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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 1/30/24
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Jaxon
1:30
Brooks Lee will be available for the Twins soon, Merrifield would just block him
Steve Adams
1:31
Yeah, there's another valid point against the Whit/Twins connection
Jeff Greenberg
1:31
Would a Gio Urshella on a minor league contract with an MLB invite to camp be in the cards for me?
Steve Adams
1:31
I don't see any reason Gio should have to settle for that type of deal. Over half the league, not just the Tigers, would be all over that probably.
Peter
1:32
Now that 1B is solved, is there a chance the Brewers take a stab at bringing in one of the remaining FA infielders to play the hot corner?  Gio Urshela? Tim Anderson? Amed Rosario?
Steve Adams
1:33
I like them as a fit for Urshela, yeah. Merrifield, too. I don't think they can go into the season with Turang, Monasterio and Tyler Black as their main 2B/3B options
Well, they CAN. I don't think they should, ha.
Jays Fan
1:34
does the turner deal close the door on a Chapman reunion? or bellinger addition?
Steve Adams
1:35
I don't think so on Chapman. Bellinger's a little harder now since the OF is already set with Varsho-Kiermaier-Springer, and now you don't really have the DH spot to kind of rotate that quartet through. But even still, they could probably sign Bellinger, play Turner at 3B more than they'd like, give Springer more DH time, and get enough ABs to go around. Kiermaier is hardly a paragon of durability in CF. Ditto Springer in RF.
Chris
1:35
Are the Mets now the front runner for Soler after the Turner signing this morning?
Steve Adams
1:36
I don't think they'll spend that much on a DH
Sox fan from Maine
1:36
Hi Steve, realistically with the redsox , do you see them sign Monty and soler or Clevinger and Cooper/Duval
Steve Adams
1:37
Nothing the Sox have done this offseason portends spending at the Montgomery level. Signing Soler would basically resign them to playing Yoshida in the field and optioning Wilyer Abreu. I highly doubt they find a trade partner for Yoshida.

Clevinger and Duvall feel more plausible, sure.
Matt Chapman
1:38
Am I too expensive for Milwaukee? Seems like a fit on paper
Steve Adams
1:38
Yeah I doubt you'll see the Brewers shelling out a nine-figure deal to Chapman
martras
1:39
There are a lot of top free agents still out there with only 2 weeks left before pitchers/catchers report. Are we looking at a lot of surprise pillow contracts to come?
Steve Adams
1:39
Possibly. Could just as easily be looking at some team seeing its ace go down on day four of camp and Snell suddenly getting $200MM though
Bryan C
1:41
How does anyone think the Cardinals have improved from last season?                                                                                 The starting centerfielder is the back up short stop and is trying to work his way back from wrist surgery. The short stop is a rookie who did not hit in his call up last year. One free agent starting pitcher they signed lead MLB in home runs. Another one led MLB in hits allowed. Mikolis and Matz are not # 2 or # 3 starting pitchers on a championship team. The bullpen pitchers that Mo added are, are, not championship game pitchers. Leftfield, centerfield and short stop are questions. Why do some people think the Cardinals of 2024 has improved?
Steve Adams
1:42
I'm not quite as down on them as you are, but I generally agree with the notion that they haven't had a great offseason. The rotation additions were lackluster, and I say that as someone who probably believes in Lynn a little more than most detractors.
Byung Ho Park Fan
1:43
Trevor Plouffe was discussing on Baseball Today about his desire for Dylan Cease to end up on the Twins - what kind of trade package would this take, assuming Brooks Lee, Royce Lewis, and Walker Jenkins are off limits?
Steve Adams
1:45
I half wondered whether the Twins would try to pry Cease away after the Polanco deal freed up some money and deepened their farm simultaneously. Could try to build something around Emmanuel Rodriguez, Louie Varland and additional prospect depth maybe, but it's tough for me to see that trade happening within the AL Central. Plus -- and public exec comments don't always mean much, but still -- Twins president of bb ops Derek Falvey said he's probably shifting his focus to bats for the time being.
Orioles
1:46
Ive been saying it all year. Santander, Urias, Norby and a lower level guy for Bieber and Clase. Cleveland needs the bats and Baltimore needs the arms. Santander and Bieber lineup contract wise and 2 prospects and Urias for Clase seems fair. Why hasn't this deal happened?
Steve Adams
1:48
Because Santander is a one-year rental -- and an expensive one -- while Urias is a utility guy. Norby would hold appeal, sure, but the Guardians are already stacked with infield prospects.

