Diekman Huge Gift From Phillies

Dear Philadelphia Phillies-

Thank you so much.

Signed,

Jon Daniels

That's about what the Rangers general manager should be sending to Phillies outgoing GM Ruben Amaro after the Rangers swung a deal just before the trade deadline to acquire Phillies ace Cole Hamels along with a pretty nice side piece.

That "tacked-on" player was reliever Jake Diekman, a hit or miss guy with the Phillies with some serious heat and also an affinity for wildness. So far in his Rangers tenure, he's brought a lot of the former and not much of the latter, along the way helping to stabilize a bullpen that was bleeding out before he and Sam Dyson (from Miami) were acquired at the deadline.

Hamels hasn't been bad in his two starts for the Rangers, but ironically, two of the Rangers' three losses in more than a week have been the two games Hamels started. Diekman, on the other hand, has been nearly unhittable out of the bullpen.

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His six appearances have totaled six innings. In that time, he's allowed one hit and no runs with two walks and five strikeouts.

Will Diekman be the gem of the deal? Absolutely not, but you have to wonder if Amaro and the Phillies are regretting including him as the secondary piece after seeing what he's done with the Rangers so far.

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