Giants To Get LaMonte Wade Marco Luciano More Time In Outfiel

has been the Giants primary first baseman in each of the past two seasons, leading the team in innings at the position. Wades 1631 innings at first base since 2023 more than double the 801 innings from , whos been at first most days when Wade is out of the lineup or on the injured list. Together, Wade and Flores have accounted for nearly 85% of the teams innings at first base. The Giants could change that arrangement a bit this year. While Wade will still surely see plenty of time at first base, Susan Slu ser of the San Francisco Chronicle that Wade focused heavily on running and conditioning this offseason, because the Giants could use him in the outfield more frequently than in recent years. Wade isnt the only Giant potentially moving from the infield dirt to the outfield gra s. that former top shortstop NHL San Jose Sharks Jersey prospect is headed to camp strictly as a corner outfielder. When the Giants originally acquired Wade from the Twins, was entrenched at first base in San Francisco. That led to considerable outfield time for Wade, who played 824 innings on the gra s in 2021-22. Since Belts departure, hes played just 154 innings in the outfield. Moving Wade to the outfield more frequently could create some extra rest for as he returns from shoulder surgery or perhaps give young a day off against tough right-handed pitchers; Ramos hit .370/.439/.750 against lefties last year but just .240/.286/.387 versus fellow right-handers. Wade batted .253/.374/.377 against righties and is a career .251/.359/.431 hitter in those situations. However, the larger motivation for getting Wade some renewed comfort in the outfield is surely the looming presence of top prospect . The 2023 No. 16 overall draft pick is on a fast track through the Giants minor league system and may not be far from MLB readine s despite only having turned 20 back in October. The towering 67 Eldridge blitzed through four minor league levels in 2024, spending the bulk of his time in High-A, where he posted a comical .335/.442/.618 batting line in 215 plate appearances. Overall, he tallied 519 turns at the plate acro s his four minor league stops and batted .289/.372/.513 with 23 home runs, an 11.4% walk rate and a 25.3% strikeout rate. Despite being limited to first base, Eldridge ranks 12th among all prospects on Baseball Americas top-100 ranking for the upcoming season. With just 17 games above A-ball under his belt, Eldridge doesnt seem likely to make the jump right to the majors, though hes a non-roster invitee in major league camp, so its at least po sible he could mash his way into consideration. With regard to Lucianos move, the impetus is even more straightforward. The Giants signed to a club-record contract this offseason, guaranteeing him $182MM over seven years. With also signed long term at third base and lined up to handle second base after his 2024 breakout, theres no real room in the infield for Luciano. Of course, hell need to prove with his performance that hes deserving of a big league spot at any position. The 23-year-old has batted just .217/.286/.304 in 126 major league plate appearances to this point in his career. He hit .250/.380/.380 in his second run at Triple-A last year but did so with an ugly 26.8% strikeout rate. Thats an improvement from the prior seasons 31.3% mark, but its still concerning to see so many punchouts in the upper minors. Luciano candidly told de los Santos and other reporters that he felt totally lost at the plate in 2024. Hes spent the offseason working to identify and correct bad habits in his swing. Luciano conceded that hes a little bit uncomfortable with the move to the outfield but took a team-first approach in embracing the position switch. Hes entering his final option year, so while this isnt nece sarily a make-or-break spring for him, hell need to show both strides at the plate and prove himself capable of handling the outfield in some capacity if hes to carve out a long-term spot with the club. Milan Michalek Jersey