MLBTR Chat Transcript

Mark P

• The Weekend Chat is here! We’ll get things rolling after a few questions get into the queue….

Giants fan

• Any truth to the rumors of the Giants being close on a Ketel Marte trade? Chances of that happening and what would the Giants have to give up to get him?

Mark P

• I’d find it surprising if the D’Backs moved Marte to a division rival, of all teams.  One would imagine SF would have to significantly outbid other teams to make that happen, which might mean Eldridge would have to be involved.

Bloom

• Is there a way you’d see the cardinals both buying and selling?

Mark P

• As in, trying to make an effort to contend in 2026?  Probably not, though the Cardinals aren’t turning up their noses at players who can be MLB contributors immediately.  Fitts, for instance, can help next year.

CBA

• What’s one thing you want to see in the next CBA?  Any chance the league would go after establishing max contracts?

Mark P

• The union would push back hard on max contracts, as they would anything directed at limiting salaries.

  One thing I’d like to see in the next CBA is a longer-term agreement, so we only have to suffer through all of this depressing lockout talk every 6-7 years instead of every four years

Dave

• Hi mark, do you think the royals make  another trade for a bat?

Mark P

• I’d think so.  Collins and Thomas are upgrades over what they had, but I’d suggest more is needed to really get things cooking.

Motor City Beach Bum

• Who is the best non-Bregman bat the Tigers will realistically pursue?

Mark P

• A quick glance at the Tigers’ entries on MLBTR this winter reveals a real push towards pitching.  Bregman, Ketel Marte, and HS Kim are the only position players really linked to Detroit so far, which makes sense since Jeff Greenberg literally said pitching was the Tigers’ priority this winter.

  The link to Marte was a little odd since Gleyber will be back at 2B.  I’d think Detroit fans wouldn’t be too enamored by Kim as the fallback plan to Bregman, but that might be as realistically big as it gets for Detroit on the position-player side

nym fan

• what in gods name are the mets thinking letting alonso and diaz walk?

Mark P

• Seems like Stearns has been pretty ready to let Alonso walk for over a year now, and signing him to any sort of truly long-term contract never seemed to be the Mets’ plan.  Same with Diaz, as I suspect the Mets didn’t want to take the risk of paying big money deeper into his 30’s

  Obviously letting both go is a risk unto itself, since that’s a lot of high-caliber talent that now has to be replaced.  Polanco can only replace a portion of Alonso’s offense, and that’s assuming Polanco can replicate what he did in 2025.  Trying to build a pen out of strategic spare parts carries a lot of question marks, and that tactic tends to work better if you have a stabilizing closer like Diaz (or, like Hader or Williams for Stearns in Milwaukee)

Front Office

• What is your initial reaction to Colorado’s new Front Office and Coaching staff?

Mark P

• A step in the right direction.  It’s funny, some people speculated on Byrnes as the Rockies’ next front office boss since he worked for them back in the day, but he’ll instead return as the number two behind DePodesta.

  Sure, there’s the oddity of DePodesta being out of baseball for the last decade, but the bottom line is that these are some new voices who can bring some fresh ideas into an organization that badly needs a shake-up.

draft

• The draft is supposed to help competitive balance. How does ending up with a team like the SF Giants picking 4th help ?

Mark P

• That’s the magic of the draft lottery.  And, given how the Giants have had just one winning season in the last nine years, maybe they need the extra help!

Park M

• idc if CY said he isn’t shopping Seager, he didn’t say he’s untouchable. Could Seager bring back Anthony +?

Mark P

• There is no world where the Red Sox trade Roman Anthony.  Zero.
• If the Red Sox actually did offer Anthony for Seager, then Young would quickly change his mind about Seager’s availability.

Dan S.

• Any word on how teams are feeling about Michael King’s durability? Does 3/75 still feel like the right gamble? Would there be an opt-out?

