Royals Rumors: Jake Diekman trade could be final deal of deadline
Royals rumors continue, as relief pitcher Jake Diekman has been traded to the Oakland Athletics. Is this it for this year’s crop of Royals rumors?
Right on cue, Jake Diekman was traded to the Oakland Athletics. The Kansas City Royals are receiving Ismael Aquino and Dairon Blanco in exchange for Diekman. Clearly the Royals like doing business with the Athletics, as this is the second trade they’ve made with the A’s in two weeks.
Diekman had a 4.75 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, and 0-6 record through 41.2 innings in relief for the Royals. The numbers aren’t great, but he was being coveted by other teams, which makes sense considering he’s on a one-year deal and has postseason experience.
The fact that the Royals received two prospects in return appears to be a great deal for them.
Left-handed reliever Jake Diekman has been traded to the Oakland A's, league sources tell ESPN. Diekman had been pursued by a number of teams on trade market before Kansas City agreed to deal him to A's. Oakland bullpen has monster stuff with Treinen, Hendriks, Trivino, Diekman.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 27, 2019
Homer Bailey and Martin Maldonado were both traded already and most Royals fans were expecting Diekman to be the next to go. This could even be the last of the trades the Royals make this trade deadline, as it appears Whit Merrifield isn’t going anywhere, Billy Hamilton is doing next to nothing, and Lucas Duda was recently designated for assignment.
Susan Slusser tweeted that the Royals received Ismael Aquino and Dairon Blanco from Oakland. Aquino, 20, has an ERA of 4.58 through 17.2 innings in Rookie ball while Blanco, 26, is hitting .276 in in 301 at bats in AA.
The Royals already received an outfield prospect from the A’s in the Bailey deal (Kevin Merrell) and traded for Mike Montgomery with the Cubs in the Maldonado deal, yet they’ve evidently added another outfielder and pitcher.
A's sent infielder Ismael Aquino and outfielder Dairon Blanco to the Royals, team announces.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) July 27, 2019
This trade will give the Royals two more prospects to hopefully get them closer to contending in the next few years.
As mentioned earlier, this could be the final trade the team makes this summer. If that ends up being the case, it’d be a bit disappointing that only three prospects were had in the three total trades, as they had several other players signed to one-year deals that could have been trade worthy, but simply didn’t pan out.
Regardless, getting back two prospects for a guy with a near five ERA seems to be a pretty damn good deal for the Kansas City Royals.
Next. Looking Back at Worst Deadline Deal in Royals History. dark
What do you think of this deal and do you believe the KC Royals are finished with their trades this summer?