Twins Acquire RP Shaun Anderson from Giants for OF LaMonte Wade

[Nick Nelson]

Another day, another move.

 

After agreeing to terms with free agents Nelson Cruz and Alex Colomé on successive days, the Twins struck their first trade of the offseason Thursday. The team announced that it has dealt outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr. to the Giants for right-handed relief pitcher Shaun Anderson.Shaun Anderson was a third-round draft pick out of the University of Florida by the Red Sox in 2016. He went to San Francisco in the 2017 Eduardo Nunez trade ahead of the deadline. Anderson debuted for the Giants in 2019, making 16 starts and 12 relief appearances with a 5.44 ERA. In 2020, the right-hander moved to a full-time relief role and had more success, with a 3.54 and 18 strikeouts over 15 ⅓ innings, although his 12 walks were concerning.

 

Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing around 230 lbs, the 26-year-old Anderson leans heavily on a high-powered slider (surprise!), which he threw 53% of the time last year. The pitch limited opponents to a .108/.164/.243 slash line. Obviously it's the kind of project the Twins like to take on, and have had success with. The Matt Wisler comparisons are natural enough (especially given that Anderson is coming from the team that just signed Wisler), and it's easy to see a similar scenario playing out here.

 

 

Anderson also throws a fastball in the mid-90s and has mixed in the occasional changeup, although it'd be no surprise if the Twins have him drop the third pitch. He has options, so there's no assurance he'll start on the big-league club.

 

LaMonte Wade Jr. is a very solid player, capable of playing all three outfield positions and bringing exceptional discipline at the plate. Unfortunately he was hopelessly buried on the depth chart in Minnesota, even with Eddie Rosario out of the picture. In San Francisco he figures to get more of an opportunity, and reunite with former Twins farmhand Jaylin Davis.

 

 

We'll have plenty more information and analysis soon, so be sure to check back. For now, let's hear your initial thoughts and reactions in the comments.

 

MORE FROM TWINS DAILY

— Latest Twins coverage from our writers

— Recent Twins discussion in our forums

— Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

 

Click here to view the article

[jrod23]

Summed it up.  Wade was buried.  Hope he finds great success in San Fran.  I'm always excited about pitching acquisitions since we've seen what Wes Johnson brings to the table.

[sorney]

Seems like a legit trade.  Trade backup depth, for a RP depth. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Huh. Okay. Bummer, I like Wade but it’s hard to see a future for him in Minnesota.

[Joey P]

Our Front Office is so calm cool and collected. They have a plan and the patience to wait for the perfect moment. And they seem to manage to hold on to most of our prospects too. We are basically swapping major league ready talent from an area of depth to an area of need. 

[4twinsJA]

Love trade, hope the best for Wade but wasn't going to get many opportunities with Twins. Twins get relief help. Hope it is a win-win for all.

[PseudoSABR]

Looks like a good trade from depth to get a young, controllable pitcher, with options and at least one plus pitch.  Wes Johnson work your magic.

[RaoulDuke]

Good depth move, they can stash him in the minors and tinker with his command a pitch mix.

[IndianaTwin]

Guy struggles as a starter for the Giants.

 

Then starts to look good as a reliever.

 

Then gets traded to the Twins. 

 

So help me, but if he stands on the mound and does the bpbpbpbpttt thing before he pitches, I think we got us a keeper. 

[stringer bell]

Trade makes sense. Wade will be better than expected for the Giants, but they get pretty good potential in Anderson. I do like what the FO is doing.

[Squirrel]

 

Huh. Okay. Bummer, I like Wade but it’s hard to see a future for him in Minnesota.

Pretty much my thoughts

[IndianaTwin]

Who knows how these things work, but Susan Slusser tweeted mid-afternoon that the Giants could use a left-handed hitting outfielder with options, and a few hours later the Twins have picked up what seems like an asset. 

 

To me, that sounds like Anderson wasn’t even high on their radar, but they had already done enough due diligence to call SF and say, “How about Wade for Anderson?” This seems like another instance of an opportunistic front office sneaking in to make their team incrementally better.

 

I think making lots of moves that each make the team incrementally better is the M.O. of Falvey and Levine, and I like it. 

