MLBTR Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! I’ll get going in a few minutes, but opening the queue now to let people start asking questions.
- Let’s begin!
Bernie Brewer
- Luis Rengifo signed with the brewers the other day. How do you view this fit?
Steve Adams
- I think the fit is fine. I’d have liked to have seen a bigger swing via the trade market, but I have little doubt that the Brewers will find a way to get Rengifo back to decent-ish form. There aren’t many guys who’ve gone there recently and gotten worse, and they’ve helped plenty of players restore their stock in recent years.It’s a cheap deal, and Rengifo was a solid 1.5 to 2 WAR guy for a few years until this past season. They’re probably a win or so better, maybe two, with improved depth and without spending much.
Jays Fan
- Jays could use a righty bat. Mountcastle rumoured to be on the block. Rare inter-division trade perhaps?
Steve Adams
- Don’t know that I’d feel all that confident that he’d outperform Davis Schneider, who has more defensive utility. Plus, Mountcastle would cost Toronto more than $12MM after the luxury tax. I don’t think it’s a great fit.
Mayo
- Would you be willing to trade a prospect like Mayo for an injured prospect with more of a track record? Like Jones from the Pirates
Steve Adams
- I’m a Jared Jones guy and not as bullish on Mayo as a lot of people in general, so I would absolutely give Mayo up to get Jones.I wouldn’t make that swap if I were the Pirates unless they have some reason to think the stuff won’t come all the way back or that Jones is just going to be constantly injured.
Bounty
- QO for Happ after 2026? Suzuki? Both? Neither? I can see an extension for Happ and the Cubs let Suzuki go for the QO
Steve Adams
- Both are easy QO guys for me if their 2026 season looks like their past few years have
James
- Why woild the Dodgers risk losing both Ibánez and Rortvedt while keeping a player like Ward who they wouldnt even give a cup of coffee to last yr when they had injuries? Seems like they dont trust him.
Steve Adams
- The Dodgers only ever wanted Ibanez/Rortvedt to try to pass them through waivers. Signing them both to one-year deals worth just over $1MM apiece was designed expressly to help each guy pass through waivers, knowing he wouldn’t reject an outright assignment upon clearing because doing so would mean forfeiting the guaranteed salary.
- Ward has options and is thus seen as flexible depth, which they don’t want to give up
Cute Lady
- But is Rengfio really that much better than Durbin?
Steve Adams
- He might be worse, but that’s not the point. Milwaukee clearly wanted to get its hands on Harrison and/or Drohan (and probably feels Hamilton’s floor isn’t that far removed from what they expect from Durbin after some ’26 regression)
Bob Casey
- Does the UCL injury to Pablo Lopez get the Twins to make a move and sign pitcher?
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed your weekend!
- Different schedule with the holiday so I'll have to keep this one around an hour
RoxTalks
- When Arenado gets into Cooperstown, does he go in as a Rockie, or is there too much bad blood there? Thanks!
Anthony Franco
- Agree he's a Hall of Famer, and yes, pretty clearly a Rockie for me
- Could argue his best season was with St. Louis in '22 but majority of his career was in Colorado, including five of the six top 10 MVP finishes. Second or third best player in franchise history for the Rox
Guest
- Over Under 93.5 Mets wins, and what is the X-factor
Anthony Franco
- I'll go under but not dramatically so. If I have to pick one x-factor, it's McLean
- Confident they're going to hit. Bullpen isn't elite but should be solid enough. Rotation's the highest variance but obviously looks much stronger if McLean is immediately a #2 starter
Joe from Milwaukee
- Do you think the Brewers make an effort to extend Contreras? They seem a lot more willing to give big money to their position players historically and he's one of the best catchers in baseball. Also, the Yelich money is gone after 2028 anyway.
Anthony Franco
- Pretty far outside their usual spending habits at this stage of a player's career. Quero's hanging around as a potential long-term answer as long as the throwing drop-off isn't permanent. Eventual trade of Contreras seems more probable
el jefe
- After a busy week (Andujar, Castellanos, France, Canning, Marquez), how much have the Padres improved?
Thoughts on the Preller extension?
