"I feel 100 percent ready" - Mets closer Edwin Diaz set for MLB return after missing 2023 season

Since Edwin Diaz's celebration turned into an injury at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Mets have been waiting for his return on the mound. That ends on Monday night against the Miami Marlins in Port St. Lucie, when Diaz will make his spring training debut.

Manager Carlos Mendoza confirmed the rumors on Sunday that Diaz would pitch on Monday night. The game will be started by Tylor Megill but Diaz will be seen on the mound at some point in the game.

This comes after Diaz requested the club to give him a few games at the major league level to get back into a competitive mindset. Last Tuesday, he threw a perfect inning in an intrasquad game and followed it with a bullpen session on Friday.

"I just feel like I need competition. I’m ready," Diaz said on Tuesday (via Sports Illustrated). "I’m throwing my pitches like I want to. I feel 100 percent ready, so I need games, I told them.”

Ahead of his much-anticipated spring debut, Diaz was confident to deliver a game.

"Just throw strikes," Diaz told MLB Network. "I know I'm healthy. I just want to go out and compete. I was throwing live BP and I told the team, 'I'm ready to pitch in a real game.' So they sent me to minor league (spring training), pitched a couple games, feel really good and I'm ready to pitch in a big league game."

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Edwin Diaz feels good on what comes out of his hand from the mound

According to Yahoo Sports, Edwin Diaz will be on a 20-pitch limit. The 29-year-old said his minor league session went well and that his pitch arsenal is coming off nicely.

"I was dominating the hitters the way I want to," Diaz said about his minor league sessions. "I was throwing my slider good. My fastball command was great. I want to do the same thing in a big league game -- just control my fastball really good and throw my slider down and away."

In last year's WBC, while representing Puerto Rico, Edwin Diaz shut down the Dominican Republic's offense in the ninth to send his nation to the semifinals. However, the celebration stung his knee, resulting in him having to undergo surgery to repair a full-thickness tear of his patellar tendon.

Edwin Diaz's knee injury from the 2023 World Baseball Classic turned out to be a big downside for the postseason hopefuls. Not only the Mets couldn't claim a spot in the postseason but they also ended up trading big names such as Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.