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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 9/9/25
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I wish Mark Reynolds had hit 2 more career HRs
1:37
Travis Bazzana looks like he's living up to his draft stock now at AAA
Steve Adams
1:37
Guardians' Opening Day second baseman!
OZ
1:37
Is the turn-around in the performance of Bryce Elder for real?  In a dismal season, his re-emergence and the arrival of Hurston Waldrep have offered a glimmer of hope.  What moves do you envision Alex Anthopoulos making this Winter?
Steve Adams
1:40
Elder has had 4-5 really good starts, but he's had a sub-.200 BABIP in there and stranded about 82% of his runners. He looks like the same guy to me ... not as good as his random All-Star year but not nearly as bad as 2024 or even earlier this season. Modest stuff, decent command, passable but volatile fifth starter.

Waldrep looks better, but he's also getting by with a crazy-low BABIP, crazy-high strand rate and a minuscule homer-to-flyball rate -- all of which looks unsustainable. Still more bullish on him long-term, but I wouldn't expect him to be close to this good
DelightfulDon
1:40
Two Questions: Daylen Lile vs Dylen Crews - They both offer a different perspective and increasing potential. How do you see the Nats utilizing these players in 2026?  My second question is about STL closers.  JoJo and O'Brian have pitched well this year. Historically, between the two O'Brian would be the pick as JoJo is a lefty.  In 2026, how do you foresee the Cards managing their closers?
Steve Adams
1:42
Crews will get every opportunity to be a cornerstone outfielder. Lile feels more like a guy who you're fine with as your starting LF while he's cheap but who has a much more limited long-term ceiling.

I would imagine that with one year of control remaining, JoJo Romero is getting traded this offseason. Riley O'Brien will be in the 'pen next year, but I would imagine a good bit of roster turnover in St. Louis this winter, so I expect the late-inning relief corps to look pretty different
Dave R.
1:43
Robbie Snelling has a 1.27 ERA in his last 12 minor league starts. Do the Marlins just hate him? I know he's not on the 40-man, but there are plenty of guys who are that shouldn't be.
Steve Adams
1:44
Could easily justify calling him up. My assumption is they don't want to right now since they don't need to add him to the 40-man this winter to protect him from the Rule 5. Keeping him in AAA effectively buys them an extra roster spot all winter, and they can just select him in camp next year or early in the season.
Early
1:44
Could Lodolo be on the move this coming offseason with two years of control?
Steve Adams
1:46
I could see the Reds listening, for sure. I don't think they'll necessarily shop him outright, but with Greene, Burns, Abbott, Lowder, Singer and Petty all around, plus Aguiar and Williamson still in the org and mending from injury, there's decent pitching depth.

Moving Singer is the safer bet, since he only has one pricey year of control left, but Lodolo would net a better return
Turang Test
1:46
Why does the Giants bullpen hate Justin Verlander?  Would his return to SF in ‘26 be contingent on pen upgrades?
Steve Adams
1:49
Yeah, he's pitched decently but can't seem to buy a win more often than not. I don't think that in a vacuum, the bullpen would dissuade him from returning there. But in general, there are a lot of questions about San Francisco's ability to contend next year, and I could see Verlander simply preferring to sign as a fifth starter for a more clear-cut contender.

We'll see what the Giants do early in the offseason, of course. If they come out and sign Kyle Tucker, Gleyber Torres and Edwin Diaz or something nutty like that, then Verlander obviously thinks differently about their chances of competing than he would at the outset of free agency.

Bottom line: Verlander is going to be capped at one year, probably in the $10-15MM range again. A lot of teams will be interested.
Tom Kelly's blues
1:49
If the Twins move Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan this off season are they writing off 2026 and 2027?
Steve Adams
1:51
Yeah, if they move that pair, they're basically waving the white flag and committing to a mini-rebuild. If they do go that route, the farm is already stacked -- and will be further so due to those returns -- and the long-term payroll outlook is nearly blank.

