Mets and Edwin Diaz are Finalizing $102 Million Contract To Build Ballpark
Mets first baseman Edwin Diaz and the Padres announced Thursday (Apr. 9) that the sides have reached terms on a contract extension that will keep the duo under baseball’s final guaranteed arbitration contract for 2015. The extension, which runs through 2019, will be paid in full while the sides work out details of a new long-term deal.
Diaz, 29, is entering the last guaranteed arbitration year of his minor league career. He was a two-time All-Star during his tenure in the big leagues, batting.283 and compiling a.957 OPS in 2009, his first full season in the majors. He signed a four-year, $80 million contract in 2011 with the Mets in the final year of the team’s run at the World Series.
The two sides have a mutual interest in keeping Diaz under the final arbitration contract — something they have worked on throughout the last decade as their careers have progressed. The sides had been trying to work out a multiyear deal for an eventual free agent contract, but they could not come to an agreement earlier this month.
After the deal with Diaz, the Mets will have to contend with arbitration for three more years for outfielder Mike Baxter, who signed a three-year, $37.5 million contract last July. Baxter made $6.5 million last season, a major improvement over the $2.5 million the club had paid him each of the previous two seasons. The Mets will have to contend with arbitration for right-handers Dillon Gee and Steven Matz, and for catcher John Buck, whose salary is $3.5 million.
The contracts are a big win for the Mets, who will get a massive boost in an area where they have struggled to compete. According to an ESPN story, this deal will give them one of the highest payrolls in the majors — potentially more than $100 million, if the arbitration numbers hold.
The Padres, meanwhile, have their No. 1 overall selection over the next month and are
