Willy Adames is the MLB version of a 3-and-D player in the NBA. That's a good thing. It's what makes Adames the most valuable shortstop in the 2024-25 free agent class.

The 29-year-old is a homer-and-glove star. Adames has an important two-pronged skill set -- he belts home runs in the middle of the order, and he's a strong fielder at shortstop.

It's the same principle that makes 3-and-D players so valuable in basketball: They hit the most valuable shots, three-pointers, and they provide high-level defense on the other end. Adames provides the most valuable kind of hits, home runs, and plays a high-level shortstop, a premier defensive position.

Every MLB team needs players like that. That's why you shouldn't worry that Adames is only around a .250 career hitter. Adames' power/defense profile is what made him a key cog on multiple Brewers playoff teams during his Milwaukee tenure, and it's what's going to generate the demand for him this winter.

Adames' emergence as a home run-and-defense player began with his first full season with the Brewers in 2022, and has continued through 2024. He's established a track record. Over these last three seasons, Adames has hit 87 home runs, and he has a +20 Fielding Run Value -- that's Statcast's overall measure of how many runs he's prevented with his fielding.

He's been one of the top shortstops in the Majors in both categories.

• Adames' 87 homers over the last three seasons rank third among shortstops, behind only Corey Seager (96) and Francisco Lindor (90).
• Adames' +20 Fielding Run Value over the last three seasons ranks fourth among shortstops, behind only Dansby Swanson (+45), Lindor (+25) and Ezequiel Tovar (+22).

It's not just that Adames stands out among shortstops, though. He's in the top tier of power-and-glove players in the big leagues, regardless of position.

Let's take a look at Adames' combination of those two tools, using Statcast's flagship metric for each: Barrels for power, and Outs Above Average for glove.

At the plate, Adames has 154 barrels over the last three seasons. Barrels are balls hit with both ideal exit velocity and ideal launch angle, the type of contact most likely to be a home run, or at least an extra-base hit. Adames is one of only 22 hitters with at least 150 barrels since 2022, and he has out-barreled a lot of MLB's superstar sluggers over that time.

In the field, Adames has been worth +26 Outs Above Average over the last three seasons. OAA measures how many outs an infielder or outfielder saves for his defense, based on the difficulty of all the plays he converts (or misses). Adames is one of only 25 fielders with at least +25 Outs Above Average since 2022, a group that includes plenty of Gold Glovers.

And when you combine those two sides of Adames' game, the list of players who can match him is short.

Players with 150+ barrels and 25+ OAA since 2022

• Francisco Lindor: 158 barrels, +33 OAA
• Willy Adames: 154 barrels, +26 OAA
• Christian Walker: 153 barrels, +39 OAA

Julio Rodr¨ªguez is close, with 147 barrels and a +28 OAA. Bobby Witt Jr. could have been there (he has 178 barrels and a +18 OAA), if he hadn't struggled so badly in the field as a rookie in 2022.

But with those criteria, it's Adames, Lindor and Walker, and that's it.

Even if you lower the thresholds -- let's say, a minimum of 100 barrels and +10 Outs Above Average -- the group is still small. And it's still a select group of the best power-glove players.

There are 17 players in that 100 barrel/+10 OAA group over the last three seasons. Here's how they break down by position.

First basemen

• Christian Walker -- 153 barrels, +39 OAA
• Bryce Harper -- 133 barrels, +11 OAA

Second basemen

• Marcus Semien -- 110 barrels, +42 OAA

Third basemen

• Matt Chapman -- 160 barrels, +17 OAA
• Eugenio Su¨¢rez -- 150 barrels, +14 OAA
• Manny Machado -- 142 barrels, +19 OAA
• Ryan McMahon -- 122 barrels, +24 OAA
• Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez -- 120 barrels, +12 OAA

Shortstops

• Bobby Witt Jr. -- 178 barrels, +18 OAA
• Corey Seager -- 170 barrels, +12 OAA
• Francisco Lindor -- 158 barrels, +33 OAA
• Willy Adames -- 154 barrels, +26 OAA
• Dansby Swanson -- 131 barrels, +60 OAA

Outfielders

• Julio Rodr¨ªguez -- 147 barrels, +28 OAA
• Luis Robert Jr. -- 110 barrels, +18 OAA
• Michael Harris II -- 107 barrels, +22 OAA
• Byron Buxton -- 100 barrels, +11 OAA

All of those players are worth having on your team. They're worth having in the lineup, and they're worth having in the field. But only two are free agents -- Adames and Walker. And those two aren't just free agents, they're two of the top free-agent position players, because of the specific phases of the game where they excel.

The team that signs Adames is going to get homers, and it's going to get solid up-the-middle infield defense. Adames is a specialist in his two key areas. And he's the type of specialist plenty of teams will want.