MLBTR Chats News & Rumors

Steve Adams

• As things stand, Jake Cronenworth. But they could move Crone back to 2B and bounce Song around the diamond a bit if they wind up signing someone like Hoskins, Ozuna, etc. on the cheap. Gavin Sheets can spend time at 1B or DH. Cronenworth can play 1B or 2B. Seems like they’ll get Song looks in the infield and outfield alike. So … plenty of opportunity to add a cheap bat if they find a deal to their liking.

Sf giants

• Are we still engaged with Brendan Donovan after signing Bader?

Steve Adams

• No reason that adding Bader at a reasonable rate would take them out of the running for Donovan. If anything, Bader made the team better, which gives them more of an impetus to punt some future value to get their hands on Donovan.

Mike Elias

• Mountcastle and a low level prospect for JoJo

Steve Adams

• I don’t think that does much for the Cardinals. Mountcastle is a buy-low veteran who can be kept through 2027 via a club option. There’s no real long-term value there unless he bounces back and becomes a trade chip himself this summer, but acquiring him runs the risk of him continuing to struggle while also cutting into the playing time of someone like Alec Burleson. He’s also more expensive than Romero.If/when the Cardinals move Romero, I expect it’ll just be for a prospect or two.

Leo

• Feel like Semien would be better at 3B than Bichette, right?

Steve Adams

• He might be, but you’ve got an elite defensive middle infield tandem right now. Bichette’s not going to be a lock to be a good 2B, either. I’m with the Mets that I’d rather only play one guy “out of position” and maintain the awesome up-the-middle glovework.

docgreedo

• What can Korey Lee bring back for a catcher hungry team (like the Rays)?

Steve Adams

• He’s 27, out of minor league options, hasn’t hit in the majors and didn’t hit in AAA last year. I don’t think there’s a ton of trade value there. He’d probably get claimed off waivers… maybe someone tosses the White Sox a nominal PTBNL or unranked, low-level minor leaguer in return, but he just feels like someone who’s being squeezed off the 40-man to me — not a genuine trade chip.

PIVOT!

• Seattle should pivot to a CJ Abrams or Nico Hoerner or Matt Shaw and avoid Brendan Donovan… If possible… The value seems FAR better for what they’d seemingly be giving up.

Steve Adams

• I think Abrams is a great fit in Seattle, sure. Donovan would be, too. I feel like the asking price on Hoerner and/or Shaw would be prohibitive relative to the immediate need in Seattle. I mean, sure Hoerner would be a nice upgrade, but they’d need to deal from the MLB roster, negating some of the value they get back, and it wouldn’t be cheap to add him regardless.Someone — Mariners, Pirates, Red Sox, Reds, Royals — should give up some good talent to get Abrams though. I think there’s another gear there, and he’s still only 25 with three years of club control remaining.

Seriously

• What’s holding up the Framber signing? How many ways can a contract offer be tweaked? Could his camp be holding out for a surprise team to emerge? Seriously, what gives?

Steve Adams

• There are top-tier free agents in this spot every offseason. Presumably, he went out hoping for something pretty long-term (six years, likely) while most clubs were starting in the 3-4 year range since he’ll pitch this season at 32.I don’t really think it’s abnormal that he’s sitting unsigned in late January. We see a few of these guys every winter, and more often than not, they still wind up getting a nice deal.

Garrett

• The Nats rotation was always going to be a bit of a question mark and that seems even larger now after the Gore trade. Should we expect them to supplement with a veteran arm on a 1-year deal?

Next NextGen Nats

• Who will the Nats start on the mound on Opening Day?

Steve Adams

• I would imagine their Opening Day starter is whichever veteran they throw a year and $5-10MM at in the next few weeks. They need at least one source of steady innings in there. Tyler Anderson, Tomoyuki Sugano, Jose Quintana, Martin Perez, etc. … someone along those lines.
• Mikolas if they really just want bulk innings (which would be defensible)

Emojis

• Anyone else seeing emojis pop up on answers that you can click on? lol

Steve Adams

• Haha yeah I left the little react/emote/emoji option on by accident. Have fun with it!

Robert deal

• How would you grade the Luis Robert trade for both sides?

Steve Adams

• I think the NY media is hyping the Robert move a lot more than I would, from the Mets’ vantage point. Super talented guy, obviously, but it’s a $40MM dice roll (including luxury tax) that he stays healthy and has a productive full season at the plate for the first time since 2023.I don’t think they gave up a ton, so whatever — not a big Luisangel Acuña guy here — but the deal has a pretty realistic chance to just be a bust for both parties, ha.But the Mets have limitless funds, so I suppose given the choice, I’d rather have Robert than Acuña + Pauley … it just would’ve been a ways down my list of options for the Mets to pursue.

Options

• When does the annual “out of options” post come out?

Steve Adams

• Haven’t checked with Tim this year, but usually around the time pitchers and catchers report, I think?

Heath

• Where do you see Goldy signing and when he goes to the HOF will it be as a Dback or a Cardinal?

Steve Adams

• Back to Arizona makes a ton of sense. Could see any of the Padres, Reds, Angels trying to jump in on the cheap, but D-backs work nicely and probably have some extra motivation since it’ll go over so well with the fans.I imagine some fans will bristle at the cavalier assumption that Goldy is a HOFer, but I think he’s got a pretty clear-cut case and imagine he goes in as a D-back (especially if he re-signs there this winter)

Framber

• If the Orioles don’t sign Framber, do you think they should pursue someone else to fill out the rotation?

Steve Adams

• Yeah, I think they need another starter regardless. Rogers really only has a half-season with this type of performance and has had plenty of injuries. Bradish didn’t pitch a full season in ’25, coming back from TJS. Last year was Baz’s first with 30 starts (also, tons of injuries). Kremer is a perfectly cromulent back-of-the-rotation guy. Eflin is a wild card. Not all that excited by any of Povich, Young, McDermott.Getting another established arm would help the O’s more than most contenders.

G. Mitchell

• Over/under 100 games and 100 wRC+?

Steve Adams

• Garrett Mitchell has barely played 100 games in the past three seasons combined. Easy under on games played for me, and I don’t think he makes close to enough contact to confidently project him as even an average hitter.

WhiteSox Fan

• Good afternoon Steve, thanks for your time today.  What did you think of the White Sox signing Seranthony Dominguez this past week?  Is he or Grant Taylor the closer in 2026?

Steve Adams

• Thought the signing was fine. Couple million more per year than I’d prefer on Seranthony, but that doesn’t matter at all for a club like the White Sox, where they’re not paying anyone else anyway.Imagine Dominguez enters the season in the closer’s role, but Taylor will have his opportunity to pitch himself into that spot.They’ll both be getting high-leverage work, regardless of who’s the nominal “closer” and who’s getting more saves than holds.

