New San Francisco Giants Star Willy Adames Praised By Brewers Manager

The San Francisco Giants splash free agent signing Willy Adames will be sorely missed by his former Milwaukee Brewers manager.

Sep 29, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames (27) comes out of the game and is congratulated by Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy (21) in the seventh inning at American Family Field. / Michael McLoone-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants made one of the first big moves of free agency this season by bringing in Willy Adames. The superstar shortstop is sure to be missed by his former team and his old manager is already singing his praises.

Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy spoke to the media at the MLB Winter Meetings on Monday afternoon and it didn't take long for Adames to be brought up.

"I'm just excited for him," said Murphy per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area. "The human being that he is, that's what makes him great. His attitude that he brings every single day, how he goes about his business, (he's) a consummate professional. He was a leader in our clubhouse. He did as much for the ball club as anybody. He played in 161 games and would have played 162. The kid is special. He deserves everything he gets. I couldn't be happier."

The 29-year-old slugger has yet to make an All-Star team, but certainly established himself as an MLB star last season. Murphy is likely not too excited about figuring out how they will fill in the loss of his production.

Adames posted a .251/.331/.462 slash line during his last campaign with 32 home runs and 112 RBI. He also added 21 stolen bases, by far a new career-high. His numbers made the fact that he received the largest deal in franchise history make a little bit more sense.

Shortstop wasn't a black hole in the Giants' lineup, but it also had no consistency. There were five separate players that made multiple starts there last season.

Tyler Fitzgerald was the best of the bunch with a .280/.334/.497 slash line. He broke out a few months into the season and never looked back.

San Francisco will be excited to see what Fitzgerald can do in a full season and he will be able to do so at second base. He was much better there defensively, but had to play a lot of shortstop due to other players struggling there.

Along with the offensive boost that the Giants are set to receive with the shortstop, their clubhouse is in desperate need of more leaders. If Murphy's comments about Adames are indication, that is exactly what they are going to get.

There is a massive culture shift going on in San Francisco and they just go another star player to help out.

Matt Chapman earned his massive extension by becoming just as important as a leader as he was on the field.

The firing of the old regime and ushering in of franchise legend Buster Posey is no accident, either.

Opening up the checkbook so much, with the pitching staff yet to be addressed, already signals a positive change in mindset from the front office. It will be up to the players to follow suit.

Chapman and Adames as clubhouse leaders is a great start.