MLBTR Live Chat

Mark P

• The Weekend Chat is back after a one-week hiatus! We’ll get things rolling after a few questions pile up in the queue….

Ross Atkins

• Should I trade Jeff Hoffman for either Andrew or Trevor? Right now, I think other Hoffmans might serve the Jays well.

Mark P

• Dustin Hoffman is enough of a method actor that if you told him to “act like a relief pitcher,” he could give you some solid innings out of the pen.

  The Jays are in a tough spot with Hoffman.  As much as his underlying metrics are all still good, that doesn’t mean much if he’s still getting taken yard on a regular basis.  Toronto was more than open to moving Hoffman into a setup role in the offseason if they’d been able to obtain another closer, and I think the move might be to just do it now and install Varland for save situations

Travis Bazzana

• I know you won’t answer me…just like Chris Antonetti…but when are the Guards going to realize that I should be in The Show?   I’m the 2B, Rocchio is the SS and Angel Ramirez should play everyday.   Isn’t it time to finally trade the glutton of Middle Infielders away for a true, everyday power bat in the OF?

Mark P

• You won’t have to wait long to see Bazzana in the majors, as he’s maybe a month or so away from his MLB debut.  In terms of trades, why would a team trade an “everyday power bat” for one or two spare part middle infielders?

With Club Sauce?

• If the Vegas A’s are forced to change their name, what should they go with? Vultures? Valkyries? Victorfrankensteins? Trying to be semi-alliterative here. I also wanted to try a ‘blue’ based Arrested Development joke but was worried my question would get DQ’d so I’ll just finish with: BEES???!?!

Mark P

• “Vegas Vagabonds” fits for alliteration purposes, and the fact that this franchise has moved so often in its history.

  But, I’m on record as preferring that they just remain the A’s.  The name is the only connective thread over all of the cities over the team’s 126 years

Pirates

• Are we for real this time?

Mark P

• While we’re seen the Pirates collapse after hot starts before, this does legitimately seem like the best roster the Buccos have fielded in quite some time.  I’d say they’re for real, but with the caveat that the entire NL Central currently has a winning record, so the Pirates haven’t even done much to separate themselves from the pack.

Zach

• Do you have any changed ROTY picks from the beginning of the year now nearly a month in?

Mark P

• My ROY picks were Sal Stewart and Kazuma Okamoto, so a .500 record isn’t bad

Rally Reds

• Reds have to be encouraged with their pitching depth considering their ridiculous 10-0 record in close games, and Hunter and Lodolo yet to return, right?

Mark P

• That kind of record in close games (Reds are 6-0 in one-run games specifically) is bound to regress, though there are always a couple of teams every year with absurdly slanted close-game records.  Maybe this is Cincinnati’s year to get lucky, and you’re right that it’s particularly good that the Reds are banking these wins without arguably their two best arms

Espada/Brown

• How much longer of a leash do Espada/Brown/Miller have? They are 8-15 now, losing 12 of their last fourteen games. I know Crane is really the problem, but when does he lose patience?

Mark P

• In fairness to the Astros’ staff, the team has been hammered by injuries.  Having a rash of firings when the team has 14 guys on the IL seems ill-advised.

Victor

• I think the Rockies should be open for business withe a Vodnik to the Cubs or Phillies trade. Any thoughts?

Mark P

• Presumably the Rockies would have a high asking price on Vodnik or anyone right now, hoping to take advantage of some desperate teams in April.

  If someone is willing to meet that price, more power to the Rox, but I doubt teams will be too eager to give up much for a reliever with such unimpressive secondary metrics

• If Vodnik can get his strikeouts and walks in better form by the trade deadline, then a move is more realistic.

Hook line & sinker

• Trout has us all believing, how about you?

Mark P

• If Trout can stay healthy, no reason why he couldn’t have another vintage year (or more) in the tank

Michael42371

• What about the Mets?   What do they need to do?

Frank the Tank

• Are the Mets incompetent? What’s next for this team?

Mets fan

• What the hell is happening? Does anyone actually think at a true talent level is this bad?

