Edwin Diaz was on the mound for Puerto Rico when they eliminated the Dominican Republic (the early favorites to win it all) from the World Baseball Classic. He struck out Teoscar Hernandez to seal a 5-2 victory and oust the Dominicans from the tournament.
Naturally, the team wanted to celebrate since it was a must-win game. Not only did they eliminate the favorites, but they also sealed their trip to the next round. Unfortunately, something terrible occurred during the celebration.
Just moments after the euphoric strikeout, Diaz was on the ground in pain. He and his teammates had circled up, dancing in celebration when he injured his right knee.
Diaz had to be helped off the field and was placed in a wheelchair. His time as the Puerto Rican closer for the WBC is more than likely over.
Edwin Diaz is likely done for the WBC and part of the regular season
Edwin Diaz is now set to undergo imaging on the knee to see what happened to him, but it certainly doesn't look good.
His manager, Yadier Molina, said via ESPN:
"I didn't see it right away. I was hugging our coaches in the dugout, and when we looked up, Edwin was on the ground. I didn't know. I didn't know how to act, I didn't know what to say. It caught me by surprise. It sucks. When you see a guy that works so hard like Edwin -- when you see him on the ground like that, it's just sad."
Non-contact knee injuries are never good. The worst-case scenario could be a torn ACL, which would cost him and the New York Mets the entire season. This could bring into focus whether or not it's a good idea for MLB stars to participate in this tournament.