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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 4/21/23
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Steve Adams
3:28
Left field, DH and shortstop. I don't know why they're still rostering Ozuna, but it's a sunk cost. Rosario increasingly feels that way, too, and I don't think Kevin Pillar is the answer there. The Arcia/Grissom/Shewmake combo at shortstop leaves me pretty underwhelmed, also.

Still a really good team, but they need a left fielder, and I doubt it'll be anyone on the roster right now. (Sam Hilliard has the most hilarious average on balls in play I can remember seeing (.688) and a 40% strikeout rate, so it's not going to be him.)
RR
3:28
they've had a few struggles but if Jose Berrios and Yusei Kikuchi keep pitching like this, does that give the Jays the best rotation in baseball?
Steve Adams
3:31
They'd be in the mix, but that's a lot to just bank on, as well. Berrios has made consecutive good starts but was terrible his first two. Kikuchi has two good ones and one clunker. And then you've got to worry some about Bassitt's start. He's shaken off that first meltdown, but his command isn't where it's been and his K% is down a good bit.

It has the potential to be the best or among the best, but I don't think that's anything different than we knew heading into the season.
PaulK
3:31
I coule bore you with my analysis of the Jays. But simple question: if last year's 92 wins is the line, do you take the over or under?
Steve Adams
3:33
I think it's around that same level. If you wanted to say 93-94 wins, I can buy that. Same with 90-92. I don't think this is like an 81-81 club, nor do I think they're a 100-win team either.

They're 11-8 right now, which is slightly ahead of pace from last year's total even though I think the pitching has underperformed and they haven't gotten the best from Vlad yet, power-wise anywya
Gonzo
3:33
How soon before the Cubs drop Hosmer and promote Mervis?
Steve Adams
3:35
I truly, genuinely do not know why they signed Hosmer in the first place. I'm not as high on Mervis as a lot of Cubs fans seem to be, but I'd much rather give him a look than keep trotting Hosmer out there. The sooner they make the move, the better. Getting out to a strong start like they have probably ups the pressure to do so. They have nothing committed to Hosmer, so I don't really get what they're doing here.
Madag
3:35
How long will it take to consider Bryan Abreu an elite setup reliever? Will he eventually be a closer for the Astros?
Steve Adams
3:37
He's already fairly close for me. I'd like to see better command out of him to put the "elite" label on him, but he's punched out 36% of his opponents dating back to last season, he's averaging nearly 98 mph his fastball, the slider has a near 50% whiff rate -- it's power stuff with amazing results.
And yeah, I can buy him as a closer in Houston once Pressly's a free agent
Will in Westport
3:37
Will Volpe, O. Cabrera, and Peraza, all be on the Yankees' roster for the entire year?
Steve Adams
3:39
Volpe's picked it up after a pretty slow start, so yeah I think he will. Peraza and Cabrera I'm less convinced of. If there aren't everyday ABs for Peraza, there's no point in having him in a part-time role for an extended period. Cabrera's not hitting at all, and it's not like it's just bad luck in a tiny sample. He's punched out in 18 of 60 plate appearances (30%) with all of one unintentional walk. He's definitely at risk of getting optioned if he doesn't turn things around sooner than later.
Mauricio fan
3:39
hi Steve.  Outside of SS, if Ronny Mauricio continues hitting and is called up to the Mets, what do you believe is his path?  LF? 2B? 3B? DH?  Thank you for your time and have a nice day.
Steve Adams
3:42
Probably depends on the context of the roster at the time of his promotion. If Baty's heart and Escobar's struggling or DFA'ed by then, put Mauricio at 3B. McNeil's ability to play 2B or LF gives them some options in the short-term, too. I think you probably feel better with the shortstop playing on the other side of the bag from Lindor and with a fairly experienced outfielder like McNeil making that move as opposed to putting Mauricio in the OF for the first time ever.
3:44
If we're talking long-term and it's me making the decision (Mets fans should be glad I'm not making decisions for them most likely, ha) -- I'd let Canha walk, move McNeil more to the OF and have Mauricio at 2B on the infield with Lindor, Baty and Alonso.
Madag
3:44
Kyle Tucker has never had such a good start. Is he pricing himself totally out of the Astros budget?
Steve Adams
3:44
I think his desire for and likely ability to command a deal longer than eight years was always going to make it tough for Houston to sign him. That just doesn't seem to be something owner Jim Crane is particularly eager to do.
thebeatlesshow
3:45
To start again, hey, Steve.  Here are a couple of scenarios re:  the Angels and Ohtani.  Let me know what you think.  1.)  They let Ohtani go, re-sign Renfroe and give Adell another chance. 2.)  Re-sign Ohtani, let Renfroe go and use Adell in Right.  3.)  Re-sign both Ohtani and Renfroe and trade Adell.  4.)  (depending on how the season goes...meaning the Angels tank again...)  Trade Renfroe and Ohtani and put Adell in the OF.  Which do you think sounds fairly likely to happen?  (And thanks for filling in, Steve.  Anthony's chats are great.)
Steve Adams
3:47
I don't think they'll trade Ohtani or re-sign him, personally. Trading him probably just torches the possibility of re-signing him, especially if he goes elsewhere and gets a taste of winning that he hasn't had in Anaheim. Ultimately, I feel a team that's a perennial postseason contender will be able to woo him. That's not based on anything I've personally heard, it's sort of just reading tea leaves from past Ohtani comments, seeing how intense he was at the WBC, etc.
3:50
Renfroe is a guy fans like more than front offices. I'll say that if he can keep up this surprising drop in strikeout rate -- he's currently at 16%, down from 23% the two prior seasons -- that'll increase the appeal, especially if the walk rate gains are real.

