MLBTR Chat Transcript

Mark P

• Welcome to the Weekend Chat! We’ll take a minute for some questions to pile up, then get rolling….

Luca

• Do the Rays have any more moves in store ? Will they add another catcher ?

Mark P

• You’ll likely see at least some lower-level stuff (i.e. minor league deals) take place before Spring Training, but in terms of truly big stuff, probably not.  The Rays plan to give Matz a look as a starter again, but signing someone like Littell would seem like a more stable move in my view.  Littell was linked to the Rays earlier this offseason and he remains unsigned, whereas other known Tampa targets like Eflin or Houser are off the board.

  Tampa Bay has been looking for a catcher almost as long as they’ve been looking for a better ballpark.  They might add someone else on a minors deal or something, but the chances of them finally landing that “catcher of the future” type in the limited time remaining this winter is pretty slim

Kevin

• Guardians find money to extend Rameriz, does this mean there is money to add help to roster?

Mark P

• The deferred money involved in J-Ram’s new deal certainly would seem to mean the Guards have something in the realm of $6MM extra to suddenly work with.  They might spend this before the offseason ends, or maybe it goes towards trade deadline reinforcements.  Given that their lineup is still in need of help now, I’d argue they should get to adding a bat sooner rather than later

Elias

• Any market on Danny Coulombe? He’s very good but I let him walk last offseason due to age/injury concerns.

Mark P

• Boston’s been the only team publicly linked to Coulombe, but surely multiple teams could use more LHP bullpen help.

Natitude

• Light return for the Nats In the Gore trade?  Doesn’t seem like a surefire big league prospect in the group of 5 players coming from TEX.  Too harsh?

Mark P

• Reports indicated that Toboni really liked Fien in particular, dating back to last year’s draft when Toboni was still with the BoSox.  So it seems like Fien is viewed as the prize of the trade package, and the other four are varying degrees of lottery ticket.

  I’ve written multiple times in these chats that the Nationals would likely be retaining Gore unless they got a particularly huge offer, so I made the wrong call on that one.  This doesn’t fit what I had in mind of a huge prospect haul, but we’ll see how things plan out.  If any one of these five players ends up being a significant piece for Washington, it’ll go down as a win for the team

Guards4Life

• Does Jose signing mean a Kwan extension is near?

Mark P

• Unlikely.  Ramirez is the exception that breaks Cleveland’s usual rule about extensions, which is that the Guards only extend guys early in their careers.  Kwan being two years away from free agency mean he’s missed that window, and is likely a year away from being dealt.

I love Yu

• If some/all of Yu’s contract comes off the books. What could the Padres do to upgrade the offense/starting pitching? Could they move a bullpen arm (Estrada) for a bat?

Mark P

• It would be that Darvish’s situation is the answer for why the Padres’ offseason has been relatively quiet.  If the team is seeing if he’ll retire or take some kind of buyout with deferred money, suddenly the Padres have some extra cash to work with in making signings or trades.

  Someone like a Bassitt or a Verlander would be a big help in their rotation, and neither of those two would be particularly expensive.  You’d think either of those pitchers would be a signing SD could afford right now with or without clarity on Darvish, but only the Padres know exactly what their budget is

Datdude

• Who’s broadcasting Cincinnati reds games this year mlb or another entity

Mark P

• Unclear for now.  Of the nine teams that ended their contracts with Main Street Sports, some (including the Reds) could re-up for a temporary one-year deal, or perhaps they just sign on to let MLB handle their broadcasts.  Having the league do the broadcasts at least brings more stability in the short term, lest teams go through this whole thing again down the road with MSS.

Reid

• The Giants reported interest in CJ Abrams seems a little fishy. I don’t doubt they inquired, or possibly brought up a few names they might discuss, but it came across as a PR move to say hey we tried to do this. I feel like they have the pieces to get that trade done if they really wanted to. Your thoughts?

Mark P

• I think it might’ve been a tactical move except not in the way you’re thinking.  It might’ve been a hint to the Cardinals in the vein of “hey, we can explore other 2B options, so stop dragging your feet on our Donovan offers.”

Angels

• Typical off-season but really would have liked to see them lock up Neto.

