MILWAUKEE – The Brewers extended a qualifying offer to shortstop Willy Adames ahead of Monday’s 4 p.m. CT deadline, a procedural step that ensures they will receive a premium pick in next year’s Draft if Adames departs in free agency.

It marks the first time that Milwaukee has extended a qualifying offer, which is a one-year contract worth the average of the sport’s top 125 salaries – set at $21.05 million this year. Adames has the option to accept and return to the Brewers for 2025, but since he’s 29 years old and the top shortstop in this winter’s free agent class, he is widely expected to decline the offer in order to seek a multiyear mega-contract elsewhere.

If he does, the Brewers would be in line to gain a high pick in the 2025 Draft next July. Assuming Adames signs for more than $50 million, the Brewers would be awarded a pick between the end of the first round and the start of Competitive Balance Round A.

Players have until 3 p.m. CT on Nov. 19 to accept, but most who are offered the QO don’t end up accepting it. And Adames won’t, since he is in line for a lot more than a one-year contract after starting 161 regular-season games in 2024 with 32 home runs, 112 RBIs and 21 stolen bases, making him one of four primary shortstops in modern Major League history to top 30 homers, 100 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in a season. Alex Rodriguez did it twice for the Mariners (in 1998 and ‘99) and Trevor Story did it for the Rockies in 2018 before Adames and the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. each surpassed those thresholds in 2024.

Going into the year, the Brewers considered trading Adames before he reached free agency, like they did in February with free agent-to-be Corbin Burnes. But they opted for a different strategy with Adames, believing that his value on the field for a contender as well as his positive influence on 20-year-old rookie Jackson Chourio outweighed the return in a potential trade. It was the right call. Adames and William Contreras were the top offensive performers for a team that qualified for the postseason for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, Chourio was the club’s standout rookie and Adames took home the “Good Guy Award” from the local chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

By year’s end, however, Brewers officials and Adames spoke in realistic terms about the offseason ahead. Adames said he would love to return, Brewers officials said they would love to have him back, and everyone agreed that the payroll realities made that unlikely.

“[Adames] and Robin [Yount] are probably the two greatest shortstops to play here, and a cherished part of our history,” Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said. “We’re appreciative of everything [Adames] has done here. He is going to get an enormous free agent contract and I’m very happy for him and his family. We’ll give it our best shot, but there are a lot deeper pockets out there.

“That’s just reality.”

After the Brewers were eliminated by the Mets in the NL Wild Card Series, Adames was asked about the future.

“It’s a tough spot to be in,” Adames said. “When I go out there and compete with these boys, they’re like family. We see each other every day. I see them more than I see my family. It’s a tough spot to be in because I don’t know if I will come back. I hope. If not, then it’s been a hell of a time here. It’s been an amazing time.”

If that was the end, what will he take away from his time in a Brewers uniform?

“A lot of great memories in this clubhouse,” Adames said. “A lot of great players, great personalities like Bob [Uecker], who just made me cry. They made me, as a player – I became a better player since I came here, you know? They helped me to grow on and off the field. I’m just grateful.”