[bighat]

Hard to feel 100% happy with this trade - sure it makes sense, but saying goodbye to Wade is bittersweet. Wishing him success in SF, he'll certainly have a chance there

 

Says a heckuva lot about where the Twins are on Kiriloff. They clearly see him as a full time guy with Cave as the 4th outfielder.

 

Anderson looks like a solid piece with potential. Nice work FO.

[jmlease1]

I liked Wade, but he was behind Cave as a backup and with Kirilloff and Larnach looking ready it was hard to see The Walking Man get much of an opportunity. He's a solid defender...but not a great one. He draws some walks...but he's basically never shown any real power. Hard to see him playing much if at all, and frankly we have better options for hitters.

 

Shaun Anderson is interesting. Probably good that he has options left, because he's not a finished product yet. But he's clearly got some talent with that slider and if the fastball can back it up he could be a very useful RH reliever. We'll see if he can control it well enough to keep making guys look silly.

 

Decent little swap. I'm not sure Wade had a ton of value out there, so this seems like a good move for the Twins and might work out fine for the Giants too.

[Brandon]

I think Wade is a solid 4th OF Seems like this pitcher is a solid depth piece. So its more of a win win trade for both teams. However since Wade can play all 3 OF positions I figured he would replace Cave on the bench at some point.

[jud6312]

Meh. If a guy is still a "project" at 26, is he actually a project or is this simply what he is?

 

I know everyone is in awe of this front office and the "Magic" Wes Anderson, but the jury is very much out for me.

 

Like it or not, they haven't produced any more results than the previous regimes have.

[twins_89]

It never made sense to have two left handed hitting fourth outfielders in Wade and Cave, so getting a guy who might be useful is likely a worthwhile move.

[DocBauer]

This is the Wisler replacement for less money and still having an option. Might be a year or so younger, but not certain. Big slider and mid 90's FB and you expect Johnson to help him improve on either or both. 

 

Indiana made a very smart comment while also being funny, he is the perfect scenario this FO and staff  look for; former SP with stuff just fully converting to the pen. Johnson will tweak his stuff. With a little luck, his FB will find a little more improvement, or any 3rd offering will give him just that little something extra in addition to his slider.

 

Assuming he takes Wade's spot on the 40 man. Also makes me wonder at this point if Clippard and any other BP arm is done other than a milb signing

 

 

[by jiminy]

If the hope is he becomes the next Wisler, why not just sign Wisler and keep Wade? They basically just sold Wade for $1.15 million. 

[Danchat]

Wade just didn't have much use here being another OF lefty, and only had one option left. Instead we get a middling reliever who needs work, but still has 2 options left. Perhaps one of Anderson, Gibaut, or Waddell will be the next Wisler, or at least be decent in middle relief. Either way, I like this move. It's better than the inevitable DFA of Wade because there just isn't room for him.

[HrbieFan]

Seems like a good deal for both teams. RP with good heat, nasty slider and MLB experience. Wade wasn't going to much playing time with the Twins, so I hope he gets a chance in SF

[Nine of twelve]

With all the left-handed outfield bats in the organization it would be poor management not to try to turn that surplus into different assets. My hope is that our scouting and player development departments have progressed to the point where we have empirical profiles regarding which players to trade and to trade for. I liked Wade but never pictured him as more than a role player. I hope both players involved do well for their new organizations.

[Dman]

 

I liked Wade, but he was behind Cave as a backup and with Kirilloff and Larnach looking ready it was hard to see The Walking Man get much of an opportunity. He's a solid defender...but not a great one. He draws some walks...but he's basically never shown any real power. Hard to see him playing much if at all, and frankly we have better options for hitters.

 

Shaun Anderson is interesting. Probably good that he has options left, because he's not a finished product yet. But he's clearly got some talent with that slider and if the fastball can back it up he could be a very useful RH reliever. We'll see if he can control it well enough to keep making guys look silly.

 

Decent little swap. I'm not sure Wade had a ton of value out there, so this seems like a good move for the Twins and might work out fine for the Giants too.

 

This is good take on the situation and I concur with your analysis.  They were always going to need to trade Wade as he doesn't have the power the Twins crave and his batting average wasn't great.  Yeah his OBP was good to great at times but he was always going to be 4th outfielder material IMO.  Don't get me wrong the Giants get a very good player. A batter with a good eye and a tough out but he is flawed as well.

