It's becoming an annual tradition like no other, as the Dodgers spun the MLB offseason into a tizzy when they announced a 3 year, $69 million free agent contract with RP Edwin Diaz. Diaz opted-out of a 3 year, $54.25 million remaining contract with the Mets this past November, sending him into the open market for the first time in his career.

The contract comes with a base average salary of $23M, the largest for a reliever in MLB history (Edwin Diaz, $20.4M on his previous contract). However, Diaz agreed to defer $4.5M of annual salary, which is expected to lower the present day tax salary down to around $21.1M. Full details on the deferred compensation will be available on Spotrac asap.

Assuming that $21M+ tax hit, the Dodgers now project toward a $342M CBT payroll heading into the season, by far the most in MLB, and nearly $100M over the  $244M initial threshold.

Diaz was tendered a Qualifying Offer by the Mets last month, who will now pick up a compensatory draft pick after the 4th round in losing their long-time closer. On the flip side, the Dodgers will now forfeit their 2nd and 5th highest draft picks, plus $1M of international bonus pool space.

Diaz spent 7 seasons with the Mets, who acquired the closer from Seattle in December of 2018 as a part of a 7-player trade that included NY taking on the remainder of Robinson Cano's contract, in exchange for hefty prospects Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn. 

He joins the Dodgers coming off of a 28 save season, where he posted 98 strikeouts in 66 innings.