You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
MLBTR Live Chat
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
Mark P
8:59
Minnesota seems like a good pick for another bullpen signing, but since there's a rotation surplus on paper, the Twins could pivot to one of those excess starters as multi-inning relievers
GiantsFan
9:00
Are Kapler and Farhan on the hot seat?
Mark P
9:03
Zaidi is entering the last year of his contract, unless he's already signed an extension and it hasn't been publicized.  Kapler is under contract through 2024.

Another .500 season or so will put added pressure on Zaidi, and it may hinge on how ownership feels (or what ownership knows) about the failed Judge/Correa pursuits.  If ownership doesn't feel there's progress being made, Zaidi could be out, but at that point a new GM might also feel another semi-rebuild is necessary
Though, technically the Giants never "rebuilt" under Zaidi, just churned the roster and mostly waited out the big contracts (some of which became good deals again)
Os or Nos
9:04
Will the Orioles be able to compete this year? Thought they might resign Mancini.  Maybe they make more moves at the trade deadline?
Mark P
9:05
If the Orioles are close again this year at the deadline, I suspect they'll be a lot more aggressive in adding talent.  By that point they'd know they are for real, and 2022 wasn't just an aberration.

In the broader sense, Baltimore looks like they'll be a competitive team, and another winning record is certainly a possibility and even an expectation.
Tigers
9:08
You pointed out what a nightmare of a season we had last year. I have to believe we can't be as bad this year. All nine starters were terrible last year. Kind of historically terrible
Mark P
9:09
We've seen other teams have relatively quick rebounds from "seasons from hell," so it could be that the Tigers can look at least more like the respectable 2021 club with just a bit better luck.  That's the challenge facing Scott Harris as the new GM, since he doesn't really know what he has
Birdland
9:10
Do you like the Irvin trade for the orioles? I personally do and we didn’t have to give up a top prospect to get him.
Mark P
9:11
It was a pretty solid deal, even if Irvin is more of a back-of-the-rotation type.  The O's have enough prospect depth (especially infield depth) that they can afford to give up Hernaiz
Bloom-n-Gloom
9:12
Will Matt Barnes be traded or flat out released?
Mark P
9:13
Probably a release, since barring a "bad contract swap," another team might not be too eager to take on a chunk of Barnes' deal. It isn't a huge amount of money, but it's still significant for a guy who has been so inconsistent over the last two years
Danny
9:15
Did Profar mess up by opting out? Kinda shocked he hasn’t landed a home yet….
Mark P
9:18
Profar's okay but unspectacular track record doesn't look like it's corresponding with his asking price, or how teams are valuing him.  I can get Profar's logic in opting out and wanting a longer-term and more lucrative contract, but it hasn't worked out just yet.

That said.....January 29.  This offseason is an outlier to other recent winters, when it was quite common for lots of bigger-name free agents to still be available.  Profar is maybe just standing out this year because of the unusual circumstance of most of the FA market signing relatively quickly.
9:19
After two hours, it's time to wrap this up.  Thanks for all the questions!
9:20
fyi, if you're interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you're about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with over a thousand other questions in today's chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link: 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-1-29-22
Connecting…