JotCast | Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/18/25

Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/18/25

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Steve Adams

1:25

If you're asking for fantasy purposes, I'd take Puk since he's just the better reliever. That might mean he's used more in fireman fashion and called upon in critical 7th/8th inning spots, though, while Martinez gets the clean frame in the ninth.

I know the Snakes like to have a set closer, but I think both guys will probably get save chances this year. It's a nice late-inning pairing to have.

Adam

1:26

Did the As make the right choice sending down Ruiz? Seems to me they could use his skills

Steve Adams

1:28

He's hit poorly in parts of three MLB seasons, totaling nearly 600 PAs, and hit even worse than his career marks this spring. If he were a lights-out defender in center maybe you use him as a fourth OF, but that's not even the case. Getting him regular work in CF in AAA to try to bolster his defensive chops make sense to me, because the present-day version of him doesn't feel much like a big leaguer. And I say that as someone who was a lot more bullish on him than many critics a couple years ago.

Jack Lazorko

1:29

Did the Angels fleece the Red Sox in the Garcia trade last year? Zeferjahn will probably will in the bullpen, Lugo will probably get called up sometime this year and Kavadas raked in thr Arizona Fall League.

Steve Adams

1:32

Kavadas struck out at a 34% clip as a 25-year-old in his third run through Triple-A last year. I don't think he's a viable hitter in the majors. But in general, I'd rather have Zeferjahn and Lugo than Garcia, and I was surprised at the bulk the Red Sox gave up, even though everyone involved had red flags and lacked too much ceiling.

Even Zeferjahn, who's been pretty good, has a long history of spotty command and is already 27.

1:33

So, "fleece" seems strong, but yeah, Angels are looking pretty good on the back of that one

Guest

1:33

You’ve been skeptical about Spencer Jones helping the Yankees any time soon due to his high strikeout rate last year at AA. But he has continued to show the tools in Spring Training . While the Aaron Judge comparisons may be overdone, Judge didn’t exactly overwhelm in the minors, just good enough to show potential.

Steve Adams

1:34

Jones fanning 13 times in 29 spring plate appearances isn't doing anything to change my thoughts on him. Really fun speed/power/size combination. I still don't think he's going to hit enough. I honestly hope I'm wrong, because I enjoy unicorn players like that. Who doesn't?

Bruce

1:35

Lack of depth for Braves is scary. They are very thin all around and didn't acquire one solid IF to back up or replace Arcia. Given last year's injury-plagued season, they are playing with fire and hoping they have enough starting pitching and bench. Is avoiding the tax really more important than winning?

Steve Adams

1:39

In general I agree that I think they're walking a fine line with respect to their infield/outfield depth (or lack thereof). The pitching depth is nice, though, and the totality of their lineup is quite impressive. A closely-bunched series of injuries in the lineup would really hurt them, as Nacho Alvarez is pretty much their only infield depth with any real upside, but I still like the team as a whole, even if it's topheavy.

I imagine they expect to be in the running come July and address any glaring needs via trade then, which is a decent way to approach it.

Drake Baldwin

1:40

Am I the opening day starter? What happens when Murphy comes back? What would a longer term picture look like..post 2025 season??

Steve Adams

1:40

Yes to the starter on Opening Day. If he's hitting when Murphy's back, you just give them a roughly even split of time behind the plate. I don't think it's a huge issue. Teams are increasingly trending toward lighter/more even catching workloads anyhow.

Nick

1:41

Thoughts on Spencer Strider's new beard?

Steve Adams

1:41

More focused on how ridiculously impressive he was in his return to the mound, but as a bearded human myself, I approve.

Legends

1:41

Should there be concern for the injury to Jung Hoo Lee?

