Well-liked former SF Giants player's career in jeopardy after latest release

Former SF Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. has had a rough go of it this season. He struggled mightily with the Giants and was DFA’d before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels. Things did not go any better there, so he is now searching for a new home.

The Angels decided to release Wade over the weekend after a rough stint with the Angels. It is a shame to see Wade struggle like this because just last year he was a solid player for the Giants. In 2024 he slashed .260/.380/.381 and had a reputation as a guy with a great eye who would get on base with regularity.

Former SF Giants player's career in trouble after being released

That success just has not transferred to 2025. With the Giants he was simply never able to get going at the plate. The team gave him lots of opportunities to try and work through his prolonged slump, but when the team started to go south, they could no longer justify him having a spot on the roster.

After designating him for assignment, the Giants and Angels worked out a trade for him which was the first trade struck between the brothers Minasian, Zack being the GM of the Giants and Perry being the GM of the Angels. 

The hope was a change of scenery could get Wade back on track but that simply did not happen. In 30 games with Los Angeles he slashed .169/.260/.215 with one home run and three runs batted in. It is not a huge shock that the Angels decided to move on. 

Now Wade is in a tough position. He has struggled mightily with two different teams this year so it is doubtful that a lot of teams are going to be lining up to sign him. He may have to accept some sort of minor league contract with a team if he wants to keep his career going.

He’s set to be a free agent following this year, but it is doubtful that any team would be willing to give him a major league contract with how he has performed this year.

Wade is still just 31 so his career is not over by any stretch. Maybe this is just one weird anomaly of a year and next year he will get a non-roster invite to spring training and will absolutely rake for a team and get his career back on track.

Wade was a very good Giant so let’s hope he does figure things out and can get back to being the Wade we saw for all those years in San Francisco. 

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