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2025-26 Top 50 Free Agents Live Chat
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Tim Dierkes
10:50
That history, of why the MLB has a strong union and how that came to be at least up until the 1994 strike, I think is crucial in understanding the union stance on a cap
10:51
Your points are not wrong in that perhaps there could be a system that keeps the player pool of revenue the same and transfers some from superstars to young guys or the rank and file. I think it's a trust issue more than anything.  Will the players' % of revenue then move backward over the next few CBAs?  Will teams include all relevant revenue in an honest way?
10:52
When I started MLBTR, I did not know who Marvin Miller was at all.  Ya gotta start there I think.
Fat Guy
10:52
I see the Twins signing Tucker for league minimum but he gets a lifetime of free Juicy Lucy's. Think he'd take that deal?
Steve Adams
10:52
Not a ton to add -- and not sure if Tim will keep going here
Tim Dierkes
10:52
what even is that
10:53
we're gonna wrap at 11, so couple more
Q
10:53
This one's for Tim - why did you select the Cubs for Imai? How do you think he could fit in their rotation? And for both you and Steve - what are realistic expectations for his first year in MLB?
Steve Adams
10:53
But real quick, once the cap is in, it's in. The league will spend every subsequent negotiation session trying to tighten the vice and shrink the players' piece of the pie. It might start out OK, but deteriorate quickly. Josh Erickson, who runs our hockey site, was talking about that a lot at our last meetup
Tim, c'mon -- a juicy lucy is a stuffed cheeseburger. Come to Minnesota. You're like a 45-minute flight or 6-hour drive away
Tim Dierkes
10:54
I picked Imai for the Cubs bc they have a strong Japanese presence, he's younger than other FA starters, he can add some velo to the rotation, and you can dream on him becoming a #2. Whether they feel that way I have no idea
10:55
hmm first season...150 innings, sub-4 ERA, 25 K%?
Steve Adams
10:55
Imai has the widest range of opinions on basically any of the prominent NPB names who could (we still don't 100% know he's being posted) come over. I frankly have zero clue what to expect. He's the hardest thrower in NPB. I've seen plenty of "He's No. 2 SP!" reports and also talked to a scout who said his breaking stuff won't miss bats and he's a 4th starter or high-leverage reliever
I'm going to take one question here and give a very simple answer
(Tim has been selecting them this whole time)
JT
10:55
Didn’t a certain writer in here call Madison Bumgarner a third starter a couple months before he signed that massive deal and got all kinds of hate for it? Hmmmm
Steve Adams
10:55
Please actually be Jeff Todd
That is all.
Tim Dierkes
10:56
if there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that we miss Jeff Todd
Steve Adams
10:56
If so, hey buddy. Miss you. Text or email us some time.

(Back to Tim selecting questions)
Tim Dierkes
10:56
I don't know how you even found that, there are a million questions in the queue
Steve Adams
10:56
I adore Jeff Todd
ERS
10:56
As a Sox fan, I'm a bit confused where the high demand for Bregman will come from. He's an aging player, not an elite hitter, and has limited power. I'd bring him back for something like 4 years/110M, but anything beyond that will end up being quite a bad deal, I think. I am pretty concerned he will fall off a cliff offensively, like Arenado. Granted, he has better contact skills than Arenado, but Arenado also had much more raw power.
Tim Dierkes
10:56
last one!
10:58
Umm yes, I definitely get that. we are assuming he has upped his value a bit since last winter. I don't see the Cubs in on him, and can easily see the Tigers doing something else.  Red Sox, Jays, not quite sure who else is bidding here. I did the contract anyway in picking "the field" in a sense, but I get it.
Steve Adams
11:00
Almost all major FA contracts end up being bad deals. To sign an in-demand free agent, you are inherently saying you will pay him more than the rest of the market deems wise.

Bregman is a good defensive third baseman with elite contact skills, above-average power and (thanks to a somewhat resurgent walk rate in '25) quality on-base skills.

He is also in the Kyle Schwarber/Eric Hosmer mold of "everyone absolutely loves this person, and his teammates would run through a wall for him" clubhouse mold. That sort of thing gets overstated at times, but with specific players it's very clear that teams will absolutely pay more for the leadership.

I also just think he's a pretty safe 3-WAR floor for the next few years and disagree that Arenado had more raw power. Arenado has never hit the ball hard. Below-average hard-hit and exit velos every year.
Granted, that's also true of Bregman, but not to the same extent.
11:01
He was huge in the first half, pre-quad injury as well, and think he answered a lot of doubts that clouded his market last time around. Plus no QO this winter.
Tim Dierkes
11:01
I know Steve would make some good points there.
11:02
That's a wrap for this chat.  I genuinely enjoyed seeing all these questions and answering as many as we could.  Here's to a wild and fun offseason!
Steve Adams
11:02
Seconded
Thanks for the discourse and for the support. We're so lucky to do what we do. Hoping for a great offseason!
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