Angels sign Jake Lamb to minor league contract; re-sign Jhonathan Diaz
The Angels continued to add to their organizational roster on Wednesday, signing free agent utility player Jake Lamb to a minor league contract.
Lamb, 32, spent the 2022 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners. In 41 games, he hit .216 with three homers and six RBIs.
Originally drafted in the 38th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, Lamb made his MLB debut in 2014. He broke out in 2016, compiling 29 homers and 91 RBIs to the tune of a .249 batting average, .332 OBP and .840 OPS. The next year, he continued to perform at a high level, hitting .248 with 30 home runs and 105 runs driven in, and was named to his lone All-Star Game.
Unfortunately, a slew of injuries derailed Lamb's career when he was just 26. In the last five seasons, he's never managed to play more than 100 games, bouncing around various franchises.
After he was released by Arizona midway through the 2020 season, Lamb signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics, where he would play in just 13 games. He signed a big league deal with the Atlanta Braves in 2021, but failed to make the big league roster ahead of the season, resulting in his release during spring training.
He then signed on with the Chicago White Sox, where he lasted 43 games before he was designated for assignment and claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays. Lamb played 12 games with Toronto before he was released.
The Dodgers inked Lamb to a minor league deal ahead of the 2022 season, appearing in 25 games for the Boys in Blue before he was dealt to his hometown Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash considerations. He was designated for assignment after just 16 games with the M's.
Over the course of his career, Lamb is a .236 hitter with 95 long balls and 337 RBIs.
Now, the left-handed hitting veteran, who can play all of the corner infield and outfield positions, will take a crack at making a Halos offense that is currently being overhauled, with general manager Perry Minasian trading for the likes of Gio Urshela and Hunter Renfroe and signing Drury to a two-year deal.
Additionally, the Angels also re-signed left-handed pitcher Jhonathan Diaz to a minor league contract on Wednesday.
Diaz has spent the last two years with the team, making his big league debut in 2021. The had initially signed him as a free agent following the 2020 season.
In just seven appearances with the club, Diaz has tossed 28.1 innings with 20 strikeouts, 17 walks and a 3.49 ERA.