For some reason, one of the themes in our White Sox community this year has been that of second chances. Or third chances. Or….you get the idea. Former manager Pedro Grifol got another opportunity to manage, taking a job in the college ranks. Jarred Kelenic was signed by his fourth MLB team , the Texas Rangers, after the White Sox recently let him go. Peyton Pallette returned to the White Sox organization last week after Cleveland gave up on him. Now, you can add LaMonte Wade Jr. to that list.
The Astros are signing outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to a major-league deal, sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) June 4, 2026
After exercising an opt-out clause on Monday to secure his release, the 32-year-old was signed by the Houston Astros. Wade will reportedly make $1 million dollars and has reported to the major league team. While he played the vast majority of his games for Triple-A Charlotte at first base, he will play some corner outfield for his new team, where he has lots of experience.
The Astros desperately need some reinforcements in their outfield. Only three outfields in the entire league have a lower batting average this year. Only one outfield group - Miami - has a higher strikeout rate. Two Astros outfielders, Zach Cole and Taylor Trammell, have combined to fan an eye-popping 43 times in just 115 at-bats. That's a 37.3 K-rate if you're doing the math at home! This is where Wade comes in. Although he does have some holes in his game: he's a below-average fielder, isn't fast, and struggles against lefties- he's always had a good batting eye in his seven years in the Show. Wade has a career 21% K-rate, which is 2% below the league average. He can also get on base via the walk. His BB% is 12.5% for his career, well above the MLB average of 8.4 (from 2015-present day). In fact, Wade is so good at drawing free passes that he twice finished in the top 4% in the league in walk rare.
Wade's solid performance in spring training and Triple-A earn him an opportunity
Wade is getting this opportunity partly because of a solid spring performance for the White Sox, followed up by some nice numbers at Triple-A Charlotte. After signing a minor-league contract, in spring training, Wade had a stat line of .289/.429/.605. With no spot for him on the Big League roster, at the end of March, he was assigned to the Triple-A Knights. In 152 at-bats, Wade clubbed seven home runs and eight doubles and had a ridiculous BB% of 22.4%.
The White Sox felt like Wade's history of above-average offensive production was worth taking a chance on despite his brutal 2025 numbers, but the team simply couldn't find an opportunity to get him on the roster. Munetaka Murakami's early dominance removed any opening at first base, and Jacob Gonzalez played well enough to get the call after Murakami's injury, putting the writing on the wall for Wade. The White Sox released Wade earlier this week to pursue big league opportunities elsewhere, and he was quickly snatched up by the Astros.
It didn't work out in Chicago, but Wade will now have a chance to get his career back on track in Houston.
Add us as a preferred source on Google