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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

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BrewCrew

2:35

If the Brewers don't sign a starter, does Ethan Small make the jump to the Big League rotation out of the gate? Rasmussen will be given an opportunity, but the rotation is all righties then, so could Small, as a lefty, have a better chance?

Steve Adams

2:37

Small isn't even on the 40-man roster. They have Burnes, Woodruff, Lindblom, Houser, Lauer and Rasmussen all ahead of him at the very least, and I have to imagine they'll add some rotation candidates on one-year deals. They do every year, pretty much. David Stearns & Co. love the flexibility one-year deals bring them.

sockpirate

2:37

Steve, is Pittsburgh planning to discard every major league player on the roster?

Steve Adams

2:37

Heh, it feels like it. But even if they are, they won't be able to find a taker for Polanco, so their plan will be foiled.

2:38

I think they'll move Frazier and listen on all of Kuhl, Brault, Rodriguez, Stratton, Stallings

StevieM

2:38

The Twins signed Simmons for a year. Now does Polanco move to second? Does Arraez have a position anymore and would the Twins then even need to pursue Marwin Gonzales, as rumored?

Steve Adams

2:39

I kind of doubt the Twins were seriously in on a Marwin reunion -- at least not anything more serious than just checking the price. Polanco should play 2B with Arraez moving into super-sub role, although it's always possible that someone comes along and offers them some pitching they can't pass up in a trade for either Polanco or Arraez.

Still not sure they'd go back to Marwin then, though he'd be on a list along with guys like Brad Miller and Jedd Gyorko.

Dean

2:40

What do you think the Yanks will do with Andujar this season. He has one option yet and NL does not have DH yet. I am guessing they send him down to play regularly and if and when he proves he is back they look for an offer they can’t refuse.

Steve Adams

2:41

Yeah. With DJ back, Urshela controlled a few more years, Gleyber now at SS, Voit at 1B, Stanton/Judge rotation at DH and a crowded outfield, I just really don't see where Andujar fits. I think he's going to eventually get a chance to prove he's a big leaguer, but I don't think it's going to come with the Yankees barring another wave of injuries opening the door for him.

I'd imagine they'll keep the depth to open the year, but if everyone's healthy around the trade deadline, Andujar included, lots of clubs are going to call about him.

Jbird

2:41

What is the current market for T. Rosenthal. We’ve heard barely a peep on possible destinations. Is a reunion with the Padres in the cards? That would cap off a remarkable off season for the Rockstar.

Steve Adams

2:43

I won't ever say "never" with AJ Preller, but I think it's a little likelier he lands elsewhere at this point. Robert Murray reported the Jays are interested (shocker!). I think teams that missed out on Kirby Yates will take a look. (Twins were among them, but doubt they go multiple years on a reliever)

Guest

2:43

So when rumors ‘leak’ of AA being interested in JTR (even though AA never leaks his interests in advance of an announcement), where is this leak coming from? JTR’s agent? Another club trying to drive up Philly’s price? Also - for GMs who operate like AA, if JTRs agent were the one to leak this information, would that hurt future negotiations with other clients of that agent going forward with AA and Atlanta? (Finally - use whatever leverage you have to make the Atlanta Hammers happen - love that name from last weeks’s chat!)

Steve Adams

2:45

Agents in general are far more likely to leak information connecting teams and players than anyone from a team. I don't know that to be the case in this specific instance, but broadly speaking, it's not really weird or uncommon for an agent to leak things. I would imagine teams don't really care much. No one's going to stop doing business with JTR's agent because he leaked something out to try to boost his player's market. That's especially true with Realmuto, because CAA is one of the biggest agencies in the industry, but it's true of smaller-time shops as well. Maybe you don't love dealing with a certain agency because of how they conduct their business, but if he/she has a player you want, you work with that agent.

GangGreen23

2:46

Does Oakland fill their Shortstop hole with Chad Pinder now? The other internal candidates seem like part-time players ( Kemp, Machin, Neuse ).

Steve Adams

2:48

Seems like Pinder is going to be in line for a bigger role, yeah.

Someone's going to give Jonathan Villar or Eric Sogard or Joe Panik a million bucks to play somewhere for them. Could be Oakland's BIG SPLASH. They could also try to trade for a cheap shortstop -- someone like Amed Rosario, Jorge Polanco. Maybe buy low on one of the Pirates' former SS prospects who has yet to work out (Cole Tucker, Kevin Newman)

Ron

2:49

I am a depressed Tigers fan. What is your best guess as to when they will return to being competitive - defined as playing meaningful games after Sept 15?