Miller

• If the Padres don’t find a rotation upgrade, will they revisit the idea of converting Miller?

Steve Adams

• I’d be very surprised.

Craig E.

• Who do you think the phillies move Castellanos to?

Steve Adams

• I think they release him

A’s need to make a move

• I liked what I saw from Jacob Lopez, Luis Morales, and Jack Perkins. If they continue on the same path, then they will be great for the A’s rotation, but they need at least one or two more veteran starters. Just trade Colby Thomas for a starter. A’s have enough outfield depth to make a move like this.

Steve Adams

• Thomas is a power-over-hit corner guy who strikes out a ton, hits on the short side of a platoon and seems at best like an average defender (probably a bit worse). I don’t think they’re getting a starter of note for him. I do agree the A’s could use another veteran arm in that rotation though.

SouthDakotaRedsFAn

• Is it correct to believe the Reds have not done one thing to make the team better going into 2026 than 2025?  The starting pitching has one more year of experience which may help.  Is it also safe to say that without a TV deal for the team, the chances of anything being added is very slim?

Steve Adams

• I guess the bullpen feels a little better to me than it did with Suter, Gibaut, Barlow back there. Burke, Johnson and Ferguson are all fine additions.But, I think they way overpaid to keep Pagan and the moves on the offensive side of things have been pretty lackluster, so I can’t push back too heavily on the idea that they’re not much better than they were in 2025 (barring huge steps forward from guys like McLain, Marte, Chase Burns, etc)

Schlagobers

• Do the Rangers employ an actual strategy of not spending more than 5M on a reliever? With bullpen contracts so expensive, could it be effective for teams to enter the season with mediocre pens and then attempt to fix them at the deadline if the team is competitive?

Steve Adams

• They haven’t spent big on relievers recently,  but that’s more due to having minimal payroll flexibility. As recently as 2024, they were spending $10MM+ on David Robertson (albeit with some deferrals, I think).We see teams take this piecemeal approach often, and the Rangers’ 2025 season feels like a pretty rare success story.The Cubs have gone with the flea market approach to bullpen building for like seven years now, and last year was really the first time it worked for them.

Bunt single

• Daniel Lynch n a prospect for Kjerstad. Royals need an OF n Orioles need pitching. Both players need a change of scenery.

Steve Adams

• At this point, Kjerstad increasingly feels like a DFA candidate rather than someone who’d net the Orioles a decent-ish reliever.

AstrosFAN

• Will we sign Framber Valdez?

Steve Adams

• I can’t see the Astros shelling out to keep Framber, no

Something Brewing?

• The Brewers have 2 closers in Megill and Uribe.  Any rumor talk in the hot stove that one or the other is available in trade? The Giants have a terrible bullpen and could use one of these top arms.

Steve Adams

• Mets, Yankees and others were looking at Megill earlier in the winter
  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/yankees-mets-trade-rumors-trevo…I have to think that with Peralta’s $8MM off the books, a trade involving Megill is less likely now.

Advance Scout

• True or false:  Provided he pitches to his norms as a Cardinal, JoJo Romero will get the Cardinals more at the trade deadline than in the offseason.

Steve Adams

• I don’t think there’s a real scenario where he nets them demonstrably more than he does right now, but I do think there’s a real scenario where he takes a step back and/or gets hurt and sufficiently deflates his trade value (as we saw last year when the Cards held onto Ryan Helsley too long)

Rowdy

• Will I get a major league deal?

Steve Adams

• Assume he’s looking at a minor league deal/NRI to camp somewhere

ranger’s fan

• Will the rangers sign a #5 starter?  The top 4, if it stays healthy could be really good but don’t they need a proven innings eater for the 5th spot in the rotation?

Steve Adams

• They might feel they already have enough options with Jacob Latz, Kumar Rocker and (non-roster) Austin Gomber. Cody Bradford back sometime in May/June. David Davalillo could be a midseason option, too.I wouldn’t mind it, though. They were rewarded nicely for throwing $1MM at Patrick Corbin late in the offseason last year. Something similar could work this year … throw $1-2MM at Alex Cobb or Jose Urquidy or someone.

BeBopCola

• eugenio Suarez a good fit for the brewers? Potentially move Durbin to 2B, turang to short

Steve Adams

• Milwaukee isn’t spending that kind of coin.

Iron Glove

• Will the Twins be moving any of the left-handed corner outfielders? Will the return be worthwhile?

Steve Adams

• Larnach seems like a decent bet to go still. I don’t think the return will be much.

Castellanos

• When I get released, who spends $5 million on me?

Steve Adams

• No one. He’ll cost a new team the league minimum
• The Phillies will stay on the hook for the $20MM he’s owed, minus the prorated league min. for any time he spends on a new team’s big league roster/injured list.

Cutch

• Why would the Pirates be in on any possible SS trade when #1 prospect Konnor Griffin is the near future?

Steve Adams

• Is this in reference to me listing them for CJ Abrams earlier?
• Abrams is a bad shortstop who’d be better off playing 2B or 3B.
• But he can hit, he can run, and he’s 25 with three years of club control remaining.

Andrew R.

• Alec Bohm for ANYBODYS supplemental pick.

Steve Adams

• Bohm isn’t going to net anything of great value if the Phillies move him

Andrew

• Can you help me make sense of what the Tigers are doing?   Sign a bunch of reclamation project pitchers, do nothing to improve the offense, and antagonize their best pitcher by lowballing him in arbitration

Steve Adams

• I don’t think they really “low-balled” Skubal. They acted within the normal range of outcomes for arbitration. Nothing about that process was odd to me from their end; now, Boras and Skubal trying to break arbitration entirely … that’s interesting, ha.Rest of their offseason, yeah, I don’t get it. The Finnegan/Jansen signings were fine. Good even. But that’s not enough.In general, Scott Harris feels way, way too risk-averse to me. The Tigers seem content to just kind of hope internal development will get them to the World Series before Skubal hits the market. I’d like to see more of an aggressive/urgent approach.

  But, then again, I’m sitting at my house chatting with you and not running baseball ops in Detroit, sooooooooooo

David Stearns

• Peterson for Laureano?

Steve Adams

• Wouldn’t mind it for either club

Drew

• What about Nationals 2026 opening day starter Lucas Giolito?

Steve Adams

• Would love the fit for the Nats. He was talking about wanting to sign with a postseason contender on Rob Bradford’s podcast a couple weeks back, though.

guards

• logan allen, juan brito,  Angel Genao for brendan donovan?

Steve Adams

• Too much for CLE to give up

Motor City Beach Bum

• Who makes more sense for Detroit to add: Arraez to DH and bat near the top of the order; or Suarez for DH/3B and bst near the middle? They would both seem to lengthen the lineup.

