JotCast | Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 5/9/19

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Steve Adams

3:52

Yup

Joe

3:52

The issue with the White Sox is they never pay for pitching. The biggest SP free agent contract the White Sox have ever given out was 4/$20M to Jaime Navarro... (signed from the Cubs in 1996, proceeded to have 3 seasons of 5-6 ERA ball...)

Steve Adams

3:53

They never really pay for any free agent, but they still offered Machado $250MM this winter. It was a weak offer, to be fair, and I find it absurd that they talked such a big game if that was going to be their maximum threshold, but no pitcher next winter will cost anywhere near that.

SunDevil

3:54

The D-Backs seem like a good option for Keuchel. The bottom of the rotation has been poor and they should have some money with their new tv deal and letting all their big name players leave. Agree?

Steve Adams

3:55

They spent most of the offseason cutting major salaries. If they wanted a player they needed to pay $15MM+ -- even on a prorated deal -- they could've just kept Goldschmidt. I don't see it, no. There will be more clear-cut contenders offering him contracts after the draft, as well.

Harvey

3:56

Is Todd Frazier the odd man out when Lowrie returns to the Mets?

Steve Adams

3:56

My (fictional) money is on Keon Broxton.

I spent like 2 hours this morning staring at out-of-options players whose roster spots will be in question in the next month or so if they don't turn things around, and Broxton falls into that category. Something I wrote on that will be on the site this afternoon.

Dtownwarrior78

3:57

Would you say with how their MiLB pitchers are performing that the Tigers could have one of the Top 5 rotations by the year 2022? Mize, Faedo, Manning, Burrows and not to mention Boyd and Turnbull?

Steve Adams

3:59

I would say you should never, ever look at a team's top pitching prospects and project them to all be healthy and in the rotation three years out. It will basically never happen. Pitchers break, they decline rapidly. It will drive you insane.

I do think the Tigers have an extremely promising young crop of arms, headlined by Mize, but the idea of a basically home-grown rotation featuring 4-5 internally developed arms who each hit their ceiling isn't realistic.

Encarnacion

3:59

Have I increased my trade value?

Steve Adams

4:00

Strikeout rate down, walk rate way up from 2018. Looks much more like vintage EE than the decent-but-declining version Cleveland had last year.

(That is a definite yes)

Still don't think too many teams are going to give up a ton for him; but it's gone from "Maybe someone will take his salary" to "Hey they could get a not-terrible prospect or two out of this."

Domboman

4:01

Your thoughts on a DH for the NL

Steve Adams

4:04

I grew up watching AL ball. I find it boring to watch pitchers hit. I think the whole "but strategy!" argument is silly; the game is rife with new, exciting strategy including exaggerated defensive shifts, openers, bullpenning, multi-inning relievers, having every athletic top prospect play 7 different positions, etc.

People who grew up with NL ball have an affection for the specific brand of strategy associated with traditional NL ball. I get that and respect it. But I don't think double-switching is rocket science, and I think there are new, more fun types of strategy based on the overwhelming amount of data we now have.

All of that is to say: if the "best" hitting pitcher in the league over the past half decade is .215/.256/.400 -- no disrespect to MadBum -- yeah give me the universal DH

Milwaukee Brewers

4:04

DeGrom for Hiura, Houser, and F. Peralta?

Steve Adams

4:04

Mets ain't trading deGrom.

Bob

4:05

Dwight Smith Jr a trade chip for the o’s?

Steve Adams

4:07

I don't think so. They can control him for awhile, he's better than some of the other OF options in house, and if they don't buy him as a legitimate OF option moving forward, other teams probably won't either.

I think he's been a nice find for them, and while he's not someone to build around or anything, he's a nice piece to have for now (who could build more value by prolonging his solid showing and proving it more legitimate).

Halos

4:07

Tommy La Stella, that is all.

Steve Adams

4:09

He's been great for them, but it still doesn't seem like the think he can hit lefties. They've only given him 19 PAs against them (and he has one hit). Still a good pickup even if he's just a platoon-y version of Scooter Gennett moving forward. Don't think anyone could've expected this kind of pop out of him.

Just a bunch of Jerks

4:09

Stroman, Giles to minnesota. For a young stud left handed outfielder in a package? Minnesota has there whole outfield signed for like 5 years.

Steve Adams

4:10

Minnesota has Max Kepler signed for seven years. Byron Buxton is controlled for three more. Eddie Rosario for two more.

I do think they'd have interest in some kind of Stroman/Giles type of deal, but if you're saying you want Alex Kirilloff in that swap, they're not doing it.

Dom Smith

4:11

What can the Mets get in a trade for Dom?

Steve Adams

4:13

He's a 1B only with no future playing time in his current org who had a couple good weeks of BABIP-fueled pinch-hitting duties.

I don't know why there are so may stories acting like it's some kind of stunner that he was optioned to AAA, but I don't think he has huge trade value or anything. He's a nice piece for a club with no clear 1B option at the moment, but the free-agent market seems like it'll have decent 1B options available for under $8MM every year for the foreseeable future since they keep getting one-year deals. The Rays just DFA'ed CJ Cron off a 30-homer season because he was going to make $4.5-5.5MM and they felt they could find a cheaper option.

(And they did)

Adam

4:13

Who would win in a 3 point shooting contest, Steve Adams or Steven Adams?

Steve Adams

4:14

How much time to get to spend practicing nothing but three-pointers while he works on being an actual NBA player? Give me like ... 4 years and let's do this.

Ari

4:15

I feel like I am the only person who doesn't know what happened with Jason Martinez (why he is no longer with MLBTR)

Steve Adams

4:17

I doubt it, but it's been addressed in prior chats. The business goals that Tim and Jason set didn't come together after a couple of years -- through no fault of Jason's, to be clear -- and the partnership ended. It was not a contentious split or anything, and everyone here still loves Jason. I'm so glad I got to not only meet him at the Winter Meetings in San Diego a few years back but spend a couple of days hanging out with him. He's someone who I immediately liked and enjoyed hanging out with, and I hope to have a similar opportunity at this year's San Diego meetings.

You can ask Tim in one of his Monday chats -- I don't know the full details, but I know Jason rocks and I'm happy to have worked with him.

Pinocchio

4:18

Turnbull, Kikuchi, Gant? Please rank best to least. No lies, please.

Steve Adams

4:18

Yusei, Turnbull, Gant

Pirates fan

4:18

Do you think the Pirates should sign Ervin Santana?

Steve Adams

4:19

I don't see how that'd do much for them based on what he's shown the past two seasons, but if he's willing to go to Triple-A -- why not? Depth is a good thing.

Wink Martindale

4:20

Montana isn't a name its a state!

Steve Adams

4:20

Tell that to famed archaeologist and action hero Indiana Jones, who I am told was a very real person.

(Or tell it to Dakota Hudson -- kind of)

Micro Manager

4:21

Should Mariners continue to make in season moves and try to get a winning formula or let their core develop and win down the road? I like them going for it personally. Made a MadBum or Kimbrel move would create a spark there?

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