Mets’ Edwin Diaz ejected versus Cubs, faces ban after umpires check for sticky substance
Mets closer Edwin Diaz was ejected without throwing a pitch.
Diaz’s night was done before it ever got started when the umpires checked his hands for an illegal substance to start the ninth inning with the Mets leading the Cubs 5-2 at Wrigley Field on Sunday night.
Nearly immediately umpire Brian Walsh seemed to flag the Mets’ closer’s hands when he stepped out of the dugout and Walsh approached Diaz to check his hands.
Quickly, Walsh called over the other umpires to inspect Diaz’s hands and glove and after several moments and a quick conversation, they unanimously decided to eject the Mets closer from the game.
Diaz did appear to protest a bit and Mets skipper Carlos Mendoza did come out to talk with the umpires, but ultimately Diaz left the game.
Diaz after the game claimed that it was simply a product of rosin and sweat, which is what he always uses.
“I just said I use the same thing as always,” Diaz said after the game. “I rub rosin, sweat, and I put my hand in the dirt a little bit because I need to have some grip on the ball. So that’s what I was explaining to them, but they said it was too much stick. I understood. But at the end of the day, I was using rosin, sweat, and put my hand in the dirt.”
“I was really surprised because I didn’t have anything on my hand, my glove, my belt. They always check my hat, everything. And they thought that was sticky a lot. I said you could check my hand, smell my hand, and they didn’t smell anything, but they threw me out of the game.”
But crew chief Vic Carapazza disputed that claim.
“It definitely wasn’t rosin and sweat,” Carapazza told the pool reporter. “We’ve checked thousands of these. I know what that feeling is. This was very sticky.”
A close-up shot on the ESPN broadcast of Diaz’s hand showed there was very visibly an excessive amount of foreign substance on his hand, which was noticed by the umpire right away.
The ejection puts Diaz in a particularly rough spot because being ejected for a sticky stuff violation comes with an automatic 10-game suspension.
Diaz does have the right to appeal the suspension.
“They thought it was too much,” Mendoza said. “Diaz kept saying it was rosin, sweat, and dirt. They thought he crossed the line there. Obviously the rules are the rules and they made the decision to throw him out.”
Drew Smith entered the game in Diaz’s place after he was sent back to the clubhouse and got the first two outs of the inning before Jake Diekman was brought in to finish out the game.
The Mets held on for a 5-2 win over the Cubs to pick up their ninth victory in their last 11 games.
Diaz is now the third Mets pitcher to get kicked out of a game for violating the sticky stuff rule in Major League Baseball, joining the likes of Max Scherzer and Smith.
Sunday’s incident was a tough blow for Diaz, who seemed to have finally turned a corner after a tough start to his 2024 campaign, which has seen him lose his closer role and at one point have to go on the injured list.
After returning from the IL, Diaz had posted three straight scoreless appearances.
“We’ve been through a lot this year, and we’ll find a way to get through it,” Mendoza said. “We’ll continue to piece it together. Guys are going to have to step up. I’m pretty confident that we’ll get guys here that are going to get us to the finish line here when he’s done.”