Drey Jameson has been one of the relievers that's been impressing in camp. Returning to the mound for the first time since his Tommy John surgery in September 2023, he looks fully recovered as both his velocity is back and the command is close to being back but good enough to be a reliever. With that in mind, he has a serious case to make the Opening Day roster as a reliever in 2025.
Jameson's stuff is superior to the relievers he's competing with for the spot. Jameson has two plus pitches between a four-seam fastball that sits in the upper 90s and can touch 100 MPH and a slider with good depth and sweep to generate whiffs. Without accounting for his other pitches, he has the stuff to be a quality reliever in a year where his innings will be monitored.
Jameson is a big part of the team's future when it comes to pitching. It will be important to get him reps against major league hitters he'll face as a starter in the future. This is not an uncommon practice, as teams will take young starters and start them in the bullpen until a spot opens up in the rotation. With the Diamondbacks rotation as stacked as it is in terms of depth, that should be the approach they take with Jameson.
Based on his outings this spring, it seems like they will take that approach. He's gone one inning in each of his three appearances. He hasn't allowed a run in any of those games and has allowed just two hits while striking out three. While his command isn't pinpoint yet, he hasn't walked a hitter either. So there is enough control that the Diamondbacks should be comfortable putting him out there.
The perfect role for Jameson would be a multi-inning bridge reliever like Andrew Miller was for the Cleveland Guardians. He would provide the bridge the gap between the starter on a short start and the back end of the bullpen or cover on a night multiple arms are unavailable. That's a role he was successful at in 2023 before he got injured, so it's not a new thing for him. He has the right mix of competitiveness to pitch anywhere in the bullpen. Ideally Jameson finishes 2025 healthy and accumulates 75-80 innings in relief.
Putting him in the bullpen doesn't close the door on him as a starter. We've seen plenty of recent cases of veteran relievers converting into starters such as Reynaldo Lopez and Michael King. If Jameson has a fully healthy 2025 as a reliever, the team can then convert him back as a starter when the rotation is less crowded. The temporary move to the pen is more about getting the best 13 pitchers on the roster and Jameson is one of them.