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Steve Adams

2:37

As far as how they'll acquire pitching? Or whether they'll look for a certain mold?

I don't think they'll necessarily target any one type of pitcher -- amassing talent is amassing talent -- but they have plenty of logical trade pieces on the roster that can bring back young pieces. They already got an arm they like in Pivetta. They still have Vazquez and Matt Barnes to move, but not much else since I don't envision them moving either Bogaerts or Devers.

Beyond that you're looking at through the draft and at targeting low-cost free agent/trade assets to improve and then spin into more impactful, controllable talent. Bloom was exceptional at this in Tampa Bay -- not that it was him alone, but he was a big part of the Rays' success in that regard.

I highly doubt they're going to go the conventional Red Sox route and try to buy their way back to a competitive staff.

2:38

Mid-chat text from an agent in response to MLB's deal with Turner Sports -- "I'm so tired of these people crying poor" ... that is a very, very common theme on the players' side

Keith

2:38

Should the A's target Miguel Rojas with Semien most likely going elsewhere?

Steve Adams

2:39

They can try, but the Marlins have him cheaply through 2022, and he's their unofficial team captain -- beloved throughout the org Plus they're going to be making more win-now moves in Miami. I don't see it.

2:40

If Semien walks, and I'm the A's, I'm going after Simmons on a short-term deal

Guest

2:40

Hi Steve. The Twins seem to be hitting full stride leading into the postseason. What do you think about their chances, and what changes to you see in store for their roster next year? Does Odorizzi stay? Rosario? Sano? What free agents do you see them pursuing?

Steve Adams

2:43

I'm sure Sano stays. They extended him last winter. He's prone to miserable slumps but also legitimate carry-the-team-himself hot streaks. Aaron Gleeman with The Athletic made a good point awhile back... Sano basically sat home unable to do anything baseball related for 2-3 weeks with Covid then tried to jump right into MLB with barely any ramp-up. If you scratch his first 2 weeks or so, he pretty much looks like who you expect Miguel Sano to be. (That was before his latest cold snap, but it still makes sense

2:44

I could see them re-upping Odorizzi on a cheap one-year deal if he's open to it, but I also think they'll aim higher and consider that more a fallback. Rosario feels like someone they could trade or even non-tender, though his popularity might keep them from going the latter route.

I think the Twins, like most teams, will make Bauer their top target, and I expect them to try to re-sign Cruz as well.

Mariner Fan Wayne

2:45

Unbelievably, nother Mariner question: When Kelenic comes up, where do you think he goes in the outfield? Do you put him in right to use his arm, or in center where Lewis has done well and move Lewis to left? I don't think he has the arm to play RF.

Steve Adams

2:47

Kelenic has the arm for any of the three spots. His value is maximized if he can play a good CF, and Lewis has plenty of bat to still be a valuable LF, so that'd be my guess. Lewis has been solid in CF, but he's not Kiermaier or Buxton or JBJ out there, so a move to LF seems fine.

Ryan

2:47

For teams that surprisingly competed this year ahead of schedule (Giants, Blue Jays, Mariners, Orioles, Tigers, Marlins all to varying extents) what is the offseason plan? Do you see them pursuing a high value free agent given their team's sudden competitiveness or do they continue to let the young talent grow and be patient for a couple years?

Steve Adams

2:48

The Blue Jays already spent at high levels last year, so I fully expect them to be active in the market again. The Giants are basically in the same spot as last year -- sort of clinging to faint Wild Card hope with a pieced-together roster of mostly older role players who aren't likely a part of the next core (Yaz excluded)... not sure they'll spend differently than last winter, especially not with the Padres looking so formidable now.

2:49

Orioles and Tigers are both at least a year away from spending aggressively -- probably two in Baltimore's case.

2:50

I do think the Marlins will spend some, but we're still talking about the Marlins here, so I don't think it'll be over the top. It's a new ownership group, but the same crappy local TV deal and the same revenue losses everyone else is facing.

Bochy's Ghost

2:50

Steve, The Giants will be in search of a front line starter this offseason. Remarkably, they have major league bats to trade for that starter, although it's unlikely they would move Yaz, Dubon, or Bart. With whom do you see them matching up and for whom?

Steve Adams

2:53

I guess I disagree that they're going to be looking for a big-name starter. I don't see them depleting their still-growing farm to add a short-term piece, and the market doesn't have that big time ace outside of Bauer, who may only want a one-year deal (though he's softened his stance on that).

I think they'll look for more opportunistic, buy-low candidates they can flip or extend to keep around. I could see them trying to bring Gausman back or just looking for the next Gausman. There will be lots of non-tendered names from which to choose.

Realmuto

2:54

Where do you see JT landing?

