MLBTR Chat Transcript

Steve Adams

• Good afternoon! I’ll get toing in a couple minutes, but feel free to begin sending questions in now
• Get going*, even

Brewers fan

• Thoughts on the Pratt extension?

Steve Adams

• We talked about this at length and all the other recent extensions on the episode of the podcast we recorded this morning. That’ll drop tomorrow, so check that out in the morning.In general, I’m surprised for a few reasons. Pratt seems to have a lower ceiling than some of their other infield prospects, and the Brewers in general are deep there. Beyond Pratt, there’s Jett Williams, Jesus Made, Luis Pena, Andrew Fischer. Turang is controlled four more years (though I’m sure they’ll trade him at some point closer to free agency)

  Pratt is also more glove-and-speed oriented, which isn’t going to pay as well in arbitration. And he’s repped by Scott Boras, which is a different brand of surprising.

• I don’t think it’s some catastrophically bad deal or anything, but I question why there was such urgency to get Pratt in particular signed. Maybe he’s just the only one of their young infield guys who was amenable to signing in a price range deemed acceptable by ownership

Mr.Plow

• Do you like the new ABS system?

Steve Adams

• I’ve really enjoyed the rollout. I love the crowds getting into it. And broadly, I just love not having to roll my eyes or groan at as many missed calls.
• I think maybe going to three challenges would be would be preferable for me, but I also understand being wary of creating a system where teams are challenging too frequently.

Guest

• Two eligible players available. Jake Burger and Sal Stewart which is the better pickup

Steve Adams

• For fantasy? Stewart all day, every day. Not close.

Ben

• Are you buying Gore and Leiter’s strong starts?

Steve Adams

• I mean, it’s one start for both, unless you’re including spring training. But Leiter was my AL ROY pick last year, and while he didn’t get there obviously, I thought he had a pretty encouraging season overall. He’s continued that into 2026.If you’ve followed any prior chats, I’m very bullish on Gore in general. So I don’t really care much about his one start with Texas so far, but I think he has ace-caliber stuff and spent about half of last season pitching like a true No. 1. I’d prefer Gore between the two, but I think both will have strong seasons in the middle of a good Texas rotation.

Bailey Ober

• Do they need to stick a fork in me?

Steve Adams

• Average fastball being sub-90 doesn’t feel good, especially after the hip injury last year really dogged him. I was optimistic for a rebound, since Ober really has only had that one truly awful stretch last June, but when the Twins beat was tracking the number of pitches that cracked 89 mph during spring training, my optimism waned.

Red Sux

• Pretty much every new addition to the Red Sox had an atrocious weekend, which one should we be most worried about?

Steve Adams

• None of them? It’s four games.

Nick

• Any idea when AJ Switch Shawver may be ready to return?

Steve Adams

• He didn’t have surgery until mid-June last year. I would be surprised if he returned before the trade deadline.Mid to late August seems like a reasonable target.

Gregg

• The Nats are looking good with a good bullpen and some breakout stars like Joey Wiemer and Daylen Lile, making them have their great 3-1 start. Do you think that the Nats could have a sneaky good season?

Steve Adams

• I don’t. The pitching depth and quality are poor. Lile can hit but is a surprisingly poor defender. The lineup has far too many holes. Good for Wiemer for his hot start to the season, but we’re talking 13 plate appearances. We have 38x as many from the preceding few seasons telling us this isn’t going to hold. He can hit lefties though!

Sad White Sox Fan

• What’s going on with Korey Lee? Had a great spring, yet the White Sox DFA’d him and picked up Reese McGuire instead

Steve Adams

• He’s 27, has never hit much, was out of minor league options and doesn’t grade well in terms of blocking balls in the dirt or framing. He always looked like a long shot to stick around, 47 solid spring plate appearances notwithstanding. McGuire has a comparable or better track record at the plate and plays better defense.I doubt another club is going to claim Lee and plug him right onto its 40-man roster, so he might stay in the org via outright anyhow.

Don Zimmer

• What team is the odds-on early favorite to trade for Matt Shaw at the deadline?

Steve Adams

• I don’t think it’s really a foregone conclusion — at least not this summer. He’s going to play five or six positions, with all four infield spots and the outfield corners probably in play. People are going to get hurt. He’ll get his ABs.Long-term, I think a trade makes perfectly good sense, but since quality depth is going to be hard to come by following the deadline, I’d assume the Cubs just hang onto him for the utility role this year.

