Willy Adames could picture himself in pinstripes and manning the same left-side infield as his childhood idol did. It came soooo close to happening.
Before the Giants locked him in with a seven-year, $182 million deal in early December, the shortstop was deep in talks with the Yankees, Dan Martin of the New York Post reported on Sunday.
"I knew it was a possibility for me to play here," Adames. "We had a conversation and it was amazing."
The conversation he's referring to was a Zoom meeting with Yankees brass, including manager Aaron Boone, in which the team made a compelling pitch. What stood out to Adames wasn't the numbers or the stats. It was the tone.
"It was more about me, the person, than about my stats," Adames said. "I really liked that."
Boone was impressed, too.
"We're a big fan of that player and getting to talk to him," Boone said Saturday. "He's definitely a guy we were very interested in and really liked."
Adames, a lifelong Derek Jeter fan, seemed like a natural fit for New York. He is a Gold-Glove defender, brings power from the right side, and the kind of personality the Yankees have increasingly sought out.
So, what happened?
How did the Yankees end up piecing together their third baseman between Oswaldo Cabrera, Palbo Reyes, Oswald Peraza and eventually DJ LeMahieu? If they had signed Adames, they could have moved Jazz Chisholm, Jr. back to third base and had a young, energetic, and athletic left side of the infield.
During their discussions, the Yankees were still deep in negotiations for Juan Soto, who would eventually sign with the crosstown Mets for a staggering 15 years and $765 million. The Yankees couldn't commit to Adames while the Soto possibility was still on the table.
"We were going through the Soto stuff and weren't able to commit to him, one way or the other," Boone said. "He went off the board pretty quick there."
Adames signed with San Francisco on December 7. Four days later, Soto's deal with the Mets became official.
"The timeline didn't work out for them to bring me to New York," Adames said.