Steve Adams

2:55

Phillies, Mets, and if you want a fun dark horse ... Blue Jays? They have all of $54MM on the books next year, and they could non-tender their entire arb class outside of Teoscar and Stripling.

That Baseball Guy

2:56

Care to guess how many of the eight home teams will not survive the first best-of-three round?

Steve Adams

2:56

Sure! Uh... three? Yes. My very, very scientific and well-thought-out answer is three.

Minor vs Mengden

2:57

How exactly has Mike Minor been an upgrade over Daniel Mengden? Minor’s ERA for the A’s is 6.61. Mengden’s ERA is 3.65. Did the A’s boot the wrong Pitcher out of the Rotation?

Steve Adams

2:59

You're looking at samples of four games apiece -- I don't think the A's cared or looked at either's ERA. Minor has a 20-to-7 K/BB ratio in 16 IP with the A's and has seen his swinging-strike rate jump by five percent since the trade. They've moved him to more fastballs and greatly cut back on his slider usage, and the extra whiffs are encouraging.

Mengden walked seven guys and hit another in 12 IP, and his fastball velocity is down two miles per hour from a couple years ago

Chief

3:00

What do the Royals need to do to get on track? Seems like they may have some good young pitching coming along and they have done a nice job of rebuilding a horrible bullpen, but they have virtually no good position players other than Perez and Merrifield, who will both be gone before the Royals have a chance to be good again. Mondesi was the big hope, but has been a flop. Dozier, Lopez, etc. are replacement level players. They have high hopes for some Padres castoffs. Franco will surely be gone after this year. There is only one Bobby Witt, Jr., and we all know prospects don't always turn into players. What is the path forward?

Steve Adams

3:04

They *should* trade Whit, I think, but we know they won't. Moore has said as much.

But I think you're being overly hard on some of the guys they do have. Hunter Dozier broke out with a 3 WAR 2019 and has 1 WAR through 40 games in 2020. He's a 4-WAR guy over his past 175 big league games ... that's a quality-looking player, and this year's massive boost in walk rate is interesting.

Mondesi is never going to get on base, but I think he's a better hitter than he's shown this year as well.

They'll need to build through the draft, since they don't like to trade from the big league roster, and they'll have to have a few player development wins that no one saw coming (another Dozier-type breakout). They're not going about this in a typical way, but the Royals seem to ardently trust their development staff, and that's how they're going to try to put something together.

Moore has shown a willingness to spend a bit when he feels his club is close, too, and they certainly have the payroll capacity.

Especially with Kennedy coming off the books

Joe

3:05

Do you buy the argument that the White Sox's success this year has been somewhat detrimental to the prospects' success - because they've spent most of the season at or near first place in the Central (and even the AL), there's a lot more pressure on them to succeed, than there was say for the Cubs' prospects for example (who had more time to relax). Is this just a small sample size slump, or does the pressure really matter?

Steve Adams

3:06

There might be some of that, but I think it's more correlation than causation. Everyone knew Luis Robert had major strikeout issues, for instance. It's not a huge shock to see him go into a strikeout-fueled swoon now that he's facing clubs a second, third, fourth time etc.

3:07

If anything, some of these guys might be harmed a bit by the fact that they're limited to only facing nine opponents this year -- every club is zeroed in on developing effective strategies to get Robert out.

Madrigal doesn't seem adversely impacted by the pressure

Joe J.

3:08

What is the Yankees starting rotation on opening day?

Steve Adams

3:12

Gerrit Cole, a re-signed Masahiro Tanaka, Domingo German, Jordan Montgomery and a free agent addition. Let's arbitrarily say Garrett Richards on a short-term deal -- we're just guessing at this point anyhow. The Yankees don't even know the answer to that question, ha. I do think they'll add two arms this winter though, and then Deivi will force his way into the mix with Schmidt not too far behind.

GangGreen23

3:13

A’s playoff Rotation will include Frankie Montas, Yes or No?

Steve Adams

3:15

I'd go Luzardo, Manaea and Bassitt right now then, if you need a fourth SP, see if Fiers, Minor or Montas matches up better.

3:17

Ok, I have to wrap this up! Thank you so much, as always, for chatting. There are several onlookers in here who don't seem to be asking questions, so I encourage you in future editions to do so! But I've gotten plenty of good ones this week, and I apologize for the several I still won't be able to make it to.

You can always ask me questions on Twitter, @Adams_Steve, and we'll continue to have these weekly on Thursday at 2pm CT. Connor will host next week's. I'll be doing a free chat for everyone next Tuesday at the same time.

Thanks very much for all your support -- it means a ton to us and we're lucky to have you. Have a great week everyone, and enjoy the final weekend of playoff pushes. We'll talk soon!

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