Team Puerto Rico earned a hard-fought win against the Dominican Republic as part of the last round of games in the pool phase of the World Baseball Classic.
It was a win-and-in game, so Puerto Rico advanced to the quarterfinals and eliminated the Dominicans, favored by many to win the championship.
Naturally, the underdog Puerto Rico celebrated on the field after the last out.
Unfortunately, in the middle of the jumping and screaming, New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz fell to the ground and grabbed his knee.
Puerto Rico suddenly stopped celebrating, and Alexis, Edwin’s brother, was in tears.
Evidently, a serious knee injury had just happened to Diaz.
After performing an MRI, the Mets have the results, and the prognosis and the overall news are not good.
“New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during the celebration after Puerto Rico’s WBC victory against the Dominican Republic. He will need surgery and is expected to miss the season,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan tweeted.
New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz tore the patellar tendon in his right knee during the celebration after Puerto Rico’s WBC victory against the Dominican Republic. He will need surgery and is expected to miss the season.
—Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 16, 2023
Talk about some bad luck.
The best reliever in baseball suffered a “full thickness” tear of his patellar tendon.
Mets GM Billy Eppler said that more details about the timeline will be known after the surgery, but he is expected to miss around eight months.
It’s a big blow to an already battered bullpen, and affects the Mets’ chances for a deep playoff run.
Diaz had just signed a five-year deal worth north of $100 million this offseason, but he won’t be able to pitch in the first campaign of that new pact.
David Robertson is now expected to take over the closer role for the Mets.
