The last time Jason Lane appeared in a major league game was October 1, 2007, as a backup outfielder for the Padres. Now he’s back in San Diego, almost seven years later, as a lefty reliever …
The #Padres recall RHP Jesse Hahn, select LHP @Jasonlane16, place Eric Stults on bereavement list & option RHP Donn Roach to @epchihuahuas
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 3, 2014
The 37-year-old had a 4.36 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 28/14 K/BB ratio in 64 innings at Triple-A El Paso, so this might not be a very long stay. But it’s quite an accomplishment that he was able to make the conversion at all, and that it took him nearly seven whole years to pull it off makes the story all the more intriguing.
Lane posted an .815 OPS, 26 homers, and 78 RBI in 145 games for the 2005 Astros team that advanced to the World Series. But his numbers fell off significantly in 2006 and then completely cratered in 2007.