Jake Lamb Optioned Down as Chess Move by Phil Nevin

Your Los Angeles Angels are on the road taking on AL Central opponent Cleveland Guardians and will stay on the east coast till mid-week. Before their first of three against the Guardians, the Angels made some moves bringing up outfielder Mickey Moniak from Triple-A and optioning veteran Jake Lamb. 

The Halos had the option to move Lamb within the first 45 days of the season due to his contract, and they ended up making the move on day 43. Angels manager Phil Nevin spoke to OC Register's Brian Dulik and said it wasn't easy to move Jake. 

“That was a tough one because he’s a good leader and a complete pro,” Nevin said. “He had a big home run in Milwaukee (on April 30) and helped us win games. He has some options, so I’m going to check in with him in a little bit.”

Lamb is coming off some not-so-good stretch of baseball. In his last seven games, he slashed .167/.167/.500 with a .667 OPS. The reason his slugging is so high is due to the two homers he had in that span, but he only had three hits. 

The 32-year-old has bounced from team to team after six seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Since 2020, he's been with six teams and has been traded in each of the past three seasons. It's been a struggle for Lamb, and hopefully, this move to the minors helps him out. 

The lefty hitter has spent his fair share of time in the minor leagues, as he's played in 339 games, slashing .307/.398/.538, 56 home runs, and 260 RBIs. We'll see how long his time in the minors could be.