Willy Adames Gave Giants Huge Dose of Power in Debut After Free Agent Deal

The San Francisco Giants made shortstop Willy Adames a wealthy man and he gave them something they hadn’t had in 20 years.

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (2) walks off the field after being take out of the game against the Colorado Rockies in the seventh inning at Oracle Park. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The question after signing a player to a big-money contract is whether they’re worth it. It’s how San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames will always be evaluated.

That’s the risk president of baseball operations Buster Posey took when he signed Adames to a seven-year deal worth $182 million last offseason. It was the largest contract ever handed out by the Giants. It was handed out by the player that held the previous record. That’s how serious Posey was about winning.

The Giants didn’t get to the postseason in 2025. They finished 81-81. But the early returns on Adames’ deal are positive. In fact, no one was more powerful at the plate at any one time than Adames was on June 11.

Willy Adames’ Longest Home Run

On June 11, per Statcast and MLB.com, Adames hit the longest home run for the Giants in the 2025 campaign, launching a 452-foot home run at Coors Field in Denver. The right-handed hitting Adames launched it to almost dead center field.

It’s not unusual for the Giants to have their longest home run of any season at Coors Field, a park known for hitting home runs due to the high altitude. The Giants have hit their longest home run of the season in seven out of 11 campaigns in the Statcast era. In fact, four of the five NL West teams hit their longest home run there in 2025.

The expectations for Adames were significant and for the first two months of the season he had a hard time living up to them. Adames was batting under .200 until June 10, when he started to pick things up at the plate. After that, he slashed .247/.343/.497 with an .840 OPS with 24 home runs and 59 RBI.

By the end of the campaign, he slashed .225/.318/.421 with 30 home runs and 87 RBI. By hitting 30 home runs he became the first Giants player since Barry Bonds to do it. Bonds last hit 30 or more home runs in a season in 2004. Adames also had 22 doubles, 2 triples, 12 stolen bases and 94 runs, the last of which was a single-season high.

Rafael Devers hit 35 home runs for the season but didn’t join the team until a trade in June.

Adames gives the franchise a foundation at a position where they struggled to find the right player in seasons prior. While his slash was below his career average, the power emerged in the second half and his defense remained among near-elite percentages. He’s a piece that should help the Giants get back to the playoffs soon.