Buster Posey held the record for the largest contract in San Francisco Giants history. It was Posey's first big move as the team's president of baseball operations, and he nailed it without hesitation.
The Giants agreed to a seven-year, $182 million contract with free agent shortstop Willie Adames on Saturday, rebuilding the left side of the infield for the remaining 10 years and remaining aggressive as the team looks to rebuild. He showed determination. Relevance to the National League West Division. Adames' contract is on hold until the physical details are known, given the medical issues that terminated Carlos Correa's $350 million contract after the 2022 season, and his guaranteed money is due to Posey. It will likely surpass the nine-year, $167 million contract he subsequently signed. In 2012, he won the National League MVP Award.
Along with third baseman Matt Chapman, who signed Adames to a six-year, $150 million extension in September, the Giants will be looking to establish a solid offensive and defensive presence on the left side of the infield. was introduced. Taken together, these investments aren't all that different from the huge deals the Texas Rangers gave shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien after the 2021 season. It was a $500 million bet that paid off when the Rangers won the first World Series in franchise history. 2 years later.
Adames, 29, finished fourth in the majors with 112 RBIs last season, earned 4.8 fWAR, set career highs in home runs (32) and stolen bases (21), and led the Milwaukee Brewers to the National League. Led them to the Central District title. Perhaps just as important to Posey and the Giants, Adames was a respected leader in Milwaukee, praised for his durability and ability to produce in the clutch. He will be one of the league's best defenders at shortstop in 2023, and although some of his advanced metrics declined last season, he shows an upgrade with his glove over the Giants' interior options at this position. There is little doubt about that.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the Giants' surprise agreement, announced on the eve of baseball's winter meetings in Dallas, is that Posey, who has been something of a cipher in his brief tenure as baseball's first executive, is in a position to I guess it depends on how the agreement is reflected. He filled front office positions and added advisory voices, but outside of that, how active he is in improving a team that finished 80-82 in 2024 while missing the postseason for the seventh time. There was little specificity as to what would happen. In eight seasons.
But Posey was clear on one thing. He believed acquiring a shortstop was the club's top priority. And the Giants just agreed to sign the top shortstop on the free agent market.
As a player, Buster Posey was a problem solver. (G. Fiume/Getty Images)
Throughout his career at the plate, Posey had a knack for cutting through the noise, tackling problems head-on, charting a straight path, and avoiding the traps of overthinking. If his first big move as the Giants' chief baseball architect is any indication, he'll rely on the same traits and impulses to lead the team to the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and more. will try to narrow the huge gap between them.
Identify the problem. Fix the problem.
Posey signs Adames, who had an extended qualifying offer from the Brewers, forcing the Giants to sacrifice a second- and fifth-round pick and a $1 million international bonus from the 2026 pool. That fact didn't deter me enough. . These are no small considerations for a team that gave up second- and third-round picks this past draft after signing Chapman and left-hander Blake Snell last offseason. If the Giants had shifted their focus from Adames to shortstop Kim Ha-sung, they wouldn't have lost a draft pick. Kim Ha-sun, a favorite of Giants manager Bob Melvin since his days in San Diego, will continue rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery on opening day. .
But Adames was clearly the best shortstop on the market. And Posey kept it very simple.
“At the end of the day, it's a boring answer, but all you need is a complete baseball player,” Posey said at a GM meeting in November. “I want someone who can do everything.”
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What's interesting is that Posey's first major free agent signing is a CAA client. The Giants recently announced the hiring of Jeff Berry, Posey's former agent and former CAA head of baseball operations, as a special advisor.
ESPN first reported the agreement. The Giants are not expected to make an announcement until Sunday or late Monday.
The addition of Adames could put Tyler Fitzgerald in a battle for second base with Casey Schmidt, Brett Wisely, and Marco Luciano unless the organization's former top prospects are traded or moved to the outfield.
The biggest question is how aggressively the Giants will address their second big need. It's his presence as a rotation pitcher who pitched the fewest innings in the National League, even though Opening Day ace Logan Webb pitched the most innings in a game. Individual basis. Several reports have linked the Giants to former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. He is from the Bakersfield area, played at St. Mary's College in Moraga, and will give the Giants one of the best one-two punches in the league.
Barnes spent his entire major league career with the Brewers prior to last season with the Baltimore Orioles, so adding Adames could be a selling point in the Giants' pursuit attempts. Both players are very familiar to the Giants' new general manager, Zach Minassian. He was the scouting director in Milwaukee during his 14 seasons with the Giants. Minassian was one of the strongest voices against the champion Barnes when the right-hander showed promise in the minor leagues, and at the time urged the former fourth-round pick to be made essentially untouchable in trade talks. advised Brewers GM Doug Melvin.
On a cash basis, the Giants spent $206 million on player salaries last season, exceeded the luxury tax threshold ($237 million) for the first time since 2018, sustained operating losses, and lost money to members of the ownership group. It caused some discomfort. The 2025 Alternative Budget called for a reduction in player salaries, which could be achieved even if the club were able to win bids for Barnes and Adames, a market expected to exceed $200 million. There is.
Adding in Adames' average annual salary of $26 million, the Giants' estimated cash salary is approximately $170 million. If the Giants want to trim in other areas, they could potentially trade one or more arbitration-eligible players (Lamonte Wade Jr. and Camilo Doval among them). Or, you could sign one of several second-tier starting pitchers that doesn't come cheap, as we saw with Luis Severino's three-year, $67 million contract with the Athletics, but especially the departed Barnes. would require a fraction of the amount needed to do so. It becomes Boras Corporation's CAA in 2023, and the deal means the Giants will lose their third- and sixth-round draft picks.
Or Posey could do what he's proven time and time again during his playing days: cut through the noise, go after the best players and convince ownership to spend.
“I know we're very keen on making decisions,” Posey said last month. “But what I've tried to instill in the group is to not be held back by an underlying fear of failure. It's about, 'Sometimes people in the media say, “This was the wrong decision.'' It's about knowing that sometimes you have to risk being told that you did something wrong. But even if we feel guilty about it, you have to accept it. ”
(Top photo of Adames: Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
