The Atlanta Braves did not live up to expectations in 2024. They could bring in another star in free agency to upgrade one of their weakest positions.
While doing a live stream for Bleacher Report, MLB insider Jon Heyman predicted that the Braves would sign Willy Adames.
"Adames. I think I hinted at this earlier. I think the Braves make sense for Adames," said Heyman. "I hear they have money. We know they have money. They're a public company. Who are we kidding? They have plenty of money. They can do it. Adames to the Braves is my prediction."
Spotrac projects Adames to sign a six-year, $152 million deal in free agency. He is coming off of a career year where he hit 31 home runs, 112 RBIs and stole 21 bases. He is the best shortstop on the market and would be a huge upgrade from Orlando Arcia.
In 2023 Arcia was named to his first All-Star game. However, he had a regressive season in 2024. Arcia signed a three-year, $7.3 million extension with the Braves before the 2023 season, and it looked like the Braves got him on a bargain. Last season he hit just .218.
Adames has noted his desire to stay with the Brewers, even willing to take less money, according to Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic.
"I'm willing to stay here for less money, let's say, but I just want to be fair for what I deserve in my career and whatever I've done," said Adames. "We just have to wait and see where we're at. You never know what is going to happen and you never know who is going to be willing to make that commitment with me for a long time."
While the Brewers would love to keep Adames, Brewers owner Mark Attanasio told reporters that they will try to sign Adames, but other teams may outbid them.
"I think the free-agent contract is going to be very valuable for him and quite high," Attanasio told reporters. "We'll do what we can to stretch, but others have bigger pocketbooks and, we'll see what happens."
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