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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

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Steve Adams

2:43

I honestly do not follow college baseball (or college sports in general) at all.

I shouldn't say "at all," as I try to familiarize myself with the top names available for the draft in a given year.

2:44

But in terms of the actual games, their schedule, all of that -- not so much.

Erik Neander

2:44

Should i call up Brujan before Wander?

Steve Adams

2:45

I think it'd be defensible for the Rays to call up Vidal Brujan before Wander Franco, yeah. They're both mashing in Triple-A, but Brujan is older and has more minor league experience as a result.

Guest

2:46

Poll on a proposed rule change, please: Baserunners no longer have to stay in the baseline in extra innings and may, in fact, run all over the field. After five failed throws to teammates, defender can get the baserunner out by throwing the ball directly at him. That last part might need some work.

Steve Adams

2:47

I can get behind this! If you're going to make the extra innings into a circus with nonsense like the runner on second base, let's unleash some full-blown chaos.

2:48

I would legitimately prefer this insane proposal to the runner on second starting an inning. It doesn't at all resemble baseball, but neither does starting an inning with a guy on base, and at least this version of extra-innings insanity sounds wildly entertaining.

Farhan Z.

2:48

Since joining the Giants 2020, Kevin Gausman has put up stellar 2.29 ERA over 137+ innings. Will I try to extend him before he hits free agency?

Steve Adams

2:51

I thought they should've tried to sign him for three or four years last winter -- something in the Eovaldi range (4 years, $68MM). He's going to be a $100MM pitcher at this point. It'll be interesting, because we have yet to see how Zaidi and Harris will act once they're really trying to compete in earnest. They've focused on short-term and/or low-cost deals for the most part (outside of the ownership-driven Harper pursuit).

Will they be willing to take on the long-term risk associated with signing Gausman for something like five or six years at $20MM+ per season? The last former Dodgers exec to take over a team, Alex Anthopoulos, has geared much more toward shorter-term deals and paying a premium in annual salary to minimize long-term risk.

2:52

That's a hell of a winding answer that doesn't really answer your question, ha. The shorter version is: they should! We haven't seen how Zaidi's Giants approach a situation like this yet, though, so it's hard to say with certainty.

Hoyer

2:52

Owners wanted to sell off and I was planning a rebuild. We sold of Darvish and Caritini, now we are contending for a playoff spot and need starters. Do we still buy after all? Sell? I'm assuming this all is depending on where we are come July.

Steve Adams

2:54

Yeah, their course will be entirely dependent on how the standings look. Tim Dierkes and I were talking about this recently, and we joked that Hoyer might almost annoyed that they're in first place. It muddies the opportunity to get better for the long-term, which did seem like the plan at the time of the Darvish deal.

As long as they're in or near first place, they won't trade Bryant, Baez, etc.

2:55

Who are some under the radar center fielders who could get traded

Steve Adams

2:58

There aren't *that* many who I can see plausibly being moved. Starling Marte is an obvious one. Ketel Marte, too. I think the Rays would welcome the opportunity to get out from some of the Kevin Kiermaier contract. Same with the Braves and Ender Inciarte.

Royals would trade Michael A. Taylor. If the Reds can't pull it together, I could see them putting Tyler Naquin out there. He's a better fit in a corner, but he's played CF in Cincinnati.

Teams try to pry Victor Robles away from the Nats every year, it seems. I don't think that'll happen, but I expect to see his name kicked around the rumor mill some.

A's fan

2:59

Why haven't the A's called up Pitcher Domingo Acevedo? He is pitchng Lights out at Triple-A and the team can obviously use the Bullpen help. Domingo has a 23 to 3 K vs BB ratio at the moment and was once a top prospect in the Yankees system. Is it that hard to find a 40-Man roster spot for him?

Steve Adams

3:02

It's only 14 innings in Triple-A, and the bullpen hasn't really been an issue for the A's. It's not a dominant group, sure, but they've been solid. If he keeps it up, I imagine he'll get a look when someone gets injured. To your broader question, though, it's not a 40-man roster with too much flotsam floating about.

Don

3:02

Can I assume that Clint Frazier Is out of options? Talk about a guy that needs a wake up call,His at bats have been ridiculous and that's saying something since the rest of the team looks lifeless also.

Steve Adams

3:03

He has a minor league option remaining

Astro Fan

3:04

I was thinking more of the Astros paying cash for someone making the MLB minimum. How would that affect the CBT?

Steve Adams

3:07

I assume this is a followup from the prior Astros question. Are you basically just asking how "cash considerations" in a trade (usually for a DFA'ed player) impact the luxury tax? Oftentimes cash considerations are negligible, and I don't believe they count toward CBT purposes anyway. It's determined based on player salary, not on the cost of acquisition.

If you're asking about a scenario where the Astros pay some team millions of dollars to acquire a pre-arbitration player -- I don't think I've ever really seen that happen, ha. (But it hypothetically shouldn't impact the CBT line, regardless)

Paw Paw

3:08

I go to a great steak restaurant order an expensive Bone In Ribeye.Can I ask for ketchup?I say yes because I'm paying for the steak.

