3 reasons why the Brewers won't bring Willy Adames back, 1 why it could happen

The Brewers have already admitted Adames is likely gone

When the regular season came to an end, manager Pat Murphy told reporters "chances are, that's his last regular season game in a Brewers uniform and everybody knows that."

Owner Mark Attanasio said prior to the Wild Card series, "He's going to get an enormous free agent contract and I'm very happy for him and his family, and we'll give it our best shot. But there's a lot deeper pockets out there."

When the team owner and the manager aren't exactly bursting with optimism about their chances to re-sign Adames, that's a pretty good indication that Adames is not going to be returning.

It's not a reflection that they don't want Adames, it's actually the complete opposite. They'd love to keep him, but the economic reality is they aren't going to be able to afford him. They already have Yelich on a big contract, Chourio's contract is team-friendly but going to be growing, if Hoskins opts in, he'll have a big salary, they simply aren't able to tack on another $25+MM a year for the next several years for Adames.

Milwaukee already has Adames' replacement on their roster

Desperation can make a team be willing to spend a little bit more than they'd like to in order to address a hole on their roster. Teams overpay to fill needs in free agency all the time. The Brewers don't tend to be one of those teams, partially because of their financial restraints. Why would the Brewers need to stretch that much for Adames when they aren't even desperate to find a shortstop to replace him?

The Brewers have two MLB-caliber shortstops on their roster with major league experience in Brice Turang and Joey Ortiz. Both are excellent defenders, arguably superior defenders to Adames, and both took major steps forward offensively in 2024. Plus, both are still pre-arbitration which means they'll be earning near-league minimum salary.

The few times Adames was taken out of games this year, Ortiz slid over to shortstop and he appears to have the inside track to that job over Turang, who has found a good home at second base. No matter which direction they go, the Brewers will be set at shortstop with one of those two very good options.

If Adames was the only star player the Brewers roster had and he was the only capable shortstop the Brewers could go to, it'd be much easier to see Milwaukee going all out to sign him and prevent him from leaving. But that's not the case.