The New York Mets are allegedly close to signing reliever Jake Diekman in MLB free agency, according to Will Sammon of The Athletic. This offseason, New York has focused on adding depth to the bullpen, starting rotation, and lineup. Diekman will undoubtedly give bullpen depth.
The 37-year-old left-handed reliever has previously worked for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
He most recently pitched for Tampa Bay and Chicago in 2023, posting a 3.34 ERA in 63 games. However, 50 of those games were with the Rays, and Diekman had a 2.18 ERA with Tampa Bay. He is certainly still capable of functioning at a high level, and if this transaction goes through, he will be a valuable bullpen addition for the Yankees.
There is reason to assume Diekman will end the 2024 season with another impressive ERA. According to Baseball Reference, Diekman had an outstanding 28.7 percent strikeout rate and walked only 13.5% of the batters he saw while at Tampa Bay in 2023. He also limited batters to a.518 OPS.
