Willy Adames: The Brewers NL MVP candidate who deserved better

Bryce Harper absolutely deserved to win his second career National League Most Valuable Player award. All of the players who received first place votes were more than deserving of them. One player, however, did not receive a single vote higher than eighth (and maybe should have) is Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, who ultimately finished 17th in the MVP race.

Willy Adames, a career-long American Leaguer makes his way to the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers

Known as one of MLB’s better defensive shortstops, Adames couldn’t seem to fully put it together on offense while in Tampa Bay. After a strong showing in 2019 (20 home runs to go along with 3.9 WAR), the slick-fielding native of the Dominican Republic hit a bit of a roadblock in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and to start the 2021 campaign. Sporting a career-high 35% strikeout rate and a career low 7% walk rate through his first 41 games in a Rays uniform this season, it was time for a change of scenery.

Rays’ general manager Erik Neander, with prized infield prospect Wander Franco looming in the high minor leagues, decided to pull the plug on the Willy Adames experiment after four seasons. On May 21, Adames, 26, was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers (alongside right-hander Trevor Richards) in exchange for two promising arms in the Brewers’ system (J.P. Feyereisen and Drew Rasmussen). The trade, however, was not necessarily an easy pill to swallow for Rays fans.

The excitement in Milwaukee was instantaneous as the club was finally able to find Orlando Arcia’s replacement and land a productive shortstop. Labelled an incredible clubhouse personality with a great sense of humor and ability to connect with anyone who crosses paths with him, the Brewers were hoping to find a diamond in the rough and maybe find the new Nyjer Morgan or Carlos Gomez, two players who were misunderstood in their previous environments but instantly won the hearts of Milwaukee. Adames was destined for greatness as soon as he stepped foot in the Brewers’ clubhouse.

What Willy Adames means to the Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers became a whole new ball club once Willy Adames arrived, winning 17 of their first 23 games and ultimately wound up the winners of the NL Central thanks to their 95-67 record in the regular season. Adames appeared in a total of 99 games for the Brewers, hitting 20 home runs (it took him 152 games in 2019 to hit 20) and putting up a career-high .285 average as a Brewer. He certainly showed a knack for clutch-hitting, something the Brewers were missing from a slumping Christian Yelich and a recently-retired Ryan Braun. This is incredibly summed up in Reviewing the Brew’s Tyler Koerth June rundown of Adames’ immediate impact.

MLB.com Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy was able to gather some quotes from Adames’ peers in the Brewers’ clubhouse that said a lot about his energy and attitude.

This is all without even bringing up Adames’ glove, which continued to shine with his new club. Check out the range he displayed in this catch from the postseason.

And then there is this throw during the regular season.

Willy Adames singlehandedly put the Milwaukee Brewers on his back and carried them all the way to the postseason. While he was unable to help the club through the playoffs and into the World Series, his impact on the club and the city of Milwaukee as a whole cannot be understated. When it comes to the MVP award, one would usually think of the player with the shiniest stats on the back of his baseball card. But when you think about which player was the most valuable to his club, it’s a travesty not to mention Willy Adames among the best of them. He is going to be yet another face of the franchise for years to come.