Steve Adams

3:08

If you want to douse your perfectly good steak in sugar -- because that's all ketchup really is -- go for it. I think you're an absolute monster, haha, but yeah you should be able to eat it how you want it

3:09

Ah! I forgot this

3:10

Last week I had a question about the pending Rays lawsuit, and rather than tackle it myself, I sent it to MLBTR writer Anthony Franco since he has a law degree and I am more of a legal luddite. So, for Frank who asked last week, here's Anthony's reply

3:11

"This isn't a complaint that's laughably asinine on its face, but I think cases like this tend to have an uphill battle in getting to discovery and an eventual trial. As general partner, Sternberg has a fiduciary duty of loyalty to place the interests of the corporation above his own. The minority shareholders present a series of allegations (withholding financial information, using his position to decline opportunities for the partnership to purchase shares from minority holders that he then purchased himself, etc.) that could call into question whether he violated that loyalty duty. Without having access to their supporting evidence, I can't opine on how likely it is those allegations are true.

That Sternberg allegedly went from 49% ownership to 85% in a relatively short period of time is eyebrow-raising, but it's not evidence of anything illicit by itself. I don't think it's uncommon for minority shareholders to sell their shares to the majority holder when they want to get out of a partnership. Florida's statute on general partners' fiduciary duties goes out of its way to note that "a partner does not violate a duty or obligation ... merely because the partner’s conduct furthers the partner’s own interest." So it'll come down to whether the minority shareholders have enough evidence to demonstrate that Sternberg used his power as general partner to improve his own position at the expense of the partnership as a whole. I don't think that's out of the question, but they'll have to get pretty into the weeds on Sternberg's actions/inactions and motivations to get there."

3:12

Anthony was careful to specify that corporate law is not necessarily his specialty, but that's a vastly better answer than I'd have given, all the same, haha.

Cashman

3:13

Am I buying or selling this year?

Steve Adams

3:16

There's lots of talk on the Yankees selling, but they're three games over .500 and 2.5 back from a Wild Card spot. I don't think they'll engineer any kind of fire sale. I do wonder whether they could trade away some veterans to lower their luxury line and then acquire some help in other areas. I can see them walking that line -- say, trade Chapman or Britton (assuming he makes it back and is in decent health) but then acquire an outfielder or starting pitcher as well.

3:19

I would also say this -- if I'm running a rebuilding team (Tigers, for instance), I'm on the phone seeing what prospects they'll attach to Aaron Hicks to move the remainder of that contract. Detroit works because they have minimal long-term payroll obligations and outfield opportunity as well.

What prospects the Yankees would attach to Hicks, that is. Just to be clear.

Zaidi and Scott

3:20

Anyone we should be looking for as a SP/RP come July? Lots of injuries this year and a powerful starter to make up Webb and Cueto's more so average numbers (99 & 104 ERA+) to compliment Gausman would be great if we are still contending. Secondly, we don't really have a bonafide closer. Rogers a set up/pitch to contact type. McGee has had a couple outings that are minimizing his chances for the role.

Steve Adams

3:20

(That's Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris -- Giants' president of baseball ops and GM)

3:22

The Giants are an even more extreme case of what I was referencing with the Cardinals earlier. Basically their entire rotation is up for free agency at season's end, save for Logan Webb. If they're going to add someone, they should grab somebody who is signed beyond the current season.

This is partly just because it would be fun, but if you want a power arm at the back of that bullpen, Tyler Rogers just so happens to have a twin brother on a certain trainwreck of an AL Central team...

3:23

Uniting the Rogers twins would be a fun story -- Tyler setting up for Taylor! -- but the Twins could make Taylor available. He's making $6MM this year, which is a fine price for a reliever of his caliber, and his forthcoming arb raise will still give him a reasonable salary.

Jeff

3:24

The NL East seems to be a treadmill of mediocrity. Who ultimately ends up on top and what will be the factor that eventually separates them from the rest of the pack?

Steve Adams

3:26

I picked the Braves prior to the season, but the injuries in their rotation and the loss of Ozuna both hurt them. I still think they could, but if I were making new picks my present vote would go to the Mets. It's easy to say because they're currently in first place, but I also believe the true distinguishing factor in that division this year is going to be the trade deadline, and I'm more confident that Steve Cohen will give his front office an aggressive green light than I am that Liberty Media will green-light the Braves or that John Middleton will want to go over the luxury tax in Philadelphia.

Andrew

3:27

For 2022, Johnny Cueto has $22 M club option w/$5M buy-out. It seems certain that the Giants will elect the $5M buyout. In 2022, he will be a 36 year old pitcher. How much demand will there be for his services?/What type of multiyear contract could he secure?

Steve Adams

3:28

I would expect it's bought out, too, barring some huge finish where he looks like vintage Cueto. It's a net $17MM decision for the Giants, and it's not completely implausible that Cueto finishes strongly enough to look like a $17MM pitcher once again.

If he keeps doing what he's done so far this year, I don't see why he wouldn't get $8-10MM on a one-year deal or perhaps even something in that annual range over a two-year pact.

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