Mark P

• I think a lot of teams would happily take a three-year deal on King, with the added AAV perhaps a necessary cost.

Ghost of Mike Rizzo

• What would it take for the Nats to move Gore? With Toboni’s focus so far on coaching and analytics, wouldn’t it make more sense to develop Gore into a better pitcher, and try to move him at deadline or next year?

Mark P

• I think the Nationals have that same idea, as it would take a huge offer to get them to swap Gore right now.  There’s no real immediate incentive for the Nats to move Gore unless another team really levels up with something Toboni can’t refuse

Blue Jays fan

• If the jays don’t sign Bo or Tucker is there a plan B or do they just go with a lineup of 1. Springer 2. Lukes 3. Vladdy 4. Santander 5. Barger 6. Kirk 7. Varsho 8. Clement 9. Gimenez

Oil Can Boyd

• You want to get back to the world series. Does Tucker fill the void of Bo’s 200 hits ability?

Mark P

• Toronto absolutely needs to add another bat to that lineup.  Going with that lineup means that you’re putting a lot of faith in everyone to match or top their 2025 numbers, and counting on Santander to have enough of a bounce-back year that he can replicate Bichette’s contributions.
• If forced to pick one, I’d take Tucker over Bichette.  He’s just a better overall offensive force, and his LH bat works better in the Blue Jays’ lineup

Kyle

• How serious do you think the Red Sox are in their interest in Michael King? Curious how they’d make that work and still be able to get two bats

Mark P

• No reason to think they don’t have legitimate interest.  If King did get signed, then the Red Sox get more serious about shopping their young pitching depth for offense.

Guest

• Long term preference – Nick Kurtz or Roman Anthony.

Mark P

• Who would you rather have over the long term?

  ---

  Roman Anthony (49.0% | 941 votes)

  Nick Kurtz (50.9% | 978 votes)

  ---

  Total Votes: 1919

Guest

• Kind of a role player, but has anyone shown interest in Dominic Smith?  He had a resurgence with SF last year. Great dude, easy to root for.

Mark P

• Smith probably isn’t going to get much attention until a lot of the bigger, everyday player types land contracts.  Smith is indeed coming off a nice year, but most every team probably views him as a part-timer at best

Shaker Moseby

• How much of a fantasy is it to hope the Jays sign both Tucker and Bo?  And if that fantasy comes true, what would you do with Clement and Barger?

Mark P

• This wild scenario isn’t happening, as much as the Jays are in all-in mode.

  If it somehow did happen, the lineup is Bichette at 2B (presuably?), Barger 3B, Gimenez SS, Clement getting at-bats against lefties spelling either Barger/Gimenez, Tucker in one corner OF spot, and Santander/Springer in the other OF corner and the DH spot.

  Realistically, the Jays would probably then try to unload Santander for as much of a salary dump as possible, to save some money and to open up at-bats

Guest

• What do you think of the Tyler Rogers deal?  I thought we were looking for a closer, but…

Mark P

• I loved that signing for the Jays.  Rogers just gets results, and he brings a lot of durability to the bullpen.
• I also wonder if the Jays made that signing in part as free advertising for Rogers Communications, haha

Joe

• why do guys use baseball reference instead of FanGraphs for player pages?

Mark P

• We’ve been using the B-Ref player tracker for years and years, and since it has worked just fine for us, I don’t think there’s any impetus to change?  But, we reference both B-Ref and Fangraphs all the time….heck, I’ve got a Fangraphs page open right now

Major League Bros

• HEY MARK BRO… how many pull-ups can you do?

Mark P

• I can pull up stats on that Fangraphs tab but that’s about it

Steven Kwan

• Are fans overvaluing Steven Kwan? He has had health issues in each of the last two seasons and his sprint speed is plummeting. I’m sure front offices are taking that into consideration, but are teams willing to “overpay” for a good leadoff bat? Guardians have been noted as having a high asking price for him last trade deadline. Was that at any way in compensation for losing Clase’s trade value?

