Edwin Diaz Out for the Season After WBC Injury

 If you are no fan of the World Baseball Classic, then what happened to Edwin Diaz on Wednesday night in Puerto Rico's 5-2 win over the Dominican Republic would serve as evidence of the tournament's malfeasance. 

Upon getting the final out, Diaz celebrated with his Puerto Rican teammates near the pitchers mound, before falling to the ground in a heap. Diaz had to be helped off the field in a wheelchair. His teammates both in shock and tears. It was revealed late Thursday that Diaz had torn the Patellar Tendon in his knee and would be lost for the season. 

While many have come out to defend the WBC because of its meaning to the players who play it, and there is no doubting there is a lot of national pride in playing in and having the tournament; the fact that it is played at such an intense level in the month of March when players should be with their Major League team preparing for a season is the further proof that things need to change. 

There was always the concern that one day a major injury would happen as a result of the WBC, and now it has. 

The Mets season has now been greatly altered because Diaz celebrated with his Puerto Rican teammates as if they had clinched a league championship. And it is only March. 

There is a reason why Max Scherzer and Brandon Nimmo decried playing in the tournament when asked by reporters. There is also a reason why Aaron Judge felt the Yankees wouldn't allow him to play in it. 

Any injury in this tournament is a catastrophic one. 

Baseball's owners need to step in and put a stop to this before someone else gets hurt. 

Diaz wasn't the only player injured in this year's WBC. Freedie Freeman of the Los Angeles Dodgers hurt his hamstring while playing for Team Canada, but is expected to be ready for Opening Day. 

The risk/reward is too great. Especially when there are players riding multi-million contracts like Diaz is. Teams shouldn't allow their major leaguers to play in this tournament. And baseball should move it to November, or just cancel it altogether. 

National pride is great, but at the cost of losing a valuable asset for the season just isn't worth it.