Simply Amazin

• Stearns must be shocked no?

Golfmets

• Is it over or is there time to right the sinking ship?

Mark P

• These are just some of the many “what is wrong with the Mets?!” questions in the queue.  Needless to say, it’s been a nightmare of a start, and even getting Soto back can only solve so many problems.

  Someone can check this out on Stathead, but I’m sure there have been teams who still made the playoffs in a season in where they had an 11-game losing streak.  But, that can’t be a large number of clubs, and the Mets have dug themselves in such a deep hole that it’ll already require a 2024-esque rebound to get on track.

• Not that this is Carlos Mendoza’s fault, but a managerial firing might be coming as a way to shake things up.

  Perhaps the only answer is that it’s a long season, and it’s hard to believe that a roster with this many prominent names can continue to struggle for so long.

Simply Amazin

• If Mets sellers at deadline, who goes?

Mark P

• A 2023 type of deadline selloff has to be considered a possibility at this point.  RosterResource has their tax number at $371.2MM, so trading to the point that they can duck under the $244MM threshold to reset their tax status will take some heavy lifting, and probably more lifting than the Mets want to do since the club surely wants to contend in 2027.

  Any of the impending free agents are obvious trade chips.  That includes Bichette given his player options, but naturally it remains to be seen how much value Bichette might have if he can’t get his bat going.

john

• Is the Nats offense for real?

Positively Half St.

• Might the Nats rise to near mediocre this year? That would be fun.

Mark P

• The offense is basically four guys — Abrams, Wood, Tena, and Wiemer.  The last two seem very unsustainable, and CJA and Wood both tailed off after hot starts in 2025.

  This isn’t to say that the Nats can’t beat expectations….in part because everyone’s expectations were so low.  Even winning something like 74-75 games is a nice step up from last year, and a sign that the new coaching staff and front office are getting things on track.  Beyond the hitting, the larger issue might be trying to keep the patchwork pitching plan going for several months.

Aaron

• Is the American League as a whole worse than usual this year? The Yankees had a terrible stretch, and are back to having the best record in the AL.

Mark P

• Lot of parity so far in the AL, which is good news for the many (virtually every?) team off to a slow start

Ghost of Earl Weaver

• IF, and this is a big IF, if Colby Mayo figures out and starts to hit like a MLB third baseman should, would the Ol’s consider putting Westburg at 2nd upon his return to take the pressure off his arm and peddle Holliday at the deadline for much needed help?

Mark P

• Holliday is maybe the last guy the Orioles would consider trading.

Paul

• After what the new padres owner set a record why won’t the owners agree to spend more

Mark P

• The sale isn’t finalized yet, and I don’t think Feliciano has made any kind of public statement about the process or any of his plans as owner.

  One would imagine that if you’re spending $3.9 billion on a team, you’re willing to keep spending in order to aid the winning the process.

Sabres

• You rooting for the Sabres tonight!!?

Mark P

• You bet.  The Buffalo fans are long overdue for some success, and it would be great seeing the Sabres follow up their dream season with a deep playoff run

Dana Brown

• The Astros have one of the worst farm systems and they’re one of the worst teams. Could we see a major fire sale this summer (Hunter Brown, Yordan, Pena, Paredes)?

Mark P

• As noted, no AL teams are really out of the race just yet.  Don’t forget that the Astros were also hit hard by injuries last year but managed to stay in the wild card race until the very end.

  If things stay bad and Houston’s out of the running by the deadline, they’ll make moves, but hardly a full-on fire sale.  Brown and Alvarez in particular aren’t going anywhere.

• It would be the usual assortment of impending free agents or players with limited control.  Paredes has a club option for 2027 so he could be a potential trade chip in this world.

Brian

• With all the pitching (in the big leagues and prospects) that the Yankees currently have, will that make them not pursue Tarik Skubal in the off-season?

Mark P

• “You can never have too much pitching”

  And, you can especially never have too much elite pitching.  As much as the Yankees have been more cautious than usual in recent years about huge free agent splashes, one imagines they’ll take a legit run at Skubal.

