LOS ANGELES ¨C New York Mets fans vented their anger on Tuesday after learning that All-Star closer Edwin Diaz had agreed to a three-year, $69-million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, intensifying scrutiny on Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns.
The deal, which takes the 31-year-old right-hander from Queens to the two-time defending World Series champions in Los Angeles, was widely seen by fans as a case of the big-spending Dodgers further consolidating their advantage.
¡°David Stearns should be fired over this, that¡¯s how bad this is,¡± said Justin Morelli, a native New Yorker and host of the ShotClock Show.
He called the decision especially damaging given the Mets¡¯ stated ¡°win-now¡± posture after last year¡¯s record 15-year, $765-million contract for slugger Juan Soto and a narrow miss of the postseason.
¡°You collapse at the end of last year,¡± Morelli said.
¡°You¡¯re trying to bring hope to this franchise and their fans and make them think this year is going to be different, and you don¡¯t re-sign the best closer in baseball for this contract?
¡°You let him walk out the door to the team that just won the World Series? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me.¡±
Diaz, one of the Mets¡¯ most popular players, went 6-3 with 28 saves and a 1.63 ERA in 62 relief appearances in 2025.
He opted out of the final two years and $38 million of the five-year deal he signed with New York in 2022. The Mets extended a $22.025-million qualifying offer, which he declined.
Fan backlash gathered pace on social media and Mets-focused podcasts, with much of it aimed at Stearns and at owner Steve Cohen¡¯s perceived reluctance to deploy his financial resources to retain key stars.
¡°It is officially time to have a conversation about David Stearns,¡± Rich MacLeod, host of the ¡°Just Mets¡± podcast, posted on X.
¡°Regardless of the contract, letting Edwin Diaz leave ¡ª to the Dodgers, no less ¡ª is an absolute DISASTER for the New York Mets.¡±
MacLeod questioned why the wealth of Cohen, a billionaire who bought the club promising to spend aggressively, had not prevented the departures of several franchise cornerstones.
¡°Isn¡¯t the point of having Steve Cohen as your owner so that you don¡¯t have to lose your own players like Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz and (potentially) Pete Alonso?¡± he said.
¡°I¡¯m genuinely at a loss right now, man.¡±
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