Breaking news: The Yankees missed out on standout infielder despite a terrific meeting.

Willy Adames had a number of organizations he truly wanted to play for, including the New York Yankees. Dan Martin of the New York Post disclosed during their offseason meeting that a union was more possible than we initially believed. Adames would have cherished the chance to play for his hero’s only team, Derek Jeter, whom he admired as a child and who inspired him to wear the number two. The issue? The Yankees were still pursuing outfielder Juan Soto, so it wasn’t that they would have Adames go to third base.

Looking to sign before Christmas, the Giants came in and gave Willy Adames a seven-year $182 million contract that he couldn’t pass down, all of which occurred before Soto ended up signing with the Mets.

Willy Adames’ Excellent Meeting With Yankees Was Stifled By Juan Soto Chase

Two weeks into the 2025 season, the Yankees are still looking for right-handed hitters, and Willy Adames would have been a perfect addition to the team’s offensive lineup. They didn’t lose out because they weren’t interested; rather, it was because they were still pursuing Juan Soto when Adames got a big offer from the Giants. Despite his poor start with his new team—he had a -0.4 fWAR and 52 wRC+ through his first 15 games—the Bronx Bombers much desired the power and defense he would provide in the hot corner.

According to reports, Aaron Boone was among those in attendance at this discussion, and Adames had truly valued the Yankees’ emphasis on his statistics production alone. Following the announcement that Craig Counsell would be leaving the Brew Crew to join their division rivals in Chicago, the 29-year-old played a significant role in the Brewers’ unexpected drive to the NL Central title, hitting 32 home runs with a 119 wRC+ in 161 games. In the end, the Yankees would acquire Max Fried, thus their hopes of having some of that right-handed power in their lineup were dashed.

Given the team’s current problems, one could argue that landing Max Fried was far more important than landing Willy Adames, as the rotation has struggled mightily to start the season and he’s been their only bright spot. The left-hander delivered a huge outing in Detroit, firing seven scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts and walking zero batters. It will never be clear whether the Yankees would have signed both Fried and Adames if he was available on the market when Juan Soto had signed with the Mets.

Adames had the opportunity to play the exact position his idol played at the ballpark Derek Jeter called home for twenty years when the Giants finally made it to New York. These two clubs will not play each other again during the regular season as San Francisco rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win the series’ final game. Willy Adames won’t be able to return to the Bronx until 2027 (provided the CBA doesn’t change the scheduling arrangement) because the Yankees will be traveling to San Francisco to play the Giants next year.