Guest

• Overreactions; who are your picks for MVP, Cy Young and RoY

Steve Adams

• We send our staff predictions out to Trade Rumors subscribers every year! (Cheap plug)My very wrong picks, as set in place on March 24:

  AL East: Blue Jays
  AL Central: Tigers
  AL West: Mariners
  Wild Card: Orioles
  Wild Card: Yankees
  Wild Card: Red Sox

  NL East: Phillies
  NL Central: Cubs
  NL West: Dodgers
  Wild Card: Brewers
  Wild Card: Mets
  Wild Card: Reds

  AL MVP: Gunnar Henderson
  NL MVP: Shohei Ohtani

  AL Cy Young: Tarik Skubal
  NL Cy Young: Yoshinobu Yamamoto

  AL ROY: Chase DeLauter
  NL ROY: Konnor Griffin

  World Series: Mariners over Dodgers

It’s early

• How come no one ever asks your picks for Manager of the Year?

Steve Adams

• “Manager of the Year” is basically just the award that goes to the manager of whichever playoff team is the biggest surprise, haha. Actually quantifying what makes a manager good or bad is impossible, since 90% of that happens behind closed doors in the clubhouse.

Yankeespitching

• Will Konnor be up by Memorial Day?

Steve Adams

• I still think there’s a decent chance he’s up before April 9, since he could still get a full year of service then and still be PPI eligible for the next few seasons.

Moreno

• How can the Angels continuously be so bad? They have learned nothing over the 10 year pitfall

Steve Adams

• They have an owner who has no interest in rebuilding and no interest in winning. Kind of impressive, really.They seem to prioritize drafting fast-moving players over higher-ceiling but longer-term development projects. Not sure if that’s because their player development system hasn’t been productive and they’d thus rather take products who are closer to finished, or because Moreno is impatient, or because they feel the need to plug gaps on the roster (which are borne out of poor/infrequent spending and those player development failures)
• There are self-fulfilling prophecy vibes there; but Arte Moreno has been the constant throughout it all.

It’s early

• Yea, but how come NO ONE ever asks your picks? And while we’re there, what are they?

Steve Adams

• I have given zero thought to manager of the year, haha. I don’t know. Terry Francona and Craig Albernaz. Sure?

Mike

• When will Emerson be called up?  Today, tomorrow, end of the month?

Steve Adams

• I’m surprised it’s not immediate, but seems like they wanted to get the deal done but plan to let him keep getting regular reps in AAA for the time being. can’t really remember an instance of signing someone long-term and then just saying “Ok, now back to AAA with you,” but I get it. Emerson is 20 and had all of six games in Triple-A to his credit prior to the current season
• I don’t think the Mariners even know that answer; probably depends on health for the rest of the roster. But now that Emerson will go on the 40-man, I’m sure there’ll be no hesitation to bring him up if a need arises.

Bozz

• if the Astros and Braves are seeking a lefty outfielder-they should-would they take Reynolds from the Pirates or is his contract too big?

Steve Adams

• No one’s taking on the entirety of that contract. Pirates are trying to win right now anyway, and since they’d get no return, dumping one of their better bats wouldn’t be prudent anyhow.

Doghouse Riley

• Was the Matos DFA any kind of surprise? He’s only 24. Should the Giants not have started his clock so soon?. Thanks Steve,

Steve Adams

• I wasn’t surprised by it, but I’ve been out on Matos and Luciano for awhile now. Frustrating outcome for Giants fans on that last wave of long-term hopefuls (Matos, Luciano, Harrison, Whisnhunt, etc. — at least they kind of got Devers out of Harrison? …Kind of.)

Braves fan

• Can you explain the option system?

Steve Adams

• As soon as a player is added to his team’s 40-man roster, they get three option years over him. Players can be optioned to the minors at any point. Being optioned and staying down for 20 days burns an option year.A player who is optioned cannot be recalled for at least 10 days unless he is directly replacing an injured player.

  Players can be optioned five times within a given season/option year (which is new to the most recent CBA; there was previously no cap). But being optioned multiple times in a season only burns one option year.

