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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 6/17/25
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Steve Adams
8:59
Good morning! We'll get going in a few hours. Going to record a still-somewhat-dumbfounded episode of our podcast with Darragh in a few minutes as we both continue processing the Devers trade.
Feel free to ask questions in advance, and I'll get going at 1pm CT!
12:56
Greetings! Let's get underway
Cletus Van Damme
12:56
What, if anything, do you make of the Devers trade being completed by two recently retired ballplayer execs? Could such front offices perhaps be expected to be more aggressive than the Ivy League types?
Steve Adams
12:58
Breslow may be a former player, but he went to an Ivy League school (Yale) and is by all accounts pretty analytical and data-driven himself. I wouldn't read much into that dynamic here -- though I do think it's pretty telling that Posey in particular has spoken about a desire to get more big names into the Giants organization, add some star power, invigorate the fanbase ... and has since overseen the signing/acquisition of more than a half billion dollars in payroll (Chapman extension, Adames signing, Devers trade)
Sandy
12:58
does the sandy start last night help his value
Steve Adams
1:00
It's three straight impressive starts for Alcantara now: 17 total innings, four runs allowed, 15-to-3 K/BB ratio, 97.7 mph average heater in that time.

Ground-ball rate's not where it was in the past, but if he rattles off another 2-4 starts like this, yeah, teams are going to be increasingly convinced that he's back.
1:01
So, in isolation -- I don't know that one start on its own materially changed his status. But three in a row is certainly moving in the right direction.
Trade Season
1:01
What is the big counter move for the other NL West teams with Devers to SF complete?
Steve Adams
1:02
Today's front offices don't really make counter-moves in this manner -- certainly not the Dodgers and Andrew Friedman. I expect the Dodgers will still try to add between now and July 31, but that'd have been the case with or without Devers going to San Francisco.

I can buy the Padres and AJ Preller having a bit more motivation/urgency, but they also seem pretty limited in terms of payroll capacity and have an extraordinarily top-heavy farm system that's also going to limit their ability to swing a consequential deal.
CY
1:03
The next 9 game stretch for my Rangers determine what I should do at the trade deadline?
Timbo
1:03
Braves have be sellers right?
Puckett
1:03
Will the Twins be sellers or buyers at the deadline
Steve Adams
1:06
Lots of these, and it's boring, but it's true -- most fringe teams won't make that call until a week or so out from the deadline. Even closer to the deadline than that, in most cases.

I don't expect anyone from that group to be aggressive sellers, but the Braves in particular seem like a team that can/should listen on short-term veterans. Only takes one big winning streak to change that, but they're eight under .500 right now with no virtually no path to the division title and a 7.5-game gap in the Wild Card race
Trades
1:06
Does the acquisition of Devers raise the chances of Matt Chapman being dealt in the near future? Did the return for Devers also hurt the 3rd baseman market for sellers?
Steve Adams
1:07
Chapman's in year one of a six-year extension. Devers might play 3B in the short term while Chapman is on the IL, but they're not trading him less than a year after guaranteeing him $151MM.
Seeing reds
1:07
So, big market guys lead most positions for ASG. It’s why I’ve quit watching it. Need to fix this!
Smalls
1:07
The All-Star Game is more of a popularity contest now than it is actually rewarding players who are the best at their respective positions throughout the first half of the season, albeit I understand that the popular guys become popular because they are good. How would you "fix" the All Star game, if you would at all?
Steve Adams
1:09
I stopped caring at all about the All-Star Game a good while ago, largely for these reasons. The advent of social media and mass online voting just rendered it pretty silly. I don't think there's anything to really be done, since it's always been based on fan voting, but at this point I'd call it the "Fans' Choice Game" or something like that rather than All-Star, because it's not really indicative of star level or quality of performance
Kurt the Hurt
1:09
Gleyber Torres is having a great start in Detroit. Should the Tigers try to extend him? Whaat would it take to extend him ?
Steve Adams
1:14
It's a nice start indeed, but basically all of the production -- or at least all of the power -- is coming versus left-handed pitching. He'll be 29 in free agency and probably want 4-5 years. I don't think he can get that, as the market doesn't really reward pure second basemen (with rare exceptions).

