New York Mets closer Edwin Díaz is set to appear in a game for the first time since tearing a patellar tendon during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The two-time All-Star is expected to be the first reliever Monday night after starter Tylor Megill, and the right-hander will have a 20-pitch limit when the Mets face Miami in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

“Excited for the boys, for the whole team, for himself,” Mets Manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday. “The fact that he gets to pitch in a major league game for the first time after, you know, a long year of rehab and all that, I think is important for all of us.”

Díaz injured his right knee celebrating with teammates after closing out Puerto Rico’s 5-2 victory over the Dominican Republic last March.

The injury was the first of many for the Mets in 2023, leading the club to unload Cy Young Award winners Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer at the trade deadline before Buck Showalter was fired as manager, a year after New York made the playoffs as a wild card.

The 29-year-old Díaz was an All-Star for the Mets in 2022, recording 32 saves and having a 1.31 ERA. Of the 186 outs Díaz recorded that year, 118 were on strikeouts.

RED SOX: Bobby Dalbec hit a grand slam and Ceddane Rafaela hit a solo home run Boston’s 7-6 spring training win over the Tampa Bay Rays in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Red Sox starting pitcher Garrett Whitlock pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits, while striking out eight and walking one.

ORIOLES: Corbin Burnes will be Baltimore’s Opening Day starter, as expected, after the All-Star right-hander was acquired from Milwaukee in a trade last month.

Manager Brandon Hyde made the obvious decision official with an announcement Sunday.

“A real honor for me to let him know,” Hyde told reporters in Florida. “We’ve been talking about it for a while, and we’re real excited to watch him pitch on Opening Day.”

The Orioles made the move for an ace after an American League-best 101 wins last season, before they were swept by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series.

It’s the third consecutive Opening Day start for the 29-year-old Burnes, who got the nod the past two seasons with the Brewers.

GUARDIANS: Right-hander Gavin Williams was scratched from his scheduled start against Cincinnati because of elbow discomfort stemming from an awkward throw of a weighted ball.

Manager Stephen Vogt said the club hopes Williams will be throwing again in a couple of days. The Guardians are counting on the 24-year-old in their rotation after he went 3-5 with a 3.29 ERA in 16 starts as a rookie last season.