ORLANDO, Fla. — As the hotel lobby at the Signia by Hilton Orlando filled at MLB’s Winter Meetings on Tuesday morning, an unexpected prize was falling into the Dodgers’ lap.
Edwin Díaz, the top reliever on this year’s free-agent market, was suddenly slipping away from the incumbent New York Mets, who reportedly made the fan favorite closer only a three-year offer that did little to entice him to re-sign with the team.
The Dodgers, meanwhile, were swooping in late to snatch away the hard-throwing right-hander, submitting a more lucrative three-year bid that would pay Díaz a relief-pitcher-record $23 million per season.