Jun 18, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jake Diekman (63) pitches against the Baltimore Orioles during the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Former Phillies Star Reliever Announces Retirement from Major Leagues

Originally posted on Philadelphia Phillies on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated May 24, 2025 8:00 AM ET

Jake Diekman, who broke in with the Philadelphia Phillies as a reliever and played 13 Major League seasons, announced his retirement on Friday.

The 38-year-old Diekman is a native of Wymore, Neb., was selected in the 30th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2007 out of Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kan.

He last played in the Majors in 2024. He failed to make the opening-day roster for the Atlanta Braves this spring and spent some time with the Lincoln Salt Dogs in the American Association of Professional Baseball.

Jake Diekman Thanks Phillies in Social Media Post

In his post, he thanked every team he played for, but gave a specific thank you to the Phillies. He spent the first three-plus years of his Major League career with Philadelphia.

“Thank you to the Phillies for taking a shot on a 30th round guy out of small-town Nebraska that looked like Skeletor,” Diekman said. “Making my big league debut with the most veteran team imaginable at that point was surreal. I’ll never forget being a part of the 2015 no-hitter.”

✌it’s been a blast pic.twitter.com/klyiwduchf
— Jake Diekman (@JakeDiekman) May 23, 2025

He made his MLB debut at 25 years old in 2012. He pitched in 32 games, going 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA with 35 strikeouts and 20 walks in 27.1 innings. He did make the Phillies’ roster coming out of spring training in 2013. But he eventually returned to Philadelphia during the season after working out control issues in the minor leagues.

Once he was back, he stood out, going 1-4 with a 2.58 ERA in 45 appearances. He struck out 41 and walked 16 in 38.1 innings.

In 2014 the Phillies leaned on him for 73 appearances, as he went 5-5 with a 3.80 ERA. He struck out 100 and walked 35 in 71 innings. On Sept. 1 in Atlanta, he combined with three other pitchers to throw a no-hitter against the Braves, a 7-0 Phillies victory.

The following season, his ERA went up to 5.15 as he went 2-1 in 41 games, with 49 strikeouts and 24 walks in 36.2 innings.

Philadelphia dealt him, along with starting pitcher Cole Hamels, as the 2015 trade deadline to the Texas Rangers for Matt Harrison, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jake Thompson, Alec Asher, and Jerad Eickhoff.

For his career, Diekman was 27-34 with a 3.91 ERA in 705 games, all in relief. He finished with 764 strikeouts and 358 walks in 602.1 innings.

Diekman played for nine Major League teams — the Philadelphia Phillies (2012–15), the Texas Rangers (2015–18), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2018), the Kansas City Royals (2019), the Oakland Athletics (2019–21), the Boston Red Sox (2022), Chicago White Sox (2022–23), the Tampa Bay Rays (2023) and the New York Mets (2024).

This article first appeared on Philadelphia Phillies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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