Lenny DiNardo of the Boston Red Sox celebrates a victory with Jason Varitek
He’s bounced around with a handful of teams and of course we all remember him as a Rule 5 pick that stuck with the Red Sox organization in 2003. He was in Boston for a bit from 2004-2006, shuttling between Pawtucket and the big leagues, and battling a neck injury.
But Lenny DiNardo and the Red Sox’ relationship actually goes back to the days of Mo Vaughn. Boston tried to draft DiNardo right out of Santa Fe High School in the 1998 draft. DiNardo decided instead to go to college and attended Stetson University. After three seasons in college, the New York Mets selected him in the 3rd round of the 2001 draft.
The Red Sox like DiNardo because he is a veteran LHP who gets groundballs. He’s not a flashy acquisition, but the team knows what they are getting with him.
He struggles with control at times but can be a valuable commodity for the Red Sox organization. DiNardo is willing to play in the minors until he’s needed in Boston — be it as a spot-starter or out of the pen.
The biggest reason for optimism with DiNardo is that he will be reunited with pitching coach Curt Young in Boston. Young replaces John Farrell and is credited by DiNardo for helping him have a career year in 2007.
DiNardo was with the Oakland Athletics in 2007 when he threw 131 innings in 20 starts and held his own in spacious in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. He wouldn’t have the same park advantage at Fenway Park, but he also won’t be used as a 5th starter.
With no clear left-handed option in the Red Sox bullpen, DiNardo will at least have the opportunity to win a spot on the Major League roster. He faces competition from a bevy of other lefty options so the chances of him breaking camp with the team are probably slim.
It’s more likely that DiNardo will be organizational depth and serve as an emergency option for the big club. If Curt Young can help DiNardo regain his form then we might see a post-prospect in late bloom and an effective weapon in certain game situations.
DiNardo is no savior but he may end up being a quietly effective arm that many people will overlook.
When DiNardo is successful, he is in charge of his changeup. Without mastery of that pitch he is a replacement level player.
In 2007, DiNardo was worth nearly 1.0 WAR and was throwing his changeup over 15% of the time for a positive 0.4 wCH pitch type value.
For whatever reason, (good question for Young) DiNardo went away from the changeup in 2008 and started re-working a slider into his repertoire. It may have been that he was trying to develop a an effective third or fourth pitch, but he struggled and ended up splitting the season between AAA-Sacramento and Oakland.
During DiNardo’s first tour of duty in Boston he was heavily a fastball-slider pitcher. Those two pitch types made up 75% of what he featured to batters. Young helped him to develop the effective changeup while in Oakland, but it appears that DiNardo cannot put a full repertoire together to balance his average “stuff”.
He spent the 2009 season with the Kansas City Royals. DiNardo tried to return to what he did well in 2007 – throw an 84 MPH fastball and a 76 MPH changeup. He sprinkled in 72 MPH curveballs here and there, but this return to the ‘old formula’ was met with failure.
The sample sizes are small, but the numbers show a guy trying to recapture the elements that made him successful in 2007. Unfortunately, it was not working in the Royals system.
Reunited again with Young may allow DiNardo to find the right mix. It’s very possible that combination of coach, environment and pitch selection could prove to be worth a win to the Red Sox in 2011.
Welcome back Lenny.