Lenny DiNardo has been claimed off waivers from the Red Sox by the Oakland Athletics. DiNardo, who was in camp, had been plucked from the New York Mets in the 2003 Rule 5 Draft, and made his debut for the Red Sox in 2004. in 27.2 innings, he posted a 4.23 ERA. The Red Sox converted him back to a starter in 2005 and he spent the majority of the year in Triple-A, posting a 3.15 ERA in 108.2 IP. He saw 14.2 IP worth of time in the majors, logging a 1.84 ERA. For 2006, he tossed 39.0 IP of an ugly 7.85 ERA in six starts and 13 total games before getting hurt. He also spent a little time in the minors.
Count me unhappy with the move. Nick DeBarr, our Rule 5 Draft pick this year, will definitely not make the team. In my opinion, DiNardo is better than Javier Lopez, and we also just signed J.C. Romero and have one of my favorites, Craig Breslow, on the roster. I was a fan of DiNardo, as he was a good guy and I thought could eventually have a nice run of being a solid middle reliever. He still has a great chance at having that run, but he’ll have to do it donning green and gold now.
DiNardo had been waived to get J.D. Drew onto the 40-man roster. I have to wonder if the Red Sox thought he would slip through waivers. Otherwise this makes no sense to me. He has proven he can get batters out in the majors in a relief role. Isn’t that what we need?
