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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/11/25
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Steve Adams
1:31
I don't think that as of right now, any of the five AL East teams is an afterthought. Any of them could plausibly contend.
Insurance
1:32
I believe I read tha tthe Yankees' insurance policy on Cole covers 75%.
Steve Adams
1:32
Buster Olney wrote that insurance policies of this nature "usually" or "often" over around 75%, but every policy is of course different. I haven't seen anything specific on Cole's just yet.
Athletics
1:34
If the A’s made a bigger upgrade at 3B this offseason, would that have affected your view on their chances? Or still 4th place in the AL West regardless?
Steve Adams
1:36
If they had a better 3B than Urshela/Urias, of course that makes you feel better about them. I still think the A's are a pretty decent pick if you're looking for a surprise club. They need Severino/Springs/Sears to stay healthy and one young arm to step up, but I really like Butler and Rooker. Bleday is a good hitter at this point. (Defensively, yikes, get him  out of CF) Langeliers has power. Soderstrom can hit some. Nick Kurtz is coming. Jacob Wilson is interesting. The bullpen has some nice arms even beyond Mason Miller and Jose Leclerc.
Robertson to Rangers?
1:37
Hi Steve. What do you think are the chances of the Rangers signing David Robertson? Perhaps his asking price has gone down and maybe they could do a backloaded 2 year deal?
Steve Adams
1:37
Slim to none. Backloaded two-year deal wouldn't impact the luxury tax, which is based on  average annual value
Guardians of the Galaxy
1:39
What does Cleveland do with Tristan McKenzie? He is out of options and still looks shaky on the mound. There are other starting options for the 5th spot showing well in ST including lefties Nikhazy and Allen. Do they try him in long relief, start him on the injured list with a fabricated injury or try and trade him?
Steve Adams
1:43
I listed McKenzie as one of 10 out-of-options players to track this spring largely for these reasons:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/10-out-of-options-players-mlb-s...

It's hard for me to see a contending club going with him in the fifth spot when he's been so shaky. I did see he was averaging around 93.5 mph in his last spring start, which would be a huge jump from last year's 91.1 mph. Maybe that's encouraging enough to give him one final chance?

Logan Allen has clearly outpitched him, small sample notwithstanding. They'll probably keep him in the name of preserving depth, but if I'm a team like the A's, Marlins, Rockies ... I'm trying to get McKenzie out of there and hoping I can hit it big for the next three seasons.
A’s
1:44
What is Esteury Ruiz role this season? He really didn’t play much and wa blocked and I still don’t see a roster spot for him.
Steve Adams
1:45
I think he'll be a fourth outfielder. He's definitely been surpassed on the OF depth chart by Bleday and Butler. Maybe he can hit/run his way into a larger role in LF, but it seems the organization's view on him has soured, yeah.
Cj James
1:45
Best middle reliever still available?
Steve Adams
1:45
Phil Maton?
Cards fan
1:45
Ryan Helsley and Ivan Herrera for Samuel Basallo and Heston Kjerstad. Who says no? Is it even a conversation starter?
Steve Adams
1:45
Not for the Orioles it isn't.
Minors teams
1:46
Why the heck is there no team in Hawaii? That would be so cool!
Steve Adams
1:46
Travel/logistical nightmare.
1:48
Sorry had to take a quick phone call
Why'd 8 Y/O Me Pick The White Sox
1:48
Schultz, Smith, Thorpe the future of the rotation -- seems like we have something going? or will we ship Schultz to Boston in 4 years for a haul like we're oh so good at...
Steve Adams
1:51
White Sox have a nice collection of arms, but for every homegrown Mariners staff that's the envy of baseball, there are 10 other teams who were excited about a trio or quartet of young arms and seen only 1-2 of them pan out (or, in many cases, none of them).

Pitching prospect attrition is brutal. Five years ago, Matt Manning/Casey Mize/Tarik Skubal were the future of the Tigers, and Skubal was the third-best. The Marlins had more pitching than anyone could wrap their heads around.

We'll see how it all shakes out. Nothing against any of those Sox arms individually, but banking on large collections of minor league pitchers is just generally a good way to get your heart broken.
Joe
1:51
Is Colson Montgomery the starting shortstop for the White Sox?
Steve Adams
1:51
They just optioned him to AAA, so not on Opening Day he's not.
By the end of the season, yeah
Ed
1:53
Why does it seem “mainstream” baseball people love Bohm . The dude finally posted an above 2 fwar season last year yet he had a 98 wrc+ fwar from may to the end of the season last year. The guy isn’t good
Steve Adams
1:55
He doesn't strike out a ton, has some power and hits in the middle of a stacked lineup, leading to good counting stats. People who prefer more traditional baseball card numbers are of course going to like the guy a lot. I think he's useful in a more limited role, can hit lefties well and play both infield corners. I don't like him as an everyday 3B, but I get why some people do, even if I don't share that belief
Montgomery
1:55
Will I be able to salvage my AZ reputation or will go down in history alongside Russ Ortiz, Madison Bumgarner and Shelby Miller?
Steve Adams
1:56
Monty is a decent enough rebound guy. I'm always a bit more lenient with pitchers who missed huge portions of spring training or, in Montgomery's case -- all of it.

And hey, the D-backs signed Shelby Miller to a minor league deal! Maybe he can write a new legacy there.
Smallballs
1:56
What about O's beating the Yankees to a starter (Cease, Alcantra, etc) to get an even greater pole position to the AL pennant?
Steve Adams
1:56
The O's needed more impactful starting pitching all winter and after a run at keeping Corbin Burnes never seemed to pursue it. I'd be surprised.
Mackenzie Gore
1:57
Can I take another step forward this year?
Steve Adams
2:00
I'm probably a bigger Gore fan than most. Love the velo, the swinging-strike rate has continued to creep up, doesn't give up tons of hard contact. I don't think he's going to drop to a sub-3.00 ERA guy, but if he jumps from 3.90 to 3.50 or 3.40, I won't be at all surprised.
Marco Luciano
2:00
Whats with me? The previous regime did use me effectively. Either play me or not and stop shoveling me back and forth and changing my roles. The only solution I see is a trade.
Steve Adams
2:02
The hit tool has always been suspect and it never really improved in the upper minors. He struck out at a 37% clip back in High-A and has continued to post huge K% marks at every level as he's climbed the system. I just don't think he's going to make enough contact to be a big league regular. Maybe you can blame that on the former regime, but you can go back to scouting reports from when he was like 16-18 years old that caution about his swing-and-miss tendencies.
Alex Anthopoulos
2:04
What do the Braves do with their catching situation once Murphy comes back from injury and if Baldwin is raking it in the majors?
Steve Adams
2:05
Keep Baldwin in the majors and let him and Murphy split time. Most clubs do something closer to like a 60-40 or even 50-50 split in terms of playing time these days anyhow.
Adam T
2:05
Is there a trade match between the Yankees (Stroman) and the Reds (3B)? Maybe less so with the Yanks' declining rotation depth but still
Steve Adams
2:06
Three weeks ago I'd have said Candelario/Stroman made some sense on paper. Now, with the Yankees losing Cole for the year and Gil for probably close to half the season, they need Stroman
Aaron
2:07
Does SS Sebastian Walcott debut for the Rangers this season? SS Corey Seager and 3B Josh Jung have extensive injury histories and UT Josh Smith could be spending a lot of time in the outfield.
Steve Adams
2:08
He's 18 (well, 19 this weekend) and has all of five games above A-ball. Maybe a late-season look, but I don't think he's going to be up for regular playing time before that.
2:10
I've got to call it this week. I'm on X @Adams_Steve if you have more questions.

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