Inside MLB Star Edwin Diaz’s Enduring Ties to His Home Country of Puerto Rico—as Mets Closer Signs $69 Million Deal With the Dodgers

Famed closer Edwin Diaz is set to make a major move across the country after turning his back on the New York Mets to sign a staggering three-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers worth a reported $69 million.

Diaz, 31, who hails from Puerto Rico, sent the world of professional baseball into a spin on Dec. 9, when reports first emerged that he had been lured away from the Mets, a team for which he has played since 2019.

The news came not long after it was revealed that Diaz had chosen to opt out of the remaining two years of his five-year, $102 million contract with the Mets, which he signed in 2023, in order to try out free agency, according to MLB.com.

His deal with the Dodgers, while not the highest in MLB history, still breaks records as the largest contract ever offered to a relief pitcher. However, it pales in comparison to the likes of New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who signed a nine-year deal worth $360 million in 2022, or his fellow Dodgers player, Shohei Ohtani, who inked a 10-year contract worth $700 million last year.

Still, it marks a milestone moment for Diaz, who first formed a love for the sport in his home country of Puerto Rico, where he began playing ball at the tender age of 7.

Diaz moved away from the Caribbean island after being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 2012 MLB draft, having continued his baseball career at the Caguas Military Academy.

Though he has spent the past 13 years going from strength to strength as a player in the U.S., Diaz has maintained close ties to his home country, where he can often be found enjoying the offseason with his family, many of whom still live there.

Although his wife, Nashaly, and their three children reside with the baseball pro—and are expected to relocate with him to California when he makes his move to the Dodgers—the majority of Diaz's family remain in Puerto Rico, save for his younger brother, Alexis, who also plays professional baseball in the U.S.

But Puerto Rico is never far from Diaz's mind, he revealed in a 2023 interview with MLB.com, telling the outlet that he feels honored to represent his home country every time he steps onto the field.

Comparing the dynamic of representing his MLB team and representing his country, the sports star noted that the latter always has more emotion behind it.

Recalling the moment that he helped to secure Puerto Rico a spot in the 2017 World Baseball Classic championship game, Diaz said: "Representing Puerto Rico is different than playing in the big leagues.

"The big leagues is a dream. But playing for Puerto Rico is really big because we are trying to win for our country and our family and our friends and everybody. It’s so special."

Having signed with the Mariners right out of college, Diaz was open about how much he missed his home—explaining how he found himself in the U.S. with nobody to confide in.

This, he explained, helped him to funnel all of his energy into his performance on the field.

"I didn’t meet a lot of Latin people there, but I was chasing my dream. So wherever the team was putting me, I was trying to do my best always," he said.

Speaking to the baseball league about his childhood, he added, “I grew up in a little town back in Puerto Rico called Naguabo. Baseball means a lot in Puerto Rico. Playing baseball was always my dream."

However, living so far apart from his family members hasn't always been easy, particularly in 2017, when Hurricane Irma ripped through his hometown, where many of his family members were left without any way of contacting him in Seattle.

"It's tough, but you have to keep your mentality here," said Diaz, after revealing his failed attempts to get in touch with his loved ones. "You have to do your job. If I get in the game tonight, I have to do my job. I know they will be good and we'll be fine."

He revealed to the New York Post in July that he would love the opportunity to represent his country again in the World Baseball Classic in 2026, despite suffering a horrific injury to his knee after his team's 2023 win over the Dominican Republic.

Even though that injury forced him to miss an entire MLB season, Diaz said he is hopeful that he can suit up for Puerto Rico again.

"As of now, I would play if I had the chance to play," he said. "I would play to represent my country."

Diaz noted that his injury came not as a result of his performance during the game—but rather his over-the-top celebration after the win, adding that he isn't afraid of something similar happening again, because he knows he could just as easily injure himself in his own home.

"I didn’t get hurt pitching. That’s something that can happen at my house or wherever," he said. "I just want to go there and represent my country and have fun."