Kansas City Royals continue to add to bullpen with Jake Diekman

The Kansas City Royals are continuing to rebuild their bullpen, having added left handed reliever Jake Diekman on a one year deal with an option for 2020.

As the Kansas City Royals have waited out the bullpen market, they have seen quite a few relief pitchers fall to their price range. Brad Boxberger signed on a one year deal worth just $2.2 million, potentially an incredible bargain for a pitcher with his resume. However, Boxberger alone would not be enough to fix the woes of the Royals bullpen.

On Wednesday, they made another shrewd signing. Left handed reliever Jake Diekman has joined the mix, signing a one year contract with an option for 2020.

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The 2018 campaign was a tale of two seasons for Diekman. He performed well for the Rangers before his trade to Arizona at the deadline, but he struggled on the Diamondbacks. Between the two stops, Diekman posted a 4.73 ERA and a 1.500 WHiP over his 53.1 innings of work. Although those numbers were disappointing, particularly with Arizona, he still struck out 11.1 batters per nine, although that was offset by his 5.2 BB/9 rate.

In a lot of ways, Diekman has a similar profile to Boxberger, only without the closer experience. Both pitchers have an incredible ability to miss bats, resulting in excellent strikeout rates. Yet, both have trouble commanding their arsenal, leading to elevated walk totals and occasional struggles.

Diekman is also like Boxberger in another way. Should the Royals struggle as expected, he could be an attractive piece at the trade deadline. Diekman has been excellent against both lefties and righties in his career, those walks notwithstanding. It is possible that the Royals could get a decent prospect in return for his services at the deadline.

The Kansas City Royals have strengthened their bullpen once again by signing Jake Diekman. If he has a strong season, he could be another asset come the trade deadline to help jumpstart the rebuild.