Aug 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Dinelson Lamet (32) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers Spring Training: Dinelson Lamet Dealing With Visa Issues

Originally posted on Dodger Blue | By Blake Williams | Last updated 2/13/24

Position players reported to Los Angeles Dodgers camp for Spring Training on Tuesday while pitchers and catchers have already been working out for the previous few days.

Joe Kelly and Will Smith were among the players who reported late to camp due to personal issues, but the pair has since arrived at Camelback Ranch. That means all players on the Dodgers 40-man roster are now at the Spring Training complex in Arizona.

As for the non-roster invitees, most of them have reported, with one exception. Dinelson Lamet, who lives in the Dominican Republic, has not yet reported due to a visa issue, according to Fabian Ardaya of The Ahtletic:

Dinelson Lamet, a non-roster invite, isn’t in Dodgers camp yet as he deals with visa issues, Dave Roberts said. Otherwise, everyone is in camp right now.

— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) February 13, 2024

These issues are fairly common and usually get sorted out fairly quick with an end result of the player just showing up a little later than anticipated.

The last notable visa issue with a Dodgers player was in 2022 when Hanser Alberto had his signing delayed because of it. Ultimately, he was still able to sign and things worked out for him.

Lamet signed with the Dodgers earlier this month, giving them another high-upside but high-risk option in their bullpen. Once a promising arm for the San Diego Padres, he has struggled to stay healthy and has since bounced around MLB.

The 31-year-old has never thrown more than 114.1 innings in a season, which came in 2017, and since then his high is 73 innings, in 2019. Over the past two seasons, Lamet has not topped the 33 innings mark.

He owns a career 4.66 ERA, 4.02 FIP, and 5.7 WAR across 363.1 innings.

Decoy Ohtani received fake visa from U.S. Embasy

Shohei Ohtani’s dog Decoy (or Dekopin in Japanese) has seen his popularity grow since he was with Ohtani for the announcement of the 2023 American League MVP Award. Although Decoy was not with Ohtani during a recent visit to the United States Embassy in Tokyo, he wasn’t far from Ambassador Rahm Emanuel’s thoughts.

Emanuel presented Ohtani with a fake United States visa for Decoy. The documentation includes 000MVPUP000 as the passport number and a control number of 000GOODBOY000, along with both names, Dekopin and Decoy.

Emanuel previously met with Ohtani at the U.S. Embassy in March 2023.

This article first appeared on Dodger Blue and was syndicated with permission.

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