Pitcher Edwin Dias, who led Puerto Rico to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), will not be able to climb the mound this season for free during the ceremony.

MLB.com, the official homepage of the US Major League Baseball, said on the 17th (Korean time), “Dias was diagnosed with a right knee tendon rupture and will undergo surgery.” It takes time,” he said. 

Dias represented his homeland Puerto Rico at the 2023 WBC. In the game against the Dominican Republic on the 16th, which Puerto Rico had to win to advance to the quarterfinals, the team took the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 5-2 lead, striking out all three batters and protecting the victory of the homeland.

However, the joy of advancing to the quarterfinals turned to despair just a few minutes later. During a hopping ceremony with his Puerto Rican teammates, Dias grabbed his right knee and complained of pain.

The spectators and Puerto Rican players watched Diaz with worried expressions, but Dias could hardly stand up. Dias ended up leaving the field in a wheelchair.

I hoped it wasn’t a major injury, but Dias took the entire 2023 season off. Last winter, he signed a 5-year, 102 million dollar (approximately 133.4 billion won) contract with the New York Mets, the highest amount ever for a relief pitcher in the major leagues, and spent time with surgery and rehabilitation from the first year. 메이저놀이터

After making his big league debut with the Seattle Mariners in 2016, Dias quickly rose to become one of the best bullpen agents in the big leagues. In the 2022 season, he showed off his top-level closer in the major leagues with an average ERA of 1.31 with 3 wins, 1 loss, 32 saves and 4 holds in 61 games for the Mets.

In the WBC, he also played well and helped Puerto Rico advance to the quarterfinals, but he couldn’t control the momentary joy and suffered an unfortunate injury and bowed his head. The Mets, which invested a huge amount in Diaz, also faced the bad news of this season in the absence of a closer.