​Why Willy Adames’ ‘rocky’ season with Giants isn’t worth $26 million originally appeared on The Sporting News.
Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.The San Francisco Giants may be the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball in 2026. The NL West club had postseason aspirations, and the organization is paying a boatload of money to a few of the top names on the roster. Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman are both huge financial commitments, and shortstop Willy Adames falls in the same category. But Adames has not lived up to expectations in a Giants uniform since he signed his seven-year, $182 million deal prior to the 2025 season. Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter listed him as one of the top 25 overpaid players in baseball. Adames has had a ‘rocky’ Giants tenure”After a rocky start to his first season in San Francisco, shortstop Willy Adames ultimately rebounded to post a 111 OPS+ with 30 home runs and 3.7 WAR to kick off his seven-year, $182 million deal,” Reuter wrote Wednesday. Adames will earn a total of $26 million in 2026, but he’s never made an All-Star team, and his offensive production has not been All-Star worthy. MORE: Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll joins only Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio in wild MLB historyIn 116 games, the shortstop is hitting .224/.285/.413 with 19 home runs and a 96 OPS+, indicating he’s performed four percent worse at the plate than the league-average hitter. “This year, that rebound simply hasn’t come, and while he has provided positive value with his glove and extra-base pop, his production has been a far cry from justifying one of the largest salaries of any shortstop,” Reuter added. Next year, the Giants need better production from Adames to avoid another ugly season in San Francisco. More MLB news:Brewers World Series odds look a bit bleak with MLB HR historyAstros expected to fire Joe Espada if they miss the postseasonDodgers update on Shohei Ohtani pitching again has major MVP implicationsDodgers and Mets predicted to be the only teams active in Tarik Skubal’s free-agent marketCardinals’ Joshua Baez just did something never done before in MLB history with a 3-HR debut