On the eve of his first Winter Meetings, Buster Posey has made his first splash as the Giants president of baseball operations.
The Giants have agreed with free-agent shortstop Willy Adames on a seven-year, $182 million contract — the largest in franchise history — pending a physical, according to multiple reports.
The previous record, coincidentally enough, belonged to Posey ($167 million).
Adames, 29, is coming off his best season in the majors, posting career-highs in homers (32), RBIs (112), steals (21) and WAR (4.8, according to FanGraphs).
Over seven seasons with the Rays and Brewers, Adames owns a career .248 batting average and .766 OPS with 150 home runs and 472 RBIs.
Adames hasn’t won a Gold Glove Award but has been one of baseball’s better defenders at shortstops. He rated poorly last season (-16 defensive runs saved) but has totaled 20 defensive runs saved and 14 outs above average from 2018-23.
Adames will join Matt Chapman, who signed a six-year, $151 million extension last September, on the left side of San Francisco’s infield for years to come.
The signing of Adames gives the Giants a rough blueprint for the lineup they will roll out on Opening Day. Along with Adames at short and Chapman at third, Tyler Fitzgerald will likely slide over to second base and neighbor LaMonte Wade Jr. at first base.
Patrick Bailey, a first-time Gold Glover, will assume the role of catcher while Heliot Ramos, Jung Hoo Lee and Mike Yastrzemski roam the outfield.
With shortstop addressed, the Giants’ brass can turn its collective attention to the starting rotation.
As things stand, San Francisco’s rotation features Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison and Hayden Birdsong, with Landen Roupp, Mason Black and Keaton Winn in the mix.
Webb, who finished sixth in NL Cy Young Award voting, has established himself as one of the best starters in baseball, but the rest of the rotation carries question marks.
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Headlining the list of available free-agent starting pitchers is Corbin Burnes, who played with Adames in Milwaukee. Burnes, who is from Bakersfield and attended Saint Mary’s College, has reportedly been linked to the Giants and is expected to receive a contract in excess of $200 million.
Check back for additional updates.