LaMonte Wade Jr. Landing Spots: 3 potential destinations for veteran slugger after being DFA'd by Giants

Having picked up a hamstring injury in May 2024, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. has struggled to get back to his former levels of production. Missing a major chunk of last season, Wade has played 50 games for the San Francisco Giants this year.

However, batting only .167 with one home run and 15 RBIs, his output at the plate has been quite substandard. As a result, the Giants announced on Wednesday that they were designating the first baseman for assignment.

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With Wade now effectively off the Giants roster, he is free to make a move to any other franchise that is interested in securing his services. Let's take a look at the teams that could do nicely with the veteran's addition.

3 potential landing spots for LaMonte Wade Jr.

#3 Seattle Mariners

Currently second in the AL West, the Mariners are again battling the Houston Astros for a playoff spot this season. As a result, they could do it with some added depth at first base.

Also, with Rowdy Tellez playing day in, day out as their regular first baseman, it is not outside the realm of possibility that LaMonte Wade Jr. might be able to make the spot his own in the near future, if he manages to improve his production at the plate.

#2 San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are probably the least likely team to eventually acquire LaMonte Wade Jr. in this list, with fan favorite Luis Arraez already playing at first base every day for the NL West outfit.

However, Wade's ability to play in the outfield alongside his original position of first base gives skipper Mike Shildt the possibility of having him deputize in left field once in a while. He can hand Arraez some much-needed rest along the way, as the Padres gear up for another foray into the playoffs.

#1 Boston Red Sox

With regular first baseman Triston Casas out for the rest of the season after rupturing his patellar tendon, the Red Sox are probably the franchise in most desperate need of reinforcements at first base.

Of late, Abraham Toro-Gonzalez and Romy Hernandez, both players who are not naturally first basemen, have deputized at the position. Acquiring a natural first baseman in the form of LaMonte Wade Jr., a relatively inexpensive stand-in solution for this year, may be the route the organization considers most worthwhile.

About the author

Raghav Mehta is a baseball journalist at Sportskeeda awaiting results for a Bachelor's in Journalism from Delhi University. He enjoys highlighting the key battles between players at different stages of the game and analyzing the decisive moments upon which they hinge.

One of Raghav's favorite moments, which underscores this, was the Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout clash in the 2023 WBC, where two of baseball's best players faced off against each other in the 9th inning. With the score 3-2 to Japan, Shohei eventually got the strikeout, which was absolute cinema.

Raghav is a Baltimore Orioles fan and is enjoying watching such an exciting young team compete at the top in a very competitive division.

Raghav has loved watching sports for as long as he can remember and realized he was pretty decent at writing his thoughts down at around the age of 14. Combining the two meant he had something he would enjoy doing every day, and he had identified that well before going to college.

Aside from work, Raghav enjoys playing sports, working out and watching movies.

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Edited by Ribin Peter