Katia Reguero Lindor doesn’t want Mets fans to focus solely on the ramifications for their 2023 season when thinking about closer Edwin Diaz and the injury he sustained while celebrating with Puerto Rico teammates Wednesday night at the World Baseball Classic.
There’s a consequence to injuries like these that stretches deeper than baseball, the wife of Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor — and Diaz’s Puerto Rican teammate — said in a reply to an Instagram post.
“Can people stop worrying about the Mets season for one second and worry about his health and family instead?” Katia, the “Un-a-Parent” podcast host, wrote beneath SNY’s post. “They’re people too (regardless of his paycheck since I know someone always brings that up) and they’re going through a rough time. Baseball is amazing but it’s not all there is to life; put things into perspective please.”
Diaz, an All-Star closer who recorded 32 saves and a career-best 1.31 ERA in 2022, appeared to suffer a knee injury while jumping around with teammates near the mound after he recorded the final out of Puerto Rico’s 5-2 victory over the Dominican Republic, which sent them into the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals.
Teammates gathered around Diaz — laying on the ground with his right pant leg pulled up — and motioned staff onto the LoanDepot Park field in Miami, where they tried to carry the 28-year-old off but ultimately resorted to walking with someone on either side him.
Then, once Diaz approached the edge of the field, he was guided into a wheelchair.
“I was hugging our coaches in the dugout. Then when we looked up, Edwin was on the ground,” Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina later told reporters. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know how to act, I didn’t know how to — what to say. I mean, I didn’t know. It got me for a surprise.”
Along with Diaz’s brother, Alexis, a Puerto Rico pitcher who was in tears after the injury occurred, Lindor crouched and put his hand on his forehead.
The Mets have depth scattered across their lineup, but that’s not necessarily the case with their bullpen — including any replacement behind an All-Star closer who signed a five-year, $102 million deal in the offseason.
Their reliever plans were already disrupted, though to a much lesser extent, when left-hander Brooks Raley sustained a left hamstring injury while with Team USA.
Through two WBC appearances, Diaz had thrown two scoreless innings while not allowing a hit or run, striking out four batters and recording a save.