Mets still confident in closer Edwin Diaz after three straight blown saves

CINCINNATI — A day after blowing his third consecutive save, Edwin Diaz did Tuesday what he does before every game: Play catch in the outfield, work on his mechanics in the bullpen and chat with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner.

The subject matter of his talk with Hefner, however, was a bit more notable than normal given his recent struggles.

"They trust in me 100%," Diaz said. "I was talking to Hefner and he told me that. ‘We trust in you, you’re our guy over there.’ I’m calm. I gotta do my job, but I’m really good right now.

"They trust in me. We got a great bullpen here, a lot of guys who can close games. But they keep giving me the ball in the ninth, so I gotta do my job. I’m really happy about that."

Manager Luis Rojas confirmed as much, saying the Mets have not discussed temporarily removing Diaz — whose ERA is up to 4.30 — from the closer role.

"No, no, no," he said. "No thought of it right now."

In fact, he added, if there was a save situation Tuesday against the Reds, it would be Diaz who would be in the game. Diaz indeed was warming up in the bullpen as the Mets threatened in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss.

Diaz was removed as the team’s closer in 2020 and 2019 — and in 2017 in Seattle — so his track record is an inconsistent one.

After converting 19 of 20 save chances to begin this season, he has blown the last three, including Monday against Cincinnati. The Mets wound up winning the nearly five-hour game, which made Diaz feel good.

"If I don’t do my job but the team got the win, that’s more important right now," he said.

Rojas said: "We have full trust in him. He just has to make that adjustment where he can locate, where his pitches are more effective."

The problem is a mechanical one, according to Rojas. Diaz’s front shoulder is flying open, which causes his high-90s fastball typically sharp slider to move in different ways — and move in worse ways.

That is the same issue Diaz has fought repeatedly in the past. Rojas hopes that experience means an easier fix this time.

"We’ve seen some of the pitches in past two weeks or so that are similar to some of the pitches he made in 2019," Rojas said. "When that slider is backing up, when that fastball is sailing and it’s moving more laterally than vertically, it’s the Edwin Diaz of ’19 basically.

"He’s had this presented to him before. I think he can just click right back into it. This shouldn’t be too new for him. Staying back, make sure that he gets extended, those type of things . . . I don’t want to call it simple, but those are the adjustments he has to make."

And then there is the mental aspect. Rojas acknowledged that at times in years past, Diaz got in his own head when he struggled, which didn’t help.

Not so this time, Rojas said. Diaz, 27, is mature mentally and physically now.

"That’s why I think he’s going to face this just the right way," Rojas said.

Like Hefner did in the afternoon, Rojas touched base with Diaz in the morning to emphasis the organization’s faith in him.

"He corrects that (mechanical issue), he’s going to be back on point to the Diaz that we saw earlier in the season — and not even earlier in the season, but the Saturday before the last day right before the All-Star break," Rojas said.

That was the day Diaz struck out three Pirates on 10 pitches. Rojas said it was the best he had ever seen Diaz in a Mets uniform.

"That’s the Diaz we want," Rojas said. "And that’s the one that he’s working on getting to right now."