The Milwaukee Brewers exceeded all expectations in the 2024 season in large part because of their shortstop, Willy Adames. The 29-year-old set career highs with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases, giving him an excellent opportunity to cash in as a free agent during the offseason.
Adames being a shortstop who can hit and defend at a high level while being under the age of 30 meant he'd be a fit for several teams. His reported willingness to play third base added to his already robust market.
Adames made a lot of sense for NL contenders like the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, but instead, he has inked a massive seven-year, $182 million deal to join the San Francisco Giants according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. It's the largest deal in franchise history, surpassing that of the team's new president of baseball operations, Buster Posey
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The timing of this deal is pretty surprising, as Adames was linked to be a potential backup plan for teams involved in the hunt to sign Juan Soto. Instead, he signs before Soto does, giving the teams in on Soto more of a reason to increase bids to sign the outfielder.
There's no denying that this move makes the Giants substantially better. The team got strong offensive production down the stretch from rookie Tyler Fitzgerald, but he struggled defensively. Adames hasn't won a Gold Glove in his career, and did have a bit of a down year defensively this past season, but he ranked in the 99th percentile in OAA in 2023 according to Baseball Savant. His track record at the position is strong. The left side of their infield should be strong defensively with Adames joining Matt Chapman.
There also is no denying that this is a bit of a risk. Adames is coming off one of his best season, but still had a sub-.800 OPS. He strikes out a ton, regressed defensively, and going from playing half the time at American Family Field to Oracle Park will almost certainly hurt his offensive production to an extent.
Still, this Giants organization has been on the hunt for a star for years, and while Adames might fall a bit short of that label, he's still clearly an above-average player. The terms of the deal are about as substantial as expected. Signing him away from teams like the Dodgers and Braves, who could use shortstop upgrades and were linked at nauseum to Adames, has to feel good as well. They didn't get a steal by any means contract-wise, and they don't become close to NL West favorites with this move, but there's more to like than dislike with this deal.
