Giants notes: Adames delivers highlight on first full day of camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SCOTTSDALE — Willy Adames was surprised Monday when he walked out for a live batting practice session and found that hundreds of Giants fans were sitting along the first base line at Scottsdale Stadium. It was the first day the ballpark opened to the public, and the new shortstop made sure to give everyone an early highlight.
On his second swing of the spring, Adames lined a Sean Hjelle offering just over the wall in left and into the visiting bullpen. It was the only homer during live BP, which mostly featured high-octane fastballs from the likes of Camilo Doval and Randy Rodriguez.
“Every time you touch the barrel this early in the spring it’s a great feeling,” Adames said.
The 29-year-old signed a $182 million contract in December, the richest in franchise history. Early on, the Giants have been encouraged, and not because of the homer. Adames showed up weeks ago and has taken on a leadership role, particularly with young position players.
The Giants expect Adames to hit second, and he said he expects to return to his old form defensively. He was well above-average in 2022 and 2023, but the advanced metrics took a step back last season. Adames said he lost some confidence in the middle of the year, a stretch when just about all of his errors occurred.
“Before that it was great and after that it was good,” Adames said. “When you get into that hole and you don’t have somebody to pull you out of that, it’s tough, but I feel [really good] this season and I have my confidence back. I’m just going to go out there and be the same guy.”
Back In The Mix
The Giants have a deep collection of young arms looking to either win the fifth starter spot, bullpen jobs or Triple-A rotation spots this spring, and the list includes two who broke through earlier than most of the others and now are looking to get right back in the mix.
Keaton Winn debuted in 2023 and was off to a strong start last year before his forearm flared up. He had a 3.18 ERA at the end of April, but ended up at 7.16 in 12 starts and missed the final three months because he needed surgery to undergo an ulnar nerve transposition.
Winn smiled over the weekend and said his offseason was “boring,” and in this case boring was a very good thing. He sailed through the rehab process without any setbacks and is a full go this spring, and he’s getting stretched back out as a starter….