Ghost Buster

• What do you make of Buster Olney’s remark on the Baseball Tonight podcast last month (March 17) that a source told him Oakland could be a frontrunner for expansion?

Mark P

• Oakland deserves another team, but I’d have to imagine several cities are ahead of them in terms of expansion candidates

Royals

• We are off to a not so great start. Can we get back into the playoff race or is this team doomed?  Biggest weakness right now?

Mark P

• The bullpen has been quite bad, but once again, KC’s biggest issue is a lack of hitting.  Even more frustrating is the fact that Jensen and to some extent Caglianone have been productive, but now it’s the cornerstones like Witt, Perez, and Pasquantino who are struggling.

Chris

• Favorite Cure song?

Mark P

• “Just Like Heaven” is on the shortlist of most perfect songs ever written

Brian

• Are the Braves dumb for what they did with Martin Perez? Results are results, but every front office is severely K-brained. Would they have done that with Glavine back in the 90s if they had today’s mindset?

Mark P

• I think Atlanta took the calculated risk that other front offices would be too “K-brained,” as you put it, to claim Perez and his contract off the waiver wire.

  The Perez situation seems like a larger version of what the Braves have done with guys like Jesse Chavez, Luke Williams, and few other roster favorites in recent years — DFA or outright them, with a tacit understanding that they’ll be re-signed once the roster maneuvering is complete.

Blow it up

• Houston

Mark P

• In regards to this question and the earlier question about whether or not the Astros could make some management changes, it can’t be ruled out.  Espada and Brown are both in the final years of their contracts, and there were even whispers last year that they were both on the hot seat.

  Whether or not ownership makes such a move mid-season remains to be seen, but again, the Astros are being ruined by injuries right now.  One can certainly find fault with Brown’s front office moves or Espada’s managerial decisions, yet I’d argue that almost nobody can win with 14 players (including 10 pitchers) on the injured list

Unpopular Opinion

• PCA is beyond atrocious against LHP. No matter how good he is on defense, he needs to sit against lefties.

Mark P

• The Cubs find themselves in a bit of a Catch-22 with PCA, especially now that they’re committed to him on a long-term extension.  He’s not going to get better against left-handed pitchers if he doesn’t face them, but his platoon splits are so glaring that the Cubs are costing themselves at-bats whenever Crow-Armstrong faces a lefty.

  The other issue is that if PCA sits against lefties, there’s no obvious other center field option to take his palce

Rafael Devers

• Is there hope for me or am I headed for a negative WAR season?

Mark P

• While this is a colder start than usual, Devers has a habit of not getting his bat going until later in the season. No reason to hit the panic button just yet

Lance Parish

• Is Dillon Dingler becoming an elite catcher, hits, won a gold glove and owes the ABS challenges

Mark P

• Dingler’s .384 wOBA is still well below his .467 xwOBA.  If anything, he could be producing more than he already is, which is scary for opposing pitchers.  Dingler having a big breakout year would be great news for the Tigers

Mayor West

• So what happens when the Reds start hitting?

Mark P

• They never really started hitting last year and still made the playoffs.  So getting even halfway decent offense puts the team in good position, as long as the pitching holds up and gets healthy.
• One has to wonder how much rope the Reds will continue to give McLain and Hayes in everyday roles.  Stewart’s started to cut into McLain’s time at second base, and while Hayes is a glove-first player, he can’t literally the worst everyday hitter in baseball.

bill

• Will the Braves balloon pop  sooner or later or keep them aloft?

Mark P

• No reason to think Atlanta can’t keep it going and return to playoff contention.  2025 may have just been a Murphy’s Law (not Sean Murphy) type of season, and the ship has now been righted

Ray

• Dana Brown traded for Shewmake because he drafted him in 2019 when with the Braves and he is from Texas ?  What other erason ?

Mark P

• The other reason is that the Astros need all the depth they can get at this point

Brewers Fan

• Should I be worried about this bullpen? Most have a track record to say they should get some leash but man there are few if any I trust in that pen right now.

