The Giants’ roster has undergone a lot of overhauls over the past three seasons, and with longtime figures like Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford and Brandon Belt no longer around, San Francisco has been searching for the offensive foundation of the team’s next era. It took some time and the team is still figuring out where that production will come from, but one player who has quickly become part of the solution is first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr.
So far this season, he is hitting a career-best .351 with one home run and 10 RBI. On a team that now features Jorge Soler, Matt Chapman and Jung Hoo Lee, it’s Wade who leads the Giants in batting average, on-base percentage, walks and OPS.
Coming up through the minor leagues with the Twins, Wade was known for his uncanny ability to get on base. But after two brief cups of coffee with Minnesota in 2019 and ’20, he was traded to San Francisco in exchange for right-hander Shaun Anderson — a trade that changed the trajectory of his career.
“I feel like it was a new opportunity to go out there and show what I can do,” Wade told Yahoo Sports about joining the Giants in 2021. “I always looked at it because there was a reason they traded for me. They obviously saw something they liked. So I took that and wanted to improve.”
After making his MLB debut with the Twins in 2019, the first baseman never got consistent time on the field, appearing in a total of 42 games in 2019 and 2020. But after the trade to San Francisco, the Giants gave Wade the opportunity to be in the lineup almost every day, and that paid dividends. Wade broke out in 2021, slashing .253/.326.482 with 18 home runs in 109 games. And after an injury-plagued ’22 in which he missed significant time with a knee injury, he bounced back last season with 17 homers and a .256/.373/.417 slashline.
So far this season, Wade has taken his game to a new level, with his prolific on-base ability really standing out. His .485 OBP ranks first in MLB among players with a minimum of 95 games played, and he ranks ninth in the league in OBP since the start of last season. For a team looking for its offensive identity, having a stick like Wade’s could make a big difference. On Tuesday against Colorado, he hit two RBI as part of the Giants’ 5-0 victory.
“I’m just happy to be on the same team,” coach Bob Melvin said of Wade with a smile. “I saw him a lot [San Diego and] Oakland too. He’s a very good hitter, he’s prepared and has power. He hits the ball to the other side. He walks. He’s a very, very good hitter.
“You look at the numbers this year – they are real. He’s probably one of the best left-handed hitters, at the plate [percentage] and all that kind of stuff. … But he’s a guy that when he’s on base and in a great situation, you feel great.
The Giants, who are 16-21 and fourth in the NL West as of Wednesday, needed all of Wade’s production at the plate as their offense stagnated for the first month or so of the season. His minus-36 run differential is third-worst in the National League, and Wade is one of only two San Francisco hitters with an OPS above .800 (Patrick Bailey, the other, is now on the IL).
San Francisco spent big last offseason, acquiring Lee, Soler and Chapman to revamp the offense, but so far, the trio of free agents hasn’t been able to get things moving. After finishing 24th in runs scored last season, the Giants are 23rd in MLB this year. They will need to do better if they want to stay afloat in the NL wild card race.
But Wade is doing his part, and being in the lineup every day — whether at his usual first base position or the occasional left field, right field, DH or pinch hit — has allowed him to become the team’s most consistent hitter. Knowing he has a home in San Francisco, the 30-year-old believes the team is starting to see the best version of himself.
“When I was 25, when I made my debut at 19, the game was very fast,” he said. “You want to go out there and hit a 10-run home run every at-bat. You don’t want to make mistakes and you just want to try to be as perfect as possible. You don’t want to keep getting sent down. You get there and you just want to stay.
“Now, in your 30s, you kind of relax and just trust the process, trust your routine. You know you won’t always get the results you’re looking for. …But you know that if you persist in your process and continue to do so throughout the six months [of the] season, you will be in a good position at the end.”
