Newest Angels Outfielder Breaks Silence After Trade

Gabe Smallson | Jun 11, 2025

Aug 19, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants first base LaMonte Wade Jr. (31) hits an RBI single during the fifth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Angels recently acquired LaMonte Wade Jr. from the San Francisco Giants to add a first baseman/outfielder to the roster, but more importantly, a veteran with seven seasons of MLB experience under his belt.

After batting .260 during the 2024 campaign, Wade has been hitting an abysmal .167 this year. With his new surroundings in Southern California, he hopes to contribute more to his new team, despite not getting the ending he wanted with the Giants.

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“It feels great,” Wade said Tuesday after joining the active roster. “I'm just happy, excited to be here. Just want to come and work hard and help out any way I can. I'm definitely in positive spirits. Any time you get the opportunity to put on a Major League uniform, it’s very special. It's not the ending that I wanted in San Fran. I wish I could have done more, but I'm embracing this new opportunity and ready to get to work."

Wade knows as much as the next player that a weak start to a season is hardly ever telling of what the rest of the year has in store. He also knows some of the more obvious areas he can improve upon in terms of what he brings to the batter's box.

“There’s a lot of season left,” Wade said. “I believe that my stride length was way too long to begin this season. Just trying to cut that down a little bit. Just have more barrel awareness and square balls up more. But it all starts with that stride length and just being under control.”

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Wade is in the 99th percentile of chase percentage, as he is one of the best in baseball at not swinging at pitches outside the strike zone. He is also among the best in walk rate, earning a free base 12.4 percent of the time (the 84th percentile among active batters).

As he noted, he is among the worst in MLB in terms of barrels (a batted ball with the ideal exit velocity and launch angle) at the 15th percentile, and has a hard-hit percentage (hits with an exit velocity of 95 mph or higher) of just 30.4 percent, good for just the 10th percentile in the majors.

In a serendipitous meeting, Wade encountered recently called-up Angels reliever Shaun Anderson. The two were once traded for each other in 2021 and will now begin a new chapter as teammates.

“I saw him in the weight room earlier,” Wade said. “I was telling him it’s full circle. We got traded for each other in ‘21 and now we're back on the same team. You just never know your plan in this game.”

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For more news, head over to Angels on SI.