Ex-Red Sox Hurler 'Close To An Agreement' With Mets After Resurgent Second Half

The New York Mets may end up landing a former member of the Boston Red Sox soon.

Former Red Sox hurler Jake Diekman is looking for a new opportunity in free agency. The veteran lefty spent the 2023 season with the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays and now reportedly is "close to an agreement" with the New York Mets, according to The Athletics' Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal.

"The Mets are close to an agreement with left-handed reliever Jake Diekman, league sources told me and Ken Rosenthal," Sammon said. 

Diekman is a 12-year big league veteran with a 3.82 ERA and a 724-to-334 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 662 appearances with the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Red Sox, White Sox, and Rays. 

He was selected in the 30th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft by the Phillies and eventually made his big league debut in 2012. Diekman joined the Red Sox in 2022 after an impressive stint with the Athletics on a two-year deal with a club option for the 2024 campaign.

Diekman made just 44 appearances with Boston in 2022 before being traded to the White Sox in a trade for catcher Reese McGuire and pitcher Taylor Broadway. The lefty struggled with Chicago and eventually was let go in 2023.

He quickly landed with the Rays and completely turned things around. Diekman had a 2.18 ERA in 50 appearances with Tampa Bay last season and now likely will join New York to help bolster its bullpen.