SEATTLE — Bryce Eldridge couldn’t help but notice the quality of Willy Adames’ swings during batting practice on Friday evening.
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Eldridge remarked following the Giants’ 7-0 win over the Mariners that Adames looked good and looked fresh. That feeling carried into game. Adames hit his 16th home run of the season, an opposite-field grand slam that fueled San Francisco’s first win of the second half.
If the Giants (42-55) are going to have any chance of crawling back into contention, they will need more nights like that from their shortstop.
“It can’t just be Willy and (Matt Chapman) and (Rafael) Devers. It’s got to be everyone. It’s a team effort. But when those guys are at their best, we’ve shown what this offense is capable of. Like, this team’s unstoppable,” said Eldridge, whose two-run homer in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie. “For those guys to be at their best is a dangerous thing. It was good to see Willy hit that grand slam tonight.”
The onus of offense does not fall solely on any one player’s shoulders. Still, the Giants need much, much more out of Adames, who is on pace for his worst season since he was a rookie in 2018.
Adames entered the All-Star break ranked 136th out of 149 qualified players in WAR, per FanGraphs’ formula. His .701 OPS ranked 111th, while his .281 on-base percentage ranked 141st.
The lack of consistent offense wasn’t the only issue, either. At the break, Adames was tied with the Washington Nationals’ CJ Abrams for the fewest outs above average (-11) among all shortstops, making him metrically one of the worst defenders in baseball. That doesn’t exactly bode well for the Giants, who are only in the second year of Adames’ seven-year, $182 million deal.
Despite Adames’ subpar production to this point, the Giants have been one of the game’s better offenses since suffering through a frigid first month.
Entering Friday, the Giants ranked fourth in the majors in OPS (.763) since the beginning of May. Adames, though, has only been a slightly above-average hitter, slashing .247/.302/.455 with 12 home runs from May through the All-Star break.
One of the most curious aspects of Adames’ season has been his sharp decline in walk rate.
Adames entered this season with a career 10 percent walk rate, as well as an 11.2 percent walk rate from 2023-2025. Adames’ walk rate has cratered to a career-low 6.5 percent walk. It should come as no surprise that Adames’ decline in walks has coincided with the highest chase rate of his career. That inability to draw walks gets amplified on a team like the Giants, which has the worst walk rate in baseball.
The Giants have seen what Adames is capable of producing when he really gets rolling. Adames started last season slowly but looked like an All-Star over his last 95 games, hitting 25 home runs and with an .848 OPS, He became the first Giant to hit at least 30 homers in a single season since Barry Bonds.
San Francisco needs a lot to go right — and then some — in order to have any shot at competing for a wild-card spot. A big second half from Adames would go a long way toward that goal.
“He’s one of our main leaders, and those guys follow him just as much as anybody,” said manager Tony Vitello.
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