Edwin Diaz has been through this before, and recently, too, so he hardly budged Wednesday when he heard his name brought up as a potential trade candidate.
But less than eight months after the Mets acquired the closer, they are open to trading him again, an industry source confirmed to The Post’s Ken Davidoff. It would take a sky-high return, as ESPN first reported Wednesday, but the Mets are willing to at least listen ahead of the July 31 trade deadline.
“I don’t really have a reaction to it,” Diaz, who is under Mets control and arbitration eligible through 2022, said Wednesday before the Mets played host to the Padres. “My job is to go on the mound every day whenever they call me to do my job. I’m happy to be here, so it’s out of my control.”
Diaz, of course, was supposed to be the prized piece of general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s first blockbuster trade in the offseason, which also brought Robinson Cano to Queens in exchange for highly ranked prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn as well as Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak and Gerson Bautista. Kelenic is currently MLB.com’s No. 22 prospect while Dunn is No. 65.
Neither Diaz’s nor the Mets’ seasons have gone as planned as they entered Wednesday with a 46-54 record, 13 games back of first place in the NL East and seven games out of a wild-card spot. The 25-year-old Diaz, who led the league with 57 saves while posting a 1.96 ERA last year in Seattle, has a 4.81 ERA and converted 22 of his first 26 save opportunities with the Mets. He has been better of late, though, with Tuesday’s save marking his sixth straight scoreless outing.
“People want good players and we have a lot of good players,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “I’d want some of our pitchers and position players too if I were them.”
Having just been traded in December, Diaz said being included in trade rumors again did not surprise him and he did not believe they would affect him on the mound.
“Nothing breaks my focus when it comes to that,” Diaz said. “When I’m on the mound, I’m only focused on pitching at that point. So there’s nothing that can distract me from that situation.”
The Mets with expiring contracts — namely Zack Wheeler, Jason Vargas (team option for 2020) and Todd Frazier — could fetch a return before the deadline, but Van Wagenen recently said they were also getting calls on players whose contracts run beyond this year. Those players would be capable of bringing back a more substantial return.
Teams who could be in the market for a closer include the Red Sox, Braves and Twins. Those who may be on the move include Tigers closer Shane Greene, Blue Jays closer Ken Giles and, potentially, Giants closer Will Smith if they decide to sell.
Meanwhile, the Mets are publicly hanging on to hope they could still put together a run to get back into contention. Callaway revealed on Tuesday he would be open to using Diaz two innings — which he has not done all year — to try to get back in the playoff race and “keep our team intact.”
For his own part, Diaz said the last two-plus months of the season are “very important” for him as he continues trying to get back to form.
“I’ve been working with the three pitching coaches every day to try to keep on improving,” Diaz said. “That’s what’s important for me. … I just think I’m executing my pitches better. My slider’s coming out better. The last couple outings have just been better command-wise.”