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Mark P
8:04
It's not Emerson's fault that his team is playing in such a hitter-friendly ballpark
A Riley
8:04
With my big contract and poor results, am I at risk of the Braves trading me?
The Life Of Riley
8:05
Braves long commitment to Austin Riley looked great at one time but now??? And Kim  is dismal so far offensively and defensively.Thoughts?
Mark P
8:06
Teams aren't exactly going to be lining up to acquire Riley given his struggles and his salary.  It would be one thing if Riley was just hitting poorly this year so you could maybe write it off as an extended slump, but he's quietly been in decline for a few years now.
8:08
As for Kim, he's off to a rough start, but still in a small sample size.  The good news for Atlanta is that the team is on such a roll that they can afford to be patient with Kim (and Riley to some extent), plus Dubon and the hot-hitting Mateo provide some depth at shortstop if Kim can't get it together
One does wonder if shortstop may be a target area for the Braves at the deadline.....
Zach
8:09
Who could the Rangers get at the deadline if buying?
Mark P
8:10
It has to be a bat, yet where exactly that bat would play is an interesting question.  Texas isn't going to just bench Seager, Carter, or Langford, even if they're struggling.  Maybe the move is to get a veteran outfielder who's a free agent after the year, since such a hypothetical player can provide short-term help while not blocking Langford or Carter in the future.

Of course, getting Langford and Seager back from the IL in good form changes this equation quite a bit.  Bullpen help will also be a need for the Rangers regardless of how the offense is doing.
Brian
8:11
What role will Senzatela be signed in over the offseason? Will he stay in the bullpen or get put back in the rotation? If the bullpen, short relief or long relief?
Mark P
8:12
The wisest path forward for Senzatela would be to market himself as a reliever.  A higher-leverage role may be available depending on what happens the rest of the way with the Rockies, or how his next team (since he's a prime deadline trade candidate) deploys him
Mets
8:13
Do you think they might actually make the playoffs? Still a lot of season left.
Mark P
8:14
New York is currently 5.5 games back of the last NL wild card slot.  They're still only 26-33 so the hill is still pretty large, but it's also just May 31.  Grimace may yet make an appearance in Queens.
Outlaw
8:15
After seeing the players and owners proposals I fear games missed in 2027 is definitely possible and would be the worst outcome for owners and players alike. Thoughts
Mark P
8:16
Agreed that it would be devastating to baseball, and a case of cutting off the nose to spite the face.  My guess is still that the two sides reach an early-March agreement a la 2022 and we still get the full 162 games played, since hopefully some common sense will prevail in the labor talks
Zach
8:17
CJ Abrams is a Brave after the deadline?
Mark P
8:19
That would be just about the biggest plausible move Atlanta could make.  The fact that the Nats and Braves are division rivals could complicate things to some extent, and Abrams' habit of second-half fades may make trade suitors cautious about meeting Washington's huge asking price
Jim C
8:19
So if there were a cap, how would that work for teams that are already over? Would they have to fire-sale players for less than full value just to get rid of money? Kyle Tucker for a bag of peanuts to be named later?
Mark P
8:20
I would imagine some kind of grace period would be granted, rather than the Dodgers, Mets, etc. having to immediately slice tens of millions from the payroll within like a week or two
Steals
8:21
Who in your opinion is the best base stealer in baseball?  Do you think there will ever be another player to steal 100 bases in a season?
Mark P
8:22
Chandler Simpson is probably my pick as the best pure runner, though the issue is that he doesn't get on base enough.

I don't think 100 steals is entirely beyond the realm of the current game.
Kevin
8:23
How many years and money do Walker and Wetherholt get?  Thank you!
Mark P
8:27
JJW and the Cards reportedly had some extension talks in the spring but nothing came of it.  So in that sense, the Cardinals may have missed a window for a relative bargain since Wetherholt has now amassed a solid MLB record in his first season.  His agents have a case for something in the realm of Jackson Merrill's extension, depending on how the rest of the season proceeds.

Walker is an interesting case altogether.
8:28
Oops, posted too soon!

Walker is interesting since he's only breaking out now, right in time to nicely boost his first arbitration payday.  Assuming Walker keeps this up over the full season, the Cardinals may feel comfortable enough to put forward a notable extension, or they may want to play "wait and see" a bit deeper into 2027 before considering a long-term deal
Joe Judge
8:29
Who would be your AL MVP and NL MVP right now?
Mark P
8:30
Ohtani in the NL, and AL is a tougher call.  Yordan Alvarez?
Sad Tiger
8:30
Things are rather dire right now. Should the Tigers clean house except for McGonigle, Dingler, and a few young starting pitchers (Jobe, Melton, etc.)?
Guest
8:30
Who else would Tigers move if they be one sellers.
Mark P
8:35
Skubal, Verlander, Mize, Torres, Flaherty, Jensen, and Drew Anderson are all either free agents this winter, or free agents if a club option is declined. Any of these players can and still be on the table as trade candidates if Detroit goes try to sell.

Blowing things up entirely doesn't seem plausible, if your idea extends to trading the likes of Greene or Colt Keith.  One might also think that if the Tigers did pursue such a direction, it might be under a new PBO.  We don't know the terms of Scott Harris' contract, but since he was hired in September 2022, a hypothetical five-year deal would have one year remaining (and a four-year deal would be about to end)
You can't spell Ballesteros without
8:35
Bees?
Mark P
8:35
Beads?!
Dave
8:36
Expectations for Jonah Cox? As much as I love the idea of a 25 year-old who isn’t even among the Giants’ top 30 prospects coming up and destroying major league pitching, this seems like it has the potential to be ugly.
Mark P
8:37
Cox seems MLB-ready based on speed and defense alone, which isn't a bad recipe for a fourth outfielder and pinch-running specialist.  If he can even hit enough to be a decent platoon bat, that's a formula for a nice career in the majors.

That said, it's a little surprising that the Giants called him up without even a cursory stop in Triple-A.  Maybe it's a case where they think having him hit in the PCL isn't a valid gauge of his offense, or having Cox hit in such a hitter-friendly league might screw up his mechanics
Tim
8:39
Can the Tigers get anything for Jake Rogers and his .143 batting average (career .198)…. Every year he gets worse but maybe a change of scenery.
Mark P
8:39
The fact that I left Rogers out of the list of Tigers trade candidates says a lot, as Rogers is also an impending free agent.  His trade value is pretty close to nil.
Chris
8:41
I wonder if the league would also institute an NBA 2011 era amnesty program, wherein each team could remove one contract from their cap (while still paying the player)
Mark P
8:42
This seems like a possible compromise, but then some smaller-market teams might prefer to have a player with a big AAV on their books to help them reach a hypothetical salary floor
redrum
8:43
what would it take for Reds to acquire Aroldis Chapman?
Mark P
8:44
Chapman is working on a $12MM salary for 2026, and he has a mutual/vesting option for 2027 that triggers a $13MM guaranteed payday if he pitches at least 40 innings this year and is healthy at season's end.  So Chapman is in pretty good shape to hit that 40-inning threshold, and I'd think that may make him a little too pricey for the Reds' liking
Guest
8:45
what releivers do the Pirates have their sights on?
Mark P
8:46
Too early for any specific names to be thrown around.  Probably like most contenders, the Pirates will be vaguely "in on everyone" when it comes to relievers, though Pittsburgh will be operating at a lower price point.

If the Bucs can remain in the race, it'll be fun to watch them operate at the deadline since it's been so long since they and Cherington have been buyers
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