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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 8/29/23
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Steve Adams
2:07
I'd go Mets, Padres and then an Angels/Yankees toss-up. The Mets, with all that star power and money spent... it's just staggering to spend more than $350MM on payroll ($400MM+ with luxury taxes) and fall so far short.

Padres have so much star power that I thought they'd overcome a shaky back of the rotation mix, but it's been a mess for many reasons there this season.

I didn't love the Yankees coming into the year since I hated their depth at multiple spots. I picked them as a Wild Card club anyway because I've felt similarly for the past several years and they kept proving me wrong.
2:08
I liked the Angels as a more complete club, so I suppose they're the larger disappointment, in my eyes, as I talk through it. Patrick Sandoval and Reid Detmers were favorites of mine heading into the year but neither has been close to as good as I envisioned.
Sad Reds Fan
2:09
McLain to IL remove any whispers of a NL RoY discussion??
Steve Adams
2:10
I don't think he was ever going to take it from Carroll, even with Carroll's recent slump. They're comparable hitters on a rate basis, but Carroll's shown slightly more pop, done it over 120 more PAs, and tacked on an extra 25ish steals.
Not a knock on McLain at all. He's been awesome.
Guest
2:11
will the Pirates fire Carrington/ Sheldon or wait till next years flop?
Steve Adams
2:11
No they're not firing Cherington or Shelton. They just extended Shelton not long ago
WestCoastMetsFan
2:12
Senga has pitched his way into the ROY conversation, wouldn't you agree?
Steve Adams
2:12
I think it's Carroll's to lose, but I can see Senga in the top three sure.
Ned Colette’s Toupee
2:13
Dodgers exercise Lance Lynn’s option or try to bring him back on a less expensive (yearly) multi year deal?
Steve Adams
2:13
Either seems feasible to me, sure
Joey JoJo Shabadoo
2:13
Do you think the Guards regret trading Yanier Diaz?
Steve Adams
2:16
They traded him and Maton for a guy who's been about 25% worse than average with the bat (Myles Straw) and then extended Straw. Yeah, I would imagine they regret that deal.

Straw was never supposed to be a big bat, of course, and he's a lights-out defender. But .228/.296/.293 in his past 1043 plate appearances over the past two seasons is brutal. They could've signed Jake Marisnick or something and gotten comparable offense and defense without giving up Diaz/Maton
White Sox
2:16
----kind of funny---when listing disappointments you didn't even mention the White Sox----maybe they really are just bad.
Steve Adams
2:16
Oh they're obviously on there too, although I didn't pick them to make the postseason prior to the year
2:17
They entered the year with basically no depth beyond their top-heavy roster, so some sort of collapse always seemed possible in the event of a few injuries
Tyler
2:17
Are there any outlier examples of Boras clients signing deals that buy out a year or two of tee agency? I’m curious because both Elly De La Cruz and Matt McLain are both Boras guys.
Steve Adams
2:20
The whole notion that Boras guys don't sign extensions is silly. Yes, they're less likely to do so I suppose, but that's at least in part because players who want to test free agency often gravitate toward Boras. It's not as though all of his guys are itching to sign extensions and he's actively dissuading them from it.

Boras guys to sign extensions: Xander Bogaerts, Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Altuve, Chris Paddack, Stephen Strasburg (he opted out three years in), Carlos Gonzalez, Jered Weaver... there are probably more
Bogaerts also opted out three years into his deal
Elvis Andrus!
2:22
I don't think that makes either EDLC or McLain necessarily likely to sign, but the mere fact that Boras is their agent doesn't expressly rule it out
Amir
2:22
Ohtani, 2 years, $85M to the Dodgers. Deal?
Steve Adams
2:22
Nope
2:23
Half the league would sign him to those terms. Ohtani will still get the largest FA contract ever. I wrote about that last week for MLBTR Front Office subscribers.
Guest
2:23
Make me a sensible offseason trade for the Giants
Steve Adams
2:23
Joey Bart to the Marlins as their latest catcher du jour -- sending probably not a whole lot back to SF. A reliever, perhaps.
Chris
2:24
Trying to remember, does a player still need to be on the roster by Sept 1 to be postseason eligible?
Steve Adams
2:24
Needs to be in the organization. Technically if he's not on the 40-man by Sept. 1, the team needs to petition to the league to add him as a replacement for someone who's injured, but teams do that every year.
2:25
In the organization by 11:59pm ET on Aug. 31, you can pretty much consider him postseason eligible. I can't think of a single time when a team wanted to add someone who was in the org and wasn't allowed to do so. You just can't sign/claim the guy on Sept. 17 or something and then try it.
Joey Bart
2:26
Why is no one talking about Patrick Bailey as a top finisher in NL ROY
Steve Adams
2:28
Because there are enough guys who've had better years. It's not that Bailey's had a bad one -- he's been quite good. But he has half the at-bats of Carroll, about 70% of the ABs of McLain or Outman, lesser counting and rate stats than all of those guys. And there are pitchers like Senga, Andrew Abbott and Bobby Miller to consider.
Bailey looks really good, especially his defense, but not every rookie who has a good season is an ROY finalist.
2:30
Alright, I've got to wrap up for the week. I'm on Twitter / X @Adams_Steve and will someday maybe start using the Threads I created (@stephenjadams), ha.

Sorry for all the questions I couldn't get to, as always. You can consider signing up for our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription, which grants access to a weekly subscriber-only chat where your chances are obviously quite a bit higher. You'll also get weekly email analysis pieces from Anthony and me in your inbox, ad-free viewing, and other perks like autograph giveaways, book giveaways, etc. It starts at $2.99/month. You can learn more and sign up here:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-8-29-23

Thanks everyone, and have a good week!
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