Mark P

• Megill has had some rough outings, so that’s been the real glaring issue since late-game meltdowns always tend to magnify things. I’d still trust that the Brewers will figure things out, or Megill and company will get on track

Muni

• Is 45 HR’s this season out of the question?

Mark P

• That’s an optimistic number, but at this point, I can’t argue the optimism given how he’s been crushing the ball.

  Trivia time for the group…..what is the single-season White Sox home run record, and who holds it?

Guest

• Haven’t seen a Cardinals post yet, so I just wanted to give them some respect for a good start.

Mark P

• They’ve done well to overcome some very shaky pitching, though I’d be surprised if they keep it up.

  Still, for what’s year #1 of a proper rebuild, it’s always a good sign that the team is still playing competitive baseball.

Jb

• 49 by Albert Belle
• In 1998

Mark P

• JB is correct!  Right now some of you are like
• “oh yeah, Belle played for the White Sox”
• Frank Thomas never got more than 43 in a Chicago uniform, btw.

B

• Should the ChiSox be looking to trade Munetaka at the deadline if the numbers are good? Sell high, before he perhaps loses value if the strikeouts drag him down like Gallo?

Mark P

• While the strikeouts are certainly a concern, Munetaka’s other metrics are all so impressive that the swing-and-miss is the only hole in his game — he’s walking a bunch, and making a ton of hard contact.

  If you’re the White Sox and you’ve got what seems to be a legit MLB hitter in your lineup, immediately flipping him at the deadline might send the wrong message to both future foreign free agents and your fans in general.  Trying to extend Munetaka might be the team’s move before they even consider any trades.

Jack W

• How did you feel on the guardians offseason and only getting a couple of guys

Mark P

• I thought it was a terrible offseason, given the team’s glaring offensive needs.  Now, the Guards have kept winning over the years despite a lackluster lineup and they’re off to a good start now, so maybe (just maybe!) the front office knows more than I do

Desertdan

• What is wrong with the Red Sox. They do not seem to be a cohesive unit at all!

Mark P

• Obligatory “it’s still early” and “the entire AL is struggling” answers

  But in general, you’re correct that most of Boston’s roster is either outright playing poorly, or at least playing below expectations.  Ironically, after all the months or years of trade speculation, Yoshida has been one of the team’s best hitters, and if anything is making a strong case for more playing time.

Mariners All The Way

• Which M’s players slow start is the most concerning?

Mark P

• A few good candidates here, but I guess I’d go with Raleigh?

Kujhawker88

• How long of rope does Matt Q have if the Royals losing streak  continues?

Mark P

• Quatraro signed a contract extension over the winter that runs through at least the 2029 season. So he’s not going anywhere, and I feel he shouldn’t, given how the Royals’ issues seem like much more of a roster construction problem than a manager problem

Happy Padres Fan

• Do you think rather Alex McCoy or Kash Mayfield leap up to AAA or the MLB this year?

Mark P

• Both are at high-A ball, so making it to the majors before 2026 is over seems awfully aggressive.

  Triple-A is my guess between the two options.  It also shouldn’t be ruled out that one or the both are in another organization by the trade deadline.

Angels Fan since 1983

• Please give all of us long suffering Angels fans that now that it looks like they have actually developed a starting pitcher to be their ace that they will sign Jose Soriano to a long term contract.  I still fear Arte will force them to trade him instead of paying him.

Mark P

• Soriano is under team control through 2028, since he only gained arbitration eligibility this past winter. So you very likely have at least three more years to enjoy him.

  While Soriano’s not going to keep posting a sub-1.00 ERA or anything, his secondary numbers (beyond the walk rate) suggest that this breakout is legit. Angels fans deserve some good news, and Soriano looks like the real deal.

George

• What type of trade value does Dalton Rushing have?

Mark P

• A ton.  The Dodgers have the luxury of keeping Rushing as an overqualified backup since why not, but if they did look to shop him to address other needs, there will be plenty of interest

I.M. Worried

• Will Crochet ever be good again? Should the Sox trade him for a 30-HR hitter?