Anthony Franco
- Probably added two wins between all those moves? Not bad for the cost. Canning's my favorite of them but they're all sensible since rotation depth and the bench were the biggest issues and not that difficult to address for cheap
- France would've been overkill on an MLB deal. For a minor league deal, sure. Decent chance he just doesn't break camp and opts out at the end of Spring Training
- We'll see how long the Preller extension runs but makes sense to keep him around. Much as the approach can be shortsighted at times, especially with the free agent spending toward the end of Peter Seidler's ownership, they continue to trot out top 5-10 teams that are also far more exciting than virtually any Padres teams from before Preller was hired
Ms fan
- Are teams generally staying away from promoting their top prospects to AAA now? Seems like you get a lot more guys going straight from AA to the majors.
Anthony Franco
- Yeah it seems like this is happening more often. The Prospect Promotion Incentive rules are part of it. There's also just less to be gleaned from Triple-A from an evaluation perspective
- The Pacific Coast League, in particular, is so hitter-friendly that the stats there don't mean much. The pitcher quality at Triple-A continues to drop as injuries at the MLB level rise and force teams to call up more of their depth arms. There's also more of a tendency for the interesting Quad-A pitchers to move to Asia rather than sticking around in Triple-A because they can see the earning potential if they have success overseas
Guards4Life
- Is Kwan open to an extension or is he gone? Haven't heard much from his camp.
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MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- It’s a somewhat late-night edition of the MLBTR chat, at least in my time zone. Still, it’s never too late to talk some baseball! Let’s open up the question box….
Padres
- German Marquez? Really? Are they really that cash strapped to dive this deep into the dumpster?
Mark P
- Marquez is still relatively young, just a few days away from his 31st birthday. The Padres have seen plenty of Marquez after facing him for so many years in the NL West, and might very well see some untapped potential now that Marquez is out of Colorado.
For a low-cost flier, it’s a decent enough risk for a team that needs rotation depth.
Sean
- Lars Nootbaar makes too much sense for at least a half dozen competitors. Is a May trade a legit possibility once health is proven?
Mark P
- Probably closer to the trade deadline, just so the Cards have more time to gauge offers. An earlier trade wouldn’t be out of the question since Nootbaar has had some suitors in the past, so STL might have some idea of what certain teams are willing to give up in return
Tim L
- Given there’s some questions on the back end of the Giants rotation and Scherzer is there waiting for an opportunity, is that a situation where there needs to be an injury first or he signs regardless?
Mark P
- Scherzer and Vitello’s close friendship has made the Giants a popular speculative choice as Mad Max’s next team, yet there haven’t really been any actual reports linking the two. It could be that Scherzer would prefer to play for a more clear-cut contender, i.e. a return to Toronto.
Scherzer has said he’s willing to wait until after Opening Day to sign. That might give him more time to access his options, and perhaps wait and see if an injury or two creates more of a market for him.
Keith
- AA absolutely has to do something now with the Waldrep injury right……right
Mark P
- For instance, one might wonder if Scherzer could be an option for the Braves now that Waldrep and Schwellenbach are both out.
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Good afternoon, hope you've all had a good week!
- Decent number of questions in here, let's get rolling
Half St
- There really isn't much for Nats fans to look forward to unless the new regime proves to be much better at developing young players. Do you feel there might be one young player who could make a surprise jump and carry the team forward from the absolute depths? James Wood seems the obvious answer, but should I be hoping on anybody else?
Anthony Franco
- Wood's the obvious one. Durability's the big caveat for Cavalli but I think he'd be a mid-rotation starter if he can stay healthy. Harry Ford's stock is down a little from its peak but still feels like a capable starting catcher to me
- Abrams has a higher gear but he's probably getting traded before they're back to being competitive. Confidence in Crews is waning. Lile feels like a role player to be, not a believer in Brady House at this point
Barron Of th Bullpen
- How does BlueJays & Astros trade effect Cam Smith's playing time? What is your opinion of Smith long term?
Joey Loperfid'oh!
- Who won this trade - Jays or Astros?
Anthony Franco
- I prefer Houston's end of it because I'd have just non-tendered Sánchez, who I don't think is a $7M player. Loperfido is a fine bench bat, won't have any impact on Cam Smith
- Seems like Houston wants Smith to start the season in Triple-A after how he finished last year, which is understandable. Loperfido's not blocking him and I imagine there's another move coming to add a mid-tier outfielder to replace Sánchez
Tony
- Thanks for the chats. With early posturing by owners for a salary cap, or seems as if the only way the players would agree is if MLB agrees to a floor and some kind of revenue sharing. Both sides will argue the league needs to improve competition. Since owners have resisted sharing their books is there a way forward? Or will MLB have to edit the game to save it.
