Willy Adames’ strength and defense make him a top free agent

Willy Adames is the NBA’s MLB version of a 3-and-D player. That’s a good thing. That makes Adames the most valuable shortstop in the 2024-25 free agent class.

The 29-year-old is a home run star. Adames has important two-pronged skills: he hits home runs up the middle and is a strong fielder at shortstop.

It’s the same principle that makes 3-and-D players so valuable in basketball: They hit the most valuable shots, three-pointers, and provide high-level defense on the other side. Adames delivers the most valuable hits and home runs and plays shortstop at a high level, a premier defensive position.

Every MLB team needs players like this. That’s why you shouldn’t worry about Adames only being around a .250 hitter in his career. Adames’ power/defensive profile has made him a key cog on several Brewers playoff teams during his tenure in Milwaukee, and that will keep him in demand this winter.

Adames’ emergence as a home run-and-defense player began with his first full season with the Brewers in 2022 and lasted through 2024. He has established a winning record. Over the past three seasons, Adames has hit 87 homers and has a fielding run rating of +20 – Statcast’s overall measure of how many runs he has prevented with his fielding.

He was one of the majors’ best shortstops in both categories.

However, Adames doesn’t just stand out among shortstops. Regardless of his position, he is among the top tier of power-and-glove players in the major leagues.

Let’s take a look at Adames’ combination of these two tools, using Statcast’s flagship metric for each: Barrels for Power and Outs Above Average for Glove.

Adames has 154 barrels to his name over the last three seasons. Barrels are balls hit at both the ideal exit velocity and launch angle, with the type of contact most likely being a home run or at least an extra-base hit. Adames is one of only 22 hitters with at least 150 barrels since 2022, and he has outpaced many of MLB’s superstar hitters in that time.

In the field, Adames has been worth more than 26 outs above average over the last three seasons. OAA measures how many outs an infielder or outfielder saves for their defense based on the difficulty of all plays they make (or miss). Adames is one of just 25 outfielders with at least +25 outs above average since 2022, a group that includes many Gold Glovers.

And when you combine these two sides of Adames’ game, the list of players who can compete with him is short.

Players with more than 150 barrels and more than 25 OAA since 2022

Julio Rodríguez is close with 147 barrels and an OAA of +28. Bobby Witt Jr. could have been there (he has 178 barrels and an OAA of +18) if he hadn’t struggled so much on the field as a rookie in 2022.

But by those criteria, it’s Adames, Lindor and Walker, and that’s it.

Even if you lower the thresholds – say at least 100 barrels and +10 outs above average – the group is still small. And it’s still a select group of the best Power Glove players.

This 100 Barrel/+10 OAA group has featured 17 players over the past three seasons. Here’s how they’re broken down by position.

It’s worth having all of these players on your team. They’re worth having in the lineup and they’re worth having on the field. But only two are free agents – Adames and Walker. And not only are these two free agents, they are also two of the best players at free agent positions because they excel at specific phases of the game.

The team that signs Adames will hit home runs and have solid defense in the middle infield. Adames is a specialist in his two core areas. And he is the type of specialist that many teams will want.