The veteran San Francisco Giants shortstop provided a rare bright spot during a horrendous stretch as he launched his 200th career home run.
Willy Adames provided the San Francisco Giants with their only two runs on Thursday, Aug. 20, as it marked a sixth consecutive series loss for this squad.
It's one that is severely under .500 and has been in constant danger of falling to last place in the National League West.
Adames is in the same category as Rafael Devers, two veterans who have been underperforming but weren't traded at the deadline due to their inflated contracts.
Currently in a seven-year, $182 million deal, Adames will not become an unrestricted free agent until the 2032 season.
Thankfully, he's still given the Giants enough offense to somewhat stomach his deal this season.
Fresh off another loss, the only silver lining was the fact that Adames hit his 200th career home run, a major milestone for the 30-year-old.
Adames hits No. 200
While he's still 10 homers shy of the 30 he hit in his first year with the Giants, there's enough time for Adames to try and climb above the 20 mark where he currently sits.
Adames debuted in the majors in 2018, and historically has been a 20+ home run hitter. His career high came just two years ago, back in 2024, when he hit 32 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Two seasons prior, in 2022, he hit 31.
The shortstop hit 30+ homers in three of four seasons from 2022-25, but this year has been quite different. His batting average has been able to rise above what it was last season, but his .709 OPS is on pace to be his lowest in a single season since 2021, when it was just .625 in 132 at-bats.
He's been critiqued time and time again this season, but Adames is still putting up a 1.7 WAR this season. There are plenty of reasons to believe this is simply a down year, but it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Overall, Adames still has that power left in him; it's just a matter of finding it more consistently.
The Dominican Republic native now has two homers in the month of August. Last month he hit four, so he's a bit behind schedule with just over a week left to go before the calendar flips to September.
When looking at the Giants' home run leaderboard, Adames is one homer shy of Casey Schmitt's 21, but is still five behind the team leader, Devers, who has 25.
