Former Phillies Reliever Close to Agreement with Mets

It's very rare that someone selected late in the MLB Draft becomes an impact player for a team, but that wasn't the case for the Philadelphia Phillies when they selected a high schooler during the 30th round in 2007.

They got a very solid pitcher out of that pick with Jake Diekman.

Originally drafted to be a starter, he converted into a relief role roughly two years into his career.

The left-hander kept working his way up through the farm system until he made his debut with the Phillies in 2012.

Diekman appeared in 32 games that season and recorded a 3.95 ERA across 27 1/3 innings pitched, striking out 35 batters.

He seemed poised to be part of their bullpen unit going forward and was a big reason why Philadelphia's relief staff was so strong on the back end.

However, the Phillies decided to trade the lefty, along with Cole Hamels, to the Texas Rangers in a blockbuster deal at the deadline in 2015 for a package of six players.

This marked the end of Diekman's four seasons with Philadelphia and eight with the organization.

Since that point, the 37-year-old has played on seven different teams during his career, appearing in 662 games and having an ERA of 3.82.

According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, it looks like Diekman will land with his eighth team since leaving the Phillies, as he and the New York Mets are reportedly close to a deal.

The Mets have been looking for cost control type of players throughout the offseason and the veteran left-hander certainly fits the bill.

He proved last year he can still be effective, tossing 45 1/3 innings with the Tampa Bay Rays while posting an ERA of 2.18 and ERA+ of 192.

It seems like Philadelphia will have to face their former draft pick in division soon.