MLB Insider: 3 potential offseason fits for Brewers star Willy Adames

Before the regular season, the Milwaukee Brewers received strong trade interest in star shortstop Willy Adames.

But the Brewers, led by general manager Matt Arnold, elected to hold onto Adames. They viewed Adames, 29, as an instrumental part of the locker room and as one of the best shortstops in baseball. Coming off a season in which he hit only .217/.310/.407 with 24 home runs and 80 RBI, there was some projection - even optimism - that he would be a similar player moving forward to the version the Brewers saw in 2022.

The Brewers have been rewarded for that patience, with Adames bursting onto the scene and posting one of the best seasons of his major-league career. In 138 games this season, he’s hit .255/.338/.474 with 29 home runs and 99 RBI. He has hit a whopping 13 three-run homers this season, tying Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. for the most three-run homers in a season.

With Adames becoming a free agent at the end of the regular season, his price has skyrocketed this season. And the Brewers are seemingly aware that the chances of the star shortstop re-signing in Milwaukee are slim to none, with manager Pat Murphy telling the New York Post: “I sure wish we could [re-sign him]. I think he’s going to price himself out of our market.”

Here are three teams that make sense for Adames in the offseason.

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have long been speculated as a potential fit for Adames. After all, there is a connection between Adames and Andrew Friedman from their days with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Dodgers have shown trade interest in Adames in recent years. And the Dodgers just so happen to need a shortstop in the offseason.

Signing Adames is going to be expensive, perhaps as much as $200 million. But if there’s any organization that has proven it will spend money to acquire star players, it’s the Dodgers.

Just look at this past offseason, where the Dodgers added Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Teoscar Hernandez and others to a roster that already featured Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, among others. Adding Adames would further stretch the payroll to record levels, but it would lock up the shortstop position long-term and further bolster the Dodgers’ World Series odds.

It’s also a move that’s possible with how Shohei Ohtani structured his contract. That’s something to keep in mind with Adames or any other big name player moving forward.

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a team that could be a strong fit for Adames, especially with long-term questions at shortstop.

Braves executive Alex Antopoulos is as aggressive as any general manager in baseball when it comes to players he 1) loves and 2) would fill a need. Adames is an emerging star player who has drawn rave reviews for his impact on the Brewers’ clubhouse - and that’s something that Anthopoulos is on the record in saying that he values. 

It’s unclear if Anthopoulos would pony up the $150-200 million it would take to sign Adames. But it’s easy to see Adames seamlessly fitting into the Braves’ locker room and becoming one of the teams’ most important players – and it’s surely something that the front office should, and will consider, ahead of free agency.

Seattle Mariners

The Seattle Mariners have one of the most exciting young pitching staffs in recent baseball history. Yet, with an underperforming offense, it’s likely to go to waste in 2024.

We’ve already seen the front office move on from manager Scott Servais and others on the coaching staff. There will surely be other changes after the season is over. But one thing that is clear is that the Mariners must be aggressive in upgrading the offense this offseason – and adding Adames would go a long way toward doing that.

Let’s make one thing clear: Adames should not be the only thing that the Mariners do in the offseason. Their offensive issues extend far deeper than one player can fix. But he would be a tremendous start, give the offense another foundational piece to build around, and get Seattle one step closer to not just a postseason berth, but potentially a World Series appearance.