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Romaine Lettuce
7:50
Can I get irrationally excited about Dustin May's first Grapefruit League outing?
Mark P
7:51
If you were really irrational, you would've spelled your screen name RoMayne Lettuce
Colt Emerson
7:51
JP has as locked down this year for SEA. Am I blocked until his contract runs out?
Mark P
7:53
There's always 2B depending on how Young performs, or 3B if Donovan is moved over to second base (again, hinging on Young's adjustment to the majors).  

Since this is Crawford's last year under contract and Emerson has only six games of Triple-A experience, the timeline seems to be matching up cleanly enough that Emerson won't be "blocked" for too long
Tampa Bay Rays GM
7:55
Are we deep enough and competitive enough to hold onto Junior Caminero for a long time, or should we sell high and get a ton of prospects in return to rebuild for our “new” ballpark?
Mark P
7:56
Caminero isn't even arb-eligible until after the 2027 season, so he'll remain a major bargain for the Rays for quite a while.  While the Rays are always broadly open to trading virtually anyone, moving Caminero any time before 2028 (assuming he keeps hitting like this) would be surprising.
Mets Fan
7:58
So it looks like Mark Vientos is the odd man out. Who’s in need of a third baseman?  Mets play Benge in right field, and have Brett Batty back him up there, back up 3rd for Bichette, back up first for Polanco, and 2nd for Semien. That allows Brett to fill in for all those guys and allow them to have some DH time as well.  We don’t need Vientos.
Mark P
7:59
The issue might be that other teams don't view Vientos as a viable third baseman, given his defensive metrics.  So if they view him as a first baseman going forward, that lowers his trade value, plus his shaky 2025 production is another issue.
Kicker Roo
8:00
Is it crazy to think that T.O. could be O's MVO?
Mark P
8:01
Terrell Owens plays baseball?

A big season from O'Neill would be huge for the Orioles, but I'd suggest that if 2026 ends with him as their top bat, something's gone amiss.
Giolito
8:02
Compared to not playing this season, what are the chances I sign a minor league offer at this point?
Mark P
8:04
Giolito will still end up with a guaranteed contract, but a one-year deal, and on a much lower price than he was expecting.
Bo knows....
8:05
Speaking of the NFL, what's your take on the surprising rumbling about Kyler Murray returning to baseball?  No way he gives up that NFL money right?
Mark P
8:06
Agreed.  Murray isn't starting from scratch as an A's minor leaguer when he still has several years of eight-figure paychecks still available to him even as an NFL backup
Could be that getting out of Arizona even leads to a Darnold-esque career revival
Bobby Cox
8:07
Braves make a move for a 5th starter? Lucas G? I thought Bassett would have been the fit but 18 million alot
Mark P
8:08
Atlanta seems like a decent fit for Giolito, but this has been true for months, even before all the spring injuries.  The Braves might simply their internal options to signing Giolito specifically.
Kerry Wood's Slurve
8:09
Who has the nastiest pitch in baseball today?
Mark P
8:10
as per Statcast's "run value" metric, Tarik Skubal's changeup (with a +25 RV) was the most effective pitch in baseball in 2025.

Tied for second with +23 RV is Chris Sale's slider and Ryne Nelson's four-seamer
Stein
8:10
Thanks for your time Mark. What does Seattle do with all their OFs? Way too many and they need a starter.
Mark P
8:12
It's "too many" in terms of bodies, but not necessarily in terms of quality.  Robles and Raley are coming off rough seasons, and Canzone's bat could well come back to earth.  

In terms of the depth outfielders the Mariners would be willing to trade, I doubt any would bring back a decent "sixth starter" type
Cards
8:15
Was the Burleson to the Astros thing Rosenthal said an actual rumor or just him speculating?
Mark P
8:17
It was speculation on Ken's part, just because the Cards are open to business on a lot of their roster and the Astros need a LHH outfielder.  Even then, it was a reach because Rosenthal noted a third team would need to be involved in a trade (with that team getting one of Houston's infielders).
Rosenthal's piece was also written before Pena fractured his finger, temporarily relieving the Astros' infield surplus
Killingmesmalls
8:18
Is the MLB trade rumors team, making  plans in case of a lockout for stuff to write about?
Mark P
8:19
Between the 2020 pandemic shutdown and the 2021-22 lockout, we (unfortunately) have some experience in how to operate when there's literally nothing happening in the baseball world.
Brewers Fan
8:20
Kyle Harrison, gave up some runs but 8 Ks in 3 innings todayfireHe definitely is the player with the most upside in that trade right?
Mark P
8:20
Given how the Crew develop pitching, it would surprise nobody if Harrison figured it out in Milwaukee
JD
8:21
does Benge make opening day or we roll with Tauchman for a bit?
Mark P
8:23
Benge is not exactly knocking down the door in terms of securing himself an Opening Day roster spot.  Tauchman was a very wise signing for the Mets, and I'm still surprised he had to settle for a minor league deal.
Zach
8:25
Do you think the World Series would have gone any different if the Mariners held on to win the ALCS and went?
Mark P
8:25
L.A. probably still wins, but who knows what might've happened in a short series.  

As a Jays fan, I seriously might've preferred the Jays just losing Game 7 of the ALCS to the soul-crushing near-miss that was Game 7 of the World Series
Nats Rebuild
8:26
This has taken too long!
Mark P
8:28
Hence the reason Mike Rizzo is out of a job.

We had a question in the chat last week about whether you'd prefer your team to have ten years of competitiveness with no titles, or one title within a decade of failure.  Unfortunately, Nats fans seems to be going through that second option.
John W
8:28
Who are the 5 best pitching labs in baseball?
Mark P
8:29
Brewers, Dodgers, Yankees, Astros I'd put in the top four.  Padres, Guardians, Rays, maybe the Pirates all deserve attention for the fifth slot
Mayor West
8:31
Who should the Reds attempt to extend now that Elly has rejected them?
Mark P
8:33
Abbott makes some sense.  The Reds are in the awkward position about not knowing yet what they really have in so much of their roster, so among the younger guys, Abbott is perhaps the most reasonable choice as a legit extension candidate
Phillies fan
8:34
Are the Phillies to old, are we going to sign a big free agent to spark some youth,and will Crawford,Painter, and MILLER going to be good
Mark P
8:36
Just by the nature of when players hit the market, adding a free agent isn't the way to make a roster younger.

As to the in-house youth movement, that's the biggest question hanging over the Phillies organization.  They strongly need at least one of the three guys you mentioned to break out and become an above-average big leaguer, in order to help keep the Phils' contention window open
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