Willy Adames was the Giants¡¯ biggest acquisition this past offseason as San Francisco begins a new era under the leadership of new president of baseball operations Buster Posey. The slugging shortstop inked a franchise-record seven-year, $182 million contract after hitting 87 home runs over the past three seasons with the Brewers.
Adames not only finds himself on a new team, but also in a new division. And he knows it¡¯ll be a challenge for the Giants to get to their desired destination given the stiff competition in the National League West, which begins with the defending World Series champion Dodgers, San Francisco¡¯s archrivals.
¡°This division is way different than the NL Central,¡± Adames told MLB Network Radio on Friday. ¡°This has to be the hardest division right now in baseball. So you¡¯ve got to have good chemistry in the clubhouse to bring that to the field. Because when we play all these teams, we¡¯ve got to compete. We¡¯ve got to do the little things, we¡¯ve got to take advantage of every little thing they give us.
¡°We¡¯ve got to be smarter than them. We¡¯ve got to take advantage of every situation of the game and we¡¯re going to be fine -- not trying to just hit homers all the time; if we just try to be more situational and take advantage of that, I think we¡¯re going to be fine.¡±
Something Adames is looking forward to taking advantage of individually is the knowledge and experience of his new teammate on the left side of the infield, five-time Gold Glove Award-winning third baseman Matt Chapman.
Chapman, who won his fifth Gold Glove Award last year, had a bounce-back season at the plate for San Francisco, posting a .791 OPS with 27 home runs.
¡°I don¡¯t have to worry about that side,¡± Adames said of the man who will be stationed to his right. ¡°I¡¯m just going to be picking his brain and learning from him and continuing to work. It¡¯s just a blessing to have [him there].¡±
The Giants are hoping the left side of their infield will be a major part of a run that takes them into the postseason for the first time since 2021.
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