A’s acquire reliever Jake Diekman from Royals
Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
The A’s trade two minor leaguers for the left-hander.
The Oakland A’s made another trade with the Royals on Saturday, acquiring left-handed reliever Jake Diekman, reports insider Jeff Passan.
It’s not yet clear who the A’s are sending to Kansas City, but it will be two minor league prospects including a center fielder and a pitcher, reports insider Jon Heyman. However, the center fielder is not Jameson Hannah, per Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle, and neither prospect comes from the Oakland’s 40-man roster, says Slusser. The A’s had an open spot on their 40-man, so no corresponding move will be necessary to make room.
UPDATE: The team has announced the trade, and the prospects are RHP Ismael Aquino and OF Dairon Blanco. Neither are currently listed in the team’s Top 30 list on MLB Pipeline, though Blanco cracked the bottom of our preseason Community Prospect List at No. 27.
The addition of Diekman (pronounced DEEK-man) gives the A’s another powerful presence in their bullpen, as well as another lefty arm that they desperately need. His strikeout rate is one of the highest in the sport, at just over one-third of all the batters he faces and more than 13 per nine innings. He does issue a lot of walks, but also keeps the hits low and avoids homers, the latter of which is particularly impressive in today’s dinger-happy environment.
Diekman, 2019: 4.75 ERA, 41⅔ ip, 63 Ks, 23 BB, 3 HR, 3.37 FIP
On top of those stats, over the last four seasons he’s converted 73-of-77 save/hold chances, which is an incredible 95% success rate (7 saves, 66 holds, 4 blown). He does not have significant platoon splits, either for this year or his career overall, with hitters on both sides struggling to do much against him other than walk.
In terms of contract and team control, Diekman is earning $2.25 million this season, and has a mutual option for 2020 at $5.75 million (with a $500K buyout).
This is the second trade the A’s have made this month, both with the Royals. Oakland previously acquired starter Homer Bailey back on July 14.
Check back soon for more details! Also, enjoy this teaser from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic:
#Athletics do not figure to stop with Diekman and Homer Bailey, both of whom they acquired in separate trades from #Royals. Per sources, they have explored adding another starting pitcher, with #Mets’ Zack Wheeler and #Reds’ Tanner Roark among their targets. @TheAthleticMLB.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 27, 2019