Giants Sign Willy Adame Giants Sign Willy Adame

The Giants officially have their new shortstop. San Francisco finalized their seven-year, $182MM contract with this afternoon. The CAA client will be introduced at Oracle Park on Thursday. The deal, which is the , reportedly contains a $22MM signing bonus and a full no-trade clause. There is no deferred money on the contract. Adames will make $10MM in the first two seasons of the deal and $28MM in the final five. Adames, 29, was the top shortstop available on the market this winter and goes to a team that has been about its desire to upgrade at the position this winter. Theyve now done so by bringing in one of the leagues steadiest players on both sides of the ball to handle the position. Adames has been worth at least 3.1 fWAR and 3.0 bWAR in each of his five full, 162-game seasons in the majors thanks to that consistency. A career 109 wRC+ hitter who slashed a strong .251/.331/.462 (119 wRC+) with Milwaukee in 2024, the addition of Adames as a middle-of-the-order bat should help improve a Giants offense that managed just a 98 wRC+ last year. While San Franciscos 112 wRC+ at shortstop last year a strong figure, much of that production was thanks to multi-positional bat , who took over the position down the stretch but was a lackluster defender with a -4 in Outs Above Average last year. Adames was only worth a +1 figure by OAA last year but posted excellent +16 and +10 figures in the metric in 2022 and 23 and should be a major upgrade to the clubs defense who forms a dynamic tandem with third baseman on the left side of the infield. That combination of above-average offense and defense at a premium position on the diamond was enough to make Adames the #5 ranked free agent on MLBTRs annual list last month, where we predicted a six-year $160MM deal for the shortstop. Adames managed to top that Zion Williamson Jersey prediction by one year and $22MM, which isnt nece sarily a major shock given the thin infield market and Adamess wide range of suitors. The , , were all linked to Adames in recent weeks, and a handful of those suitors were seemingly drawn in by his in order to facilitate a deal. That made him a particularly attractive option for clubs like the Yankees and Astros, for whom a potential position change made Adames an interesting Plan B option should they fail to re-sign incumbent sluggers and given their apparent comfort with incumbent shortstop and . Ultimately, however, Adames has landed with a club that figures to play him at shortstop on a daily basis. Fitzgerald, who slashed .280/.334/.497 (132 wRC+) in 96 games with the club last year, seems likely to be in line for the lions share of playing time at second base now that hes been bumped off of shortstop but also has experience at first base and in the outfield that could theoretically lead to a multi-positional role if needed. With former top prospect as well as youngsters like , , and likely to impact the clubs outfield mix next year alongside incumbents and , its not impo sible to imagine the addition of Adames leaving the club more or le s set on the positional side. Even if San Francisco doesnt make further additions to their hitting corps, questions remain about their plans for the remainder of the offseason. Reporting has previously indicated that the club plans to enter 2025 with a than 2024, and indicates that signing Adames has left the club with a projected payroll of $180MM for 2025. Thats $26MM below their final estimate for the 2024 season, which would be consistent with a reduction in payroll if the club didnt make additional moves. The Giants have also featured prominently in the rumor mill for starting pitching this winter, however, and were to top free agent starter just last week. Signing Burnes in addition to Adames would surely push their payroll to or even beyond 2024 levels, which would suggest either a reversal regarding their payroll plans or an intention to cut salary elsewhere, perhaps by trading a player such as Yastrzemski or Its also worth noting that the Giants are forfeiting their second- and fifth-highest draft picks (as well as $1MM in international bonus pool money) in order to sign Adames. That could make the club hesitant to sign an additional qualified free agent like Burnes in order to preserve their remaining draft capital, or its po sible that San Francisco could be emboldened to make another qualified signing because the draft penalty becomes relatively le s-severe on additional signings. For example, signing Burnes would now cost the Giants only their second- and fifth-highest picks in next years draft after accounting for the picks forfeited to sign Adames, meaning they would actually be giving up what were actually their third- and seventh-highest selections in the draft at the start of the offseason. first reported the Giants and Adames had agreed to a seven-year, $182MM deal that included a $22MM signing bonus. initially reported the sides were making progre s. reported the no-trade clause and the absence of deferrals. also first reported the specific annual breakdown. Anthony Davis Jersey