Mark P

• Most extension business doesn’t start until March, when teams have their offseason work completed and turn their attention elsewhere.  So there’s still plenty of time for Neto to be extended, if that’s something the Halos have on their radar

Glenn

• Garcia in the 6th, Rogers 7th, Hoffman 8th, Tiedemann 9th? Possible Jays lock down bullpen? Hope you are enjoying a Typical CDN winter day!

Mark P

• I can still vaguely see outside my window, so pfft, you call this a blizzard?!

  Tiedemann is coming off Tommy John surgery, and he has barely pitched any Triple-A ball.  Asking him to make the jump all the way to closing games for a championship contender is a very big reach.

Guest

• I am now 27 years old, which means I have now watched the full careers careers of players on the hall of fame ballot, and it has really re-contextualized voting for me. I used to be a “small hall” guy, using stats and JAWs to argue against fringe candidates. But now I just feel insane trying to argue Felix or Pedroia were not hall of famers after watching their careers unfold. Curious if you ever had a similar thought?

Mark P

• Voters face this same conundrum in deciding whether or not to choose guys who “felt like Hall of Famers” even if their stats didn’t necessarily measure up.  I do think Felix and Pedroia both probably get in eventually, since more writers will start to focus more on the “ten great years” aspect over the fact that these guys didn’t do much beyond that prime.

Bart

• Is it possible to create a contract that forces your team to be competitive..  could Ramirez have put clause in to make cle a top 15 spender ?  Or else he could opt out ??

Mark P

• The Guardians would never agree to such a contract.  And, their response is probably also “we’ve made the playoffs seven times in the last decade, how is that not competitive?”

Andrew

• Are the A’s currently trying to trade for anyone similar to what they tried to do with Arenado?

Mark P

• It’d be a stretch for the Athletics’ budget, but I wonder if Eugenio Suarez might be a possibility for them if Suarez drops his asking price.  It’s not an ideal fit since Suarez would be basically locked into playing 3B every day since Rooker’s the DH, so maybe the A’s do want a true third baseman rather than a questionable defender like Suarez.

Marky Mark

• What’s on the Sunday Chat Playlist Mark?

Mark P

• “Not,” by Big Thief

Dillon V.

• While the Mets got a huge ace in Peralta, I do wonder if it was worth Williams and Sproat for most likely just one year of Peralta.

Mark P

• Stearns very likely thinks he can extend Peralta, or make a push to re-sign him next winter if he reaches free agency.

Bosox Fan 1

• Do you think that the Red Sox pitching and defense strategy without another slugger in the lineup will give them 1st place in the  AL east?

Mark P

• Boston was a top ten team in offense in 2025, and in 2026 they’ll have a full season of Anthony, and Contreras making up most or even all of Bregman’s production.  The Sox aren’t hurting for bats.

Kennon

• Mark, appreciate you taking my question. The Astros are still close to the CBT threshold, right? We shouldn’t expect any further moves unless they can trade Sanchez or Walker, both of which have deficit value. Do you see this club making any changes between now and Opening Day? I think Walker probably isn’t moved unless a contender has a major injury in ST.

Mark P

• As per RosterResource, the Astros are about $1.5MM under the tax line, so there’s not much room to maneuver if they’re intent on avoiding a tax bill.

  The infield picture is so crowded and the outfield is such a need that it feels like some kind of trade must happen, yet that’s obviously easier said than done.  The issue might be that other teams keep insisting on Paredes, and the Astros don’t want to move him.

Jeff K.

• Is there a realistic chance of a Geno/Reds reunion in your estimation?

Mark P

• Given the Reds’ apparently payroll restrictions, it doesn’t seem too likely.

Barry L Bonds

• Do you think the approach the Giants seem to be taking, letting young players fill in the gaps, (hopefully step up to be core players or at least solid contributing players) like Casey Schmitt, Bryce Eldridge, Drew Gilbert, and the rotation/bullpen depth (e.g. Tidwell, Teng, Whisenhunt), is too risky for 2026?

  As a Giants fan, I’m actually OK with trying to see what we have in these players instead of always seemingly needing to designate them / lose them for nothing after they run out of options. But on the other side of it, Chapman is going to be 33, Devers 29, Webb 29, and Adames 30. So it does feel like 2026 is the best some of these veteran players will be before they get to the bad side of their contracts.

