Edwin Diaz's struggles in 2019 are well-documented.
During his first season as a Met, the 25-year-old pitched to a 5.59 ERA and a 1.379 WHIP. He converted just 26 saves in 33 opportunities and was often plagued by the long ball.
Still, Carlos Beltran was ready to enter 2020 with Diaz set as the team's closer.
"Right now, the way that our bullpen is setup, the guy that we brought was Edwin Diaz to be the closer," Beltran said at the Winter Meetings in December. "There's no doubt that last year he had a down year. This year he's been working really hard, he's in great shape, so we expect Edwin to be in that position."
But with Beltran and the Mets parting ways earlier this month, it's now on new manager Luis Rojas to piece together the bullpen that now.
Speaking at Mets Fan Fest on Saturday, Rojas took a different route, saying he's not yet ready to commit to any of the bullpen roles just yet, and that spring training will give him a better indication of what he has in the bullpen.
"We have such a great bullpen, I mean a lot of guys with history of closing games," Rojas said. "A lot of them. I think that's only good. So we're going to look at it real close. We're not going to define roles yet, and we're going to go through the process of spring training and how our bullpen looks throwing the ball and facing opponents."
Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen was also asked about the performance of the bullpen last year and how the club projects the pen moving forward after adding Dellin Betances to go along with Diaz, Jeurys Familia, and Seth Lugo.
"From a modelling standpoint, we do see our guys having a progression rather than a regression, but we're not relying on that. It's not a hope and a prayer.
"The pitching coach that we added this offseason, Jeremy Hefner, along with Jeremy Accardo who is returning as our pitching strategist and assistant pitching coach, and (bullpen coach) Ricky Bones, we're in a position where we have been working really hard … our group, Jeremy specifically, has gone to Puerto Rico, worked with Edwin. Our health and performance and nutritionists have gone there so there's really a 360-degree comprehensive plan to but (Diaz) and Familia on the right track to have a positive start and hopefully put last year's performances in the rear-view mirror."
Diaz, meanwhile, told reports at Mets Fan Fest that he's been working on his mechanics during the offseason, and has been in touch with Pedro Martinez this offseason to get things straightened out.