The San Francisco Giants knew something needed to change.
After a third-straight regular season ending in playoff disappointment, the Giants shook things up in a major way. They let go of president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and shocked the baseball world by hiring franchise icon, former superstar catcher Buster Posey, as his replacement.
Posey's hiring has given a jolt to a fan base tiring of mediocrity, but now he needs to get to work on improving the lineup. The Giants have missed on countless free-agent bats in recent years, and their offense has languished as a result.
And if the Giants are once again going to march into the fray for the big bats on the market, they might as well try and land a shortstop, since they don't have a clear-cut starter at the position. That could establish the Milwaukee Brewers' Willy Adames as one of the best possible fits for San Francisco.
On Sunday, insider Jon Heyman listed the Giants as one of the three early favorites for Adames, seemingly confirming that notion.
"Willy Adames, spiritual leader of Brew Crew, has been target of Dodgers, Braves and Giants in past and they’re seen as among possible landing spots," Heyman said on X. "Brewers would love to keep him but understand he’s probably out of price range. LA, with Friedman/Rays link, possible favorite?"
Heyman's post is sure to create some internal conflict for Giants fans. On one hand, it's always good to be mentioned among the candidates to land a star player. But in the same breath, Heyman also named the Giants' top rival as the favorite to land that star.
Adames, 29, would be a perfect fit for the Giants, who haven't had a productive full-time starter at shortstop since Brandon Crawford in 2021. He mashed 32 home runs with 112 RBI this season, slashing .251/.331/.462 in the process.
It seems as though Adames will be out of the Brewers' price range, but the Giants will face stiff competition in the expected bidding war. They will need to make a monster offer in order to land their new superstar shortstop.
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