Steve Adams

• Imagine the Tigers would prefer Arraez between the two, just since Harris and Greenberg and Hinch began the offseason by talking about wanting to put the ball in play more.But Arraez can’t really defend anywhere other than 1B and maybe an occasional appearance at 2B. Torkelson is set at 1B. They could play Kerry Carpenter in the OF full-time and give Arraez/Tork both ample time at DH/1B, but it doesn’t seem like they love Carp in the OF.Bringing in Geno probably pushes Keith to a DH/utility role, which again necessitates more OF time for Kerry.

  I think either move would still generally benefit the offense, but I doubt the Tigers end up with either.

White Sox Fan

• Will the sox sign an outfielder before spring training?

Steve Adams

• I mean, they better. Haha
• That current group is rough.

Pete

• Angels as a possibility for gallen?

Steve Adams

• Would like the fit more if the Halos had shown even a modicum of willingness to spend this winter.

Arraez

• Will I get a long term deal with someone?

Steve Adams

• I’d be shocked if he signs for more than two years at this point.

Pedro4eva

• There’s no way the Red Sox can give up Early or Tolle for one year of Nico Hoerner right? That would be beyond insane.

Steve Adams

• I’d be very, very surpised

clarkeincuenca

• What fan base do you see the most of in your chats? And, the least of?

Steve Adams

• Depends what’s in the news at a given moment, really. I would say in general, smaller-market teams like the Brewers and Pirates tend to make up a smaller portion of the audience. But this week I’m getting peppered with Brewers questions since they just executed a major trade. Early in the offseason, when the Bucs were throwing $120MM+ at Kyle Schwarber, I was getting tons of Pirates questions.I guess if I had to choose on team I get the fewest about … maybe the Rays? But again, I got plenty on them after the Baz and Lowe trades, so it’s all dependent on what’s topical at a given moment.

Goldy Fan

• how much do you expect Goldy to sign for?

Steve Adams

• Under $8MM.

Why Nats, Why?

• The Gore (and possibly Abrams) trade confuse me. Aside from inconsistency and a few bad injuries last season, it seemed like the Nats had good building blocks in place. It seemed like they only needed a couple more bats and pitchers (all that could be available through free agency) to take the next step towards relevancy. Now we’re starting over with the rebuild again. Was I blinded by my homerism towards the Nats?

Steve Adams

• The Nationals have (or had) a poor farm, some of the thinnest rotation depth in all of baseball, and only three players (Wood, Abrams, Gore) who looked like clear contributors on a contending club. Dylan Crews and Brady House may get there someday, but there’s nothing certain there. They have (or had) no real hope behind the plate. The bullpen was a mess.I think the Nats were actually fortunate to lose “only” 96 games.

MKE Fan

• Who is the back up catcher this year?

Steve Adams

• I feel like they’ll sign someone cheap or claim someone in camp. Doubt they limit Jeferson Quero to a backup role when he needs to be getting everyday ABs for his development
• Doesn’t need to be anyone exciting. Any of Christian Vazquez, Reese McGuire, Luke Maile, Jonah Heim, etc. could be fine.

Phony Toboni

• Bring Corbin back to DC?

Steve Adams

• Conceptually fine, but I think the optics would just be too bad. He was awful for his last five years there. I’m sure fans would prefer someone new to fill that innings-eater role

Craig Breslow

• How interested am I in trading Tristan Casas and what type of player do you think I could expect back? Brett Baty?

Steve Adams

• Casas seems like he should be available, but he’s definitely not bringing back Baty, who has an extra year of club control, more defensive value and is coming off a nice all-around season (as compared to a lost season for Casas)

Gallen update?

• Gotta think starting pitchers like Gallen and Valdez are getting nervous by now, right?

Steve Adams

• Not really. Pitchers and catchers haven’t even reported yet.Although if I were Gallen, I’d have been nervous all offseason. I wouldn’t have rejected the QO, but we’ll see. I imagine he’ll come out of it just fine. Most guys do.

Jamie

• Baseball version of FMK ….. Bench them, demote them (claim injury), or release them …. Yoshida, Casas, Connor Wong

Steve Adams

• Ha, I’m not much of a Wong or Yoshida guy, so I’d be fine moving on from both. I still think Casas can/will hit if he’s healthy.

wild ideas

• Isaac Paredes for Mickey Moniak. Houston gets their lefty outfielder. Paredes’ gap power in Coors Field. Who says no?

Steve Adams

• Moniak has negligible trade value. I thought he might be non-tendered. Paredes is a genuine asset. Astros don’t do that (or even consider it)

Thomi Jéan

• Are the Yankees content running it back or do you see a trade coming?

Steve Adams

• I imagine there are some bullpen moves coming at least.
• Alright, I’ve got to wrap up for the week. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social. Always happy to take more questions there.If you want more opinions and analysis from the MLBTR team (and ad-free viewing as well as access to our Contract Database, Agency Database, and other tools), you can sign up for our Front Office subscription package.Thanks for chatting, and have a great week!

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!
• If you’re interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you’re about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with hundreds of other questions in today’s chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link:

  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-1-15-26

Stafford

• Why aren’t more teams tanking/rebuilding with the lack of parity in MLB.  Specifically the Angels…they can’t even outspend their problems!

Mark P

• Over the last three seasons, 22 of MLB’s 30 teams have made the playoffs at least once.  There’s plenty of parity.

Ross Atkins

• Do I have any interest in a Brendon Donovan/ Jojo Romero sweap

Mark P

• Both would fit in Toronto, but the Jays have enough utility infield types that Donovan probably isn’t a priority (and especially not at the Cardinals’ asking price).  Romero would be the better fit of the two.

Mike

• Wilbur wood passed.  I saw him pitch for the seattle rainier.  He had a nice mlb career.  He pitched 300 innings plus a number of times.  Will we ever see a pitcher get 300 innings again?  I was 9 when I saw him in the old six stadium

Mark P

• Barring a major sea change in how teams develop and handle pitchers, we won’t see anyone even approach 300 innings again.  It’s rare to see a pitcher even crack the 200-inning mark these days.

o-birds

• The Orioles rotation still needs help is Elias going to do something Verlander is not the answer either

Mark P

• …does the strikethrough mean you disagree with your own take?  I agree that Verlander isn’t a huge upgrade over what the O’s already have, but he would be a decent add

Dread Pirate Roberts

• I think the Mariners should roll with Young and Williamson again in the early part of the season and evaluate at the deadline.

Mark P

• This might be what Seattle just ends up doing.  Between these two and Emerson making his MLB debut at some point, that could be enough for the M’s to get by, providing that the rest of the lineup delivers.  If not, and Young/Williamson still aren’t hitting, it’s a problem.

Dave Dombrowski

• How badly did I miscalculate?

Mark P

• The Phillies did what everyone expected in re-signing Schwarber and JTR.  And, Adolis was added for RF and the bullpen was shaken up a little via the Keller signing and the Strahm trade.

