WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Edwin Diaz’s spring outings have been somewhat of an adventure. The Mets closer has gotten into jams, but gotten out of them. He’s given up extra-base hits, but worked around them. He’s given up runs in Grapefruit League games, but been solid on the backfields. Howeve r, this time of year, results for pitchers like Diaz matter little. The process is the most important part of preseason and so far, and working with runners on base is an important part of the process. “When you have men on base and you’ve got to tell yourself to stay relaxed and stay calm, and that’s what I did in my last outing,” Diaz said Wednesday ahead of his Grapefruit League outing. “I gave up a double with nobody on and nobody out, had a man on third with one out, and I still made pitches. I got out of the jam.” In an 8-5 win over the Astros on Wednesday night, Diaz put runners on first and second, but again, he got out of trouble. The two runs allowed in 2/3 of an inning in his first Grapefruit League game of the year were the result of some mechanical issues, but Diaz got back into the bullpen to work them out. Three days later, he walked the first two batters he faced before striking out the next three. The mechanics settled down and so did the closer. The level of intensity closers face during regular season games isn’t what they experience in Grapefruit League games. Diaz might be pitching in the fifth inning against Double-A hitters in spring training, which can make it difficult to get into the mindset of a regular season save opportunity. “These guys are so used to getting the last three outs with the adrenaline, so it’s different,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “It’s something that’s hard to replicate here in spring training. But as long as he’s feeling good and bouncing back, there’s no issues there.” Diaz feels healthier than ever. “I feel great, man, I feel great. I feel like I’m ready to go already,” Diaz said. “I think throwing today and tomorrow, back-to-back, that’s my last thing to do in the spring. So I’m doing really good. I’ve been able to work in the backfield on a couple of things, and that helped me last week. The last couple of times I threw it was really good, I was happy about everything.” The Mets will have Diaz continue to work on the backfield over the weekend to allow him to work on specific aspects of his game in a controlled environment. He’s been putting an emphasis on pickoffs at first base and reducing his times to the plate to control the running game. His goal is to stay healthy this season and save as many games as he can, but after an up-and-down 2024 and missing 2023 with a knee injury, he has another goal for 2025. “I want to be an All-Star,” Diaz said. “Every player wants to be an All-Star, so that’s one of my goals for this year.” GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE RESULTS Left-hander David Peterson shut out the Astros over five innings, giving up only two hits. He walked three and struck out four, facing 21 batters. In four Grapefruit League starts, Peterson posted an ERA of 0.57, picking up right where he left off last season. “I thought it was a night where they were pretty aggressive,  especially with first pitches,” Mendoza said. “They came out hacking, and he kept making pitches [and] kept attacking. The times he got in trouble — there were a couple of walks — he kept making pitches. Five ups, up to 75 pitches, I think he was so good day overall for him.” Peterson will not travel to Houston with the team for Opening Day, instead staying in Port St. Lucie to throw in a minor league game Tuesday to stay on schedule for his first start of the regular season. Brett Baty went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and an RBI, helping his case for the Opening Day second base role. TRAINER’S ROOM Left-hander A.J. Minter (hip labrum surgery in 2024) may not reach that back-to-back benchmark because of how long it took him to get into a game, but the Mets don’t think he has to. He’s still on track to be ready for Opening Day. Left-hander Sean Manaea (right oblique strain) has started throwing from 90 feet. Jesse Winker is expected to return to the lineup Thursday. The outfielder/DH left Monday’s game with cramps. ...read more read less