Former Rays shortstop could bring home first Silver Slugger award after 2024 season

To begin his trek to the big leagues, Willy Adames was traded to the Rays at the deadline of the 2014 campaign in a deal that included well-known stars, David Price and Austin Jackson. The Detroit Tigers certainly lost out on a very talented power-hitting shortstop. In fact, the infielder could be taking home his first Silver Slugger Award next week.

Sep 24, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames (27) enters the dugout to play the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Previously, the Rays called up the Dominican-born player to the majors for his MLB debut in 2018. He executed immediately as he homered off of 2024 NL Cy Young favorite, Chris Sale on day one. Sale has had an incredible bounce-back season and he was still the ace of the 2018 Red Sox as he finished with a 2.11 ERA.

Rays fans knew this was a delightful sign and Adames would prove himself more and more as he matured in the league. In 2019, the smooth infielder slashed .254/.317/.418 with 20 HRs and 52 RBIs. This would be the Rays second 20-plus HR season from a shortstop in franchise history behind Brad Miller's improbable 30-HR campaign in 2016.

Unfortunately, the Santiago, D.R product was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on May 21, 2021 for solid relief pitchers, Drew Rasmussen and J.P Feyereisen. Both hurlers have contributed to the Rays progress over the last three years, but there's no question that Tampa Bay missed out on the impact that their former middle infielder could have provided.

WIlly Adames supplied the Brewers with impressive offense from the very beginning of his time with the National League Central club. In the last 99 games of 2021, Adames recorded a .285 AVG with 20 HRs and 58 RBIs. This amazing finish to the campaign would catch the eyes of the Brewers front office, while propelling the scrappy team to a division-best 95-67 record.

Surprisingly, the 29-year old improved his hitting the next three seasons as he produced at least 24 HRs and 80 RBIs each year. Adames' most accomplished season was in 2024 as the former Ray launched a career-high 32 homers and drove in 112 runs.

The league finally took notice of this underrated star and placed him in the running for a Silver Slugger award alongside fellow shortstops, Francisco Lindor and Elly De La Cruz.

Brewers fans (and reminiscing Rays fans) shouldn't celebrate too early however, as the two other shortstops in competition with Adames had admirable seasons of their own. Lindor had one of the best years of his seasoned career as he hit .273 with 33 HRs and 91 RBIs.

Oct 20, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor (12) looks on during warm ups before game six against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

De La Cruz also put together a first-class campaign in 2024. The 22-year old phenom slashed .259/.339/.471 with 25 HRs and an MLB-leading 67 stolen bases. All three athletes are deserving of this hardware, but we can only wonder who the MLB managers will choose. Tune in to MLB Network on Tuesday, November 12th to witness the results.

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