ANAHEIM — The surroundings might have changed but the disciplined pregame routine remained as LaMonte Wade Jr. spent his first day with the Angels in a heart to heart conversation with new Manager Ron Washington before going through two batting practice sessions and then sprints in the outfield.
Even before meeting all of his new teammates Wade had been in constant motion, embracing his change of scenery after the Angels acquired him from the San Francisco Giants in a trade on Sunday.
“I’m definitely in positive spirits,” Wade said Tuesday, spitting in the eye of his current .167 batting average and a .275 on-base percentage that has been completely out of character after 50 games.
“So 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.”
Used primarily as a first baseman the past three seasons, the Angels will tap into Wade’s ability to play a corner outfield spot for the time being. Anything they can do to get his left-handed bat on track.
“I just learned about his work ethic, things he likes to do, and just have some baseball talk with him so he can relax a little bit,” Washington said about his initial meeting with Wade. “Coming to a new team, sometimes you come and you want to impress. I told him, I know who he is. He ain’t gotta impress me. So I just want him to go out there and get in his work and just play his game.”
Wade vows to do just that, only not the part of his game that has failed to meet his standards.
“I believe that my stride length (at the plate) was way too long to begin this season,” Wade said. “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.”
Wade had a career-best .380 OBP as recently as last season and had an .808 OPS in 2021 when he hit 18 home runs with 56 RBIs. His true value to the Giants was represented in his 21st-place finish in National League MVP voting that season.
His clutch hitting that season earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte.” At 31, he feels like the moniker should resonate for years to come.
“Oh, absolutely. I feel great,” he said. “My body feels good right now. Last year, I had an unfortunate (hamstring) injury to put a pause in my season, but I put a lot of work in this offseason to keep my body healthy. And right now, it’s going that way, so I just want to keep it that way and start getting in a better groove at the plate and help out any way I can.”
While Wade has never played with any of his new teammates, one roster quirk has him side by side with right-hander Shaun Anderson. The two were traded for each other in February of 2021 when Wade went to the Giants and Anderson went to the Minnesota Twins.
“I saw him in the weight room earlier,” Wade said. “I was telling him, ‘Full circle.’ We’re on the same team. Just you never know what your plan is in this game. You never know where you’re going to go with the ebbs and flows of the season. You’ve always got to be prepared and just ready to go.”
TOUGH BREAK
Wade took the roster spot of utility man Chris Taylor, who was placed on the injured list with a left hand fracture. Taylor was hit by a pitch in the eighth inning on Monday night but remained in the game. X-rays later revealed the extent of the injury.
“That just shows you how tough he is, because when they tested him at the plate, everything was normal,” Washington said. “He’s a gamer. He finished that game and ended up having a broken hand.”
In 10 games with the Angels, after he was released by the Dodgers last month and signed a free-agent deal, Taylor was 6 for 30 (.200) with a home run and three doubles.
PLAYING IT SAFE
Mike Trout has not done any outfield work since Saturday and there remains no timetable on his return to the field following a month on the injured list with a bruised bone in his left knee.
“He goes out there, playing at night, running the bases, he comes up with some soreness, and we got to monitor that soreness,” Washington said. “And when you feel like he’s sore, we’re not going to put any extra work on him. So we backed off for a minute.”
Entering Tuesday’s game, Trout was batting .343 with one home run and seven RBIs as the designated hitter in the first 10 games of his return. The three-time American League MVP was the DH and batting cleanup on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Athletics (LHP JP Sears, 5-5, 5.21 ERA) at Angels (RHP Kyle Hendricks, 2-6, 5.34 ERA), Wednesday, 1:07 p.m., FDSN West, 830 AM
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