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Steve Adams

2:52

I get where you're coming from, but I think that would just disincentivize teams from calling up older players. And you'd also probably get lots of decent 28- and 29-year-olds non-tendered every winter, which would only further flood the market and tamp down the lower tiers of free agency.

The latter half of my answer, in particular, seems like a concerning scenario

Wander

2:52

When am I in the MLB?

Steve Adams

2:52

I give it three weeks or so?

Rizzo

2:53

What's the medium term outlook for the Nationals? Seems like they're a mediocre team now and given they're losing Scherzer at year's end, Corbin looking like he's done, Strasburg being unable to stay healthy and a very weak farm system, this seems like they're heading back to the early days of the team losing a lot of games!

Steve Adams

2:55

Corbin doesn't look right, agreed, but he's been better since that awful two-start run early in the year. I think most baseball fans are in too much of a hurry to say a guy is "done" as soon as he starts struggling on the wrong side of 30. I don't think anyone should be shocked if we hear he's been pitching through a shoulder or elbow thing, but comes back healthy and effective in 2022.

As to your broader point...

2:57

I agree with the rest of the assessment. It's not a great outlook. At the same time, they've consistently been a win-now team under Rizzo and the Lerners, and I don't expect that to change. The Nats have $69MM in guaranteed contracts next year. That does not include arb raises for Trea Turner ($13M in 2021) and Juan Soto ($8.5M), which will be immense. Still, they're probably looking at something in the $100-110MM range for payroll after they figure out arbitration. (Plus, I suppose, whatever deferred monies they owe from their annual deferral-palooza)

2:59

Regardless, they should have ample money to spend in free agency, and I think they'll be creative on the trade market. Carter Kieboom is a guy I can see being moved for a more established player with a few years of control. Next year's free-agent class is deep.j

(Ignore that J at the end, ha)

3:00

They're also picking higher this year (11th) than they have in awhile, and they may have a pretty decent draft slot in 2022 as well, depending on how the current season finishes. That could help the farm out a bit, as could selling a few short-term veterans this summer. Doesn't have to be Scherzer, but they could gauge interest in Hand, Daniel Hudson, Schwarber. Josh Harrison has been useful.

Mmddyyyy

3:00

Do you get more questions about players who are struggling or players who are doing well?

Steve Adams

3:01

Probably guys who are struggling. Goes back to the comment about fans jumping to the "he's done" conclusion right away. Lots of "Is this guy done?" in every chat.

3:02

Sometimes, sure he might be. I'm not bullish on Matt Harvey, sorry to say. But usually it's just small-ish sample noise. Sean Manaea was a frequent one last year. "He's done. The A's are going to have to move on, right? The shoulder injuries were too much" etc.

tigerfan

3:03

should we be worried about how bad Matt Manning is pitching with Toledo?

Steve Adams

3:04

I know he's allowed gobs of home runs but haven't tracked why or anything. If his velocity is in the toilet or something, I'd worry. But he's still missing tons of bats and not walking a lot of guys. Right now it's only a handful of starts, and a couple of them have been quite good. I wouldn't panic yet, but yeah, you never love to see a guy give up 27 runs in 26 innings.

Chris

3:05

Milwaukee needs 1B and 3B help, and fast. Still in the race here. CJ Cron and Asdrubal Cabrera are bound to be linked to the Crew at some point, but is there a bigger splash, that might be affordable? Would Baltimore give Mancini, Detroit Canderlario? Gurriel from Houston? What's the price?

Steve Adams

3:06

Mancini and Candelario will be available. I don't think the Astros would move Yuli. I wouldn't be shocked if Carlos Santana or Jesus Aguilar wound up on the market.

2021>2020

3:07

Who do you think is the best value acquisition this summer for each of starter, RH/LH reliever, infielder, outfielder, bench bat?

Steve Adams

3:07

This is very off the cuff, so I'll probably miss someone, but I'll give one guy who I think is probably an underappreciated add at each position

3:11

RH Reliever: Richard Rodriguez (asking price won't be cheap, but I don't think fans generally appreciate how good he is, partly because he's in Pittsburgh)
LH Reliever: Paul Fry

Infielder: Adam Frazier

Outfielder: David Peralta, I guess? Not a ton of guys I feel are quiet values. Maybe Robbie Grossman.

