Chafin, Diekman become free agents

The Oakland A’s exercised their 2022 mutual option on the contract of left-handed pitcher Andrew Chafin and declined the option on the contract of left-handed pitcher Jake Diekman the club announced Thursday. Chafin declined his part of the mutual option and both players are now free agents.

Chafin was acquired from the Chicago Cubs on July 26 and went 2-2 with five saves and a 1.53 ERA in 28 relief appearances with the A’s. He was 0-2 with a 2.06 ERA and .154 opponents average with the Cubs and combined for a 1.83 ERA and .186 opponents average in 71 games overall. The 31-year-old left-hander ranked fifth among Major League relievers in ERA, eighth in opponents OPS (.521), 10th in slugging percentage (.273) and 12th in on-base percentage (.248). Chafin’s 71 games pitched tied for 14th most in the majors and he is the only pitcher with 70 or more games pitched in each of the last four full seasons (2017-19, 21).

Diekman began the season sharing closing duties with Lou Trivino but spent the final four months as a late-inning set-up man. He was 3-3 with seven saves and a 3.86 ERA in 67 relief appearances. Diekman’s seven saves were a career-high as he had just seven career saves entering the season. He struck out 83 batters in 60.2 innings and finished with more strikeouts than innings pitched for the 10th time in his 10 seasons in the majors. The 34-year-old left-hander ranked 10th among American League relievers in strikeouts.