Athletics general manager David Forst said Wednesday that Diekman is the top internal candidate to close for the team in 2021, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
"Internal" is the operative word here, as the Athletics are still expected to look outside the organization for late-inning help this offseason with incumbent closer Liam Hendriks unlikely to re-sign with the team. That being said, the Athletics historically haven't been willing to dole out big-money contracts to relievers, so any bullpen reinforcements they bring in likely won't have a clear path to the closer's role. Diekman should at least be given a chance to compete for the ninth-inning job after he delivered a career-best season in 2020, finishing with a 0.42 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 31:12 K:BB across 21.1 innings.