Willy Adames’ San Francisco Giants Contract Includes Large Signing Bonus

The San Francisco Giants used a signing bonus to help them land shortstop Willy Adames in free agency this week.

Dec 12, 2024; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (2) holds his jersey with president of baseball operations Buster Posey during his introductory press conference at Oracle Park. / Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants paid shortstop Willy Adames the largest contract in team history when they signed him to a seven-year, $182 million contract.

The deal beat the previous record contract by $15 million, which was signed by Buster Posey. Now the president of baseball operations, he facilitated the deal that beat his record.

But it isn’t just a standard contract. It has a couple of sweeteners for Adams, per the New York Post.

First, there’s a signing bonus. The Giants carved $22 million out of the deal to give to him in two parts. The first part is $11 million and it is payable on Jan. 15. The second half is due on Jan. 15, 2016.

The use of the bonus is key because it helps drive down his base salary for the 2025 and 2026 seasons to $10 million. That could help the Giants have money to sign other players.

After that, the final five years are paid in equal installments of $28 million. The contract ends after the 2031 season.

The other sweetener is one that is typical in deals like this — a full no-trade clause. That means if the Giants decide to trade him, he will have to approve the deal, including the team he’s being dealt to.

That’s a considerable commitment for the Giants, but the hope is that he’ll be worth it.

San Francisco needed power in its batting order. It needed someone to solidify shortstop to execute another offseason goal, which was to move Tyler Fitzgerald to second base. Adames helps them satisfy those goals.

Oracle Park may not be the hitter’s park he was used to in Milwaukee. But he has considerable gap power and it’s possible he can offset a downturn in home runs with an upturn in doubles or triples that still bring home runs.

The deal also erases some of the sting of free agencies past. When Aaron Judge was a free agent, the Giants were a primary destination because of his California roots. At one point, the Giants were the highest bidder. But the New York Yankees stepped in to re-sign him.

The Giants thought they struck gold with a long-term deal with Carlos Correa. His physical deep-sixed the deal and now he’s with the Minnesota Twins.

The Giants also took a swing at Shohei Ohtani last offseason and, predictably, missed.

Adames is proof the Giants can reel in the big fish. Ultimately, he said that Posey’s presence in the front office helped motivate him to sign.

So he did, and the contract is reflective of one of the best hitters on the free-agent market.