I don't think they'd need a yearslong rebuild, but that's also an argument against them moving Ryan/Lopez at all. You could easily see them investing in the 'pen, a couple bats and leaning on their farm to quickly turn things around in a so-so division.

But based on how the Pohlads have operated in recent years, I have a hard time keeping a straight face while talking about them jumping right back into free agency and win-now mode.
Doug
1:52
Has Cease pitched himself into a 2/3 year deal with opt outs and an AAV in the low to mid $20s?
Steve Adams
1:53
As with Helsley before, he'll have various scenarios to consider. I do think a two-year deal worth, say, $45MM with an opt-out is one such scenario. Given the durability and the quality of his stuff, I have to imagine there are teams that would still put down a Gausman/Ray-esque five years and $110-120MM on him, thinking that it's a bargain rate for someone with No. 1 upside and a relatively high floor.

My assumption is that between those two options, Cease would go the short-term route and bet on himself, a la Blake Snell a couple winters ago.
Guest
1:54
What happens to Buehler next year?
Steve Adams
1:54
He signs a cheaper one-year deal than the one he did this past winter and takes another shot at bouncing back
Gaurdiansjoe
1:54
With clase facing a ban and Espino to injury prone to be a starter, will we be seeing him head to the bullpen (if he ever gets off the IR)?
Steve Adams
1:55
Espino has pitched like 18 innings since the end of the 2021 season. You can't bank on ever getting anything from him, but if he ends up quasi-healthy in the next year or so, yeah I would say a move to short relief is in his best interest.
Guest
1:56
Where will the Cardinals stand next year with Jordan Walker, Thomas Saggese, and their pitching prospects
Steve Adams
1:58
As I alluded to earlier, I think there'll be plenty of changes to the roster this winter. Walker, Gorman, Saggese, Graceffo, Nootbaar, Herrera ... a lot of the formerly young core seems like it'll be very much available. The Cards have gotten tons of looks at this group over the years, and while it's hard to sell low on some formerly well-regarded prospects, it's easier when the guy making the trades isn't the one who drafted/acquired them. I think Chaim Bloom will have a pretty active winter.
Strident'sTrident
1:58
Do you think Josh Naylor signs with Seattle Mariners this off season. What's your prediction on his contract?
Steve Adams
2:01
He's one of our tougher ones to predict, because the market doesn't really turn out for 1B-only guys, but he's one of the steadiest and most consistent bats available and doesn't turn 29 until June, so age is on his side.

I still question whether someone would go 5+ years on him, but four years and $15-17MM per year doesn't feel outrageous to me.

Mitch Garver is the only free agent hitter the Mariners have signed for multiple years under Jerry Dipoto since he took over baseball operations in Seattle a decade ago, so I lean against them re-signing him.
Terry
2:01
Keep hearing Kyle Tucker to Dodgers next year? Your thoughts?
Steve Adams
2:03
I think it's natural that a lot of people would predict the top free agent to sign with the biggest-spending team, but outside of players in very unique circumstances (Ohtani, Yamamoto), the Dodgers haven't spent like this in free agency. They usually offer shorter-term deals with higher annual rates.

They're also pretty deep in OF, with Pages, Teoscar, Edman, Zyhir Hope, Josue De Paula. Could always try to dump the final couple years of Teoscar, but the Dodgers don't stand as the best or most logical Tucker pick to me.
2:05
I’ve got to call it for the week. Anthony will have a chat with Front Office subscribers tomorrow. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social.

If you want more opinions from the MLBTR team, you can learn about our Front Office subscription package and sign up here. In addition to ad-free viewing on the site and in the app, you’ll get weekly analysis/opinion columns from Anthony Franco and myself, a weekly mailbag column from Tim Dierkes, weekly fantasy baseball chats and columns with Nicklaus Gaut, weekly subscriber-only chats with Anthony and with me (where your odds of getting a question answered are much, much higher), extra insight from Darragh McDonald, access to our Contract Tracker (a vital offseason resource) our Agency Database, our GM Tracker and more.

Thanks everyone, and enjoy your week!
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