ORLANDO — Third baseman Jake Lamb announced his retirement from baseball last week and will jump immediately into a coaching/front office role with the Diamondbacks.
Lamb will work with position players in the minors and majors with an emphasis on the mental side of the game, general manager Mike Hazen said.
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“I think he’ll do the majority of his work in player development, but he’ll definitely touch the major leagues at points in time,” Hazen said. “He’ll be mostly working with younger position players on the mental side of things, from a process standpoint, a routine standpoint, I think he’s very passionate about approach from offensive standpoint, and then infield, like, prepping to be major league infielder-type stuff.”
Arizona Diamondbacks Jake Lamb prepares to bat against the Milwaukee Brewers in the second inning at Chase Field on July 18, 2019 in Phoenix, Ariz.
Lamb, 35, played parts of 10 seasons in the majors, the first seven of which came with the Diamondbacks, who drafted him out of the University of Washington in 2012.
Lamb also played in the majors with six other clubs, most recently with the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. He played the past two seasons in Triple-A, including last season in the Giants’ organization.
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Lamb went through the gamut of experiences as a player, going from a well-regarded prospect to an All-Star before having to fight through injuries and struggles to get back to the majors. The Diamondbacks believe all that will give him valuable perspective as he works with younger players.
“He doesn’t know exactly what he wants to do yet,” Hazen said, “but he wants to get back in (the game), wants to get started, and we love the guy.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Jake Lamb retires, will rejoin Diamondbacks as coach