I don't think that package would get Clase alone, let alone Clase + Bieber. Clase is signed for another five years and $33MM total -- and the final two seasons are club options, so you have a get out of jail free card if he has a career-altering injury or swift decline.
1:49
The trade value on Clase is huge, and while I don't think Bieber's is as high on its own as many fans would think, he still has SOME value
PJ
1:50
If the Marlins dont take this GOLDEN opportunity to replace Avi Garcia with Soler at DH...it will challenge my faith in the organization. Nobody can be serious about Mondesi or Brandon Crawford being the cure to what ails this team.
Steve Adams
1:51
I think a lot of organizations in their shoes would've just eaten the Garcia deal to release him and re-signed Soler. But Soler himself said publicly like three weeks ago that the Marlins haven't contacted him at all this winter. A few days later, the Miami Herald reported they'd had a conversation, so maybe ownership tried to reach out to save face or something, but that's not the behavior of a team that's serious about re-signing someone.

I agree with the sentiment but I don't see it happening.
Darin
1:52
Any chance Nats sign Bellinger? Reminiscent of Werth signing?
Steve Adams
1:53
I'd love it -- always entertained by out-of-the-blue matches like that -- but I don't think so
Soler
1:53
Did I make a huge mistake declining my option with Miami?
Steve Adams
1:55
Nah I still think he'll be fine. Even if he signs, say, 1/10 (and I think he'll do better), he'd come out $3MM behind. So the "downside" for Soler is losing like $3MM or even $5-6MM if you want to get super pessimistic and say he signs for $7-8MM. The upside in turning down the player option was gaining an extra $30-40MM in free agency.

And, even if he takes less money now, he might end up in a better hitters' park that'd help him next offseason.

I think the "risk" for turning down a one-year player option like that or even a qualifying offer is pretty minimal when juxtaposed with the earning upside.
Snake Blell
1:56
Who is going to make a real offer to Blake Snell. Asking for a friend.
Steve Adams
1:56
Still like the Angels to just get a little reactive and go nuts for him, although that'd shatter Arte Moreno's typical MO of not going long-term on pitchers
Bobby Higginson
1:57
Is there any scenario where Javy Baez gets moved this year?
Steve Adams
1:57
If he miraculously bounces back to 6-WAR Javy Baez, I suppose, but the odds of that are what? 1-2%?
Minnie
1:58
What’s Mickey Moniak’s future? He started out pretty good but his end to the season wasn’t very favorable. Which Moniak are we likely to see going forward?
Steve Adams
1:58
Moniak struck out at a 35% clip and had a .400 BABIP. There aren't many more classic regression red flags than that. I don't think he can sustain anything close to what he did in 2023.
Ray
2:00
It appeared like Cole was making a plea to Yankee front office to sign Snell during his CY Young speech.
Steve Adams
2:02
Might have been, but Snell's going to be expensive in the first place, and he'll cost the Yankees more than double the AAV on his contract in year one because of their luxury situation. If they signed Snell for 8/200, he'd cost them $27.5MM in luxury taxes alone, plus whatever actual year-one salary they agree on. And with Snell, Judge, Rodon, Stanton, DJLM, etc. -- it's not as though they can easily duck back under the tax in year two of the deal, especially not if they want to keep Soto, so you're probably looking at another $27.5MM of taxes on him in 2025.

Makes it kind of amazing that they went ahead and offered the reported 6/150 in the first place.
JD Martinez
2:02
Who is my mystery team?
Steve Adams
2:03
Twins just freed up some money, cheaply added some rotation depth and a legit bullpen arm, and could use a RH bat
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