Under-the-radar free agents the Blue Jays should look into

Jake Diekman

The Oakland A’s seem to be the number one place to sign free agent relievers from, given how many good ones have been taken from there in recent years. Liam Hendricks, Sean Doolittle, and Blake Treinen all proven themselves as top relievers in Oakland, and then either cashed out in free agency or got traded. While these types of pitchers don’t always work, I think that lefty Jake Diekman could be a nice addition to any bullpen.

Even though stars like Freeman and Correa are still are the market, here are a few under-the-radar free agents the Blue Jays should look into.

Unlike the other players I mentioned, Diekman had some very solid seasons with the Rangers and the Phillies prior to coming to the Bay Area at the 2019 trade deadline. Unlike the last reliever covered in Alex Colomé, Diekman has never been an elite reliever, and at age 35, shouldn’t be expected to help carry the bullpen. What Diekman can do though, is provide a reliable arm in the middle of the pen that can be trusted to keep games from getting out of hand, or to keep the team in the lead, something the Blue Jays were sorely lacking this past season.

Over the past two years, Diekman pitched 82 innings and posted a very solid 2.96 ERA, along with a well above average 12.5 K/9. To go along with that, per baseball savant, he’s in the 92nd and 96th percentiles for K and whiff percentage, so he’s clearly one of baseball’s premier strikeout guys. The Blue Jays could use another lefty in the bullpen that they can trust, and Diekman could fill that role perfectly.