House Money: Red Sox Provide Newcomer With Perfect Situation

The marriage of Dinelson Lamet and the Boston Red Sox isn't anything special on paper, but in practice, it could turn out magnificently on both sides.

Boston signed Lamet in late June after he was released by the Colorado Rockies, hoping to see if he had anything left in the tank from his superb 2020 season. In that shortened campaign with the San Diego Padres, Lamet flashed a 2.09 ERA across 12 starts with a 4.65 strikeout/walk ratio, finishing fourth in National League Cy Young voting.

He also throws a mid-90s fastball/sinker combination with a sharp slider, so if there was ever a recently released pitcher to target, it's him.

That's why the Red Sox, faced with navigating injuries to pitchers Chris Sale, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck, took a flier on the 31-year-old righty. They initially sent him out to Triple-A Worcester to work on a few things, with the returns (3.72 ERA in 19 1/3 innings) sparking enough confidence for Boston to call him up to the show Monday.

"I'm very happy for this new opportunity with a new team, and of course I'm looking forward to pitching out there," Lamet said Monday, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. "I worked with (Triple-A pitching coach Paul Abbott) on my slider to be more consistent and also on my location, the fastball location. Those were the main things that I worked on in Triple-A."

"I'm very happy for this new opportunity with a new team, and of course I'm looking forward to pitching out there."

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Red Sox pitcher Dinelson Lamet

Here's why that might be the best gamble Boston has made all season.

Lamet provides value as both a starter and reliever, having served in both roles already during his time in the Red Sox organization. That puts him in prime position to serve as an opener, which Boston might be in the market for now that Sale, Whitlock and Houck all look primed to return.

It has been discussed that the Red Sox could opt to use Sale as an opener down the stretch, attempting to relieve some of the stress-related ailments that have come from starting. In a perfect world, Boston would stack him with Whitlock in the bulk role and essentially use that combination as a fourth starter in the rotation alongside Brayan Bello, James Paxton and Kutter Crawford. That leaves Houck and Nick Pivetta as potential starters to take on that fifth spot in the order.

Those two have struggled mightily when faced with starting full-time this season, so why not use Lamet to help push them further into the game by recording the first three to six outs?

Lamet has been at his best when starting, seeing his ERA (4.13) balloon to 6.97 when coming out of the bullpen. It doesn't make sense to put him in a role in which he's struggled mightily, and giving him a spot in the rotation while the pitchers who vacated them return would be quite the decision.

That last little piece of reasoning is also why Lamet is playing with house money. He is an outsider who has had his worst season yet in the big leagues. He's joining a staff that has seven guys competing for starting spots all of a sudden and he likely won't be given very much leeway when he does get an opportunity.

That should allow him to air it out for Boston. It remains to be seen whether or not that will lead to positive results, but there's no doubt that is the kind of situation most pitchers could only dream of.