Yankees trade Tyler Wade to Angels for cash considerations

The Yankees announced this afternoon that they traded utilityman Tyler Wade to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Wade had been designated for assignment by the club last week as part of 40-man roster cuts.

Wade was coming off perhaps his finest season as a Yankee, though that may be damning with faint praise. The 26-year-old slashed .268/.354/.323, good for a 90 OPS+, while providing passable defense at several positions.

That said, Wade never really fulfilled his promise a speedy, defense-first swiss-army knife. Despite his elite sprint speed, Wade always profiled more as a fine defender rather than a great one, and as a good baserunner rather than a game-changing one. It all added up to roughly replacement-level production during his time in pinstripes.

That the Yankees were able to find a taker, albeit at a tiny cost, for Wade’s services does show that he still has a spot in the league. His versatility and speed should keep teams hoping he can turn into an impact bench player as long as he maintains his athleticism.

We’ll keep you updated whenever we learn whether the Angels complete this deal by sending over an actual player, or just by sending cash. Until then, wait with bated breath to see if the PTBNL ends up being Mike Trout or Shohei Ohtani.