Willy Rafael Luna Adames plays shortstop for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball. In 2018, he made his Major League Baseball debut with the Tampa Bay Rays, where he remained until 2021.
Adames was a highly rated prospect who was possibly the most hyped-up position player the Rays had called up during their current winning streak.
As a major leaguer, he hasn’t quite lived up to the promise, though he did have a 4.0 bWAR season in 2019 and was a vital player of the Rays’ World Series-winning club in 2020, with an OPS of 27 points above league average and a 1.9 bWAR that was second on the team.
But he’s been erratic at the plate, with a lifetime slash line of .254/.320/.420, and through the first half of the 2021 season, he’s hit .197/.254/.371 with five homers in 142 plate appearances, the worst offensive figures of his career.
Adames almost certainly take over as the starting shortstop for a Brewers team that has been looking for a player who can provide above-average defense and even semi-reliable offense at the position for quite some time.
Luis Uras’ figures this season are similar to Adames’ he’s hitting .205/.317/.359 in 140 at-bats but when you consider that he’s now hit .221/.316/.329 in four major league seasons, you have to question whether it’s simply the player he is.
Adames has also saved -3 defensive runs this season, so he should be a defensive upgrade.
Why Is Willy Adames Not Playing?
On a slide into home plate in Miami on Sunday, Adames damaged his ankle.
He tried to play through it by taking the field on defense the next half-inning, but he was eventually taken from the game.
He won’t play in either of the Brewers’ next two games, so a return on Saturday is the best-case scenario.