Buster Posey held the San Francisco Giants record for largest contract in franchise history. In Posey’s first major move as the club’s president of baseball operations, he didn’t hesitate to break it down.
The giants accepted the conditions with free agent shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year contract worth $182 million on Saturday, reshaping the left side of their infield for the rest of the decade and signaling their determination to stay aggressive as They’re looking to re-establish their relevance in the National League West. The Adames deal is pending a medical review – more than an insignificant detail given the medical issues that fell through. Carlos CorreaPosey’s $350 million contract after the 2022 season — and his guaranteed money — would surpass Posey’s nine-year, $167 million contract he signed after winning the NL MVP award in 2012.
With Adames and the third baseman Matt Chapmanwho signed a six-year, $150 million extension in September, the Giants committed a third of a billion dollars to establish a strong offensive and defensive presence on the left side of their infield. Taken together, these investments are not so different from megadeals that the Texas Rangers given to shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien after the 2021 season — a $500 million gamble that paid off when the Rangers won the first World Series title in franchise history two years later.
Adames, 29, had 4.8 fWAR last season when he finished fourth in the majors with 112 RBIs, set career highs in home runs (32) and stolen bases (21) and led the leaderboard . Milwaukee Brewers to the NL Central title. Probably 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 was among the league’s best defenders at shortstop in 2023, and while several of his advanced metrics declined last season, there’s no doubt he represents an improvement with the glove over the options Giants internals at this position.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the Giants’ stunning deal, which came on the eve of baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, is how it reflects on Posey, who had been something of a cipher during of his brief tenure as a first-time executive in baseball. filling front-office positions and adding advisory voices, but otherwise providing few details on how aggressive he would be in improving a team that finished 80-82 in 2024 while missing the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons.
But Posey was clear on one point: He identified acquiring a shortstop as the club’s top priority. And the Giants just agreed to sign the best shortstop on the free agent market.
As a player, Buster Posey was a problem solver. (G Fiume/Getty Images)
Posey had the talent to stand out during his career behind the plate, tackling problems head-on, cutting a direct path, and avoiding the trap of overthinking. If his first major move as the Giants’ chief architect of baseball is any indication, he’ll lean on those same attributes and impulses as he seeks to close the sizable gap between his team and the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres And Arizona Diamondbacks.
Identify the problem. Fix the problem.
Posey was not sufficiently deterred by the fact that signing Adames, to whom the Brewers extended a qualifying offer, will force the Giants to sacrifice their second and fifth round picks as well as a $1 million bonus international from their 2026 pool. These are no small considerations for a franchise that also threw away its second and third round picks last draft after signing Chapman and the left-hander. Blake Snell the previous offseason. The Giants would not have lost their draft picks if they had moved from Adames to shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, a favorite of Giants manager Bob Melvin since their time together in San Diego, but who will continue his rehabbing from offseason shoulder surgery on opening day. .
But Adames was clearly the best shortstop on the market. And Posey kept things as simple as that.
“At the end of the day, it’s a boring answer, but you just want complete baseball players,” Posey said during the general managers’ meetings in November. “You want guys who can do a little bit of everything.”
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Interestingly, Posey’s first major free agent signing is another CAA client. The Giants recently announced the hiring of Jeff Berry, Posey’s former agent and former head of the CAA’s baseball division, as a special advisor.
ESPN was first to report the deal. The Giants aren’t expected to announce it until Sunday or Monday.
Adding Adames would push Tyler Fitzgerald in a competition at second base with Casey Schmitt, Brett wisely and potentially Marco Luciano if the organization’s former top prospect isn’t traded or moved to the outfield.
The bigger question is how aggressive the Giants will be in addressing their second major need: a pitching presence for a rotation that has thrown the fewest innings in the National League despite having their opening day ace , Logan Webbthrew the most on an individual basis. Multiple reports have linked the Giants to former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, a Bakersfield-area native who competed at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga and would give the Giants one of the league’s best 1-2 punches .
Before last season with the Baltimore OriolesBurnes had spent his entire major league career with the Brewers, so the addition of Adames could be a selling point in any attempt to pursue the Giants. Both players are very well known to Zack Minasian, the Giants’ new general manager, who served as Milwaukee’s director of scouting during his 14 seasons with the organization. Minasian had been one of Champion Burnes’ loudest voices when the right-hander showed promise in the minor leagues, advising Brewers general manager Doug Melvin to make the former fourth-round pick virtually untouchable in commercial discussions.
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 and suffered losses of exploitation which caused some unease among the members of the ownership group. Their 2025 budget figures projected a reduction in player payroll, which could still be achieved even if the club could win the auction for Burnes – a deal expected to exceed $200 million – as well as Adames.
Adding Adames’ average annual value of $26 million, the Giants’ estimated payroll would be around $170 million. If the Giants are looking to cut their losses in other areas, they could trade one or more of their arbitration-eligible players (LaMonte Wade Jr. And Camilo Doval among them). Or they could sign one of the many second-tier starting pitchers who won’t come cheap – witness Luis SeverinoThe three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s – but would require a fraction of what it would take to land Burnes, who notably left the CAA for Boras Corporation in 2023 and whose potential signing would also cost the Giants their third and last contract. sixth-round draft pick.
Or Posey could do what he demonstrated so often during his playing career: cut through the noise, go after the best player and convince the owners to spend.
“I know we will be very diligent in our decision-making,” Posey said last month. “But something I’ve tried to instill in the group is that we not be paralyzed by this potential fear of failure. It’s knowing that, “Hey, sometimes we’re going to have to take the risk that members of the media will say it was a bad decision or a bad decision.” » But if we feel convinced of this, then you must agree.
(Adames top photo: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)