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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 1/14/25
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Steve Adams
1:49
Bat is the cleaner fit. They already have a starting five of Webb, Ray, Verlander, Harrison and Hicks, with Birdsong, Black, Beck, Roupp and others as depth. That's not to say Flaherty wouldn't improve the team -- could always put Hicks back in the 'pen, and Ray/Verlander have health concerns -- but I'd just look more at the lineup and go after an Alonso, Santander, Profar in free agency (or if he's actually available, Casas in a trade).

Giants could really use some left-handed power, especially since virtually all of Heliot Ramos' production came against lefties (.370/.439/.750 ... compared to .240./286/.387 against righties).
HMM
1:49
Can you envision a Jake Cronenworth For Marcus stroman trade As the headliners?
Steve Adams
1:51
Cronenworth is owed $71MM over the next six seasons. Stroman's a free agent after this one (pending that vesting player option). I can't see the Yankees wanting to shed Stroman so badly that they take on an extra five years and $53MM of Cronenworth.

There could always be other pieces added, and you did say "framework," but it's just hard for me to see the Yankees' motivation. That Cronenworth contract is just ... why?
Radhippo
1:52
why wouldn’t the angels get Stroman for a low level prospect… They can’t probably get him 10-12mil
Steve Adams
1:52
Makes sense to me.
Guarded Indian
1:52
Walker to Cleveland for Straw makes sense in a bad contract swap?
Steve Adams
1:54
Walker is owed $36MM through 2026. Straw only $14.75MM over those same two years. Phillies could try to pay down the difference to make it cash-neutral, but they're not doing themselves a huge favor there then.

Straw is also earning only $6MM this season to Walker's $18MM. I doubt the Guardians feel they have an extra $12MM lying around
Bravos
1:54
Would Stroman make sense for the Braves? Is he that "one-year-veteran-arm" kinda guy?
Steve Adams
1:54
Sure. Stroman, Dylan Cease ... any short-term trade candidate who's earning decent but not wildly expensive money makes sense in ATL
Stephen
1:55
Do you think deferred salaries are something that will be addressed in the next CBA, or is it something that only fans and media care about?
Steve Adams
1:56
They've been around forever. I don't think most fans realized or cared about until the Ohtani deal. Max Scherzer's entire $35MM salary was deferred the year the Nationals won the World Series in 2019. They're paying him through 2028.

Maybe some smaller-market owners will want some regulation of deferrals to rein in the Dodgers, Mets, etc. who can more easily take on that sort of long-term debt, but I don't think it's the hot-button issue a lot of fans make it out to be.
Still an A
1:57
Is Pete Alonso regretting not accepting that extension the Mets offered him?
Steve Adams
1:58
Maybe, if only because he probably hopes to stay with the Mets long term. But money-wise, he's already earned $20.5MM of it in his first arb season. He has $137.5MM to go to make it up. He'll get at least $80-90MM over three years even on a short-term deal with opt-outs. At that point he's 50-something shy of reaching that sum and still two years away from when said contract would've ended. He's not going to come out markedly behind, he'll be set for generations regardless, and he left open the opportunity to bet on himself and cash in on 200MM+ if he'd sustained his 2019-22 pace.
1:59
That didn't happen, and so be it, but I don't think Alonso's going to lose sleep at night when all is said and done.
orioles fan
1:59
what is heston kjerstad’s future? i personally think he is very talented and could OPS above .850 with proper number of At bats, maybe a move to first or DH now that santander is probably gone.
Steve Adams
2:01
I find it just... odd? ... that the O's haven't given him a real chance despite multiple opportunities. I know they wanted a RH bat, but signing Tyler O'Neil for $50MM rather than giving Kjerstad an earnest look in a corner is odd. He has almost a year of MLB service now and still only 147 plate appearances. He'll be 26 next month. What's the plan here?

The O's would deny this of course, but he feels like someone they're less-invested in that other prospects in the past (e.g. Henderson, Rutschman, Cowser, etc.)

We chatted about this as a staff a bit ago, and I'm of the mind that Kjerstad is eventually traded, though that's just based off gut feel and inferences with how they've handled him.
Mascot Matchup
2:02
Gritty v. Phanatic. Who wins?
Steve Adams
2:03
Better mascot?!
Gritty (30.3% | 76 votes)
 
Phanatic (69.7% | 175 votes)
 
Total Votes: 251
I'd personally vote for Stuff the Magic Dragon, but the Phanatic is an icon man
Extension Talks
2:04
How much would the Cubs have to overpay if they wanted to extend Tucker before he becomes a free agent?
Steve Adams
2:04
I just don't see an extension, and I think Tucker's next contract will start with a 4.
Punch And Judy
2:04
Re: Kjerstad, yeah I agree.  Reminds me of the Dodgers with Michael Busch.  He was 26 when he got traded.
Steve Adams
2:04
Yeah, there are some parallels with how the Dodgers handled/used Busch (and Miguel Vargas) and how the Orioles have handled Kjerstad.
EJ
2:05
Cubs have any shot at landing Tanner Scott to close?
Steve Adams
2:05
They haven't given a multi-year deal to a reliever since Craig Kimbrel in 2019.
LFG
2:05
Why not Kjerstad for Dylan Cease, then?
Steve Adams
2:05
This is the proposal I had that spawned the conversation with Tim, Anthony and Darragh regarding Kjerstad, ha.
3 Team
2:06
Could you see Cards/Os/Mariners make a deal. Arenado//Helsley to Os and Westburg to Seattle for Woo or Miller and something back to the Cardinals
Steve Adams
2:07
I disagree with the premise that Baltimore is better off with Arenado/Helsley than they are with Westburg.
Chi
2:07
The Braves farm isn't highly regarded. Is that just the result of a bare cupboard from trading and promotion or is this a scouting/development issue?
Steve Adams
2:10
Combination of many things. Yes, they've traded a lot of their recent top picks to get Matt Olson, Sean Murphy, Jarred Kelenic, etc. They also forfeited picks to sign Marcell Ozuna and Will Smith. And as not just a perennial contender but perennially one of the best teams in all of MLB, they're usually picking at the back of the first round, where slam-dunk talent is harder to come by.

At the same time, scroll back through the Braves' recent series of first-, second-, third-round picks etc. There are some undeniable hits in there -- Austin Riley and Spencer Schwellenbach in the second, Michael Harris in the third -- but they've had a fair number of high-profile misses. It's not unique to them, but when you're picking late every year, making tons of trades and occasionally punting a pick to sign a free agent, those misses stand out a bit more.
2:11
Broadly, I think the Braves have done well, especially in finding hidden gems outside the top three rounds or so, but no one drafts/develops perfectly
Chris M
2:11
Do you see Arenado as being a solid fit in Seattle?
Steve Adams
2:12
Not with the money he's owed. The Mariners have like $10-12MM left to spend by all accounts. And the Cardinals don't want to take on a huge portion of his salary to facilitate a deal.
Marty in the Lou
2:12
Is there any market for Miles Mikolas, would rather have Graceffo starting
Steve Adams
2:12
Doubt there's a big one, and he has a no-trade clause anyway
Jed Hoyer
2:13
James Triantos and Javier Assad for Pablo Lopez?
Steve Adams
2:13
Personally don't think that's enough
Balthazar
2:15
Does Sasaki get the chosen team's entire international pool, or could the team negotiate less to leave some for prospects?
Steve Adams
2:16
I don't think the signing bonus matters all that much. Whichever team signs him will give him the most it possibly can, but Sasaki has earned money in NPB, has some endorsements already and is clearly looking at the long-term arc of his career as where he'll make his money. If he wasn't, he would've waited two years to come over.
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