The A's rebeefed up their bullpen Saturday, four days in advance of the MLB trade deadline.
Oakland acquired left-handed reliever Jake Diekman from the Kansas City Royals in a trade for prospects Ismael Aquino and Dairon Blanco, the team announced.
The Oakland A's have acquired left-handed pitcher Jake Diekman from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Ismael Aquino and minor league outfielder Dairon Blanco. pic.twitter.com/yllFPMK04t— AthleticsPR (@AthleticsPR) July 27, 2019
ESPN's Jeff Passan first reported the deal, and MLB Network's Jeff Passan first reported on the return.
The San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser repted that the Royals were interested in outfielder Jameson Hannah, who Baseball America ranks as the No. 7 A's prospect and was not included in the deal. Blanco was ranked as the No. 26 A's prospect by Baseball America.
Diekman, 32, signed a one-year contract -- with a $5.75 million mutual option for 2020 -- with the Royals this offseason. He has made 48 appearances for Kansas City in 2019, posting a 4.75 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and striking out 63 batters in 41 2/3 innings. Diekman's fielding independent pitching (FIP) this season is 3.36, and opposing batters have a .330 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) against him.
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Moving from hitter-friendly Kauffman Stadium to the pitcher-friendly Coliseum should help Diekman. Passan reported that "a number of teams" explored trading for Diekman, and The Washington Post's Jesse Dougherty added that the Washington Nationals "kicked the tires" on acquiring Diekman.
Diekman is not the first pitcher the A's acquired from the Royals this season. Oakland traded minor league infielder Kevin Merrell to Kansas City for Homer Bailey on July 14.
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The A's might not be done dealing yet, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
#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
Oakland entered Saturday a half-game back of the AL's second wild-card spot. The A's clearly are betting on Diekman to help them bridge that gap.