Struggling San Fransisco Giants Slugger Won’t Reach Important Goal

When the San Francisco Giants signed shortstop Willy Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract, they thought they had found much-needed stability in the role.

That was Adames' goal, who made it clear after signing his deal that he intended to play all 162 games for the Giants in the 2025 MLB season.

He made it to 161 games last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he slashed .251/.331/.462 with a 120 OPS, had a career-high 32 home runs, 112 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases.

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That was the production level San Francisco anticipated from Adames.

Instead, he is slashing .193/.281/.303 with a 69 OPS+, and only five home runs, 26 RBI, and three stolen bases.

That led to a necessary tough call by Giants skipper Bob Melvin ahead of Sunday's game against the Atlanta Braves.

Willy Adames Got Day Off as Giants Seek Turnaround in His Play

Adames' disastrous start through 65 games will see his dreams of a full season of play be halted.

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As Susan Slusser with the San Francisco Chronicle reports, Melvin gave Adames Sunday off against the Braves, which will give him a two-day break to hopefully find his way back to the shortstop San Francisco thought they signed.

Adames not only hasn't found his way with the bat, but he is tied for the most errors in baseball among shortstops with 10. He's dead last at the position with -10 defensive runs saved.

Adames hasn’t had a hit since June 1 against the Miami Marlins, and as Slusser points out, his .123 average against left-handers heading into Friday was the lowest among players with 70 or more plate appearances.

Casey Schmitt started at shortstop in his place after the Giants skipper said he was scheduled to take grounders at the position Friday and Saturday, leaving Tyler Fitzgerald at second base.

It's been a disappointing output for Adames despite patience preached by president of baseball operations, Buster Posey.

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"I would say be patient," Posey said at the end of May. "It's not uncommon when superstar players sign a big deal and struggle out of the gate. We saw it with Trea Turner, and we saw it with Francisco Lindor. You are seeing it to an extent with Juan Soto this year. So be patient....Willy is a dude."

Hitting coach Pat Burrell has been working with the ice-cold hitter on changing his contact point and shortening his approach.

That affects power and bat speed, as evidenced by Adames' 9.9 barrel rate, which is his lowest since 2020. However, the strategy intends to help Adames find more consistency and confidence at the plate.

That's a lot of patience and attention paid to a player that hasn't shown those efforts to be worth it.

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