The Yankees and Mets need to make a trade. A closer trade. Both closers have been less than stellar, so why would I recommend this? Simple…they are each playing in the wrong league. Edwin Diaz is an AL guy, Aroldis Chapman is a NL guy. It’s that simple. Let’s dive deeper.
Let’s start with Aroldis Chapman, the Yankees closer. Acquired in 2016, then traded, then brought back in 2017. For the month of July 2021 his ERA is a fantastic 9.00 in 5 appearances over 4 innings. He’s given up 4 earned runs, 4 walks and 3 hits, while striking out 8. He blew a save against the Mets on July 4th, where the Yankees ended up taking the loss, and he earned a save on July 20th but had to use 15 pitches to do so, gave up a hit (HR to Andrew McCutchen). It’s pretty bad when your closer comes in to save a game (with a 3 run lead), blows the lead and ends up with the win. He’s 5-3 this season…so clearly this has happened before. For 2021 he’s 17-20 in save opportunities, sporting a 4.41 ERA over 36 games and 32.7 innings. He’s given up 23 hits, 18 runs, 16 earned runs, 23 walks, 6 homeruns…all of which are on pace to be his worst year yet as we just pass the mid-way point. So why would I ever think the Mets should get him? Well, let’s look at his NL numbers.
Chapman’s NL numbers are as follows (7 years, with Reds and Cubs)
- 2.08 ERA, over 352 games, 345.2 innings
- 162 saves
- 181 hits, 85 runs, 80 earned runs, 17 home runs, 165 walks, 592 strike outs
- K/9 15.4, HR/9 0.4
Chapman’s AL Numbers are as follows (6 years)
- 2.80 ERA over 247 games, 234.1 innings
- 131 saves
- 148 hits, 83 runs, 73 earned runs, 18 home runs, 110 walks, 370 strikeouts
- K/9 14.2, HR/9 0.7
And let’s be honest, his numbers should be MUCH better considering he’s been with the Yankees who has finished near the top of the division each year (who can’t seem to put much together this year). Even when the Yankees got him in the trade from the Reds then traded him to the Cubs mid-season 2016, his numbers in Chicago where better. He had a 1.01 ERA compared to 2.01 in nearly the same number of games (28 to 31), he did pick up more saves with the Yankees (20) vs Cubs (16) but he had less opportunity with the Cubs (26 innings to 31 with Yankees).
Now let’s look at Edwin Diaz, the Mets closer. Acquired by the Mets in 2019, he was stellar with the Mariners but has had MUCH less success with the Mets. And the Mets have been good during his tenure! Let’s do a July 2021 comparison, Diaz has been TERRIBLE for the Mets. He started off collecting his 18th save of the season on July 6th, his next outing saw him enter in game 1 of a doubleheader with a 1 run lead…giving up an unearned run…by loading the bases then hitting a batter to force in the tying run. He actually got the WIN thanks to Jeff McNeil and his 2-RBI walk-off single. he grabbed his 19th save in the next outing, then the wheels came off, blowing his next 3 save opportunities including giving up a walk-off grand slam to the Pirates. He gave up 7 runs over the last 3 outings for a July ERA of 13.58. Yeeeehawwww folks!
Let’s look at Diaz’s numbers as an AL ace with the Mariners (3 years, including his rookie year)
- 2.64 ERA, 188 games, 191.0 innings
- 109 saves
- 130 hits, 61 runs, 56 earned runs, 20 home runs, 64 walks, 301 strikeouts
- K/9 14.2, HR/9 0.9
Now let’s look at Diaz’s numbers as the NL closer with the Mets (3 years)
- 4.38 ERA, 130 games, 121.1 innings
- 51 saves
- 107 hits, 62 runs, 59 earned runs, 18 home runs, 52 walks, 203 strikeouts
- K/9 3.90, HR/9 1.3
And the Mets have been a decent team! Better than the Mariners were when he was in Seattle, AND that includes his rookie year in 2016.
They both have great pitches and they both can pitch but I’ve seen it before, a pitcher changing leagues can be challenging. Some guys just need to stay in one league. Jordan Zimmerman is a prime example of moving from NL to AL and the impact it had. 7 seasons in Washington he had a 3.34 ERA and a 5.63 ERA in 5 seasons with Detroit. Everything got worse when he moved, K/9 dropped 1, BB/9 increased by almost 1, HR/9 increase by almost 1. His WHIP went from 1.162 to 1.441 and he was on pace to allow more HRs in the AL vs the NL.
Is that what is happening here? I think so. Or is it the pressure of playing in New York? There isn’t anything quite like the pressure of the New York media/spotlight/fans. But Chapman should be okay with that, since he led the Cubs to their first World Series in 108 years. Now that’s pressure! Diaz seems to be doing slightly better than Chapman but not by much. Swap them, put them in the league they were meant to pitch in, and see if the experiment works. I mean, really, what does it hurt? They are both playing so poorly by closer standards that would the impact really matter? Can they get any worse?
Time Out With Jenn & Lisa 