Bench bat: Eduardo Escobar is more than a "bench" bat, but he can play multiple position and switch-hits, so he could bounce around a bit for a contender. Good hitter, and seemingly an 80-grade clubhouse dude with one of the best personalities in the game. I feel like he's a guy a contending team would acquire and just fall in love with. Hell, that's how he ended up on his current contract in Arizona

Frank

3:13

The Complaint lawsuit filed by five investors against the general managing partner of the Tampa Bay Rays, Stu Sternberg, alleges damaging financial allegations against Stenberg. What are your thoughts if this lawsuit goes into the Discovery and eventually a jury trial as filed by the five plaintiffs?

Steve Adams

3:14

The best person on our staff to ask this question to would be Anthony Franco, who has a law degree from Boston College. So -- I'll email it to him, and we'll either drop his answer into Tim's mailbag next week or into next week's chat.

#VoteWalsh

3:14

What are the odds that Jared Walsh makes the All-Star Team?

Steve Adams

3:14

Angels have a big fanbase and the dude is raking. He should get there.

Guest

3:16

Hi Steve How much of the Braves situation with Freddie may have to do with the bunch in Colorado seeing the Rockies problems everyday (or week) with their contracts they handed out over the years and afraid of repeating them. It really shouldn;t mattrer because Friddies as solid as a rock ball player to bet on going forward, but so was Arenado for them in a way.

Steve Adams

3:17

The Rockies' woes have no bearing on Freeman's contract (or lack thereof). I think there are multiple factors at play. Some of what Chipper Jones said this week about Liberty Media as an ownership group likely carries weight. You're not going to have a corporation fall in love with a guy and pay to keep him at all costs the way like many other owners do, for better or worse. So yeah, you avoid the Chris Davis situation that way, but you also miss out on, say, Mike Rizzo saying he needs Max Scherzer come hell or high water, dammit.

3:18

Beyond that, I think Alex Anthopoulos has a somewhat different view or approach after his years in L.A. He seems to generally prioritize year-over-year flexibility in a manner that is very reflective of the Dodgers.

3:19

I think they'll eventually make an offer to Freeman, and he may very well stay put. I did think a deal would get done in Spring Training, but I don't think I'm as surprised as many Braves fans that it ultimately didn't happen. Doesn't mean it won't still work out.

T-Mobile

3:20

Should the Mariners trade Haniger? What could they get for him? An all star caliber second baseman? A number 2 or 3 starter?

Steve Adams

3:20

They'd get more minor league talent and/or controllable young MLB pieces. They're not going to trade him for a veteran with similar service time under his belt.

ewitkows

3:20

What do the Brewers do with Huira? Send him back down? Look for a short term 1B rental for the year? they need more production out of 1B and shaw/vogelbach isn't cutting it

Steve Adams

3:24

I never thought Hiura would sustain his rookie output -- the .400 BABIP just wasn't going to be repeated -- but I'm pretty shocked he's fallen this far. Every scouting report on him was that he could hit in his sleep, but the glove was a question.

Given the huge uptick in strikeouts and the step back in walk rate, maybe he just needs a lengthier run in AAA to get into a good mechanical place.

That's total speculation, of course. If I definitively knew how to fix him, the Brewers would be paying me a six-figure salary right now, haha. But they can't keep running him out there. He's 1-for-28 with a 45% strikeout rate since he came back up. He looks completely lost.

Marc

3:24

If the Cubs stay in the race, would Hoyer deal from their suddenly deep RP arms or would he risk angering the fanbase and move Baez or Bryant? No one liked the Darvish trade and he did it anyway...

Steve Adams

3:24

I don't see how they could trade Bryant, Baez, Rizzo -- any core players, really -- when they're in first place or close to it.

3:25

Alrighty. I've got to wrap this up for the week. Thank you, as always, for participating and for the support you guys provide us. It's beyond appreciated, and it's just very cool and humbling on a personal level to have such wide-reaching support from our readers. You guys are awesome.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

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