Two of the most sought-after names from this year’s free agency market have officially been claimed. On one side, the Philadelphia Phillies have locked in free-agent slugger Kyle Schwarber on a five-year, $150 million deal that keeps him in Philly through age 37. On the other, former Mets closer Edwin Díaz is leaving Queens for Chavez Ravine. The 31-year-old has signed a three-year, $69 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

These signings have hurt the World Series outlook for both New York clubs. Before re-signing with the Phillies, Schwarber drew serious interest from the division-rival Mets.

And it’s not hard to understand why. Over the past four seasons, the Phillies slugger has slammed 187 homers and 340 overall since debuting with the Cubs in 2015.

As for the Mets closer, in Jim Bowden’s Winter Meetings list, he was predicted to land with the crosstown rival Yankees on a five-year, $88 million deal. Instead, Edwin Diaz ended up signing for way less with the Dodgers.

In seven seasons with the Mets, including six healthy ones, Díaz made 332 appearances with a 2.93 ERA. He notched 144 saves and punched out 538 batters in 328.1 innings.

Heading into this week, reports suggested that the Mets and Diaz were still far apart on a new contract. While the Mets were pushing for a three-year deal, Diaz was holding out for a five-year contract.

Now, he clearly changed his mind. Ultimately, he’s on a three-year deal only, just not with New York. Just as the news broke, New York Post MLB insider Mike Puma revealed that the Mets had made a very close offer themselves. That offer was for three years at $66 million. It was just $3 million less per year than the Dodgers.

It’s unclear whether New York had a chance to match the Dodgers’ offer. However, losing their star closer by that slim of a margin is definitely going to sting for the Mets and their fans alike.

The New York Mets could now shift their focus on signing Ranger Suarez

It looks like the Mets were prepared to lose Edwin Diaz. David Stearns certainly knew the Mets might get outbid for Diaz this offseason. 

They already locked up two-time All-Star Devin Williams on a three-year, $51 million contract as a potential closer. 

With Devin Williams now in place, the Mets have their closer for next season. Next up, they can focus on strengthening the rest of the bullpen. According to Jon Morosi, after losing Díaz to the Dodgers, the team is now one of two “top suitors” for two-time All-Star closer Robert Suárez. The Toronto Blue Jays are the other contender.

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With the Phillies committing $150 million to Kyle Schwarber, it’s very likely that Suárez will be moving to a new team this offseason. 

In fact, it could be hard to believe but the Phillies were probably going to let Suárez go even before signing Schwarber. With a deep pitching staff already in place, spending over $100 million to keep the lefty never really made much sense.

That said, the odds of Suárez returning to Philadelphia are essentially zero. And it’s a good news for the Mets.

While Díaz may still be the superior closer, Suárez has also been highly effective in his first four MLB seasons. Of course, including three years with a sub-3.00 ERA. On top of that, he’s expected to come at a lower cost than Edwin Díaz.