The Texas Rangers will look for low-cost help this offseason, like Jake Lamb.
This last potential free agent target isn’t a sexy name and certainly won’t move the needle, but that isn’t going to be the case with any free agents Texas brings in.
With a need at first base/DH, Jake Lamb could be someone the Rangers target.
In 2016 and 2017, Lamb played in a total of 300 games, hitting 59 home runs, 61 doubles, 13 triples, and was worth just under 5.0 fWAR with the Diamondbacks. It’s been a steady decline ever since, including his 2020 campaign in Arizona where Lamb hit .116 with a 34% strikeout rate, a wRC+ of 15 and a -0.5 fWAR in 18 games.
Lamb saved his 2020 season with a solid 13 game stretch in Oakland to close out the year, replacing the injured Matt Chapman. He hit.267 with an .882 OPS and three home runs in those 13 games, showing that there may be a bit more left in the bat for Lamb.
He won’t return to his 2017 All-Star form but he can be a cheap option for Texas to help fill in at both corner infield spots and at DH. If the lefty can get on base at a respectable clip and showcase his home run power across half a season, perhaps he fetches some sort of trade value at next year’s deadline.
With a farm system that MLB Pipeline ranks 24th, anyway in which the Rangers can add talent to the pipeline is a positive.
It may not be the most exciting offseason for the Texas Rangers, but there is a core group of young players ready to shine in Texas. It’s just going to take some time to fill in the rest.