Mets' Díaz ejected for sticky stuff, faces 10-game suspension (2024)

CHICAGO — Major League Baseball suspended New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz for 10 games after umpires ejected him Sunday for a sticky substance on his hand.

Umpires tossed Díaz after checking his hands and glove before he threw a pitch against the Chicago Cubs in the ninth inning.

Crew chief Vic Carapazza confirmed that Díaz’s ejection was a result of sticky stuff.

Carapazza said: “I touched his hand. Grabbed his hand. The substance was extremely sticky. Discolored. That was that. It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat. We’ve checked thousands of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”

Díaz’s suspension is subject to appeal. If he does not appeal, it will begin Tuesday when the Mets host the New York Yankees.

Mets closer Edwin Díaz was ejected for having a substance on his pitching hand 😳

🎥 @espnpic.twitter.com/NIwLtG7oKO

— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) June 24, 2024

The Mets held on to win, 5-2, to continue their hot streak, but losing Díaz — who recently returned from the injured list with improved results — presents a significant challenge.

After missing all of 2023 because of knee surgery, Díaz has experienced an up-and-down season, emblematic of the Mets’ unevenness in 2024. Díaz was strong for the first few weeks (0.93 ERA through April 28) but then struggled majorly — blowing four saves and allowing 11 runs across 10 appearances — which led to him temporarily losing the closer role. On May 29, the Mets placed Díaz on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Díaz’s struggles and his injury coincided with a miserable month of May for the Mets.

Since returning on June 13, however, Díaz has resembled his old self. In his last three appearances, Díaz has pitched three scoreless innings, earning two saves. On his first day back from the injured list, his fastball hit over 99 mph three times. Before that, his average velocity on both his fastball and slider had been down. Díaz then hit over 100 mph for the first time this season in a game on June 14.

Díaz will be the eighth MLB pitcher suspended for foreign substances since the new rules were instituted. Of that list, two other Mets pitchers — Max Scherzer (now with the Texas Rangers) and reliever Drew Smith — received suspensions last year.

“They thought it was too much,” Mendoza said. “Díaz kept saying it was rosin, sweat and dirt. And Vic thought that he had crossed the line there. Obviously the rules are the rules and they made the decision to throw him out.”

Díaz said that he used the same mixture that he always applies before pitching: rosin, sweat and a little dirt. Though television cameras showed obvious residue of some kind on Díaz’s hand, he said that his hand always looks like that upon entering a game. He said he explained as much to the umpires, but they contended it was too much. Díaz said he understood their stance, even though he wasn’t expecting the outcome.

“I was really surprised because I didn’t have anything on my hand, glove, belt,” Díaz said. “They thought that was sticky a lot. I just said, ‘Hey, you can check my hand, smell my hand.’ But they threw me out of the game.”

After Díaz’s ejection, Mendoza inserted Smith into the game. Smith did not warm up in the bullpen, as he had no expectation of being used until the ejection occurred. So Smith warmed up on the mound. After recording two outs and during the third at-bat against him, he motioned for catcher Francisco Alvarez to meet him on the mound. Mendoza jogged in from the dugout. Smith said he was fine, but Mendoza removed him after allowing a single for lefty Jake Diekman, who finished the inning.

Smith, who has made appearances in 6 of the last 10 days, said he was stiff and had trouble getting loose. He said he should’ve taken more time to warm up, but said the issue he was experiencing “wasn’t anything major.” Like Díaz, Smith recently returned from the injured list as well, doing so on June 3.

Díaz’s imminent suspension comes at a bad time for the Mets (37-39), who are one game out of a wild-card spot with about a month to go before the trade deadline after winning 13 of their last 17 games. The Mets are off Monday and Thursday this week, but starting Friday, New York is set to play 17 straight days.

The Mets have been mulling the idea of inserting another starter, possibly at the beginning of July, because of their schedule. Top pitching prospect Christian Scott would likely get recalled in that scenario. However, with a short bullpen, the Mets’ pitching plans may not be as straightforward as they were before Díaz’s ejection.

Without Díaz, the rest of the Mets’ bullpen includes long reliever Adrian Houser, Smith, Diekman, Danny Young, Dedniel Nunez, Adam Ottavino and Reed Garrett. On Saturday, the Mets lost Sean Reid-Foley (shoulder) to the injured list.

Díaz stabilizes the Mets’ bullpen; they struggled last month during his struggles and absence. Without Díaz, the Mets would lean on a combination of Ottavino, Nunez and Garrett for high-leverage spots along with Diekman and Young, another lefty. Ottavino has recently worked multiple innings, but that was more circ*mstantial than anything else, given his struggles, rest and the availability (or lack thereof) of the rest of the bullpen. Mendoza said that the Mets would “have to get creative.”

“We’ve been through a lot this year,” Mendoza said. “We will find a way to get through it.”

Required reading

• Edwin Díaz’s return, J.D. Martinez’s walk-off homer provide hope despite trade deadline chatter
• Can MLB stop ‘sticky stuff’ use? Players weigh in on new enforcement measures
• Sarris: Let’s figure out a better way of checking pitchers for sticky stuff

(Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)