Rays could target post-hype Giants shortstop prospect after Adames signing

Willy Adames signed with the San Francisco Giants this past week on a 7-year, $182 million deal.

That gives the Giants one of the best defensive left sides of the infield in baseball, with Adames and Matt Chapman as Gold Glove candidates every year.

But, it leaves former top prospect Marco Luciano with a lack of a home on the infield, barring a shift to second. However, the Giants seem to be trying Luciano in the outfield instead.

Could this be a successful path for the former shortstop? Sure, but with his limited athletic profile center seems out of the question, and a corner outfield spot means he'd have to hit to justify his position out there, and over the past couple of seasons that has not been the case.

He's failed to be even a league-average hitter wherever he's played, and while back injuries have played a huge role in that, it doesn't seem to be getting any better, meaning the potential change might be a sign that the Giants are closer to giving up on Luciano than actually considering him part of their future plans.

Enter the Rays, who could have innings for Luciano to fully figure things out at shortstop instead of trying to maroon him out to a corner spot.

There are countless reasons for the Rays not to do this and just stick with Taylor Walls or explore other avenues.

Luciano's glove has never been a strong suite, earning a 40 future value grade in that category according to FanGraphs and coming out in the negatives in outs above average at short in his limited time in the big leagues.

While that 70-grade raw power is still his calling card, and over 2022 and 2023 he was raking in the lower levels even up to AA, it has yet to fully come into game situations, with slugging percentages in his major league appearance barely over .300 and his time in AAA not yielding much better results.

His plate discipline is fine, with decent OBP marks over his time in the minors, but it still comes back to his lack of production in recent years and his below-average glove at an important defensive position.

The Rays value defense highly, and Luciano does not fit that category in the slightest. Plus, he'd take up a valuable roster spot that could go to another player more in line to factor in the Rays' future plans.

Regardless, as much as there are many reasons for the Rays to pass on any deal involving Luciano, he's still a very young 23-year old infielder.

Some players are just getting drafted at that age, and Luciano only just turned 23 a couple months ago.

There's a long time for him to try and figure things out before his clock really starts to run out, and the Rays' player development system is so elite that it wouldn't be far-fetched for them to capitalize on his immense potential.

The Rays were also absolutely worthless in the power department in many parts of their lineup, but shortstop might've been the worst offender, as they ranked at or near the bottom of baseball in most offensive categories at the position.

So, while Luciano would certainly be a high-risk project type of player, the payoff could be a big-time power threat at shortstop, or second once Carson Williams comes up, and the Giants are more likely to DFA Luciano than to get anything of value for him, meaning the Rays could even parse another high-value prospect or two in any deal involving Luciano.

It's not likely to happen, but Luciano is someone to at least think about, and the Rays think about everyone and everything at this time of year.