Buster Posey held the San Francisco Giants record for the largest contract in franchise history. In Posey’s first big move as president of the club’s baseball operations, he didn’t hesitate to crush it.
The Giants agreed to terms 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 resolve to remain aggressive as they try to recover their position. relevance in the National League West. Adames’ deal is pending a physical — more than a minor detail given the medical issues that scuttled Carlos Correa’s $350 million contract after the 2022 season — and the guaranteed money would be beyond Posey’s own nine-year, $167 million contract increase that he signed afterwards. winning the NL MVP Award in 2012.
With Adames and third baseman Matt Chapman signing a six-year, $150 million extension in September, the Giants have committed a third of a billion dollars to establish a solid offensive and defensive presence on the left side of their infield . All told, these investments aren’t all that different from the mega-deals the Texas Rangers gave shortstop Corey Seager and second baseman Marcus Semien after the 2021 season — a $500 million bet that paid off as the Rangers won their first World Series title in franchise history. two years later.
Adames, 29, earned 4.8 fWAR last season as he finished fourth in the Majors with 112 RBIs, posted career highs in home runs (32) and stolen bases (21), and led the 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 one of the league’s best defenders at shortstop in 2023, and while several of his advanced stats dropped this past season, there’s little doubt that with the glove he represents an upgrade over the in-house options the Giants at this position.
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of the Giants’ stunning deal, which came about on the eve of baseball’s winter meetings in Dallas, is the way it reflects on Posey, who had been something of a cipher in his brief tenure as baseball’s first manager. 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 reaching the postseason for the seventh time in eight seasons ‘ missed.
But Posey had been clear on one point: He called acquiring a shortstop 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 a knack for cutting through the noise during his career behind the plate, tackling problems head-on, charting a direct path and avoiding the pitfall of overthinking. If his first big move as the Giants’ chief baseball architect is any indication, he’ll lean on the same traits and impulses as he tries to close the significant gap between his team and the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Identify the problem. Solve problem.
Posey wasn’t sufficiently deterred by the fact that signing Adames, who was granted a qualifying offer by the Brewers, will force the Giants to sacrifice their second- and fifth-round picks, along with $1 million in international bonus money from their pool for 2026. . Those are no small considerations for a franchise that also made its second- and third-round picks this past draft after signing Chapman and left-hander Blake Snell the previous offseason. The Giants wouldn’t have lost draft picks if they had switched from Adames to shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, a favorite of Giants manager Bob Melvin from their time together in San Diego but who will continue to rehabilitate from shoulder surgery outside of the game on opening day. season .
But Adames was clearly the best shortstop on the market. And Posey kept it so simple.
“At the end of the day it’s a boring answer, but you just want complete baseball players,” Posey said during the GM 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 as a fellow CAA client. The Giants recently announced the appointment of Jeff Berry, Posey’s former agent and former head of CAA’s baseball division, as special advisor.
ESPN was the first to report the agreement. The Giants aren’t expected to announce it until late Sunday or Monday.
The addition of Adames would push Tyler Fitzgerald into a competition at second base with Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely and possibly Marco Luciano if the organization’s former top prospect isn’t traded or moved to the outfield.
The biggest question becomes how aggressive the Giants will be to address their second major need: a pitching presence for a rotation that threw the fewest innings in the National League despite the fact that their opening day ace, Logan Webb, is the most pitched on an individual basis. Several reports have linked the Giants to former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, a Bakersfield native who attended Saint Mary’s College in Moraga and would give the Giants one of the best 1-2 punches in the league.
Before last season with the Baltimore Orioles, Burnes had spent his entire major league career with the Brewers, so the addition of Adames could be a selling point in any Giants attempt at a pursuit. Both players are very well known to Zack Minasian, the Giants’ new general manager, who had been the scouting director in Milwaukee during his fourteen seasons with the organization. Minasian was one of the strongest voices for Burnes when the right-hander showed promise in the minor leagues and then-Brewers GM Doug Melvin recommended making the former fourth-round pick virtually untouchable in trade talks.
On a cash basis, the Giants spent $206 million on player salaries last season, exceeded the luxury tax threshold for the first time since 2018 ($237 million) and suffered operating losses that caused some discomfort among members of the ownership group. Their interim budget figures for 2025 had called for a reduction in player wages, which could still be achieved even if the club were able to win the bid for Burnes – a market expected to be in excess of $200 million – and for Adames .
Adding in Adames’ average annual value of $26 million would put the Giants’ estimated payroll at about $170 million. If the Giants want to trim in other areas, they could trade one or more of their arbitration-eligible players (including LaMonte Wade Jr. and Camilo Doval). Or they could sign one of the many second-string starting pitchers who won’t come cheap — as evidenced by Luis Severino’s three-year, $67 million contract with the A’s — but will require a fraction of what it takes to land Burnes , who notably left CAA for the Boras Corporation in 2023 and whose potential signing would also cost the Giants their third- and sixth-round draft picks.
Or Posey could do what he has shown so many times during his playing career: cut through the noise, go after the best player and convince ownership to spend money.
“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 don’t let ourselves be paralyzed by that potential fear of failure. It’s knowing that, “Hey, sometimes we have to take the risk of media members saying this was a bad decision or a bad move.” But if we feel convicted in that, then you have to make peace with it.”
(Top photo of Adames: Lachlan Cunningham / Getty Images)