You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 2/25/25
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Steve Adams
1:54
They can be traded at any point but only with their consent -- up until June 15.
1:55
After that, they can be traded freely (barring no-trade provisions, etc)
That applies to players who accept a qualifying offer as well
Steve Cohen
1:55
Did the Mets just pull off a heist? Alexander Canario is only 24. At age 22 he hit 37 homers & had 23 steals. Last year in only 247 at bats in AAA he had 18 homers. Yes he strikes out a lot but so do most sluggers.
Steve Adams
1:57
You're colossally underselling his lack of contact skills. Canario's contact rate in Triple-A was 63.5%. I think you could charitably grade his hit tool at 30 on the 20-80 scale. Might be a 25 or 20 though.

I expect the Mets to DFA him and try to pass him through waivers before the season opens. He's out of options and I can't see any way he makes the team.
Seeing reds
1:58
Feels like the Reds oughta be trying to lock down TySteve
Steve Adams
2:02
Generally agree that he's an important player there, but the asking price might be too great at this point. There aren't many extensions for catchers in this service time bucket in recent years. He's at 4+ and earning nearly $5MM. Can probably loosely pencil him in for $9MMish in 2026. Sean Murphy got about $15MM per free agent year on his extension in  Atlanta.

Do the Reds have it in them to pay, say, 5/60 or 6/75 to extend Stephenson into his mid-30s when they have one of the game's top catching prospects (Alfredo Duno) opening the coming year in High-A? Duno could split this year between High-A/Double-A and the 2026 season between Double-A/Triple-A, putting his MLB trajectory in lockstep with Stephenson's current path to free agency.
2:03
That might be an aggressive timeline for Duno. He's still only 19. But it's not crazy to think he's a MLB option by 2027. Reds could still try to extend Stephenson and shift him to more of a 1B/C/DH hybrid role, but given their perennial payroll limitations, I wonder if that's the area they want to spend. Especially since you know they've got to be hoping to find a way to lock EDLC down long-term.
charlesco
2:04
How much money aprox Robertson has saved representing himself?
Steve Adams
2:05
Not sure, since he was represented by All Bases Covered for a long while -- including when he signed his big free agent deal. He left them amicably, briefly went back to his former agent (Scott Leventhal) and then went back to repping himself. I'm not sure how all of that played out, but David was kind enough to take some time to explain his reasoning behind representing himself in a guest piece for MLBTR several years back:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/10/david-robertson-why-im-represen...
2:07
Oh, and for the record on the Vlad/Tucker poll, I agree with the slight majority and give the nod to Vlad. But, him getting the mega-deal is more contingent on having an elite season in 2025 than it is for Tucker. I think Tucker could go post like a 125 to 130 wRC+ and still cash in huge. I don't think Vlad is getting his $400MM+ or $500MM+ if he has "only" a very good season at the plate. He needs to be in 2021 and 2024 territory again.
Guest
2:07
I know you are tired of this question but how about Trout finally to the Phillies. His years left on his contract and owed money is less than when he signed, he has been hurt so much and has less value to the Angels as a right fielder. He is a huge Eages fan and is from New Jersey.
Steve Adams
2:08
It is indeed a tiring question, due in no small part to the fact that it seems to be borne entirely of that last sentence you included.

There's no realistic scenario where the Angels are trading Trout, and the Phillies have one of the most cluttered long-term payrolls of any team in MLB anyhow, so they wouldn't even be the best fit if he were truly put out there.
Eye of the tiger
2:08
Does Chafin make the Tigers opening day roster?
Steve Adams
2:08
I think so
Oriole Joe
2:09
Do Henderson and/or Adley get an extension or do the O's feel they have sufficient time?
Steve Adams
2:10
Henderson is going to be a Boras-repped 28-year-old free agent. He's a $500MM+ candidate in free agency down the road. Rutschman seems likelier, but he had the huge signing bonus and is now up to $5.5MM in arbitration with two more seasons of eligibility beyond this one. I doubt he's eager to sign coming off a down season.

