Buster Posey became the president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants in October. The Giants haven’t clinched a postseason berth for 3 consecutive seasons. Well, the last time that the Giants played October baseball was in 2021. Back then, Posey was still a player. Hence, the Giants haven’t played in the postseason since Posey retired.
With Posey taking office, a key thing for the team is to be back to the playoffs. Before that, they have to recruit good players. In December, Posey made a decision. The Giants and shortstop Willy Adames agreed to a 7-year deal.
This is certainly a huge deal. While reading news, I began to think about the reasons behind this decision and the impacts of signing Adames.
To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.
Willy Adames was traded to the Brewers in May 2021. From 2022 to 2024, he blasted 87 home runs. Among MLB shortstops, 87 home runs ranked 3rd. Corey Seager and Francisco Lindor each smashed 90+ home runs during this period. Without doubt, among MLB shortstops, Willy Adames is the one that can crush home runs. In particular, Adames smashed 32 home runs in 2024. Last season, no Giants batters smashed at least 30 home runs.
In addition, Francisco Lindor and Willy Adames each collected 290+ RBI over the last 3 seasons. Bobby Witt Jr. made his MLB debut in 2022 and has 285 RBI so far in his career. Meanwhile, Corey Seager collected 253 RBI from 2022 to 2024. Thus, Willy Adames has been pretty good at collecting RBI. He collected a career-high 112 RBI in 2024 and last season, Matt Chapman led the Giants with 78 RBI.
Moreover, let’s take a look at OPS. Among qualified shortstops, 5 players each owned an OPS over .800 from 2022 to 2024. Willy Adames had an OPS of .757, which ranked 11th among qualified shortstops. Ranking 11th doesn’t look great, but an OPS over .750 isn’t bad. Adames’ OPS was .793 in 2024. In the 2024 season, among the Giants hitters who played 100+ games, no one finished the season with an OPS of .800 or higher.
Finally, let’s look at Adames’ performance against teams in the NL West. Adames did play against NL West opponents several times so far in his career. He did hit well against the Padres with an OPS over .900 in 21 games. Nonetheless, against the D-backs, the Dodgers and the Rockies, he didn’t hit well. In particular, against the Dodgers, Adames’ OPS is below .650.
Adames had a great 2024 season, hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs and 112 RBI. Over the last 3 seasons, he has shown that he’s a good shortstop that can crush home runs and collect RBI. However, his OPS wasn’t at the top. The Giants certainly need a player that can blast 30+ home runs and collect 100+ RBI in a single season. And Posey decided to ink a deal with Adames. Nonetheless, Adames has to show that he can hit well against the NL West opponents. Additionally, he has to replicate his performance in 2024.
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