HUGE BOOST: Royals confirm another huge League Deal
The Royals announced on Friday morning that they’ve signed right-handed pitcher Dinelson Lamet to a minor league deal. Lamet had been a free agent for the past six weeks after opting out of a minor league contract with the Dodgers early last month. Given the time he’s been inactive, he will likely start at a lower-level affiliate before moving up to Triple-A Omaha. Lamet is represented by MVP Sports Group.
Lamet, 31, pitched 4 1/3 innings for the Dodgers in April before being designated for assignment. He initially accepted an assignment to Triple-A Oklahoma City but opted out a couple of months later. During his short stint with the Dodgers, he allowed one run. He spent the rest of his time in the Triple-A rotation, posting a 4.82 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate and a 12.9% walk rate over 37 1/3 innings.
Once seen as a promising young pitcher in the National League, Lamet debuted with the Padres in 2017 at age 24, recording a 4.57 ERA and a 28.7% strikeout rate in 21 starts. After missing the 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery, he returned in 2019 with a 4.07 ERA and a 33.5% strikeout rate. He had a breakout season in 2020, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young voting with a 2.09 ERA, a 34.8% strikeout rate, and a 7.5% walk rate.
However, his career was derailed by forearm and back injuries. In 2021, he suffered two forearm strains, limiting him to 47 innings. The Padres moved him to the bullpen late in the season to try to keep him healthy, but despite being relatively injury-free since, his fastball velocity has declined even in shorter appearances. Additionally, his command issues have worsened.
Since the start of the 2022 season, Lamet has pitched 64 1/3 innings in the major leagues across four teams, recording an 8.25 ERA. While he has struck out over a quarter of the batters he faced, he has also walked 14.1% of them and hit five more (1.6%). His fastball, which averaged 97 mph during his standout 2020 season, dropped to 93.7 mph with the Dodgers this year.
Royals GM J.J. Picollo mentioned last month the need to strengthen the team’s bullpen, highlighting the Royals’ 29th-ranked 19% strikeout rate, only ahead of the Rockies’ 18.4%. Lamet will need to ramp up and perform well in Triple-A Omaha before being considered for the major league roster. Despite recent struggles, Lamet still has the ability to generate swings and misses with his slider. Bringing him in on a minor league deal poses no risk and offers potential upside if he can regain his form in the minors.