With Edwin Diaz a free agent and the Dodgers searching for a high-end reliever, it seemed they might be a big threat to lure him away from the Mets.

Maybe not.

While the Dodgers are indeed seeking a jolt for their bullpen, they could be deterred by the fact that Diaz has a qualifying offer attached to him, reports Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.

Per Ardaya, with the Dodgers already owing draft penalties due to exceeding the luxury tax, it could "dissuade" them and other teams in similar situations from making a run at Diaz. 

According to The Athletic, Los Angeles has made free agent reliever Devin Williams a target. Williams, who spent last season with the Yankees after being acquired from the Brewers via trade, was eyed by the Dodgers before that deal. 

Jon Heyman of The New York Post also reported on Diaz and the Dodgers, noting that "they may not be a big player" for him.

Per Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the contract Diaz is seeking is "essentially the same one" the Mets gave him after the 2022 season.

That deal was worth five years and $102 million.

Speaking on Tuesday at the GM Meetings, Mets president of baseball operationsDavid Stearnsdiscussed Diaz's future.

"We love both Pete [Alonso] and Edwin," Stearns said. "They've been great representatives of the organization. We'd love to have them both back. At this stage of the offseason, it’s really tough to predict any outcomes, but certainly, we would love to have both those guys back."

Diaz, who will be entering his age-32 season in 2026, is coming off a year where he was one of the best and most dominant relievers in baseball. He had a 1.63 ERA (2.28 FIP) and 0.87 WHIP with 98 strikeouts in 66.1 innings.

Diaz ranked in the 99th percentile this past season when it came to xERA, xBA, whiff percentage, and strikeout percentage, via Baseball Savant. He was in the 89th percentile or better in fastball velocity, barrel percentage, and extension. His ground ball rate, chase percentage, and the average exit velocity against him all graded out well above average.

Batters hit .133 with a .200 slugging percentage against Diaz's fastball in 2025, while hitting .179 with a .269 slugging percentage against his slider.

In addition to Diaz's dominance and familiarity with (and ability to succeed in) New York is the fact that the Mets don't have an internal replacement for him. And there are no better options on the free agent market.

First Test, Sylhet International Cricket Stadium (day two of five)

Ireland 286: Stirling 60; Miraz 3-50

338-1: Joy 169; Humphries 1-78

Ireland won the toss

Scorecard

A career-best 169 not out from Mahmudul Hasan Joy has helped Bangladesh take a firm grip on the first Test against Ireland after day two in Sylhet.

The visitors entered the day two n 270-8 after four late wickets on Tuesday had given Bangladesh the upper hand at the close of play.

Ireland managed to add just 16 further runs to their tally as they lost Matthew Humphreys lbw to Taijul Islam for a two-ball duck before the innings ended with Barry McCarthy bowled by Hasan Mahmud after two early boundaries helped him to respectable tally of 31.

Bangladesh had no such issues with the bat with Joy cutting loose as the day progressed to surpass the 100 mark with a double century now in his sights.

His opening partner Shadman Islam did fall on 80 when caught by wicketkeeper Lorcan Tucker from Humphreys' delivery, but Mominul Haque would pick up the baton with 80 not out.

With the pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers, it was a flying start for Bangladesh as they wrapped up Ireland's first innings before making rapid inroads with the bat.

Joy hit 14 fours and four sixes in the 283 balls he faced over the day, surviving a scare on 156 to remain at the crease as Paul Stirling missed the catch.

Shadman had been closing in on his century as he hit nine fours and also a six but his partnership with Joy concluded at 168 with Humphreys getting the dismissal he had been threatening.

However, it was a wicketless third session of the day with the hosts hitting 140 in 30 overs with Haque settling after a few close calls when attempting to sweep, hitting five fours and two sixes on his way to 80 not out to help Bangladesh into as healthy position going into day three.

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Giants reportedly set to hire Blue Jays assistant Hunter Mense as hitting coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO — There was a clear theme as the Giants went through the draft and trade deadline this summer. Just about every single one of their additions on the position player side was known for putting the ball in play and having a good feel for the strike zone, and it appears there will now be a greater emphasis on that at the big-league level. 

The Giants are hiring Toronto Blue Jays assistant hitting coach Hunter Mense, The Athletic’s Mitch Bannon reported Wednesday, citing sources. Mense presumably would replace outgoing hitting coach Pat Burrell — who is being reassigned to another role in the organization — and work with assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard, who is staying, and likely one more addition on the hitting side. Burrell’s other assistant, Damon Minor, also had been told he wouldn’t be on Tony Vitello’s staff. 

Mense is coming off a run to the World Series in which the Blue Jays showed off a deep and relentless attack. During the regular season, they led the big leagues with a .265 average (the Giants hit .235) and ranked second-to-last with 1,099 strikeouts (the Giants have been over 1,300 in five consecutive seasons). The Blue Jays also ranked third in OPS and fourth in runs scored. 

The Giants certainly won’t be at the bottom of the league in strikeouts in 2026; their lineup is filled with free-swinging veterans on long-term contracts and president of baseball operations Buster Posey said on Tuesday that he wouldn’t want to make too many changes with his marquee players. Posey used Rafael Devers as an example, noting that he swings as hard as anyone he has ever seen and that’s one of his strengths. 

