The Guardians and left-hander Phillip Diehl are in agreement on a minor league contract, tweets Robert Murray of FanSided. The Dynamic Sports Group client will be in big league camp this spring.
Diehl, 28, has appeared in parts of three minor league seasons but tallied just 19 innings. He most recently spent time with the Reds in 2022, though he was tagged for seven runs in 5 2/3 innings in that brief stint. Diehl has never had an extended look in the big leagues and has been quite homer-prone in his brief looks with Colorado and Cincinnati, ultimately serving up 20 runs in his 19 MLB frames.
A 27th-round pick by the Yankees back in 2016, Diehl has fared much better in the minor leagues, where he carries a 3.50 ERA with plus strikeout and walk rates of 29.8% and 7.3%, respectively. The 2022 season was a struggle for him at all levels (5.90 ERA in 39 2/3 Triple-A innings), but as recently as 2021 he turned in 54 2/3 innings of 2.47 ERA ball with a hefty 33% strikeout rate and an excellent 5.6% walk rate for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville.
As things stand, Sam Hentges is the only lefty who’s considered a lock in the Cleveland bullpen. Other options on the 40-man roster include Konnor Pilkington, Joey Cantillo and Tim Herrin — although Pilkington and Cantillo have both been developed as starting pitchers. Former Giants and D-backs southpaw Caleb Baragar was signed to a minor league deal and invited to spring training earlier in the offseason, and the Guards also invited 2019 32nd-rounder Andrew Misiaszek to camp. Diehl will join that group when pitchers and catchers report later this month, and if he doesn’t make the roster out of camp, he’ll give Cleveland a lefty with a bit more experience than many of their in-house options.
Alright, good Diehl.
Steve: is it supposed to say “Parts of 3 minor league seasons” or “major league seasons” in paragraph 3?
Paragraph 2, not 3 –
He needs to full Phil his contract to make this a good Diehl.
@Yankee, is Trumbo Jumbo still posting?
Haven’t seen him in quite a while. I believe Christmas week was good last post. He was a good one, hope he comes back.
Good = “his”
“His last post”
When I last saw him his name was “TheLegendOfTrumboJumboLivesOn”
As much as I enjoy this site, after all these years, I miss many of the posters. Nothing lasts forever.
Happiness sometimes has a end.
I honestly thought Tauchman would be better but he did have one really good season for the Yankees. They should pick him up also.
Tauchman is going to cubs spring training as an NRI
Wow. People do read these things…and actually process the words in their brains? Really?
Wow.
Major upgrade.
We do have one book burner in our midst, who believes books and reading are a waste of time. Classic obtuse statement.
Guardians’ Front Office says,
“Let’s Make a Diehl !”
I know it’s a minor league signing, but his stats don’t lead me to believe he’s the real Diehl
I feel like we’re pun-ishing teams for these minor league signings.
whyhayzee Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck
I like the fact that we can all find the lighter side
When it comes to the Diehl,
Ya gotta know when to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em
Diehl was a longshot to even reach the majors. I wish him tye best.
I dunno. I thought he was a pretty big Diehl.