Could the SF Giants find a taker for one of their underperforming contracts?

The SF Giants have had a roster crunch in the infield all season, with the emergence of Casey Schmitt and Bryce Eldridge, along with the continuing good health of Rafael Devers, Luis Arráez, Matt Chapman, and Willy Adames. That’s six players for five spots (including DH), and all six should theoretically be playing every day. That’s created a bit of an awkward situation where Schmitt, who had already come into the season with the flexibility to play every infield spot, was asked to pick up an outfielder’s glove and has been covering left field in Heliot Ramos’ absence.

Trading away Adames would solve the overcrowded infield dilemma

ESPN’s Buster Olney has already reported that (the other Buster) Posey and Co. are putting out feelers to sell at the deadline, and that’s since been corroborated by numerous other reporters. That’s not surprising considering the Giants sitting a distant fourth in the competitive NL West and far below the .500 mark. What is surprising, however, is Olney specifically listed Devers, Adames and Chapman among the players they’re most eager to part with, beyond the obvious candidates like Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray. He also floated an outlandish proposal that the Giants trade Adames to the Mets for Marcus Semien.

The Devers, Adames and Chapman trio of underperformers, on the outside looking in anyway, are all unlikely to be moved based on their onerous contractual obligations. From a roster standpoint, the piece the Giants would probably be most eager to part with is Adames, if they feel they can become competitive in 2027. Devers’ prima donna antics may make that assertion debatable, but let’s focus on Adames for now.

In this scenario, trading Adames could allow them to explore locking Arráez beyond this season, which would excite a lot of Giants fans, and Schmitt could have a home at shortstop for the medium-term future. Schmitt might be slightly overmatched defensively as a regular shortstop, but luckily, many of the Giants’ top prospects are middle infielders by trade, and it would be worth it to keep Schmitt’s bat in the lineup anyway.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, though, it’d be prudent to consider who might actually want Adames – there’s a reason no Giants fan would shed a tear if he were to be moved, after all. Adames has simply not gotten the job done after signing a seven-year, $182 million deal with the team that runs through the 2031 season. He has hit .226/.303/.422 as a Giant since the beginning of last year, which is about 2% better than league-average (102 wRC+) despite the paltry batting average.

This year’s 91 wRC+ is quite a bit lower than his 108 figure from last year, though, despite still being on a good pace in the home run department with 13 so far. His .269 OBP would easily be a career-worst and is simply unacceptable from an everyday player. His walk rate of 5.3% is less than half the 11.7% rate he drew last year and has been a major drag on not just his OBP but also his WAR – he’s been worth -0.2 WAR so far this season per FanGraphs.

Adames is playing through his age-30 season, so he may still have a couple years left in his physical prime. It’s possible a few other teams in the league will recognize him for what he essentially is – a good veteran clubhouse presence, someone who plays every single day (only missed one game from 2024-25), has a decent glove, power bat and could benefit from a move away from the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park. If a different hitting coach can help remind him to be more patient at the plate, then that’d just be gravy.

Clearing Adames’ contract off the team would be a pure salary-dump move that would also clear the aforementioned infield log jam and open up more opportunities for younger players. Arraez might have more of a future here beyond the trade deadline if that were to happen, too, which would excite many Giants fans. To move Adames, the Giants would have to be willing to eat at least a third or possibly half of the money still owed to him, which would be a tough pill to swallow. No top prospects would be coming back to San Francisco, either – a lottery ticket or two at best.

One team that actually might be interested in Adames if the Giants help with some of his salary is the Milwaukee Brewers. Adames was very comfortable with the Brew Crew and a fan favorite there, receiving warm receptions every time he returns to American Family Field. That stadium is quite a bit more hitter-friendly, too, and the Brewers are in a competitive situation where they’ll want to push some chips in to make a serious push deep into the postseason. They obviously have never had much money to spend playing in MLB’s smallest market, but it wouldn’t hurt Posey at all to at least drop them a voicemail.

The Atlanta Braves, another divisional leader, are the other potential suitor who might make the most sense. Already employing former Giants such as Mauricio Dubón, Mike Yastrzemski and Dominic Smith, Adames’ arrival would help them settle the shortstop position, which has been by far their least productive spot on the field. They re-signed Ha-Seong Kim to be the starter there, but that turned out to be an epic misfire – he’s hit .081/.174/.081 through 22 games, alternating between the IL and the bench the rest of the season. Dubon and Jorge Mateo have split time there too, but Adames would give them a good name on paper to take over things there.

Are the Giants optimistic about their chances of moving Adames, or Devers, for that matter? They can’t be. Should you be optimistic about their chances of moving them? You shouldn’t be. Does watching Giants baseball make your eyes twitch and your inner child cry for help? Probably does. So one thing’s clear, standing pat at the trade deadline isn’t a good option for anybody.

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