Mark P

• I tend to lean more towards with the second half of your argument.  If you’re spending this much on Devers, Chapman, etc. in clear win-now moves, then rolling the dice on youngsters to fill the other holes is kind of a half-measures response

Bdubya

• Why have the Cardinals not moved Donovan yet??

Mark P

• Offers haven’t met their liking, simple as that

Joe

• Phillies make sense midseason for mad Max. They are counting on painter and walker to hold on spots for most of the season. It’s likely they could use the veteran upgrade thoughts?

Mark P

• Wheeler’s already going to be the in-season rotation upgrade, so that’ll bump Walker back to the pen.  Adding Scherzer does make some sense from a depth perspective, but it’s also a question of how many innings the Phils have available for him

yadi

• Will the Pirates sign McCutchen this year? Asking for a friend.

Cutch

• Does Cutch have enough left to be worth re-signing? Should the Pirates have honored him with a big sendoff last year instead of dragging him along?

Mark P

• As per Cutch’s frustrated post on X, he isn’t pleased with his situation.  The trouble with having a “sendoff” for McCutchen last year is that he doesn’t seem ready to retire.

  The Pirates are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place here.  On the one hand, McCutchen is a franchise icon, and he deserves better than what seems to be “wait and see” treatment from the front office.  On the other, McCutchen isn’t particularly productive as a player any more, and the Bucs might simply want to get a more useful player on the 26-man roster.

Kevin

• Are Quintana or Jordan Montgomery a type of veteran starter the Cards are looking for?

Mark P

• Those types of guys, yeah.  A Monty reunion in St. Louis coming off his TJ surgery makes a lot of sense.

Andy

• Any chance the Yankees move Rice to Catcher and have Bellinger play first base making Wells available in a trade?

Mark P

• That type of move leaves the Yankees thinner at catcher, and kind of locks Bellinger into 1B when he has more value as a guy who can play all over the outfield “and” at first base in a pinch.  It’s looking like Dominguez is the odd man out of New York’s plans, not Wells.

Al Kaline Battery

• I am beyond frustrated at the Tigers lack of effort to improve the offense this off season. The clock is ticking on Double already, why not  to improve the team and try to win now?

Mark P

• No argument here.  There’s still time for the Tigers to add a bat, but their offseason has been very underwhelming.

davemlaw

• Is Framber Valdez’ market negatively impacted by the mishap he had with his catcher last year?  Seems like he should have signed by now.

Mark P

• The crossup situation was certainly bizarre, and I’m sure teams had questions about it.  But it’s more likely that Valdez is still unsigned because of his other potential red flags (age, qualifying offer, low strikeouts, reliant on grounders, etc.)

Seattle Needs a Title!

• Will Brett Baty get dealt? Is Seattle interested?

Mark P

• I’m sure the M’s would have some interest, but if the Mariners’ top trade chips are prospects, that probably doesn’t fit the Mets’ needs.  It seems like the Mets are trying to turn Baty into the new McNeil as a super-utility type, and it remains to be seen how well the experiment will work

DD

• Am I really content with “running it back” with essentially the same roster? I simply can’t and shouldn’t do that – right?

Mark P

• To some extent I feel the Phillies have become a little underrated at this point, because their “same roster” was still very good in 2025.  But, since it wasn’t good enough to win a title, some bigger level of change needed to be made than just installing Adolis for Castellanos and Keller for Strahm.

  If Justin Crawford is a ROY candidate from the jump, that solves a lot of Philly’s issues right away.  But at this point, I’d see what I could do at third base besides Bohm, if a better 3B answer can still be found this relatively late in the winter

Cardinals

• Do we trade from our catching depth? If so, who makes the most sense?

Mark P

• Herrera’s health is the x-factor here.  I suspect the Cards might’ve been more proactive about trading a catcher already if they had a better sense about how many (or any) games Herrera will be able to handle behind the plate in at least 2026.  If Herrera is mostly a DH, then suddenly the Cardinals’ depth starts looking more shallow.

AA

• Murphy for Rasmussen straight up? Fixes Rays catching search and Braves SP need.

Mark P

• Murphy is expensive, coming off hip surgery, and hasn’t played well since 2023.  That’s an easy no for the Rays.

AstrosFAN

• Paredes is taking 2nd base reps, does that mean he’s not traded?

