Guardians Agree To Minor League Deal with Left-Handed Pitcher
The Cleveland front office isn't done making moves despite Spring Training games starting in about three weeks. On Tuesday, they reportedly signed left-handed reliever Phillip Diehl to a Minor League contract for the 2023 season.
Diehl is an Ohio native and grew up in Cincinnati. He went to Archbishop Moeller which is a high school that some Cleveland natives may recognize for one reason or another.
In 2022, he pitched in five games for the Cincinnati Reds and posted an 11.12 ERA over 5.2 innings pitched.
Diehl's numbers may not strike you as having an immediate impact out of the bullpen. But Cleveland may not be looking at the Big League numbers as much as they are at the Minor League stats.
He's appeared in 228 games at the Minor League level and has put up a respectable 3.50 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over that time. These stats are definitely not the same as the MLB number, but they do show signs of potential.
Besides, the Guardians have a history of taking undervalued delivers and turning them into bullpen weapons. Their signing of Enyel De Los Santos last offseason is a perfect example of this.
What interest does Cleveland have in Diehl anyway?
Well, he could provide the team with something that they're desperately missing in their bullpen. That's a left-handed pitcher.
The Guardians had one of the best bullpens in baseball in 2022 but they still needed to add a little variety to their relievers. Their only left-handed arm is Sam Hentges, who did have a great season. However, Cleveland simply can't rely on him every time they need a southpaw.
Signing Diehl is a very low-risk move but could be a high reward if the pitching coaches can help him translate some of his Minor League success to the Big Leagues.
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