JotCast | Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/9/20

Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/9/20

Steve Adams

1:58

Greetings! Kindly ignore that the date on this chat is listed as 3/9/20 -- it usually takes me a good six months to actually adjust to a year change.

Hopefully by July I can stop catching the number of times I write "during the 2020 season" and have to change it before publishing something.

Henry

1:59

Yo! How does everyone feel about the #Tigers offseason?

Steve Adams

2:02

We'll have a review up for them in the coming weeks -- I think Connor is writing that one.

Generally speaking, nothing they did seems particularly silly, but I'd rather have seen them prioritize upside with their signings. Grossman probably elevates their floor, and Urena as well, but I don't think either is going to be someone who has some surprise breakout or turns into a major trade chip. If you're going to bring in a one-year veteran to add to the rotation, outbid the field for James Paxton. Even if ownership won't green-light that level of spending, there are guys with some more ceiling who signed at a comparable rate to Urena (Aaron Sanchez, for instance).

I'd have liked to have seen them add to the 'pen as well. Guess they still could grab Shane Greene or one of the few passable relievers left out there.

Jedd

2:02

What’s a Gyorko gotta do to get signed out here?

Steve Adams

2:03

I'm a little baffled that he's unsigned, unless there's some kind of injury we don't know about. I wrote about him and Shane Greene in an email piece for our Front Office subscribers yesterday.

Solid hitter, playable enough at three infield spots (and passable at SS in a pinch if need be)... he'd make a lot of clubs better.

Big red 1

2:03

Is Buck Farmer really going to be the Reds starting snortstp

Steve Adams

2:04

Buck Farmer is a setup man for the Tigers.

Kyle Farmer might see significant time at SS for the Reds, yes, but I feel like they're going to give Dee Strange-Gordon a shot.

Jason

2:04

Was the Trent Grisham trade already a mistake for the brewers? or Do Urias and Lauer have a chance to be good and it's too early to judge

Steve Adams

2:05

Luis Urias was one of the most highly regarded infield prospects in baseball for 2-3 years and is still only 23. Lauer seems like a fifth starter.

Craig

2:06

What are the chances Bobby Witt Jr. makes the Royals opening day roster?

Steve Adams

2:06

Zero? He hasn't even played a game of A-ball yet. Fun to see his tools on display this spring, still.

Baseball Fan

2:07

Any resolution on the universal DH?

Steve Adams

2:07

I don't expect there to be one.

2:09

To be clear -- and we've probably contributed to this -- the term "resolution" is misleading in this context. There's no outstanding issue here. The standing CBA has a set of rules in it, which doesn't include the universal DH. The league has tried to get the MLBPA to negotiate on that front, but there's no real impetus for the union to do so.

Story/Bryant

2:10

Who is more likely to be playing for a new team by 8/1?

Steve Adams

2:10

Story. Rockies are going to be buried in that division. Cubs can compete.

o's

2:11

over / under 115 WRC+ for anthony santander

Steve Adams

2:12

I'd take the under, though I think it's fair to expect it to fall right in that range. He doesn't walk enough for his OBP to help out the overall production much, and I obviously don't think he can sustain last year's .314 ISO.

Framber's Finger

2:12

Do you really think I'll miss the whole season?

Steve Adams

2:16

I believe it's possible, sure. If the finger is fractured at multiple spots, including at the base where it meets the hand, that can be pretty cumbersome to recover from. I broke my left pinkie finger in that spot last year -- doctors said with or without surgery it'd be six months before I had full strength back in that hand. Obviously I'm no professional athlete and don't have a renowned staff of physical therapists and trainers working with me, but I think people generally hear "broken finger" and assume it's minor, when there are varying extents of recovery based on the location, the severity of the fracture and the number of fractures.

Jim

2:16

Manfred: We'd like the universal DH, please.
Clark: OK
Sometimes life can be simple if you allow it to be.

Steve Adams

2:17

If the league came to the union and said "Hey let's just add this," maybe they'd talk. But the league is dangling the universal DH like it's some kind of bargaining chip and trying to use it as part of a package to get expanded playoffs in place, which is silly when both parties want the DH

2:18

"We'll give you this thing we both want if you give us this thing that we super badly, desperately want" is a pretty weak negotiating tactic

verlander

2:18

do i play any games this season?

Steve Adams

2:19

He didn't have his Tommy John surgery until late September. It wouldn't be unprecedented for him to make it back in 11 or 11.5 months, but I strongly doubt he pitches in 2021.

Mr KLC

2:19

Verlander, Valdez, and Whitley are out. Do the Astros continue looking for more starting pitching depth?

Steve Adams

2:20

The Odorizzi deal took up basically all of their breathing room with regard to the luxury tax. They could try to trade a reliever and sign Trevor Cahill to a cheap deal or something, I suppose. Probably more likely that they look for ways to acquire some pre-arbitration players with minor league options remaining ... viable depth arms who hit waivers or are long shots to make their team's current roster.

Shane Greene

2:21

What’s the hold up for my free agency?

Steve Adams

2:23

I would think there was a disconnect between the contract he sought based on three sub-3.00 ERAs in four seasons and the manner in which teams probably view him (likelier to post a 3.50 to 4.00 and more reliant on weak contact than on strikeouts).

I still expect that he'll be joining a big league team's bullpen pretty soon.

Jack

2:24

Did the poor optics of the Arenado trade hinder the Cardinals chances from making a run at Story or future trades with the Rockies?

Steve Adams

2:25

I don't see why their future dealings would be impacted, no.

Connor⚾️

2:25

I never get answered here but I’m gonna try again do u think the rangers add anyone else?

Steve Adams

2:25

They were a sensible spot for a reliever even before Hernandez got hurt. Wouldn't be shocked to see them add Greene or roll the dice on David Robertson -- something like that.

Adrian Houser

2:26

Why do the analytics love me? I don’t really pass the eye test

Steve Adams

2:28

He threw 111 innings with a 3.72 ERA in 2019 -- it's not like he's a guy who hasn't had any success. Even in last year's poor season, he had a 94 mph sinker with one of baseball's best ground-ball rates and a better-than-average walk rate. You can find plenty to like about Houser before you even dive into the low spin on his sinker (which is good for a sinker, unlike a four-seamer) or the bottom-of-the-scale exit velocity hitters post against him.

Rangers29

2:28

Odor with a big bounce back year this year. .OBP of .325 or better (which is good for him). Slugging north of .475. You buying?

Steve Adams

2:29

I am not.

John

2:29

Orioles sneaky good? Sneaky good meaning 75 wins?

Steve Adams

2:29

Not with that pitching staff, I don't think so.