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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 1/27/25
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Steve Adams
12:30
Greetings! Back for another chat with our subscribers today. I'll get going at 3pm CT, but feel free to submit a question in advance if you prefer! Looking forward to it.
2:54
Hello! Let's get going a few minutes early
Walterj23
2:54
Do the cubs have any moves left ?
Steve Adams
2:54
Even after adding Pressly, it seems like they're still looking into possible setup options
Roster Construction
2:54
For a team like Arizona in 2025, do you think it's better to spend more money on top of a stretched payroll for a reliever and RHH or should they take the opportunity to let some youth develop as accent pieces? The Division can't be considered a realistic goal no matter what RHH or "closer" the pony up for, so is there more future value in letting guys like Drey Jameson and Tim Tawa take their chances against MLB talen and let Puk/Martinez close instead? Accept that a Wild Card is the best option for success and possibly make the downgrade from Gallen/Kelly/Naylor/Gurriel in the next two years less steep? Recently they seem adverse to letting Alek Thomas take his lumps...
Steve Adams
2:55
I think it behooves any hopeful contender to just make the team as strong as possible. Yeah, the Dodgers are prohibitive division favorites, but you never know. Crazy sequences of injuries/underperformance happen. I wouldn't bet on anyone else winning the NL West, but once you get to a postseason series, having that extra shutdown reliever or that favorable bench bat in a key spot can prove pivotal.
David Dombrowski
2:55
My outfield of Kepler, Marsh/Rojas, Castellanos is slightly better than last year’s opener of Marsh, Rojas/Pache, Castellanos. Am I right?
Steve Adams
2:56
You're basically asking the gap between Cristian Pache and Max Kepler with that question, and I think Kepler is more than a slight upgrade over Pache.
Holliday?
2:56
I know you're not fantasy per se, but in terms of 2025 performance (excluding defense), who's the odd man out: Maikel Garcia, Anthony Volpe, Jacob Wilson, Byron Buxton, Jackson Holliday. I'm including to kick Holliday off the train before it leaves the station.
Steve Adams
2:56
I'd dump Garcia pretty easily out of that bunch
Jimmy Racer
2:56
Arenado and Matz for Stroman who says no?
Steve Adams
2:57
Both teams? Haha. The Yankees are adding $20.5MM in salary in that deal. The Cardinals want more plate appearances and innings for younger pitchers. And they'd want nothing to do with Stroman's conditional player option.

I don't think either would like the idea of that swap. Plus the Cards already shot down a possible Stroman-for-Arenado framework.
John P
2:58
The Red Sox kept saying they were going to spend money. We still need a right handed bat and everything I read says Bregman and Alonso are going elsewhere. What are they going to do? Help me before I jump off the green monster?
Will
2:58
The RedSox have spent next to nothing for the second year in a row. I don’t see another major transaction, do you feel the team can be competitive as is?
Steve Adams
3:00
I don't love the Red Sox' offseason, but the idea that they haven't spent money isn't really accurate. They've spent more than $52MM in free agency:

-Walker Buehler, $21.05MM
-Aroldis Chapman, $10.75MM
-Patrick Sandoval, $18.25MM
-Justin Wilson, $2.25MM

They also expended pretty significant prospect capital to get Garrett Crochet and will surely talk extension with him.

Insofar as remaining moves, they're obviously not completely out of the mix on Bregman and probably not entirely on Nolan Arenado. There's room to add a reliever if they miss there, and there are some solid RH bats still available (e.g. Randal Grichuk, Austin Hays)
Barney Rubble
3:00
If Flaherty is open to a short-term deal, would the Guardians be interested?
Steve Adams
3:01
I'd be surprised if the Guardians came close to the type of annual salary Flaherty would command on a short-term deal. The shorter the term, the higher the ask is going to be in terms of annual salary. The Guards aren't going to pony up $20MM+ per year for Flaherty.
Maineiacs
3:02
Kjerstad on the block with the Carlson signing? Or back to AAA?
Steve Adams
3:04
I don't think the Carlson move impacts his standing with the org. They'll want everyday ABs for him, whereas Carlson's pretty clearly being brought in for a reserve role. I still think -- completely speculatively, to be clear -- there's a decent chance Kjerstad's chance at everyday ABs comes with another team, though. The Orioles have had multiple opportunities to give him that chance and they keep passing it up. With a lot of their other prospects (Rutschman, Henderson, Cowser, Westburg, Holliday), they've just given them the reins and told them to run with it. Kjerstad's 26 next month with almost a year of MLB service and they still haven't found a role for him?
Thank you for the chat!
3:04
Is Profar a better fit than Soler?
Steve Adams
3:05
Just depends what type of player you prefer. Neither's a good defender, but Profar's more playable in LF than Soler (or than Ozuna would be). In that sense, he's already a better fit. And then you get into whether you want more of the three-true-outcomes, 80-grade power with tons of swing-and-miss that Soler presents or the plus contact skills, patience and leadoff variety of offensive contributions that Profar can offer.
I'm not a huge believer in Profar's breakout, but you don't need to twist my arm much to say he fits Atlanta's roster and needs better than Soler did,.
Ant P
3:06
1)Probably a silly question any chance Yanks could send a prospect and let’s say 15 mill for someone to take DJ?
Steve Adams
3:08
He can block trades to five clubs and is owed $30MM over the next two seasons. As a free agent, he'd do worse than two years and $15MM. I don't even know for certain he'd get a big league deal. The "prospect" you're attaching would need to be a legitimately decent one, and it'd probably have to be a team like the Marlins or White Sox taking him on. I don't think that scenario is all that likely, though I'd support the Marlins doing something like that, as I wrote last week.
Kevin in Texas
3:08
MLB has Sebastian Walcott at 17 and the Athletic at #2 what such a wide gap.
Steve Adams
3:10
That's not really a wide gap. The difference between the No. 17 prospect and No. 2 probably isn't that large. Heck, Baseball America has him at No. 53.

