Braves: MLB insider on which teams are the favorites for Willy Adames
The Braves have to find a long-term answer at shortstop. Orlando Arcia was an amazing story in 2023, going from losing his job in Milwaukee to being traded and turning into an All-Star for the Braves. However, there was always a sense that his first half was a bit of fool’s gold, and the 2024 campaign confirmed those concerns.
Arcia finished this season with a batting average of .218, 17 homers, a measly .625 OPS, and 73 OPS+ (27% below league average). Even worse, he somehow hit just .155 with a .400 OPS with runners in scoring position. That’s unplayable. It doesn’t matter what he can do with the glove, and it’s not like he’s a finalist for the Gold Glove award at shortstop.
It’s not something that can continue for much longer, but finding a clear upgrade that’s affordable may prove impossible. The only notable free agent shortstop set to test the market is Willy Adames. He’s an All-Star caliber talent and is about to enter a very enviable situation this winter. Like everything, markets are determined by supply and demand. There are a lot of teams looking to upgrade at shortstop and few viable options available, which will almost assuredly create a bidding war for his services.
“People around the league see the Dodgers as a possible favorite to land star free-agent shortstop Willy Adames,” Heyman said. “Dodgers bigwigs Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes had him at Tampa Bay.”
When a big name becomes available, and all it will cost is money to acquire him, you can bet your bottom dollar the Dodgers will be first in line calling. They have the deepest pockets in the league, and they made that quite obvious last offseason when they spent over a billion dollars in free agency on Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Their funds are as close to limitless as it gets in a league with no hard salary cap. It’s tough to beat, and Alex Anthopoulos typically doesn’t like to go swimming in the deep waters.
However, Heyman did mention the Braves have been in on Willy Adames in the past, frequently attempting to trade for him while he was on the Brewers.
“Adames has been a frequent trade target of the Dodgers, Braves and Giants, and Atlanta also could use him now, but with a $200 million-plus price tag, he might be pricey for them (they let their own longtime SS Dansby Swanson go for $177M to the Cubs),” writes Heyman.
Of course, the Braves have never been shy when it comes to acquiring big names via trade (See: Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Chris Sale, etc.). What they have been hesitant to do in the past is hand out lucrative long-term deals in free agency. Since Alex Anthopoulos became GM of the Braves, the most lucrative contract he’s given to any free agent is Marcell Ozuna, who signed a four-year, $65 million contract a few years ago. It’s certainly not Anthopoulos’ MO, but one has to wonder if desperation and the pain of three early playoff exits could lead to him being a little more frivolous in free agency than he has in the past.
