The San Francisco Giants’ new front office, helmed by franchise legend Buster Posey, made its first major move this offseason by landing shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million deal.
Adames’ deal, which comes with a $20 million signing bonus, is the richest ever in terms of total money in Giants’ history. The previous record was $167 million, which Posey received back in 2013.
Adames, who made his MLB debut in 2018 with the Tampa Bay Rays, spent the last four seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. After batting .251 with 32 home runs and 112 RBIs in 161 games in 2024, he was considered among the best free agents available on the market.
Reportedly, the Giants considered Adames their primary target this offseason and decided to act quickly before superstar Juan Soto picked out his next team. Adames was widely considered a consolation prize for all teams that missed out on Soto.
Since coming to the majors, Adames is batting .248 and has 150 homers to go with 472 RBIs. He is also considered a plus defender, although he showed little on that side of the ball in 2024 as his defensive metrics fell down, and he finished the campaign with 20 errors.
A lot of teams who were interested in Adames viewed him as a future third-baseman due to his slip in defensive efficiency. However, the Giants don’t seem to share that opinion, at least as of now.
With Adames on their roster, the Giants are now hoping to bounce back following a disappointing season. But in order to do so, they will likely have to stay on the market and search for a starting-caliber pitcher after two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell bolted to join the Los Angeles Dodgers.