Steve Adams

2:49

They have (I think) five of the Top 25 prospects on MLB.com's latest Top 100. They've grown their analytics department, hired a win-now manager and are beginning to sign some MLB assets. They have Manning, Mize, Skubal all on the cusp of joining their rotation. Torkelson should move quick through the minors. I think they can be interesting as soon as 2022.

Alan B

2:50

Mariner's ownership has restricted what Jerry wanted to do. Is there a real financial concern, or is a wait and see what the season looks like?

Steve Adams

2:51

I think they more just restricted 2021 payroll. They'll be in great shape to go all-in next winter if they want, and the free-agent market will be deep with options. As I wrote a couple weeks ago, I think they should've been aggressive this winter, but hey it's not my money.

Joe

2:51

Is there anything new on the possibility of Gardner coming back to NY?

Steve Adams

2:52

Sounds like they talked a couple weeks ago now. I'd imagine the Yankees know the price, and now that they have some luxury breathing room it's a matter of whether Gardner likes their offer. He could shop around a bit and try to get the price boosted a bit. Regardless, I have a hard time seeing him playing elsewhere.

Jeremy

2:52

Can you see the Jays signing a lefty IF for the bench? right now their bench option is Espial who... is ... okay at best

Steve Adams

2:54

Sure, once camp gets closer. I think they're probably still looking at arms, even with Matz added to the fold -- which was weird, I thought -- but the Semien deal helps them. They don't need their bench bat to be a capable shortstop, since Semien can slide over if Bichette needs a day or an IL trip.

Marwin, Asdrubal, Brad Miller, Neil Walker ... there are some guys out there.

Longfoot

2:54

Are the Twins going to do anything? Other than the White Sox and Royals, there has been very little activity in the AL Central.

Steve Adams

2:55

They've signed J.A. Happ and Andrelton Simmons in the past week. Not like they've completely sat on their hands. I imagine they're still hoping to bring back Cruz and would be in on Ozuna if he departed. They'll add at least one reliever and keep poking around the SP market as well.

Casey

2:56

Do you think the Orioles end up trading Santander? If so, what would it cost a team like the Braves?

Steve Adams

2:57

I don't think it'll come to that, no, but I would imagine they'd prioritize a mix of controllable infielders and pitchers -- maybe not immediately MLB-ready guys because they're not eyeing 2021 as a competitive year.

2:59

I generally try not to list specific player names, especially when we're talking prospects, because it's just total guesswork and I think it's misleading to act like it's obvious a team would move Player A for Prospects X, Y and Z. I groan when I see very, very specific trade packages proposed.

We can look at rankings and I can ask scouts or whoever what they think of a guy, but every team is going to value every player differently, and they're often not going to be forthcoming with their earnest opinions if they value a guy more than the rest of the industry.

3:00

This is a tangent now, but let's go with it since we're on the subject

3:02

Every year there are a handful of guys who come over from the KBO and NPB. Some are obviously native to those countries, others former big leaguers/minor leaguers who broke out over there.

At least twice in the past few years when trying to get opinions on those guys to write about them at MLBTR, I've had teams suggest they don't like a guy that much or don't know if he's worth a big league deal, etc. etc. -- only to eventually have one of the teams who was downplaying the guy to me ultimately sign him, ha.

3:04

Not going to delve into specifics, but that just goes to show that you might not be able to get an honest opinion of what a team thinks of certain players, prospects, etc.

I don't begrudge any of those people I spoke with for not being forthcoming with me; it's their job to get the best price on a player they like and maybe they don't want to talk someone up and build a larger perception or larger expectations surrounding him. But that applies in trades, too... it makes it hard to throw out specific prospects that could get a deal done, because the reality is that every team values every player differently, and odds are they're not going to be super honest when asked about it, ha.

Ok, tangent over!

3:04

Can dodgers get under that luxury tax by giving Turner a $3M AAV and a ton of incentives? I feel like you've answered this before but I forgot how incentives play into the calculation.

Steve Adams

3:04

Nope; those incentives would count against the tax once unlocked.

3:05

If they could do that sort of workaround, you could sign Trevor Bauer for the league minimum and give him a $5MM for reaching each of 1 IP, 2 IP, 3IP, 4IP, 5IP, 6 IP and 7 IP

New GM Zach Scott

3:06

Who plays a better CF - Almora or Marisnick? I think the Mets should sign one as their 4th outfielder and start them if there is a DH

Steve Adams

3:07

Marisnick is the better defender, and guys in the clubhouse already know him. So I think that's the way to go if you're between those two. Almora is younger, but we're talking a one-year deal either way here so I don't think you fret too much over potential defensive decline for Jake

Chris

3:08

What do you think a trade package would look like from the Jays for Castillo if the Blue Jays took back one or both of Moustakas and or Castellanos?

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