Cincinnati Reds trade John Lamb to Tampa Bay Rays

According to Zach Links of MLB Trade Rumors, the Cincinnati Reds have “traded” left handed pitcher John Lamb to the Tampa Bay Rays for an unknown sum of our old friend cash. Jon Heyman had that it was for cash.

I’m told John Lamb has been traded from #Reds to #Rays @mlbtraderumors

— Zach Links (@ZachLinks) November 2, 2016

lhp john lamb was traded from reds to rays for $ @ZachLinks on it.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 2, 2016

Aside from the fact that nothing that Heyman tweeted is capitalized and that it drives me insane to see that from someone who isn’t a teenager, it’s an interesting move.

UPDATE: C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer says that the Rays put in a claim on Lamb.

put him on waivers last week. rays claimed. worked out a deal https://t.co/griv76dUBm

— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) November 2, 2016

John Lamb is out of options, but was also outrighted to the minor leagues last week. That means he’s able to play next season in the minor leagues and can get plenty of action there if needed. Of course, John Lamb is also going to be recovering from back surgery, his second in as many years, and won’t be ready to begin the 2017 season on time. How long he will be out isn’t known either. The Rays probably aren’t planning on him in the first half of 2017, but could be looking at having him ready to go in the second half even if it’s in the minor leagues. It will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay plans to use him moving forward when it comes to the whole starter/reliever aspect. I’d imagine that they will look to him in the bullpen where his stuff may play up a little bit better than it does out of the rotation.

Here are John Lamb’s stats last year, though given what we know about his back, who knows how healthy he was throughout the season: