Kansas City Royals: Jake Diekman signed, Jesse Hahn to DL

Wednesday, the Kansas City Royals signed Jake Diekman and shifted Jesse Hahn to the DL, or the newly termed “IL.”

Yes, I know it is the “IL” now, or the Injured List, but I didn’t want to confuse anyone into thinking Jesse Hahn was moving to Illinois or the International League. Anyways, the Kansas City Royals signed Jake Diekman and shifted Hahn over to the 60 day injured list.

Jake Diekman Deal

Diekman was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 30th round of the 2007 draft. In July 2015, he was traded to the Texas Rangers along with Cole Hamels.

He was once again traded in July of 2018 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Up until Wednesday, he had been granted free agency. The Kansas City Royals signed him to a $2.25 million, one-year contract with a mutual option for the 2020 season.

In his seven year MLB career, he has an overall ERA of 3.75, pitching in 365 total games in relief. He has tallied a FIP of 3.30 and a WHIP of 1.397. He’s worthy of a 3.8 fWAR on his career.

He had a rough showing with the Arizona Diamondbacks, tossing for an ERA of 7.53 through 24 games, but the lefty fared well with the Rangers in 2018. Through 47 games, he yielded an ERA of 3.69 coming out of the bullpen.

The Kansas City Royals were looking for cheap options to help bolster their bullpen, and Diekman fits the bill.

Jesse Hahn

The corresponding move to make room on the 40-man roster for Diekman was shifting Jesse Hahn over to the 60-day injured list. He is still recovering from having Tommy John surgery, so he is not expected to be ready by the time Opening Day rolls around.

He was drafted in 2010 by the Tampa Bay Rays in the sixth round.

Hahn’s last appearance in the MLB came in 2017 with Oakland. He was traded to the Kansas City Royals along with Heath Fillmyer in January of 2018.

In his career, he has tallied a total ERA of 4.19 through 53 appearances. He also has yielded a FIP of 3.85 and a WHIP of 1.339 overall.

In 2017, Hahn appeared in 14 games and his ERA totaled 5.30 through 69.2 innings of work.

He was originally projected by Baseball Reference to yield a 4.71 ERA and toss 65.0 innings throughout the season.