The Chicago White Sox made some changes to their bullpen earlier in the season. One of them was the DFAing of Jake Diekman.
Diekman was nothing short of horrible in his stint with the Chicago White Sox dating back to the trade deadline last year.
In 13 appearances with the White Sox this year, he had an ERA over seven and he allowed 14 runs (10 earned) in 11.0 innings pitched. It was nothing short of a disaster for him which is why he was let go.
He latched onto the Tampa Bay Rays not long after departing the White Sox. Of course, the Rays are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball so the thought was that they could fix him.
They did. Since joining the Rays, he has allowed two runs in an appearance twice but nothing in any of the other ten times he took the mound.
Jake Diekman has been great since leaving the Chicago White Sox.
In fact, the last time he gave up a run was on May 25th. Since then, he has appeared seven times and didn't allow a single run.
Over those 5.2 innings, he also hasn't allowed a hit and has only walked two. During that time, he has six strikeouts. Yes, the Rays seem to have fixed him.
Diekman was a good left-handed reliever earlier in his career but the White Sox jersey just seems to make players underperform. Now, he is with a new team and throwing well.
We will see if Diekman is able to keep it up with his new team. It is fair to assume he will do so because of the fact that the Rays do everything right.
If he does, he will be a part of their playoff bullpen and could get some high-pressure innings. Obviously, that would make White Sox fans very annoyed but it is the reality of the situation.
As for the White Sox, they have seen their bullpen get better since Diekman's departure. Despite a tough series against the Miami Marlins, they have been great.
The team needs them to rebound now after those bad weekend games and it won't be easy on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers.