David Robertson becomes key figure in NL East race after Edwin Díaz injury

In all likelihood, there will be no trumpets at Citi Field in 2023.

As he celebrated Puerto Rico defeating the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic Wednesday, New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz sustained a torn right patellar tendon. The two-time All-Star is set to undergo surgery on his right knee Thursday, likely ending his 2023 MLB campaign before it started.

And with that, the Mets go from their $102 million closer in Díaz — who posted minuscule 1.31 ERA and 0.90 FIP marks in 2022 — to a familiar face to Philadelphia Phillies fans as their top high-leverage reliever.

When the Mets inked Robertson to a one-year/$10 million deal in December, they did so hoping he would be part of the bridge from an excellent starting rotation to a closer who became appointment viewing in 2022. Instead, Robertson — who has 157 career saves — will now likely get the first crack at being Buck Showalter’s closer in 2023.

In some ways, it’s a continuation of what’s turned into an incredible comeback for Robertson. In between signing a two-year/$23 million free agent deal with the Phillies in January of 2019 and returning to the team in an August 2022 trade, Robertson had Tommy John surgery, appeared in just 55 big league games, and pitched for four teams after the Phillies (the independent league High Point Rockers, Team USA in the 2020 Olympics, the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs).

‘I don’t have a lot of quit in me’: David Robertson is making the most of his second chance with the Phillies

Robertson ran out of gas down the stretch for the Phillies, but that probably should have been expected — he pitched in 58 Major League games during the 2022 regular season after appearing in just 19 games the three previous seasons. But while there’s always a risk that Robertson — who will turn 38 in April — will hit a wall physically as one of the oldest pitchers in the sport, there’s a chance he actually has more stamina in his second full season back from Tommy John surgery.

As someone who has had success pitching in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia, Robertson isn’t a bad fallback option at least until Steve Cohen, Billy Eppler and the Mets can target another back-end reliever at the trade deadline. And this is still a team loaded with talent elsewhere — whether it’s a starting rotation that will be headlined by Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, or a lineup led by Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte. Any takes suggesting that the Mets 2023 season is a lost cause without Díaz are hyperbolic.

But the margin for error in the NL East will be minimal as the Mets compete with the Phillies and Atlanta Braves. And if Robertson blows two or three saves that Díaz would have converted, that may very well change the outcome of a division with two other World Series contenders.

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