There was a final offseason when it seemed like Willie Adams might play full time in the Bronx.
The Yankees had a need for the infield, with attacks near the list, or perhaps at the top.
Mutual interest from players and teams led to Zoom calls. This was called “Amazing” by the Shortstop, who eventually signed with the Giants.
“I knew there was a chance I could play here,” Adams told the Post following the Giants' victory after a Friday night victory over the Yankees in the series opener at the stadium.
Growing up as a huge Derek Jeter fan and wearing No. 2 in his honor, Adams was impressed by the Yankees' sales pitch.
“It was really good and interesting,” Adames said of the meeting. It was my people more than my statistics. I really liked it. ”
Aaron Boone answered the phone and was equally impressed by Adames.
“We're a huge fan of that player and we can talk to him,” Boone said Saturday before the Yankees' 8-4 victory. “He's definitely the guy we were very interested in and really liked.”
But the problem is that Adames, who went 5-5 on Saturday, was intended to close the free agent deal before Christmas.
They were not going to pay for the attack as they could still sign Soto.
“We were experiencing Soto's stuff, but we couldn't commit to him in any way,” Boone said. “He got off the board pretty quickly.”
The 29-year-old agreed to the Giants on a seven-year, $182 million contract on December 7, just days before Soto won a 15-year, $765 million contract with the Mets.
“The timeline didn't work out for them to take me to New York,” Adames said.
Asked why he was obsessed with finding a new home early in his free agency, Adames said, “I wanted to do it before Christmas, but I didn't wait until January. I don't know where I'm going or who my teammates are going to be.
Still, before singing with Tampa Bay and San Francisco four years later, before spending four years with Milwaukee, Adams said there was a serious pull to go to the Yankees.
“Who doesn't want to play on the same team your idol played?” Adames said. “Same city, same location. It would have been great, but I'm very pleased for now.”
After Adams signed with the Giants, Soto and Mets, the Yankees pivoted on pitching, signed Max to sign a seven-year, $218 million deal, the biggest deal given to a left-handed starter.
Freed has become one of the Yankees' main pieces with a new look. He was looking to at least make up for a portion of Soto's attack by trading Cody Bellinger and bringing in free agent baseman Paul Goldschmidt.
Freed was the only positive in a difficult rotation without Ace Gerrit Cole, and Goldschmidt got off to a good start after a disappointing end to his time in St. Louis last year, but Bellinger was up and running in the first two weeks of the season.
And they didn't add another infielder, splitting Oswald Cabrera and Oswald Peraza into third place, with DJ lemahieu set up to begin rehabilitation assignments soon after being sidelined from spring training with a tense calf.
