2022 Dodgers in review: Jake Lamb

A former all-star made his return to the National League West in 2022, this time for the Los Angeles Dodgers after spending seven seasons as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Jake Lamb grew up in Seattle and stayed home to play his collegiate baseball at the University of Washington. At UW, Lamb was named All-Conference and earned himself a sixth round selection by the Diamondbacks in the 2012 MLB Draft. Lamb would fly through their system, making his MLB debut just two years later.

Lamb broke out in 2017, earning his only all-star appearance and finishing the year with 30 home runs and 105 RBI. From that point forward, health got the best of Lamb and his career in Arizona was never the same. He was released in 2020.

He has bounced around the league since, making stops with the A’s, Braves, White Sox and Blue Jays before ultimately signing a minor league contract with the Dodgers on March 14, 2022.

After spending Spring Training with the major league club, Lamb was assigned to AAA Oklahoma City to begin the year, and he impressed. In 61 games with OKC, the veteran left-handed hitter hit .290, slugging 15 home runs in the process. It was only a matter of time before the Dodgers gave him a shot at the big league level. That shot came on June 28, when Zach McKinstry hit the injured list. In a corresponding move, the Dodgers called up Lamb to be a left-handed bench bat and occasional DH.

Lamb would make his Dodger debut as a pinch hitter on June 28, striking out in his only appearance, but would start every game for the next week. Over that span, Lamb hit .278 with a 1.213 OPS. Lamb’s first home run as a Dodger came off of old friend Chris Martin, whom at the time was a member of the Chicago Cubs. Lamb would leave the yard again the following night. He would not homer again in his remaining seventeen games as a Dodger.

I will be the first person to admit, I was not a happy camper when the Dodgers traded Lamb at the deadline. Despite the lack of power numbers that the organization was anticipating when Lamb was called up to the majors, he was delivering consistent, quality at bats from the left-handed side of the plate. Clearly, Andrew Friedman was not satisfied with the performance and decided to take a flier on another struggling left handed bat.

On August 2, the MLB Trade Deadline, the Dodgers essentially traded Jake Lamb for Joey Gallo. In two separate deals, the Dodgers traded Lamb to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for cash considerations and acquired Gallo from the Yankees to fill the “left-handed power bench bat” role that had previously been filled by Lamb.

As previously stated, Lamb grew up in Seattle, playing both his high school and collegiate baseball there. The hometown kid was going home! Unfortunately, Lamb really struggled in the northwest. In sixteen games with Seattle, Lamb slashed .167/.265/.300 with fourteen strikeouts in a total of thirty-four at bats.

In the midst of a tight playoff race, the Mariners decided to cut ties with Lamb, designating him for assignment on September 21 and ultimately releasing him on September 24. He remains a free agent.

2022 particulars

Age: 32

Stats: .239/.338/.433, 2 HR, 4 RBI (25 games with LA), .167/.265/.300, 1 HR, 2 RBI (16 games with SEA)

Salary: Unknown

Game of the year

Despite only playing in 25 games with the Dodgers, Lamb was able to put his stamp on the historic Dodgers/Giants rivalry.

Lamb started the game in the clean-up spot as the designated hitter. After doubling and later scoring to tie the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning, Lamb came to the plate in the seventh with the game tied at 4-4.

The lefty shot his second double of the game into the right field corner, recording his second extra base hit of the game. Freddie Freeman scored on the double, giving the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. They’d go on to win 7-4. This game was Lamb’s first multi-hit game as a Dodger and his only multi-extra base hit game in LA.

Roster status

Lamb is currently a free agent.