Mark P

• It’s more like Houston is trying to find ways to make their infield surplus work in any way they can, so Paredes will be the 2B whenever Altuve is in left field.

Josh E

• How often do teams go to declining players with a buy out situation like the padres are with Darvish?  In these situations howoften is it the team going to the player?  Darvish has been a pretty stand up guy when it comes to this contract and it seems totally reasonable that he could have gone to the team..

Mark P

• This isn’t a “decline” situation, but rather a case where Darvish feels he may not be able to pitch (or at least pitch effectively) ever again.  If this ends up being the case once he gets through more of his rehab, he’ll more seriously consider retiring, and working out some kind of buyout/deferral deal with the Padres.

Nolan Gorman

• Could I be the A’s next 3rd baseman? I’m cheap and could probably hit 30 HRs in that ball park

Mark P

• The Cards seem more committed to giving Gorman one more last chance than they do of trading him.  But, if Gorman struggles again and Wetherholt is ready to move into the 3B picture, Gorman could be a midseason trade candidate

nick krall

• is their room in the tank for a yandy diaz trade? hes a relatively affordable proven bat, and singer could fit the bill for the return. that would also free payroll space which the reds rave about.

Mark P

• Trading Lowe probably closed the door on the chances of Yandy being dealt, though I guess in Tampa Bay the door is never entirely closed on trade possibilities.  But, the Rays probably want more from their rotation than Singer, and Yandy is now an even bigger piece of Tampa’s lineup
• more FOR their rotation than Singer

contract

• How long will lockout be, could 2027 season be lost? How much tax will Dodgers have to pay after this season?

Mark P

• The 2027 season won’t be lost.  Frankly, I’m not even sure any games will be lost.  For now I’m thinking we’ll see a lockout and lots of sabre-rattling on both sides, but then an early-March agreement to preserve the full 162 games (just like in 2022)

atleastwetried

• Any chance Brewers extend William Contreras? Or are we going into his last season with the team before he gets traded and then we rely on Jeferson Quero

Mark P

• Very probable that Contreras is traded next winter.
• That seems far likelier than the Brewers signing him to an extension, but I’ve been surprised before.

Matt

• Since the Diamondbacks are keeping Marte (presumably), are they willing to trade Alexander or Lawlar? Moving young infielders with questionable bats to the outfield doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.

Mark P

• Alexander’s trade value is probably pretty marginal.  Lawlar has more value, but you’d think other teams would ask themselves “hmmm, if this guy is such a prized prospect, why is Arizona trading him?”

Bobby K.

• Your top 5 ballparks to watch a game at?

Mark P

• Rogers Centre in Toronto, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Wrigley Field, and Oracle Park in San Fran (if I remember to bring a jacket and toque for night games).

Giants fan

• Good day Mark. A couple of days ago it was reported that the giants attempted to trade for Abrams from the Nationals. Gonzalez and others would go back. I certainly wasn’t thrilled with that in the least. I understand you need to trade to get. But the giants minor leagues are just starting to turn a corner. BA compared them like night and day. What are your thoughts please.

Mark P

• Abrams still has some question marks, but he is a proven Major League-caliber player.  Josuar Gonzalez and the other prospects mentioned are total wild cards, and in Gonzalez’s case, he isn’t even 19 years old.

  Now, is Abrams necessarily the guy the Giants want to clean out their system to obtain?  Probably not, which is why the trade didn’t happen.  It could also be that the Nationals were insisting on Eldridge in any Abrams trade, and the Giants naturally balked.

Jasson With Two S’s

• Brady Singer + Luis Mey or Zach Maxwell for Jasson Dominguez. Who says no?

Mark P

• New York would want a lot more than that for the Martian

Bears

• Bees?

Mark P

• Beads?!

Steve Cohen

• Why isn’t Eugenio Duarez getting more love from all the teams? He put up great numbers last year. Wouldn’t he be an excellent replacement for Alonso at DH for the Mets?

Mark P

• Suarez runs very hot and cold, he strikes out a lot, and doesn’t bring much defensive value.  Even installing him at DH closes off another spot in the lineup for other players (Baty, Vientos, veterans) to get at-bats or rest days.

JeffyM

• Springer and Santander were worth a combined 4.3 WAR last year.  Over/under between them for 2026?

