Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers

Rockies cash in on Brewers mistake after Josh Hader trade

The Colorado Rockies have claimed Dinelson Lamet off of waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers.

What was your favorite memory of the Dinelson Lamet Era in Milwaukee? David Stearns and Co. didn’t keep him around very long after trading Josh Hader for him just four days ago.

After making the surprising move to designate Lamet for assignment on Aug. 3 due to the “roster fit becoming a little tougher,” Stearns had hoped that he would be able to successfully pass through waivers so he could be out-righted to Triple-A.

There were multiple flaws in Stearns’ plan from the get-go. One being the fact that, technically speaking, Lamet could reject the assignment to the minor leagues and become a free agent instead. The other being the fact that when he’s on, Lamet is one of the more intriguing arms in the game.

The Colorado Rockies undoubtedly saw some of this potential in him and successfully snagged him off of waivers from Milwaukee just four days into his Brewers tenure. To make room for Lamet on the 40-man roster in Colorado, right-hander Ashton Goudeau has been designated for assignment.

Rockies: Dinelson Lamet claimed off of waivers from the Brewers

Just two years after emerging as an NL Cy Young Award contender, it has been a strange couple of years for the 30-year-old Lamet. After missing a large portion of the 2021 campaign due to injury, he came back this year out of the Padres bullpen looking to raise his stock back up to where it was in 2020.

Long story short, things did not go according to plan for him. In 13 relief appearances with the Friars, Lamet posted a 9.49 ERA and 5.06 FIP in 12.1 innings, walking nine batters along the way and throwing three wild pitches in that short span.

This poor performance led to a demotion to the minor leagues, where he spent time in both Double-A and Triple-A in San Diego, highlighted by a 1.54 ERA in 11 relief appearances for Triple-A El Paso, notching 18 strikeouts and surrendering zero home runs in that span.

Lamet’s $4.775 million contract he is earning this year was one the Padres were happy to get off the books and ship to Milwaukee in the Josh Hader deal. Stearns had mentioned that his inclusion in the deal was to “balance things out” which likely means the Padres were eager to get his salary off of their books.

Lamet and his 97 MPH fastball was a piece that Brewers fans were looking forward to seeing, whether out of the starting rotation or bullpen, but now that will never come to be.

The Rockies could use the pitching help as each of their everyday starters have posted subpar results with the lowest ERA on the staff coming in at 4.56 from Kyle Freeland. After going through this year’s trade deadline without making a single move, the last-place Rockies have finally made their big splash of the 2022 season.

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