The San Francisco Giants are said to be cutting payroll this offseason under new president of baseball operations Buster Posey. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t make a move or two to strengthen their roster.
Over the past several years, San Francisco has missed out on some top free agents. Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa and Shohei Ohtani are recent examples.
They may be focused more on the second tier of stars, which could lead them to a breakout star from 2024.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report predicts that the Giants will ultimately land on Willy Adames and give him a six-year, $150 million deal.
“The top shortstop on the market this winter and one of the best all-around shortstops in baseball the past several seasons, Willy Adames is a lock to become the ninth active shortstop playing on a $100 million deal,” Reuter wrote.
“The ugly early returns on the matching six-year, $140 million contracts that Javier Báez and Trevor Story signed prior to the 2022 season could give teams reason for pause, but it won’t stop someone from paying up to add a middle-of-the-order run producer and quality defender at a premium position who has logged four straight 3-WAR seasons.”
Adames had a strong year with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, slashing .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, 65 extra-base hits and a 118 OPS+.
The Giants need to finally make a big splash in free agency so they can get to work on catching up with the rest of the pack in the National League West.
Taking down the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks will be a tall order, but adding Adames will give them a much better chance to do that.
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