Is Buster Posey Exploring New Moves as Giants Struggle at First Base?

While the San Francisco Giants have cooled off from their hot start to the 2025 MLB season, there’s still reason to believe they’ll remain competitive in the National League West race.

The Giants, currently three games behind and one out of the Wild Card slot, may need to make some difficult choices to regain their competitiveness.

The offense has to find a solution to their inconsistency that’s led to a slump, and one pain point that’s stood out is the problems at first base.

As LaMonte Wade Jr. continues to underperform in his disappointing start to the year, time is beginning to run out on expecting a turnaround.

President of baseball operations Buster Posey is candid about that issue and is possibly exploring solutions outside of the trade market.

Are Giants Preparing To Move on From Lamonte Wade Jr.?

LaMonte Wade Jr. has never been a star slugger, but he simply is not producing at the plate or on defense, for that matter.

The first baseman has a slash line of .171/.278/.279 with a career-low OPS+ and has not hit a home run in May. He only has one homer in 48 games.

Defensively, he’s only above Willy Adames, with -6 defensive runs saved and -5 outs above average.

That’s not gone unnoticed by Posey, who spoke candidly on KNBR’s “Murph and Markus” morning show on Thursday.

"We need to get more production out of that position, there's no question."

"Patty's an instrumental part of our success (on defense)... I feel for him, to struggle as much as he has it's not an easy thing."

Posey on the lack of production from first base and catcher.

(via… pic.twitter.com/rj8WJ4dMo8
— KNBR (@KNBR) May 29, 2025

“We need to get more production out of that position, there’s no question,” Posey said. “With Encarnación coming back, he'll mix in some, Flo [Flores] might mix in some, and Schmitt might mix in some.”

Posey's comments on Wade Jr. were a bit more pointed as, frankly, the source of the issue.

“Lamonte, I think it was nice he got a big hit yesterday in the game,” Posey said. “Hopefully he can get back going, but at this point we are going to need some more production. I think that's the way that we're kind of looking at this right now, is some sort of timeshare with those four guys."

As Jerar Encarnación progresses through his rehab in Triple-A Sacramento and is anticipated to join the roster soon, he should add some promise to the position.

However, there will need to be room made on the roster. Posey's remarks about Wade Jr. made it evident that he is the odd man out in the anticipated four-man rotation, as evidenced by his season numbers.

As Alex Pavlovic with NBC Sports Bay Area reported, Wade Jr. is in the bottom four in the league in batting average since the 2024 All-Star break. It’s not just a recent slump for the first baseman.

The situation may force a change, potentially involving a move beyond Encarnación. Once-top prospect Marcio Luciano moved to first base for his first career start with the Triple-A Rivercats on Wednesday.

Clearly, Posey is at the point of exploring all solutions for the problems plaguing first base.

While Luciano may not be considered a long-term solution for the role, the recent shakeup suggests that Posey may have reached his limit with Wade Jr.

Are Giants Preparing To Move on From Lamonte Wade Jr.?

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