Giants Shortstop Willy Adames Responds To Announcer's Criticism

“Anybody can question whether I’m not playing good defense or I’m not hitting good yet,” the embattled Adames, who signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Giants before their 2025 season, said. “But my work ethic? I’m not going to let anybody question that, because that’s where I got to where I’m at today, and if you ask around the whole league, they’re going to say the same thing.

Adames Remains in the Fold

While his average is down this year at .222, Adames still has good power numbers for a middle infielder. He's smacked 19 home runs and has 48 RBI with a .694 OPS. While his career averages may be higher, the 30-year-old star is (by far) not the biggest problem facing the Giants as they head toward an offseason of uncertainty.

Giants manager Tony Vitello only passively addressed the on-air allegation, but he did extend an invitation to a reporter to attend the team's pregame workouts so he could witness Adames' ritual.

“This is what I’ve always done in every organization I’ve been in,” Adames said. “When my body feels great, I’m working, but sometimes when you’re not fully healthy, the training staff tells you you have to cut off the work because they’d rather have you in the game than putting in extra work, putting too much of a load on the back and not being able to play.”

With not much to play for now, is it really that big of an issue, anyway? Yes, the fans deserve to see maximum effort for the price of their ticket. But on the flip side, it makes no sense for an established player like Adame to push himself, potentially risking injury. It's a sounder strategy to let the veteran feel his way through the rest of the schedule, so he can be better suited for a resurgence when Spring Training 2027 rolls around.