The Athletics have declined their 2022 option on left-hander Jake Diekman, per an announcement from the MLBPA that lists Diekman as an official free agent. The A’s held a $4MM team option on Diekman but will instead pay him a $750K buyout. Opting against a net $3.25MM price on Diekman only further adds to the expectation that the A’s will pare back their payroll this winter.
Set to turn 35 in January, Diekman wasn’t as sharp in 2021 as he was in 2020, when he notched a sub-1.00 ERA through 20 innings in the shortened season. However, he still pitched to a respectable 3.86 ERA with a huge 31.9% strikeout rate and a heater that averaged 95.6 mph (up from last year’s 95.3 mph). Diekman walked an ugly 13% of his opponents in 2021, but that level of shaky command is nothing new for the lefty. He’s walked 12.7% of his career opponents, and the A’s (like every other team that acquires Diekman) knew what they were getting when they signed Diekman to a two-year, $7MM deal in the 2019-20 offseason.
It’d have been more surprising to see Diekman bought out had the Athletics not already stunningly allowed longtime manager Bob Melvin depart to manage the Padres — a move largely believed to be financially motivated. Spending $3.25MM on a 36-year-old reliever, even a pretty good one, wasn’t in the cards for a club looking to scale back its expenditures.
That said, Diekman is a hard-throwing lefty who has posted a combined 2.96 ERA and a 32.9% strikeout rate across the past two seasons out of the Oakland bullpen. He averaged 1.48 home runs per nine innings this year, a rather alarming uptick from the career 0.55 mark he carried into 2021, but Diekman still throws hard and racks up strikeouts in droves. He was also harder on righties than on lefties this season — a trend throughout his career — which should reduce any potential platoon concerns.
Another multi-year deal can’t be ruled out in free agency, although given Diekman’s age and this year’s home run surge, a one-year pact still could be more likely. Still, it’s a thin crop of left-handed relievers this winter, so he ought to find another club willing to guarantee him a few million dollars on a one-year pact, at the least. It’s possible that he comes out ahead in the ordeal, topping a $3.25MM guarantee, although one would imagine that the A’s looked around for potential trade matches before simply declining the option.
MasterShake
A’s about to decline everyone’s options 🙁
Chipper Jones' illegitimate kid
It’s gonna be a lean winter in Oakland!
angt222
A’s are shedding payroll to get ready for that move to Las Vegas.
josephf
It’s going to be absolutely hilarious to watch Oakland lose not one, but three, professional sports franchises over the course of a decade. Their incompetence and corruption knows no bounds. Oakland is entirely at fault for the A’s not having a new stadium lined up years ago. It saddens me to say this as someone who has been watching the A’s here in Oakland for 40 years.
gbs42
I don’t blame Oakland at all. Why should any city give a billionaire a free ballpark? Help with infrastructure, fine. But let the owners pay for their own stadiums.
SportsFan0000
SF Bay Area fans voted down numerous publicly financed stadium proposals for the 49ers and the Giants.
Giants74
You obviously don’t live in the Bay Area. The A’s have always had terrible owners who have never had interest in spending money on the team. They have been in Oakland for over 50 years. Davis could have built their own stadium. They just like screwing over cities. The Raiders played in Candlestick before the 49ers. The Warriors just moved back to SF. Your ignorance is tiresome.
Chucky25
I thought the Haas family was a great owner and I believe in 90 or 91 the Athletics even had the highest payroll in baseball or at least close to it
Giants74
Maybe. The owners have never really done anything to market the team. They have a long history of getting rid of players before they get to expensive going back to Charley Finley.
josephf
Yeah listen to a Giants fan tell it like it really is in Oakland LMAO.
SportsFan0000
Charlie Finley was a baseball genius who built a dynastic A’s team loaded with Hall of Famers by acting as his own GM.
The A’s were the best team of their ERA.
When that great A’s team with multiple Hall of Famers on it was broken up, the teams that signed the A’s players all became playoffs caliber teams.