Mark P

• This is very much a “the Gretzky brothers hold the NHL record for most goals by two brothers” type of lopsided statistic.
• Anyway, this is arguably the biggest question the Jays face in 2026.  How much will Springer regress (if at all), and how much can Santander improve (if at all)?  If both move enough to even out to that same basic 2.2 WAR apiece, I suspect the Jays would take that

Ace

• Skenes or Skubal  who gets the bigger contract?  Or are they waiting on each other to sign for this reason?

Mark P

• Skenes will get the bigger contract since Skubal’s free agency is coming next winter.  So Skenes will be using Skubal as a baseline for years down the road.  Assuming Skenes remains healthy and dominant, of course.

Very patient fan

• Better question, what do you think of peter bendix, is he what we’ve been waiting for for the past few decades

Mark P

• The Marlins were a lot better than expected in 2025, so that’s an early positive sign that the rebuild is taking hold.  Obviously there’s a long way to go before we can consider Miami as a true contender, and the fact that Cabrera and Weathers were both traded indicates that Bendix isn’t getting too carried away by last season’s results.

Mr KLC

• Do you think Cam Smith faded last year because he was not used to a full MLB season.

Mark P

• Could be the extra games, could be rival teams getting a book on Smith as the season went on, or any number of reasons.

Guest

• Better fit for the White Sox,  Hays, Bader, or a trade for Kjerstad?

Mark P

• Signing Hays/Bader wouldn’t be too useful for a team that isn’t planning to contend in 2026. In the bigger picture sense, Kjerstad is the better fit since he can stick around long enough to be a part of Chicago’s next winning team.

Rangers13

• I have an extension question. Rangers absolutey need to get Langford extended likely somewhere close to 6/90-100 million. In an extension does the AAV for CBT purposes start from original of overall contract or first year of extension.

Mark P

• Starts from the first year of the extension

Guest

• How awesome is J-Ram?

Mark P

• He’s pretty awesome.  The rare first-ballot HOFer who is still to some extent a little underrated

BeBopCola

• If you’re Eugenio Suarez and the athletics offer you a multi year deal and the brewers offer you a one year deal, which do you take?

Mark P

• Depends on how much the A’s offer is worth, but if this hypothetical has a similar AAV, I’d suspect Suarez might favor Milwaukee.  He gets to play for a clear-cut contender, and in a Major League ballpark.

Rare German Baseball fan

• For some reason, I can’t imagine Bichette playing third base properly. This will be wild, like Devers-wild?

Mark P

• Having watched Bichette struggle to handle shortstop, I agree that having him at third base seems like a stretch.

Trey

• If Andru Jones is a Hall of Famer, can Jim Edmonds be that far behind?

Mark P

• Edmonds is long overdue for a second HOF look on a veterans’ committee vote

You’re nuts

• Rogers Centre and T-Mobile Park over Oriole Park and Fenway are crimes punishable by the baseball gods.

Mark P

• I’ve never been to Oriole Park.  Fenway was fine, but mayyyyyybe a touch overrated.

Ken

• How do the A’s improve their rotation?

Mark P

• It’s getting to the point in the offseason where any unsigned pitchers are probably getting antsy about their next contracts, and are maybe more willing to consider offers from the A’s.

  Trades are still a possibility too, plus there’s also the unresolved Severino situation.  But, given the Athletics’ limited budget and how most pitchers are likely adverse to Sacramento, the A’s were pretty much always going to wait until late Jan/early Feb to start diving into the pitching market.

Clase

• What’s the latest on this? Is he going to get lifetime suspension

Mark P

• Clase’s MLB career is almost certainly over

Lou Brown

• I have only really been paying attention to the HOF voting for the last decade or so, It seems that it is getting watered down with guys that I did not think of as HOF players when they were on the field. Is the HOF letting more very good players in now or do some of the old time guys in the HOF that I thought were amazing are actually just very good?

Mark P

• We tend to elevate past players due to reputation or legend, when you’re right that in some cases, their actual stats don’t really measure up to what we’d consider a “HOF resume”
• And that’s not even considering the 20-30 guys who got into Cooperstown just because the writers liked them, or because they played for winning teams, or because they played with Frankie Frisch (who oversaw the veterans committee for years)
• Time to wrap things up for today’s chat.  Thanks to everyone for all the questions!
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