The Braves have released veteran left-handed reliever , . Hed been in camp as a non-roster invitee this spring but was rea signed to minor league camp on Sunday. Hes the second non-roster veteran cut loose by Atlanta recently, joining catcher , who was . Diekman, 38, appeared in seven Grapefruit League games and to sed 7 1/3 innings with Atlanta. He was tagged for four runs on six hits and four walks with eight punchouts and a Ethan Small Jersey 45% ground-ball rate. The resulting 4.91 ERA isnt eye-catching, but its a small sample and Diekman has a lengthy if inconsistent track record at the MLB level. Diekman spent the 2024 season with the division-rival Mets, for whom he pitched 32 innings with a 5.63 ERA before being released in August. As is typical, the left-hander both mi sed bats and i sued free pa ses at high levels: 27.6% strikeout rate, 16.6% walk rate. Command or lack thereof has always been an i sue for Diekman. Hes walked fewer than 10% of his opponents just once in 13 big league seasons, and it came way back with the 2013 Phillies. Hes walked 13.4% of his opponents in 602 1/3 career innings. However, Diekman has often been able to mitigate the damage from those walks thanks to both a hefty strikeout rate (career 28.7%) and plenty of grounders (career 46.9%), helping him induce a fair number of double plays. As recently as 2023, Diekman notched a 3.34 ERA in 56 2/3 big league innings between the White Sox (for whom he struggled) and the Rays (with whom he thrived). His results tend to fluctuate on a year-to-year basis, but Diekman sports a 3.91 ERA in his career and a 3.94 mark over the past five big league seasons. A club seeking a veteran lefty in the pen could take a look at him as a low-cost option. For the Braves, Diekmans release and this weeks trade of likely cement that and will be the only two southpaws in Brian Snitkers bullpen. That pair will join closer and right-handed setup man in the mix for late-inning work. Sam Mcdowell Jersey