Is Jake Diekman a Good Fit for Dodgers?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman

jake-diekman2

Although there are just 11 days remaining until the 2019 trade deadline, there still hasn’t been any significant rumors linked to the Dodgers as far as potential deals go.

There are some rumblings that team scouts are out and about—especially in the American League—but there isn’t anything concrete as far as talks go.

Front office boss Andrew Friedman typically does a fine job of keeping his talks with other clubs under wraps, but in recent years some of the trades have become publicly known before they officially happened, most specifically the Manny Machado deal with the Orioles ahead of last year’s deadline.

Regardless, we’ve been talking for weeks now about the need to add one or more quality relievers to the bullpen crew. Obviously, Felipe Vazquez has been at the center of our discussions, yet whether or not GM Neal Huntington will move the electric lefty remains to be seen.

Another favorite of mine is Detroit righty Shane Greene. We talked about the 30-year-old reliever quite a few times over the past few weeks, and he could be among the cheapest options available, at least from the standpoint of conjuring up a prospective price for what it would cost to land Vazquez.

Friedman confirmed recently that his club will definitely be active in the days leading up to the deadline; however, he did acknowledge that he does not plan on doing anything crazy as far as putting the organization at risk.

“We’re going to be aggressive. We’re just not going to be stupid,” he recently said in a radio interview.

Another possibility we haven’t spoke much about is Kansas City lefty Jake Diekman. The 32-year-old journeyman has been with three different squads over the past two seasons and began his career with the Phillies back in 2012.

Lifetime, the native of Nebraska has appeared in 410 games and has tallied a 3.88 ERA, a 3.34 FIP and a 1.394 WHIP with 440 strikeouts and 192 walks over 350-2/3 innings of work.

Last year, Diekman posted a 4.73 ERA, a 3.74 FIP and a 1.500 WHIP over 71 games between the Rangers and the Diamondbacks.

Perhaps his most effective year came in 2013 when he registered a 2.58 ERA and a 2,50 FIP over 45 games as a 26 year old with Philadelphia.

Diekman offers a fastball that has averaged above 95.0 MPH and a slider that averages around 85.0 MPH, which has also been his main weapon against left-handed hitters.

Brooksbaseball-Chart

This arsenal has allowed to strike out an outstanding 11.3 batters per nine innings in his big league career. While he does also own a walk rate of 4.9 BB/9, he makes it work by keeping the ball in the yard in general with a career 0.6 HR/9.

The problem is that he has a reverse split when it comes to opposing batting average. Over his career, lefty hitters have hit .235 against him, while righties have averaged .221. It’s a small difference, but it probably doesn’t bode well for Friedman, who likely is in search for a bonafide LOOGY, specifically when noting the current situations with Scott Alexander and Caleb Ferguson.

At the end of the day, there could be worse relievers to have in the Los Angeles bullpen. Diekman would provide a slight upgrade, although it certainly wouldn’t be the boost the Dodgers desperately need. Friedman is smart—if he were to somehow land the veteran southpaw, the sacrifice wouldn’t be much at all.

 

78 thoughts on “Is Jake Diekman a Good Fit for Dodgers?”

    1. I agree Greene is the better choice. And he has been closing games for the Tigers and been very successful at it. You were right about the scouts being in Detroit. But they were there scouting both teams. Dodgers have interest in pitchers from both squads.

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    1. Jansen is only 32. That’s not old at all. Diekman is 35. Jansen has 24 saves, most guys his age just hope they are that good. His stats get bloated when he has a bad outing because he is a reliever. Think where they would be without him. Who else on this team do you trust to close games>?

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      2. Pretty sure that Hill, 40, would disagree with you. Jansen is not in his mid 30’s, Diekman is. Dodgers traded for Greg Maddux twice and he was way past his prime, but he could still get hitters out. Jansen is not in his prime, but he is still one of the best relievers in the majors. 24 saves says so. Urias is not a closer and he is not being groomed to be one. He is going to be a starter. Maeda is no closer either. He is pretty good in multiple inning relief stints, but not as the guy slamming the door. The guys they have in the minors right now are not showing that closer mentality. In fact the guy doing the best job at OKC right now is Quackenbush. A Friedman retread project. He is 7-7 in saves. They will trade for bullpen help because there really is no one at AAA who is going to come in and slam the door. Allie and Broussard throw the hardest down there and neither is having what you would call a banner season.

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      3. Depends on the player. Verlander is 36. Nolan Ryan was throwing no hitters into his 40s. I don’t think Jansen will last that long. I have no idea about these guys of which we speak. I figure whoever has the better spin rate will be the target. Who’s that? Iontkno. I also don’t believe of the three mentioned here are going to cost that much.