Anthony Franco
- All the cap systems come with a salary floor. The league would be on board with that -- albeit with some dissent from the smaller-market owners -- but MLBPA continues to maintain that's a non-starter. If they budge on that, it would require a dramatic increase in revenue sharing to ensure the small-market teams meet the floor, yeah
- Doesn't necessarily mean they need to open the books to the public. They'd need to share it with the Players Association but they already do that, the MLBPA just can't leak it. The bigger stumbling block -- again, beyond the PA considering this at all -- is how to calculate revenue. The players would want all the adjacent "ballpark village" stuff to factor into those calculations, while the team would obviously want to construe it much more narrowly
Sultan of Sling
- The Giants can't possibly be done assembling their bullpen. Can they?
Anthony Franco
- Haha well they signed Rowan Wick three minutes ago, so I guess not?
- In all seriousness, yeah they're pretty much out of options back there and it's my biggest gripe with the roster
The Beatles Show
- Hey Anthony, how's the weather for you? Second...probably happier question: With the Sanchez trade does that mean the Astros are going to keep Parades and move him to left?
Anthony Franco
- Alright the past few days! All of January sucked. Don't thing Sánchez has any real impact on Paredes, they could've played him in LF either way if they wanted to do that. Seems ill advised when he's coming off the hamstring injury
Arizona
- Which is more likely? A lottery pick or a playoff run?
Anthony Franco
- Hmm, I think they'll end up in between but lottery pick feels a little more likely. The bullpen's really rough, rotation could go south quickly with an injury or two, and now there's a question about what they'll get from Carroll early in the season
Alex Anthopoulus
- What am I doing? Our projected #2 starter goes down and I haven't done a thing to address the starting rotation issue (that got worse with the Schwellenbach injury). This is a very odd offseason, it started "adequately" but I still haven't solved the main problem from the beginning.
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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat, Today 3pm CT
Steve Adams
- Good afternoon! Sorry to open the queue later than usual -- hectic day of baseball news! I'll get going at 3pm and take questions for an hour or so before I need to scurry off to pick up the kids from daycare. Thanks everyone!
- Good afternoon! Let's get started
Duffy
- At this point, could the Red Sox trade Yoshida and most of his contract, just to address the log jam he’s creating? I guess they could just DFA him, but at least they could get a lottery ticket back.
Steve Adams
- I've been pretty consistent that the only way they could move him would be to eat like 75% of the contract. I just don't see who's paying anything close to $18MM annually for a platoon DH coming off a down season in terms of both health and performance.I don't think they'd really get much back in terms of lottery ticket prospects, even if they were eating like $28MM of the $36MM he's owed.
I'm sure they've looked into that sort of possibility, but it's not something that's going to appeal to many other clubs.
Grump
- Who will be Braves #2 catcher till Murphy is back?
Steve Adams
- I'd imagine Chadwick Tromp, though they also have Sandy Leon and Jair Camargo headed to camp on non-roster deals. They carried Leon for like three weeks at one point last summer and didn't even put him in a game, ha. Tromp has gotten occasional run in multiple stints with Atlanta and is back, so he feels like the front-runner from here.
Still an A
- Does Marcelo Mayer start the year in the minors now with the Durban trade and IKF signing?
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MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- Seems like a normal, quiet Sunday evening with nothing going on. What better time to talk some baseball during the Weekend Chat?!
BPballknower
- Sounds like the carousel of trade rumors between Astros and Red Sox are heating up finally. Do they need a 3rd team to finally get it done?
Mark P
- I would think the two teams would be able to work some kind of multi-player deal (involving Paredes and one of Abreu/Duran as the primaries) that addresses everyone’s issues. Involving a third team might help, or might just complicate things further.
Brockmire
- Who ya got in the Big Pigskin Gamaroonie?
Mark P
- Indiana/Miami was a few weeks ago, and the CFL doesn’t start for several months yet. What other football game could you possibly mean?
Jays Fan
- Do the jays make a consolidation trade before opening day? Always thought they’d turn their surplus (Schneider, Loperfido) for someone like Jo Jo Romero
Mark P
- This seems possible, since I find it hard to believe Romero will still be a Cardinal by Opening Day. But, the Jays might value having all of their depth back, since in my view there’s a lot of uncertainty over how many of their players will be able to replicate their 2025 numbers
Acuña
- Will the Braves extend my contract this year?
Mark P
- Atlanta holds $17MM club options on Acuna for both 2027 and 2028. There’s probably no rush to work out an extension just yet, plus the Braves would likely want to see Acuna deliver a full and healthy season before discussing a longer agreement.
