The Milwaukee Brewers have a reputation of making unpopular decisions. Trading Josh Hader mid-season in 2022 and Corbin Burnes last winter are two great examples of this. Despite this one MLB Insider believes that impending free agent shortstop Willy Adames will not meet that same fate.
Willy Adames is off to a tremendous start to the 2024 season.
After exceeding all expectations in 2021 Willy Adames was subject to criticism in both 2022 and 2023. His power numbers didn’t falter, but in 2022 he posted an on-base percentage of just .298 and a year later .310. This year his on-base percentage is up to .332, his chase rate is much lower, and he’s still doing damage at the plate as he has seven home runs and 29 RBI.
One MLB Insider believes that it is unlikely that the Milwaukee Brewers trade Willy Adames.
MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal recently published a column in which Willy Adames was highlighted. Rosenthal touched on how the previous Hader traded jarred the players and tarnished the clubhouse, the Brewers backup plan failed, and Milwaukee ended up missing the post-season by a game. His view regarding Adames is that it is unlikely that the Brewers do this again because they recognize the internal damage a mid-season trade caused last time while they were in playoff contention.
What would the Milwaukee Brewers back up plan be if they traded Willy Adames?
When the Brewers traded Josh Hader in 2022 their plan was to back fill that loss with Taylor Rogers and Trevor Rosenthal. Unfortunately that didn’t work out. Should Milwaukee trade Adames this summer they have several internal replacement options in which Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz would be the top two candidates to takeover at shortstop. Both of these players are currently experiencing success, but Rosenthal raised an interesting question as to if they are succeeding in part because Adames is providing them with veteran cover.
“Adames, 28, probably can rest easy. If the Brewers traded him, they could slide Brice Turang to shortstop and use Joey Ortiz and others at second base. But club officials recognize the internal damage they caused with the Hader deal, and the potential to unsettle the clubhouse again by parting with an everyday player and team leader. Turang and Ortiz might be succeeding in part because Adames is providing them with veteran cover.”
-Ken Rosenthal
It will be interesting to see if the Brewers hold on to Adames for the entirety of the season or not. If they don’t trade him the only compensation they could receive would be a draft pick (assuming they extend a qualifying offer during the off-season). Milwaukee currently is in a great position standings wise, but there are still another two months to go before the trade deadline.
