Major League Baseball

Edwin Díaz will return to closer role with Mets when he comes off injured list Thursday

Published Jun. 12, 2024 7:41 p.m. ET

Edwin Díaz will go right back into the closer role with the New York Mets when he returns from the injured list Thursday.

The struggling reliever has been sidelined since May 29 with a right shoulder impingement. Before going on the IL, he blew three straight save chances and four out of five — and that didn't even include a May 18 meltdown in Miami when he squandered a four-run lead in the ninth inning but wasn't charged with a blown save.

"For us to make a run at this, we're going to need Díaz to be Edwin Díaz," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Wednesday. "We've been trying to piece it together for the past month or so. He feels good physically and mentally, so comfortable with him going back to the closer spot."

Reporting by The Associated Press.