The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.
This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Triston Casas injury and the Red Sox’ plans at first base (2:00)
- The Rangers optioning Jake Burger, putting Leody Taveras on waivers and making coaching changes (14:25)
- The Tigers designating Kenta Maeda for assignment (23:15)
- The Blue Jays signing Spencer Turnbull (28:50)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- What does the trade deadline look like for the Orioles if they’re out of contention? (37:10)
- Can the Tigers extend Tarik Skubal and what does his contract look like? (45:05)
- Who are some fun under-the-radar contributors this year? (51:05)
Check out our past episodes!
- Mailbag: Red Sox, Alonso, Tigers, Tanking, And More! – listen here
- Justin Steele, Triston McKenzie, And Tons Of Prospect Promotions – listen here
- Free Agent Power Rankings – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Eric Canha, Imagn Images
Awesome podcast as always guys!
I always appreciate the opening humour, and FTR inserts work well for my Plantar Fasciitis ;O)
Duran to CF, Anthony to LF, Yoshida to DH, Devers to 1B, Rafaela replaces Hamilton as the super-sub.
But they are keeping Anthony down for service time manipulation, nothing more.
And I’m rooting for the T-Wolves because it would make KG happy and I’m a KG fan.
This is a great and positive summary and response to the podcast with intelligent insight. So much better than reading negative comments by people just to be negative. Go Jays!
Have heard some people on other platforms throw around the idea of Yoshida at first, and have to admit I’m a little intrigued. Though I trust the baseball acumen of this site’s commenters more than social media which is why I came to cross-pollenate the idea…wondering what a smarter crowd thinks about that. My initial reaction would be given his arm is a bigger issue than his range in the outfield, I’m sure he could move well enough to play the position. After that’s established, then it’s a question of can he figure out the art of scooping balls, or stretching without taking his foot off the bag. It’s gotta be at least worth tinkering with during his rehab to see if he can even look the part, no?
Dirty – Two things work against him.
At 5’7″ he doesn’t have the height, long legs or wingspan to snag as many bad throws.
And he’s never played the infield. It’s much easier for infielders to move across the diamond to first base.
If you get a chance check out this week’s 310 to Left podcast with Speier and Merloni, it’s superb and goes into great detail about the first base situation.
I don’t want to see if anyone can learn first base during the season. I don’t think you can quickly get good at fielding bad throws that bounce too close. You also need to get a feel for how far you can range for ground balls so you can still get back to take a throw. Things like this take time to learn.
Look elsewhere for 1st base help? My Os are going nowhere fast. Inter division trade. Make an offer for O’Hearn.
The Tigers have Skubal and Mize as free agents after next season. Do they keep both? Do they focus on one? Do they let them both walk? Maybe trades?
They have $75 mil coming off the books at the end of this year. I think they should try and sign both long term.
If I were in charge of the Tigers I’d go for broke to keep both. Though if you can only keep one, it’s Skubal without a second thought for me.
A good neutral outsider’s take on the Orioles.
Honestly I think too many people got swept up by the last 2/3 of 2023 that Bradish put up and the last 1/2 of 2023 that Rodriguez put up, assumed Means would return to health and that Kremer would filter out his bad starts, assumed they’d be great. I know fans thought that, and this may have pervaded the front office. The 2023 season 101 wins was propped up by a 30-16 one run record, great health overall, some wonderful stats like avg. with RISP and others, a top-three bullpen, and an offense going on all cylinders. 2024’s 91 wins overall was more aligned with the talent level overall (not the 57-33 start, nor the 34-38 finish, is a great reflection of it)
Elias thought he was at the end of the rebuild, forgetting that in his previous stop the pitching staff’s core was multi-year deals to external acquisitions Cole and Verlander, serving as the 1-2 for a couple home-grown and a couple more short term acquisitions like (then-good) Morton, Miley, and Greinke. So 1+ year for Eflin, one year for Burnes, they thought they were in that mold.. Even if there was better health he was still wrong.
The next ~40 games determine buyer/seller in 2025, and a listless 0-2 start in a supposedly easy stretch where they needed 8-4 in to claw back into things is a bad start. The whole offense having issues and not just one or two guys demonstrates to me Hyde has to go whether he’s right or wrong. A fresh face and approach, break the inertia that’s happened since the 2024 ASB. (Hyde is not without fault, he has mismanaged the lineup and pitching staff). The team also continues to carry dead weight like Mateo, Perez, Morton, and Sanchez. To me its almost like the whole organization has accepted again too easily that the losing is OK, and they’re back to dumpster diving for bodies.
Whether the July deadline is buy or sell, the Orioles need to be THE player this winter in ANY top or mid level starter on the market, whether available via free agency or trade. 3 or 4 needed.
One note – O’Neill has a player option and the note made it seem like a team option. The way he’s hit so far and the fact that he gets injured every 15 minutes I think its an opt-in.
Thornton – I totally agree on your thoughts about the O’s!!!
On O’Neill though you’ve been given bad information, there are no option years of any kind. All he has is an opt-out after this season (there’s no such thing as an opt-in).
Fever – that’s what I meant, he can choose to opt out versus the team.
Which he won’t at the current trajectory, he’ll “opt in” or choose to get paid 2 more years on this contract. Not the wording to use, I know, I am looking from the $ perspective.
While it is admirable that you want to see Kenta Maeda go out on his own terms, most players do not go out on their own terms. They get released, ignored in free agency or get hurt.
When is shapiro and his lackie atkins going to be fired in Toronto ??
The time has come over and over again…!!