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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 10/20/20
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trevor bauer
2:32
Are the red sox a realistic spot for me?
Steve Adams
2:32
He's said repeatedly that the first priority is signing with a contender. That word did not remotely describe the Red Sox in 2020.
2:33
Broadly speaking, if you want to attract high-profile free agents who'll have multiple absurd offers, the best route to go is not: "Trade away one of the five best players on the planet to duck under the luxury tax and then repeatedly, brazenly claim luxury tax had nothing to do with it"
Mike Rizzo
2:33
Would I be better off signing Realmuto, Ozuna, or Springer?
Steve Adams
2:34
(Rizzo is the Nationals' GM)
2:37
We currently have the Nats as our Ozuna pick -- sorry Braves fans -- although that's still subject to change.

There's a case for any of the three in DC, and I think they all make some degree of sense. Signing one just shapes the remaining decisions to be made.

I think it's more difficult to find a catcher than a LF/DH like Ozuna or even a CF-who'll-need-to-move-to-RF-in-a-few-years like Springer, but that's also why I expect JTR to be the most expensive and the riskiest.

That risk still seems worth it to me, given the construct of the Nats' payroll outlook; it might just mean they have to trade for some OF help or shed some cash in order to sign a Brantley or someone of that ilk in a complementary move.
Mets
2:37
Do you think there will be alot of media leaks about the Wilpons once the sale is final ?
Steve Adams
2:37
There have been media leaks about the Wilpons even when they were saying they'd never sell. I'm sure there will be more, though, yes.
Steve Steves
2:37
Who do you think will be involved in the biggest trade this offseason?
Steve Adams
2:37
Francisco Lindor
CJ
2:38
Will Ke'Bryan Hayes ever hit enough to become a star?  Seems like most projections have him around .270 ave, 10 HR, 70RBIs and around 10-15SB.  That isn't a bad player, but does he have another level in him to hit for more power?
Steve Adams
2:40
Hayes logged a .306 ISO and pretty much led the planet in hard-hit rate, exit velocity and barrel rate after his recall. Five homers, seven doubles and two triples in just 95 PAs. Yes, it's only 95 PAs, but that's at least evidence enough to suggest that there's more pop there than the scouting reports that put his raw power at 50 otherwise indicated.
MLB Fan
2:40
Don't forget that the Cards also traded Luke Voit for two relievers.
Steve Adams
2:40
It has been a rough few years of trades for the Cardinals, yes.
Thankfully, they also churn out random, out-of-the-blue big league regulars from thin air on a near annual basis.
John
2:41
Would you all ever consider a podcast?
Steve Adams
2:43
We did a podcast for a couple years back in 2015-16. It was a lot of fun but a pretty substantial investment of our time, and our listenership plateaued at a certain point. I think we'd consider it again down the road, but this obviously isn't the best time for significant new financial undertakings for a site/business such as ours, and rebooting the podcast would be that.

If you like, you can scroll through the archives here and listen:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/mlb-trade-rumors-podcast

I'm not positive, but I imagine all the old episodes are probably on Stitcher, iTunes, etc.
Astros Fan
2:44
What is your take on the Lunhow interview that aired last night locally in Houston?  Do you agree with him deflecting a lot of the blame?  He was very politically in saying it was ultimately my fault and responsibility to know but he seemed to throw AJ under the bus in my opinion.
Steve Adams
2:44
I haven't had a full 40 minutes to sit down and take it in yet, but I plan to do so this afternoon.
silverfox1138
2:45
Do the Dodgers keep any of Kike, Joc, or Turner?
Steve Adams
2:46
Maybe Turner, but Hernandez and Joc feel a bit superfluous there. Not to say they're bad players or anything -- both are useful -- but it's not the Dodgers' style to pay top-of-market prices for those types of players.

Maybe you could say they did that when they signed AJ Pollock, but that felt more like they saw the chance to get a guy who, had been healhty, might've been a Lorenzo Cain/Dexter Fowler level contract (5/80) at a substantial discount.
Me
2:47
Who's your underdog team that's gonna surprise everyone next year?
Steve Adams
2:48
That's kind of hard to say without knowing what all 30 clubs are going to do this winter, but the Mariners are probably a little closer than people think. I also don't think the D-backs are anywhere near as bad as they played in 2020.
Michael
2:48
Are the Blue Jays a realistic fit for players such as Justin Turner, Michael Brantley, and George Springer? All would fill existing holes and Toronto should have plenty of $ to spend
Steve Adams
2:48
There is not a free agent this winter who I don't consider the Blue Jays a realistic fit for. Trevor Bauer, George Springer, etc. includd.
included*
Pole question
2:49
Pole question. Rays or Dodgers world champs?
Steve Adams
2:49
We did this on the site yesterday and it was like 50-50 with more than 11k votes!
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/10/mlbtr-poll-who-will-win-the-wor...

But we can see if this smaller subset of MLBTR readers feels differently -- sure! One sec
2:50
Who's winning the World Series?
Rays (53.4% | 221 votes)
 
Dodgers (46.6% | 193 votes)
 
Total Votes: 414
Guillermo
2:50
Why do you guys not use my question
Steve Adams
2:50
More than 1k people asking questions at the moment. This probably wasn't the one you wanted answered, haha, sorry.
Rube Abedin
2:51
Do you see a lot of 1 year deals for FAs this offseason? Especially with all of the lost revenue by the owners?
Steve Adams
2:52
Yeah there will be a deluge of one-year deals, in part fueled by non-tenders. That will lead to a deluge of minor league deals for guys who deserve better, as well. And the one-year avalanche will also flood next year's market, and so on and so forth. It's a very bad time to be a mid-tier free agent or someone hoping for a lucrative bounceback deal.
There'll be some of those, still, of course. But not like we're accustomed to.
Shane
2:52
Semien no choice but to take a one year "make good" deal with Oakland?
Steve Adams
2:53
Doesn't have to take it with the A's. You could argue he'd be better served taking it in a more hitter-friendly setting or somewhere with a new coaching staff/data team that might help him rediscover his 2019 form.
2:54
Also don't think a two-year deal is out of the question, but if you're him, and your choices are to take like 2/24 or 1/15, it's hard not to bet on yourself.
He already has a pretty nice chunk of career earnings, and even he got hurt on a one-year deal, there'd still be a smaller one-year pact out there next winter.
Marcus
2:55
Semien make sense in Philly?
Steve Adams
2:55
I can buy that, sure. Cincinnati, too. Also with the Halos (ducks from A's fans throwing rocks)
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