{"id":120344,"date":"2025-11-16T07:45:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T07:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344"},"modified":"2025-11-16T07:45:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T07:45:41","slug":"braves-shockwave-the-braves-hire-of-jeremy-hefner-might-just-be-a-masterstroke-in-the-edwin-diaz-sweepstakes-turning-a-routine-staffing-move-into-a-secret-recruitment-weapon-hefner-diaz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344","title":{"rendered":"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>With multiple holes in the bullpen, Atlanta\u2019s most exciting hire\u2014the man who guided D\u00edaz\u2019s 1.63 ERA comeback\u2014could be the \u201cpivotal tiebreaker\u201d in luring the star closer from a division rival.<\/strong><\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailynews.linkxtop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-2665.png\" alt=\"Braves Could Use New Coach Jeremy Hefner as &quot;Recruitment Pitch&quot; to Pursue Edwin D\u00edaz in Free Agency.vc\" width=\"278\" height=\"181\" \/><\/figure>\n<p><strong>ATLANTA<\/strong> \u2014 Atlanta Braves fans are hopeful the core players returning for 2026 will benefit from the familiarity with new manager <strong>Walt Weiss<\/strong>. However, the staff around Weiss underwent what can best be described as a \u201cmassive overhaul\u201d over this past week.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailynews.linkxtop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-2666.png\" alt=\"Braves Could Use New Coach Jeremy Hefner as &quot;Recruitment Pitch&quot; to Pursue Edwin D\u00edaz in Free Agency.vc\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>One of the most exciting hires Alex Anthopoulos made for the Braves\u2019 dugout was the addition of pitching coach <strong>Jeremy Hefner<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>At 39 years old, Hefner earned a \u201cglowing reputation\u201d thanks to his great work with the New York Mets pitching staff over the past six seasons. Now, Braves country is on pins and needles awaiting to see what magic Hefner can do with Atlanta\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailynews.linkxtop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-2667.png\" alt=\"Braves Could Use New Coach Jeremy Hefner as &quot;Recruitment Pitch&quot; to Pursue Edwin D\u00edaz in Free Agency.vc\" width=\"275\" height=\"183\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>However, after Anthopoulos <strong>declined options on both Pierce Johnson and Tyler Kinley<\/strong>\u2014and with 2025 closer <strong>Raisel Iglesias<\/strong> also a free agent\u2014it\u2019s unclear what arms Hefner will have to work with.<\/p>\n<p>While declining the options felt \u201ccheap\u201d to some, perhaps Anthopoulos is clearing money to make a run at a reliever that flourished under Hefner just last year.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>[Video placeholder: Edwin D\u00edaz\u2019s 3Ks. \ud83c\udfba\ud83c\udfba\ud83c\udfba \u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 25, 2025]<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4><strong>The Hefner \u201cSales Pitch\u201d<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Edwin D\u00edaz<\/strong> is one of the premier free agents on the market this winter, and the Braves clearly have multiple holes in the bullpen. Signing D\u00edaz would be a \u201cswing for the fences,\u201d but Atlanta can offer a very intriguing sales pitch thanks to the acquisition of Hefner.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the day, money talks, and D\u00edaz will command a \u201cpretty penny.\u201d However, if Atlanta\u2019s deal is similar to other top offers, having Hefner could be a <strong>pivotal tiebreaker<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>D\u00edaz has been a dominant closer his entire career, but questions started popping up about how good he could be post-major knee surgery (which cost him all of 2024). D\u00edaz put any of those questions to bed when he went out and posted a dominant <strong>1.63 ERA<\/strong> and <strong>2.28 FIP<\/strong> in 2025\u2014all under Hefner\u2019s tutelage.<\/p>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dailynews.linkxtop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-2668.png\" alt=\"Braves Could Use New Coach Jeremy Hefner as &quot;Recruitment Pitch&quot; to Pursue Edwin D\u00edaz in Free Agency.vc\" width=\"300\" height=\"168\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear just how much money Anthopoulos will have to operate with this offseason. Signing D\u00edaz would tie up a lot of money for one piece of a bullpen that needs retooling. Obstacles are clearly in the way, but D\u00edaz could be a player that proves worth it.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, as one rival executive noted, \u201cit never hurts to take away talent from the Mets,\u201d whether that is a player or, as the Braves already did, a highly-valued coach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With multiple holes in the bullpen, Atlanta\u2019s most exciting hire\u2014the man who guided D\u00edaz\u2019s 1.63 ERA comeback\u2014could be the \u201cpivotal tiebreaker\u201d in luring the star closer from a division rival. ATLANTA \u2014 Atlanta Braves fans are hopeful the core players returning for 2026 will benefit from the familiarity with new manager Walt Weiss. However, the \u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":120345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With multiple holes in the bullpen, Atlanta\u2019s most exciting hire\u2014the man who guided D\u00edaz\u2019s 1.63 ERA comeback\u2014could be the \u201cpivotal tiebreaker\u201d in luring the star closer from a division rival. ATLANTA \u2014 Atlanta Braves fans are hopeful the core players returning for 2026 will benefit from the familiarity with new manager Walt Weiss. However, the \u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News 365\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrLuu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344\",\"name\":\"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"News 365\",\"description\":\"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6\",\"name\":\"MrLuu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrLuu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365","og_description":"With multiple holes in the bullpen, Atlanta\u2019s most exciting hire\u2014the man who guided D\u00edaz\u2019s 1.63 ERA comeback\u2014could be the \u201cpivotal tiebreaker\u201d in luring the star closer from a division rival. ATLANTA \u2014 Atlanta Braves fans are hopeful the core players returning for 2026 will benefit from the familiarity with new manager Walt Weiss. However, the \u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344","og_site_name":"News 365","article_published_time":"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"MrLuu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrLuu","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344","name":"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll - News 365","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg","datePublished":"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00","dateModified":"2025-11-16T07:45:41+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/LUU-81.jpg","width":1080,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?p=120344#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"BRAVES SHOCKWAVE: The Braves\u2019 hire of Jeremy Hefner might just be a masterstroke in the Edwin D\u00edaz sweepstakes, turning a routine staffing move into a secret recruitment weapon. Hefner, D\u00edaz\u2019s former coach in New York, knows exactly how to unlock the closer\u2019s historic dominance, giving Atlanta an edge no other team can match. Suddenly, the chase for baseball\u2019s most electric closer has a new, jaw-dropping frontrunner..ll"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/","name":"News 365","description":"Your Daily Dose of Sports News and Updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4b0ce8eb15dad4ee0f31887a7eb66fb6","name":"MrLuu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/27290e42aedd9867dbebe2f5dbfd5135e0d4cac63c12fabb4e8d0e4472737a5b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrLuu"},"url":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=120344"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120344\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120346,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120344\/revisions\/120346"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/120345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=120344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=120344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new365.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=120344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}