  So far, I’m not sure this Philly offseason counts as a “miscalculation” in any major sense.  If you’re talking about the team’s approach with Bichette, a seven-year offer perhaps just wasn’t on Bichette’s radar….it was either a mega-deal, or a shorter-term pact with opt-outs.

• As much as Dombrowski has a history of big moves, it might very well be that he’s seen this Phillies team has essentially done in terms of heavy lifting for a couple of years now, to the point where the “new” additions are extending and re-signing the building blocks.  Obviously signing Bichette would’ve counted as a big shake-up, but perhaps coming to those talks somewhat late just didn’t give the two sides enough time to develop a workable arrangement

Dallas

• Pirates finished with 71 wins last year with barely any hitters over 100 wRC+. Adding in OHearn and Lowe should really help them. Could they realistically content for a WC spot and if not, what is holding them back?

Mark P

• I think they’ve got a decent shot at a wild card as presently constructed.  I’d like to see one more notable bat added to really spark things upwards, however.

Guest

• Any chance the Jays make a push for Framber or Bellinger after missing out on Tucker?

Mark P

• Ben Nicholson-Smith’s report the other day indicated that the Jays’ contact with Valdez happened two months ago, before Cease or Ponce signed.  So Valdez likely isn’t happening, unless somehow Berrios is traded.

  Bellinger I can still see as a viable maybe, but the Blue Jays are probably there with the NY teams in being wary about giving Bellinger six+ years

• (I almost wrote “6-7 years” there.  Sorry, kids.)

Mets Infield

• Polanco at 1st for the first time and Bo at 3rd for the first time; is the Mets’ infield going to be a calamity? There are sure to be growing pains, no?

Mark P

• It’s an odd arrangement for a team that went into the offseason preaching better defense.  The open DH spot can do a lot of heavy lifting in giving people partial off-days and allowing for some better glovesmen to get into the field, but it’ll be a work in progress.

The Big Q

• You being bombarded with Dodgers/lockout/salary cap questions right now?

Mark P

• Not any greater extent than usual

Guest

• I hear the Yankees viewed Imai as a reliever too, which they probably didn’t want to spend too $$$ on.

Mark P

• That’s true, Jon Heyman had that item in a recent report

Mitchell

• Saw people in the Nationals online community discussing Rhys Hoskins as a possible signing for 1B. That kind of move would make sense to me, what do you think?

Mark P

• That makes sense as a stopgap, sure.  One-year deal with an eye towards trading Hoskins to a contender at the deadline.

Champdo

• So the Tigers aren’t going to try to upgrade their offense?

Mark P

• It’s been puzzlingly quiet on the offense front for Detroit.  I get that they don’t want to block their prospects, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t add at least short-term help.

Just a question

• Correct me if I’m wrong, doesn’t a salary cap also cap tax revenue?

Mark P

• Depends on the type of cap.  If it’s a hard cap like the NFL or NHL, there’s no tax involved.  If it’s a soft cap like the NBA with various levels of aprons and whatnot, there will be some tax revenue available.

  The MLBPA is almost certainly not going to accept any kind of salary cap in the next round of CBA talks.  But, in the very remote chance they did, it would have to be a soft cap that still allows for some level of overages.

Guest

• The RedSox are in a world of hurt

Mark P

• They’re signing Frank Thomas?!

C

• What could the Yankees get if they made JC Escarra available to the Red Sox? Kyle Harrison?

Mark P

• I realize that Harrison hasn’t done a ton yet at the MLB level, but that is an absurd overpay for Escarra

Warrens baseball

• Is there a good chance some kind of heavy deterrent to spending at dodgers  levels will be put in place during this upcoming cba?

Mark P

• I suspect there will be some kind of crackdown on deferred money.  The MLBPA might (very big might) be open to that, but more realistically they’ll still view it as an attempt to limit salaries, and they’ll be correct

Trey

• Isn’t this a good time for Cards to rebuild – especially with the pontential stoppage

Mark P

• Last year seemed like an even better team for the Cardinals to rebuild, yet they didn’t.  Notwithstanding how their hands were tied by some no-trade clauses, it still makes me scratch my head about how even guys like Helsley, etc. weren’t dealt.
• Weren’t dealt last winter, that is

Kyle

• Chances Hoerner gets moved this offseason?

Mark P

• Pretty low.  The Cubs aren’t moving him unless they get a huge offer, plus Nico has a no-trade clause
• Oops, wait, correction, I forgot that he’s one of the few Cubs that didn’t have a NTC in his deal

Huckleberry

• Do all these cast-offs the Angels have acquired equate to a competitive baseball teamv

Mark P

• Nope. Sorry Angels fans, you’re in for another rough year.

I’m back!

• Jo Adell for Brett Baty?

Mark P

• Ah, a Jo Adell trade question….feels like old times!

  This deal makes a decent amount of sense for both sides, but I think the Mets want an actual center fielder, not a guy who can play center field but with poor glovework

Red Sox

• How high of a ranked prospect will we need to add to trade Yoshida ?

Mark P

• Considering those trades with the Cardinals, I wonder if the timing had worked out better (i.e. if Contreras had been more willing to waive his no-trade clause earlier), if Yoshida could’ve just been dealt to St. Louis as salary offset as part of a package for both Gray and Contreras.  Probably still no, since while the Cards were eating money in the trades anyway, they still wanted players back

Guest

• Super Bowl predictions

Mark P

• At this point it’s probably foolish to pick anyone but the Patriots, who are having one of the luckiest seasons in the history of sports.

Former Giants Fan

• Are they really going to stand Pat and literally do basically nothing to upgrade their roster this year? Tell me they still have a move or 2 coming.

Mark P

• It occurs to me that these chats have had messages like these from Giants fans for the better part of two months now, and I keep writing things like “still plenty of time….”

  And it’s still true, but y’know, it is January 18 and the Giants still have sizable holes in the outfield and at second base.

• As I’ve written before, I find it hard to believe that the Giants won’t do SOMETHING noteworthy beyond adding Mahle and Hauser to the rotation.

Guest

• Bubic to Mets for jet williams

Mark P

• No chance Williams is dealt for one season of Bubic.

Angels

• It’s obvious halos are not going to spend this off season, is Arte going to sell?

Mark P

• Moreno walked back his past attempts at exploring a sale, but he could revisit things after the next CBA is finalized. Only Moreno knows the question to this question, of course.

Greg

• Do you see the Pirates moving Henry Davis or Endy Rodriguez to one of these catcher needy teams?

Mark P

• Endy is the likelier of the two, just because the Pirates might not be able to bring themselves to move a 1-1 player just yet

Andrew

• Suppose the owners get their salary cap. What happens to contracts like Ohtani’s, Soto’s, etc? Would they be grandfathered in and the Dodgers and Mets would just be  mostly unable to sign free agents until they come off the books?

