The Braves will sign third baseman Jake Lamb to upgrade their bench, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution confirmed Sunday. It is reportedly a major-league deal, pending a physical.
Lamb, 30, spent 2014-20 with the Diamondbacks before joining the A’s last September. He hit .193/.283/.352 with three homers and 10 RBIs in 31 games last season. Those numbers were greatly helped by his time in Oakland, when he slashed .267/.327/.556 with three homers and nine RBIs in just 13 games.
Lamb has been derailed by injuries in recent seasons, but he was an All-Star in 2017 and hit 59 homers across the 2016-17 seasons with the Diamondbacks. The left-handed hitter gives the Braves much-needed bench power and yet another individual with a track record.
Much has been made of the Braves’ bench situation, which features a competition mostly of versatile veterans. Johan Camargo, Pablo Sandoval, Jack Mayfield, Travis Demeritte and Abraham Almonte are among others fighting for roles.
Lamb leapfrogs to the top of that intriguing list. He played well in his brief stint with the contending A’s, and if that’s a sign of what’s to come, the Braves will have drastically upgraded their bench when he arrives at camp.
The Braves haven’t announced the move, but they outrighted Demeritte to Triple-A Sunday afternoon, opening a spot on the 40-man roster.
MLB.com was first to report the Braves had an agreement with Lamb.
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