Jay

• Who are some of the big names you think will be traded at the deadline?

Steve Adams

• Joe Ryan. Perhaps CJ Abrams. Sandy Alcantara maybe. Drew Rasmussen, I could see. Nick Pivetta? Luis Arraez? Just trying to think of some “names” with a decent chance to go

Jennifer Kalloy

• When Travis Bazzana gets called up, who plays SS for the Guardians?

Steve Adams

• Whichever of Rocchio/Arias is healthier and producing more. I doubt they have a set plan right now, and I cannot believe they entered the season without making an infield addition.

Matty Arnold

• Sproat got railed his first appearance with us. What do you see the rotation looking like in September? 1. Woodruff 2. Priester 3. Harrison 4. Henderson 5. Patrick? Or some other young guys going to break thru?

Steve Adams

• Sproat getting hit hard in one start doesn’t really mean anything; the September rotation will come down to health. Nothing’s set beyond Woodruff and Misiorowski.If you’re asking who I think their next-best options are, then I’d say Priester and probably Henderson, with Harrison/Patrick/Sproat/Gasser all vying for innings. But the Brewers are going to have 8+ guys make ten or more starts this season, and the performance/development of everyone beyond Woody/Miz will dictate who’s getting those crucial September innings.

LouBrock’sBride

• Who has the most stolen bases in 2026?

Steve Adams

• Chandler Simpson?

John

• Chances Harper gets traded if the Phillies aren’t in the hunt?

Steve Adams

• Nope

The Big Q

• What do you mean kind of? I’d say the Giants objectively got Devers out of Harrison

Steve Adams

• They first and foremost got Devers out of being willing to take on all of Devers’ contract.

Cards

• Gorman a potential trade candidate if he’s hitting at the deadline?

Steve Adams

• I’d imagine so, but at this point I have doubts that Gorman will ever really hit. He’s never posted even a 70% contact rate in the majors. League average is around 77%. There’s just so much chase and swing-and-miss in his offensive approach.

J. JUNG FUNK?

• I was counting on a big rebound for Josh Jung in fantasy but was my optimism unfounded?   Does he get a long leash or no?

Steve Adams

• Said at last year’s deadline and throughout the winter, but Josh Jung feels like a change-of-scenery candidate to me. The Rangers have clearly been frustrated with his inability to refine his approach — Chris Young practically said as much last summer — and the results aren’t really improving.I don’t think Jung is immune from being optioned, and I could see a rebuilding or budget-conscious club taking a look this summer.

  His leash probably got longer when Sebastian Walcott was injured, but Jung doesn’t feel like a long-term piece there anymore — at least from my vantage point.

Minor/Major

• Why extend Emmerson now? Shouldn’t they have waited to see if he could hit in the bigs? Lots of guys tear the cover off the ball in the minors, but can’t hit for beans in the majors. Why chance being stuck with someone like that?

Steve Adams

• Because if he comes up and hits for even a couple months, the price tag could more than double. Julio Rodriguez signed for $210MM guaranteed before he finished his rookie season.Teams are increasingly confident in their ability to be correct with high-profile, MLB-ready bats. Emerson is generally regarded as one of the 10 to 15 best prospects in the sport.

  Besides, how much riskier is it to give a 20-year-old an eight-year deal at $95MM than to sign 29-year-old first baseman for that same guarantee over a shorter term?

  Josh Naylor has shown that he can hit in the majors, but aging curves are real and tell us anyone could begin dropping off in their 30s.

  I think the Emerson deal strikes people as riskiER, but it’s really just a different type of risk. The Mariners probably project him to be worth more than double the $95MM.

The ghost of Joe Charboneau

• Is Sal Stewart for real?

Steve Adams

• I mean, no one is a “for real” .700 hitter, but yeah, Stewart can hit. He’s hit at pretty much every level, including with the Reds in his late call-up last season.

Guest

• Braves would probably be better served by taking on Masataka Yoshida’s contract since they have the room (this year thanks to Profar and next year) while the Red Sox tack on some of their pitching to facilitate the deal.  (Seen this floated around with names included one/couple of Crawford, Sandoval, Bennett, and Tolle, as examples.) Obviously attaching assets to contract dumps are easier said than done, but the Red Sox have already done it before, and the Braves could use the pitching.

