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Front Office Subscriber Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/24/25
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Steve Adams
12:05
Greetings all! Heads up that I am on an old, crappy laptop whose keyboard has seen better days today, while my actual laptop is getting repaired. Apologies for any slow replies or if there are any missing Fs or Ns in my replies, ha. I'll get going at 3pm CT, but feel free to ask questions ahead of time.
3:02
Agh! Sorry! Lost track of time while debating my preseason picks
Our whole staff will be making division, playoff, World Series and Awards picks this week. Now let's just all casually decline to look back at my history, thanks :)
3:03
Let's get moving!
Lloyd
3:03
What’s the latest on Jared Jones? Been almost a week and you’re not reporting anything.
Steve Adams
3:04
The Pirates haven't provided any kind of update. No one is reporting anything on it. They're being very quiet and seeking multiple opinions, which seems ominous, but that's just my interpretation on it
Kirt
3:04
Who is the everyday 2B for the Twins to start the season?
Steve Adams
3:06
The Twins, in general, don't have a set, everyday 2B or 3B. I expect them to rotate Willi Castro and Edourad Julien there early, but you'll see Brooks Lee, Austin Martin and Luke Keaschall all get time there as the season wears on
RAGBRAI
3:06
Perdomo. He signed an extension but what is the long term outlook in AZ? Does Lawlar move him around the diamond?
Steve Adams
3:09
My expectation is Lawlar to play third base in the long term, where he has the tools to be a plus defender. Doesn't mean he won't ever play any short -- could move over there if Perdomo is injured -- but Perdomo's ability to play shortstop was part of the calculus when they signed him; in theory, you've got at least a league-average bat with a plus glove at SS (Perdomo) and a potential plus glove/plus bat at the hot corner with Lawlar.
PATigrrsFan
3:09
Does Torkelson make OD roster? Do they keep Baez, or cut their losses?
Steve Adams
3:11
Given the spring he's had, I don't see how you could leave Tork off the roster. He's hitting .326/.380/.609 with 4 homers and a double. Even setting aside the injuries elsewhere, you'd have to reward that with a roster spot. But having Matt Vierling and Parker Meadows on the injured list means more outfield time for Kerry Carpenter, which just further opens playing time for Torkelson.
3:13
On Baez, they're paying him regardless, and Vierling's injury takes away a 3B option. They already optioned Jung. He'll make the cut for now, I think. Longer-term, it's hard for me to envision a rebound... an eventual release feels kind of inevitable. But if they cut him right now it'd be the largest dead-money cut MLB has seen -- and by a fair margin, I believe.
Angels fan
3:13
Do we have enough. Are we relying on the kids
Steve Adams
3:16
They're 100% banking on major steps forward to carry them. They're looking at Neto, Schanuel, O'Hoppe and Adell to really step up on the position side, and Ben Joyce, Jose Soriano, Reid Detmers, Caden Dana and others on the pitching side.

No matter what the Angels did this winter, their path to contention was going to run through improvements from that in-house group. I'm a big Neto and O'Hoppe believer -- less so on Schanuel and Adell. And I will just perennially be on the "this could be Detmers' year" train until he breaks out or retires, ha.
John
3:16
Will the Red Sox add a Rizzo or other first base option to improve their dept in case Casas gets hurt. Also who could look to add for catching depth?
Steve Adams
3:19
Rizzo wants a big league deal, and the Sox aren't going to give him $5MM+, so it won't be him. I could see a minor league deal for a Brandon Drury type (though he has a broken thumb at the moment) or some other 1B who opts out/gets cut from an NRI deal elsewhere.

But they have utility guys with a bit of 1B experience (Refsnyder, Gonzalez) and, of course, there's the possibility of Devers playing there to consider.
3:20
Catching depth options that have been cut loose recently: Omar Narvaez, Kyle McCann, Chance Sisco.... there will be more in the next 72 hours.
Grimace
3:20
Baty with another HR today. He seems like a perpetual quad-A type. Does he figure it out a la Vientos?
Steve Adams
3:23
Baty just turned 25 in November and has all of 600 MLB plate appearances, which have come spread across three seasons and largely in scattershot amounts of playing time. I would not at all call him a Quad-A guy, and I know there were several teams around the league hoping to acquire him this offseason because they think he's a big league hitter.

I have to think he'll play semi-regularly early on, at least versus right-handed starters, and we're one Vientos/Alonso injury from Baty playing every day.

