Breaking: Infielder Commit to Padres with New Contract for…
The San Diego Padres are bringing back versatile infielder Tyler Wade for the 2025 MLB season, the team announced on Friday. The Padres have agreed on a contract worth $900,000 with Wade for the 2025 season that includes a $1 million player option for the 2026 season.
The Padres also announced that they did not tender outfielder Bryce Johnson, infielder Mason McCoy, and right-handers Logan Gillaspie and Luis Patiño.
Wade has since posted a response to the news, writing “LFGSD” with a brown heart and yellow heart on X.
All-Star rookie center fielder Jackson Merrill posted a picture of himself and Wade to his Instagram Stories in support of Wade’s return, saying, “TWADE LFG.”
Wade originally joined San Diego when he signed a minor league contract with the Padres in Nov. 2023. Initially signed to play in the minor leagues, Wade made the team’s Opening Day roster for the Seoul Series in South Korea and proved to be a key utility player for the Padres in 2024.
Now, Wade will spend multiple seasons with a team for the first time since he began his career with the New York Yankees. Wade played for the Yankees for the majority of his career from 2017-21, but then had brief one year stints with the Los Angeles Angels and Oakland Athletics. If Wade’s next season or two goes well, he could find another long-term home in San Diego.
During the 2024 season, Wade appeared in 90 games for the Padres and took 138 at-bats. He got off to a hot start with the Padres, recording four hits and three runs over his first three games with the team. He did not maintain that level of production over the season, but still slashed .217/.285/.239 with 30 hits, 28 runs, and two RBIs.
Wade was particularly helpful on defense. At the beginning of the season, he filled in for Manny Machado at third base as Machado recovered from offseason elbow surgery that limited him to playing as the team’s designated hitter at the beginning of the season.
The return of Wade will continue to provide the Padres with that kind of flexibility, particularly if any of their players are injured during the 2025 season.
