D-backs’ Lamb to undergo surgery, expected to miss rest of season

Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb will undergo surgery to repair fraying in the rotator cuff of his left shoulder and is expected to miss the rest of the 2018 season.

D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said Tuesday night that Lamb was mulling having the surgery and missing the remainder of the season, or deciding to rehab with the hope of returning to play before the season ends.

He injured his shoulder July 26 against the Chicago Cubs.

Lamb originally missed time early in the season when he injured the AC joint in his left shoulder diving into home plate on April 2 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lamb was out for the next two months and returned on May 18 against the New York Mets after missing 40 games.

Daniel Descalso and Deven Marrero each filled in at third base when Lamb was out originally.

The 27-year-old has underperformed in 2018, after back-to-back strong offensive seasons in 2016-17. He’s only hitting .222/.307/.348 this season, well below his career averages of .247/.332/.448.

Lamb’s power outage in 2018 has been one of the more surprising revelations of the season. He’s hit a combined 59 home runs the last two years and has only hit six this season while only slugging .348.

Newly acquired Eduardo Escobar is expected to become the everyday third baseman in Lamb’s absence.