Mark P

• As noted earlier, if the MLBPA did somehow agree to any sort of a cap, it would be a soft cap with some sort of luxury tax still attached for overages.  So depending on how stiff the penalties are, the Dodgers/Mets/etc. could decide they don’t really care about the penalties and keep spending big.

  But, the league would certainly create a year or two of grace period for teams to get under this new cap

Chip

• SF Giant suggestion: trade Heliot Ramos and his horrible defense to STL for Donovan. Sign Bellinger and Bader to fix that outfield D, and still stay under the tax. Thoughts?

Mark P

• Ramos probably isn’t the kind of player St. Louis is targeting in Donovan trade talks.

Ari

• do you think the rays will sign a catcher or infielder or trade for someone

Mark P

• Trade seems much more like Tampa’s style

JRam

• I don’t really have a question but I think that with the events of this year’s off season baseball should celebrate one of the few non-mercenaries in the sport who stayed with his team because he understood that he can live off of a couple hundred million dollars. Probably the last player to ever do it.

Mark P

• I don’t blame any player for trying to maximize their earning potential, nor do I blame Ramirez for being content in Cleveland and being okay with a below-market deal.

  I do have to put some blame towards Guardians ownership for having this rare scenario of a superstar-level player on a relative bargain deal, yet still not being particularly aggressive in trying to win during Ramirez’s prime

Hami

• Id the Trop going to be ready for the Rays to play in or are they playing at Steinbrenner field again?

Mark P

• The Trop is on track to be ready for Opening Day

Phillies offseason

• So in other words, the Phillies off-season has not been elite?

Mark P

• “Ah ha ha!” — Family Guy ostrich voice

Mark S

• Noise and impatient fan bases aside when it comes to offseason moves, what is your current power ranking in the NL East and how close/similar are the top teams to each other?

Mark P

• Phillies are the clear #1 and Nationals are the clear #5. In between I’d go Braves, Mets, Marlins in that order, for now.

Tim

• Has anyone thanked the Dodgers for the lockout that will wipe out the 2027 season?

Mark P

• A lockout was always happening no matter who’d won the last two World Series

George Brett

• What’s up with Jac Caglione? Kid was as highly regarded as they come last year and now he may not even make the opening day roster?

Mark P

• He just wasn’t ready for the majors.  While he was crushing minor league pitching, Caglianone clearly didn’t have enough seasoning yet to adjust to the Show.  Doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t be very good in the future, but counting on him even for 2026 is a risk for the Royals.

  This is where KC’s failure to upgrade their outfield last offseason cost them.  If they’d brought in at least one good OF last winter, perhaps the Royals don’t feel as much urgency to promote Caglianone so soon.

Scoots McGoots

• Why do you think Bassitt hasn’t signed yet?

Mark P

• The offers probably aren’t there yet, for whatever reason.  Maybe he’s not getting anything beyond a one-year guarantee due to his age, or teams are waiting until later in the offseason to bump up their offers if Bassitt is widely viewed as sort of a backup plan rotation option.

  Speculatively, maybe he’s even waiting to see if the Jays can step up with a late offer, even if fitting him into the 2026 rotation seems tricky.

Bill

• I know Hazen said he’s not trading Marte – but hasn’t Marte’s trade market changed in the past week? For instance, why not Duran to NYM, Bello, Baty, Sproat to AZ, and Marte back to Boston? That seems a possibility now that NYM acquired Bichette.

Mark P

• As I noted in the Marte post yesterday, Hazen isn’t hanging up the phone if a team emerges with a truly lopsided offer.  But barring such a Godfather offer (and Bello/Baty/Sproat isn’t it), Marte’s not going anywhere.

Trading Draft Picks

• Why is it the MLB does not allow you to trade draft picks when all of the other sports do? In the NHL you are also a few years away as a prospect so why doesn’t MLB let you trade draft picks?

Mark P

• I’ve been beating this drum for years.  You probably would only rarely see top picks actually traded, but it would happen just enough to make the MLB draft a lot spicier.

  The league is always looking for ways to make the MLB draft more of an event, while overlooking the simple answer of traded picks.

Bendix

• On a scale of 1-10 how much do you believe in Marlins youth this upcoming season?

Mark P

• I think Miami is going to be pretty decent.  While I did pick them for fourth in the NL East a few posts up, another third-place finish wouldn’t shock me.
• And a winning record is definitely possible.

Rookies

• Are the Phillies taking too big a risk turning center field over to the rookie Crawford when the aging roster has only so many chances left?

Mark P

• Guys like Kemp, Rojas, and Wilson are still around for OF depth purposes, so Marsh could be moved back into center field if Crawford struggles.  It is a risk on the Phillies’ part, but they’re high on Crawford, and he’s looked awfully good in the minors

Your Name

• Seen some Cardinals fans hoping for Marcelo Mayer as part of a Brendan Donovan return. Unrealistic, no?

Mark P

• Very

Garr

• Luis Robert to KC? They need to upgrade in CF

Mark P

• Intra-division trade, so that’s one obstacle right there.

  The issue with Robert is that the White Sox still want to get a noteworthy return for him, while rival teams are understandably wary about giving him too much for a guy who has struggled for the last two years.  And, Robert’s salary would be an issue for a mid-level spender like KC

Guest

• Is Cody Bellinger actually good?

Mark P

• Sure, he’s a very good player.  The problem is that Boras is looking for a contract befitting the Dodgers MVP version of Bellinger, and that guy doesn’t appear to be coming back.

OZ

• The passing of Wilbur Wood and a glance at his out-of-this-world stats from 1971-1975 should convince some team to try to develop knuckleballers, especially with the rash of Tommy John injuries affecting practically every organization.

Mark P

• In fairness, Wood was an anomaly even by knuckleballer standards.  And while it would be cool to see more knucklers in the modern game, it’s also a very difficult pitch to learn, let alone master.

Buster

• Giants pull a surprise and out of the blue sign Cody B. 6 years at $30. Pipe dream?

Mark P

• He’d be a great boost to a questionable Giants outfield, but it’s unclear if SF is willing to go to those spending lengths (on anyone, let alone Cody)

SouthJerseySteve

• Nick Castellanos (1/$20M) for Tanner Scott (3/$50M). Who says no?

Mark P

• In just a pure salary dump for LA?  I don’t think the Dodgers are ready to just give up on Scott entirely, nor are in any need to pare salary

Cutch

• I still want to finish my career as a Pirate. Am I not worthy anymore?

Mark P

• It’s tricky because Cutch is such a legend and so beloved in Pittsburgh.  But in terms of what a player can produce in 2026 or how much playing time he should get, it’s tough to argue apart from pure sentiment that McCutchen should be part of a team serious about winning

Blue

• Feels like Padres are in a good spot to try and move Cronenworth with Hoerner/Marte both seeming unlikely to move

Mark P

• Cronenworth’s contract is a huge negative in trade talks.  Hoerner is just for one year and Marte is a superstar, so they both have way more trade value.

question

• Correct me if im wrong a no trade clause is where a player can’t get traded unless he agrees?

