Will Jake Lamb be the Answer to Athletics' Third Base Quandry?
In an effort to ease their recent losses at third base, the Oakland A’s are expected to sign former All-Star third baseman Jake Lamb on Monday.
Lamb, who has been injured much of the time since making the National League All-Star team in 2017 with the Arizona Diamondbacks, was designated for assignment by the D-Backs on Thursday and he will be free to sign Monday and will be eligible for the postseason.
That’s one day in front of the Sept. 15 trade deadline, and comes after a weekend in which the A’s lost their All-Star, Matt Chapman, and his only right-handed hitting backup, Chad Pinder. Chapman will have surgery on his right hip Monday while Pinder landed on the 10-day injured list Sunday with just two weeks left in the season.
The A’s move toward Lamb, first reported by the San Jose Mercury News, comes after Arizona, the last place team in the NL West, decided he wasn’t part of their future.
The 29-year-old was in the midst of his worst season by far with the D-Backs, owning a .116/.240/.140 slash line and hadn’t homered. Compare that to 2017, when he had 105 RBI, 30 homers and a slash line of .248/.356/.487.
The A’s have played Vimael Machin and Tommy La Stella at third of late, with La Stella getting the start there in Sunday’s series finale in Texas. Like La Stella, who was picked up at the trade deadline from the Angels, Lamb is left-hander and will help balance out what had been a predominantly right-handed team.
After his All-Star season, Lamb had shoulder surgery in 2018 and a quad injury in 2019 that cost him about half the season. As a result, his offensive numbers tumbled, and that carried over into 2020. He has played in only about 40 percent of Arizona's games the last three season, hitting .199 with a dozen homers.
Talking with the Arizona Republic, D-Backs general manager Mike Hazen said the move indicated that Lamb “probably fell victim to the 60-game season more than anybody.” The organization didn’t seem to feel it had the time to let Lamb get it together.
“The missed time may have created a little bit of rust and a little bit of doubt,” D-Backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “Once you see how this game goes and you potentially lose a little bit of confidence, it’s hard to get back when you aren’t getting a great opportunity to play.”
Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3
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