PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz has a torn patellar tendon and is expected to miss the entire season after hurting his right knee while celebrating a victory in the World Baseball Classic.

Mets General Manager Billy Eppler said Díaz would undergo surgery Thursday. Without going into specifics, Eppler said a general timeline for recovery from this type of injury is about eight months.

The Mets signed Díaz to a five-year, $102 million contract — the largest ever for a closer — after he produced a spectacular 2022 season. All player contracts are covered by insurance through the WBC that spans the length of time the player is out with an injury suffered during the tournament.

Díaz went 3-1 with a 1.31 ERA and 32 saves in 35 opportunities, striking out 118 in 62 innings last season. He made his second All-Star appearance and finished ninth in the Cy Young Award voting.

Díaz, who turns 29 on Wednesday, retired the side in order in the ninth inning of a 5-2 victory over the Dominican Republic that sent Puerto Rico to the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals. As Díaz and his teammates jumped together in the infield, the right-hander collapsed and reached for his right leg.

He was taken off the field in a wheelchair.

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NATIONALS: Pitching prospect Cade Cavalli needs Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery and will miss the 2023 season, GM Mike Rizzo said.

The team released a statement from Rizzo saying that an MRI exam showed that Cavalli sprained his ulnar collateral ligament.

The right-hander exited a spring training start against the New York Mets after 2 2/3 innings on Tuesday.

Cavalli, 24, was the No. 22 overall pick in the 2020 amateur draft after playing college baseball at Oklahoma.

UMPIRES: Major League Baseball is heightening in-game inspections by umpires for banned grip aides, concerned that use of foreign substances by pitchers increased again as time passed from a crackdown begun in June 2021.

“Unfortunately, spin rates began to rise again during the 2022 season and we received reports of continued use of foreign substances on the field,” MLB senior vice president of on-field operations Michael Hill wrote in a memo.

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Hill sent the memo to owners, CEOs, team presidents, general managers, field managers and all major and minor league players.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC

JAPAN 9, ITALY 3: Japan Manager Kideki Kuriyama still gets a special tingle watching Shohei Ohtani. It’s been that way since Kuriyama managed the two-way star with the Hokkaido Ham-Fighters.

“When we see Shohei playing, not only the players but also the Japanese baseball fans, all the nation is feeling something extra,” Kuriyama said through a translator after Ohtani led Japan over to put the Samurai Warriors in their fifth straight World Baseball Classic semifinal.

Ohtani pitched shutout ball into the fifth inning and sparked a four-run third with a bunt single.

Boston’s Masataka Yoshida homered and drove in the go-ahead run with a grounder, giving him a tournament-leading 10 RBI. Kazuma Okamoto hit a three-run homer for Japan, which has outscored opponents 47-11 in five games and is batting .313.

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Japan travels to Miami for a semifinal on Monday against Puerto Rico or Mexico. Cuba plays the other semifinal against the United States or Venezuela.

WEDNESDAY’S GAME

UNITED STATES 3, COLOMBIA 2: Mike Trout had three hits and three RBI, and the United States used a stellar night from its deep bullpen to beat Colombia and advance to a quarterfinal against Venezuela on Saturday.

Mexico and the U.S. finished with a 3-1 record in Group C to advance. Mexico gets the top seed because it beat the U.S. 11-5 on Sunday.

Trout singled in the third, bringing home Mookie Betts and giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead. Colombia bounced back quickly, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third on Gio Urshela’s sacrifice fly and an RBI double from Reynaldo Rodriguez.

Trout put the Americans ahead again in the fifth with a two-run single that scored Betts and Will Smith.

Merrill Kelly gave up two runs in three innings for the Americans. Kelly then gave way to a parade of hard throwing bullpen arms: Kendall Graveman, Daniel Bard, David Bednar, Jason Adam, Devin Williams and Ryan Pressly each threw a scoreless inning to finish the win.


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