Former MLB Executive Reveals San Francisco Giants Best Offseason Move

The San Francisco Giants were under new management this offseason with Buster Posey taking over as president of baseball operations from Farhan Zaidi.

The legendary catcher, who helped the franchise win three World Series during his time as a player, is looking to bring the team back to prominence now as a member of their front office.

He knows that he has his work cut out for him as the Giants have a sizable gap to make up between themselves and their National League West rivals.

Everyone is chasing the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who loaded up their team even more this winter. The Arizona Diamondbacks made some major additions with starting pitcher Corbin Burnes and first baseman Josh Naylor.

The San Diego Padres saw more subtractions than additions, but finished nine games ahead of San Francisco last year; that is a big differential to make up in one offseason.

Posey wasted little time trying to close the gap with their division foes, making one of the biggest splashes of free agency.

The team signed shortstop Willy Adames, formerly of the Milwaukee Brewers, to a seven-year, $185 million deal. That is the largest contract in franchise history as he has some expectations on him to perform.

That move was thought of highly by Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required).

In his 2025 MLB report card, he selected the best move of the offseason by each team in baseball. For the Giants, it was signing their new shortstop.

“The signing of Willy Adames, who finally gives them a star shortstop…He’ll also bring positive energy and enthusiasm to the Giants’ clubhouse,” the former MLB executive wrote.

On top of the clubhouse culture that he will instill, above-average production at the plate for a player at his position is the biggest thing he will provide the team.

Last year, Adames set career highs with 32 home runs, 33 doubles, 112 RBI and 21 stolen bases. He got the job done in every facet offensively and will provide an impactful punch to the team’s lineup that was desperately lacking.

What will determine if this is a deal that ages gracefully or not is whether he can return to the level he showed previously in the field.

Prior to 2024, Adames was a very good defensive shortstop. He had a positive dWAR for five straight seasons, recording at least a 1.7 three times. In three straight campaigns, he was posting positive numbers in all of Baseball-Reference’s defensive metrics.

Playing alongside an elite third baseman in Matt Chapman could certainly help his cause in 2025 and beyond in the field.

But what San Francisco is truly counting on is that performance at the plate to carry over. Oracle Park is not hitter friendly, but Adames possesses the skills to still be an impactful performer at the plate despite playing half of his games there.

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