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  3. I have no interest in getting Diekman. Just another so-so lefty. I’d rather spend more and get more.
    With regard to Greene, he’s having by far his best year. If we get him for a reasonable price that’s fine, but I’d rather have Dyson (assuming Farhan moves any of his relievers, since the Giants apparently will never lose another game). Dyson is having almost as good a year as Greene but has been much more consistent throughout his career.

    I’m going to say it again. We can have Vazquez if we are willing to pay enough and we can get it done with only giving up one of Ruiz/Smith/Lux/May. We have tons of other very good prospects other than those four plus a couple of guys on the MLB roster who could interest the Pirates. I absolutely would not give up Lux, probably would not give up May, but would give them Smith or Ruiz. I also wouldn’t be at all surprised to see AF get Giles although I’m really not sure how I feel about that.

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  4. Truthfully we need to make a deal with Farhan for Will Smith since he won’t cost near as much as Vazquez but gives you similar production from the left side.

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    1. First off he has to be willing to deal him, so far the Giants are hedging their bets a bit. Next, just how much are you willing to trade for him? You going to give up a top 10 prospect for a rental? That’s what Farhan is going to want. And he might even ask for one of your top 3. It is all supposition any way. Nobody has a clue at this point who is available and who is not as far as relievers go. The starters? That’s another subject altogether.

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  5. Won’t argue with Jefe or Alex. You’re both right.

    Vasquez, Smith, Dyson, Greene, Diekman. Throw Giles in near the top if his elbow checks out

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  6. I still think that AF should go after Colome of the White Sox. Under the radar guy. Might cost a little more, but definitely a solid BP piece.

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  7. It will be interesting who goes and what they go for. No Giant wants to help the Dodgers so I’m pretty sure we’d have to pay more for Smith, otherwise Farhan will get roasted. The smart move is to sell for the Giants but he m sure there’s a lot of pressure on him not to

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    1. Much depends on how well they play for the next week. If they gain in the WC standings, there will be fan pressure to stay in it. 11-1 Mets today at home. They keep that up and Farhan can go ahead and stock the system.

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      1. Reversion to the mean. They’ll be lucky to play .500 ball between now and the deadline.
        Put up the “For Sale” sign.

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  8. There is a report that Ruiz is being promoted to OKC. Wong was recently promoted to AA. Seems to me something is brewing that we have no clue about. There are 3 catchers at AAA right now. Ruiz will make 4. Maybe they are going to finally pull the plug on one of the guys on the Dodgers, or a trade could be brewing.

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  10. Offense waking up today. 2 homers, a couple of doubles. Even a clutch 2 out double by Barnes. Turner and Pederson go yard. Rosscup outrighted to OKC. News today that Alexander has been shut down with nerve damage in his thumb and arm. Only cure is rest. His arm was in a soft brace in the dugout today. Kershaw is dealing.

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  12. I don’t want Diekman, to many walks, that kills me to see bull pen pitchers walk batters. I don’t want to give up two of our four prospects for Vasquez, so I’m voting for Greene, Dyson, Smith or Colome, though I scc don’t think Farhan will deal with the dodgers.

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  16. An almost grand slam, a walk, a two run double, and a HBP, I think doc should have taken Garcia out just a little bit quicker.

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    1. Uh, he should have never put Ferguson in there. Garcia was also bad. He is using up his 9 lives, but that inning was the direct cause of an error. Seager missed the pop up, guy singles, Ferguson comes in and gives up a walk and a hit. Garcia comes in and the wheels come off. Baez induced the DP grounder and they are in that stupid ass shift and Kike tries to do the DP and throws one away…..tie game. Ferguson and Garcia need to be at AAA. Hell. bring up Quackenbush, he has been dealing. They need a shut down lefty because Ferguson has not shown he can do that job. Martin got into the act and drove in an insurance run. Beaty ought to be credited with a save. I am beginning to think this kid should get a starting spot somewhere.

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      2. I wouldn’t expect Quackenbush to be all that. After all, Ferguson has been almost perfect at AAA, yet comes in for Dodgers and immediately walks batters or hits batters or gives up hits. He is still very young and showed great potential last year, but not getting it done this year. I wouldn’t give up any of the top prospects for relief help. They should be able to go with a 3 man rotation in the postseason, leaving Urias, Stripling, Maeda and maybe Hill to reinforce the pen. I would send Barnes down and bring up Smith to C for through August to see if he is really the real deal and also see if Barnes can get his swing back. I wouldn’t trade Smith or Ruiz as they should be the C tandem for many years.

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      3. Quackenbush has been pretty good down there lately and he has a ton of MLB experience. He also is effective against LH hitters. Is he the answer? Probably not, but his experience, especially in the division gives him a leg up over most of these guys.

