TODAY: The Sox officially announced the deal, confirming that Lamb’s deal is a Major League pact. In a corresponding move, left-hander Nik Turley was designated for assignment. Turley was claimed off waivers from the Athletics last week.
MARCH 29: The White Sox have an agreement to sign free agent third baseman Jake Lamb, pending a physical, per Robert Murray of FanSided (via Twitter). Lamb spent the spring with the Atlanta Braves, who ultimately stuck with Pablo Sandoval as their backup at the hot corner. He will need to clear waivers before this deal is official.
Lamb should have a certain degree of comfort with White Sox manager Tony La Russa. La Russa was the Chief Baseball Officer of the Diamondbacks during Lamb’s heyday from 2014 to 2017. Lamb hit .250/.336/.462 with 69 home runs in 1,752 plate appearances over that span. Injuries hit Lamb hard since then, however.
He did have a small-sample resurgence with the A’s last year, posting a 141 wRC+ in 49 plate appearances with Oakland. Combined with 50 plate appearances in Arizona where he posted just a 14 wRC+, however, and the numbers balance to 77 wRC+, almost exactly matching his mark from the previous two seasons.
The White Sox are a little light on depth, but it’s not exactly clear where Lamb might fit. The logical jump is that Lamb’s signing is a reaction to losing Eloy Jimenez, but there’s not a natural way to shift the roster to make that line of thinking track. Yoan Moncada plays Lambs’ natural position at third, though he has offered to play the outfield in the past, including last offseason when Chicago was entertaining making a run at free agent Anthony Rendon. That would seem to be a lot to ask of Moncada coming off the difficult season he endured in 2020.
More than likely, he’s simply slated for organizational depth. If he’s added to the Major League roster, he could see time at designated hitter in the event that Andrew Vaughn either doesn’t make the roster or does make the roster and spends time in left field, where he’s started two of the past three spring games.
Bench candidate/occasional DH I imagine. Probably doesn’t impact Vaughn much
Vaughn is most likely going to play left field with Jimenez injured so lamb will probably be our main DH for the time being.
God I hope not.
Definitely not ideal but tbh it is the most likely option at least for the first few weeks because Engel is injured as well.
NFWay
I wish they would give Collins significant at bats. Whether catching or DH, I want to see what he has to offer since Grandal is not going to be a long term asset. Moving Moncada to LF seems to weaken two spots. Let Vaughn hold the place in LF until Engel returns and mix and match with Garcia.
The way Collins was hitting, I can’t imagine he doesn’t get at least a shot at DH.
Indeed
I would imagine Grandal gets just as much DH time than anyone else at least early in the season. Has a bad knee. Vaughn is the left fielder. Engel is hurt and on the DL. Hamilton for late defensive replacement and pinch runner. TLR loves to use late inning replacements. Lamb is another part time DH and gets spot starts at third. Moncada was tired last season as a result of COVID. Look for him to get a rest once a week to keep fresh. I doubt Grandal sees more than 90-100 games behind the dish. Lamb can fill in at first too. Made Lucroy expendable.
I’d say he’ll at least be in the mix for DH ABs. More likely they might have him play first occasionally with Vaughn in LF to give Abreu a day at DH
Jerry reinsdorf says, ‘the price is right’.
They would go with Burger, but the cost of the clubhouse food bill, would increase significantly.
@Dogbone
You do realize Burger slimmed down, right? And it’s not like he was 400 lbs and couldn’t reach down to field a grounder or would waddle down to 1B after hitting the ball.
The “joke” might have played a couple years back. You might want to just leave it there next time you entertain the idea of using it.
I’m glad you called this out. He’s lost 40 pounds since last spring. Give the dude credit, he’s in great shape now! On a side note, I can’t imagine how rough it was, being a heavy fella with the last name “Burger.”
Can’t wait for Jake Burger to join Jace Fry on the White Sox roster in the not too distant future.