But, between the two, Rutschman is the likelier candidate.
Tim
2:11
Are the Astros as good this year with the additions and subtractions made?
Steve Adams
2:11
They feel decidedly worse, but that's to be expected in something of a transition year where you traded your best hitter and let a longtime cornerstone walk. They can still compete for the AL West title -- the margin for error and injury is just much slimmer than it's been.
2:12
Scott Effross just left the Yankees' spring game after one pitch. Leg injury, it appears. Guy cannot catch a break.
Bernie Brewer
2:12
Will the Brewers REALLY try to play Durbin & Dunn at 3B? Any chdd as nice they upgrade from that?
Steve Adams
2:12
Mix in some Tyler Black, too
Adam
2:13
if Sasaki is as advertised, can the Dodgers extend him in the offseason/spring? or is that still too soon that it would be deemed an end around?
Steve Adams
2:14
I imagine the league would consider that too quick a turnaround and a circumvention of the international bonus structure, though there's no firm/spelled out timetable for when an extension would be permitted. Joel Wolfe, Sasaki's agent, downplayed the likelihood of him ever signing an extension anyhow back at the Winter Meetings in Dallas
I'll dig up that quote he gave to us, one second
2:15
Wolfe...

"Given that the gap in bonus pool amounts is so negligible, my advice to him is: don’t make decisions based on that. The long-term arc of your career is where you’re going to earn your money, so it’s probably not advisable to make a short-term decision in that regard. Take all the factors into consideration.”

And...

“If he’s really, really good, the leverage would be on our side, so there wouldn’t be much incentive for us to sign a long-term extension.”
Ol' Paw Paw
2:16
Does the deal with Chafin mean the Tigers might dangle one of their good relievers for a RH hand bat off the bench?
Steve Adams
2:16
Think it just means they found a pitcher they clearly like -- they've signed him three times now -- at a price they quite like.
MLP
2:16
Double chats to start the week again?  Has MLBTR created an Iron Man McGinnity Award, and you're trying to lock it in by Opening Day?
Steve Adams
2:17
I chat every Monday for our subscribers and every Tuesday for free on the main site! (Unless I have a scheduling conflict, in which case I try to make that known ahead of time if possible)
RoxTalks
2:17
Should the Rockies have traded Nolan Jones when his value was high following 2023? (I thought they should have). He strikes out a ton, doesn’t hit the ball hard often enough, but he does play a good LF with a huge arm. He seemed like a regression candidate then, and that seems to have come to pass
Steve Adams
2:21
I also thought Jones seemed like a regression candidate, but more for the huge K%. (He has generally solid exit velo, hard-hit, etc. numbers) I think there's a middle ground where he's somewhere between the 2023 and 2024 versions of himself, which is a fine player. If you take those two seasons, he's a .268/.361/.451 hitter. I think you still have to bake in more of a hit to the average/OBP departments, but I can buy him as a slug-over-hit left fielder. It's not a star, but a decent two-win guy, sure.

Perhaps the Rockies should've traded him, but it's not like other clubs aren't going to see the whiffs and BABIP and also recognize the likelihood of regression.

Plus, the Rockies are just loath to trade away players anywhere close to peak value. Yes, you can argue that's foolish. I would agree. It contributes to their annual malaise. But it's how they operate.
Chats
2:21
If you have a conflict does one of your kids fill in?
Steve Adams
2:22
If you ever get a string of unintelligible characters -- more so than in a given week like this one, anyhow -- and/or a deluge of Paw Patrol content, you'll know
Mystery Bidder
2:23
What are the chances that the "robust market" the Twins were talking about a month ago was really a "robust bidder" and there's no one else behind the Ishbia brothers? If there's no other bidder do they take down the For Sale sign for now or let it hang out there indefinitely?
Steve Adams
2:24
I don't have personal insight into this but I know Dan Hayes with The Athletic and know he's great at his job. If he's reported (as he has) that there's a wider body of potential bidders, that's good enough for me to believe there are bidders who simply aren't yet public.
OMG!
2:24
Mariners and Jose a good match?
Steve Adams
2:25
Reasonable enough, but at a certain point I'd just play Ryan Bliss at 2B and wait on Cole Young. I don't think Iglesias has a chance of repeating his 2024 offense, and a move to T-Mobile Park only increases the chances of regression
Byron buxton
2:25
Am I playing Center Field or DH? Is there a chance the Twins trade me?
Steve Adams
2:25
Center field with some time at DH to keep him fresh, and no. He has a full no-trade clause anyway, but no, they're not trading him.
Connecting…