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Vin
9:05
Masters picks?
Mark P
9:06
Hard to pick against Scottie Scheffler
Kurtz
9:06
True or false: I am a league average bat if you take me out of Sacramento and its park effects. Put me in T-Mobile or Petco and I don't think I'd be near as good.
Mark P
9:07
Kurtz is surely helped by playing at SHP, but he also had a .967 OPS in away games in 2025.  The guy can hit anywhere.
Reds Nation
9:11
Do the Reds have a closer problem with Pagan? He averaged 1 HR every 5 innings last year which is unacceptable for a closer in my opinion. Your thoughts?
Mark P
9:13
Pagan's struggles in keeping the ball in the park have been the story of his career, though the rest of his arsenal is good enough that he has been able to avoid damage some seasons (like in 2025).

It's always going to be a highwire act to some extent if Pagan is your closer.  But, the Reds felt solid enough in his 2025 performance to sign him to another contract and roll the dice again.  Time will tell if that was the right call, or if they'll explore a closer change at some point this year
Rob
9:15
What is going on with the San Diego team sale
Mark P
9:15
As of the most recent reports, four groups are bidding, and something could develop before April is over

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/03/padres-notes-sale-gores-payroll...
9:17
I haven't heard back from the Padres about my offer of $100 and a signed photo for the team.  Starting to think I'm out of the running, but I may be willing to up my bid to $110 bucks
Guest
9:17
Umm, Mark. The Guardians won their division last year. The Tigers were the wildcard. In fact, the Guards have won their division last AL Central 3 of the last 4 seasons. They’re not hunting a wildcard playoff spot.
Mark P
9:18
This is a very fair point to make.  While I think Detroit wins the division this year, one can't rule out Cleveland from topping the ALC again.
Ludwig’s Pop Fly
9:19
After 1+ week, what concerns you most about Atlanta’s offense?
Mark P
9:21
Acuna, Harris, and Riley are off to cold starts. Small sample size, sure, though in the case of Harris/Riley case, there's extra concern given how their numbers have been on the slide for a couple of years now.

By and large, however, the Braves' offense is looking good even with some prominent names in early slumps
White Sox Rookie
9:22
Is the White Sox rookie first baseman eligible to win rookie of the year?  Should MLB make a special category for international rookies?
Mark P
9:24
Murakami is indeed eligible.  Creating a whole new award seems like a reach, but ruling such players from NPB, the KBO, etc. ineligible also doesn't exactly fair --- they're rookies in MLB, after all.

It's an interesting debate point, and the other wrinkle is how the ROY voting impacts Prospect Promotion Incentive players.
Angels Fan
9:26
Besides the obvious answer of Arte... Why haven't the Angels extended Neto?  At this point, would a 7/160 even be enough?
Mark P
9:27
If you're Neto, would you necessarily want to sign a long-term extension with the Angels?  An extension secures your financial future, but with $4.15MM in salary this year, three more arb years coming as a Super Two player, and $3.35MM already banked from your draft signing bonus, maybe Neto is willing to just bet on himself until free agency
Robbie Baseball
9:28
I know it’s only 9 games into the season, but I’m worried about the Blue Jays - especially based on the teams they’ve played so far. They were something like 2 for 20 this weekend with runners in scoring position. What can they do to turn things around?
Mark P
9:31
It's not great when a slow start coincides with my worries about a team --- i.e. that the Jays had no lefty bullpen depth, and they were relying a lot of hitters replicating their 2025 breakouts.

When you have mulitple players who are completely ice cold (Barger, Varsho, Springer, Kirk), it's hard to score runs or string any kind of rally together.  Not pressing the panic button after nine games or anything, but losing four in a row during this allegedly soft part of the schedule isn't good.
James
9:32
Do you see the Braves making any significant trades at the deadline?
Mark P
9:33
Anthopoulos is never one to sit out a deadline.  Any exact needs are tough to forecast right now, since so much will depend on how many of Atlanta's starters are healthy by that point.  But, bullpen reinforcement is always a need, or an extra outfielder.
Guest
9:34
Is Cole Young legit?
Mark P
9:34
Highly regarded prospect, former first rounder...nobody should be surprised if Young has a breakout year
Andrew McCutchen
9:35
What do you think about the Pirates not re-signing me now? I'm off to a hot start and Ozuna is completely washed up with no bat speed at all.
Mark P
9:36
It was handled in a very awkward manner, but I don't hate the Pirates' decision to move on from McCutchen as a pure baseball move.  What didn't make sense was then spending $12MM on Ozuna to clog up the DH spot.
The idea of Cutch going on a revenge tour and having a big season in Texas would be fun (especially for Rangers fans)
Lower Case j’s
9:38
Excellent Wayne’s World 2 reference!
Mark P
9:39
Haha, someone got my middle-aged reference! Hooray!
And on that happy note, it's time to wrap up the chat.  Thanks to everyone who participated, and happy Easter weekend to those who celebrate.
9:40
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