Dodgers to select veteran infielder Jake Lamb

The Los Angeles Dodgers are planning to select Jake Lamb onto the major league roster, manager Dave Roberts announced via Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic. 

The veteran infielder would’ve soon been able to opt out of his minor league contract had he not been added to the 40-man roster. Utilityman Zach McKinstry is headed to the 10-day injured list with neck soreness in a corresponding move. Los Angeles had a 40-man roster vacancy after designating Stefen Romero for assignment last week.

Whenever he gets into a game, it’ll be the ninth consecutive year of big league action for Lamb. A longtime division rival as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, he’s also suited up with the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays over the past few seasons. Lamb had a couple nice seasons early in his Arizona tenure, including a 2017 campaign that earned him an All-Star nod. Since suffering a shoulder injury that eventually necessitated surgery, the University of Washington product has been up-and-down offensively.

Lamb owns a .203/.308/.355 line in more than 700 MLB plate appearances dating back to the start of the 2018 season. He’s walked at a 12% rate over that stretch, but he’s punched out in almost 27% of his trips to the plate and not maintained the same kind of power he showed at his peak. It was a similar story last year, as Lamb hit .194/.306/.368 in 55 games between Chicago and Toronto.

The Dodgers signed Lamb to a minor league contract over the offseason. The 31-year-old has spent the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, earning his way back to the big leagues with a strong performance. Lamb has a .290/.395/.537 mark with 15 home runs over 276 plate appearances for OKC. He’s continued to demonstrate the high-walk, high-strikeout form he’s shown in the majors of late, but Lamb has had a power resurgence in the minors. In addition to the 15 round-trippers, he’s collected 12 doubles and posted a .247 ISO (slugging percentage minus batting average).