Coming into this season he was a bat-first, 30ish homer corner-only OF with middling OBP marks who'll be 32 in his first free-agent year. The ceiling on that type of player is around what Mitch Haniger signed for this past offseason, and most clubs would prefer to have that player on a one- or two-year deal.

If he keeps this up, I can see them re-signing Renfroe. Adell might be traded regardless. The strikeouts in AAA aren't going down in what's now his fourth turn at that level. They might just kind of be done with him.
Chief
3:50
What is it going to take to fix the Royals?
Steve Adams
3:53
An overhaul of the player development system and a willingness to actually start trading guys for prospects. They do it on occasion, but they tried to rebuild without selling guys like Merrifield, Barlow, and plenty of others at peak value and now it's biting them. They went all-in on drafting pitchers, who have the highest attrition rate of all prospects, and it sounds like they stuck to some pretty stubborn and somewhat antiquated development philosophies in the process.

They also habitually sign low-ceiling free agents to medium-sized two-year deals, and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Good on them for trying, I suppose, but Mike Minor, Carlos Santana, Jordan Lyles, etc. etc.
I get bringing Greinke back on a series of one-year deals for the nostalgia and for the bulk innings, but most of their free-agent moves are just baffling.
Jorge78
3:54
I haven't any articles titled Minor MLB Transactions.  I always found them interesting as a backfill.  Have they been phased out?  Thanks!
Steve Adams
3:55
They were usually just minor league signings and outrighted players contained within those. We generally have just started doing individual posts on those for the most part.
Will in Westport
3:55
Is Gravedigger (I mean, Graveman) a worthwhile fantasy reliever?  In previous years, his decimals were great.  With Hendricks' medical issue, it looks as if Kendall was the "closer-in-waiting" … but I'm still waiting.  Thanks, Steve.
Steve Adams
3:56
I'd be pretty comfortable moving on from Graveman in most formats. Everything is format-dependent, of course, but grounders are down, walks up, not missing bats at 2021 levels, etc.
Peter
3:56
Should NYY DFA Hicks, a move that would be popular with the fans?
Steve Adams
3:57
In general, I don't think Hicks was as bad in '22 as Yankee fans do. I mean, he wasn't good, don't get me wrong. But he walked a lot, played passable corner defense, etc. He was below-average at the plate but not like worst-hitter-alive bad or anything.

He's been terrible this season but also has 27 plate appearances. Designating him is totally defensible, but I think it's likelier they get some passable play from Hicks than it was that the D-backs were going to get anything more out of Bumgarner, for instance.
3:58
I saw some people on Twitter suggest the Yankees should flip Hicks for MadBum and there's no way I'd do that if I were the Yankees.
RAGBRAI
3:58
Are there really any big name/difference makers that will be available at the deadline. Assuming Reynolds extension, who is a big bat available?  Starting Pitchers?
Steve Adams
4:00
1. I'm not assuming the Reynolds extension like you. 2. It's looking like a light class of trade candidates right now. It would get a lot more interesting if the White Sox, Brewers or Cardinals falls way out of contention this summer. I think the only path for a Central team to get the to the playoffs is going to be via division win, so if it's not looking likely, maybe you'd see a Burnes, Adames, Giolito or that type of one to 1.5 year asset on the market.
Question Mark!
4:00
Which side would you want to be on..in a trade between Francisco Alvarez and Eury Perez?
Steve Adams
4:00
Can I have both!?
4:01
In pitcher vs. position player, I'll usually lean toward the position player just because of the attrition rate for pitching prospects.
4:02
If it were like... Eury Perez versus a random No. 8 hitting prospect on some team who's like a 40 FV and not considered a top prospect anywhere, then of course Perez, but if we're talking comparably ranked/evaluated/projected guys, I'd go with the bat.
Warren
4:02
Patrick Wisdom has had a great season so far. Do you think he'll be able to continue it?
Steve Adams
4:03
I think he can genuinely crush LHP and at least hit for some power against righties, but at this point 40% of Wisdom's fly-balls  have become homers, and that isn't sustainable for anyone unless peak roided-up Barry Bonds takes a time machine into 2023 and signs with a team.
4:05
Alright, there are a handful I couldn't get to still, and for that I am sorry, but I'm at 75 minutes on this chat and my wife is stuck in a meeting which means I need to go pick up our son from daycare before 4:30! You can always ask me questions on Twitter if you like, @Adams_Steve, and Anthony should be back in his usual slot next week.

Thanks so much for chatting, and for subscribing to support our work. It's a huge help to the site, to the business and frankly a humbling thing to know that there are people willing to pay to read our opinions and interact with us like this. You guys rule. I hope you have a great weekend!
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