A.J. Preller: Lamet is ‘in a really good spot’ with his rehab

On a recent episode of the CBS Sports’ Fantasy Baseball Today podcast, Padres general manager A.J. Preller joined the show to discuss the plethora of moves made by the team so far this winter and shared some thoughts and insight into expectations for the 2021 season.

Obviously the biggest acquisitions discussed were the deals to get pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, and Joe Musgrove. On top of that, the Padres also signed budding Korean star Ha-Seong Kim.

The additions to the bullpen are always a welcome sight, especially for fans who watched their chances at a run to the Wild Series cut drastically following injuries to both Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet ahead of the 2020 postseason. As of now, it’s still up in the air if Lamet will be healthy enough to hit the ground running in 2021, which is why the team’s recent moves are seen in such a great light. They not only added phenomenal players, but they covered themselves in case an unfortunate circumstance rears its’ head.

The 28-year old Lamet has been rigorously working through his rehab this winter and Preller told CBS Sports’ Katherine Acquavella that he’d seen him in the Domincan Republic just a few weeks ago.

“He’s a workout warrior,” Preller said on the podcast. “He’s one of these seven days a week, he pushes himself. From a training standpoint, he’s in a really good place in terms of being ahead of last year’s pace with everything they’ve put in front of him so far. His throwing program, where his arm health is, he’s been throwing bullpens, all of those so far have been good.”

This past season, Lamet finished tied for fifth-most strikeouts in the majors (93), alongside his new teammate in Darvish. He recorded a stellar 2.09 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP.

By the end of the podcast, Preller confirmed to Fantasy Baseball Today that Lamet is expected to be “ready to go at full capacity” for spring training which starts in three weeks.

This is all-around phenomenal news.