Additionally, Seth Beer sells hello!
@83sox, you do realize that Burgers ship has sailed. It shows a lot about himself, that it took him this long to get himself in decent shape.
@Dogbone
Well, if you ever see him, make sure you tell him that instead of congratulating him on losing 40 lbs.
I think I just heard Zack Collins scream.
Yep. They don’t seem to be doing anything to make Zack feel welcome.
Let’s pray that Collins isn’t the sacrificial Lamb here.
I wonder what Collins did to p off Hahn (or Jerry).
It looks like they are doing everything they possibly can (short of cutting him) to make sure he doesn’t get a legit chance in MLB.
That was sarcasm BTW–well, unless they are actually going to screw Collins over yet again.
Collins screwed over? For a “prospect” who can’t win a backup catcher job or hit consistently enough to DH everyday, I’d say he’s had more help from the organization than anyone else on the roster.
Ever actually looked at who Lamb hit homers and big hits off against when he was “good” with Oakland?
Seth Frankoff, Bray Lail, Sam Selman, Yoshihisa Hirano.
I guess if you need a hit against a terrible pitcher over the course of 13 late season games, Lamb might be your man? Why not just give a chance to anyone over 27 still at AAA though who hasn’t been tried in MLB?
Who?
The team has zero infield depth, which is why they already signed Tim Beckham.
They don’t have a single infield prospect who has played outside of A ball, and that includes Jake Burger.
Isn’t Beckham suspended? Maybe they should give his cousin Gordon a call.
I like it as a buy low. I’d imagine him and Collins might split duties early on.
Why? He’s terrible. Collins is younger and better.
Collins and Lamb both hit left-handed. What “duties” would they split?
Lamb just might be your 3B by mid June.
@Dogbone
Predicting an injury for Moncada? Stay classy, my friend.
He’d have to be classy first.
Huh?
Smart move. Once Vaughn injures himself playing LF. You can move Collins to LF and play Lamb at DH.
Dear god no. Collins is just as slow and defensively challenged as Vaughn.
If Vaughn doesn’t work out, they just need to deal with the fact that they didn’t find a corner outfield depth piece when they were available, and either hope Eaton and Engel in the corners works, or trade for someone or grab one of the washed-up vets still on the market (Reddick, Cespedes, Kemp).
@max – I’m pretty sure that was a joke from Bryan…
@ Big Hurt
In the wake of the Eloy Jimenez injury, no White Sox fan is in a joking mood.
I’m almost always in a joking mood. It’s how I coped with being a White Sox fan through their long stretch of mediocrity (and other life stresses).
@maximumvelocity
Yes. Zack Collins in LF makes less sense than Andrew Vaughn who at least was prepped at the position starting last summer.
I still wouldn’t give up hope regarding the addition of a veteran corner outfielder in the coming days. There was a ‘rumor’ yesterday that the team is in conversations with both Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig (twitter.com/mikedeportes/status/137586429020533555…). Clearly either along Josh Reddick would need time to ramp up in order to be MLB ready. Lamb is likely a more immediate depth option, hopefully just at their alternate site, after spending all of spring training with the Braves before his weekend release.
Wouldn’t touch Puig until that case is cleared.
Keep in mind, this is the team that hired their manager while knowing he was coming off his end DYI.
@maximumvelocity
I agree about Puig. The press the Sox got was bad enough when TLR was hired. At least that’s blown over (for now, anyway).
Is Collins really that slow? I mean I know he’s a catcher but he’s definitely faster than Abreu or Grandal, and it isn’t painful to watch him run the bases.
He’s not faster that Abreu. Statcast has Abreu coming in a full MPH faster than Collins. Collins speed is middle of the pack . . . for catchers.
Grandal, meanwhile, is the slowest catcher in the league, according to Statcast
Wow really? Just from watching them both run I was sure he was.
