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Mark P
8:51
The Sunday night chat is underway!  Let's take some questions...
Pirates fan
8:52
Expected return for a Adam Frazier trade?
Mark P
8:54
Frazier is controlled through 2022, and he's enjoying a very nice season.  His Statcast numbers aren't great, however, which a lot of teams will point to as either a reason to stay away entirely, or to try and pay less to the Pirates in a trade package.

It won't be a blockbuster deal by any means, but maybe one solid prospect (borderline top-100 type, or maybe more realistically someone in the proverbial "110-120" range) and a lesser prospect.
8:55
Just my opinion, of course.  And in a year when offense is hard to come by, teams may be willing to give up more for a productive bat.
Annoyed
8:56
The Cubs are a Yu Darvish away from being a real contender...yeah?
Mark P
8:57
Yeah, but pitchers like Yu Darvish are pretty hard to just find on the trade market.  What are the Cubs supposed to offer San Diego, Zach Davies and a bunch of prospects?  Pfft, what team would accept that deal?!
Jim C
8:58
Why has swinging strikes become a metric for pitchers? Aren't strikes caught looking equally important?
Mark P
8:59
Both are important, though swinging strikes are more of a direct indicator that a pitcher fooled a batter.  For a called strike, factors like a well-framed pitch from the catcher or a bad call from the ump come into play
CataCita
8:59
Matt Chapman for Ozzie Albies. Both teams win. Who says no?
Mark P
9:00
Atlanta says no, and without any hesitation.  Albies' contract makes him especially valuable, and Albies has been a better hitter than Chapman over the last two seasons
Randy
9:02
Do the Braves go after the recently released Khris Davis
Mark P
9:02
Bad fit.  Davis has barely played any outfield in three seasons, and he hasn't hit well in three seasons.
Sid sandwich
9:03
Do the Giants need to go out and get a 3rd sacker?
Mark P
9:03
Probably not, since they have some good IF depth on hand already.  Guys like Flores and Vosler can hold the fort until Longoria is back.
Kimbrel
9:04
If I am available, what would the Braves have to give up to get me?
Mark P
9:05
I think there's a better chance of the Braves selling and the Cubs buying at the deadline, rather than the other way around.

Besides, surely the Cubs ownership isn't so desperate to save money that they'd have a red-hot Kimbrel dealt from their contending team.
Jeff
9:06
Should the Nationals have a firesale to restock the season? They can't score runs,  Strasburg can't stay healthy and they have the worst farm system in baseball.   It seems they should sign Soto to a monster contract and rebuild for the future.   I would think you could get something good for Scherzer and Turner.  Schwaber, Hand, Lester and Hudson should get a useful prospect.
Mark P
9:08
Barring a big turn-around in the next week or two, I agree that Washington is probably already out of the playoff race.  It seemed like the Nats went into the year prepared for this possibility, given the number of guys on the roster on expiring contracts.  

It makes sense for them to be open for offers on pretty much everyone besides Soto and probably Turner.  I don't think the Nats have given up on 2022 yet, so Turner will be retained as the other building block
Chris
9:09
Are the angels now buyers?
Mark P
9:10
And hey, if you doubt the Nats have a winning streak in them, the Angels looked like also-rans at this time last week and are now on a roll.  

If the Angels can keep this up, they should absolutely be on the lookout for pitching additions at the deadline.  And of course, they'll get a big addition in the form of Trout returning from the IL
RIP
9:11
Best Ned Beatty role?
Mark P
9:12
Man, so many options....he was one of those classic "good in everything" character actors.

I kind of want to say Network even though he's only in the movie for a pretty small amount of time.  In more recent years, he was the voice of Lotso Bear in Toy Story 3, one of the more truly loathsome villains in movie history.
Robbie Baseball
9:13
I don’t see Rowdy Tellez in the Jays long term plans - so would he have any trade value? Obviously it would be “selling low”, but something of the lottery ticket variety might be nice…
Mark P
9:14
Since a trade might be difficult, I can see the Jays just hanging onto Tellez for depth purposes in the event of another injury.  Perhaps they could package him as a MLB-ready (sort of?) piece as part of a larger trade.
Cardinals
9:15
What would a realistic Jose Berrios trade look like???
Mark P
9:17
If the Twins did move Berrios, I think they'd get more than Toronto got for Stroman in 2019, since Berrios has more of a consistent (and durable) track record.  For the Cards, they wouldn't move Liberatore or Gorman, but Herrera and another of St. Louis' top prospects (Winn or Walker?) and potentially an MLB-ready player
9:18
This would be the ask, keep in mind.  No guarantee that the Cardinals would actually give up that much for a season and two months of Berrios.

(or, it must be said, whether STL would even be buyers at the deadline.)
Melchez
9:18
How do the dodgers do it?  They always have prospects that produce.
Mark P
9:19
They do an excellent job of drafting and developing players.  It's as simple as that, though obviously there isn't anything "simple" about it.
Brewers Fan
9:20
What are most likely to trade for next? A corner infielder or another reliever?
Mark P
9:21
I would definitely be thinking offense first if I was running Milwaukee's front office.  The bullpen is still good overall, and though I might make another smaller-scale relief add, the lineup is in more need of serious help.
Dalton Wilcox
9:22
How far would Miguel Amaya get the Cubs for Berrios or German Marquez?
Mark P
9:23
Both the Twins and Rockies would see Amaya as "ok, that's a good start.  Now, as for the other three or four guys..."
Joe Girardi
9:24
You don't happen to know any dependable closers looking for work, do you?
Mark P
9:26
I wonder if Joe has been tempted to give his old pal Mariano a call recently.

That said, the Neris/Alvarado/Coonrod trio has been pretty solid overall, minus a few bumps in the road.  This isn't to say that the Phils could certainly use more bullpen help, but landing a closer isn't necessarily at the top of their wish list
Angels fan
9:26
Considering how well we’ve played lately its obvious trout is the problem? Who would be willing to eat his contract in a salary dump
Mark P
9:26
Here it is, folks ---- the first and only time you'll see Mike Trout mentioned as a Ewing Theory candidate
AJ Preller
9:27
Can I get an impact bat without giving up Gore or Abrams?
Mark P
9:28
(Preller = Padres GM)

I would think so, considering both the depth of San Diego's farm system and the fact that Preller has been able to swing many big trades without moving many of his true upper-tier prospects
GP
9:30
Can we at least acknowledge that it is the pursuit of big contracts that induces players to cheat (as seen now with foreign substances, and in the past/present with steroids) to gain advantage.  No one wants to be known as the player that cheated in order to win.  It is much more honorable to be able to win based upon your abilities rather than your deceitfulness.  Yet the big payoffs one gets when one becomes a major league player force players to seek the advantage however it can be had.
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