Mark P

• It may surprise some fans to learn that Kwan had only a 99 wRC+ last year, and he had a similar number in 2023 while posting much more impressive offensive seasons in 2022 and 2024.

  So in that even-odd sense, he’s due for another big season next year!  But, you’re also leaving out the fact that Kwan is an elite defender, and his injury history is pretty light in comparison to most players.

  The Guardians’ financial situation means they’re always open to moving any player nearing free agency, but don’t forget….the Guards are also always trying to win, and Kwan has filled as outsized void as basically the only reliable player in Cleveland’s outfield for a few years now.

  My stance has always been that Kwan will be dealt next winter when he’s a year away from free agency, but that could potentially change if the younger OFs have started to emerge enough that the Guards felt comfortable moving Kwan at the deadline

• That….was a lot more words than I realized I was writing, haha

Angel Fan

• Who closing out games for us next season, Thought it would have been a no brainer to bring back Jansen. He said he liked playing here and only got a 1M dollar raise from the tigers

Mark P

• Jansen may have preferred the idea of playing for a winning team that will help him get to 500 saves in much quicker fashion.  Due to their lack of success, the Angels aren’t going to win a ton of bidding wars unless they’ve got the clear top offer.

  As to who could step in, it’s asking a lot for Joyce or Stephenson to become the new closer, yet teams have often turned to any number of random relievers to close games.  Chances are the Angels bring in someone with a decent ninth-inning track record, but a committee might not be out of the question.

JaysVladdy

• I think the Rays had a mutual option with Fairbanks. Considering the level of interest other teams have in him, why didn’t the Rays accept the $11 million option and then trade him afterward?

Mark P

• Good question.  This was what I think most pundits figured the Rays would do, yet it seems like the Rays’ early forays into the trade market didn’t yield all that much interest.  Or, teams that were keen on Fairbanks might be open to paying him $11MM but not giving up prospects to Tampa to obtain him.
• That $11MM weighs more heavily on the Rays’ budget than for most teams, yet it would seem like Fairbanks would still have been reasonably easy to move at full salary.  Or, Tampa Bay might have linked him to another trade chip in a multi-player deal?

Josh

• I’m not a Mclain believer, does he have any trade value for the Reds?

Mark P

• It would be a major sell-low situation for the Reds, so I doubt they’d have much interest in a trade.

Marky Mark

• Mark Happy Weekend Chat!! So what is on ye ol’ Playlist this week?

Mark P

• “Keep It Between The Lines” by Sturgill Simpson

Murakami

• There’s only about a week left for me to sign and there’s been barely any rumors about interest in signing me? Does my market end up shifting to a shorter term deal?

Mark P

• It’s been pretty quiet on the Murakami front, but Alonso leaving the market shakes up the 1B market.  It could be that Murakami’s camp is keeping a tight lid on rumors, moreso than interest is mild.

Rick Rude

• Bold prediction for the rest of the Rays offseason?

Mark P

• Lowe and Baz are both traded

Not Breslow

• Asking for a friend. After the postseason push are the Red Sox fumbling the offseason so far? Any trade recommendations to right the ship? Im seeing a lot of negativity from the fanbase.

Mark P

• Gray and Oviedo are very noteworthy pickups.  Keep in mind that Sox fans were having the same criticisms until Crochet was acquired at the winter meetings last year, and even then the criticism continued until Bregman signed in February.

  Boston’s roster is in good shape at the moment, they’ve already made the rotation better, and there’s still plenty of time for more significant moves.

Bobby Cox

• You like the Yaz signing? I dont love it, good vs rh but a 4th outfielder and Eli white was good for us

Mark P

• Really good move by the Braves. Yaz provides a lot of OF and bench depth, raises the team’s talent floor.

rando

• Is it me or does it feel like the international/NPB signings have been oddly quiet? Aside from the usual west coast + some east teams. being interested, haven’t really heard any momentum

Mark P

• Imai/Okamoto/Murakami don’t have the same big-name buzz of some of the other recent NPB additions.  Plus, I do wonder if some of the rumor mill is muted due to fan perception that the Dodgers will somehow sign all of these guys.

