Mets' Edwin Díaz Won't Return from Knee Injury During 2023 MLB Season

Despite having slowly worked his way back to throwing bullpen sessions, New York Mets star closer Edwin Díaz will not return to pitch this season as he continues to recover from a torn patellar tendon, according to MLB.com's Anthony DiComo.

Given that the Mets have greatly underachieved this season and are nowhere near title contention, the organization doesn't want to risk any setbacks for the two-time All-Star. Instead, Díaz will continue to throw bullpen sessions through the end of the September.

The expectation is that he'll be ready for a normal offseason and will be good to go for the 2024 campaign.

Díaz suffered the injury before the MLB season even began. He went down while celebrating a win over the Dominican Republic with Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic back in March, and the belief was that he'd be out for about eight months.

The reigning Reliever of the Year has been working his way back into shape, and his brother, Alexis, who is an All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds, has seen shades of the best version of Díaz in recent bullpen sessions.

"Especially this past bullpen [session] that he had a couple of days ago—it looks like the pitcher from the past," Alexis said Friday. "He seems like he's really getting close to where he could be.

"Just like the pitcher that he was beforehand."

It makes sense that the Mets wouldn't want to further risk Díaz as they aren't exactly playing meaningful baseball right now.

Just a year after winning 101 games, New York wasn't able to take advantage of having the highest payroll in MLB and currently sits fourth in the NL East at 69-80. The Mets are nowhere near the playoff picture with two weeks remaining in the regular season.