MLB notes: Kansas City Royals trade Nebraska native Jake Diekman to Oakland Athletics
The Royals have traded left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects amid a flurry of moves before Saturday night's game against Cleveland.
By News Channel Nebraska
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals have traded left-handed reliever Jake Diekman to the Oakland Athletics for two minor league prospects amid a flurry of moves before Saturday night's game against Cleveland.
The Wymore, Nebraska, native is 0-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 48 relief appearances this season, but he has allowed just one run in his last six outings.
Diekman’s journey to the majors started after he pitched at Doane and Cloud County Community College (Kan.) before being drafted in 2007 in the 30th round by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kansas City also recalled pitcher Kyle Zimmer and first baseman Ryan O'Hearn from the Omaha Storm Chasers. First baseman Lucas Duda was designated for assignment.
In return, the Royals got 26-year-old outfielder Dairon Blanco and 20-year-old right-hander Ismael Aquino from Oakland. Blanco is hitting .276 for Double-A Midland, while Aquino is 1-1 with a 4.58 ERA in 10 appearances for Oakland's team in the Arizona Fall League.
San Francisco Giants designate former Creighton pitcher Ty Blach for assignment
Former Creighton pitcher Ty Blach was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants on Saturday.
Blach, 28, was removed from the Giants' 40-man roster and must be traded or waived within seven days.
Blach, who was the Giants' opening day starter last season, only pitched twice for the major league team this season, allowing 10 earned runs in just 6? innings. He owned a 5.93 ERA in 17 Triple-A appearances (15 starts).
He was designated for assignment for the Giants to create room on the 40-man roster for pitcher Logan Webb, who completed a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
The right-hander, who was drafted out of Creighton in the fifth round in 2012, has pitched in 87 career MLB games since making his debut in 2016 and owns a career ERA of 4.56. He won 19 games for the Bluejays between 2010 and 2012 with a 2.78 earned run average.