Brewers proprietor Mark Attanasio spoke to reporters, together with Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about a wide range of subjects previous to Friday night time’s sport in Milwaukee. Maybe most noteworthy of these subjects was the way forward for shortstop Willy Adames, who’s at present slated to hit free company following the 2024 marketing campaign. Attanasio was candid about the truth that the membership made “loads of gives” to Adames all through the offseason in hopes of retaining him on a long-term deal. Whereas Attanasio didn’t present additional particulars on these gives, his feedback appeared to counsel that he doesn’t trust in his means to maintain Adames in Milwaukee long run at this level.
“He’s one of the best,” Attanasio stated of Adames, as relayed by Hogg. “…Willy’s efficiency obtained to some extent the place it could be – we’ll see what occurs after the season – however he’s going to command fairly a big bundle as a free agent.”
Attanasio definitely isn’t unsuitable to counsel that Adames has elevated his inventory together with his play up to now this season. The 28-year-old had typically established himself as an above-average shortstop on either side of the ball coming into the 2023 marketing campaign, with a .255/.322/.448 slash line (110 wRC+) to go together with a whopping 10 Outs Above Common throughout the 2022 marketing campaign. Whereas 2023 noticed Adames preserve these top-of-the-scale defensive metrics at shortstop, his offense took a big step again.
Regardless of profession greatest strikeout (25.9%) and stroll (11.1%) charges final season, Adames posted a career-worst 94 wRC+ whereas slashing a paltry .217/.310/.407 in 638 journeys to the plate final yr. That lackluster manufacturing was primarily as a result of Adames struggling a little bit of an influence outage. Whereas his 64 residence runs and 78 doubles between the 2020-22 campaigns gave him a wholesome .220 remoted slugging throughout these three campaigns, 2023 noticed that determine drop to simply .190 as he slugged simply 24 homers and 29 doubles. That mixed with a career-worst .259 batting common on balls in play left Adames as a below-average bat total final yr, elevating some questions on his means to command a big deal this winter.
Luckily for Adames, he’s largely put these issues to mattress together with his efficiency within the first third of the 2024 marketing campaign. He’s maintained the constructive developments when it comes to plate self-discipline from final yr, sporting a wholesome 10.4% stroll price whereas slicing his strikeouts down to simply 20.7% of the time. On prime of that, his .197 ISO suggests his energy manufacturing is trending in the precise path, as does his hard-hit price rebounding from simply 36.1% final yr to 40.7% up to now this season. All that has left Adames with a strong .256/.335/.453 slash line (125 wRC+) to go together with his greatest wOBA (.346) since 2021.
What’s extra, it’s attainable there’s much more offensive potential in Adames’s efficiency he has but to faucet into as indicated by his career-best .362 xwOBA. That determine is tied with Bryce Harper for thirty third amongst all certified hitters this yr, putting Adames’s anticipated manufacturing in the identical stratosphere as elite infielders like Matt Olson and Rafael Devers. Even when Adames doesn’t find yourself reaching these heights this yr, his present manufacturing on the plate together with protection at shortstop that has ranked within the 96th percentile or higher of certified fielders in every of the previous three seasons is certain to make him among the many most fascinating infielders out there this winter.
Within the meantime, Adames has helped lead the Brewers to a command 6.5 sport lead over the sector within the NL Central as they’ve posted a 35-23 file thus far within the season. With such a strong lead within the division, one could be forgiven for assuming that Adames will stay in Milwaukee a minimum of by the top of the 2024 marketing campaign because the membership continues to push in direction of its sixth playoff look in seven seasons. GM Matt Arnold indicated to reporters (together with Hogg) throughout the dialog with Attanasio that nothing is assured forward of the commerce deadline this summer season, nonetheless, as he declined to say that the membership’s star shortstop could be off the desk this July.
“From my perspective you’ll be able to by no means shut the door on something, however he’s the heartbeat of our crew in a number of methods,” Arnold stated, as relayed by Hogg. “At all times need to keep open minded but additionally acknowledge the worth that he brings to us on a regular basis.”
If the Brewers had been to break down over the subsequent two months, it could hardly be a shock to see a budget-conscious membership that prefers to keep away from rebuilding and try and contend in perpetuity store Adames round in hopes of discovering long run property who might assist the membership win sooner or later. It’s a lot trickier to decipher whether or not they would significantly contemplate parting methods with Adames on the deadline if they continue to be firmly within the playoff image, nonetheless. The Brewers famously dealt Josh Hader to the Padres on the commerce deadline whereas in competition again in 2022, and the lack of the membership’s nearer certainly helped to contribute to the 29-31 file from Aug. 1 onward that left them on the skin trying in throughout the postseason that yr.
Alternatively, the 2 prospects Milwaukee acquired within the deal, outfielder Esteury Ruiz and lefty Robert Gasser, have each gone on to contribute to the large league membership in huge methods this season. The Brewers flipped Ruiz throughout the 2022-23 offseason in an effort to land catcher William Contreras in a three-team cope with the Braves and A’s and Contreras has since damaged out as one of many league’s easiest catchers. As for Gasser, the 25-year-old rookie has appeared nothing in need of dominant in 4 begins with the Brewers this season, posting a sterling 1.96 ERA and a couple of.52 FIP in 23 innings of labor.
Given the main success the membership has loved in turning the prospects from that deal into manufacturing on the huge league degree lower than two years later, it stands to cause that Milwaukee brass would a minimum of contemplate parting methods with Adames in the event that they felt they may moderately change his manufacturing down the stretch and are available out forward in the long run. Alternatively, the membership’s struggles in 2022 following the Hader commerce spotlight the dangers concerned in such a maneuver and will go away Arnold’s entrance workplace reluctant to run the identical danger simply two seasons after it probably value the Brewers a postseason berth.
