Offense is Least Concerning Thing About Slow Start of San Francisco Giants Star

The biggest addition the San Francisco Giants made this offseason is off to a slow start.

Apr 15, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants infielder Willy Adames (2) throws to first against the Philadelphia Phillies in the eighth inning at Citizens Bank Park. All players wore #42 for Jackie Robinson Day. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

One of the goals Buster Posey had when he took over as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants was to infuse some power into the lineup.

If the team was going to compete, they needed to be able to score runs on a more consistent basis.

Looking to make a splash in his first offseason running the front office, Posey went right to the top of the market.

The Giants signed shortstop Willy Adames to a historic seven-year, $182 million deal. It was the biggest contract in franchise history, as the former Milwaukee Brewers star checked several boxes for the team.

Shortstop was identified as the biggest need, and he is one of the most productive offensive players at his position in the game.

Lacking impact performers, there was pressure on Adames to help elevate the offense to another level alongside star third baseman Matt Chapman.

However, in the early going, he has fallen woefully short of expectations.

Adames has a .195/.267/.286 slash line with only one home run and four doubles. He has yet to have the kind of impact the team was hoping he would, and there are some concerns with his early performance.

“Sure, his exit velocity and hard-hit rate are actually up relative to 2024. But he's also lost 2.5 mph off his average bat speed, which makes it less than a coincidence that he has yet to tap into his primary strength of pulling the ball in the air,” wrote Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report.

If he can continue making hard contact, the numbers will eventually regress to the mean in a positive manner. The swing speed is concerning, but slow starts like this have become common for him.

When keeping that in mind, there shouldn’t be too much concern with his slow start.

He is getting used to a new team and is likely pressing a little bit trying to live up to the massive contract that he signed.

His .685 career OPS in April is the lowest of any month in his career. His .553 OPS out of the gate is certainly alarming, but if this carries into May and June, it would be appropriate to be concerned.

What San Francisco and their fan base should be worried about is his defensive shortcomings.

From 2019-2023, Adames was a legitimate difference maker in the field.

He's never been Gold Glove-caliber, but his performance fell off a cliff in 2024 with -16 Defensive Runs Saved.

His start at the plate has been slow, but he has been even worse in the field to start 2025 with him already having a -5 DRS figure.

His lack of impact defensively is what the Giants should be concerned about.

With Chapman locked in long-term at third base, they need Adames to figure things out with the glove if he's going to provide the top tier left side of the infield that San Francisco thought they were getting with this addition.