Cincinnati Reds: Three reasons to avoid trading for Willy Adames

3. Some of Willy Adames’ stats are concerning.

While he’s a very well-rounded shortstop, not every single stat that Willy Adames puts up is mind-blowing or eye-catching. In fact, some of them are a bit concerning. While Adames’ stat line is better than anything Reds Country has seen in some time, the front office needs to be discerning about what they’re willing to give up in order to land the 25-year-old.

Sure, Adames checks a lot of boxes for the Cincinnati Reds. He’s young and under team-control for the next four years. That, in an of itself, is a high selling point for a Cincinnati franchise that has been intent on selling pieces and reducing costs all offseason. But, Adames does have some flaws.

One look at Willy Adames’ slash line from last year will make most Cincinnati fans giddy. Heck, the Rays’ shortstop hit .259/.332/.481 and slugged eight home runs while posting a 124 OPS+. However, Adames had an OPS of just .742 through his first two big league seasons.

According to FanGraphs, Adames posted a strikeout-rate of 36.1% last season. That’s a huge jump from where he was in 2019 (26.2%). Defensively, Adames committed nine errors, and was responsible for just two defensive runs saved (DRS). In terms of the new metric via Baseball Savant, Outs Above Average Adames posted -6 OAA.

These are not reasons to completely avoid trading for Willy Adames, but it should lessen the return Nick Krall and the Cincinnati Reds front office are comfortable surrendering. Adames would be a fine addition to the Reds, but there are some things to think about before swinging a deal.