SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Willy Adames wasn’t afraid to be a little critical of himself. Even if it meant some exaggeration.
During a media scrum at Giants camp on Sunday, a reporter started a question by saying Adames needed “a little time” last season to get going offensively. Before the reporter finished the question, Adames had a playful barb ready in return.
“A little time? Four months!” Adames said with his signature jovial smile.
It wasn’t quite four months, but the sentiment is correct. Adames looked nothing like a player deserving of a $182 million deal in the first few months as a Giant. By season’s end, he looked the part of someone who earned the largest free-agent contract in franchise history.
Adames, 30, feels more equipped to take off right from the jump as he enters the second year of the seven-year deal.
“You go into the offseason, you go and work hard, make adjustments,” Adames said. “This is going to be my second year now. I don’t have to impress anybody. They all know me. Now I’m more adjusted to the city, to the stadium, to everything.”
Following a hot spring, Adames entered last June hitting .207/.291/.329 with five homers and 25 RBIs. Amidst his extended struggles, former manager Bob Melvin gave Adames a two-day break, leaving him out of the lineup for the first time on June 8 before the team’s off-day on June 9.
With a free day in Colorado, Adames retreated to the mountains with a close friend, who guided him in meditation. When he descended from the mountains, his numbers started to ascend.
“It made me go back to my roots,” Adames said last August. “I come from a small town in the Dominican Republic, which is in the mountains. She said, ‘Let’s go to the mountains — the waters and rivers — so you can remember where you come from and who you are.’ That helped a lot. That cleaned my mind of all the stuff that was going on.”
Adames homered on June 10 against the Colorado Rockies, then did the same on June 11. With that, he was off. Following that double off-day, Adames had an .848 OPS with 25 home runs and 61 RBIs over 95 games. By WAR, he was the Giants’ most valuable player from June onward by a wide margin.
On the final day of the regular season, Adames sent the first pitch he saw over the center-field fence to become the first Giant to hit at least 30 homers in a season since Barry Bonds. It was the third 30-plus homer season of Adames’ career, and he joined Rich Aurilia as the only other shortstop in franchise history to hit at least 30 homers in a season (37, 2001).
“Now I know a little bit more about how things work in San Francisco,” Adames said. “I know I don’t have to change my swing. Balls can fly anyway. It’s going to be a little harder than maybe Cincinnati or Milwaukee, but it still flies when you hit it. You’ve just got to hit it.”
While Adames found that he didn’t need to tweak his swing for his power to play, he still made some pretty notable alterations to his setup.
Compared to last year, Adames’ posture is more upright and his feet are more open. Adames’ leg kick is also different. Last year, Adames brought his front foot directly up to about knee level. This spring, not only is Adames moving his front foot more forward than up, but he’s not bringing that foot up nearly as high.
The difference between last season and this spring is very apparent on film. Here’s Adames’ swing on the final day of the 2025 regular season compared to the first game of the ‘26 Cactus League:
sporty-clips.mlb.com/a0RZNU9fWGw0TUFRPT1fQVFKU1hRWUdWd0FBV3dkUlV3QUhWdzVVQUFNRUFGSUFVUVpSVXdaWFV3TlRCZ3RV.mp4 sporty-clips.mlb.com/N3kzS2xfWGw0TUFRPT1fQUZkWlhWY0NCUWNBV1FjRFZBQUhBd05UQUZrQlZnQUFCMUlFVTFGUVZBQlhDQU5m.mp4“I’m trying to make some adjustments,” Adames said. “The game is evolving. Guys are throwing 105 (mph) with movement. So, I’m trying to eliminate as many movements as I can. I’m trying to be more simple. I’m not trying to do anything drastic, just trying to adjust to be more consistent.”
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“You’ll see with guys a lot of times — and him, especially — there’s just different ways they start to move to try to create better timing windows,” Mense said. “For him, he’s always experimenting as to what is the best timing window he can create and what are some of the best ways to get there.
“He’s in a good spot right now. He’s getting confident with what he’s doing and how he’s moving. You’ll always hear the same thing from hitters when they’re going really well: If they feel free, that feels easy. With him, no matter what he’s doing, if you’re hearing those sorts of words, he’s probably in a good spot.”
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