Keith Law at The Athletic seems to reward upside, athleticism and potential ability to remain at a premium spot on the defensive spectrum more than other outlets. It's just a matter of preference among the prospects.

Also, all of this is very subjective. You'll find scouts who like Walcott better than, say, Matt Shaw, and others who think Shaw is better. In the end, everyone on these lists is a 50 or better on the 20-80 scale, and in the top-20 region you're probably talking about 55s and 60s.

There's a lot of risk with Walcott given his age, and if he fills out too much and has to slide down the defensive spectrum the bat's development becomes all the more important.
3:11
All of which is to say, don't worry about the specific numbers. Walcott has star potential and his presence as a consensus top-50 or so prospect in the sport underscores that.
Angels
3:11
Any chance they sign Flaherty and Estevez?
Steve Adams
3:12
I'd be surprised if they signed both, but there's no real reason they can't, even if Moreno is intent on remaining under the luxury tax. There's room for both
Robert from SC
3:13
How much do you think it would cost to sign Max Scherzer?
Steve Adams
3:13
$17-20MM on a one-year deal? Somewhere in that range... let's call it 18?
Choof
3:14
As a GM, Who are you taking for the next 5 years? Jackson Chourio or Ronald Acuna Jr.? Proven upside but with injury history vs. young stud
Steve Adams
3:15
Five years is a long time and I'm about as big a Jackson Chourio believer as you'll find, so he gets my vote. Acuna is awesome, but multiple ACL tears now and five years covers his age-27 through age-31 seasons compared to Chourio's age-21 through age-25.
Birdfan
3:15
If you ran the Orioles what would be a reasonable package going back to the Padres to obtain Cease?  Would Mountcastle,  Kremer and perhaps the #31 pick get it done?
Steve Adams
3:16
I don't think that gets it done, no. Two years of a good-not-great 1B and three of a back-end starter doesn't seem like the best headliners they could get. If the O's want Cease, I think they should just try to build something around Kjerstad.
Your Thoughts...
3:17
Why do they always say certain positions need to provide more power over other positions?  If my 1st baseman is a bit light on power, but is a good contact hitter and hits with someone in scoring position, do I really care?  Perhaps my SS gives me 10 more HR a year to compensate.  Seems like too many good players would be overlooked.  Your thoughts?
Steve Adams
3:19
I don't think that line of thinking is as prevalent today as it was 15-20 years ago. Teams now care more about overall production. It's true that you'd like your first baseman to provide more offense, because finding a capable hitter who can play a passable 1B is far easier than finding a capable hitter who can play a passable SS or C. It's about overall offense moreso than it is home runs, specifically. Yandy Diaz is one of the most valuable first baseman in the sport over the past three years but he has about one-third the home runs of Matt Olson. They've both still been excellent.
Chief Knockahoma
3:20
Who is closing for the Tigers in 2025?  James Foley, Alex Lange, PTBN?
Steve Adams
3:22
I feel like they'll shuffle a variety of people through that role and just play loads of matchups. I also think they'll probably look into relievers who have been amenable to closing and setting up -- someone who'll buy into the "pitching chaos" role. David Robertson would fit that nicely, just off the cuff.
Angels Fan
3:22
I am not sure there is an FA outfielder that really helps the Angels, leaving a trade as the best option.  Who might be a good realistic target (Thomas, Robert Jr., Grishman, Mullins?) and what might it take?
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