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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/31/20
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Regarding the Castillo trade
3:53
How often do you think some orgs get in the mindset of "let's get something" for player X because we see something they don't like and wind up selling low. Like the Mets trading Kazmir.
Steve Adams
3:54
I think the prevalence of that style of thinking has decreased as GMs and front offices have become increasingly data-driven, but it's still out there to an extent. I can't help but wonder if there was some of that with the Indians' willingness to shop Francisco Mejia -- concerns about his glove have existed for a long time -- and the Padres' decision to trade Luis Urias before he ever really got a chance there.
John
3:55
With the player Gleyber Torres has become, do you think anyone in the Cubs' FO secretly regrets giving him up for a half-season rental of Chapman? I know it ended the streak, but if Maddon hadn't mismanaged his 'pen, I think they could have won regardless, while Torres would have kept the window open longer.
Steve Adams
3:56
I think they're lucky that they won, because the only real defense of the move is "flags fly forever." Generally, I agree that they could've possibly won that series without Chapman; they've sort of molded the narrative to indicate that it was the only way they'd have won, but I'm reluctant to accept that line of thinking.
Cove Dweller
3:56
While the Marlins turned Castillo in for Rea, Bobby Evans and the Giants gave up Castillo for Casey McGehee.
Steve Adams
3:58
That swap was still made when Brian Sabean was the top baseball ops guy in the department and Evans was an AGM
Bobby still played a role in the deal, I'm sure, but you can't lay that one solely at his feet. Still -- not a good look, agreed, haha
Mr Roctober
3:59
How did the White Sox get so much pitching talent (Giolito/Lopez/Dunning) from the Nationals for Adam Eaton?  I understood the returns for Sale and Quintana, but was surprised (pleasantly) by what the Sox got for Eaton.
Steve Adams
4:02
Buying five years of an above-average regular who is paid at less than half the going market rate for his abilities is always going to be costly. Eaton had three years and just under $20MM on his deal at the time -- plus two club options that topped out at $18.5MM. There's a huge amount of surplus value there. He hasn't been nearly as good for the Nats, but a couple of good seasons out of him could keep it from being too lopsided
At this point I don't have much hope for Reynaldo Lopez as a starter -- curious to see him in the 'pen -- and the jury is of course still out on Dunning.
4:03
Giolito has me mostly convinced that he's a high-end rotation piece, though. (Speaking of guys whose former organizations seemed to give up on them and move them before the industry also soured)
Carole Did It
4:03
Early thoughts on the Kelenic/Cano deal
Steve Adams
4:05
I was aghast at the time of the deal and it only looks worse now. One of the most immediately and decidedly "are you kidding me?" reactions I can remember having to a trade -- and that was when I was expecting Diaz to continue pitching like a top-tier reliever
Plz come back Baseball
4:05
The Shelby Miller trade to be one of the most lopsided trades in history. Trading your #1 overall pick less than a year after picking him. Was it more of a win-now move for AZ or did they see something in Dansby they didn't like after drafting him?
Steve Adams
4:05
This was another of the "Wait what? Seriously?" reactions, ha
4:07
I remember, in reply to a separate deal (Touki Toussaint), Dave Stewart saying (paraphrased) "We paid Touki Toussaint $2.7MM when we drafted him. That's how we value him"

That's a staggeringly incorrect way of looking at player value, particularly given the way in which teams had shown their willingness to pay for high-quality amateur talent in international free agency
4:08
Draftees would make exponentially more if simply declared free agents; I hope Stewart was merely posturing and trying to save face, but that is a terrible look all the same, and it makes me question whether they were properly valuing other young pieces (i.e. Swanson, Inciarte, Blair)
Buddy
4:10
Doyle Alexander for John Smoltz
Steve Adams
4:11
Yeah it's tough to overstate how bad that deal was. I was 3 at the time, I think, so I certainly can't speak to the reaction at the time, but talk about a historically bad deal
CHISOX FAN
4:11
Tatis for Shields. Woe is us.
Steve Adams
4:12
That's one of those that looks worse with hindsight; Tatis Jr. wasn't regarded anywhere near as highly then as he was in later years coming through the Padres' system. You can't really say the move was defensible at the time -- merely thinking that buying some of Shields' terrible contract would bail out the team was a flawed notion in its very concept -- but no one was all that high on Tatis at the time of the deal.
Blue Faced
4:15
There is always Pedro for Delino!
Brodie Jr.
4:15
Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen..
Steve Adams
4:15
Yeah there are some horrible, horrible deals that have been made, haha.
4:16
Maybe we'll run through a list of the 10 worst from each decade for one of Jeff's videos or something, ha.
Anyhow, I've got to wrap up for the week. This was a fun change of pace from usual chats -- maybe next week we'll talk theoretical 2020-21 free agents?
4:17
You can remind me of more terrible trades and discuss them on Twitter: @Adams_Steve. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of your week, everyone
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