Mark P

• No reason to panic after a pair of bad starts, even if that 11-run outing was a particular nightmare.

Mets infield

• When if ever can we expect to see Baty sent down? He’s been pretty much unplayable; would rather have Mauricio get the rope he gets or trade him for a bounceback relief candidate to an infield-needy team; Polanco also looks completely cooked and the Mets should probably consider just eating that contract outright if his bat speed is this bad with injuries

Mark P

• In Polanco’s case, he’s been playing hurt all year, so he might well look like his old self once he returns from the IL.  (If anything, the Mets probably should’ve put him on the IL earlier rather than let him struggle for a couple of weeks.)

  Baty’s off to a very rough start, and I can’t help but wonder if New York’s attempt to turn him into a super-utility guy is affecting his hitting.  Things only seemed to click for Baty with the bat last year, but now he has a lot more on his plate by prepping to be a fill-in at more positions.

Ryan

• You commented on where blame should be in KC and roster construction. Do you feel the same about Boston? I feel they have too many outfielders and the IKF signing at 6 mill a year forces them into a tough spot….with Mayer, Durbin, Monastario, and Story…..plus IKF……you run into the same problem as the OF….if a guy gets hot you’re pigeon holed! Plus the Sox love the right lefty matchup

Mark P

• The IKF signing didn’t make a ton of sense for a team that already seemed to have a good deal of infield depth.

  Ironically, the Royals and Red Sox were linked to each other for much of the winter as logical trade partners —- KC badly needed outfield and had some extra pitching, whereas Boston had the outfield surplus and needed extra arms.  The Sox instead turned to other trade options and signed Suarez to address the rotation, but still kept the OF logjam in place.

choose

• What change do you enjoy more? Pitch clock or ABS?

Mark P

• I’m a fan of both, but the clock has had a bigger-picture impact on the in-game experience, so that’s my pick.

Disaster 3B

• Brett Baty, Isaac Paredes, Nolan Arenado: bad metrics = cooked or just slow starts

Mark P

• Paredes’ struggles could also be related to his lack of a true everyday spot, if that’s had a mental impact on him.

  Arenado I’m afraid might just be cooked.  His bat has been in steady decline for the last couple of years, and at least in the early going, the move to Arizona didn’t spark a bounce-back

BaxterattheBoB

• Does Jordan Lawler have any trade value?

Mark P

• Speaking of change-of-scenery candidates, yeah, Lawlar has a good deal of trade value.  Small sample size alert here, but his good start at the plate this year indicated he might have turned a corner, so his broken wrist was a real bummer.
• But, it doesn’t make a ton of sense for the D’Backs to trade him

Jeff Greenberg

• Should I try to move Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline no matter what? And if so what teams have the best prospects for the Tigers to stay competitive.

Mark P

• Pedantic note: Greenberg is the Tigers’ GM, but Scott Harris is the president of baseball operations.  So Harris would be making the call on trading Skubal, though for a deal of that magnitude, it would have to be run by ownership

  This is all a moot point, since Detroit is only trading Skubal if they’re absolutely out of the playoff race (which doesn’t seem likely)

Giants

• Which is more likely: Patrick Bailey getting sent to the minors to work on hitting the ball, or him getting DFA’d or traded for another catcher?

Mark P

• If the Giants have actually struck gold here in Susac, the answer is keeping Bailey as the glove-first backup

CHISOX FAN

• How long before Hagen Smith is in the rotation?

Mark P

• Fantastic start in Triple-A, so if he keeps this up, a promotion by the All-Star break seems reasonable

Bailey Ober

• Am I more more likely to get traded or demoted to the bullpen this year?

Mark P

• Assuming Minnesota is out of it at the deadline, Ober is a decent trade candidate, since teams are always looking for rotation depth even if that pitcher is struggling.  The diminished strikeout numbers are a concern for any trade suitor, of course, in addition to the Twins themselves
• We’re over the two-hour mark now, so time to call it a night.  Thanks for all the questions and comments!
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