Giants74
Owners never build teams. He made his best effort to tear the team apart.
Giants74
@josephf At least I’ve been to Oakland. How is Minsk these days.
SportsFan0000
BS. MLB and the Giants have conspired to block the A’s from moving to San Jose/Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley where some of the richest corporations in the World are more than willing to sponsor the A’s and a New ballpark.
The A’s former ownership helped “Save the Giants” for the SF Bay Area when the Giants had their moving vans packed for Tampa Bay back in the day.
Time for the Giants and MLB to “step up” and return the favor to the A’s. Oakland is the worst place for a new stadium
A’s new stadium should be in Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley where most of their fans are and where most of the corporate money is.
Congress should revoke MLB’s Anti Trust exemption.
The 49ers moved to Santa Clara County/Silicon Valley because they knew they could not make it @ Candlestick and in SF.
Raiders were offered a “shared stadium” with the 49ers in Santa Clara County, but rejected that deal. Shared NFL stadiums are used in LA New York/New Jersey etc…
Bart Harley Jarvis
Spot on SportsFan0000! Everything you need to know about BayArea sports stadium history is in this thread.
phillies give me depression
bring him home phillies!!
ham77
I can see the Phillies doing this, but he would probably just crater in that bullpen where relievers go to die.
phillies give me depression
thats how it always is. ig you just gotta take a chance and hope they preform
SportsFan0000
Phillies need multiple bullpen pieces. This pitcher is too prone to giving up home runs and is not a fit in Philly especially at that price.
DarkSide830
eugh…
grapher0315
Surprised they didn’t exercise the option and then trade him. Believe he is worth getting a couple of prospects, even though they wouldn’t have been major names.
josephf
Of course no major names lol. He’s a lefty middle reliever. But a very solid one many teams would love to roster. It boggles my mind why they would decline the option.
Giants74
I guess you just started following the A’s. They have been doing this for decades.
SportsFan0000
They probably shopped him and nothing was happening for a deal so cut him.
josephf
This is the beginning of another tear down folks. The A’s need to cash in Matt Olson and Sean Manaea, maybe Bassitt as well, and they need to do it right now. Their value while still under team control will never be higher.
misterlol
Lol
josephf
Lol indeed. Joke franchise languishing in a city that does not want them.
DarkSide830
but remember, moneyball works!
luca brasi
From a public relations perspective it makes no sense for John Fisher to blow up the A’s when he is trying to get Las Vegas excited about the team and build him a stadium.
Asfan0780
Definitely cash in bassitt wholl be 33 next year and only 1 yr left till free agency. And he’s been great since 2020/shortened season
Giants74
You must be new to baseball. The A’s have been tearing down since 1974. They have never wanted to spend money on the team.
SportsFan0000
Both Matts will be gone (Chapman and Olson) and much, much more.
bobtillman
Interesting move. There are a lot worse middle/multi-inning relievers out there than Diekman. And the 4M price isn’t exactly prohibitive, especially for the big payroll guys.. Curious that they didn’t exercise the option then traded him. Could be, with the forthcoming stoppage, everybody’s afraid to make the commitment.
Rsox
Apparently the A’s are allergic to the nunber 4 million…
skip 2
More like every number
Mitchell Page
I’m going to be looking forward to the A’s drafting # 6 in the 2023 mlb draft .
dvmin98
Arm Barn (ha) option for SD now that Melvin is there?
zacharydmanprin
Doubtful. Melvin has been burned by Diekman too many times.
bobtillman
PETA now asserting that the phrase “Arm Barn” is offensive to pigs, horses and mules.
