Who's the Mets' closer now? Here are 5 options following Edwin Diaz 10-game suspension

Just as it appeared that Edwin Diaz was starting to find his groove with the Mets after spending time on the 15-day injured list, that momentum has been halted.

Diaz was suspended 10 games by Major League Baseball on Monday, one day after being ejected from Sunday's night game against the Chicago Cubs following a check for sticky substances.

Now, the Mets and manager Carlos Mendoza are confronted by a stretch of three-plus series without their ninth-inning option.

After returning from the injured list, Diaz had thrown three scoreless innings with three strikeouts and two hits allowed while converting each of his two save opportunities. He has seven saves on the season.

Mendoza has been in this situation before, amid Diaz's shocking struggles in May when he blew four out of five save opportunities, and then again when Diaz landed on the shelf.

But this situation could be more delicate with the Mets forced to play with 25 players, as opposed to 26, on their roster.

With Diaz down, here are the Mets' five best options to close out games in the ninth inning and what they bring to the table:

Reed Garrett

The 31-year-old Garrett has gone from a journeyman who floated between Triple-A and MLB to become one of the Mets' most dependable high-leverage arms.

This season, Garrett has posted a 7-2 record with three saves, seven holds, a 2.95 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. He possesses some of the Mets' best swing-and-miss stuff, striking out 56 batters in 36.2 innings, with a splitter that has produced a 54.9 percent whiff rate. He's also equipped with a cutter and sweeper which provide a number of looks.

Despite holding fifth-best whiff rate (38.8 percent) and seventh-best strikeout rate (36.1) in MLB, Garrett's 11 percent walk rate is in the bottom 16 percent of baseball.

Adam Ottavino

The 38-year-old right-hander has the late-game experience to take the ball in the ninth inning. Last season, while filling in for Diaz, he notched 12 saves and has 46 over the course of his career.

Ottavino joined Diaz as having one of the roughest months of May among Mets relievers. Ottavino allowed 11 earned runs across 10⅔ innings, suffered two losses and blew one save. In June, Ottavino has allowed two earned runs across 8⅓ innings (2.16 ERA) with 11 strikeouts. In April, he allowed one earned run across 9.2 innings with 18 strikeouts.

Expect Ottavino to get one of the first cracks at saves when he's coming off an off day. He's done marginally better at holding runners, but his 20.9 seconds to the plate with runners on base remains one of the slowest in baseball and opens the door for opponent's run games.

Jake Diekman

Mendoza has appeared in favor of playing the matchups when it comes to high-leverage late-game situations, and Diekman is the team's most experienced left-hander.

Diekman is holding opposing left-handers to a .132 batting average and .464 OPS with two earned runs against in 12 innings this season. Despite righties batting .175 against Diekman, he has given up eight earned runs, including three home runs, to batters from that side of the plate.

Overall, Diekman has posted a 3.80 ERA with three saves and 29 strikeouts in 23⅔ innings. The veteran is prone to some command struggles as his 17.6 percent walk rate is among the worst in MLB. But he also keeps opponents off the barrel with his sweeper and mid-90s fastball.

Drew Smith

There was some concern on Sunday night after Smith was forced to warm up quickly following Diaz's ejection. After recording two outs, Smith gestured to the dugout but remained in the game. He said he was struggling to get loose.

But it was Smith that Mendoza was going to trust with the ninth inning before Diekman recorded the final out and the save. This season, Smith, who dealt with right shoulder inflammation, has worked to a 3.06 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 17⅔ innings and recorded three saves. His high fastball is his main weapon as he continues to get comfortable with his cutter.

Dedniel Nuñez

Nuñez might be a long shot to get save opportunities but he has helped his cause since returning to the Mets on May 28.

The 28-year-old right-hander deploys a two-pitch mix reminiscent to Diaz — hard heavy fastball and wipeaway slider. The tunneling of those two pitches works to his benefit.

In his return from a sinus infection on Sunday, Nuñez gave up a two run home run to Christopher Morel. Prior to that outing, the righty had allowed one earned run in 9⅔ innings with 13 strikeouts in his second promotion of the season.

In his first major league season, Nuñez has 27 strikeouts in 18.2 innings with a 2.89 ERA and 0.80 WHIP. He's more of a multi-inning tool but could be deployed in a high-leverage frame, as well.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Edwin Diaz suspension: Who will be the NY Mets' closer now?