This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado¡¯s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- New Giants shortstop Willy Adames spent parts of three seasons playing behind ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, so he certainly wouldn¡¯t mind if his former Brewers teammate ended up joining him in San Francisco this offseason.

After finalizing a seven-year, $182 million contract with the Giants, Adames said he planned to reach out to Burnes -- the top remaining starter on the free-agent market -- and try to recruit him to the Bay Area.

"I haven't talked to him, but I will definitely give him a call after today," Adames told reporters during his introductory press conference at Oracle Park on Thursday. "Obviously, you always want a guy like him. You're always going to have guys who are going to compete out there for you. And having a guy like that would be such an amazing addition. That's something that is not in my hands, and obviously, there's a lot of work to do for that. But I will give him a call later."

MLB.com's Mark Feinsand reported Wednesday that the Giants and Blue Jays are ¡°expected to be most aggressive¡± in courting Burnes, a four-time All-Star who won the 2021 National League Cy Young Award in Milwaukee. The 30-year-old hails from Bakersfield and attended St. Mary¡¯s College, though he will command a hefty price tag and should top the deals given to left-handers Blake Snell (five years, $182 million) and Max Fried (eight years, $218 million).

The Giants would be an obvious fit for Burnes if he favors a return to the West Coast, though it remains to be seen if they¡¯ll give out another nine-figure deal after springing for Adames, who also cost the club its second- and fifth-round 2025 Draft picks. San Francisco would have to forfeit its third- and sixth-round selections to sign Burnes, but general manager Zack Minasian said the escalating penalties wouldn¡¯t necessarily keep the club from pursuing a second qualified free agent this offseason.

¡°I would never count it out,¡± Minasian said. ¡°I think if we start taking options away from ourselves, we¡¯re just putting ourselves in a bad spot. We at least want to stay open-minded to it.¡±

The Giants are bullish on their stable of young starters, which includes Kyle Harrison, Hayden Birdsong, Landen Roupp and Keaton Winn, but their rotation covered the fewest innings in the NL in 2024, underscoring the need for another reliable arm to pair with Logan Webb. Robbie Ray and Jordan Hicks will also be back in the fold for next year, but Ray had mixed results after returning from Tommy John surgery, and Hicks ran out of gas after making the transition from the bullpen to the rotation.

Burnes could certainly help stabilize the staff, having thrown at least 193 2/3 innings in each of his last three seasons.

¡°I think the obvious answer is yes,¡± president of baseball operations Buster Posey said when asked if the Giants want to add another durable piece to the rotation. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to see what our options look like. Again, I just want to re-emphasize that there¡¯s a lot of belief in this group."

With Adames and five-time Gold Glove winner Matt Chapman locked into the left side of the infield for years to come, the Giants could become an even more attractive destination for free-agent pitchers like Burnes.

¡°It¡¯s definitely something we¡¯re proud of,¡± Posey said. ¡°I would argue it¡¯s the best left side in the game with those two at short and third. We play in a ballpark that¡¯s conducive for the ball being put in play. Strikeouts are great. You take a lot of variables out of play, but when you do have strong defenders, you feel like they¡¯re going to catch the ball and make great throws, then it should give our pitchers a lot of confidence.¡±

Adames¡¯ defensive metrics took a step back this past season, with his Outs Above Average slipping from +16 in 2023 to +1 in ¡¯24, but Posey said he viewed the drop-off as more of an aberration than anything else.

¡°I would say the year before, he was one of the top defenders in the league,¡± Posey said. ¡°I experienced it myself from time to time. You have a great defensive year, then the next one¡¯s down. Sometimes, I think the way the metrics work, some errors that you make will probably paint a picture that¡¯s not as true as what your eyes know for a defender. I think some of what we saw was throwing errors last year that, one way or another, can be cleaned up. There was never anything glaring we saw where we were like, ¡®Ah, is this guy really a great defender?¡¯ We believe wholeheartedly he¡¯s a great defender.¡±