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  18. As badly as the bullpen is pitching, the defense is pretty much matching them. Seven straight games with 2 errors, tying the worst streak in Dodger history. Ugh.

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      1. Seager is making all of his errors at short. Kike is making most of his errors at second. Muncy is making them all over the place because they’re playing him all over the place. It’s just the Dog Days of July (don’t these guys know the dog days are supposed to be in August?)

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  20. 3 more errors tonight. This crap is contagious. First it was Muncy having such a bad time, now it is Seager. At least his bat woke up tonight. Tomorrow’s pitcher for the Phish has been outstanding so far. Buehler will have to be on his game.

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  21. Really bear, you’re blaming Roberts. Garcia, Ferguson and Chargois if you can’t pitch for 2 innings in a 6-0 game you have no right to be on an MLB team. That’s just a pathetic performance worthy of a return to OKC for the three of them! We need more than one bullpen piece!

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    1. Yimi is out of options. My guess is that he might not be around much longer, especially if they need to create space on the 40-man before midnight on July 31. I wish they could figure out a way to give Beaty a permanent spot.

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      1. All that talent and a 10 cent head. He just cannot get outs consistently and they have been waiting for him to get it. It took Baez a couple of years, but they cannot have that kind of patience with Garcia, or Ferguson at this point. They only have 1 lefty at AAA right now, Chris Nunn. 6’5″ former SD player. Only been there a little over a couple of weeks. Rosscup was out righted today, but will most likely declare free agency and try to catch on somewhere else. Good riddance and this time stay gone. So, the only real option for a lefty is a trade.

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    2. Yeah I blame Roberts because he is the guy who makes the decision on who is going in there. Ferguson hasn’t gotten anyone out since he returned from AAA. You can look it up. Garcia has given up 9 bombs. Chargois was a victim of Seager’s error. Had Corey caught that ball, the hitter would not have had a chance to get his hit. I know we need more than one piece. I have been saying that for weeks. You come out of the pen, you throw strikes. Even the HR Chargois gave up was a good pitch. Just a shade too high. Get real dude. They were all pathetic except Sadler and Baez. Baez was bit by bad fielding too, and Sadler would have had a clean 9th if not for another error #2 on the night by Seager. Clean up the defense and you have less meltdowns like this. The more chances you give the opposition, the bigger the chances they take advantage of it, or did you not see what happened in Philly? A lot of that was bad defense setting up an inning. Quit riding my case because the team is making a lot of mistakes.

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    1. He is the man who makes the decisions so some of it is on him. He had a fresh arm down there in Sadler. And the BP was basically rested since Ryu pitched 7 innings the night before. Jansen and Maeda were the only 2 who pitched out of the pen. And I never said he can’t use half his pen. Chargois did ok. He was charged with 2 runs simply because the 2 guys behind him did not get the job done. It was the 8th inning. That should have been Baez’s inning from the get go. Roberts shares the blame since he put them in. They get the lions share because they did not do the job. I think being up this late has muddled your brain.

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  24. So it’s Roberts fault that he can’t use half his bullpen according to you. The back end of our bullpen is a mess. That’s not his fault. You can’t use Urias, Baez and Jansen every game!

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    1. Baez did not pitch on Friday, so he was available, and no you cannot pitch them everyday in today’s game. Urias is basically the long man so I did not expect him to pitch at all. But the manager makes the decision on who is going to pitch. He had a 5 run lead. As soon as it was down to 4 with 2 runners on, his 8th inning guy should have been up and throwing, that s just common sense.

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  26. I have never been a huge fan on Roberts in game managing. He is great at managing ego’s, but he has often pulled pitchers too early or waited to damn long to make a change. That’s my story and I am sticking to it. You can like him if you want. That’s fine, I just think when he makes a bad move like those that were made tonight, he carries some of the blame, He pulled Chargois and Ferguson fast, but waited too long with Garcia.

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  27. I get it that Roberts isn’t the greatest in game manager of all,time but come on the middle and back end of this bullpen is just a mess. You would think with a 6-0 lead that you would not have to eat innings with your best relievers! That’s the issue with today’s pitchers. Too much emphasis on stuff. Full of throwers rather than pitchers who can mix pitches with location..AF put this bullpen together and the balls in his court to fix it!

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  30. Looking at the team stats the Dodgers bullpen has 5 guys with WHIPs under 1, 6 if you count Martin, and 8 with ERA+ over 100. Sounds pretty not too bad when you read it. Often looks like crap when you see it.

    I don’t blame Roberts. His winning percentage since taking over is among the very best of all time. He’s done a lot with what he’s been given. Bullpens have rotations and when it’s your turn to step in you gotta step up. We’ve seen some poor performances of late. It will be addressed. I’m not worried.

