Last season, Willy Adames solidified his status as the Rays’ starting shortstop, not only with his defense and offensive production, but also the energy he brought to a club that won the 2019 American League Wild Card Game and pushed the Astros to the brink in their best-of-five AL Divisional Series.

That energy included the custom of Adames removing, in a celebratory manner, the helmets of Rays players coming back to the dugout after they hit a home run or otherwise contributed to a successful offensive inning.

Now, however, MLB’s health and safety protocols for the 2020 season will curtail that kind of contact and celebration, with social distancing a clearly outlined feature of this year’s regulations. Adames and his teammates will have to find other ways to keep up the energy level.

“Personally, for me, I like to be hugging around, joking around and just having fun with teammates in the clubhouse and the dugout,” Adames said in a Zoom conference on Saturday. “I think that’s going to be the hardest part for me. For us to not have the ability to share hugs, slap hands and do all the stuff we do every day, to be close to each other, to give the support that we need, I think that’s going to be the hardest part.”

Rays manager Kevin Cash believes that even with social distancing and playing in stadiums without spectators, his club will find its way to the desired energy level during a 60-game season.

“Guys are going to have to find ways to get creative,” Cash said. “We’re still competing. At the end of the day, these guys like to compete and they like to win. When that motivates you, you can find that energy.”

On the field, Adames is looking to feed off of a successful first full season in the big leagues.

Despite committing 17 errors, the Dominican Republic native made strides on defense, finishing the 2019 campaign with a 2.1 Defensive WAR (Baseball-Reference version) and 19 Total Zone Runs, the most among AL shortstops and tied for second most in MLB overall.

On offense, Adames hit .254/.317/418 with 20 home runs in 584 plate appearances. After a solid second half of last season (.278/.340/.467 after the All-Star break), he was hitting .364/.462/.591 with a home run in 27 plate appearances in the Grapefruit League before camps were shut down on March 12.

“There’s a lot of reasons to be excited about Willy and what this year can bring for him, but more importantly, for us,” Cash said. “We know he’s capable, he’s young, he’s got a ton of energy, he’s very athletic and you can run him out there all the time. We know we’re a really good team with him out there.

“We still want to temper our expectation level for him a little bit. He’s such a young player, he’s going to have some other challenges pop up. But the way he ended last year, a carry over, even though it’s been a little longer than we all would like, for him to get an opportunity to get back out there and playing, whether it’s in front of fans or on a TV, that excites Willy.”

That enthusiasm is getting back to full swing for Adames, who had been working out for several weeks at Tropicana Field before the club’s official Summer Camp began there on Friday.

“It’s exciting to be back and looking forward to this new season,” Adames said. “It’s going to be a little weird, but we’re just happy to be back and I’m just happy to be around all the guys. Just happy to get back on the field and start competing.”

Albeit, with a few adjustments.

“Last year, I was enjoying the time, every time someone hit a homer,” he said. “Personally, I’m not going to be able to do all that kind of stuff. It’s going to be sad, but at least we’re playing baseball.”