I still think he'll hit.
Haniger
3:24
Does he make any other existing outfield better or is he a 4th outfielder at this stage of his carrier?
Steve Adams
3:28
He just hasn't looked like the same hitter since that insane string of fluke injuries that started back in 2019. He's had some productive seasons, but things have really gone off the rails since 2023 with back and ankle injuries. The back has been an issue since he wrecked it while rehabbing 2019's ruptured testicle (sob) ... it just feels like he's had SO many injuries that it's hard at this point to envision a return to form.

I hope I'm proven wrong, but he's a minor league deal guy for me.
Joe
3:28
Who did the best in the Trade Rumors staff FA picks?
Steve Adams
3:29
I'm in the lead with 9. I am clearly a savant. Now, as with my forthcoming standings/postseason/award picks, please never look at prior seasons.
TheBeatlesShow
3:29
Steve, this seems obvious, but I have to ask.  Ryan Yarborough signed so quickly with the Yanks after opting out with the Jays.  Players that are likely to opt out in Spring Training can't contact another club (or be contacted by one) before actually opting out, right?  Are they still under some sort of contract or agreement?
Steve Adams
3:33
The Yankees just offered him the same base and incentives package he had if he'd made the roster in Toronto. There's also the "deadline" of "Hey let's get this done ASAP so you have time to get to camp before Opening Day"

And they're all already down in Florida for spring training.

If you're the agent for a player who's having a nice camp and you've got an opt-out five or six days down the road, it behooves you to inquire with other clubs before you make the call on whether to opt out or stick with your current setup
Campbell
3:33
Am I the every day 2B? Or do I split time?
Steve Adams
3:34
Can't imagine them carrying him for a part-time role. Especially since he'd be on the short side of a platoon
Rox
3:34
When I suggested that the Rockies should entertain trading Nolan Jones in the past, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind. I simply do not understand how this front office operates. They send out their starting LF who’s only two years removed from a runner up finish in ROY at his lowest possible value for a backup, glove first UTIL guy? Any insight as to what they’re doing with this one?
Steve Adams
3:37
Tyler Freeman isn't far removed from being the better prospect of the two. It's an underwhelming return still, of course, but Jones never looked likely to replicate his 2023 season. He struck out in 30% of his plate appearances and had a .401 average on balls in play.

I didn't expect a decline quite so steep -- injury obviously contributed -- but the 2023 version of Jones doesn't seem likely to return. I'm curious to see what Freeman can do if they just put him at 2B and let him play, which Cleveland never did.
Kirt
3:38
Will Mike Trout play over 120 games in 2025?
Steve Adams
3:38
Hasn't done so since 2019, so at this point I'm not sure how you could justifiably predict that with any real confidence. I'll take the under.
ZacharyA
3:39
According to the player transaction log, the Yankees released C Alex Jackson on Saturday and re-signed him on Sunday. What is the benefit of releasing a guy signed to a MiLB deal and then immediately giving him a new one? Some weird bookkeeping quirk?
Steve Adams
3:41
Teams do this all the time. The new deal can have new opt-out dates within, a better split (rate of pay) for time spent in the minors, language allowing players to pursue foreign opportunities if they're presented, and plenty more. There's a lot of little things that go into minor league deals.
Joe schlobotnik
3:41
Which teams have suffered most from injuries; not number of guys out, but quality of guys out?
Steve Adams
3:45
It's hard not to pick the Yankees. Lose a recent Cy Young winner for the year. The reigning AL ROY for half the year. Who knows when Stanton will be back? Red Sox have had quite a few, but none are thought to be all that long term.

Pirates deserve a mention if it's ultimately bad news on Jared Jones. They've already had Horwitz get wrist surgery and already had to 60-day Oviedo.

Marlin, too. Garrett, Weathers, Cabrera, Norby, Sanchez
Kirt
3:45
Does Wallner hit 30+ HRs for the Twins?
Steve Adams
3:48
I don't know if he'll get the playing time against lefties, but if he stays healthy and can even log the 450ish plate appearances Joc Pederson (another LH slugger with huge platoon issues) got last year, he'll have a chance. Wallner's raw power is massive. He'll always strike out a ton, but he has 26 home run in 470 PAs against righties, so sure it's possible he gets to 30
I'd bank more on mid-20s, but 30 is certainly a feasible outcome
Not That JD
3:50
With teams relying on stats so much it seems they don't want starters to go more than twice through the order doesn't it tax the bullpen to much? Doesn't it defeat the purpose since relievers aren't as good as starters for the most part.
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