Giants
- Any chances that Posey pulls something else off to complete the offseason? I feel like he fixed some holes in the roster but could still use some help, especially on the pitching side. Maybe trade for a solid reliever (JoJo Romero) or free agent (Danny Coulombe) or hunt down one of the starters remaining on a lesser deal (Gallen, etc). It can’t be enough on the pitching side for them for sure, in my opinion, and do you think Posey has a strategy to wait out the market for some prices to drop?
Mark P
- With the lineup more or less set, any remaining Giants moves will surely come on the pitching end. The bullpen adds you suggest make sense, and I’d prefer Gallen over any of the SF starters beyond the big two.
Yordan Alvarez
- I break my hand and everyone forgets I am a top 5 hitter in the league
Mark P
- I feel like I’ve written this before, but Alvarez in my view is one of the more underrated players in the league. Despite posting borderline-HOF numbers for a perennial contender, Alvarez seems to be frequently overlooked when discussing the game’s best hitters
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Hey all, hope you're doing well!
- Steve and Darragh are getting killed by the waiver deluge today so I'll keep this one right around an hour to chip away at that after
- Let's get it rolling
Tigers lover
- Thanks for the chat, Anthony! Scott Harris and the Tigers finally finally finally put their chips in and got Framber... and they had to, this next year might be their biggest opportunity, before they lose the best pitcher in the game. With these guys now as Tigers' one-two punch, how do you rank American League contenders?
Anthony Franco
- Yeah love this for them, finally showed a sense of urgency to win now. I expected them to add a starter but figured it'd be more in the Bassitt/Giolito range
- Clear team to beat in the Central. They were before really, but this just widens the gap. I don't think there really is a hierarchy of AL contenders. Guess I'd give the edge to Seattle as the best team but it's as muddled as any year I can remember
- If you wanted to argue for the Tigers or any non-Rays team in the AL East for that spot, I wouldn't have much pushback. Baltimore's probably a stretch with that pitching staff but wouldn't be all that surprising if they mash their way back to the top of the division either
Rays Apologist
- Do the Rays still sign one of the free agent lower tier starters or are they pretty much finalized as a squad now? Was hoping for a Littell reunion.
Anthony Franco
- I think there's one more coming. Boyle's probably not a starter. I like Seymour but there's not much after that if he wins the fifth starter job. Littell would make sense, sure
Paul
- Hello Anthony. The Red Sox can’t be done can they? I know the pickings are getting slim. They need a RH power bat desperately. Are Tyler O’Neill or Nick Castellnos options? I’m assuming it wouldn’t cost much of a package to acquire either one of them.
Anthony Franco
- Seems like Contreras was the righty power bat. TON or Castellanos wouldn't get much playing time
- If you want to wait for the Phillies to release Castellanos, sign him for the minimum and cut Yoshida, maybe that could work. It'd add a little bit of balance. Is Castellanos signing up for that when he can decide where he wants to go because everyone's offering him the same salary? I don't know
Tom Rickets
- Does 6 years and $120 million get Nico Hoerner back to the Cubs?
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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Steve Adams
- Good morning! We'll get going at 2pm CT today, but feel free to ask questions ahead of time, as always!
Philly A's
- Leo de Vries is slipping in the baseball america rankings, where all other outlets still have him as a top 5. Does BA have a different matrix that they rank than others?
Steve Adams
- Hello! Let's get going
- I wouldn't say "falling" to No. 12 is a slip. The gap between the No. 5 and No. 12 prospect is more or less negligible. Maybe a half scouting grade. In this instance, you can look at the FV grades and see that's not even really the case.
Arthur Dent
- With Logan Evans out for the season, can the Mariners afford to move any established pitching, like Bryce Miller for example, to upgrade the offense?
Steve Adams
- The Mariners weren't ever keen on dealing one of their big league starters, and I would imagine that losing Evans only furthers reduces those chances.
John B
- What do you think of the Giant's moves and do they push the team into contender status?
Steve Adams
- I find them underwhelming as a whole. If they were going to spend $60-70MM in free agency, I'd have preferred they pursue some impact rather than just make a volume play to address a bunch of holes.The rotation still feels quite wobbly behind Webb. Arraez is a good value at 1/12 in a vacuum, but he's a poor fit for this roster if they're really going to play him at 2B every day.
I'd love the Bader deal if they'd acquired a more impactful bat somewhere else, but adding him and Arraez to a lineup that already looked a bit light isn't all that encouraging.
wiseoldfool
- Outlook on Drake Baldwin. Will Braves trade S. Murphy?
