MLB.com’s Morosi makes case for Mariners closer Edwin Díaz as MVP candidate
Jul 10, 2018, 12:23 PM
Mariners closer Edwin Díaz leads the majors with 35 saves entering Tuesday. (AP)
(AP)
Edwin Díaz is already an All-Star and in line to challenge for the MLB’s single-season saves record. And if he continues to pitch like he has been, the 24-year-old Mariners closer might find himself in the MVP conversation by season’s end.
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“I don’t think Díaz is gonna win the MVP, but if I’ve got a 10-person ballot he may have a place on that ballot,” MLB.com and FOX Sports analyst Jon Morosi told Brock and Salk on Tuesday.
Morosi explained that “in some respects” closers make more sense as candidates for MVP than the Cy Young Award, and with Díaz entering Tuesday with an MLB-leading 35 saves and the Mariners owning a 26-11 record in one-run games, he makes as much sense in the MVP race as anybody on Seattle’s roster.
“The Mariners this year … have won all these one-run games because they’ve got a dominant closer,” Morosi said. “I don’t know that there has been a single player on this team – maybe (James) Paxton – that has more to do with this team being where they are than Díaz. Because you win that many one-run games, if a closer is just average, the Mariners have probably five fewer wins right now and they’re basically tied with Oakland (for the American League’s second wild card).
“That’s the difference of this one player.”
You can listen to Morosi’s full interview, which includes thoughts on what the Mariners may do before the July 31 trade deadline, in this podcast.
