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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 12/21/21
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Braves Dbacks trade
2:19
Did you just REMEMBER that trade? Or did you look it up somehow? I must know your sorcery.
Steve Adams
2:20
Ha, I remembered them circumventing the Comp Balance rules and remembered it involved Trevor Cahill. I did not recall that it was for Victor Reyes, so I just quick googled to pull up the old MLBTR post on the Braves getting that comp balance pick from Arizona.
I've been doing this full-time for nearly 9 years now. My brain is a font of mostly useless trade factoids!
Opt outs
2:21
Any talk of these being adjusted by the CBA?
Steve Adams
2:22
Adjusted in what way? As in eliminated? I don't see why they would be. Conceptually, it's similar to team options and whatnot.
Troll toll
2:22
Is Bednar a realistic trade target for the angels? Could a package around Jordyn Adams work?
Steve Adams
2:23
I don't think the Pirates would be anxious to move Bednar. He's controlled through 2026. They have to be in "We'll listen on anyone" mode, but it'd take a pretty meaningful prospect package. Adams could be a part of that, sure, but he's not going to be a headline piece in that deal coming off a terrible 2021 season in High-A.
Chuck Norris
2:24
Would you pick Wil Myers or the Mystery Box? The mystery box is either  Eric Hosmer or Jake Cronenworth
Steve Adams
2:24
I love this. Give me the mystery box! Chance at a free Cronenworth!
Trog
2:25
Thoughts on getting rid of local blackout restrictions of MLB games? Cable providers and streaming services are dropping regional networks ... yet services like MLBTV do not allow local fan access, which defeats the purpose.
Steve Adams
2:27
The MLB blackouts are nonsense and should've been done away with years ago. The craziest thing is that fans in Iowa, who don't even have an MLB team, are blacked out from viewing like 4-5 teams (Cubs, Cardinals, Twins, White Sox, etc.)

This has been perhaps the No. 1 complaints among fans for years, and the league has done nothing to address it despite always claiming to have the fans' best interest in mind.
The Ghost of Nuke LaLoosh
2:28
"A boat is a boat, but the mystery box could be anything! It could even be a boat!" - Peter Griffin
Steve Adams
2:28
Wise words.
Serge
2:29
What is the most improved team this offseason (so far)?
Steve Adams
2:30
Hard to say it's not the Rangers, though that's in part because the bar was SO low. The Mets have improved, but they're also losing Baez, Conforto, Stroman, so they had a bit of work to do just to get back to where they were in the first place.
Mariner Moose
2:30
Is Abraham Toro an everyday player?
Steve Adams
2:31
I think he absolutely can be. I've been a Toro fan for awhile now. But with the Mariners already adding Adam Frazier and still looking for infield help, I think it's possible he's used in more of an oft-used bench piece floating between 2B, 3B, DH, etc.
Phillies
2:32
Outlook for Bohm?
Steve Adams
2:35
Traded to the A's in a Matt Chapman deal?

(Kidding ... kind of, ha. It's a good framework for a trade, in my opinion, though other pieces need to be added)

I like Bohm and think he'll be able to hit his way into sticking at 3B for awhile, but his general approach at the plate needs work still. He increased his swing rates across the board in '21, decreased his contact rates -- especially on pitches within the strike zone. He just found himself hitting with two strikes a LOT, which isn't a good recipe for success, obviously.
Daniel
2:35
I think DeJong for Odorizzi would be a great trade for both sides. What do you think?
Steve Adams
2:38
Yeah I think there's some merit to a deal like that. Broadly speaking, as I wrote for our Front Office subscribers this week, I think Odorizzi is a pretty obvious trade candidate post-lockout. Deal sending him back to Minnesota makes sense, too. Mets make sense. Jays have had interest in him in the past. So many teams need arms, there should be interest.

