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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 8/6/24
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Jason
1:29
I love that for your Adames contract comps you picked 3 dudes whose contracts have aged absolutely horribly.
Steve Adams
1:30
Doesn't matter much that those have aged horribly. Swanson got more than Baez and Story after those two deals were already clearly underwater.
Perry Minasian
1:30
Why didn't I trade more expiring contracts like Ward and Renifo? What was I thinking?
Steve Adams
1:30
Ward and Rengifo aren't on expiring contracts. Ward is controlled through 2026. Rengifo through 2025.
1:31
The Angels still should've traded them, but I think it's likelier that holding them was an Arte Moreno decision than a Perry Minasian decision.
MLBTR fan
1:31
Why don’t teams with an open 40 man spot not claim somewhat promising guys and then waive them if the spot is full?
Steve Adams
1:31
Many teams do exactly this.
1:32
Someone passing through waivers (e.g. Jahmai Jones recently) generally indicates that they're no longer considered "somewhat promising." Not sure who you're referencing specifically, but I can't think of too many players who recently cleared waivers in what I'd describe as surprising fashion.
Twins
1:34
Will we stop slashing payroll this offseason and actually put some money next to this insane core of young controllable talent? Especially if TV stuff gets figured out, if not now then when will ever be the time for that?
Steve Adams
1:34
They didn't add anyone making notable money at the deadline. The TV resolution was a one-year contract. I don't expect them to ramp payroll back up to the 150MM range again this offseason.
Ken
1:36
I was surprised Cole Irvin made it through waivers. Solid, back of the rotation arm who doesn't cost much.
Steve Adams
1:38
I think most clubs see Irvin as a homer-prone 5.00-ish ERA guy, and most feel they can replicate that in house without taking on the extra salary.
Ken
1:38
Did the A's just get no interest for relievers like Adams, Alexander, and McFarland and low cost bats like Andujar and Brown?
Steve Adams
1:41
Brown isn't far removed from clearing waivers, so I'm not surprised he didn't go. McFarland/Alexander/Adams -- I'm mildly surprised those guys didn't end up changing hands. Wouldn't be shocked to see McFarland/Alexander hit waivers this month. Save a couple hundred thousand for the A's and put them both on a contender.

Adams seems like a potential offseason trade candidate, but he's hurt a lot and has poor command, so to think a team doesn't want a guy who's walked or plunked a combined 19.7% of his opponents throwing meaningful innings in the postseason isn't all that crazy to me.
1:42
Andujar's been a bit better than average with the bat and well below it in the field. I thought he might go for a modest return, since there just weren't many bats available, but again -- I doubt every team even saw him as an upgrade.
Luis Aparicio
1:42
Do you think the woeful White Sox will bring up Colson Montgomery soon?
Steve Adams
1:42
He's not hitting well in AAA this season or over the past month. I think he'll get a look when his performance more clearly dictates it.
Guest
1:43
What do you think the chances are Yankeea resigning Soto and go with the following Judge first Soto Rf Jones Cf and Dominguez Lf
Steve Adams
1:44
I don't want to say Judge's glove is "wasted" at first, since he's a freak athlete who'd probably make himself into a good defender there. But there's also no way you can just pencil Spencer Jones into the 2025 lineup when he's K'ing at a 37% clip in Double-A.

Yankees will be in the mix to re-sign Soto though, yes. And I would not at all be surprised to learn that next year's Opening Day OF was Judge, Soto and Dominguez.
Nars Lootbaar
1:45
Would Paul Goldschmidt accept a QO? If he rejects a QO what're the odds he signs for the threshold for the Cardinals to get a comp pick?
Steve Adams
1:46
Coming off the season he's had, I think there's a good chance he'd just take the $20MM+ salary to stay in a place he's comfortable, yes. If he explodes and looks like vintage Goldy down the stretch, maybe it's another story, but right now I don't think I'd even risk making him one, which is something that would've sounded silly to me a few months ago.
Leo D
1:47
Does Cody Bellinger opt out?
Steve Adams
1:49
As things stand right now, I'd bet against it. I guess you could somewhat comfortably say he has a chance to beat the 2/50 that'd remain on his deal, but he's not going to get a huge nine-figure contract on the back of his current production, so he could just pick up the player option, earn 27.5MM next season, and consider opting out again next year, ideally off a more productive showing.
Guest
1:49
I was surprised that websites had The Orioles as “Winners” for the trade deadline. Getting Phillies “leftover” relievers and Rogers for what they gave up seems super light on return and doesn’t make them championship quality. Thoughts?
Steve Adams
1:52
A lot of times the deadline "winners" on those columns/rankings are just teams that did the most. I didn't love the Orioles' moves in general. I thought Eflin was a good add at a nice price for them. I like Dominguez much more than Soto. I didn't get the Rogers trade and thought they paid a surprising price for someone who isn't markedly better than in-house options.