I was pointing out that it is crazy to put Vaughn in LF. They are risking injury by playing him out of position.
Instead of constantly playing DHs in LF, they should trade for an actual LF. (They are already gambling on Adam Eaton staying healthy. So, some depth would be useful.)
When Adam Engel comes back in about two weeks, I’m sure he’ll be out there in left. Vaughn in left is just a band-aid until Engel can take over (at least in my hopes). And if Vaughn ends up not being ready for prime time, I would expect he gets sent down in a month, once the minor league season starts. I’m hoping he hits the ground running and is ready for the Bigs immediately, but there’s a lot of flexibility right now.
Waste of time and money. Guy is horrible. Role =
AAA DH
AAA depth. They can’t be dumb enough to send Collins down.
Don’t say that out loud.
That’s the only way I can convince myself
Sure hope not. They have to have learned from the cavalcade of washed up guys like Yonder/EE they have used in lieu of better internal options that have earned a shot.
Hopefully those foul balls off Moncada’s shins aren’t the reason for this signing.
I think they just need someone to play 3rd base at the alternate training site, and as emergency infield depth, to start the season. I’d be shocked if he made the Opening Day roster (or even the 40-Man).
Dumpster Diving…… oh wrong Chicago team, carry on.
The White Sox adding a Lamb just in time for Easter!
You, sir, win Post of the Day!
I can’t imagine this is anything but a depth signing should either experiment fail in LF with Vaughn or at DH with Collins/Mercedes.
In fact, I see it much more as protection for Moncada, or a sign they plan to option Mendick, since Garcia can play up the middle and he can play third.
In fact, if that is what they plan to do – replace Mendick with Lamb – I think it’s pretty smart, since Mendick pretty much looks like a AAAA player, while Lamb in theory has upside based on the end of his season last year.
I concur. The White Sox also open up the season this week with 7 consecutive road games on the West Coast. They will have a traveling taxi squad of up to 5 players from their alternate site pool accompanying them. I believe there is an excellent chance that both Danny Mendick and Jake Lamb will be on that squad provided both Andrew Vaughn and Zack Collins make the opening day roster as expected. In this event and also assuming veteran Jonathan Lucroy breaks with the team as the #2 catcher, versatile Leury Garcia would be the White Sox only depth piece in the infield.
Garcia also figures to get reps in the outfield until Adam Engel returns and would be the likely defensive replacement in LF for Vaughn when the White Sox are protecting a late lead. It should also be noted that Garcia was a late scratch from Saturday’s Cactus League game with general right shoulder soreness, so there is that concern as well.
Update:
1-Jonathan Lucroy has since been given his release after being informed that he was not going to be on the opening day roster. This cements Zack Collins into the #2 backup catcher role in addition to his likely PA’s in a DH platoon assuming Andrew Vaughn is the primary LF option.
2-Leury Garcia is in the starting lineup at 2B for Tuesday’s final Cactus League game indicating he is good to go for opening day as the team’s most versatile bench player. This, along with Jake Lamb’s official signing negatively impacts Danny Mendick’s chance of making the opening day active roster. Mendick has options remaining and will likely be a part of the traveling taxi squad to open the season.
3-NRI OF Billy Hamilton is also likely making the 26-man active roster which allows Garcia to be the White Sox primary infield reserve at 2B and SS. Hamilton figures to be the main late game OF defensive replacement for Vaughn along with being their go-to pinch runner late in close games. With Lamb now confirmed to be on the opening day roster, he becomes the main backup at 3B, an additional one at 1B as well as getting some PA’s as a DH when Collins starts a game at catcher.
4-The release of Lucroy also opens up a potential roster spot for slugger Yermin Mercedes as the White Sox #3 catcher and puts him in line to get some DH PA’s when a lefty starts and when Vaughn is also in the lineup in LF.
@maximumvelocity
Very good point. I can definitely see that happen, and it is a smart move if Mendick gets optioned.
