Mike

Lamb

This was already obvious, but Garner has confirmed it and told Ensberg he was now the backup. Lamb is hitting .319 (23-for-72) with 16 RBI since taking over for Ensberg in the fourth inning Aug. 27.

“I feel I owe him some at-bats so he can impress somebody,” Joe Torre said.

This means somebody is going to be added. No word on who it is.

Neither team has yet to comment on the deal. If the report is true, there’s a new favorite to start at third base for the Yankees. Lamb would combine with Derek Jeter to be the worst defensive left side of the infield in baseball, but he’ll probably be solid offensively if given an extended chance. In Garcia, the Rangers would get get a 22-year-old right-hander with pretty good control of average stuff. He doesn’t currently project as a starting pitcher in the majors.

Lamb is headed home to attend the funeral of an uncle who recently passed away.

Lamb did have four homers and 14 RBI in 51 at-bats last month, but he’s back struggling now and the Astros weaken their defense each time they put him in the lineup. There’s really no excuse for Lane not to be in there each night.

Even though it downgrades the defense every time he plays, Lamb is getting quite a few more at-bats of late. He likely will have to obviously outproduce Jason Lane and Chris Burke in order to stay in the lineup. Lamb is a worse first baseman than Lance Berkman and Berkman is a weaker option in right than the Astros’ alternatives.

Lamb is hitting well in limited action this season by going 21-for-61 with three homers. Since he’s hitting well and Chris Burke is back from the DL, corner outfielders Jason Lane and Preston Wilson could get squeezed for playing time if they don’t start contributing more. Lamb would be worth a claim if he got into some sort of platoon or a starting role, but NL-only leaguers should leave him on the wire for now.

Lamb doesn’t have any defensive value and he’s rarely allowed to face left-handers, so if he’s not hitting righties, he’s not helping the Astros. Unless he can come out of this slump soon, the Astros might start giving Morgan Ensberg a lot of his playing time.

Lamb didn’t have a great June (.284/.330/.455 with 10 RBI in 88 at-bats), but the Astros have started playing him regularly against right-handers anyway and he’s already had two big games this month. Willy Taveras and Jason Lane will continue to see fewer at-bats while Lamb plays.