Giants slumping star shortstop Willy Adames received a pair of days off amid San Francisco’s five-game win streak leading up to Tuesday's game against the Colorado Rockies.
Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow joined KNBR 680's "Murph & Markus" on Monday and explained why he hopes Adames, who is slashing just .193/.281/.303 this season, can use his two days off to reset and find a rhythm.
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SIGN UP HERE “Well, you say, ‘What part of that guy needs the rest the most?’ His body or his brain? And I think that with Adames, it’s his brain,” Krukow told Brian Murphy and Markus Boucher. “So you get two days off to reboot.”
Adames could use a “reboot,” given that he has been a shell of himself in San Francisco.
Just last year with the Milwaukee Brewers, Adames was a top-10 NL MVP finalist and slashed .251/.331/.462 with 153 hits, 32 home runs and 112 RBI. Adames has just 74 bases this year compared to a career-high 282 in 2024.
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Maybe the change of scenery has been hard for Adames. Krukow, at least, believes that the shortstop could be in his own head negatively, making the short break a good opportunity for Adames to return to normal.
“When you are not producing the way you feel you should be producing – and you are, in your mind, holding this team back because you’re not able to put up your numbers and play the game you played your whole career, especially in a new environment – it is very difficult to rise above that feeling of depression; it’s very, very difficult,” Krukow said.
“And these two days, with him being able to get on the bench and reboot, hopefully, are going to be what gets him out of this funk and back into the player he was before he came to San Francisco.”
Krukow understands what Adames probably is going through. However, the broadcaster noted that, on the flip side, the shortstop is an energizer bunny, always seen amping up his teammates in the dugout and feeding off of positive vibes.
Adames’ personality reminds Krukow of a forever Giants icon: Pablo Sandoval.
“I mean, think back to Pablo Sandoval, and think about how we used to watch him get in the dugout before a game; he would touch base with every guy on the team, and he had a new handshake with every guy,” Krukow said.
“Think about that, he’s got 30 different handshakes that he walks up and down the dugout with, and that was how he gets himself prepared for the game – getting completely energized by everybody in that room; Willy Adames is the same way. He is a hands-on individual. He is going to touch base and he is going to plug into the energy of the whole club.”
Krukow is optimistic for Adames after his short rest. Baseball is a mental game after all, and any opportunity to ease the mind is a good one.
If one thing is certain, it’s that Adames wants to be himself – a star who contributes heavily in all facets.
“I mean, he wants it so bad to be able to make contributions – to make significant contributions, which is what he’s always been,” Krukow said. "And hopefully, this is what gets him back on track. But he needed it. He needed two days off. He needed a reboot. Hopefully, he lights it up in Denver tomorrow and gets going.”