Sorry – if he takes a roster spot this is a terrible signing in my opinion. If they want him for depth and he is willing to take a AAA assignment, fine. The current roster has guys who can play 3rd (Moncada of course, but also Mendick and Garcia), 1st (Abreu and pretty much every other player) and DH (even if Vaughn is in left, Collins or Mercedes will be better than Lamb). We’ll see, but right now makes no sense to me.
I’d agree if Eloy were still on the roster.
It’s a moonshot, but Lamb has been an above average hitter who drives in runs in the past, and he rebounded a bit last season.
Mendick is a utility guy with options who isn’t even the first option at SS or 2B in terms of depth. It’s a low-risk, high-reward play.
I’d give Lamb a shot to see if he can contribute. If not, cut him and call Mendick back up (unless Garcia gets hurt, which means he will be on the roster anyway.).
And to be clear – the primary DH duty should go to Collins, with Lamb getting at bats when Collins catches or when Moncada or Abreu need a break.
Collins will see a lot of time behind the dish. Grandal has a bad knee. He will DH half the time for the first few months. Lamb brought in to cover the infield corners probably seeing an occasional start at first or third to rest Jose or Yoan. Also as a possible DH against certain pitchers. Unfortunately Vaughn is pressed into left field service with Garcia seeing a little time there too. Hamilton the 26th man for defensive replacement for Vaughn and pinch runner. A true TLR bench man.
Good to read fans that love their team and follow every move.
I saw Lamb play some with the Braves this Spring.
My guess is that La Russa is doing an old friend an favor, and the Sox FO went along as they really had no one they liked better to fill that spot on the roster. If Lamb surprises with the bat, they’ll fit him in somewhere. If not, they have a roster spot they can use if a guy that fits their needs becomes available.
The Indians did a similar thing with Billy Hamilton this Spring. Brought him to camp. When it was obvious they had other OF’s with similar production capabilities, they cut him early to give him an opportunity to latch onto another team. That’s how the White Sox got him.
Teams do this sort of thing a lot in MLB. It seldom works out, but the team acquires some goodwill with players and agents that may help them in the future with a free agent.
Pretty weird that a team willing/needing to give Hamilton a chance in ST let that Ka’ai Tom kid leave.
Rummaging Rubble Rick…
I don’t really get this move. What does Lamb add unless Moncada gets hurt? Even if he does, I’d rather Leury get most of the starts. If the Sox were going to make a move that required a 40-man slot, they should’ve signed the elder Cespedes.
It’s definitely depth behind Moncada as they see how he does early in the season after his crazy 2020. But it is a bit weird since Lamb swings the bat from the left, which is Moncada’s good side.
Every time I saw Jake Lamb play, he seemed like he was not putting out his best effort. I’m not a fan of that.
If the player still needs to clear waivers, why would they be allowed to sign with another team. Doesn’t that follow the same guideline as not negotiating with other teams until a contract is terminated?
Lamb hasn’t been relevant for several years. I don’t think this puts any pressure on anyone slated to make the roster.
One of the few known photos of Jake Lamb hitting a ball.
Here is the sad thing, though.
Jake Lamb’s OPS+ outpaced the primary DH production from the White Sox in five of the past six years, and that includes 2020 and 2019.
So really, by White Sox standards, he’s not as bad as what we have seen.
Good for Lamb. Losing a roster spot to Pablo Sandoval at this stage in his career could have been devastating, but he picked himself up and got right back on the horse.
Vaughn is likely ticketed for LF duty as the only other options are Billy Hamilton and Leury Garcia so I would expect to see Lamb DH quite a bit against right handers if he’s on the ML roster
The slowest outfielder/catcher in baseball is Schwarber. He has to dive for everything. Vaughn will be more than adequate out there.
Fills a big need. Great signing for his positional versatility alone. White Sox coaches probably will be unable to unlock his swing to really boost his wRC+. Keep up the good work Kenny & Rick.
