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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 7/8/25
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Steve Adams
8:25
Good morning! I'll get started at the usual 1pm CT time, but feel free to send in questions ahead of time.
1:04
Greetings! Sorry for the slight delay. Let's get going
Yankees
1:04
-3.5 on the Blue Jays, 9-16 over the last 25. Time to panic?
Steve Adams
1:06
Panic? No. Time to go upgrade both the lineup and the rotation? Yeah. Losing Clarke Schmidt really hurts that staff. There'll be several options to discuss with regard to third base. Yankees fans seem to really want Suarez, but Ryan McMahon fits them really nicely also and would be a manageable CBT hit for the next few seasons.
s45d64
1:06
Who are the sure bets to be moved in Pittsburgh?
Steve Adams
1:07
I'll be surprised if all of Andrew Heaney, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and David Bednar aren't traded. Dennis Santana only slightly less so.
Caleb Ferguson will go, too.
Steve Cohen
1:07
Shouldn’t the Marlins call up Deyvison De Los Santos to play first base? Ramirez has worked out very nicely.
Steve Adams
1:10
He's not really hitting well overall this season, and his best work came earlier in the year. He's at .199/.287/.365 over the past two months.

I like that De Los Santos is chasing a lot less and walking a little bit more, but his contact rate is still in the gutter. I'm more bullish on Ramirez in general.
Johnny Mo
1:10
Surely the Cards are sellers now?
Steve Adams
1:11
Losing 5 of 6, including a sweep at the hands of the Pirates, can't feel good ... but they're five over .500 and 1.5 back of a Wild Card spot. That's not a team that's going to sell aggressively. If they spiral out of control from here and are suddenly 3-4 under .500 and 5+ games back of a Wild Card spot in 2-3 weeks, then sure.
Austin Jackon's Catch In Boston
1:12
Do guys like Santana, Thomas, and Sewald have any trade value? It's looking like a lost season in Cleveland
Steve Adams
1:16
Santana is still hitting at an average-ish level and is generally beloved in clubhouses. He's overpaid, but if Cleveland eats some of the money left on his contract, I can see him netting a modest prospect return.

I thought the Guards should've non-tendered Thomas -- said to underscore my low expectations, not pat myself on the back or anything -- and even I'm stunned by how far he's fallen this year. He's a DFA/release candidate more than a trade candidate.

Sewald's ERA is ugly, but the K%, BB% and SwStr% are all good and we're talking a small sample of innings. They won't get a ton, but yeah, he's tradeable.
Chris
1:16
Baltimore should be all in on Ranger Suarez or Framber Valdez right?
Steve Adams
1:17
I assume this is in reference to free agency this winter? And in that case, yeah, they should be in on that pair and other notable starting pitchers.
1:19
Valdez probably fits them particularly well, since at 32 he's not going to command more than a five-year deal. (He'd only be the third SP 32 or older to get 6 years in the past decade. Even with a really premium AAV, you're looking under $200MM. And since the O's seem to prefer to avoid long-term risk with pitchers (or just ... well, anyone), maybe that artificial cap on his contract length is a little more their speed.
Spud
1:20
The Brewers have a surplus of starting pitching (no, really). What type of return would you expect to receive from Nester Cortez?
Steve Adams
1:20
Pretty negligible at this point, given how much time he's missed. Could still see them listening on Cortes or Quintana, though.
Royal Blue
1:21
Do the royals move one of their starting pitchers for a bat and a possible prospect or does depend on how this week goes whether they are buyers or sellers?
Steve Adams
1:23
I doubt any of the Royals, D-backs, Reds, Twins or Cardinals make a clear decision on their direction until like ... July 27-28. (Barring a situation where they go on winning or losing streaks of like 10 games starting right now)
Bucco71
1:23
Will Cherington be motivated to make a splash deal to save his job?  Perhaps moving Keller?
Steve Adams
1:24
I don't really see how trading Mitch Keller helps save his job. They're six years into his tenure now. They were supposed to be better than this by now. Trading a homegrown starter who you were able to sign long-term -- even if it's for a nice return -- isn't something that should've been on the docket by now.
Jill
1:24
Would Cleveland consider trading Kwan or Clase at the deadline?
Steve Adams
1:27
I'd be more surprised by Kwan, just given the perennial need for outfield help. Clase is signed longer-term, but Cleveland churns out good relievers with such frequency that at a certain point it has to become tempting. His command is also a bit worse this year, although it's still far better than average and his 16% swinging-strike rate is his best since 2022 so I don't think too many folks are going to be worried that the stuff/location is maybe marginally less sharp than in 2024.

