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Mark P
11:06
Good morning!  As I polish off this bowl of cereal, let's dive into some questions.
Chris
11:07
How do you feel about ohtani's outing yesterday?
Mark P
11:07
By all accounts he looked excellent, which is great to see.  Baseball is more fun if Ohtani gets back to his 2018 form.
jordan
11:08
Chances the Indians trade Perez or Hedges? Seems like a lot of money at catcher for them.
Mark P
11:09
Probably can't be entirely ruled out, but chances are pretty slim.  The fact that Cleveland went into the offseason looking to cut costs but still picked up Perez's option means that they see him as worth the investment.  And Hedges is a pretty solid backup/part-time piece to have as depth.
Guest
11:10
Is JBJ the last move up the Brewers sleeve? Is their OF - Yelich, Cain, JBJ with Garcia off the bench?
Mark P
11:11
Seems like that's their plan, maybe with some of their util guys with OF experience also getting into the mix for depth.  Doesn't bode well for out of options guys like Derek Fisher or Billy McKinney to make the team
Joe
11:12
I often see in posts both payroll for the year and luxury tax impact for the year. What’s the difference?
Mark P
11:13
Payroll is just pure dollars, whereas the luxury tax number is calculated by average annual value.  

Say a player signed a three-year, $30MM deal.  His tax number for each of those three years is $10MM per year, even if the money breakdown is something like $5MM in year one, $10MM in year two, and $15MM in year three.
Amazins
11:14
Conforto? Lindor? Or both? Who is extended?
Mark P
11:16
At least Mets fans can take comfort in the fact that "both" is even an option thanks to the ownership change.

I would even lean towards both at this point, but if it came down to one or the other, probably Lindor?  An argument could be made that the Mets should lock up Conforto and then take their chances on the big shortstop market next winter, but they might also want to get Lindor extended as "the face of the new Mets"
TO Mike
11:16
Hey Mark.  Sitting waiting for my dentist appointment.  Not looking forward to it.  At least I can look forward to baseball!
Mark P
11:16
How about some calming music to help you relax?
Jack
11:17
How did the Brewers end up with Travis Shaw as their presumptive starter at 3B? Feels like a huge hole on an otherwise strong team.
Mark P
11:18
I think 3B will be something of a revolving door, with Arcia and Robertson also getting some playing time.
Maikel
11:18
What uniform am I wearing opening day
Mark P
11:19
Milwaukee makes some sense, though Shaw as a lefty bat is a better fit for their specific roster
Matt N
11:20
What would an extension look like for Freddie Freeman?  How much value did his MVP award add?
Mark P
11:20
Something akin to Goldschmidt's extension with the Cardinals, except for a bit more money.
Shakespeare
11:21
Whither goest Shane Greene?  Yea, verily, I do believe he is the best available free-agent pitcher.
Mark P
11:22
Forsooth, thy Braves of Atlanta may be the best choice due to familiarity.  Greene may get more looks from multiple teams as injuries/lack of performance issues crop up during the spring
Gruber_mullet
11:23
Any legs to the rumor that the Jay's are still interested in odorizzi even though they have publicly stated the heavy lifting is done? Ir is this just another agent using them as leverage ?
Mark P
11:24
I think there's probably some truth to it, as the Jays and lots of other teams with any pitching question marks (so, pretty much every team in baseball) have likely kept an eye on Odorizzi just to see how his market develops.
Ryan Braun Yoenis Cespedes
11:25
Why have no one signed us along with Puig
Mark P
11:26
Braun recently gave the impression that he was either Brewers-or-bust, so his future likely depends on what Milwaukee plans on doing.

As for Cespedes or Puig, teams have shown some interest, but naturally those guys (and Braun) have some big question marks in terms of what they can offer a team in 2021 given their injury histories.
Robbie Baseball
11:27
Over/under 88.5 wins for the Blue Jays this year?
Mark P
11:27
Will the Blue Jays win more than 88.5 games this season?
Yes (45.6% | 343 votes)
 
No (54.4% | 409 votes)
 
Total Votes: 752
Cobra
11:29
Any teams that have shown interest in Cole Hamels?
Mark P
11:31
We haven't heard much of anything about Hamels, who was supposedly lining up a showcase back in January but that (apparently?) never happened.

The Giants were known to have some interest, and there are always rumors of a possible return to Philly for Hamels, but it's unclear where or when he'll sign on with another team
Red Sox fan 1
11:32
Why do teams try to avoid surgery with ucl tears more often than not they only delay the inevitable right?  Looking at the red sox with Brian Mata
Mark P
11:33
Because sometimes the pitcher is indeed able to avoid surgery, depending on the severity of the UCL damage.  Masahiro Tanaka is the most famous example.

Naturally, you'd expect a team and a player to explore any option before the worst-case scenario of Tommy John surgery.
The Met Fan
11:34
Got to believe both are extended. I am more worried about Thor. I know Mets will adopt wait, see and evaluate, but he needs to be extended now so that the price does not become prohibitive.
Mark P
11:35
If you're the Mets, however, you certainly have some concerns about extending a pitcher whose TJ rehab isn't even complete.  What if Syndergaard hits a setback and has to miss all of 2021?
RaysWay
11:36
Now with JBJ off market & contract received, do Rays trade KK so they don’t hold back Margot, Brujan, JLowe?  Stros, RSox, Mets, Dbacks, Phil’s?
Mark P
11:37
I'm sure the Rays would have a lot of interest in getting Kiermaier's contract off the books, but those other teams mentioned all have luxury tax issues and might not be crazy about taking on that much money for a guy who has had trouble hitting and staying healthy.

Not to say that some kind of creative salary arrangement couldn't be worked out, but dealing Kiermaier is far from simple
Jill
11:38
Will Cleveland continue to retool or will they eventually head towards a rebuild?
Mark P
11:39
Eventually, sure.  But the Tribe is still a competitive team and they see their window as open as long as they still have such excellent starting pitching.
Brad Hand’s Hand
11:39
Did the Padres sign Kim because they really see Cronenworth as 2b and 1b option and Hosmer gets platooned?
Mark P
11:40
I think I've mentioned this before in chats, but I don't see the Padres as having a big problem finding enough at-bats for all their players.  They're not going to say this aloud, obviously, but I wonder if the Padres are guarding against Hosmer or Myers reverting back to their inconsistent selves
Clever name
11:42
If teams perform roughly as expected, who will be the biggest available piece at the trade deadline? Trevor Story?
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