Mets fans weren’t the only ones surprised by Edwin Díaz’s decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December. So was Mets owner Steve Cohen.
“I did find that one perplexing. (I’m) not sure exactly how Edwin arrived at that decision,” Cohen said in an interview with Mets radio broadcaster Howie Rose, published Friday. “Obviously it’s a personal decision on his part, and I thought we made a pretty respectable bid.”
Díaz signed for three years and $69 million with Los Angeles. New York’s last bid was for less, though the club had suggested it could go higher. Díaz didn’t give that chance to the Mets, who had already signed Devin Williams the week before.
“When it was getting pretty hot and heavy, when this was coming down, I felt pretty good about the fact that we had signed Devin Williams,” Cohen said. “I described it to David, that was pretty clever, because it was a really good hedge, in case there was an unfavorable outcome with Edwin.”
The Mets had felt the market for Williams was moving too quickly to wait on Díaz.
After losing another free-agent target, Kyle Tucker, to the Dodgers, the Mets swiftly pivoted to sign Bo Bichette. Cohen said Bichette might prove to be an even better acquisition for New York.
“Frankly, once it was all done, and we got Bo to come to the Mets, (I) actually feel Bo might be a better fit for the team,” said Cohen. “So I think things worked out for the best.”
This was a transformative offseason for Cohen’s Mets, who saw Díaz and Pete Alonso sign elsewhere while trading Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil. Only one remaining Met, starter David Peterson, played for the major-league team before Cohen bought it in 2020.
“I can totally understand how the fans felt when they’re losing players that they develop relationships with. Listen, change is hard,” Cohen said. “The players that left were the players that I started with in my ownership, day one. And so I developed pretty close relationships with some of these players.
“But I think we stayed patient, disciplined, and I really like this team that we built. I’m really excited by it.”