Edwin Díaz has many reasons to smile this winter. Not only is he the proud recipient of a five-year, $102 million contract — the richest ever for a relief pitcher — but he also signed the deal with the team he hoped would retain him and in the city where he wanted to remain.
And as Díaz, the All-Star Mets closer, scanned social media before a video call with reporters on Thursday to officially announce the deal, he found one more thing to brighten his day. He said he learned that it was the fourth anniversary of a seven-player trade that sent him, infielder Robinson Canó and cash from Seattle to the Mets for a package that included Jay Bruce, an outfielder who last played in 2021, and outfielder Jarred Kelenic, a onetime hot prospect who has yet to find his footing with the Mariners.