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MLBTR Chat Transcript
Mark P
- The Weekend Chat is here! /trumpet sounds
We’ll start taking questions once a few file into the queue…
AstrosFAN
- How big of a left handed bat do you think the Astros will get? Abreu tier? Tauchman tier? What do you think?
Mark P
- Tauchman tier seems more likely. It feels like (gamesmanship notwithstanding) that the Sox are viewing Abreu more as an everyday player than as trade bait, so something like a trade package centered around Abreu and Paredes may be less likely, if not impossible.
Ben
- Did the Giants materially improve with Bader and Arreaz?
Mark P
- Yes, since there’s a ton of value in putting Bader in CF and (just as importantly) getting Lee out of CF. The outfield defense should be enormously improved by having Bader in CF and Lee in RF, which in turns makes the rotation better. If Bader hits anything like he did in Philadelphia, that’s just icing on the cake.
Arraez I’m not really sure brings more to the table overall than Schmitt, but Arraez does have more of a track record.
Jason
- The Cardinals need a veteran starter, no question, is a 1 year Scherzer worth the price to them since they are shedding money?
Mark P
- Scherzer’s not going to sign with a rebuilding team.
Rick
- Snell’s injury doesn’t really affect the dodgers right? Just an improved role for wrobleski?
Mark P
- Snell at this point isn’t a realistic candidate to throw a full season. The Dodgers probably knew this before they acquired him in the first place, and are trying to manage his health and innings so he’ll be good to go for the end of the season and the playoff stretch.
Sam
- Eugenio is confirmed as going to Cincinnati, why did the Mariner’s allow him to sign elsewhere, leaving them with Williamson whom I think is not ready to play 3B everyday?
Mark P
- Williamson is an everyday player in terms of defense, though I agree that his bat is very much a work in progress at best. The M’s may feel Suarez’s best days are behind him, or is just too inconsistent a player for a big financial commitment.
That said, I wonder if Suarez’s willingness to take one year and $15MM was limited to just the Reds due to his past familiarity, because if that offer was also a possibility for Seattle, the M’s should’ve jumped
Dan
- Verlander to Detroit at 1 year 10 million?
Mark P
- His deal with the Giants was one year and $15MM, and I’m sure he doesn’t feel the need to take a $5MM paycut after delivering a quality season
Oldgfan
- Will the Twins rethink trading Ryan now that the PBO left ?
Mark P
- It is anyone’s guess as to how the Twins might process in the wake of Falvey’s surprising departure. But, the fact that the team wants to make some effort at competing in 2026 probably means Ryan stays put. Ryan, after all, is still inexpensive and in his arb years.
Prince
- I am disappointed that the Dbacks didn’t add Suarez for such a good price, Their offense seems very light to me, Does this make the Dbacks a longer shot to make playoffs?
Mark P
- Now this would’ve been a creative way for Arizona to add a RHH first baseman. Re-sign Suarez and use him primarily as a DH, but also in a platoon at 1B. Again, however, not sure if the price was right for the D’Backs or any other team besides the Reds, especially if Suarez was turning down a larger offer from the Pirates
Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript
Anthony Franco
- Good afternoon, hope you're all well!
- Decent amount to work with today, let's get rolling
Drake
- Initial thoughts on the breaking news of Wilson/A’s 7 yr/$70 mil extension?
Anthony Franco
- Love it for the A's. Wilson should've been well clear of the Lawrence Butler/Ezequiel Tovar tier in my view, thought he should've been a nine-figure guy already
- Easier for me to say he should've turned down $70 million than it is for him to do it, and I don't begrudge anyone for locking in life-changing money and staying with a young core that's really promising, but I think he's leaving a lot on the table here
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
- I'm not real impressed with the Mets position player group or their bullpen. What am I missing?
Anthony Franco
- I share your skepticism on the bullpen even as a fan of the Williams deal. It's a weird position player group because so many guys are bouncing around but you've got the elite talent with Soto, Bichette and Lindor and another five players (Alvarez, Robert, Polanco, Semien, Baty) who could be above-average regulars
- Obviously Polanco/Robert have durability questions and Semien's probably a max 3-WAR guy at this point, but they've also got Benge lurking and Vientos hanging around. It should be a top 5-10 offense in MLB
Joshua
- I would love to see CJ Abrams with the Pirates. Do you think the Nats would do a Seth Hernandez, Hunter Barco, Termarr Johnson deal? Is that close?
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