I don't think they "lost" the deadline or had some laughingstock performance, but I thought their moves underscored something we talked about on the MLBTR Podcast before the season even started: they needed more in this rotation back in April.
(Dylan Cease would've looked really, really good in Baltimore.)
PILLAR
1:53
HE ASKED TO NOT BE TRADED, JEFF FLETCHER CONFIRMED THIS
Steve Adams
1:54
THANK YOU FOR THE BOLD ANSWER. I MISSED THAT STORY OVER THE WEEKEND.
1:55
But yeah, looks like Pillar did indeed call it a "mutual" decision. If he's happy there and wants to stay, good on him.
Pumpsie
1:55
If Berrios were a FA this offseason, would he get more than the 4/90 on his current contract?
Steve Adams
1:55
I highly doubt itl
Moose Skowron
1:56
Soto knows he's going to bust the bank with his next contract. If he gets to the WS with the Yanks, would that convince him to stay with the Yankees, if the money was there?
Steve Adams
1:56
If the money's there, he'll stay with the Yankees regardless of whether they reach the World Series.
171
1:56
It really seems like the media is overhyping Norby and Stowers. Both seem likely to be AAAA type players who might peak with like a 2 WAR season. 2 guys who just need to get playing time to see if they can even stick for a back end lefty starter with control and potential for improvement seems like a uninteresting fair trade that is getting much more air time than it should.
Steve Adams
1:59
I have a few issues with this. Firstly, this makes it seem like Norby and Stowers are being weighed equally, which isn't (or shouldn't be) the case. Norby's the more valuable player.

Secondly, I think Norby has higher than a 2-WAR ceiling. That probably feels about right for Stowers, although I wouldn't be all that surprised if he never emerges as more than a fringey role player.

Thirdly, I just don't think Rogers is that good. I was surprised at the price. Even if the O's think they can "fix" him, it seemed like a strong offer. The level of interest in him is reflective of the lack of arms elsewhere on the market. This version of Rogers isn't very interesting to me. I wouldn't have traded Norby straight up for him.

Doesn't mean it won't work out, of course, and I'm not going to apply some letter grade and call this a D or F for Baltimore, but it wasn't my favorite move of the deadline. We'll see how it plays out!
Joshua C
2:01
Was lane thomas a good fit for Cleveland?
Steve Adams
2:03
He's a fine fit. They needed an upgrade in RF, and he's better than what they had. I've said multiple times in these chats that I don't love Thomas as an everyday guy. He clobbers lefties, is average-ish against righties and isn't a great defender outside the arm. I don't think he's a bad player or anything, but I'd much prefer him as a guy making $3-6MM per season in a largely platoon role than I would to him starting everyday and earning the $8MM+ he'll make in his final arb year.
That's still not an egregious overpay or anything, but I do feel like Cleveland paid a pretty decent price to get him.
MLBTR fan
2:04
Jays have 3 40 man spots and haven’t claimed anyone either than Rasodo for needed depth. Why do you think they don’t do more?
Steve Adams
2:07
They have six teams ahead of them in the waiver pecking order right now, and Miami certainly hasn't been shy about claiming players. Totally plausible they've tried on some of those guys and not had the priority.

More broadly, a lot of the names that have hit waivers just aren't that exciting. I guess a team with such a thin staff could've claimed like ... Cole Irvin, in theory, but I also don't begrudge them for not thinking he's a big upgrade over in-house options. Like I said before, I think a lot of teams feel he's probably a fringe-y 5.00ish ERA guy (although you could argue that even in spite of that, the Jays should've claimed him just because their depth is rough)
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