Atlanta Braves 3B: Top 10 Trade Targets to Track in 2020
By Seth Carter
2. Jake Lamb
Jake Lamb hasn’t done much since 2017. In 2018 he suffered a rotator cuff injury that required surgery. In April of 2019, Lamb suffered a quad injury.
By the time he returned, Eduardo Escobar had solidified himself as a top player at third, and Christian Walker broke out at first base for the Diamondbacks.
After Paul Goldschmidt packed up for St. Louis, the notion was that Lamb would take over at first. Injuries kept him out of the fray for too long.
Now there appears to be little room for the former slugger. If he’s healthy, he could be a nice addition to another team if the Diamondbacks are willing to part with him.
Prior to the 40-man roster deadline, Lamb was a name floated about as a potential candidate to be non-tendered.
With surprising performances from Ketel Marte as an MVP candidate, Carson Kelly and Christian Walker, the Diamondbacks (surprisingly) found themselves in contention for a wild card when most thought they’d be in rebuild mode.
This offseason they pushed their chips in and signed Madison Bumgarner and traded for Starling Marte.
Having a proven slugger like Lamb as a bench player that can play both corner infield spots is a wonderful luxury for a playoff team.
This would have to be a deadline deal. It’s unlikely that the D-backs keep pace with the juggernaut Dodgers, but a wild card spot is within reach.
The big question is the rotation beyond Bumgarner… or you could even question Bumgarner.
With a couple of unfortunate breaks for the Diamondbacks, a healthy Jake Lamb could be a trade-deadline target for the Braves. Between 2016-2017 Lamb posted a .843 OPS with 59 homers and 196 RBI.