Mark P

• Correct. Some clauses are for any trade, some players have clauses that allow them to block trades to only a certain number of teams.
• If a player has 10-and-5 rights (10 years of MLB service time, five consecutive years with the same team), they get automatic no-trade protection

Belli Button

• Does Boras really have offers for Bellinger other than the Yankees?  It looks like the Yankees aren’t moving.  Will Bellinger be one of those February signigns like Alonso and Snell?

Mark P

• I suspect this is exactly what the Yankees are thinking — they already have the best offer on the table for Bellinger, and they aren’t budging.

Trip

• Is the Kim injury a sign that the Braves injury issues will continue?

Mark P

• Falling on ice and hurting your finger is too much of a fluke to assume the Braves are in for another snake-bitten injury year.

  Three misfortunes? Sure.  Seven misfortunes?  There’s an outside chance.  But NINE misfortunes?! I’d like to see that!

Atkins

• Bichette and Guerrero should have both been Jays for life. The Jays needed to make that happen earlier in their careers. Also extend Barger

Mark P

• As the sons of wealthy ballplayers, Bichette and Guerrero had the financial comfort to bet on themselves early in their careers, rather than seek out an extension.  Also, their play was just inconsistent enough from year to year that it’s understandable why the Jays weren’t totally comfortable breaking the bank for either until extending Vlad last spring.
• It seems very likely that Toronto will be exploring an extension with Barger this spring, if they haven’t already

Bill

• Would the Phillies be interested in Yoshida for Castellanos?

Mark P

• Yoshida doesn’t have any real utility in Philly with Schwarber locked into the DH spot.  Yoshida is a part-time left fielder at best.

Guest

• Hoyer said at Cubs Con that they weren’t done yet. Bellinger?

Mark P

• To be fair, it would’ve been pretty unlikely to see Hoyer stand up in front of a crowd of Cubs fans and announce “that’s it! I’m going on vacation!” and then run offstage with an overstuffed suitcase.

Tyler

• As a Reds fan I wouldn’t be on board with this, but I’ve seen multiple fellow Reds fans recommend dealing Brady Singer and Tyler Stephenson for Jarren Duran. Is that something Boston would even consider? Feels very light to me when you consider years of control and Duran’s ceiling.

Mark P

• Boston definitely wants a lot more than that for Duran

Guest

• What offers could Xander Bogaerts expect if he were a free agent today?  How much $ for how many years?

Mark P

• Entering his age-33 season, coming off 5.2 fWAR and an exact 100 wRC+ offensive performance over the 2024-25 seasons, mixed reviews on his defense but best served as a second baseman at this point….

  I can see a two-year contract based on track record, at maybe something like $18MM total?

• “What would this guy make if he was a free agent now?” is a fantastic way of gauging current value, btw

Oakland

• I see many similarities between the Oakland situation and Washington’s struggle to get back in the game.

Mark P

• The Nats aren’t in any danger of moving, nor is their ballpark (which is very nice, I’ve been there in person) any sort of detriment.  Don’t forget, the A’s were a winning team as recently as 2021, so their rebuild is already coming along way better in a shorter timespan than Washington’s, despite numerous more obstacles

Michael

• What makes you think Gore’s such a near-lock to stand pat this winter? Imagine an analytically driven FO like Toboni and co would want to capitalize now/avoid risk of injury? Gore’s already shown multiple times he can put up a big first half. What’s doing that again going to accomplish?

Mark P

• My stance has been that Toboni will take some time to retool the front office and evaluate things before really making a lot of big roster decisions, i.e. “should we reboot the rebuild, or try to build on what we already have?”

  If another team steps up with a big enough offer, Gore will indeed be moved this winter.  But, given how the Nats are asking for a haul in return, it remains to be seen if any rival clubs will meet that price.  Admittedly, the whole situation is hard to access because Toboni is a first-time PBO, so we have no idea about how he’ll operate

Balloon Man Dan

• How close to 100% are the tigers to trading Skubal at the deadline?

Mark P

• Not if the team is winning the Central or contending for a playoff berth

Bernie Brewer

• Andrew Vaughn is a free agent after this season. Do you think the brewers resign him or let him walk?

Mark P

• Probably let him walk.  The Brewers aren’t likely to spend a significant amount on the first base position.

Sid the Kid

• With a few hall of fame careers winding down, where does Jr Griffey place on your top 10-15 of all time list?

Mark P

• I wouldn’t have Griffey in my top 10-15, but he’s not far outside that range
• We’re well over two hours now, so I should wrap things up.  Thanks so much for all the activity tonight….it was so busy that there’s still a full page of questions and comments I didn’t get to, because of the jam-packed queue.  The participation is very much appreciated!
• fyi, if you’re interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you’re about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with hundreds of other questions in today’s chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link:

  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-1-18-26

Steve Adams

• It’s about what I expected. The Cardinals ate 70% of the money and got basically no return. Arenado at two years and $11MM is a fine value for the D-backs. It works for all parties.
• Also, not trying to disparage Jack Martinez there, but he was an eighth-round senior sign who took below slot value last summer in the draft. He’s not a big get for the Cardinals. Hopefully they can turn him into something, but this trade was about clearing as much cash as possible and putting Arenado in a spot that’s better for him, his family, and his career goals.

Jays Fan

• How much money do you think Jays would have to retain to move Berrios? 3/66 left but a 37 year old Merill Kelly just signed for 2/40. Guessing there’d be more interest near the end of spring when injuries start happening.

Steve Adams

• Kelly is just better than Berrios, period. Berrios is durable, but he’s had a K% under 20 in three of the past four seasons. His command is more good now than great like it once was. His average fastball last year was 93 mph — a career-low and a full mile drop from the prior season.I don’t think he’d get half what he’s making right now on the open market, but due to scarcity and the difficulty of winning a free agent bidding, maybe some team would take him if Toronto ate 50% of the contract. At that point, they might just be better off keeping him though. It’s not like they’re 12-deep in genuine rotation options or anything.
• For the record, my vote in that Tucker poll was also for the Jays
• So I am with the majority here, it seems.

Bader

• Am I good fit for the Dbacks or will they go with Alek Thomas in CF?

Steve Adams

• Good on-paper fit, sure, but the D-backs are within $20MM or so of last year’s payroll and still need multiple relievers — all while trying to scale back their spending. I don’t think Bader works there. He should get $10MM+ annually on a multi-year deal (at least in my view, though the market has thumbed its nose at him a bit in the past)

O’s Fan

• Is the hold up on Valdez and Suarez due to teams not being willing to get close to the Cease deal and agents like Scott Boras marketing their client as equal to Cease thus leading to a stallmate?

