Mets lose Díaz (shoulder impingement) to injured list

NEW YORK -- For the Mets, an extraordinarily trying season took an even darker turn on Wednesday, when the club lost two prominent members due to injury.

Moments after closer Edwin Díaz landed on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement, Pete Alonso exited the team’s 10-3 loss to the Dodgers at Citi Field due to a right hand injury.

Those two had to watch from afar as Mets pitchers gave up six runs in the eighth inning. The team will now be without Díaz until at least mid-June.

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As for Alonso, much will depend upon the results of follow-up testing on his hand. Initial X-rays came back negative, but Alonso was still waiting for CT scan results as of late Wednesday night.

“We’ve just got to wait on that,” manager Carlos Mendoza said.

Díaz said he first began feeling discomfort in his shoulder over the weekend, following his most recent outing.

“They told me that can be normal when you miss a lot of time,” said Díaz, who missed the entire 2023 season recovering from patellar tendon surgery on his right knee. “I was feeling great. Saturday, I told them I was feeling good. Sunday, I was feeling tight. Monday, same thing.”

By Wednesday morning, despite not pitching, Díaz was concerned enough to go for an ultrasound, which revealed a mostly clean shoulder except for the impingement. He hopes to return as soon as he’s eligible on June 10.

“The ultrasound looked great,” Díaz said. “They were happy about how my shoulder looked. Just take a couple days off and start playing catch again.”

Entering the finale against the Dodgers, Díaz’s struggles had been apparent: He had blown three of his last four save opportunities and produced a 9.58 ERA over his past 10 outings.

But throughout it all, Díaz insisted he was healthy and that, in his words, “there’s no more excuses.”

In recent outings, Díaz’s velocity had crept upward despite his struggles, and he offered hope that better results were on the way. As recently as Tuesday, president of baseball operations David Stearns said: “I think Edwin’s a really good pitcher, an elite-level pitcher who’s going through a rough patch, and I expect him to come out of it and bounce back just fine.”

In Díaz’s absence, the Mets will rely on a group of setup men including Adam Ottavino, Reed Garrett and Jake Diekman to close out games. The team designated another leverage reliever, Jorge López, for his actions and words during and after Wednesday’s loss.

As for Alonso, his afternoon came to a premature end when he attempted to check his swing on a 93 mph James Paxton fastball. The ball struck him on the right hand, causing him to collapse to the ground in pain. Mets officials do not have major concern over Alonso, but they will know more once he receives his CT scan results.

If Alonso does miss time, it could affect his value at the Trade Deadline. The first baseman has been inconsistent at the plate this season, producing a career-worst .758 OPS over his first 54 games. He is on pace for 36 home runs, which would be the lowest full-season output of his career.

Asked specifically about Alonso on Wednesday, Stearns replied: “Nothing’s changed with Pete’s situation. Our goal on a daily basis is to help Pete succeed as much as he possibly can so that we can win as many games as possible. And that’s where I expect we’ll continue to be.”