Steve Adams

1:42

Some, sure, but we have no way of knowing how much until the MRI comes back. They've been pretty vague, which you can choose to read as ominous or you can choose to read as them basically saying "Yup, we don't know anything right now either so let's just see how it looks"

Sounds like they'll have an update today

Chris H

1:43

Can the "player to be named later" be someone who is currently on the 40-man roster for Team A, but has no options remaining and Team B wants to wait until the player has potentially cleared waivers and is sent to the minors (as Team B would not want to expose that player and potentially lose them) or is it based on the players status when the original deal was made? Example: Angels and Braves - Perdomo with the PTBNL being Kingery after/if he clears waivers.

Steve Adams

1:43

A PTBNL can't be someone on the 40-man roster.

Allen

1:44

Webb wins the CY this year

Steve Adams

1:44

Seems totally viable to me. Logan Webb is great.

Ivylander

1:44

How do the O's manage the coming position battle between Rutschman and Basallo? Easy answer is to move Basallo to 1st, but that creates a logjam with Mountcastle there. Is there a way of resolving it withour trading anyone?

Steve Adams

1:46

Mountcastle is a free agent after the 2026 season. If Basallo is really forcing things, they can trade him. And if Mountcastle's 2025 looks like his 2024, he might just be non-tendered. He was a solid hitter, but he'd be looking at an arb raise into the $9-10MM range, and if he's "just" a short-side 1B with offense that's like 5-10% better than average, I don't think that's an automatic tender.

can't get enuf pitching

1:47

Who is the top FA starting pitcher available now?

Steve Adams

1:47

Kyle Gibson?

ZacharyA

1:48

Will the Guardians end up DFAing Triston McKenzie? He's been bad in AAA and MLB the last two years, he's had a rough spring, he's out of options, and he's not needed in the bullpen.

Steve Adams

1:48

At this point, can't rule it out. I think someone would probably trade for him. Could also just find a reason to put him on the injured list and hope he straightens things out a bit over a rehab assignment.

Krall y'all

1:49

Is Alexis Diaz on the trade block? Does he have any value?

Steve Adams

1:51

At this point, no, though back at the Winter Meetings in Dallas I had a couple people at least suggest that he was quasi-"out there" ... not necessarily being shopped but they'd listen on him. Walking five of the 18 guys he's faced this spring (and hitting another) isn't doing his value any favors.

James

1:51

Do the Marlins still need to add payroll to avoid a grievence?

Steve Adams

1:52

They're nowhere close to the level they're supposed to be at. Ken Rosenthal wrote about it again this morning at The Athletic. They'll likely claim the revenue-sharing was allocated to things like constructing their new academy in the Dominican and building out the front office staff, but I doubt the MLBPA is going to buy that, especially with multiple prior revenue-sharing grievances still standing.

Taijuan Walker

1:54

What team will I be on opening day? My velo is up this spring and so far I’m feeling good

Steve Adams

1:54

the Phillies

1:55

Am I okay rolling out a rotation that includes Kumar Rocker and Jack Leiter until one of Gray/Bradford comes back?

Steve Adams

1:57

Could plug Dunning back in there or select Adrian Houser, who's had a decent spring as an NRI. I think Leiter has just forced his way into the mix regardless by now, but if you want to say Kumar needs more time in AAA and that they should give Dunning or Houser some early starts in his stead, I can buy it. Leiter and Rocker probably both start 10+ games apiece this season anyway (more than that for Leiter, right now, if I'm guessing ... which I suppose I am, ha)

Rober Suarez

1:58

Do you see him being traded? Which team has the most capital To pull it off and who do you think they would need to trade to get him?

Steve Adams

1:58

At this point, no. I think it'd have happened by now. And as I've said in the past, I don't think it's really a situation where you need to be looking at who has the best farm; I don't think Suarez's value is all that high because of the opt-out on his contract.

Better Year

1:59

Verlander or Scherzer?

Steve Adams

1:59

Who has the better 2025 season?

Justin Verlander (56.2% | 81 votes)

Max Scherzer (43.8% | 63 votes)

Total Votes: 144

2nd place guy

2:00

Is the FA contest over or the full regular season start date?