1:58pm: Wade’s deal contains a $1MM base salary, Rome adds.
12:57pm: The Astros are signing veteran first baseman/outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to a major league contract, reports Chandler Rome of The Athletic. Wade, a Covenant Sports Group client, opted out of a minor league contract with the White Sox last week. Houston’s 40-man roster is full. They’ll need to make a corresponding move to finalize Wade’s contract.
Wade, 32, was a fixture in the Giants’ lineup from 2021 through early 2025. He was a productive, lefty-swinging platoon option at first base and in left field for much of that time, but his bat wilted in 2025 and led the Giants to move on. A quick stop with the Angels didn’t get Wade’s bat back on track, and he had to settle for a minor league deal with the ChiSox in free agency this offseason.
Despite a big spring training (.289/.429/.605, three homers in 49 plate appearances), Wade didn’t make the White Sox’ Opening Day roster. He opted out of his deal near the end of camp, re-signed a few days later, and has had a productive two-month run with Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. Wade has taken 201 plate appearances with the Knights and posted a .250/.420/.441 slash with seven homers, eight doubles, two steals, a gargantuan 22.4% walk rate and a 21.4% strikeout rate.
Wade won’t walk in nearly one quarter of his big league plate appearances, but he’s one of the more disciplined players in the league. Even in last year’s down season, he drew a free pass 11.2% of the time he stepped to the plate. From 2023-24, Wade walked at a 15% clip, trailing only Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Kyle Schwarber. Wade’s best years in San Francisco (2021-24) saw him produce a .248/.352/.415 line in 1552 plate appearances. The Astros would happily take anything close to that level of output.
Wade has a fairly limited skill set on the whole. He excels at working counts and drawing walks. He can hit right-handed pitching but struggles against lefties and isn’t an asset either on the bases or with the glove. He’s generally graded as a passable first baseman and a below-average corner outfielder.
Houston’s first base and DH spots are largely set with Christian Walker and Yordan Alvarez. Wade could spell either on occasion and could DH on days when Alvarez plays in the outfield, but he’s obviously not going to take regular reps at either position with those veteran sluggers healthy. Left field has been a revolving door for the ‘Stros this season, however. Zach Dezenzo leads the Astros with 45 plate appearances as the team’s left fielder. They’ve also used Alvarez, Taylor Trammell, Brice Matthews and others in a rotating cast of characters at the position.
Wade gives the Astros another option in left field and, more broadly, a left-handed bat with a track record of producing against (right-handed) major league pitching. Alvarez is the only established lefty bat the Astros have. Trammell has decent numbers at the moment (.286/.344/.375), but that’s primarily smoke and mirrors. He’s sitting on a .471 average on balls in play and striking out in an untenable 35.5% of his plate appearances — right in line with his career 35.3% mark. He can’t sustain that production with those underlying trends. Backup catcher Cesar Salazar and just-recalled outfielder Zach Cole — who’s even more strikeout-prone than Trammell — are the only other lefties on Houston’s roster at the moment.
