The Angels and Giants swung a commerce this night, as San Francisco despatched first baseman and outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to Anaheim in trade for a participant to be named later or money. The Giants are sending money to Anaheim as a part of the deal alongside Wade. The Angels designated right-hander Michael Darrell-Hicks for task to make room for Wade on the 40-man roster.
Wade, 31, was designated for task by San Francisco final week. A ninth-round decide by Minnesota again in 2015, he appeared in 42 video games for the Twins throughout the 2019 and 2020 seasons earlier than being dealt to the Giants previous to the 2021 marketing campaign. Wade instantly turned a fixture of the Giants lineup, slashing .253/.326/.482 in 109 video games for San Francisco in his first yr with the membership. Accidents restricted him to simply 77 video games in 2022, however he bounced again in 2023 and ’24 to slash a mixed .258/.376/.401 (120 wRC+) in 252 video games for the Giants the place he primarily performed first base but in addition obtained occasional seems to be within the outfield corners and at DH.
In his remaining yr forward of free company, Wade appeared more likely to as soon as once more function a stable left-handed bat for the Giants who might be trusted to carry issues down at first base whereas the membership waited for the arrival of prime prospect Bryce Eldridge. Sadly, that’s not how issues performed out. Wade did not hit a lot in any respect in 50 video games for the Giants this season, posting a putrid .167/.275/.271 slash line (59 wRC+). A minimum of a few of these struggles could be attributed to poor fortune on batted balls, as Wade’s .211 BABIP is down almost 90 factors comparatively to what it had been throughout his earlier 4 seasons with the Giants. With that being mentioned, Wade was hitting for much less energy than ever earlier than in his profession, and even his .287 xwOBA was nicely beneath common. With San Francisco within the thick of the Wild Card race this yr, they couldn’t justify persevering with to attend round for Wade to get proper and pulled the plug on him final week with a purpose to deliver veteran first baseman Dominic Smith into the fold.
For the Angels, the addition of Wade is an fascinating one. The membership already has a left-handed first baseman entrenched in an on a regular basis job with Nolan Schanuel, who has carried out fairly nicely for himself with a 119 wRC+ in his age-23 season to date. Notably, Anaheim’s announcement of the transfer referred to Wade as an outfielder, hinting that he may primarily discover use within the nook outfield combine for the Halos going ahead. That may be a wise use for the veteran, provided that the membership’s present outfield group of Jorge Soler, Taylor Ward, Jo Adell, and Mike Trout hit completely from the suitable facet. Wade may function a lefty complement to Ward in left discipline and Soler at DH as soon as Trout resumes enjoying proper discipline frequently. Within the quick time period, Wade also can present the Angels with some extra protection within the outfield within the occasion that Soler wants to move to the injured listing as a consequence of a nagging groin challenge he’s been fighting in latest days.
Wade has at all times been greatest fitted to a platoon function, as he’s a profession .193/.288/.250 hitter towards fellow lefties and has not collected successful towards a left-handed pitcher this yr. Even the membership’s depth and bench outfield choices like Chris Taylor, Matthew Lugo, and Scott Kingery bat right-handed, which ought to give Wade a distinct segment on the membership’s roster. That needs to be a reasonably protected surroundings for Wade to try to bounce again, as he could be kind of utterly platoon protected. It stays to be seen if Wade can resume producing sufficient energy to get his manufacturing wherever near the 115 wRC+ he posted with the Giants from 2021-24, however one encouraging signal is that his strikeout (20.9%) and stroll (12.7%) charges from that timeframe are virtually an identical to his 20.7% strikeout price and 12.4% stroll price this yr.
That means that his abilities haven’t regressed a minimum of from a self-discipline perspective, and even when his energy doesn’t bounce again it’s not inconceivable to think about Wade being a roughly league common bat towards righties going ahead. That’s sufficient to make him a helpful bench piece for a workforce with a closely right-handed lineup like Anaheim, and so they clearly although bringing him into the fold was price absorbing a minimum of a portion of $5MM wage Wade is making this yr. It’s not but clear precisely how a lot money the Giants despatched to Anaheim to offset that monetary blow, however shedding even a portion of the primary baseman’s wage is a win for San Francisco provided that Wade would’ve been capable of elect free company and go away them on the hook for the total deal had he cleared waivers.
Departing the Angels’ roster to make room for Wade is Darrell-Hicks. The 27-year-old made his massive league debut with Anaheim earlier this yr and made six appearances, the place he surrendered eight runs on ten hits whereas strolling 4 and putting out six in 7 2/3 innings of labor. That lackluster efficiency is pretty consultant of his work at Triple-A Salt Lake this yr as nicely, the place he has an 8.87 ERA in 22 1/3 frames. That mentioned, he’s only one season faraway from posting a dominant season break up between Double- and Triple-A, with a 2.60 ERA in 62 1/3 innings of labor throughout 40 appearances. The Angels could have one week to both work out a commerce involving Darrell-Hicks or else place him on waivers. If he passes by means of waivers unclaimed, Anaheim could have the choice to outright him to the minor leagues as non-roster depth for the rest of the yr.