Steve Adams

• Boras doesn’t rep Valdez.He does rep Suarez, but he also has to know Ranger was never going to be as desirable as Cease.Holdup is more just about waiting for anyone to meet the asking price. In some cases, they might be told they need to wait to see how the Kyle Tucker/Bo Bichette etc markets play out, as those clubs could pivot to run prevention if they don’t get their guys.

  We’ve already seen some reports that the Red Sox might look back at pitching now that they missed on Bregman. But no way they were giving out 100+ for a starter while they were still trying to keep Bregman there.

Philly Billy

• Sign Bichette and trade Bohm to the Angels, unless Bichettes defense wouldn’t offset his offense.

Steve Adams

• This scenario makes perfect sense to me, and I think Bichette would be fine at either second base or third base (though for arm strength purposes, the former seems a better fit)
• Pirates make some sense for Bohm, too.

bmcferren

• Pirates are in on Lawler? Is he a better bet than Vientos?

Steve Adams

• Both seem like reasonable targets, although I will say, Lawlar does not seem like he’s going to be a capable 3B defender. That’s also probably true of Vientos, though.Both are more along the lines of the Jhostynxon Garcia addition — high-upside, limited/no MLB track record — than the type of more established bats the Pirates were hoping to acquire though.

JD

• Colby Thomas from the A’s for Alec Bohm, who says no?

Steve Adams

• I’m the perennial down guy on Bohm. I just wouldn’t trade much of value to get him. I think he’s a decent player who’s better utilized in a more selective role against LHP. Thomas wouldn’t be a big sacrifice, but I’d probably keep the optionable guy who can play multiple spots and has a big track record against minor league pitching. I’d rather just sign Moncada for the same $10MM Bohm is owed, honestly.

DiPoto

• Am I really going into the season with an infield of Ben Williamson/Colt Emerson at 3rd, JP at Short, and Young at 2nd?  Doesn’t bringing Suarez back on a 2 year, $45 mil deal (which seems gettable now) make sense to play some 3rd, DH, and backup 1st to Naylor?

Steve Adams

• I’d be shocked if the Mariners went into the season with that infield arrangement. There’s still a month before pitchers and catchers report. Seven weeks before spring games begin in earnest. They’ll make some changes.

Andrew Bernard

• Does Sal Stewart break camp with the Reds?

Steve Adams

• That’s my expectation

Rich

• Do you think a 2nd baseman deal is likely for SF?

Steve Adams

• They’ll get someone. Don’t think it needs to be Hoerner or Donovan specifically, despite Passan reporting recent/ongoing talks for both. Donovan is the far more likely of the two to be traded.Would be interesting to see if they throw their hat in the ring for Bryson Stott if the Phillies sign Bichette and put him at 2B.

Miami Steve

• Weren’t the Marlins going to spend some money to avoid angering the luxury tax payers?

Steve Adams

• Hey! They uh… signed… Pete Fairbanks… and Christopher Morel!…Yeah they haven’t lived up to that so far, haha. But still plenty of offseason left, and they could use another reliever, a veteran starter for some depth, maybe an infielder or catcher.

Chris

• Re: Nico Hoerner’s availability – would you expect it to cost the Yankees the same player cost as Bellinger last year?

Steve Adams

• No way. The Cubs were trying to dump Bellinger’s salary and took almost no return. Hoerner has immense surplus value and would cost immediate, meaningful major league help

Mets

• We keep hearing the Mets are focused more on the trade side for starting pitching.  Give me a few players besides Peralta that are legitimate options.

Steve Adams

• Freddy Peralta, MacKenzie Gore, Kris Bubic, Jose Berrios, Brady Singer, maybe Nick Pivetta. I could see one of Andrew Abbott or Nick Lodolo if they send the right bat back to Cincinnati. Mitch Keller. Kyle Freeland.Obviously not all great names, and the Mets probably aren’t interested in adding more back-of-the-rotation types, but just running through some names off the cuff. I’m sure with a big enough offer you could get the Twins to reconsider their “We’re not trading Joe Ryan or Pablo Lopez” stance.

Me

• Tigers in on … no one? “Win now mode”, my ummmmm.. fanny.  Harris gotta go..

Steve Adams

• Tigers are following up their “most disappointing trade deadline from a contender” award with a run at “most disappointing offseason from a contender” — though I do like both the Jansen and Finnegan deals, and Flaherty coming back seems fine. Still pretty underwhelming as a whole, though.

keith

• If the blue jays sign Tuckerdo you think they should trade Santander

Steve Adams

• Was never a big fan of the Santander signing in the first place, so sure, if you can fine a taker, by all means.

AbeFromanJr

• Does Lenyn Sosa fit as a 2B option for SF? Not good defender but seems like they could use the bat.

Steve Adams

• I don’t think he’s much of an upgrade over what they have in house. More power than Casey Schmitt, but Schmitt’s a better defender who probably ends up with comparable offensive value

My name

• Guards flip Logan Allen to Phil’s for Bohm ?

Steve Adams

• Cleveland wouldn’t do that.

Guardians

• Gaddis for Hoerner?

Steve Adams

• Cubs wouldn’t do that.

Louis

• Larger contract: Bichette this year or Chisholm Jr next year?

Steve Adams

• I’ll go Bo this year. Jazz is going to be a year older as a free agent and hasn’t been as consistently good with the bat as Bichette. He’s also had quite a few more injuries.

AA’s burner

• Is 1/$12 or 2/$20 enough to get Bassitt to join ATL?

Steve Adams

• If I’m Chris Bassitt, I look at Merrill Kelly’s 2/40 and say “I’m as good as he is.”

John

• Now that the Red Sox are in panic mode, who will the overpay for?

Steve Adams

• Probably no one? If they were willing to overpay, they wouldn’t be in panic mode. They’re here because they habitually refuse to sign guys in their 30s to long-term deals.

Terry

• When are the O’s going to trade Mayo and Mountcastle? Can they get a bucket of balls for them?

Steve Adams

• For Mayo, they can absolutely get a return. I’m still surprised they tendered a contract to Mountcastle.

LA fan

• Do you think Jack Leiter is a good breakout candidate?

Steve Adams

• He kind of already broke out in 2025, but I assume you mean elevating his status from “solid No. 3-4 guy” to a more clear cut playoff caliber starter. I do think that gear could still be in there. Command doesn’t seem like it’ll ever be great, but Leiter bumped his K%, SwStr% and other encouraging traits down the stretch last year. I don’t think he’s an ace, but a step forward from the 2-3 WAR, upper-3.00s ERA guy he finished the season as still feels possible.

Derek Falvey

• Why did I tender Trevor Larnach?

Steve Adams

• I don’t know. One of the more surprising players to be tendered a contract. I thought he was a surefire NT.

My name

• How does DD make the money work for Bo in Philly, thanks for taking my question.

