Oakland A's Sign Tyler Wade to Minor League Deal
The Oakland A's may have just upstaged the World Series by signing Tyler Wade to a minor league deal.
Wade has 331 games of big league experience, primarily with the Yankees and last season with the Angels. He will be entering his age 28 season in 2023, and over his career he has hit .214 with a .291 OBP and a 65 wRC+, meaning he has been 35 percent below league average.
Wade's best season came in 2021 with New York, when he hit .268 with a .354 OBP in 103 games (145 plate appearances) that led to a 93 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR. With the Angels this season, he hit .304 in April, followed by .160 in May and .204 in June before being DFA'd on July 3 and picked up by the Yankees but never made it back to the Majors. He elected free agency on October 6.
Wade hasn't been sterling with the bat statistically, but he did cut his K% from 25.5 percent in 2021 to 20.2 percent this past season, matching the recent trend of contact bats that the A's have been bringing in, along with Ernie Clement and Conner Capel, to pair with Vimael Machín, Tony Kemp, Jordan Díaz. He also ranks in the 91st percentile in sprint speed, which is another tool the A's could use.
As far as where he could slot in, second base is his best defensive position, but he has also spent time at all three outfield positions, and at shortstop and third base as well. So the answer to "where?" could be legitimately anywhere.
With that said, this signing mean one of a couple of things. The first is that Jordan Díaz, who was getting some reps at second base at the end of the season to try and find him a defensive home, may not have a guaranteed spot on the Opening Day roster, and Wade is there to serve as his competition. Ideally, this could help make both guys better.
The other way this could go is that Tony Kemp, likely the A's most expensive pre-arb player, could be on the move either via trade or the A's could non-tender him, making him a free agent.
I have said on the Locked on A's podcast that Kemp is well worth the $3.9MM he's projected to get through arbitration this winter, mainly due to his leadership skills with the younger guys on the roster, on top of the spark he provides to the offense. That said, the A's front office may see an opportunity to relieve some salary here by bringing in Wade, giving him some playing time and just seeing what happens feels like it could be the plan here. Perhaps they feel like Wade's ceiling is higher and that he hasn't had a chance to reach that potential yet.
Regardless of whether Wade is some extra competition for Díaz, or he is being brought in to more or less replace Tony Kemp, it seems clear that with his experience at the big league level, he'll be getting a shot, likely as a non-roster invitee, to earn a spot on the Opening Day roster this spring.
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