DeJong/Odo lines up decently and helps both teams out, arguably. Would give STL six starters, but that's not a bad thing for them given the injury concerns on the current staff (easing Dakota Hudson back from TJ, Miles Mikolas barely pitching the past two seasons, etc.0
Likeliest to unlikeliest
2:39
Kimbrel for Kiermaier, Segura or McNeil?
Steve Adams
2:42
I love Kimbrel-for-Kiermaier conceptually. I wrote about that concept at the beginning of the offseason. Rays are basically getting an elite-potential reliever by taking on $4MM extra in salary, and they have the OF depth to lose Kiermaier and still field an elite defense. Kimbrel is a project, but the Rays have good success with projects, and this caliber of arm is rarely available to them.

I don't think Segura for Kimbrel definitively makes the Phillies better, and I don't imagine they love the idea of spending $26MM on two relievers.

I like McNeil as a bounceback candidate enough that I wouldn't trade three years of him to roll the dice on Kimbrel
Giddyup Gus
2:43
Who's this year's Freddy Peralta?
Steve Adams
2:43
Triston McKenzie?
Bushwick Bill
2:43
Is Mickey Moniak a potential "change of scenery" target or has his first overall pick luster completely run out?
Steve Adams
2:44
He's a change of scenery guy, for sure. The Phillies aren't going to make him their CF, nor should they given the team's expectations, but he's young with a decent minor league track record ... no reason for a team with OF needs and lower postseason expectations not to take a chance on him. Cost wouldn't be huge.
To your point on that 1-1 luster, though, no one is parting with a major piece to get Moniak just because he was the first pick several years ago. The stock is obviously down.
Biff Pocoroba
2:45
Think Andrelton Simmons could be brought back as a utility guy for the Braves?
Steve Adams
2:45
I think he'll still get a more prominent role than that just for the glove. At a much lesser rate than last year's 10.5 though.
Cards Follower
2:46
To add to a previous chatter's question, how about a 3-team trade of DeJong to Houston, Odorizzi to MIN, and Taylor Rodgers to STL?
Steve Adams
2:46
Odorizzi and DeJong are veterans with decent salaries who are no longer clearly wanted by their current teams. That's not at all the case with Rogers. Even with the hand injury, the Twins are giving up the best player in that scenario by a wide margin.
Guest
2:47
What do you think is the change in the next CBA that fans will be most disappointed with?  Personally, I do NOT want to see the playoffs expand any further.  It ruins competitive integrity - it SHOULD be hard to make the playoffs.  Thoughts?
Steve Adams
2:48
Fans will be disappointed with any and all change. You can change the smallest thing in baseball, and a huge portion of the fanbase will act like the sky is falling. It's just how things are.

I do think playoffs will expand -- it's the #1 issue for owners and the best leverage the players have -- and I imagine a lot of fans will hate that. A lot will love it, though.
Shortstops
2:49
Best FA shortstop not named Correa or Story?
Steve Adams
2:49
It drops quick. I'd say Jonathan Villar, but many clubs won't view him as an everyday option at short anymore. Andrelton Simmons and Jose Iglesias after that. Or talk to the Cardinals about a Paul DeJong deal.
Help! I'm locked out!
2:50
Steve,  is Correa really worth 350MM over 19 years? He's good but is he THAT much better than Baez and Semien? Big difference in $$ for a higher batting average and slightly better defense.
Steve Adams
2:52
I assume this is supposed to say 350 over 10?

The gap between Correa and Semien's earnings is partially about Correa being better but also largely about him being younger. Some teams don't view Semien as an above-average defender at shortstop anymore. Most would agree that Correa is among the best defensive shortstops on the planet, so I think you're underselling the defensive gap.

The defensive gap with Baez is much smaller, but Baez is way riskier because he is absolutely allergic to walks and it's much easier to see his bat speed evaporating a bit and him just turning into a legitimately bad hitter.
If Baez had any semblance of an approach at the plate he'd probably have out-earned everyone this winter
MFigueroaJDK
2:52
Dom and Khalil Lee for Manaea?
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