The New York Mets are slowly but surely creeping into the National League playoff picture. They are making some moves to upgrade ahead of the trade deadline. One of their notable moves so far is not an addition but a subtraction, as they are moving on from Jake Diekman.
The Mets announced that they had designated Diekman for assignment, ending the 37-year-old's stint with New York. Matt Gage is being called up from Triple-A in a subsequent move. The 31-year-old has yet to pitch for the Mets but has made appearances with the Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays over the past two seasons.
Diekman has not had a good season with the Mets, posting a 5.63 ERA in 32.0 innings. He allowed 24 total runs in his 43 appearances with New York. His walk rate, which has already been bad over his career, is getting even higher and his strikeout rate is good but not great anymore. Try as he did, it was the right time to move on.
Mets pursuing bullpen help ahead of trade deadline
The Mets added some help at the plate with outfielder Jesse Winker and boosted their bullpen with Ryne Stanek from the Seattle Mariners and Phil Maton from the Tampa Bay Rays. They aren’t going all the way in to win but they do want to give themselves a shot to make the postseason.
Both of the relievers have already gotten their Mets stints underway, with Stanek starting off on the wrong foot with three earned runs in just one inning. Still, he's a masterful strikeout artist that could be really nice for bullpen depth. Maton, meanwhile, has a 1.50 ERA in 6.0 innings so far this season.
The Mets are 55-50 at the moment, trailing the Atlanta Braves for second place in the NL East. With plenty more time left before the trade deadline, they are hoping to refine their roster even further.
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