{"id":716189,"date":"2026-06-03T11:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/716189\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T11:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:27:15","slug":"giants-5-year-veteran-infielder-cut-from-new-al-team-set-to-test-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/716189\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants\u2019 5-Year Veteran Infielder Cut From New AL Team, Set To Test Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chicago White Sox<\/a> took a chance on a former San Francisco Giants first baseman earlier this season, hoping a change of scenery could help the veteran rediscover the form that once made him a productive everyday player.<\/p>\n

Instead, his time with the organization proved short-lived.<\/p>\n

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The White Sox released<\/a> LaMonte Wade<\/a> Jr. from his minor-league contract earlier this week, allowing the five-year Giants veteran to test free agency after a difficult stretch in both the majors and minors. The move gives him an opportunity to search for a better fit elsewhere, while Chicago continues evaluating younger options during a rebuilding effort that has turned into some legitimate playoff contention.<\/p>\n

FORBES | By Peter Chawaga
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Chicago White Sox Make Decision On Former San Francisco Giants Infielder After Munetaka Murakami<\/a> Injury Setback<\/p>\n

After joining the White Sox before this season, Wade was unable to generate interest in a big-league promotion from the team despite an injury to slugger Munetaka Murakami.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt might register as a modest surprise that the Sox either cut him loose or (if he had a June 1 opt-out in his contract) granted him his release at a time when Munetaka Murakami just hit the shelf for at least four to six weeks due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain,\u201d Steve Adams noted for MLB Trade Rumors<\/a>. \u201cHowever, Chicago is taking a look at 2023 first-rounder Jacob Gonzalez in Murakami\u2019s absence.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White Sox initially saw enough upside to bring Wade into the organization after his departure from San Francisco<\/a>. While his major league opportunities remained limited, he performed well at Triple-A Charlotte, providing some reason for optimism that he could still contribute at the highest level.<\/p>\n

FORBES | By Peter Chawaga
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Former San Francisco Giants Fan Favorite Looks For New Home After Release<\/p>\n

Wade became a fan favorite during his tenure with the Giants thanks to a series of dramatic late-inning hits that earned him the nickname “Late Night LaMonte\u201d in 2021. However, his production declined significantly before San Francisco ultimately moved on.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWade batted .167 with one homer and 15 RBIs for the Giants this season, his struggles culminating with a 2-for-17 performance on the team\u2019s most recent road trip,\u201d the Associated Press reported last year<\/a>, shortly after the Giants traded Wade to the Los Angeles Angels<\/a> in a salary dump. \u201cWade hit a career-high .260 last season, and he gained a reputation in San Francisco for clutch late-game performances.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White Sox have not publicly ruled out a reunion on a new contract, but Wade will now have the opportunity to gauge interest from clubs around baseball. Given the constant demand for left-handed hitters capable of playing first base and corner outfield spots, another organization could decide his strong minor league performance is worth a closer look.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeams looking for some lefty-swinging corner help \u2014 ideally at first base but possibly at DH and\/or in an outfield corner \u2014 could take a look and hope that his strong showing in the upper minors is a precursor to a return to form in the majors,\u201d Adams added. \u2018It\u2019s also possible he simply returns to the White Sox, depending on what the market has to bear.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Wade’s latest roster setback has opened the door to free agency as he searches for the next chapter of his major league career.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on Forbes.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Chicago White Sox took a chance on a former San Francisco Giants first baseman earlier this season,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2379],"tags":[5,138,49,2561,161,6418,39,29,401,56,4,73,378,66,414,71,396,2562],"class_list":["post-716189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago-white-sox","tag-baseball","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-white-sox","tag-chicagowhitesox","tag-cubs","tag-dc","tag-dodgers","tag-kyle-tucker","tag-lamonte-wade","tag-los-angeles-angels","tag-mlb","tag-munetaka-murakami","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-giants","tag-washington","tag-washington-nationals","tag-white-sox","tag-whitesox"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116685939883093703","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}