New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz suffered a torn patellar tendon and is expected to miss the entire 2023 Major League Baseball season, MLB.com reports.

Mets general manager Billy Eppler confirmed Díaz's prognosis and that he will require surgery on Thursday (March 16), hours after the closer was seen grabbing his leg and needing to be helped off the field after recording a save and celebrating Puerto Rico's 5-2 victory against the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday (March 16) night.

Eppler didn't provide a specific timeline for Díaz's recovery, but athletes have typically needed at least six months to recover from similar surgical procedures. The reliever is just months removed from re-signing with the Mets as part of a five-year, $102 million offseason deal.

“He will have the surgery [Thursday] and we will see how the recovery starts and how much he is able to weight bear and how active he is,” Eppler said via MLB.com. “I’m thinking we are not updating this timeline for a while.”

Díaz is coming off a season in which he won Reliever of the Year and was selected to the All-Star Game for the second time, having also achieved both accolades as a member of the Seattle Mariners in , as well as pitched a cmobined no-hitter on April 29, 2022. The Mets' potential options at closer include Adam Ottavino and David Robertson among their current bullpen and may consider free agent Zack Britton, who had previously pitched for manager Buck Showalter during their shared tenures with the Baltimore Orioles, according to MLB.com.

Jon Arias