UPDATE: Athletics Make it Official, Bring in Jake Lamb as Third Base Support

Former Arizona Diamondbacks' third baseman Jake Lamb signed Monday morning with the Oakland Athletics, giving the A's another third base option with Matt Chapman and Chad Pinder both injured. Frankie Montas goes on the paternity list and James Kaprielian gets recalled as the 29th man for Monday doubleheader.

The A’s finalized a deal with Jake Lamb Monday morning and the veteran third baseman joins the A’s for the final two weeks of the season.

Lamb, designated for assignment Thursday by the Arizona Diamondbacks, joins the A’s after Matt Chapman (having right hip surgery today) and Chad Pinder (on the injured list with a hamstring strain) were lost to the club over the weekend.

A 2017 All-Star when the drove in 105 runs and hit 30 homers for the D-Backs, hasn’t been the same since shoulder surgery in 2018, which was followed up by a disabling quad injury in 2019 that cost him much of the season.

Over the 2016-17 seasons, Lamb put together a slash line of .248/.345/.498 with 59 homers. Since then, the numbers have been .199/.307/.330 with just 12 homers. Before being let go by Arizona, he was at a career-worst .116/.240/.140 with no homers.

The A’s had the deal in order over the weekend but had to wait until Monday because he was still eligible to be claimed on waivers. There wasn’t much danger of that, because that team would have had to cough up about $500,000 in salary for two weeks, and that wasn’t happen, even for the A’s.

Oakland manager Bob Melvin said Lamb has “a pretty good body of work,” and said he’d talked with Diamondbacks’ manager Torey Lovullo, who is a big fan of Lamb’s.

“With Chapman out and Pinder out, this is a guy who could really help us,” the manager said. “In talking to him, I’m excited about him being here. He is going to get an opportunity.”

The first game of Monday’s scheduled doubleheader had Tommy La Stella moving from second base to third against Mariners’ lefty Marco Gonzales and Tony Kemp playing at second, in part because he’s 4-for-4 with two walks lifetime against Gonzalez. Melvin said the plan is to have Lamb start the second game.

“He’ll get some time at third base, he’ll get some DHing,” Melvin said. He can pinch-hit, being from the National League, so there are several different ways we could use him.”

Chapman was undergoing surgery on his right hip Monday and Pinder was due for a late afternoon MRI on his hamstring. Melvin said the club is still awaiting medical updates on both men.

NOTES:

--The A’s placed starter Frankie Montas on the paternity list; his wife, Nicolette, is due to give birth to a daughter Monday or Tuesday. Lamb takes his spot on the roster for the moment.

--Right-hander James Kaprielian is up with the A’s as the 29 man on the roster for the doubleheader. It’s the third time the A’s have brought him up from their alternate site.

Follow Athletics insider John Hickey on Twitter: @JHickey3

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