Yankees' Aaron Boone reacts to 'freak' injury to Mets closer Edwin Diaz

It seems clear the injury New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz suffered on Wednesday night will stick in the minds of many within the MLB community for some time.

"That’s not a pitcher that blew [his arm] out because he was throwing high-leverage playoff innings in March and got hurt," New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone said at Steinbrenner Field on Thursday afternoon, per Max Goodman of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.

"That’s life. That’s a freak thing that happened. Unfortunate and feel terrible for him and for them. He’s an amazing pitcher and hopefully, it goes according to plan and he’s back when the time allows." 

Diaz helped seal Puerto Rico's 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday night and then celebrated with teammates before the unthinkable occurred.

The 2022 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award winner fell to the ground in visible pain and eventually had to be helped off the field. It was learned Thursday that he suffered a complete patellar tendon tear in his right knee which will require surgery. Diaz is likely looking at a lost 2023 MLB season. 

Individuals associated with the Mets such as team owner Steve Cohen and outfielder Brandon Nimmo, like Boone, used the word "freak" to describe what happened to the 28-year-old closer -- probably the best closer and overall relief pitcher in all of the bigs last year.

For their part, the Yankees have somewhat mitigated such setbacks by having starting pitchers Nestor Cortes Jr. and Luis Severino pull out of the WBC well before it started.

"Awful," Boone added about the Diaz situation. "Just feel terrible." 

The Mets signed Diaz to a five-year, $102 million contract in November. That reality of a lost injury campaign doesn't figure to be lost on managers such as Boone, who still have players on WBC national teams heading into this weekend.