Bart Harley Jarvis
bob,
If offensive is your thing, lookup ‘arm barn’ in the urban dictionary.
sergefunction
“Hey, Sailor…”
phillyoakman
Maybe the plan is to not have enough players to take the field opening day. I knew the A’s were cheap but man this is ridiculous. Or maybe they are declining options to give Olson and Chapman a nice lengthy contract and let all the AAA team promote to the show.
zacharydmanprin
This is a historically bad take. The A’s declined Diekman’s option because he’ll be 35 years old next season, faltered in the 2nd half of last season (4.50+ ERA) and he’s not worth $4 Million a season! Diekman was inconsistent and unreliable and for a pitcher in high leverage innings that is a recipe for disaster. Diekman is too old to get any better. He is what he is; a pitcher that some team will have in their bullpen because you have to have 26 guys on the roster so he might as well throw left-handed. That’s not worth $4 Million a season.
DarkSide830
yes that. but that doesnt change the fact that they are cheap.
skip 2
Beyond cheap! It’s beyond me that MLB let’s this scumbag still own the team! Even after stealing revenue money!!
SportsFan0000
A’s could not trade the guy, but could bring him back for 1-2M
MLB let Lurie run the Marlins into the ground for years.
MLB let that parking lot clown own and ruin the Dodgers etc..etc..
stymeedone
The question is why would you put a veteran pitcher who makes less than 4MM in high leverage situations and expect an awesome outcome every time?
Younger players, yes. 35 year olds who you know what to expect from, no!
He is a mid innings reliever, but worth his contract.
zacharydmanprin
Tampa Bay Rays’ bullpen combined probably made less what Diekman and Chafin made last season…money does not = results.
julyn82001
Agreed. Diekman was inconsistent many times. He does throw hard but wild nonetheless… BoMel just liked Diekman as a lefty alternative reliever…
SportsFan0000
A’s could not trade the guy, but could bring him back for 1-2M
True2theorange&blue
Not an A’s fan but this the reason why they need to have a floor for teams to spend. They cry poor and would rather let their manager walk then pay him 2 million which would be a small amount for most clubs.
zacharydmanprin
The A’s already picked up Melvin’s option. Get a clue.
skip 2
100% needs a floor!! 100 million minimum! I hope it gets passed this winter there’s no reason it shouldn’t
Jzratkdad1
Yes, let’s overpay players. Say what you will, but the A’s are historically one of the top teams in baseball, at least during the season. How many years have they made the playoffs since 2000? Sure, they’ve sucked in the playoffs, but how many teams would switch records? And they’ve done it without high draft picks like so many other teams that are succeeding now.
Bart Harley Jarvis
With the exception of the Max Muncie goof, the A’s have found and developed unknown talent better than just about every organization. And every offseason it’s projected doom and gloom.
Is this my favorite way to run an MLB franchise? No, but give credit where credit’s due. The A’s have kept things pretty exciting over the past couple of decades while dealing with a fairly crappy hand.
I hope they get their Oakland ballpark situation resolved and avoid a move to the toilet in the desert.
Bart Harley Jarvis
* Muncy
zacharydmanprin
Muncy is a true outlier. He went out and reinvented his swing on his own AFTER the A’s DFAd him. Now, if you want to argue the A’s should have being trying to do that all along – I’ll bite. But the A’s are very much a “you are what you are” team and don’t think guys can improve once they hit a certain level/age.
SportsFan0000
The A’s New Fire Sale is starting. The Vultures are circling. A’s have multiple players set for big raises who each could be traded separately for 3-5 top young players and almost major league ready prospects.
Those minimal contractual guarantees look nice at first, but athletics has an enormous arbitration class on the horizon – and it’s not just big in terms of volume. It’s a talented and experienced group of players with most of Oakland’s most recognizable names: Matt Olson, Matt Chapman, Sean Manaea, Chris Bassitt, Ramon Laureano, Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino, Chad Pinder, Tony Kemp, Deoli’s war, Burch Smith and (depending on his final tenure numbers) maybe Adam Kolarek. From this group, Manaea and Bassitt are ready for their final arbitration raises – the former as Super Two players. Chapman, Olson, Montas and Trivino get their second raise..
There is a traffic jam of GMs piling up on the high speed internet lines and zoom
trying to get deals with the A’s for some or all of these players.
Let the auction bidding begin!
The A’s will get a few truckloads of the top prospects and young players in baseball for all of these guys..