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Mark P
7:36
April's first edition of the Weekend Chat has been launched! We'll take a minute to let some questions pile up, then get cooking
Sasaki
7:39
What are your thoughts so far on me
Mark P
7:40
A fine pitcher, plenty of talent, and still something of a project given his age and relative newness to the majors.  Still plenty of ceiling as a starter, but if nothing else, Sasaki showed that he can certainly thrive as a MLB reliever
Orioles
7:40
Panic!?
Baseball fan
7:40
Jays season over?
Mark P
7:41
Let's start the "the season isn't even two weeks old" cautionary reminders right now.  For Jays fans in particular, don't forget that the team was middling at best for two full months in 2025 before things started clicking.
Ang T
7:42
Who gets the callup if the Mets have to place Polanco on the IL? I’m guessing Vidal Brujan.
Mister Met
7:42
With early struggles, is there a chance Benge gets demoted to AAA?  It’s not like he tore it up there last year and seems to be overmatched (announcer stated swing looks longer and rigid I believe).  If yes, what do you do with Soto hurt and unavailable as well?
Mark P
7:44
These situations go hand in hand.  If Soto and Polanco both have to hit the IL, Benge isn't going anywhere since the Mets need the lineup help.  New York has two open spots on the 40-man roster so Brujan's contract could be selected without much fuss, but the Mets might prefer Ronny Mauricio since he has an option remaining (and is obviously already on the 40-man).
7:45
In Polanco's case, giving him a 10-day IL trip to rest up seems like an ideal situation, as having him just at DH is creating some lineup clogging
Money
7:46
It's early in the season, any idea what Minnesota needs to improve on to make this season a success?
Mark P
7:48
Snarky answer is "a time machine," since I think the Twins are in for a rough season.  Taj Bradley has looked sharp so far and Josh Bell is on one of his heaters, but that's more or less it in terms of hot starts.  The unfortunate truth is that there's no single aspect of the team that's holding the Twins back --- it's every aspect at once
Thoughts on challenge system
7:49
Most fans seem to enjoy the extra layer of strategy, how about you? Do you think we’ll see it expand to 3-5 challenges a game? Players given more than 2 seconds to decide if they want to challenge?
Mark P
7:50
I'm a big fan of the challenge system and how smoothly it's become part of baseball lore.  Dunno if any tweaks need to be incorporated just yet.  If anything, I can see it maybe eventually bumped up to three challenges a game, though five seems like too many
Trout Out
7:51
Man, the Trout HBP today looked painful
Mark P
7:52
No kidding....no good way to get hit on the hand by a Major League pitch.  One can only hope he's okay and Trout has avoided another serious injury
Pirates
7:52
How long can the pirates maintain this short term success?
Mark P
7:55
I was in "I'll need to see it to believe it" mode before predicting Pittsburgh for a playoff spot.  In part this was due to my own reservations about their roster, and also my belief that they're still behind at least the Brewers and Cubs in the NL Central, with the Reds possibly also in the mix.

But, the Pirates certainly look like an improved team. The rotation has performed well, and new guys Lowe and O'Hearn have been on fire.  So far so good in the early going
Walter
7:56
Guardians under the radar again?
Mark P
7:57
They should continue to be in the mix for a wild card berth again, since the Guards often seem to just figure it out and find a way.  It's comforting that they're winning even with Ramirez off to a slow start.
Griffin
7:58
Assuming the reporting about Griffin’s extension being basically done is true, is there any reason they’d delay announcing it? Does this mean they’re probably still negotiating?
Mark P
7:59
Since this looks to be the largest contract of its kind (i.e. for a player just entering the big leagues), no surprise that it'll take a bit to cross the t's and dot the lowercase j's.  

Also, don't forget that it's a holiday weekend, so that may be a factor in whatever delay is involved
squinky
8:01
I feel for the umps. I've seen a bunch of overturned abs calls by  half an inch!
Mark P
8:01
Plenty of 50-50 calls, no doubt, where you can't blame the ump for making the call (or blame a player to making the challenge)
Lt Data
8:04
Were you surprised the Yankees didn’t add to their bullpen this winter?  Obviously their record so far is strong, but things have been shaky in the late innings, as could’ve been foreseen.  Could’ve used a Diaz-type arm there.
Mark P
8:05
The Yankees feel they bolstered the back end of the pen enough at the deadline, hence the lack of real activity on that front last offseason
John
8:06
The orioles fumbled the entire Coby Mayo situation in my books. Either trade him, or play him. I’ve been in the trade him party for a long time now. Is his value sunk? Playing every other game doesn’t help. They’ve done that with Kjerstad as well. Would they sell low on Mayov
Mark P
8:09
Others have written this before, but the Orioles rebuilding "too quickly" led to a big of a developmental logjam.  Suddenly the team had too many (in a loose way) good infield prospects and not enough room to play everyone on the MLB roster.  One can argue that bringing these guys up to replace bench players raises the talent floor in theory, but the O's also want their up-and-comers playing regularly, not getting into only a couple of games a week.

Mayo is all of 24 years old, so I'm not willing the close the door on him (or Kjerstad) as legitimate big leaguers in the future. Mayo isn't doing much with the opportunity afforded him by these injuries, however, and the fact that the Orioles went out and signed Alonso to lock down first base is perhaps telling
8:10
Mayo still has some legit trade value, as I'll guess plenty of teams see him as a change-of-scenery candidate.
Zach
8:10
If you could go back to 1 moment in MLB history what would it be?
Mark P
8:11
Bartolo Colon's home run
Joey E
8:11
With Hunter Brown getting hurt, did the Astros now move Parades for a starter?
Mark P
8:12
Such a trade would be tricky to pull off this early in the season, since it's not like there's a long list of teams willing and able to trade viable starting pitchers.
Methats who
8:13
How do you feel about the Red’s starting pitching?
Mark P
8:14
They've been able to hold their own with Greene and Lodolo out, but obviously Cincy needs those two back to really kick into gear
Brewerdrunk
8:14
What are the odds the brewers get Made signed to a long term deal?
Mark P
8:16
He has barely played any Double-A ball, so I'd pump the brakes on any extension until next spring at the earliest.  Given what we've seen with Chourio's deal and the aggressive Cooper Pratt extension, it's fair to guess Milwaukee definitely has an eye to locking Made up as well.
8:17
Another wrinkle in a Made extension....the lockout.  Even if it's a 2021-22 situation and the regular season still lasts 162 games, the spring will be compressed enough that the Brewers front office may have other things to deal with before really focusing on a contract for Made
Al Kaline Battery
8:18
What can MLB do to reduce pitching injuries? It seems like every week someone else is blowing out their arm. Injuries are a part of all sports but this is becoming an epidemic
Mark P
8:20
There's no easy answer.  Higher velocity leads to more injuries, but pitchers aren't going to voluntarily shed velo since that makes them either less effective, or less likely to get signed in the first place.

Pitching a baseball is an unnatural physical act, and it's inevitably going to lead to injuries.  The modern focus on velocity and spin isn't entirely to blame either, as if anything, modern medicine has helped pitchers stay healthier overall.
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