Steve Adams

• If the Braves had the money to take on Yoshida’s contract, I assume they’d have just signed Giolito by now (or that they would’ve signed Littell before he went to D.C.)
• Also, there’s no way anyone is taking on that entire Yoshida contract, and there’s no way the Sox are dumping Tolle to shed a bad contract.
• Sandoval would make some sense, but he’s still on the IL and, again, the Braves sure aren’t acting like a team with a ton of cash to spend, even after the Profar suspension.

Brewers Fan

• Would you rather give Pratt $50 million or Emerson $95? Which fanbase should feel better about the deal their team gave out?

Steve Adams

• Emerson

Gukas Liolito

• Speaking of Giolito, are teams hesitant to make a move for him? I’m surprised he hasn’t signed anywhere yet

Steve Adams

• I’ve given up trying to understand why he’s unsigned. His camp has been tight-lipped on whatever’s going on. I find it hard to believe some team wouldn’t have offered him like $10-14MM late in the offseason, but who knows? It’s a weird situation.

Guest

• poor Giants fans forget they also put James Tibbs III in the Devers deal. Giants basically got hosed in this deal, Posey was a helluva player. GM? Not so much better than average.

Steve Adams

• The Red Sox then turned and immediately traded Tibbs to get a couple months of Dustin May. I know he had a big spring and is out to a strong minor league start, but it’s pretty fair to say multiple teams soured on Tibbs real quickly. We’ll see whether he’s another Dodger gem or if this is just some early noise. Given how much he struck out this spring, I’m not all that optimistic.

Mike Elias

• Who can I realistically hope to extend next?

Steve Adams

• Dylan Beavers? I think the ship has generally sailed on Henderson, Rutschman, Bradish, Rogers, etc. Westburg is hurt, potentially done for the year. I guess Jackson Holliday, but I don’t know that a Boras-repped former No. 1 pick who’ll be a 26-year-old free agent is signing when his stock isn’t at its peak, so I’d lean against that, too.

Jake

• Which pitcher should the Royals sign long term; Ragins or Bubic?  Both have had injury issues, but Bubic is more consistent and Ragins struggles to get past 5 innings; I vote Bubic.

Steve Adams

• Bubic is six months from free agency and probably feels an extension would be selling himself short after last season’s injury.Also, Ragans averaged 5 2/3 innings pitched per start over the past two seasons, which is pretty solid by today’s standards.

  All depends on price, of course, but in a vacuum I’d take Ragans for the next five or so years

Seth Hernandez

• If I’m “lights out” and the pirates are relevant, could I get the call?

Steve Adams

• He’s 19 and hasn’t even pitched a minor league game yet. I’d be shocked if Hernandez was a consideration  this year.

Wayward

• How does Emersons extension potentially impact a Griffin deal?

Steve Adams

• I don’t really think it does. Griffin’s the better prospect and was already reported to be discussing a larger deal than the one Emerson signed.

South Side

• Has the ship sailed on Lenyn Sosa as a regular?

Steve Adams

• I was unaware this ship was ever a thing. I don’t think anyone with a 3% walk rate has much hope of being a regular.

No Cruz Control

• Cruz is a worse fielder in CF. I say move him back to SS and play Mangum in CF everyday. Better yet: get KG in Pitt for the home opener and DH Cruz!!!

Steve Adams

• Can’t really DH Cruz when they paid Ozuna $12MM, but I agree that CF feels untenable. Could move Cruz to a corner, with Mangum in CF, but then you’ve got to figure out how to work in both O’Hearn and Reynolds, neither of whom should even sniff center field.Cruz is one of the most tantaliziing sets of tools I’ve ever seen, but the lack of a defensive home, coupled with the Pirates having to bring in a bunch of guys with minimal defensive value to fill out their offense, makes it tough to figure out what to do with him this season.
• Alright, I’ve got to wrap up. I’m on X @adams_steve and Bluesky at @adams-steve.bsky.social.Thanks for the questions! If you want more input from the MLBTR team and access to our suite of tools (contract database/tracker, agency database, GM tracker), plus ad-free viewing, extra articles, exclusive chats and fantasy baseball advice, you can sign up for a Trade Rumors Front Office subscription here.

  Enjoy your week!