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.
Willy Adames homered to left on his second swing of live batting practice 👀 pic.twitter.com/O7oRY7FVtT
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 17, 2025
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."
San Francisco Giants
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.
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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. Given his chase rates, fastball velocity and the numbers on his splitter, Winn also could be a pretty intriguing relief option if the Giants want to bring him along that way.
Kai-Wei Teng also made some early appearances last year, giving up 12 runs in 11 relief innings. In the offseason, the Giants took him off their 40-man roster, but before doing that they spoke to Teng about signing a minor league deal. He didn't want to leave the organization, and he's now back in camp as a non-roster invitee.
Teng traditionally has returned to Taiwan in the offseason to work out there, but he switched it up, training at a facility in North Carolina that was recommended by fellow right-hander Spencer Bivens. He said he dropped 15 pounds this offseason, and he's excited about the feel he has for a new changeup grip.
Sidelined
Backup catcher Tom Murphy had an MRI on Sunday that revealed a mild oblique strain. Murphy is expected to miss about 7-10 days, which should put him at about two weeks on the sidelines overall. He took part in the first workout last Wednesday but felt back tightness the next day.
At the moment, the Giants don't have long-term concerns, but it's not ideal given Murphy's overall injury history and the fact that he played just 13 games in his first season in orange and black. Sam Huff is the third catcher on the 40-man roster if it gets to that point, and the Giants also like Max Stassi, a veteran who is one of two non-roster catchers in camp. Logan Porter is the other, and 22-year-old Adrian Sugastey has been coming over from minor league camp to help out during workouts.
