The Milwaukee Brewers finished an incredible 2024 season with a 93-69 record and another National League Central Division crown. Pat Murphy was named Manager of the Year in his first season at the helm, the first skipper in franchise history to win the award. Sal Frelick and Brice Turang brought home Gold Glove Awards, and Turang added the NL Platinum Glove later. William Contreras won his second consecutive Silver Slugger as well.
Overall, the Brewers look like a team that is poised to contend for years to come, especially with Jackson Chourio, who finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting, getting better and better.
But they are likely going to lose one player who will be nearly impossible to replace.
The Milwaukee Brewers Will Likely Lose Shortstop Willy Adames in Free Agency
Ever since he was acquired via trade from the Tampa Bay Rays in 2021, shortstop Willy Adames has been the heart and soul of the Brewers lineup, dugout, and clubhouse.
In his first half-season with Milwaukee, Adames hit .285/.366/.521 with 25 home runs and 58 RBI. So impactful was he that he received NL MVP votes (he finished 16th) even though he only played 99 games for the Brewers that year.
Adames followed that up by breaking Robin Yount’s franchise record for home runs in a season by a shortstop in 2022. That season, he hit .238/.298/.458 with 31 home runs and 98 RBI.
In 2023, Adames saw his production dip a bit, hitting .217/.310/.407 with 24 home runs and 80 RBI. But even though he struggled at the plate, his leadership in the clubhouse made him invaluable to the team. Sadly, fans knew even then that it was only a matter of time before he would not longer be on the team.
Power is the name of the game in today’s MLB, and very few shortstops hit for power quite like Adames does. Despite getting trade offers for him prior to the 2024 season, though, Milwaukee decided they would try to make another postseason run with their most popular player.
And it sure did pay off.
The Brewers did indeed return to the postseason, and Adames had the best year of his career. He hit .251/.331/.452 with 32 home runs and 112 RBI. He also stole 21 bases, which bested his previous career-high of eight that he set in 2022.
As fun as it was for Brewers fans to watch Adames, particularly this past year, it was also bittersweet in that it meant that he certainly priced himself out of Milwaukee’s range.
He recently turned down the $21 million qualifying offer the Brewers made to him and became a free agent.
With Adames most likely gone, Milwaukee needs to find someone to replace him, or at least his production on the field. No one can replace the impact he had on the culture of the team.
The Milwaukee Brewers Are Predicted to Sign Paul DeJong in Free Agency
In a recent article in which he predicted the 2025 Opening Day starting lineups for every MLB team, Bleacher Report‘s Joel Rueter had the following lineup for Milwaukee:
RF Jackson Chourio
DH Christian Yelich
C William Contreras
CF Garrett Mitchell
1B Rhys Hoskins
LF Sal Frelick
3B Paul DeJong
SS Joey Ortiz
2B Brice Turang
SP Freddy Peralta
There are few noteworthy things about this lineup, such as moving a Gold Glove right fielder to left field and Yelich taking over as the designated hitter (presumably).
But what is noteworthy in light of losing Adames is that Joey Ortiz is predicted to shift to his natural position of shortstop while the Brewers pencil in former St. Louis Cardinal Paul Dejong at third base.
DeJong is a free agent (projected to make $12 million in free agency) after splitting the 2024 season with the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals. Indeed, after spending the first six-and-a-half seasons in St. Louis, DeJong has bounced around a bit.
2023 saw the Cardinals trade him to the Toronto Blue Jays, who released him after just 13 games. He then signed with the San Fracisco Giants, with whom he played the rest of the season.
What is interesting about this, though, is that DeJong did start playing third base in 2024. After spending the vast majority of his career at short stop, both the White Sox and Royals used him at third. In fact, in the 31 games he played with Kansas City, 30 of them were at the hot corner.
Overall, DeJong hit .227/.276/.427 with 24 home runs and 56 RBI in 2024. He only walked 23 times and he did strike out 156 times in 139 games.
But the Brewers need to at least attempt to replace the power they will lose when Adames inevitably signs elsewhere, and there simply is not a long line of power-hitting infielders that are in their price range.
DeJong may not be a bad fit. It is also worth noting that, in his career, DeJong has a .261 batting average with six home runs and 20 RBI in 35 career games at American Family Field.
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