SEATTLE – When Edwin Diaz was first presented with the idea of ​​a career-changing – and ultimately career-defining – move to the bullpen nearly a decade ago, he hesitated.

He was a starting pitcher in the minor leagues. Starters love being starters. In May 2016, the Mariners decided they wanted to use him as a reliever. Diaz wasn’t keen on the idea until Seattle’s decision-makers made it clear that such a move would put him on the fast track to the major leagues.

That episode, which Diaz recalled fondly on Friday afternoon, set off a chain of events that helped make him what he is today: a mainstay of the Mets and the recipient of the largest reliever contract ever, proud of his body of work on the occasion of his first return to Seattle since the blockbuster trade in late 2018 that brought him to Queens.

“It feels good to be back,” Diaz said before the Mets’ opening game against the Mariners. “I have really good memories here.”

By and large, Diaz’s time with the Mets resembles his early career with the Mariners: total dominance (2018 in Seattle and 2022 in New York) with periods of failure that were sometimes so profound that they temporarily cost him his role as closer (2017 in Seattle and 2019/2021/2024 in New York).

It’s worth noting, however, that Diaz has also been back in top form since returning from the injured list in mid-June: 1.38 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 16 strikeouts in 13 innings. What impressed Mets manager Carlos Mendoza most in his first year was “the consistency of his personality.”

“He’s the same guy,” Mendoza said. “Especially when things were tough for him, he was the same guy. He wanted to be out there… That’s the most important thing, his ability to keep going after a tough outing or a difficult period.”

How would Diaz sum up his career with the Mets for Mariners fans who didn’t follow him as closely on the other coast in the other league?

“My time with the Mets didn’t start out the way I wanted,” he said. “I came to the Mets as a player and didn’t perform the way I wanted, but after that year I went home and realized I have to work harder. After that season, everything went well. I was able to perform the way I wanted in New York. When they look at the numbers and everything, they can see that I was able to do my job.”

This trade, of course, came after Diaz’s outstanding year in 2018.

A walk down memory lane: The Mets, led by Brodie Van Wagenen, acquired Diaz and Robinson Cano for a package of five players led by then-top talent Jarred Kelenic. The others were Jay Bruce, Anthony Swarzak, Justin Dunn and Gerson Bautista.

Diaz and Kelenic (now with Atlanta) are the only ones still playing in the major leagues.

Diaz still speaks with Cano weekly, he said.

“I told him, ‘Wherever you go, if I go with you, I’ll be fine,'” Diaz recalled his experiences with the trade. “I was lucky to be traded with him to New York.”

Today, the Mariners have another young, hard-throwing, game-winning strikeout machine in Andres Munoz, who became an All-Star for the first time last month.

Diaz and Munoz met during Seattle’s 2022 trip to Citi Field. They were introduced by Mariners bullpen catcher Fleming Baez, who took Diaz under his wing at the time. Munoz, who was emerging as a closer, wanted to meet Diaz, who had established himself as a closer, so Baez made it happen.

“He asked me how I prepare for the game and how I handle it when things don’t go well,” Diaz said. “He does a great job.”

Notes & Quotes: Starling Marte will head to Double-A Binghamton on Sunday to continue his rehab efforts, the latest indication that he will soon return to fitness after a bone bruise in his right knee that cost him a month and a half. “Hopefully that will happen sometime during home games,” Mendoza said. The Mets are in New York for nine games starting Tuesday… Christian Scott (right elbow sprain) has not started throwing again yet. He is symptom-free, according to Mendoza, but the Mets need time for him to regain his strength before he begins playing baseball… The Mets have not activated Reed Garrett, but he has returned to the team physically. They plan to bring him back from the injured list in the next day or two if bullpen requirements require it.

Tim Healey is the Mets reporter for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of Hometown Hardball, a book about minor league baseball in the Northeast.