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Mark P

9:21

To be fair, it is only April 28. The Astros probably both wanted to give Abreu some time to show any kind of promise at the plate, and to see if Loperfido was for real (given his lack of elite track record). Loperfido forced the issue with his hot hitting, and Abreu has only continued to struggle.

9:21

What’s a good comedy to watch?

Mark P

9:22

A lot of their programming is subscription-only on YouTube, but I've found myself watching a lot of Dropout's shows in the last couple of years. "Game Changer" is one of the funniest shows around, and Make Some Noise, Very Important People, and Dirty Laundry aren't far behind.

Blue man crew

9:23

Isn't it time to move/let go of Chris Taylor and give another prospect a chance? Outman and Pages have proven that there are options in the system that are ready.

Mark P

9:24

As just noted with Abreu, teams generally give a lot of rope to veterans on big contracts. Pages has hit well enough to continue getting playing time, so the Dodgers don't necessarily need to cut Taylor entirely --- just put him on the bench more often to allow for Pages or any other hotter bats

Boston Rob

9:24

Blaze Jordan just keeps hitting in the minors, but no one seems overly impressed. Does he just not project as an everyday MLB first baseman?

Mark P

9:25

His numbers are good but nothing too spectacular. It doesn't help that Casas (when healthy) is blocking the way at first base.

Mike

9:25

Hey Mark, James Wood ETA??

Mark P

9:26

If the Nats keep losing outfielders to the IL, it might not be that much longer

Jake

9:26

Don’t look now but that Twins lineup is starting to look scary. Just wait until Correa and Lewis get back…

Mark P

9:27

And don't forget the Lucky Sausage!

(I encourage to watch this video of Rocco Baldelli describing the superstition. It looks like a scene from the Office.)

https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1784710200705872072

Astros

9:28

If the Astros are under .500 on June 1, would you consider them mathematically out

Mark P

9:29

Nope, not unless they had some garishly bad record

Guest

9:29

If this season keeps going for Guerrero the way it has, a fourth straight season of regression to barely average performance relative to the position, can you see the Jays actually walking away from him rather than pay him what he’ll get in arbitration? I’m assuming it will come in at about 23-24 million.

Mark P

9:30

The Jays would still trade him rather than non-tender Guerrero entirely. There are surely lots of teams that are looking at those Statcast numbers and thinking they can fix him. And, it might be possible that a change of scenery would very well be what it takes to unlock Guerrero

9:41

Slow chat today

Mark P

9:41

The Loperfido post is taking up some of my time, so I'm getting back and forth from the chat in chunks.

ESPN

9:42

Why do you have the chat during Sunday Night Baseball? Wouldn't it it make more sense to have it around 4PM CST? I wrote this during the commercial break.

Mark P

9:42

This is the second time in three chats that things have been interrupted by moves later on a Sunday night, so perhaps you're right. Next week I might look to start things at least an hour earlier, unless things are busy news-wise

I too am a near guy

9:43

I'm convinced Phillies will meet Braves in div round. Wheeler, Nola, and now Suarez is a beast too! What addition at deadline would best help braves to get past them!?

Mark P

9:44

Rotation help is the obvious answer, but it's also hard to give a clear-cut answer to that question when a) anything can happen in a short series, and b) the Braves are otherwise pretty stacked.

Bald is Beautiful

9:46

When u get a question about a player, do you have to look up their contract situation or do u know everyone off the top of your head?

Mark P

9:46

Some players I know off the top of my head, but I usually double-check before spouting off about years of control and salaries

Great Problems to have

9:47

Today’s Kimbrel comments aside. What do the Os do to fit Bradish and Means in their rotation. Is the bullpen solution possibly coming from a sudden rotation surplus?

Mark P

9:48

Converting one of the starters into a reliever seems like an interesting possibility. Suarez might be a candidate in this regard, but the Orioles are also surely wary of turning a starter into a RP, and then having to stretch him back out again when another injury surfaces

Guardians of the Galaxy

9:49

If Cleveland does decide to call up Manzardo who is the odd man out?

Mark P

9:50

Laureano is hitting so poorly that he seems like the obvious pick, if the Guards are ok with just using Florial in the outfield more often.

Chris

9:50

So what happens if Loperfido isn’t very good and Hunter Brown is toast?

Mark P

9:51

I noted this in the post, but Loperfido doesn't need to be all that good to still represent a step up from Singleton or Abreu. It's very possible or even probable that he struggles in his first look at big league pitching, like countless players before him.

Nick Krall

9:52

FYI. People from Cincinnati never call it “Cincy”

Mark P

9:52

You learn something new every day! Is this like how people from San Francisco roll their eyes at any mention of "San Fran" as a nickname?

9:53

What do you think happened to Jackson holiday?

Mark P

9:55

Speaking of players struggling in their first look at MLB pitching....

Could simply be Holliday was putting too much pressure on himself, or maybe he was up too early, or he had to learn how to adjust for one of the only times (or first time?) in his young career. Or, all of the above.

Chris

9:56

Why are the mariners striking out so much?

Mark P

9:58

Seattle had a 25.9% strikeout rate in 2023, the second-highest in the majors. So going into the offseason, the M's made a point of getting rid of some of their high-strikeout hitters and looking to add more contact.

The result....a 27.6% strikeout rate, the highest in the majors. So sure, small sample size, but the numbers aren't great so far

Mariners fan

9:58

On a scale of 1-10, as a fan, how mad would you be that they just don't add offense?

Mark P

10:00

They did "add" offense with all of their trades, but the issue is that Polanco and Garver have been cold. And, J-Rod and Crawford both struggling so much also limits the offense even if the new guys had been hitting well

MLBTR reader

10:00

Could teams with problems at first base consider Belt?

Mark P

10:01

You'd think teams with problems at first base would've considered Belt at any point in the last six months, given how well he hit in 2023

Philly A's

10:02

Whoops, the A's have a good record for 1 run games, 2 great closers in Miller and Erceg, lead the league in double plays. Can they get a little love?

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