Willy Rafael Luna Adames (born September 2, 1995) is a Dominican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

in 2018, and played for the Rays until 2021.

Career

Detroit Tigers

Adames signed with the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

as an international

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in July 2012. He made his professional debut in 2013 with the Dominican Summer League Tigers. In 60 games, he hit .245/.419/.370 with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. Adames started the 2014 season with the

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 31, 2014, Adames was involved in a three team trade that sent Adames,

Drew Smyly Todd Andrew Smyly (born June 13, 1989), nicknamed "Big Shooter", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Ra ...

, and Nick Franklin to the

, Austin Jackson to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and David Price to the

. The Rays assigned him to the

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

, where he finished the season. In 125 combined games between West Michigan and Bowling Green, he batted .271 with eight home runs and 61 RBIs. He played 2015 with the

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

where he posted a .258 batting average with four home runs and 46 RBIs, 2016 with the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

where he batted .274 with 11 home runs, 57 RBIs and 31 doubles. In 2016 Adames was selected to the World Team in the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. The Rays added Adames to their 40-man roster after the 2016 season. In 2017, Adames played with the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

, where he batted .277 with 10 home runs, 62 RBIs and a .776 OPS. In 2018 with Durham, Adames hit .286 with 4 home runs and a .765 OPS in 64 games. According to

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

Adames was ranked as the number one prospect in the

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 2015, 2016, and 2017, the number two prospect in 2018, and as high as the 16th best prospect nationally.

2018

Adames was promoted to the Rays on May 22, 2018, making his major league debut the same day. He got his first hit, a solo

against

Chris Sale Christopher Allen Sale (born March 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, with whom he made his major league debut ...

, that same night. He was optioned back to Durham three days later to make room for Joey Wendle, who was returning from the paternity list. Adames was later recalled back to Tampa on June 11. On July 12, Adames was sent back down to Durham in order to receive more consistent playing time, due to the jam at middle infield between Wendle,

Adeiny Hechavarria Adeiny Hechavarría Barrera (born April 15, 1989) is a Cuban professional baseball shortstop for the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlin ...

, Daniel Robertson, and

Matt Duffy Matthew Michael Duffy (born January 15, 1991), nicknamed "Duffman", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Long Beach State. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) f ...

. Adames hit .226 with a .606 OPS in his second stint. Adames was recalled a third time on July 22. On August 7, Adames hit a walk off solo home run against

Miguel Castro Miguel Ángel Castro (born December 24, 1994) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Oriol ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. In the month of August, Adames was awarded a spot on MLB.com's "team of the month" after slashing .318/.384/.523 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs. Following a two-hit performance in the final game of the year, Adames ended the season with three straight multi-hit games, helping the Rays reach 90 wins for the first time since

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. This stretch capped off a strong second half for Adames, who hit .329 in the final two months of the season. Adames ended the season slashing .278/.348/.406 with 10

s in 85 games, recording a 2.0

wins above replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

2019

In 2019, Adames solidified himself the everyday shortstop, playing 152 games at the position. On May 29, Adames hit a walk-off single to beat the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 29, Adames hit another walk-off single, this time against the Boston Red Sox. This was his third career walk off. On defense in 2019, he recorded 13 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a 2.1 defensive wins above replacement. At the plate, Adames hit .254 with 20 home runs, 52 RBI, and 69 runs scored. Combined with the stellar defense, he recorded 4.2 wins above replacement. In the

American League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the American League Division Series (ALDS) determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ea ...

, Adames posted a .385/.500/.983 slash line, hitting two home runs and a double as the Rays lost to the pennant winning

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

in five games. In game 4, Adames recorded an assist on a throw dubbed 'The Relay' by local media, where he made a perfect transition and throw, 178 feet away from home plate.

2020

In the shortened 2020 season, Adames played 54 games for the first place

. He slashed .259/.332/.481 with 8 home runs and 23

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. That year, the Rays won the American League pennant. Adames batted .143 with one RBI in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

, which the Rays lost to the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in six games. Adames was the last out of the 2020 World Series as

Julio Urías Julio César Urías Acosta (born August 12, 1996), nicknamed "El Culichi", is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Dodgers signed him in 2012, and he made his MLB debut in 2016. ...

retired the side, and got the save.

2021

Adames batted .197/.254/.371 with 5 home runs and 15 RBI in 41 games for the Rays in 2021.

Milwaukee Brewers

On May 21, 2021, the Rays traded Adames alongside Trevor Richards to the

in exchange for relievers Drew Rasmussen and

J. P. Feyereisen Jonathon Paul Feyereisen (born February 7, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 and has also played for the Tampa B ...

. On July 16, 2021, Adames had 4 RBI on 3 hits in an 11-6 win over Cincinnati, and on July 18, he won NL Player of the Week. On March 22, 2022, Adames signed a $4.6 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration. On January 13, 2023, Adames agreed to a one-year, $8.7 million contract with the Brewers, avoiding salary arbitration.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adames, Willy 1995 births Living people Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Tampa Bay Rays players Milwaukee Brewers players Dominican Summer League Tigers players West Michigan Whitecaps players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Tigres del Licey players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Montgomery Biscuits players Durham Bulls players Carolina Mudcats players Nashville Sounds players