The slowest outfielder/catcher in baseball is Schwarber. He has to dive for everything. Vaughn will be more than adequate out there.
Calm down everybody. I love reading all your posts, and Aaron you are the sage here. But this move is organizational depth. Nothing more. Just my opinion of course. It is mind boggling we don’t have any minor league outfielders ready for a peek.
I see the Nik Turley project lasted all of a week.
Maybe he will clear waivers, but the fact there was an opening (via Lopez demotion) to take advantage of, and he would’ve been a good fit as the 3rd lefty in the pen, it’s not a real good sign for Turley. Then again, if he clears waivers, it probably tells you what the other teams think of him.
Last arm in the pen.
Incredibly successful teams have turnover there, because it’s typically an extremely flawed player who only gets into games when they no longer matter.
I suspect that spot will rotate four or five times due to injury or performance no matter how well the team plays. Even the best bullpens in history likely have someone they don’t remember.
Yes, last arm in the ‘pen I can see being Ruiz or Paulino to start, then just keep rotating in whoever is doing well in the minors. Once Fry gets back mid-season he’ll likely lock it down. This bullpen is fierce!
@brushbackmlb
Yes, Fry should easily slide into the last reliever spot when he comes back. The only way he doesn’t easily slide back in is if there are no further injuries in the pen, the other 7 guys live up to their billing, and Lopez suddenly figures it out.
I suppose all that is possible, but I don’t see it happening.
@maximumvelocity
Absolutely you’re right. Well said.
I’m very surprised than Lamb got a major league deal out of the gate. If he had more defensive versatility, I could see him as a replacement for Mendick on the bench — Lamb’s offense hasn’t been any better than Mendick’s over the past couple of seasons, but he offers some upside. But Mendick’s ability to cover 2B/SS, in addition to 3B, is more valuable to me than some potential offensive upside from Lamb.
And they probably plan on giving Moncada regular days off, at least early in the season as he builds up his endurance after last season, and Lamb can fill in at 3B. With Abreu, Vaughn, Grandal, and Collins all capable of playing 1B, they don’t need Lamb there.
This might mean that the Sox plan on using Leury Garcia frequently in LF, so they wanted another IF bench piece. Or they are committed to Vaughn in LF (along with Engel when he returns), with Leury primarily serving as the middle infield back-up instead of Mendick.
So I’m curious if the DH/bench will be:
(1) Collins, Hamilton/Williams/Engel, Garcia, Lamb, Mercedes;
(2) Collins, Hamilton/Williams/Engel, Garcia, Lamb, Mendick;
(3) Collins, Hamilton/Williams/Engel, Garcia, Mendick, Mercedes;
(4) Collins, Hamilton/Williams/Engle, Garcia, Mercedes, Yolmer Sanchez (who is available again).
At this point, Leury is on the roster because you can literally plug him in anywhere you need to. You don’t need a specific plan for a guy like that, you’re just happy to have him around and you’re glad he’s not a Mendoza line automatic out like so many bench players.
Mendick is a AAAA utility player. He can field, but doesn’t hit much and is RH.
Garcia can play SS just fine, but may not need to do so often, because Anderson really doesn’t take breaks unless he is injured. If Madrigal is good to go, I don’t see Garcia playing much at 2B either.
Lamb, meanwhile, plays a position where the incumbent may need plenty of breaks if he is a COVID longhauler, or simply because Moncada gets nicked up a lot.
Plus, Lamb can potentially be an option at DH, if Collins and Mercedes struggle. Not a good one mind you, but he hit well at end of season last year, and he has power upside unlike Mendick.
I don’ t think any of these moves would have been made BTW if Eloy is healthy, but they need to throw as many options at DH and LF as possible to try and make up for the likely loss of 100 RBIs.
Collins should be in the minors on opening day, and traded by the deadline to a team looking for depth a C. With Abreu, Eloy and Vaughn on the team, Collins is useless to the Sox.
