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Connor Byrne
1:59
Hey everyone. We'll get started shortly.
Longfoot
2:01
Anything new on Jacoby Ellsbury's contract dispute with the Yankees?
Connor Byrne
2:01
I don't think anything new has come out about this since the union filed a grievance on Ellsbury's behalf in December 2019.
Pudge
2:02
Every NL East team is better than every NL Central team. Agree?
Connor Byrne
2:03
That's a stretch, I think. I'm definitely not sold on either the Phillies or Marlins being better than the Cardinals, Brewers, Cubs or Reds.
They could all be 80-some-win teams
if things break right
Joe
2:04
Do you think Andrew Vaughn breaks camp with the White Sox?  If not, who's DHing the first howevermany weeks they "keep him down" for?  Does the rumors the White Sox were at the Cespedes showcase signal they may be looking for options here (at least to make themselves look better)?
Connor Byrne
2:04
I'm optimistic. The attendance at the Cespedes showcase could have just been due diligence. Not saying Chicago won't sign Cespedes, but I'd rather roll with Vaughn at this point.
Lee Harvey Oddball
2:05
Who had the best offseason this year?
Connor Byrne
2:05
Kind of hard to pick against the Padres, isn't it?
Tiger
2:06
Will the Cardinals sign a free agent pitcher now that Mikey's down
Connor Byrne
2:08
I'm not banking on anything significant. Odorizzi would make sense, but they may not want to pony up. I'm surprised Porcello's still out there - he's unspectacular, but at least you know he'll give you innings at an inexpensive cost
Forrest Whitley
2:09
Is it finally Forrest Whitley's time or do the Astros look outside the organization to fill in for Framber?  Porcello, Hamels, or Odorizzi?
Connor Byrne
2:10
Speaking of which ... I do like the Porcello idea if they really want to stay under the tax. They're at least interested in Odo - https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/03/astros-looking-at-jake-odorizzi... - but I'm skeptical because of the CBT. Otherwise, I'd give Whitley a shot.
Old_Chief
2:11
How much of Inciarte's contract would the Braves have to pay to get him to Clic with the Astros?
Connor Byrne
2:12
Probably the vast majority of it. Inciarte's on an $8.7MM salary and a $6.105MM CBT bill. If the Astros are going to add pitching, they can't be allocating much money to Inciarte. Frankly, I'd rather just see what Straw's capable of.
@TheRealRangers29
2:13
Being an avid fan of the Rangers, and having read tons of reports recently on Rangers' players as well as following along with ST games... I wanted to give you a list of 5 Rangers who I think will be good this season. 1. Joey Gallo (and I mean really, really good), 2. Ronald Guzman, 3. Kolby Allard (I think he'll have Mike Minor-esque production throughout his career), 4. Nick Solak, 5. Kyle Gibson. Your thoughts?
Connor Byrne
2:14
I'm optimistic about Gallo and Solak bouncing back, but no one else on that list does anything for me.
Reynold S.
2:14
How big a problem is 3B for the Nats?  What do you expect from Kieboom this year?
Connor Byrne
2:16
I wanted to see them upgrade there with someone like Bryant or Turner (pretty sure I picked Turner to go there at the start of the winter). It's tough to be bullish on Kieboom after he showed pretty much zero power last year, but he's only 23, and he did walk a lot ... so there's that.
Alfonse
2:17
Do the Tigers bring Verlander back post Tommy John to help mentor their impressive group of young pitchers?
Connor Byrne
2:17
I'd think Verlander would want to sign with a World Series contender
John Bender
2:17
What do you think of the Mets bullpen? There's ability there, but relying on Betances and Familia seems problematic...
Connor Byrne
2:18
Looks like the weakest aspect of the team to me. I think they needed to do more than sign May and Loup.
The group does have potential, but it's iffy, especially with Lugo hurt
Old_Chief
2:19
Are the Phillies better than everyone seems to believe?
Connor Byrne
2:19
I'm not really gung-ho on their chances. PECOTA has them around 84 wins, which seems reasonable. They're not a playoff pick for me.
Joe
2:20
If the White Sox go with Jonathon Stiever as SP#5 (as supposedly they're considering), are White Sox fans allowed to file a formal protest with management?  Or is he actually better than the options out there (Odorizzi, Porcello, whatever) for a team trying to win a title?
Connor Byrne
2:22
I don't think he'll open the season in the rotation, but if he does, I wouldn't overreact. If he's bad, the White Sox could turn to someone else (Rodon, Cease, for instance), and they'll be able to acquire someone during the season if that doesn't work out. Their rotation looks good overall. So does the team as a whole.
Ice bear
2:23
Biggest over and under pay of the offseason?
Connor Byrne
2:24
one minute while I peruse the FA signings list...
2:25
I'd say Hendriks and Enrique Hernandez got way more than I expected
2:26
on the other side, Joc Pederson didn't do as well as I thought he would
Whats up with the Reds?
2:26
Going over their lineup and rotation, on paper they're a super solid team still in a very bleak division. All the guys they picked up last season to make a run are still here. They lost good pitching obviously but still have Gray and Castillo. I have zero faith in their FO but the team should be decently good? And maybe it was the COVID stuff but how they played last season did not correspond to the type of talent on the team. Am I missing something as to why they aren't playing at the level that they should?
Connor Byrne
2:28
I'm not writing them off at all heading into the season, as they're talented and that division looks to be there for the taking, but the offseason was a failure. Gave away Raisel Iglesias and Archie Bradley, lost Bauer (not that they had a real chance to keep him), and didn't do much of anything at short.
Will
2:29
Because 2020 messed us all up, what are the new(ish) rules regarding eligibility?  Is Ryan Mountcastle still under the threshold for Rookie of the Year consideration?
Connor Byrne
2:29
Based on what I read, yes. He's actually my AL ROY pick at the moment.
Giants 2022
2:29
Tim Kawakami of the Athletic wrote a piece on the Giants obtaining a superstar player again. I'd consider Posey to have been one himself but as all catchers, they tend to peak and fall faster than not. Maybe besides Bumgarner, we haven't seen a superstar player since Bonds - making us fans very spoiled. Do you think SF will close in on a star player in the future or will Zaidi wait to see how the new crop of minor leaguers fair or something in between?
Connor Byrne
2:30
In the next year or two, I do expect the Giants to make a big splash in free agency. They haven't gone all-out of late because they're not quite ready to contend.
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