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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams 6/8/21
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Falvine
2:36
Who gets the best return: Rogers, Pineda, Donaldson (with some cash thrown in)?
Steve Adams
2:36
Rogers, then Pineda. They're not going to have any takers for Donaldson.
2:39
That's not a knock on Donaldson, either. He's generally played pretty well there. 130ish wRC+, albeit with a couple IL stints mixed in.

But he's owed $50MM from 2022-23, his age-36 and age-37 seasons. He wouldn't get 50 million in free agency. Even if you say the Twins will pay, say, $16MM to get Donaldson down to Justin Turner's price range (two years, $34MM) -- that's still open-market value. You'd have to pay it down well beyond that to actually generate positive trade value, and the Twins aren't going to pay 30-some million dollars to save 20ish million on a guy who's hitting pretty well for them.
Especially not since they're just going to reload and try to compete again in 2022.
Riotmaker
2:39
Any chance SF swoops on Scherzer? What would it take?
Steve Adams
2:40
I don't think the Giants are going to pay the high-end prospect cost needed for a short-term upgrade. Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris have been focused on building long-term value while taking on short-term veterans who don't come at the expense of that long-term plan.
All Jr team
2:41
1B Vlad Jr, 2B Chisholm Jr, 3B Gurriel Jr, SS Tatis Jr, LF Bradley Jr, CF Almora Jr, RF Acuna Jr, SP McCullers Jr.

Need a catcher any ideas?
Steve Adams
2:41
Sandy Alomar Jr. is only 54!
At least we have the Suns...
2:42
We know that Ketel Marte will be a hot name by the deadline but who will most likely be moved by the DBacks by the deadline?
Steve Adams
2:42
Eduardo Escobar and Asdrubal Cabrera are as good as gone (barring injury)
BenEBoy
2:43
Starting pitcher not named Scherzer most likely to be traded and be impactful is…
Steve Adams
2:43
Jon Gray, Matthew Boyd, Michael Pineda, Kyle Gibson. German Marquez
Rays for Days
2:44
Any chance Rays trade for Nelly Cruz? If not who could you see them going after before the deadline?
Steve Adams
2:45
Any of the Rays, A's or Jays make sense for Cruz. I wrote about this in my weekly piece for our Front Office subscribers, but here's what those three teams have gotten from their DH:

  • Blue Jays: .234/.305/.408
  • Athletics: .216/.300/.371
  • Rays: .214/.305/.402
2:46
Money will play a role for the A's and Rays, but I think all three are fits. And since AJ Preller is a madman who is obsessed with his guys from Texas, might as well not rule out the Padres grabbing him as a pinch-hitter, interleague DH and playoff DH (assuming the Twins foot most of the bill).
CHISOX FAN
2:47
Any chance we trade the Yerminater before everybody realizes he's not for real. Can we get  stopgap outfielder for him?
Steve Adams
2:51
This assumes he's either the monster he was in April or the poor hitter he's been for much of the time since. The answer is likely somewhere in the middle. He rarely strikes out, barrels up the ball at a decent clip, walks at a decent clip, has obvious power.

No team was ever going to pay some ludicrous price because he was hot for a month to start the season, just like the Sox aren't going to trade him at any and all costs right now. I know of at least one other AL club that wanted Mercedes this winter, and I'm sure plenty of others inquired. The Sox held onto him and obviously believe in him. Dude can hit -- just not as well as he did the first 3-4 weeks.
John
2:51
Anyone from team USA (besides Luke William, called up today) give themselves a good enough showing to get back to the bigs?
Steve Adams
2:51
Derrick Goold from the STL Post Dispatch reported the Cardinals are leaning toward bringing Liberatore back
DTownWarrior78
2:52
With Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal coming around and also the straight bashing of prospects Torkelson, Greene and Diggler for Detroit, can you see them being competitive as early as next year?
Steve Adams
2:53
2023 feels likelier. They'd still need a lot to go right next year. All three of those bats would have to come up right away. Couldn't have much of a step back from the young pitchers. Would still need some good FA additions and some unexpected pop-up guys (similar to what Turnbull has done).

It's not impossible or anything, but I think 2023 and beyond feels more like their "window" (even though I hate that term)
Nick
2:54
Ever where I see has the Angels selling. If I’m not just a crazy fan and they become buyers, is Scherzer on the table? Who else could they target?
Steve Adams
2:55
They're 6.5 back in the West with no Trout for the next 3-4 weeks and a -37 run differential. I can't see them running down the A's. I thought the Angels would be much, much better than they've been.
Nick
2:56
will mlb & manfred ACTUALLY do anything about the foreign substances from pitchers outside of maybe ejecting 1-2 pitchers?
Steve Adams
2:56
What they've already said and done looks like it's already having an impact. Bauer's fastball spin dropped like 300 rpm in his last start:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2021-06-07/trevor-bauer-d...
Catcher
2:57
Any catchers that you could see being moved besides Stallings in Pittsburgh?
Steve Adams
2:59
Wilson Ramos, if he counts as a catcher anymore. Tucker Barnhart. Jorge Alfaro. Could try to pry Carson Kelly from the D-backs, but that'd be tougher.
Freddy Galvis
2:59
Will there be a trade market for me? Would I get like a 20th best prospect in org type player?
Steve Adams
3:00
Maybe from a team with a weak farm. We see guys like Galvis get flipped for pretty negligible returns. There's a reason he was available to the O's for a year and $1.5M
JC
3:00
Game 7 WS: Tom Seaver in his prime v. current Jacob deGrom...who do you pick?
Steve Adams
3:01
Are we facing present-day hitters or 1970s hitters?

Actually I guess that doesn't matter. I'd take deGrom either way. Some people will say that's blasphemy and whatnot, but today's pitchers throw harder, have more movement on their breaking pitches and are generally more overpowering.
Matty Alou
3:01
Does anyone know how to bunt anymore?
Steve Adams
3:04
It's tougher to bunt when the average fastball is 94-95 mph vs 88-89, when every pitcher is trying to strike you out, and when breaking pitches move more than ever (while traveling at what used to be a fastball's pace, in the case of a slider).

I'd love to see more people bunt against the shift, but the "Just bunt!" or "Just hit it the other way like they used to!" crowd fails to acknowledge the role of improved pitchers' stuff, individualized plans of attack for each hitter based on meticulous advance scouting, the prevalence of elevated four-seamers or the violent movement on today's sliders/curves.
AJ
3:05
mad and obsessed?
Steve Adams
3:05
Is this a reference to my Preller comment?
I stand by him being a madman -- he makes more outside the box, crazy aggressive trades than any other GM
3:06
And he has a clear affinity for his former players: Kinsler, Profar, Kela, Moreland, Darvish, Carl Edwards Jr., repeated trade interest in Gallo
Jumping Jacob
3:07
The Jacob Nottingham saga has got to be the closest thing MLB has ever had to a soccer-like loan system, right? At this point the Mariners and Brewers should just negotiate shared custody. Seattle during the week, Milwaukee on weekends.
Steve Adams
3:07
Rangers and A's traded Adam Rosales back-and-forth like this 4-5 times a few years ago as well
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