If they want to try to make him a Tyler O'Neill-ish offer (three years, $49.5MM), I think that's reasonable. I'm not sure he'd take it, though, and I'm not sure I'd go much beyond that personally -- even though the huge improvements in hit tool and swing decisions are notable.

If you really want to stretch, getting into the $65-80MM range over four could be possible. We've seen Nick Castellanos (Reds deal), Chris Taylor, Kyle Schwarber, AJ Pollock and others land in that ballpark.

But Torres could also be hit with a QO, and I think that would harm him more than a lot of QO recipients.
fascinating
1:15
does taking on Devers’ contract take the Giants out of the Tucker sweepstakes this coming offseason?
Steve Adams
1:17
I don't think it should. They could sign Tucker to a $40MM AAV (just picking arbitrarily there, to be clear) and still not be in immediate danger of paying the luxury tax at any point in the near future. That'd put $170MM+ on the books as far out as 2028, but the Giants seem pretty intent on adding starpower and using their financial might to get back into perennial contender status, so perhaps ownership is fine with that.
IMissHelton
1:17
Which Rockies player gets traded first: Hunter Goodman or Jake Bird?
Steve Adams
1:19
Goodman has four extra years of control after 2025. Bird has three. Relievers, in general, are more volatile than position players.

It's the Rockies, so we shouldn't just assume they'll trade players away, no matter how bad they are. But, if they do go that route, Bird feels far, far likelier to be moved than Goodman.
Jaxon
1:19
”I stopped caring about the All Star game”… “these questions are boring” …. Steve needs a vacation
Steve Adams
1:19
Ha, I was saying my replies are boring
1:20
Basically saying "ask again in five weeks" is not the most exciting answer -- it's just how teams operate now, tough.
though*
1:22
As for the ASG ... yeah, I just am not very into it. It's a nice showcase for the general public to get some glimpses at players they don't see often, but I'm also a total sicko who'll watch a random Mariners/Rockies game that starts at 9:10pm for me in Minnesota because there's a rookie I haven't gotten a look at.
20th Anniversary
1:22
Did Dave Martinez's outburst the other day lose him the clubhouse, and ultimately his job?
Timothy
1:22
Would you say Dave Martinez is in danger of getting axed?
Natitude
1:23
I wasn’t fully expecting the Nats to be playoff contenders in 2025 but I also didn’t expect them to this putrid and embarrassing.  Postgame comments a few days ago were shocking and lacked accountability.  When does WAS cut bait with Martinez, Darnell Coles, or someone else?  Something has to be done soon, right?
Steve Adams
1:25
I've thought Martinez's critics have been too harsh on him for awhile, but his weekend comments were insane. I would be pissed off if I were a player, and based on the Washington Post's reporting, it sounds like there is some frustration within that clubhouse. That sort of thing absolutely can and should impact a manager's job security. I was chatting with my colleagues Anthony Franco and Darragh McDonald about it this morning, and Anthony replied "Honestly surprised he hasn't been fired over it (well ... that and the 9-game losing streak)"
For those unaware, here was Martinez on Saturday defending his coaches/throwing his players under the bus:

"Sometimes they got to go out there and they got to play the game. It’s always been about the players. Always. I played this game a long time. Never once have I blamed a coach for anything. [As players], we worked our asses off to get better. They gave us information, and we used it. These guys understand what the game is. ... Sometimes you got to put the onus on the players. They got to go out there, and they got to play the game — and play the game the right way. We can’t hit for them. We can’t catch the balls for them. We can’t pitch for them. We can’t throw strikes for them. They got to do that."
And here was him 24 hours later
1:26
"Was never about [the players], right? I never mentioned anything about players, right? I appreciate those players. I played. I understand how hard this game is. They know that. So it’s a difficult game. These guys are out there trying hard."
It's just a bizarre, utter lack of accountability for his own words -- the type you don't (or shouldn't) see out of someone in a leadership position like that.
1:28
Andrew Golden with the Washington Post reported that players were "shocked" and "pissed" -- not necessarily by being called out for sloppy play amid a bad losing streak, but that their skipper just one day after doing so acted like he never criticized them.

I think he deserves any of the criticism coming his way. If you're going to call out your players, then be ready to stand by those statements both publicly and behind closed doors with them.
Wayward
1:29
More trade value Bednar or Santana?
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