Will The Brewers Be Able To Retain This Star Slugger?
When the Milwaukee Brewers lost Christian Yelich for the season, many people thought their hard-fought first-place position in the National League was over. Willy Adames, on the other hand, picked up his bat, started swinging, and said, “Hold my beer.”
On April 16th, Yelich was placed on the injured list for back problems until May 8th, missing 21 games with the Brewers. In his absence, the team went 11-10. On July 25th, the Brewers announced he would be placed on a 10-day IL after removing him from a July 23rd game against the Chicago Cubs.
It was on August 15th that the Brewers learned that they would have to continue their playoff push without Yelich, who opted to have season-ending back surgery because that was just the “best option” he had left, Yelich said in a video posted to his social media.
Yelich was leading the NL in batting average (.315) and on-base percentage (.406) when he went on the injured list in late July.
Hold His Beer.
Adames, who is arguably having his best season in his six-year career, is a vital part of this Brewers line-up, considering he hasn’t missed a single game yet this season.
Currently, Adames is hitting .253 and sitting at 29 home runs, the latest of which he did on his 29th birthday on September 2nd in a win against the St. Louis Cardinals. That home run put him in the Brewers’ history books with Jeromy Burnitz (1997) and Eric Thames (2017) with homering five times in five games.
Adames can also boast tying Ken Griffey Jr.’s record of 13 three-run home runs.
In August, Adames had 10 homeruns, 24 runs, 30 hits, and 24 RBIs. He walked fourteen times, showcasing his new patience at the plate. He stole three bases and hit for .288 with a .373 on-base percentage and .606 slugging percentage.
For context, this time last year Adames had 13 runs, 22 hits, four home runs, and 10 walks; he hit for .239 with a .320 OBP.
As of September 5th, Adames has 83 runs, 135 hits, 29 homers, 100 RBIs, a .251 average, a .334 OPS, and 29 doubles. He has 59 extra-base hits.
With the bases empty, Adames is hitting .253. He’s even better with runners on base, hitting .258. If the runners are in scoring position, he's swinging for .418.
His 100 RBIs lead all players in the NL and is third amongst all MLB players.
Free Agent Adames
No doubt Adames and the Brewers are both considering his next move. After this season, Adames is a free agent, and there are plenty of doubts that next season will find him in a Brewers jersey.
Earlier in the season, the Brewers owner, Mark Attanasio, spoke to reporters about the future of Adames, saying that the club had made “plenty of offers” to the shortstop, but didn’t provide many details about those offers.
It will be interesting going forth to see what the Brewers do with Adames, especially with their history of being budget-friendly.
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