Still, the Giants certainly could use a different approach from some of their younger players, and they could do a much better job of putting the ball in play with runners in scoring position. Long term, the hope is that there’s more balance around Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman, but the 2026 Giants will be much better off if Mense simply can get more out of guys like Patrick Bailey and Jung Hoo Lee. 

Mense has been rumored to be a top candidate since Tony Vitello was hired, and the two have been friends for years. Both are Missouri natives and Mense played at Missouri while Vitello was an assistant coach. 

Mense reached Triple-A with the Marlins during his professional career and he had a quick rise through the Blue Jays organization in recent years. He was a minor-league hitting coordinator and Double-A hitting coach before being promoted to assistant hitting coach in 2022. 

On Tuesday at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas, Posey said the Giants are close to finalizing deals with several external candidates to join the staff. Bernard and Taira Uematsu are the two Bob Melvin coaches who will be staying, and the hope is that Mark Hallberg and Alex Burg return, as well. 

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What Giants' Buster Posey took away from Dodgers' latest World Series win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LAS VEGAS — Buster Posey won’t hide the fact that he’s biased. When asked at the General Managers Meetings to weigh in on one of the biggest topics from the postseason, the Giants president of baseball operations smiled. 

“Bum,” he said.

When it comes to Madison Bumgarner vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, there’s no doubt for anyone who was there in 2014. But the rivalry doesn’t prevent the Giants from having appreciation for what Yamamoto, the World Series MVP who came back on no days rest in Game 7, accomplished. 

General manager Zack Minasian scouted Yamamoto extensively when the Giants were pursuing him and said that decision still stings, but added this is about what they expected in Yamamoto. Posey said he sees the parallels between Bumgarner’s 2014 and Yamamoto’s 2025. 

“I’m still shaking my head at what Bum did and shaking my head at what Yamamoto did, too,” he said. “I just didn’t expect him to have the velocity after throwing 100 pitches the night before.”

The 2014 World Series was the most intense of Posey’s three trips, but even the Giants can admit that this year’s seven-game back-and-forth brought more drama. Posey called the matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays “probably the most dynamic World Series that I can recall.”

“I thought the postseason in general was just so compelling to watch,” he said. “Somebody asked the question today, ‘Should we have the ghost runner at second in the postseason?’ I’m an adamant ‘no’ about that, just because those extra-inning games — even though sometimes they get a little wacky going 15, 16, 17, 18 innings — they’re a story.

“My kids are talking about it at school the next day, whereas if you have a ghost runner and it ends in the 10th or the 11th, it’s probably not as much of a story. I thought it was one for the ages, for sure.”

While the comparison for most was between Bumgarner and Yamamoto, Posey brought up another teammate, saying Yamamoto’s flexibility, range of motion and wiry-strong frame remind him of Tim Lincecum. The Giants were crushed when the right-hander turned them down two offseasons ago, and they’re still trying to close a massive gap in the NL West. 

There probably is not much they can replicate there, but there is a lot to be taken away from the Blue Jays, who were elite at putting the ball in play and made some savvy under-the-radar additions to their lineup and pitching staff en route to a World Series appearance. Posey said one of his main takeaways was just the power of getting hot in October. Anything can happen if you get a lineup on the same page for that final month.

“When these groups get going there’s a confidence that happens,” he said. “It’s hard to measure how much that comes into play. When you’re confident, you’re going to take those close pitches easier than you would if you’re searching a little bit. It all kind of adds up.”

Bailey’s Backup?

The Giants brought Jesus Rodriguez to Oracle Park for the season’s final homestand so he could spend some time learning from the big league coaches and get familiar with some of the team’s pitchers. The development will continue this offseason, when Rodriguez plays Winter Ball to get more reps behind the plate. 

Posey said he didn’t want to commit to anything this early as far as the backup catcher spot goes, but Rodriguez will be in camp and should get a shot to claim that job at some point in 2026. 

“We think he’s got a chance to be a good catcher in the Major Leagues,” Posey said. “We’ll evaluate how he looks this spring. Relative to other catchers that are his age, he has not caught as many games, but he seems to be handling himself well.”

The 23-year-old is a career .309 hitter in the minors and batted .322 with more walks than strikeouts in Sacramento after coming over in the Camilo Doval trade. Bailey’s primary backup last year was veteran Andrew Knizner, who is arbitration-eligible. The Giants also could add another experienced right-handed-hitting option this offseason. 

Another MVP Catcher?

Posey won the NL MVP Award in 2012 and he’s still the last MLB catcher to take the award home. He’s hopeful that he sees that change on Thursday night. 

Seattle’s Cal Raleigh and New York’s Aaron Judge are locked in one of the most fascinating MVP races in years. Posey is curious to see which way voters will lean and joked that “catchers have got to stay together.” 

“My vote would be Cal,” he said. “I think Aaron Judge is unbelievable, but for what (Raleigh) did, not only offensively but to lead a staff and to hit that many homers and go deep in the playoffs — (although) I know voting is not based on the playoffs.”

Raleigh hit 60 homers during the regular season while catching 121 games and playing 38 more as a DH. Judge led the Majors in batting average, OBP and slugging and had the edge over Raleigh in WAR, too.

In that last category, Posey’s 2012 would stack up to either of this year’s MVP candidates. He was worth 9.8 fWAR in 2012, which would put him between Judge (10.1) and Raleigh (9.1). 

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