 

This move frees up space for Larnach who needs to be added next year and they get a reliever with traits they like and have done well with in the past.  I still think the Giants got the better deal but as others have noted it can be hard to get anything in trade for 4th outfielders and at least they got something for Wade instead of nothing. 

 

With Cave, Kirilloff, Rooker and Larnach in the wings Wade was taking up 40 man space.  Kudos to the FO again for at least getting something instead of nothing for a guy that just wasn't in a good spot to make this team.  A relief pitcher with his stuff and options could come in pretty handy this year so personally I like this deal for the Twins as well.

[mudcat14]

I liked Wade as a 4/5th OF, but his only real advantages over Cave are his batting eye and shorter service time.  Larnach, Rooker, Lewis or Celestino would all likely jump him if injuries required a regular fill-in at the major league level.  17-years ago, the Twins acquired another RH from the Giants who was also only one season removed from transitioning into a reliever's role.  He was a couple years older, but also threw in the upper/mid 90's.  Now he's in the Twins HoF.  Come on lightning!  Strike twice!!!    

[SoCalTwinsfan]

Ha! I'll be happy if he turns into Matt Wistler 2.0. 
 

I liked Wade as a 4/5th OF, but his only real advantages over Cave are his batting eye and shorter service time.  Larnach, Rooker, Lewis or Celestino would all likely jump him if injuries required a regular fill-in at the major league level.  17-years ago, the Twins acquired another RH from the Giants who was also only one season removed from transitioning into a reliever's role.  He was a couple years older, but also threw in the upper/mid 90's.  Now he's in the Twins HoF.  Come on lightning!  Strike twice!!!    

 

[AZTwin]

Love the trade. Wade wasn’t going to do anything with the twins. Solid guy for SFO to have off the bench.

[PseudoSABR]

 

I liked Wade as a 4/5th OF, but his only real advantages over Cave are his batting eye and shorter service time.  Larnach, Rooker, Lewis or Celestino would all likely jump him if injuries required a regular fill-in at the major league level.  17-years ago, the Twins acquired another RH from the Giants who was also only one season removed from transitioning into a reliever's role.  He was a couple years older, but also threw in the upper/mid 90's.  Now he's in the Twins HoF.  Come on lightning!  Strike twice!!!    

Boof?

[jud6312]

 

Ha! I'll be happy if he turns into Matt Wistler 2.0. 
 

With 7 BBs per 9, I'd take Jim Hoey 2.0 to start. He can work his way up to New Wisler.

[DocBauer]

This is good take on the situation and I concur with your analysis. They were always going to need to trade Wade as he doesn't have the power the Twins crave and his batting average wasn't great. Yeah his OBP was good to great at times but he was always going to be 4th outfielder material IMO. Don't get me wrong the Giants get a very good player. A batter with a good eye and a tough out but he is flawed as well.

 

This move frees up space for Larnach who needs to be added next year and they get a reliever with traits they like and have done well with in the past. I still think the Giants got the better deal but as others have noted it can be hard to get anything in trade for 4th outfielders and at least they got something for Wade instead of nothing.

 

With Cave, Kirilloff, Rooker and Larnach in the wings Wade was taking up 40 man space. Kudos to the FO again for at least getting something instead of nothing for a guy that just wasn't in a good spot to make this team. A relief pitcher with his stuff and options could come in pretty handy this year so personally I like this deal for the Twins as well.

While I like Wade and think this might work out for him, I think there was zero room for him after 2021 with the Twins without a serious jump. Instead, we get a live arm just transitioning to the pen with potential.

 

Probably good for both teams, but think the Twins "win" this one on initial speculation.

[DocBauer]

With 7 BBs per 9, I'd take Jim Hoey 2.0 to start. He can work his way up to New Wisler.

I don't know what to do but shake my head.

 

Twins sign a milb/AAAA journeyman with high BB rates and limited to poor success and turn him in to a solid 60 game contributor. They aren't certain about his future, or his arbitration numbers, and dont like him not having options.

 

Now, they trade a 5th/6th OF who probably doesn't figure in any plans beyond 2021 for a similar version of Wisler...with options...who has just begun to transition to the pen. Same age or younger, just as good of stuff, cheaper, has that option, perhaps even better floor and ceiling...yet to be determined...but the forward thinking Twins are suddenly backward thinking here?