The TSG Hawks of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) have made a significant midseason acquisition, announcing the signing of former Major League Baseball pitcher Dinelson Lamet. The move comes as the Hawks look to solidify their rotation and secure a playoff berth in the final stretch of the 2025 season.
Lamet, 33, brings a wealth of experience to Taiwan, having made 121 MLB appearances (60 starts) across stints with the San Diego Padres, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He owns a career 4.63 ERA with 474 strikeouts over 367 2/3 innings. His standout year came in the shortened 2020 season, when he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting after posting a dominant 2.09 ERA with 93 strikeouts in 69 innings for the Padres.
However, injuries hampered Lamet’s ability to replicate that success in subsequent years. In 2024, he pitched in the minor league systems of the Kansas City Royals and Dodgers, compiling a 4.81 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 86 innings at Triple-A. He made a brief MLB return with the Dodgers that year, allowing just one earned run over 4 1/3 innings.
Lamet also saw action in the Dominican Winter League with Águilas Cibaeñas and spent part of the 2025 season in Mexico with El Águila de Veracruz of the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol, where he logged a 5.01 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 88 innings — a respectable showing in one of the most offense-heavy leagues in the world.
Now joining the Hawks, Lamet is expected to slot into a rotation already featuring standout performances from Bradin Hagens (2.14 ERA, 67 K in 92 1/3 IP) and Eric Stout (2.75 ERA, 92 K in 91 1/3 IP). With the team thin on rotation depth beyond those two, Lamet’s addition could prove pivotal.
At 38-2-37, the Hawks currently hold a narrow edge for the CPBL wild card spot, with the Rakuten Monkeys and Wei Chuan Dragons both trailing them by just one game. While Lamet may no longer be the overpowering force he was in 2020, his experience, successful and swing and miss ability make him one of the most intriguing foreign pitching additions in recent CPBL memory.
As the playoff race heats up, all eyes will be on how much of a difference the veteran right-hander can make in Taiwan.
Photo: San Diego Padres’ relief pitcher Dinelson Lamet works in a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Derrick Tuskan)
