Willy Adames Agrees to 7-Year, $182 Million Contract with San Francisco Giants

Willy Adames has $182 million reasons to smile…

The 29-year-old Dominican professional baseball shortstop has agreed to a seven-year, $182 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, the largest outlay in franchise history, per ESPN.

Willy Adames,Adames was the Giants’ top target this winter.

With the best free agent on the market, Juan Soto, likely to choose his team in the next 48 hours, San Francisco struck a deal with Adames, who was also being considered by teams in the running for Soto. 

Adames has been a consistent presence in the middle of the Milwaukee Brewers‘ lineup for the past four seasons after arriving in a trade from the Tampa Bay Rays.

Adames’ 30-homer power is rare for a shortstop and the Giants have struggled to find a replacement for Brandon Crawford, who manned the position for 13 seasons.

The deal, which is pending a physical, breaks the franchise-record $167 million given to catcher Buster Posey, who is in his first year as the Giants’ president of baseball operations. It will include a $22 million signing bonus, according to sources.

Adames had career highs in home runs (32), RBIs (112) and stolen bases (21) in 2024 while finishing fifth in FanGraphs wins above replacement among shortstops. Adames also tied the major league record for most three-run home runs in a single season with 13, helping the Brewers to the National League Central title.

Other teams were considering using Adames as a third baseman, but the Giants will hope his glove continues to match his offensive output. Over his seven-year career, Adames has slashed .248/.322/.444 with 150 home runs, 472 RBIs and 51 stolen bases.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Among the Finalists for the MLB’s Hank Aaron Award

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is in the running for a coveted MLB award…

The 22-year-old Dominican-Canadian professional baseball player and designated hitter for the Toronto Blue Jays has been named a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, the first since the legend’s death.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero is a finalist alongside Shohei Ohtani, Bryce HarperJuan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr.

The winners of the award, which was established in 1999 by Major League Baseball to honor the best offensive player in each league, will be announced in November.

Ohtani, the favorite for American League MVP, is the first player who also pitches ever nominated. In addition to Ohtani and Guerrero, New York’s Aaron Judge, Baltimore’s Cedric Mullins, Oakland’s Matt Olson, Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez are the American League nominees.

Joining Harper, Soto and Tatis in the National League are Cincinnati’s Nick Castellanos, San Francisco’s Brandon Crawford, Atlanta’s Freddie Freeman and St. Louis’ Paul Goldschmidt.

In a phone interview, Billye Aaron, who was married to Hank Aaron for 48 years, said her husband “was always very excited about the award itself and, of course, very excited about the World Series because, during that time, before every fourth game, he had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know and shake hands with the winners.”

The voting panel includes eight Hall of Fame players — including new voters Chipper Jones, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz — as well as a fan vote.

Aaron, MLB’s longtime home run king and one of the most beloved and respected players in the game’s history, died in his sleep in January.

“I’m still in a state of grief beyond measure,” Billye Aaron said. “I’m doing OK. I have some difficulty many days. But like everybody else, when you come to this stage in your life, you have to learn to cope with it. You can’t change it. You can’t do anything about God’s will. So you learn to accept it and learn to go on.

“I miss him so very, very much. I loved him so very, very much.”

Aaron, she said, would have been particularly excited for the NL Division Series that starts Friday between the two MLB teams for whom he played: the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. Aaron played his first 12 years for the Milwaukee Braves before they moved to Atlanta, where he spent nine seasons. A two-year stint with the Brewers wrapped up his career.

“He loved Milwaukee. He loved the Milwaukee Braves. He loved the Milwaukee Brewers,” Billye Aaron said. “And he loved, of course, the Atlanta Braves. He probably would’ve had some difficulty not rooting for both teams. The team that is your bread and butter — you probably would fall into that category. And being on the staff as well. So he probably would have to pull for Atlanta. But I know he had a strong fondness for the Milwaukee team.”

MLB intended to honor Aaron in Atlanta at July’s All-Star Game. Blowback from Georgia’s new voting-rights laws, however, prompted MLB to shift the game to Denver’s Coors Field, where Freeman and Judge escorted Billye Aaron onto the field for the ceremony that celebrated her husband.

While MLB weathered criticism for the choice, Billye Aaron said “it was the right thing for Major League Baseball to do.”

“In light of the political situation going on then and continuing to go on now,” she said, “the decision to move the All-Star Game out of the city of Atlanta, in spite of the impact that it would have on Atlanta and on the businesses that were preparing for the great game — I still think Major League Baseball did exactly what it needed to do in recognizing that racism can overrule some things.”