Steve Adams

• I touched on this the other day when writing about their meeting. It’s not really that hard. It’d take a big hike in payroll for 2026, but you could backload the deal to offset some of that. By ’27, they only have $170MM-ish on the books and don’t have a particularly daunting arb class. By ’28, they’re down to Schwarber, Turner, Harper, Nola and Sanchez’s cheap extension on the books. Harper’s deal is already frontloaded; his salary will decrease within the next few years. Neither Turner nor Nola has a super-premium AAVV

mnfireman

• If I’m Chris Bassitt, I look at Merrill Kelly’s 2/40 and say “I’m as good as he is.”  – but younger

Steve Adams

• Not really. Kelly turned 37 a couple months ago. Bassitt turns 37 in Feb

Nats

• Nats shock everyone and sign Tucker to a 11 year deal, leading the rebuild – Jayson Werth 2.0!

Steve Adams

• Won’t happen, but as a perpetual advocate for unmitigated baseball chaos, let me go on record as saying “Yes please.”

Dave D.

• Bichette to Phillies serious or a negotiating tactic to make JT sign?

Steve Adams

• Serious

Bucco Basement

• If Skubal wins his arb case, this surely increases the likelihood that the Pirates trade Skenes this offseason, right? if the Pirates underperform this season, this bumps up even more to the trade deadline. there’s no way they start paying him $30M+ this early in his career.

Steve Adams

• I don’t think so. Skubal is only able to even attempt this “blow up the arb system” because he has 5+ years of service. Skenes will set records in arb but do so more incrementally. Pirates will probably still trade him at some point … but probably not for another three years.

FU Jobu

• Where do you see Daniel Espino contributing this year?

Steve Adams

• Would love that, but the kid has barely pitched in the past three years due to multiple surgeries. I wouldn’t be holding my breath.

CJ Red

• Have the Red Sox positioned themselves as a team no longer attractive to free agents?

Steve Adams

• No. They’ve just positioned themselves as a team that doesn’t like to outbid the field for free agents. If they’d matched Chicago’s offer, he’d be there.

Richard

• hey Steve, which of the ms pitchers do you see getting an extension? With Anderson, Sloan and Cijante coming up maybe this year what do they do with their starting rotation?

Steve Adams

• Woo is the only one who really seems like a prime candidate for me. Gilbert is only two years from free agency. Kirby doesn’t seem like he’d want to sell low on himself. Miller, I just wouldn’t extend after this year unless it was on really friendly terms (and, from his vantage point, why do that?)Injuries will probably sort a lot of that out organically, but none of those three prospects is ready for the majors or all that close right now. They all feel more like 2027 guys to me, and even if they push for the majors in ’26, the Mariners will probably have some starts available when the current quintet gets hurt. It’s all under the “good problem to have” cliche.

BeBopCola

• Your latest guess on who Peralta gets traded to or do you think he remains a brewer?

Steve Adams

• I lean toward him staying, but if I’m forced to pick a team that trades for him, I’d lean Mets.

Joey B

• Here’s an odd fit that could make sense: Verlander to the Yankees on a incentive-rich deal.  They need a veteran depth piece and he finished the season strong.  Yes/no/maybe?

Steve Adams

• I don’t think it’s an odd fit from a roster/team need perspective. But I also don’t see why he’s taking an incentive-laden deal. Verlander got $15MM guaranteed last year as a 42-year-old coming off a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts/90 innings. Yeah, he’s 43 now, but he made 29 starts, pitched 152 innings with a 3.85 ERA, and finished on absolute fire.Why’s he taking a pay cut?

Cute Lady

• Is it safe to say that William Contreras is upset with the Brewers for lowballing him?

Steve Adams

• No. This is just arbitration.

Brian Davis Christian

• Do you see the Tigers trading Skubal or riding the season out with him and ending up with a draft pick when he signs somewhere else

Steve Adams

• Have said for months now that while it’ll of course be talked about ad nauseum this winter, I see an almost 0% chance he’s traded. Still my mindset. They’ll either get a pick or re-sign him to a monster contract  next winter.

High Aav

• With Tucker now being open to a 3 year 40m AAV deal. Do you think its an overall league trend to do inflated AAV contracts instead of longer deals with multiple down years in late 30s

Steve Adams

• Just because that’s where the Mets’ offer is does not mean that he’s necessarily open to it. Plus, multiple reports during this chat have said that their offer is actually worth more than $50MM annually. Let’s get weird!

Ebbets Field.

• AAV for Bo?  My friend says $30+, I’m at $25

Steve Adams

• Depends entirely on the years. I’d be closer to 25, but if he ends up going for 7 or fewer years, then 30+, yeha.

Angels fan

• Angels are stuck in no-man’s land again. Is it too much to ask them to target Bohm in a trade after Bichette goes to Philly?

Steve Adams

• It’s not too much, no, but Alec Bohm isn’t moving the needle much for them.

Ketel Marte

• Does the addition of Arenado to the Diamondbacks put trading me back on the table?

Steve Adams

• No. They got Arenado for the price of basically a middle reliever.

TxDude

• Is a Castellanos trade still likely or no?

Steve Adams

• I have thought all offseason that he’ll just be released, and I still think that.

E. Suarez

• E.Suarez, in your mind: team, contract (Salary and Years)?

Steve Adams

• At this point I’d probably guess something like two years and $48MM. I was very much on board with our three-year prediction back in November, but I think that was only going to be there if someone made him a priority, which clearly hasn’t been the case.Not saying I’d be stunned if he signed for three years and $54-63MM total or anything, but I think two feels safer now.

Rick

• Rules question:  if the white sox signed Tucker would they lose the #1 pick?

Steve Adams

• Here you go:
  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/10/each-teams-penalty-for-signing-…

Cool Mama Bell

• Tucker is not worth $50M AAV.

Steve Adams

• The Mets agree! They’d be paying a 110% tax on his contract’s AAV, so they think he’s worth $100MM+ annually.

JankyLeg

• The Rangers seem like they are one deGrom/Eovaldi/Seager major injury from falling off the map. With limited payroll, do you see them pivoting to a youth movement in short order if things don’t work out?

Steve Adams

• I can see that more in 2027 if things don’t work out in 2026.

Skubal

• What does a Free agent deal look for Tarik? Gotta assume it starts with at least a 3 and has a lot of zeros that follow.

Steve Adams

• Not convinced it starts with a 3.
• But that’s because I think it might start with a 4.
• I’ve got to call it for the week. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social for more questions.We had 900+ people in here today, so no chance to get to all the questions, but thank you all for chatting and participating! If you want more opinions and analysis from the MLBTR team, plus ad-free viewing, exclusive articles and access to our tools (Contract Tracker, Agency Database, GM Tracker), you can check out our Front Office subscription package!

  Have a great week, everyone!