I would still bet against a Clase trade, but teams will be trying and his name is going to bounce around the rumor circuit.
Cubbie Blue
1:28
Offense is super strong. Pitching staff is suspect. Should we gamble on a Sandy Alcantara deal, or throw the kitchen sink at Pit for Skenes?
Steve Adams
1:29
Can throw whatever you want at the Pirates. I will livestream a video of myself eating a pair of my socks if Pittsburgh trades Paul Skenes to the Cubs. (In general, I see less than a 1% chance of Skenes being traded)
Wondering
1:30
I think Detroit needs a high leverage LH reliever for October. Who other than Chapman might be a possibility?
Steve Adams
1:32
There aren't a ton of obvious lefties available, though some unexpected names always pop up. I imagine they'll say, "Been there, done that" with regard to Gregory Soto, but others I could see moving.... Hoby Milner, Jalen Beeks, Caleb Ferguson, Steven Matz, Danny Coulombe, Taylor Rogers, Aaron Bummer
PunkRockies
1:33
What kind of market do you think there is realistically for Ryan McMahon? He's hit better since June after a rough start, and the defense is still there, but you can't help but think the Rox would have gotten more dealing him last July. Is a team's top 10 prospect a realistic return?
Steve Adams
1:37
He hit well in May, too. He's a plus defensive third baseman from whom you can relatively confidently expect 20ish home runs and average-ish (perhaps a bit better) rate stats at the plate. He's going to strike out a lot, but he'll walk plenty also.

You can look at McMahon as sort of a poor man's Matt Chapman. And then you remember that Matt Chapman got $151MM beginning with his age-32 season, while McMahon is owed $36MM total for 2+ seasons as of the trade deadline. Next year is his age-31 season.

So yeah, there's surplus value there. "A team's top-10 prospect" isn't really a good way to categorize things. The Mariners have nine prospects in Baseball America's top-100. The Astros, Angels and Rockies all have one.
1:39
Point being.... a good system's No. 13 prospect might be better than the Astros' No. 5. Numerical rankings within the confines of one system tell you little, which is why the industry assigns value grades (FV) on the 20-80 scale scouts use to grade individual tools and pitches. That's the better place to look, and I do think McMahon probably should be able to fetch a 50 or a couple 45 types ... basically someone on or not far from the back half of a top-100 list
kc
1:39
any market for Severino or Springs? or other A's?
Steve Adams
1:41
I can't see Severino having much value, given that they overpaid to sign him in the first place and he's now underperformed and has that post-'26 player option. Springs has easy value and should be popular, yeah. Urias and Andujar both could fetch nominal returns if they're healthy
Drew
1:42
Could Mackenzie Gore bring a Crochet-like return if the Nats decide to reboot the rebuild?
Steve Adams
1:43
He would (or should) bring more than Crochet did. You're looking at 2.5 years of control to what was (at the time) two of Crochet. Plus Gore has demonstrated he can handle a full starter's workload in a way that Crochet hadn't (and really still hasn't). I don't think he'll move, but they'd be justified in asking for a massive return
Clay
1:43
Jose Soriano has put up consistently solid mid-rotation numbers for last season and this one, granted in '24 he only threw about 113 innings. Do you think the Angels would part with him and what kind of package would it take from SF to bring him to the Bay?
Steve Adams
1:45
I think they should be willing to and won't be. The Angels seem to perennially delude themselves into thinking they're far closer than they are, and owner Arte Moreno has resisted this exact type of future-oriented move at so many junctures in the past.

I'd absolutely be willing to listen on Soriano if it were my call, but alas, Moreno has yet to offer me the opportunity to make that decision.

I'm not hard to get a hold of, Arte. Call me.
Duran
1:46
Is J Duran really on the trade block?
Steve Adams
1:48
Jarren or Jhoan?

I'm sure the Red Sox will listen on Jarren but aren't itching to trade him or anything. He's floating around more due to the "surplus" of outfielders they have in Boston and because of one early report connecting the Padres to him.

Jhoan, I'd be more surprised by. If the Twins are still under .500 or just kind of a Wild Card bubble team, other clubs will try and Minnesota will listen (probably on Griffin Jax, too) -- but the asking price would be huge and I'd strongly lean against anything getting donw.
done.*
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