Eloy is hurt, maybe you’ve heard.
@ChiSoxCity
Who do you suggest they put as the backup C? Sure you could put Mercedes as the backup C, but the only way Collins gets any kind of trade value is by playing him at the MLB level and hope he does well. A 26 y.o. (mostly) career minor leaguer won’t fetch much of a return. A 26 y.o. MLB C with some promise will fetch far more of a return.
Not only if Yoan gets nicked up a bit, but maybe if Yoan doesn’t ever develop into anything worthwhile. So far, what has he proven?
2019: BA315, OBP367, SLG548,OPS915;
HR25, RBI79
2020 suffered from co-vid all year
@Dogbone
LOL, you walked right into that one.
Nicely done, gogosox59!
Assuming the teams goes with 13 pitchers and that Andrew Vaughn opens as their primary LF, we know who the 8 regular starting players will be. That leaves 5 bench roles. Clearly Zack Collins will be one as the #2 catcher and part-time DH. It’s also obvious that Jake Lamb will be a reserve at 3B, 1B and also get some DH PA’s. Leury Garcia is healthy enough to start at 2B in today’s Cactus League finale so he is a lock as the team’s most versatile bench player, one who could play every INF and OF position. He will also be the primary backup for Nick Madrigal at 2B, Tim Anderson at SS and perhaps for Vaughn in LF as well.
All this leaves two roster spots available for one of NRI OF’s Billy Hamilton or Nick Williams, C/DH Yermin Mercedes or INF Danny Mendick. The last two are already on the White Sox 40-man reserve roster and have options remaining. My best guess is that one will be optioned out and that the loser will definitely accompany the team on their opening West Coast trip as part of the White Sox traveling taxi squad.
This leaves NRI OF’s Hamilton and Williams fighting for the last reserve OF spot on the active roster. Do the White Sox roll with the left-handed hitting Williams to start in LF when Vaughn DH’s or do they keep Hamilton as their primary late game OF defensive replacement and go-to pinch-runner late in close games. I’d wager on Hamilton despite the fact that Garcia could fill both roles. If the White Sox feel strongly and safe enough about Garcia to handle all of his responsibilities this might give Mercedes a leg-up over Mendick as a #3 catching option and one who could be their primary right-handed hitting DH option.
Adam Engel is a lock once he returns from the IL later in April so you’re safe with him among the bench choices. Collins, Garcia and Lamb are also bench locks for opening day. Neither of us see any scenario short of an injury where both Hamilton and Williams make the opening roster. Mendick is out with both Garcia and Lamb as INF depth. So I’ll pick your (1) option that has Mercedes over Mendick and also guess that Hamilton beats out Williams.
With all that said, watch the White Sox re-sign Yolmer Sanchez yet again and make my long post worthless. lol
@ AaronSapoznik If the WS sign Yoenis Céspedes can he opt out of 2021 and take his 6 million AGAIN and not play? Thanks
Absolutely agree. And if we really needed to go outside the organization to pick up another infield bench glove, why not re-re-re-get Yolmer Sanchez. I’m not saying the guy’s a beast, but you know what you’re getting with him and he’s a fun fit on the current team. If nothing else, Yolmer > Lamb.
Larussa’s liquor cabinet will be empty if Lamb plays any extended period of time.
Rummaging Rubble Rick.
I thought it was supposed to be Landfill Diving Rick, due to the number of times he went dumpster diving over the years.
I think Jake Lamb is 100% about whether or not he is truly healthy. he seriously jacked up his shoulder twice and was never the same because he could never get 100% healthy… then there’s the question of whether he can re-find the hitting stroke he had when he put up a 30 home run season.. great kid, I hope he makes it…
Yolmer Sanchez is available. Baltimore release him. He won a gold glove with WS at second base. Also he been injury free for his career. He can also play 3b and ss..