Snakes

• Why would any GM trade away Marte. He is on a team friendly contract

Mark P

• It could be that there’s some heat to the rumors of clubhouse discord over Marte.  Or, the D’Backs are simply open to offers, just in case some team makes a crazy bid that can’t be refused.

  Chris Young made comments to this effect today, talking about Corey Seager….all front offices “check in” on star players, just out of due diligence and just in case.  Like, take this scenario…

  GM #1: Hi, what would it take for me get your best player?
  GM #2: Haha, you and every other team, buddy! Ok, I’ll play along, what would you be willing to offer?
  GM1: I’ll offer prospect X and prospect Y, and eat the entire contract.
  GM2: …haha, I like your thinking, but I’ll still pass. Take care!

  /hangs up phone

  GM2 to his staff: Holy crow, they were willing to give X and Y?!  How long should I wait before calling back?!

Guest

• Yanks had a quiet winter meetings. Something in the works or are they going to run it back again next year?

Mark P

• The Yankees feel (with cause) that they’re in good shape already for 2026, and can afford to be relatively patient in seeing how the market develops on a number of fronts.  Who knows, maybe they’ll sign Bellinger or King tomorrow, or they’ll swing some trade that wasn’t even known to be on their radar.

Bucco B

• What’s it going to take for a FA to sign in the ‘Burgh? No one wants to play in that beautiful ballpark? For a losing organization?!

His excellence, Mark Polishuk

• Are the Pirates for real with their interest in high end free agents? Or this a mirage to say they tried for the fanbase?

Guest

• What do you think is the biggest realistic target left for the Bucs? And do you think they’ll actually make any kind of splash?

Mark P

• It only takes one Jayson Werth-esque signing to change a perception of a team for other free agents.  The real question now is that if the Pirates were willing to pay Schwarber $120MM, that theoretically means they have $120MM in spending capacity over the next four years.  So why not use most or all of that money on two or even one big bat, and really try to go for it while Skenes is still on the roster?

Cards in NY

• What kind of return can we expect to see for Romero based on what seattle gave up for Ferrer

Mark P

• Ferrer is a high-velo strikeout pitcher who comes with multiple years of team control.  Romero is a grounder specialist with so-so strikeout numbers, a lot of walks, and only one year remaining of team control.

  In short, the Cardinals will be getting a heck of a lot less than Harry Ford in a trade return.

Jerry R.

• Was it probably a mistake for the White Sox to pick up Luis Robert’s club option for the year? 20m is quite a lot for him on a low-spending team, and it even looks like an obstacle to a trade that nets decent prospects. What’s the deal, you think?

Mark P

• There seems to still be enough interest that Robert will probably get dealt.  I can understand Chicago’s logic in not wanting to just cut him for nothing, and if Robert does end up staying put this winter but then has a strong first half, he’ll get a good return at the deadline.

Ray Oyler

• You got anything to say about the athletics tonight or are you gonna talk about the beads?

Mark P

• Kurtz is narrowly beating Anthony in the poll, so that’s something!

  Perhaps just by dint of their unusual geographic situation, there are fewer A’s rumors than for most teams, so there usually isn’t a ton to really discuss.  Leiter is an okay signing for them.  Severino should be included in every discussion about any “unwanted contract swap” since he’s an interesting trade chip, and it’ll be interesting to see where he lands and for what return

Fred Bird

• When will the Arenado saga end? Cards can’t move forward with him on the team

Mark P

• Arenado is one of the more difficult players to move, so if anything, it would’ve been more surprising if the Cardinals had dealt him by Dec. 14

Caught

• Answering CBA question, you snuck in a 67. I caught ya

Mark P

• lol, that was pure happenstance.  I am too old for that meme stuff.

