JotCast | Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams 8/3/21

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Youkilyptus

3:20

Can schwarber play first base?

Steve Adams

3:20

We will soon find out!

Guest

3:21

Bigger 2021 surprise team- Giants or Red Sox?

Steve Adams

3:21

More surprising team in 2021?

Red Sox (13.1% | 48 votes)

Giants (86.9% | 319 votes)

Total Votes: 367

only got to 2nd base

3:21

anyone going on waivers just to see if they get picked up? no trades so seems like it is just to try to relieve the payroll...

Steve Adams

3:21

Teams won't do that unless they want to part ways with the player, because outright waivers aren't revocable.

3:22

So the Padres won't put Hosmer on waivers, for instance, because doing so would mean he'd go unclaimed, then become a free agent, and they'd be stuck with the remainder of his 4.5 years of salary while he plays for other clubs at the league minimum.

Jason heyward

3:23

Any chance I'm put on waivers and someone picks me up?

Steve Adams

3:23

Again, this seems like a confusion with revocable August waivers, which no longer exist.

3:24

If the Cubs put Heyward on waivers, they'd effectively be releasing him. No one is claiming that salary, and waiving him now means removing him from the 40-man roster. He'd become a free agent, and the Cubs would be stuck paying the entire freight of that contract. Keeping him around into the offseason and into future years creates some hope that they can eventually find some kind of bad contract swap or some trade to relieve themselves of a portion of the salary -- even if it's "just" $10MM or so.

Just a Friend

3:25

Is David Robertson pitching in a pennant race after the Olympics?

Steve Adams

3:25

I could see it, so long as he impresses in Tokyo, yeah.

Guest

3:26

Re: Hamels: Yankees seem like an ideal fit right now, given the loss of Cole and Montgomery.

Steve Adams

3:27

Hamels wouldn't be ready to step into the rotation right now, which is what they actually need.

Postseason Deadline

3:27

When is the final date that free agents have to be signed to participate in the playoffs?

Steve Adams

3:27

Need to be in the organization before Sept. 1 (not necessarily on 40-man roster -- just in the org)

Mr Hahn

3:27

Which ones of Lamb, Goodwin, Sheets and Hamilton go away once Robert and Grandal return?

Steve Adams

3:30

Goodwin has performed since the moment he got added to the big league roster. If I'm choosing only among that four I'd imagine Hamilton, since he isn't hitting much, and Sheets because he can still be optioned, preserving more depth. But they could easily option one of Collins or Zavala.

3:31

I know Seby just had the three homers, but he hasn't hit outside that game.

Hits Like Rays

3:31

Now that Glasnow is out for the year (and probably next year), what do you think the chances are of the Rays trying to extend him to a long-term deal with low yearly salaries and performance-based escalators?

Steve Adams

3:34

I don't think there's much upside in that for him. He's earning $4MM in 2021 and controlled two more years via arb. Even if he doesn't pitch in '22, he'd get a raise of some kind -- let's say he checks in around $6MM based off his dominant handful of starts. (Could be more, but this is just for illustrative purposes and I'm not going to take the time to look up more applicable comps in this real-time type of setting)

So he's got $6MM in the bank for next year and even if he doesn't pitch at all, he'd repeat that salary in 2023.

You're talking $12MM-ish over the next two seasons, one of which is spent rehabbing, and he's practically already got that locked down. Maybe the Rays don't want to pay it, but for a pitcher of Glasnow's caliber, another team should trade for that right.

And then if he pitches well in '23, he'd be primed for a nice payday on the open market anyhow.

3:35

A multi-year deal with low base salaries and lots of incentives doesn't do him much good over the alternative routes.

Vermonty

3:35

Thanks as always for chat. Whither Voit now that Rizzo is everyday 1B?

Steve Adams

3:37

I was surprised that once Rizzo landed in the Bronx, they didn't find a Voit trade. I'm not sure, honestly. Voit does have minor league options remaining, but he was hitting well prior to this knee injury: .281/.361/.453 in 72 plate appearances since being activated from the prior stint.

Hard to justify optioning him, so he's probably just a part-time 1B/DH unless they want to get real weird and stick Voit or Rizzo in LF now and then.

Bryse Wilson

3:38

What kind of pitcher do you see me turning into for the Pirates? It seems like the Braves trading me for a reliever might have been a mistake on their part. I dominated the Dodgers in the playoffs.

Steve Adams

3:41

If the Braves had seen him as more than a fourth/fifth starter, he wouldn't have been available in that deal. Pirates probably see more than that as a possibility, but they'll need to make some changes to unlock it. Wilson's K-BB numbers this year are awful, his fastball is down a bit and he's not getting swinging strikes.

Trevor Story

3:41

Chances I accept the qualifying offer?

Steve Adams

3:41

Even if he just takes one year elsewhere, I have to imagine he's ready to move on from Colorado.

Jimbo

3:41

Should the Twins try to trade Kepler or Sano this off-season?

Steve Adams

3:42

I can see them shopping Sano, but they'd need to swap him for another bad contract most likely.

Kepler, there's no real reason to try to trade him. You always listen, but I don't think they'd shop him around

3:44

Alright, I've got to wrap this up for the week. I'm on Twitter @Adams_Steve. Thanks so much for chatting, as always, and for following the deadline frenzy with us. Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone!

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