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    1. Well said, Scoop. We comment on what we see between the lines when a reliever comes into the game. The field and staff guys behind the scenes have watched and studied these pitchers thru spring training, throwing in the bullpen, throwing on off days, and know a lot more than we do about who, but for luck or a slight tweak, can be effective going forward. It’s the role of management to make decisions. The fans’ role is to sit in the stands and enjoy the best season to be a dodger fan in years. Enjoy the moment, the playoffs are a crapshoot and will take care of themselves.

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  31. The main problem with most of the guys in the current bullpen is that they aren’t crappy all the time. They get your hopes up with two or three performances and just when you think they may have found the secret to success, they go out and have two or three horrendous outings. Baez has at least become good most of the time (I can’t believe I just wrote that) and Kelly is getting there. Kenley’s two performances surrounding the ankle fiasco have been very good and Urias has been excellent. Stripling is far more reliable as a starter than a reliever. So what’s the problem? The problem is you can’t operate with a four man bullpen.

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    1. Yes, as an example Garcia has the lowest WHIP on the team, but he gives up so many HRs. Leading 6-1, no reason to take Chargois out so soon, though Roberts obviously didn’t expect the Marlins lowly offense to score 6, no matter who he put in. Those extra outs certainly contributed. Seager has been especially bad lately and there have been several cases lately, where the shift has cost possible double plays. I still keep saying put Joc, back in LF and play Bellinger at 1B when Muncy is playing 2B

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      1. Seager has been so bad in the field that I’m beginning to wonder if there’s an injury that no one is talking about.
        With regard to Yimi, if he has a low WHIP and is giving up lots of homers the obvious answer is to move back the fences. Why hasn’t anyone else thought of that? Do I have to come up with all the answers? 🙂

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  33. Both Bellinger and Verdugo not in today’s lineup. Verdugo had a bad night, and Belli since the 3rd Phillie game has not been hitting all that well. So a day off.

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  34. Watched Greene pitch the 9th in today’s Jays-Tigers game. He struck out the side, but, an error prolonged the inning and Gurriel hit a game tying 2 run homer. I also learned something I did not know and should have. Greene is a RH pitcher. Matt Harvey released by the Angels. Matt Magill, a former Dodger, traded to the Mariners. Greg Holland DFA’d by the Giants.

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  35. Right now the Dodgers have 3 guys who could end up with 30 dingers, Belli, Muncy, and Joc and 2 other guys who could end up with 20, Kike and Turner. I never thought that Muncy would even come close…..

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  36. All those who pooh poohed the signing of Pollock eating a little crow right now. The guy is raking. 2 more hits and a ribbie today. Buehler is dealing. Dodgers solved Yamamoto early.

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    1. I do hate it so when I am right! LOL, Then he crushes a HR, his 6th of the year, 4 since he was activated to make it 9-0. Love it. Sadler is dealing here in the 8th…..

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      1. That’s pretty funny Bear. The Dodgers have played 102 games, and Pollock has played in 36 of them. We’ve got a 16 game lead and a 163 run differential, most of which was achieved when Pollock was hitting .220 with a .600 OPS, or not even playing. What that tells me is we haven’t really needed him.

        That said, I do hope he keeps it up. He’s still sitting at negative WAR, but with a good finish he can obviously help. His contract doesn’t really kick up til next year.

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      2. What I meant Scoop is that I never doubted his natural ability. He has a lot of talent and that just does not leave you over night. I hope he keeps it up also, but I have always felt that he will be that player that they felt they were getting when he was signed.

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  38. These are from the SABR Defensive Index rankings through games of July 7. Ranking of National League players by position:
    C Barnes #3
    IB Muncy #4
    2B Hernandez #5
    3B Turner #16
    SS Seager #7
    LF Pederson #4
    CF Verdugo #6
    RF Bellinger #1
    P Kershaw, Maeda, Stripling, Ryu in the top 16
    The link is a good read. https://sabr.org/sdi/2019-07-07#NLC

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    1. I always liked that move, but in reality it was a no brainer. They were not going to go 10/300 for Harper. If he had opted for that 5 year deal they dangled in front of him, Pollock would not have been signed. But AF did what he had to do.

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  41. Hey what do you guys think of Ian Kennedy, haven’t heard his name in any rumors but, he’s been really hot for the last three months, The Royals will/should deal any of their players, he’s owed 16.5 mil next season it probably wouldn’t take much of a prospect, just financial relief. I would think you could get KC to pick up some of the contract. If only he was left handed. Just thought I’d try to throw something different out there

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  42. Pingback: Bullpen Concerns Escalating as Trade Deadline Draws Near – Think Blue Planning Committee

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