DALLAS -- As talks between free-agent shortstop Willy Adames and the Giants slowly shifted from informal conversations to serious negotiations, Buster Posey began to wonder: Who held the record for the biggest contract in franchise history?
The answer made him chuckle.
“We were kind of laughing about that,” Posey said Tuesday. “When we felt like we were getting close, we were like, ‘What is the biggest contract?’ Then we ultimately figured out that it was mine.”
In his first major move as president of baseball operations, Posey opted to break his own record, signing Adames to a seven-year, $182 million contract that officially became the richest in Giants history on Tuesday. Adames’ deal eclipsed the nine-year, $167 million extension Posey inked with San Francisco in 2013 and gave the Giants a long-term answer at shortstop, which had been their most glaring need this offseason.
“We’re just thrilled to have this guy be a part of Giants baseball,” Posey said of Adames, who will be introduced at a press conference at Oracle Park on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. PT. “He showed an interest early on that he believed in the vision of what we’re trying to do here, and we just are thrilled that we got the best shortstop on the market. Great defender, great offense, clutch hitter, but most importantly … we got a great person.
"It’s one of those things that’s hard to measure. I know I’ve read some stuff from former managers and other front offices that have had him over the years, and it’s pretty sterling, sparkling endorsements that they give this guy. We’re thrilled that Willy’s a San Francisco guy.”
Adames, 29, is coming off a career year in Milwaukee, where he slashed .251/.331/.462 with a career-high 32 home runs and 112 RBIs over 161 games. He’ll now team up with third baseman Matt Chapman to form what Posey described as “the best left side in the game.”
“We want complete ballplayers,” Posey said. “We want guys that want to be on the field. Willy played 161 games last year. … That type of stuff matters. Obviously, he’s a very talented player, but I think it’s just his willingness to buy into the grit mentality that we want to be.”
By moving swiftly to take Adames off the board on the eve of the Winter Meetings, the Giants crucially prevented the 29-year-old infielder from becoming a fallback plan for teams that missed out on Juan Soto, who reportedly agreed to a 15-year, $765 million megadeal with the Mets on Sunday. Posey said the Giants identified Adames as their top target early on and didn’t feel the need to wait around to telegraph their interest.
“Just being authentic and letting him know, ‘If you’re serious about your belief in San Francisco, if you’re serious about your belief in what we want to do, then we don’t need to wait,’” Posey said. “‘We’ll meet you at a place that you feel is representative of your value.’ And he honored that. I feel like it was mutual.”
In addition to his abilities on the field, Adames drew rave reviews from his former Brewers managers, Craig Counsell and Pat Murphy, for his clubhouse leadership and other intangibles.
“I would say my favorite thing about Willy is he's just a unique connector of people in that he connects with every corner of the clubhouse,” Counsell said. “That's my favorite thing about him. The stats, you guys can print those out and people can tell. But there are very few players that can connect with all corners. I'm not just talking about players, I'm talking about everybody that walks into a clubhouse and sees Willy Adames.”
“He was a leader in our clubhouse,” Murphy said. “He did as much for the ballclub as anybody. Played 161 games and would have played 162. This kid is special. He deserves everything he gets. I couldn't be happier.”
Worth noting
- The Giants were in line to have the No. 9 pick in the 2025 MLB Draft based on their 80-82 record this year, but they ended up sliding down to No. 13 after they were jumped by a few teams in the Draft Lottery on Tuesday.
- For the second consecutive year, the Giants will hold a FanFest Tour that will include four events in Northern California early next year. Chapman, Ryan Walker, Hayden Birdsong, Heliot Ramos and Tyler Fitzgerald are among the Giants players who are currently scheduled to make appearances at the stops. Full details can be found here.