JB Reds

• I’m upset Schwarber didn’t sign with Reds obviously.  But ownership saying the main reason they tried is because he would boost ticket sales it about as bad as “where are you gonna go”….

Mark P

• Wouldn’t the Reds signing ANY major player bring in extra attendance?  Like, what fan is saying “well, I’ll order a season ticket package because Schwarber is from the Cincy area, but I won’t do it for Cody Bellinger”?

John

• Alonso the fix to the orioles underperforming lineup?

Mark P

• It makes retaining Mountcastle look like even more of a head-scratcher, but I like the signing.  Perfectly fair to wonder if Alonso will be productive over the full five years, but he should absolutely make the O’s a better team in 2026.

Giants

• There was a lot of talk that the Giants aren’t interested in spending long term on a pitcher, but now we have reports from a trustworthy local Giants reporter Susan Slusser that she spoke to agents and the Giants are in fact talking to agents and pursuing the “top starters”. I’m assuming she meant Framber Imai and Ranger. Were the Giants just throwing out a smokescreen with all the “we arent going to commit to long term 100 mil+ starter deals”, or is Posey just doing his own thing separate from ownership

Mark P

• I think every owner/chairman would prefer to not sign pitchers (or anyone) to pricey long-term contracts.  And, Greg Johnson didn’t expressly say that the Giants would never sign such deals, just that it wasn’t his preference.

  This is a team that has added Chapman, Adames, and Devers just within the last 15 months, so it’s not like the Giants are adverse to spending.  It’s just that SF may be more willing to open the checkbook for a hitter than for a pitcher.  As to the reports of the Giants checking in on available starters, that’s at the very least a due diligence move, or maybe some explorations to see if any of these pitchers are open to a shorter-term deal.

Ebenezer_Batflip

• Do you think the Padres move Miller?

Mark P

• Doubtful, after giving such a ton to the A’s at the deadline.  Miller is both controllable and relatively inexpensive for now, plus he is both the anchor of the Padres’ bullpen and still a potential candidate to move back into the rotation if SD wants to roll the dice.

  The fact that credible reporters like the Athletic’s crew were noting that story makes it at least some kind of a possibility, but I do enjoy how most reports about the Padres include some version of “A.J. Preller floats a lot of wild offers or trade ideas, so bear with us.”

Stros

• Where do you think Christian walker plays next year? Seems like the Astros have get rid of him given the logjam at the corners. Would a McNeil for walker trade make sense for the Mets?

Mark P

• Since the Mets plan to use Polanco at first base, Walker probably isn’t realistic at this point.  McNeil-for-Walker doesn’t totally work either since that locks McNeil into just OF work, which is a slightly inefficient use of his skillset.

  Walker is another player that probably isn’t being dealt outside of “unfavorable contract swap” territory.  Which leaves the Astros in kind of a bind unless someone gets hurt in Spring Training.

Rays Fan

• It seems like the Nationals have exactly what we need in Abrams and Ruiz.  What kind of a package would they require back for that duo?

Mark P

• Ruiz is owed a lot of money on his contract, and his bat has gone ice-cold over the last two seasons as he’s dealt with injuries.  Doesn’t seem like a fit for Tampa at all.

  Abrams is a better fit in theory, but I don’t see the Rays meeting the Nats’ big asking price for the remaining three years of Abrams’ control.

Colton T

• Do you think Seattle was smart by not matching Met’s offer for Polanco?

Mark P

• Polanco had a good season and would’ve been a good fit returning to Seattle’s lineup, plus there’s the added value of what he brought to their clubhouse. For a $20MM AAV, however, I’m not sure I’m too broken up if I’m a Mariners fan.

  Really, retaining Naylor was the biggest need for the Seattle offseason.  Polanco or Suarez would’ve been gravy, and we shouldn’t rule out Suarez still possibly returning.

