextended left elbow and recalled pitcher Franklyn Kilome from their alternate training site.

Jeff McNeil said the first team flight since the coronavirus outbreak was “different” — beyond the fact the Mets incurred a weather delay in New York that kept them from arriving to their hotel until about 5 a.m. on Friday.

“We were on the big plane that we normally take in September [with expanded rosters],” McNeil said. “Everyone kind of had assigned seats so we could be as socially distanced as possible. It went well.”

McNeil was asked about a report that commissioner Rob Manfred is threatening to end the season if players don’t stick to health protocols.

“I know our team is doing a pretty good job of following protocols and making sure everyone is safe,” McNeil said. “I haven’t worried too much about us. We’re doing everything we need to do to stay on the field. Hopefully other teams are as well.”