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MLB Trade Rumors: 5 players the Dodgers should target

By Joshua Sadlock

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 13: Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 13, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - JULY 13: Starting pitcher Matthew Boyd #48 of the Detroit Tigers pitches in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on July 13, 2019 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 05: Jake Diekman #40 of the Kansas City Royals pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 05: Jake Diekman #40 of the Kansas City Royals pitches against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 5, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

2. Jake Diekman

While Tony Watson has functioned more as a full-inning reliever this season and throughout his career, Kansas City Royals lefty Jake Diekman is much more suited to facing single batters at a time or entering in specific situations where an opponent is sending two left-handed hitters up in an inning. He has appeared in 410 MLB games but has logged only 350.2 innings. Whereas Watson is a pitch-to-contact lefty, Diekman has struck out 11.3 per-nine during his eight-year career.

The Giants may elect to just keep all of their relievers and let the chips fall where they may in August and September, but the Royals will definitely be selling off any and all valuable assets left on their rebuilding club. Diekman and the Royals have a mutual option for 2020, but he should be viewed as an expiring deal. That means he will be pitching for a contender down the stretch.

On the surface, Diekman has had a mediocre 2019 season, but he hasn’t always been put in the best situations for his set of skills. The lefty has faced 118 right-handed batters versus 57 lefties. He has also seen his ERA inflated to 4.89 by a few bad outings, which does not paint a picture of how well he has actually pitched.

Diekman has held opposing hitters to a .208/.343/.333 line this season, but lefties are hitting just .217/.368/.261 with no home runs. The free pass has been Diekman’s downfall, as he is walking 5.4 per-nine. Otherwise, he has been totally dominant and even more nasty against left-handers than usual. The Dodgers have a great staff of pitching coaches and should be able to get more out of Diekman down the stretch.

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