Guest

• Tork for hunter greene. Who says no

Mark P

• Cincinnati.  Greene is far more valuable

Guest

• Poll results- have you ever had a poll closer than the Kurtz/Anthony poll?

Mark P

• Currently 50.7% for Kurtz, and that’s about as narrow a margin I can remember in any pure 1-v-1 poll question

Philly Love

• The Phils are an extremely loyal organization always looking to bring back their aging stars.  Although I love the loyalty, mixing in young players is the biggest key to any organization.  I’d love to see Crawford be able to play CF instead of settling for LF and Miller start at 3rd but ultimately play SS moving Turner out to the OF.  Thoughts?

Mark P

• Philly will give Crawford every chance at sticking in CF, and he can play at least a decent center field, that’s a particularly enormous win for the team.  Given all the big contracts on their books, getting help from the farm system is key to adding some inexpensive depth and quality to the roster, since the Phillies can’t just spend their way to filling every roster hole.

Trip

• Are the Braves done adding to the bullpen?

Mark P

• I thought they were done just by re-signing Iglesias, so the Suarez deal really caught me off guard.  One would imagine the rest of Atlanta’s bullpen adds will be minor league signings or very low-guarantee MLB deals, given how much has already been invested in Iglesias/Suarez

Ritch

• Is Detroit going after Verlander?

Mark P

• Strangely no buzz at all about Verlander thus far, though perhaps he’s taking his time to evaluate what I’m guessing are a limited amount of preferred landing spots.  Verlander’s not going to sign with the Rockies or someone just to keep pitching — he wants to join a team with a decent-to-great chance at contending in 2026.

  The rotation market as a whole hasn’t really picked up steam yet apart from Cease.  Probably a few more of the bigger names need to find contracts before teams start to really look at second-tier, shorter-term options like Verlander

MoonBeamMcSwine

• GE Mark…Who gets the accolades as GM for signing the most valuable extension during this offseason.. runner ups?

Mark P

• Last year’s title went to Jerry Dipoto, for wisely locking up Cal Raleigh just before Raleigh had the season of his life.
• I’ll provide more of an answer in April, since most extensions get worked out once the bigger offseason business is through

Bobby

• Scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most likely. How likely is it that the Dodgers will trade Teoscar Hernandez this offseason? I feel like he would not yield a great return (propects at most) and his postseason bat carries a lot of value.

Mark P

• Teo’s postseason numbers aren’t great, just a career .792 OPS.  LA probably wouldn’t mind flipping Hernandez elsewhere to open up an outfield spot and free up some money, since even the Dodgers have a budget.  Now, the Dodgers would then surely re-invest those savings into another name player, potentially another outfielder L.A. thinks is a better long-term investment.

Friend

• Severino for Cronenworth straight

Mark P

• I feel like this was mentioned in a recent chat.  Makes sense on paper, but it could be that the A’s are wary of locking Cronenworth in at second base, since Kurtz/Rooker have 1B/DH spoken for

Me

• Verlander to Detroit HAS TO happen, right?

Mark P

• Oh yeah, I guess I didn’t address the Verlander/Detroit possibility in that last JV question.  Oops!

  It would be fun to see it happen, and the Tigers both need pitching and have a preference for shorter-term signings.  It’s a match on paper, but who knows how Harris and company might feel about Verlander, or if Verlander has interest in returning to Motown

Chatman

• Have you seen running man?

Mark P

• The new one, not yet.  The old one, several times.  Richard Dawson was legit robbed of an Oscar nomination.

Curious A’s Fan

• Trading Severino would mean having to overpay for another SP. Why do that?

Mark P

• Severino openly hates playing at the ballpark, the A’s can’t love that he is so public with his displeasure, and Severino doesn’t pitch well at home anyway, so his value to the team is limited.
• We’ve over two hours into this chat now, so time to wrap things up.  Thanks so much for all the questions!
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