JotCast | MLBTR Live Chat

MLBTR Live Chat

Mark P

8:46

Bit of a late start tonight, but better late than never, right? Let's get to some questions.

Casey K

8:48

Will the cardinals trade for a starter? Reliever? Why didn’t they sign a starter in the off-season.

Mark P

8:49

They did re-sign Wainwright but I see your point

8:50

The Cards' logic seems to be that they were playing wait-and-see with Mikolas and Martinez, so with Wainwright back, they felt they potentially had enough depth already. But, "you can never have enough pitching" is a cliche for a reason.

8:51

I'm not sure I see STL making a big swing to acquire a Scherzer or someone, but they will likely be making some kind of pitching acquisition at the deadline

Patrick Wisdom

8:51

Am I Roy Hobbs?

Mark P

8:52

"Patrick Wisdom" seems like a more theatrically-fitting name for a Hobbs-esque character, right?

MarkyMark

8:52

Any rumors of Trevor Story going to the REDS or is that just a dream?

Athletics

8:52

Trevor story to the A’s???

chefdave

8:52

What it is going to take to get Story in Pinstripes

Mark P

8:54

Lots of Trevor Story questions in the queue, as one might expect. I actually think the A's might have the best chance of the three, since crazy at it sounds, they might have more money to work with than the Yankees, who are desperately trying to stay under the $210MM tax threshold. Now, in Oakland's case, it remains to be seen if ownership will green-light enough (any?) extra money for deadline pickups, but Beane and company have swung some notable deadline additions in the past.

8:55

As for the Reds, they're on a nice little streak here and gotten themselves back to the outskirts of the race. Assuming they're in contention by the deadline, I expect them to be touch about Story, but they don't have a ton in the way of prospects and their payroll situation may also be a bit uncertain.

James Click

8:56

Should I trade for Starling Marte?

Mark P

8:57

(Click = Astros GM)
(Also, a surprisingly decent Adam Sandler movie.)
(Also, Cam Jansen's catchphrase.)

Marte would be a great fit for Houston, no doubt.

Sid sandwich

8:57

Will the Giants make a move for a 3rd baseman?

Mark P

8:58

If Longoria is only out for 4-6 weeks, probably not. The Giants do have a lot of infielders already on hand to fill in.

Is it true...

8:59

That the Atlanta Braves will have only $50 million on the books for next season?

Mark P

8:59

Believe it. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/braves

Chris

9:00

Is kikuchi a sneaky trade target? Even if he picks up his 1 year option (he won't) it's like $13 million

Mark P

9:01

If the M's fall out of the race, maaaaaaybe. Even if they aren't contending, however, this is a team that does plan to be in the hunt maybe as early as 2022, so there's value in keeping Kikuchi around. His contract has enough leverage for the team that isn't really much of a financial burden.

Class of 2021

9:02

Any inspiring words for middle school, high school, and college grads?

Mark P

9:03

I was actually the valedictorian of my high school class, believe it or not. I believe my advice was for our school to invest in an air conditioner for the auditorium, since it had to be pushing 100 degrees on that day.

In general, "invest in air conditioning" is pretty good advice. Or, just be cool.

/Mark puts on sunglasses

Charles

9:04

Is it me or did the Brewers get an absolute steal in Adames?

Mark P

9:05

The change of scenery has definitely seemed to benefit Adames, who has been on fire at the plate. For all of the (justified) Wander Franco hype, Adames is a good shortstop in his own right, and he seems maybe a bit freed by not having to look over his shoulder and worry about being replaced

Gruber_mullet

9:06

Apart from story who are some names to watch for in the trade market from the Rockies?

Jimmy Salazar of Cicero

9:06

Let's talk trades! Who do you see getting traded before July 30th?

Mark P

9:06

I can think of about 40 decent trade candidates off the top of my head...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/06/top-mlb-trade-deadline-candidat...

Javier Baez & Carlos Correa, Age

9:07

Not so fast on Story getting 200 mil. SS Free Agent class will be stacked.

Mark P

9:08

I think Story will get a $200MM deal this winter from someone, big market notwithstanding.

In the context of that post I just wrote on the site, the Rockies would have definitely had to pay more than $200MM to convince Story to forego free agency and stick around in Denver. However, it looks like a moot point since talks might not have even happened?

All-Star Voting

9:08

Did you vote for the All-Star Game? If so, who did you vote for?

Mark P

9:08

Haven't cast a ballot yet. I generally like to wait until late June or so, for info-gathering purposes.

Verlander vs. Scherzer

9:10

Who's the better pitcher?

Mark P

9:10

Who do you think is the better pitcher, career-wise?

Scherzer (56.2% | 419 votes)

Verlander (43.8% | 327 votes)

Total Votes: 746

joe

9:11

Giants- makes a lot of sense to sell-high on these old guys, right? They have outside chance of 2nd wildcard, but still building for future...

Mark P

9:13

They're winning the division, so I'd say "outside chance at the wild card" is maybe selling them a bit short.

It's certainly possible that the Giants cool off, but this is also a proud organization that wants to get back to the postseason. I don't really seeing them trying to thread the add/sell needle and trying to both upgrade the roster while dealing someone like Belt or Crawford

Manfred

9:13

What do you blame the dramatic change in the game to, changed ball (lighter raised stitch) or allowing sticky substances to go unchecked?

Mark P

9:14

Given how it seems like at least three-quarters of the pitchers in the league are doctoring the ball, that seems like a much bigger factor

Jesse

9:14

Cam Jansen... deep cut.

Mark P

9:14

I love it when someone recognizes one of my obscure references.