The Dodgers should be in the market for a shortstop this offseason, and this time they might finally have a real shot at one of the best. Willy Adames has been a longtime target for LA, with rumored interest dating back to the offseason between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Brewers hung onto Adames — they had little incentive to trade him, really, as frequent postseason contenders with the slugger implanted as a mainstay of their lineup.
He's finally a free agent this offseason, though. Adames left a door open for a reunion with the Brewers, who also extended him the qualifying offer, but Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic wrote that it "the reality is that Adames likely ends up elsewhere" (subscription required).
Adames made $12.25 million in his last year of arbitration eligibility, which made him the second-highest paid Brewer behind Christian Yelich. The Brewers are cost-conscious (to put it less generously, cheap) and may not be willing to pay Adames what he'll be looking for in free agency. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are not cheap, and they've been chasing this guy for years.
Jim Bowden made 25 predictions for the offseason, including three wrapped into one for the Dodgers. He predicted LA would finally sign Adames and got hyper-specific about his deal: six years, $150 million (subscription required).
Jim Bowden predicts six-year, $150 million deal for Willy Adames with Dodgers this offseason
Six years and $150 million comes out to $25 million a year, which checks out for Adames' status as the top free agent shortstop in this year's class. The qualifying offer stands at league-average $21.05 million this year, which makes in unlikely that he'll accept it from the Brewers when he could make a lot more, and with more guaranteed years, with another team.
The Dodgers picked up Miguel Rojas' club option for 2025, but shouldn't and probably aren't planning on installing him at shortstop full-time next year. Tommy Edman could be a solution there, but it's more likely they would want to keep him in center field after the disappointment of James Outman's performance at the beginning of the 2024 season.
Now's the time for the Dodgers to pounce. After all of the ridiculous experimentation with Gavin Lux and Mookie Betts at shortstop through half of this season, they should eliminate any possibility of scrambling by locking up Adames.
