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Live Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 4/25/17
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Steve Adams
3:59
Greetings! Apologies on the delayed start... as you may have noticed (hopefully not!) we had some technical issues with the site, which prevented me from posting for awhile. But we're back up and running now (I think!)
Matt
4:00
Lots of big named injuries lately it seems, or is it just me?
Steve Adams
4:02
There have definitely been quite a few, though I haven't done a direct comparison to last year or years prior to that. Generally speaking, though, there are more DL stints early this year due to the new 10-day list
Also, sound your alarms Dodgers fans... Cody Bellinger is being promoted to the Majors (per MLB.com's Ken Gurnick)
Keith
4:03
Will the Twins trade Brian Dozier this year?
Steve Adams
4:04
If they're not contending this summer, I imagine there'll be a larger market for him than there was this offseason. I'd say there's a pretty decent chance of it, but who knows... they started out 0-9 last year and are off to a respectable start in 2017. I'm not expecting them to contend, but I wasn't in 2015, either.
Trevor Story
4:04
Oh hey, Eric Thames...
Steve Adams
4:05
I'm a much bigger believer in Thames' start to the 2017 season than I was to Story's in 2016. Thames' strikeout rate is about 10-15% lower, and he's showing ridiculous discipline in terms of laying off pitches outside the zone. Plus he has the massive three-year stretch in the KBO behind him, whereas Story never showed that type of production in the minors.
4:06
That's not to say I think Story sucks or anything, just that Thames is easier to buy as a legitimate monster at the plate based on his first three weeks of action.
C.Coghlan
4:06
do teams release names of players who have signed the 45 day advance consent form?
Steve Adams
4:07
Not anywhere that I'm aware of. Though when the first 45 days are up, we'll usually see a couple of guys cut and someone will report that it was due to that clause. It doesn't really benefit the teams to put that info out there to the public, though.
Evan
4:07
So Jeb Bush and Derek Jeter now own the Marlins! What changes will come to the team as a result of this deal?
Steve Adams
4:09
Too early to know, but in the past new ownership groups have come with payroll changes, front office restructuring, etc. Loria has typically run a pretty light payroll, though they spent more this season (in the year he's selling the team...)
Josh
4:10
What is the 45 day advance consent form?
Steve Adams
4:12
Speaking very generally: It's a clause that can be put into Major League contracts for players with more than six years of MLB service that allows a team to cut them for any non-injury reason within the season's first 45 days. Zach Links (who used to write for MLBTR and is now our editor/lead writer at Pro Football Rumors) did a really good piece on it a couple years back after Randy Wolf refused to sign one with the Mariners, if you're interested in reading 1500 more words or so on the subject!

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/04/the-45-day-advance-consent-form...
Myles Garrett
4:12
You watching the NFL draft Thursday?
Steve Adams
4:12
I'll check Twitter to see who the Vikings draft, and that'll be about the extent of it.
Guest
4:12
Will Buster Posey be an everyday first baseman in the near future ? Are the Giants' front office in love with Brandon Belt or may he be shopped ?
Steve Adams
4:13
Posey is still an elite defensive catcher, so there's no real reason to move him to first base.
Cookie Monster
4:14
If the Giants are contending and the Tigers are not, do you see the Giants trading for JD Martinez and would they be able to get him without giving up Beede or Arroyo?
Steve Adams
4:16
The Giants make plenty of sense as a JDM landing spot if they're in it and the Tigers aren't. However, given their current situations, a "Giants are in it but the Tigers are selling" scenario seems unlikely.

I'd wager though, that they could get JDM without either of those two. He's a rental and not extremely cheap. The Giants' farm isn't exactly deep, but it's not like it's completely devoid of talent after Arroyo/Beede, and there will obviously be prospects that see their status rise considerably in the season's first half.
Brandon
4:16
How surprised are you with Ryan Zimmerman's hot start?
Steve Adams
4:17
Quite. After the injuries over the past two seasons and last year's downturn in performance, I didn't expect much out of him at all in 2017. Jeff Todd and I were talking about this last night, but we both continually forget how young he is. I had in my head that Z is 34 going on 35 or something, and Jeff figured 33... he'll play the entire season at 32.
J Golden
4:17
What's your opinion of the 4 game suspension for Barnes throwing at Machado's head. Too light? Too stern?
Steve Adams
4:19
I'm on board with Jeff Passan, Joel Sherman and the several other columnists who said that the league should throw the book at him. That suspension does little to curb the temptation to seek that type of misguided retribution; even Barnes' own teammate, whom he was supposedly trying to "protect" (Pedroia) threw him under the bus for that bullshit.

Throwing at players is tired, and throwing at their head puts them at risk of serious injury and threatens careers. Suspend Barnes for 16 games or something -- make him sit out 10% of the season.
4:20
The MLBPA would fight that, of course, but it's also in their interest to prevent someone like Machado (or any player) from taking a 90mph ball to the face.
RMR
4:20
Can Joey Gallo keep this up? I'm pretty surprised he's been as productive as he has. Obviously he's going to slow down at some point, but can he make enough contact to let the power and patience play?
Steve Adams
4:22
This is the kind of season I'd have expected without much more time in AAA... I think the power and patience can certainly play, but even his .220 average might come down a bit if he can't curtail the strikeouts. .210 with a decent-ish OBP and 35 bombs seems plausible if he gets a full season though.
Hey Hey Heyward
4:23
Looks like all the work this offseason to revamp/refind Jason Hayward's swing is paying off. He's making much harder contact and has reached base in all of his starts so far. Thoughts?
Steve Adams
4:24
Yeah, seems like whatever work he put in is paying dividends. I haven't seen too much of the new mechanics, though he seems quicker to the ball. Exit velocity is up more than 3 mph from last year, too, which is encouraging.
Kelly Johnson
4:24
Will I be a Met this year?
Steve Adams
4:25
You'd have to sign with the Braves first so they can trade you there!
Bernie Brewer
4:25
How much longer does Broxton have? Brinson is tearing it up at AAA
Steve Adams
4:27
There's no huge incentive for the Brewers to call him up before the Super Two cutoff, which should come in early June. Maybe if they go on a huge winning streak and come mid-May, Broxton's flailing and they think they have legitimate Wild Card aspirations, but that's all a bit of a reach to me. I'd expect mid-June at the earliest.
Coppy
4:27
Could I get a young, MLB bat for Folty?
Steve Adams
4:28
I would imagine so, but Foltynewicz is controlled through 2021, so I can't imagine the Braves deciding they want to trade him. They're probably hoping he's in their rotation for the next five years.
tad_2B_13
4:29
I'm not sold on Heyward yet; small sample. I suppose his .315 BABIP might be sustainable, but his platoon splits are pretty extreme. Not good for late game situations facing a LHRP.
Steve Adams
4:29
I don't think we should ever bank on him being a huge weapon against lefties, but the improved hard contact and exit velocity are cause for genuine optimism, in my eyes.
Brandon
4:30
Are you buying Matt Cain's start to the season?
Steve Adams
4:31
Velocity is down, K's are down, walks are up. His success looks a lot more like unsustainable luck on balls in play (.212 BABIP) and strand rate (92%).
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