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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat
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Connor Byrne
2:01
Hey everyone. Please bear with me as I try to work through a hellacious stomach bug. We'll get going in a minute.
john whelan
2:03
Is Juan Soto still injured
Connor Byrne
2:04
He's back to playing right field, so the shoulder problem is at least bothering him less than it was (if at all).
Jorge78
2:05
Connor!  Is Votto of the Reds done?  Cincy sure owes him a lot of money!  What say the advanced stats?  Will there one day be a Pujols like exit? Thanks so much for these special chats!
Connor Byrne
2:06
Thanks, Jorge. His Statcast numbers are very optimistic, but at some point, you have to look at a large sample of production and worry. Going back to 2019, Votto has been pretty ordinary.
wRC+ since 2019: 104. Nothing special. I do hope he bounces back. I'm not going to declare him done.
Trevor's Story
2:09
Best landing spot for Story at the TD?
Connor Byrne
2:09
I'd love to see Oakland make that type of splash, but the money factor means it probably won't happen. The A's shortstops are awful.
Joe
2:09
Hope your stomach feels better!  With the White Sox scoring 40 runs in 4 games, and also going through a period where there starters gave up no runs over more than 25 innings, are they more likely to stand pat at the trade deadline other than a few minor trades for relievers or some such?  Or are they going to push harder, given their success?
Connor Byrne
2:11
Thanks, Joe. The deadline's still two-plus months off, so plenty can change. I think they'll try to bolster whatever their issues are then. GM Rick Hahn even said he'd explore the trade market for OF help when Robert went down, but it's early to be pulling off significant deals. Jimenez could be back in Aug-Sept, but I'm not sure that's something the Sox can bank on.
Jon's Gray
2:12
Best landing spot for [Jon] Gray at the TD?
German's Marquez
2:12
Despite the rocky start for Marquez, does he still get traded at the TD?
Connor Byrne
2:12
I may as well take these at once...
2:13
Name just about any contender & Gray could go there. He'll have a huge market if he keeps this up (or anything close to it). I think the Rockies should've traded him after 2019, but they didn't. Seldom do I agree with anything they do, aside from the Bridich firing.
2:15
It's trickier with Marquez. On one hand, if it doesn't get any/much better for him, they'd be selling low on a guy who has typically pitched well. On the other, he's going to get more expensive after this season.
2:17
He's been making sweetheart salaries, but they go to $11MM in 2022, $15MM for 2023 and then there's a $16MM club option or $2.5MM buyout. Not saying that's a prohibitive deal, but it's not all that appealing for the Rockies or anyone else if this version of Marquez is here to stay.
His walk rate has gone way up. I'd like to look into why that's the case.
Sonny's Gray
2:18
Is [Sonny] Gray moved at the TD?
Connor Byrne
2:19
I'm more inclined to believe that would happen in the offseason, considering the Reds could very well win that division. The Reds aren't really in position to trade Gray if they want to contend, especially with whatever is going on with Castillo.
Joe
2:20
Please tell me Evan Marshall's struggles are just a small sample size, and that I should believe his xERA rather than the actual results...
Connor Byrne
2:21
I'm concerned. Everything is pretty much going in the wrong direction. Strikeouts have plummeted, walks have gone back up, grounders down
2:22
the xERA (3.93) paints a better picture, but even that's more middle of the pack than great
He has done well to limit hard contact, I'll give him that
@therealRangers29
2:23
I'm just wondering when the mailbag should be out. Thanks!
Connor Byrne
2:23
Tim sent it out Tuesday. It should be somewhere in your email.
A's fan
2:23
Any chance the A's can get back Richie Martin in a trade with the Orioles?  Andrus and Machin are just not cutting at Shortstop.
Connor Byrne
2:24
Sure, but shouldn't they be aiming higher? I'd like to take a deeper dive into some realistic possibilities who could help, because you're right that Andrus and Machin are bad
Reynold
2:25
It is early yet, small sample size and all that. Two teams are surprising, to me, at about the 25% mark. Are the Giants and Red Sox as good as their current records?
Connor Byrne
2:27
I believe they're good teams and legit playoff contenders. I just don't think they're this good (Red Sox are at .590, Giants are at .622). Mid- to high-80s in wins seems realistic to me, but it's nice to have banked all these victories already.
Both teams play in tough divisions with clubs that haven't played at their best yet
Cornelius McGillicuddy
2:28
Will any manager ever break Connie Mack's record of 3,731 wins?
Connor Byrne
2:28
Only 985 more to go for Tony La Russa
Players' Check
2:29
Which player(s) do you think are overpaid?
Connor Byrne
2:29
There are too many bad contracts out there to name (Miguel Cabrera and Chris Davis are obvious), but that's the fault of the team - not the player.
2:30
Not that I don't applaud teams for making an effort, but some of these deals look like landmines from the get-go
Joe
2:30
If nobody signs Pujols this year, do you see the Cardinals signing him (symbolically) in September or after the season so he can retire with them?
Connor Byrne
2:31
It would make sense to do the one-day contract thing, yes. I doubt he'll play anywhere next year even if he happens to catch on somewhere this season.
Steve
2:31
Do you see Joey Gallo getting a decent return if he’s traded?
Connor Byrne
2:33
"decent" sounds fair. I don't think it would be anything great for a $6.2MM player with one year of control left and whose power has gone way down over the past season-plus. Too bad Texas didn't sell high in 2019. That year looks like an outlier when you consider his career production.
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