The Texas Rangers today announced that the club has agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Jake Diekman, right-handed pitcher Keone Kela, and infielder Jurickson Profar on one-year contracts for the 2018 season. No further terms were disclosed.
Including Tuesday’s agreement with outfielder Ryan Rua, all four Rangers who were eligible for salary arbitration are now under contract for 2018.
Diekman missed the majority of 2017 following three surgeries to relieve his ulcerative colitis condition, but returned in September and posted no record with a 2.53 ERA (3 ER/10.2 IP) across 11 relief outings. He ranked among league relief leaders in September/October in both holds (T5th, 5) and opponents average (10th, .121).
Kela had a 4-1 record with 2 saves and a 2.79 ERA (12 ER/38.2 IP) over 39 relief appearances for Texas in 2017, ranking among American League relief leaders in opponents batting average (1st, .135), opponents OPS (7th, .479), and strikeouts per 9 innings (14th, 11.87).
Profar batted .172 (10-58) with 5 RBI over 22 games with Texas last season, but did not appear for the club after July 7. He hit .287 (94-327) with 7 home runs and 45 RBI in 87 games with Triple-A Round Rock, posting an .811 OPS figure.
