You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 1/27/25
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Steve Adams
3:25
For a team in the Angels' spot, I don't love taking on a pricey one-year stopgap like Mullins or Grisham or Robert Jr. (technically three years of control, but all dependent on his health since the last two years are club options).

Someone controllable like Alek Thomas -- assuming you meant that Thomas and not Lane Thomas -- would work nicely. He can play center field really well, which gives Trout a break out there.

Maybe the D-backs wouldn't do this for one year of a veteran, but a Luis Rengifo-for-Alek Thomas framework (probably with the Angels adding some younger guys) would intrigue me. That's something I just spun up off the cuff, so I reserve the right to reflect on it and, a week from now, laugh at my own silliness :) Ha.
Guest
3:25
What are you expecting out of Strider this year?
Steve Adams
3:26
Four or so months of elite pitching
Gary R
3:26
If the Giants want to shore up their team by trade, who would be likely candidates not named Eldridge to be sent out?
Steve Adams
3:29
There are several guys on the MLB roster there who've drawn interest and could feasibly change hands: Camilo Doval, Mike Yastrzemski, LaMonte Wade Jr.

I don't really see how David Villar survives the rest of the offseason on their 40-man roster, but he's more a DFA candidate than someone who'd fetch a real return. Casey Schmitt would be an interesting trade possibility. Wade Meckler to a lesser extent

If you really wanted to target someone good in a trade, pitchers like Carson Whisenhunt, Mason Black, Joe Whitman all come into play... but Posey has harped on a pitching-and-defense model so much that I feel he'd be wary of shipping out too many arms.
Tiger Fan
3:29
Think Carpenter can hit 30 homers this year? (Heath permitting of course)
Steve Adams
3:30
Kerry Bonds hit 18 homers in under 300 PAs this last year. If he's healthy, heck yeah.

Of course, he'd need to so almost exclusively against RHP, because those splits are ... yikes.
Baseball Fan
3:31
Are they the A’s or Athletics and will they have new uniforms, will they be called Sacramento
Steve Adams
3:31
Sacramento (or, more specifically, West Sacramento -- where they'll actually play) isn't a part of the name. They're just "the A's" or "the Athletics." Changes to the uniforms logo are minimal/nonexistent based on what they've revealed.
Jurickson Profar
3:32
Can you remember a former SS getting as bad of defensive stats in LF as Profar gets? Scouting reports called his defense at SS as his best tool as a prospect. How’d scouts miss on that so badly? Projecting tools or did he regress?
Steve Adams
3:34
Profar had two shoulder surgeries in a span of 2-3 years, plus a concussion, and he didn't make the move to LF full-time until he was 29. A lot of those reports on him when he was the No. 1 prospect were a decade prior. Bodies change and injuries take their toll as people get older. It's kind of remarkable that he's had this late-blooming breakout at all.
Dave H
3:35
it's a shame Lou Whitaker hasn't gotten into the HOF. What are your thoughts?
Steve Adams
3:35
One of the more egregious cases of omission, yes
thelastmccabe
3:35
Do you think there's an argument that a salary cap could actually hurt parity?  I could see teams that are bad at development and hand out silly contracts (like the bad teams now do) being in an even worse position with a hard cap.
Steve Adams
3:38
I just don't think it'd be the panacea that proponents think. Even if you implemented a floor with it. If you have, say, a $100MM floor and $260MM cap, the Pirates still aren't going to sign a free agent for even like ... five years and $80MM. They just won't.

What those teams probably would do is be willing to take on the final years of those bad contracts and maybe buy some prospects in the process. So hooray, the Bucs take on the final two years and $24MM of the $48MM owed to George Springer, thus keeping them above the floor by a small margin and adding some so-so help to the farm. The Jays, being a team that will actually spends, then turn around and actually do so with the savings.

I also think you'd see innumerable shenanigans playing with guaranteed money, deferrals, player options, etc. You think the Dodgers' Ohtani contract is convoluted now? Wait until there are actual rules in plays for the teams to try to circumvent!
3:39
It's all just kind of silly to me. If the Dodgers had lost in the NLCS, which went to 6 games anyway, the narrative would instead be "lol Dodgers trying to buy a World Series they'll never win" and not "Oh my god the Dodgers are unbeatable and we must change everything because it is now ruined."
Benjamin, J
3:40
Does the Paul Sewald signing set up a trade of one of the Guardians relievers, perhaps even Clase?
Steve Adams
3:41
I don't think so. I think they just found a value they liked with their limited funds. $7MM isn't going to buy you much for starting pitchers or for bats -- but it can get you a real nice reliever, and Cleveland rode a dominant 'pen all the way to the ALCS last year despite some pretty glaring flaws elsewhere on the roster.
Dan S.
3:41
If Michael King is available, do you think he has more or less trade value relative to Cease? Less established in terms of durability and track record as a starter, but cheaper and coming off a Cease-esque season.
Steve Adams
3:43
Less. It's not just the track record, it's the quality of stuff. Yes, King was excellent last year, but teams are going to look at Cease's track record and, more importantly, the power arsenal he has. Cease averaged just under 97 mph on his heater, can reach 99-100 when he needs to, and has a near 15% swinging-strike rate. King was awesome, but he' 93-94 with a 12% swinging-strike rate and an overall K% that's a ways shy of peak Cease.
Gary Cohen fan club
3:43
One of many Alonso questions I’m sure: do you get the sense that the Mets have burned a bridge with Pete? Too late to reconcile?  Thanks for the chat!
Steve Adams
3:44
No. If the Mets decide they want him and offer like 3/90 with opt-outs, he'll go back there. Cohen can talk all he wants about how it's frustrating, but he also said the door will remain cracked and the two parties will keep talking.

I do think Alonso signs elsewhere, but I don't think there's an irreconcilable damage between the two parties or anything. It's business.
Philly Special
3:45
Pundits, GMs, etc., seem to like the Phillies just behind the Dodgers for the best team in the NL.  But I'm worried about the bullpen.  Post-injury Romano + Ross doesn't sound as stable as Hoffman/Estevez.  I'm worried about giving up late leads more than last season.  Care to talk me off this cliff?
Steve Adams
3:48
Not really! Sorry, haha. I have similar concerns about them. But Orion Kerkering is awesome, and there's still offseason left to add an arm. Even if they don't, you know Dombrowski will be buying at the deadline.

Also, a healthy Romano is really good. Strahm is very good. On paper, anyway, the best versions of Romano, Kerkering, Strahm and Alvardo make an imposing back-end. Rest of the group ... ehhh. Max Lazar was really good in Double-A/Triple-A last year?

I think they should (and very possibly will) add someone else. They've done really well with minor league jackpots, too, and they have a LOT of arms in camp.
MLB fan
3:48
Austin Hays seems like a good bounce back guy for the pirates. After a down year last year people forget he was a solid player. Could easily be an upgrade for cheap right?
Steve Adams
3:50
Agreed. The kidney infection, in particular, sounds harrowing.

But just as he's a good cheap fit for the Bucs, that's also true of the D-backs, Reds, Twins, Red Sox, Tigers and other clubs still looking for a RH bat. He's probably limited to one-year offers, so they'd need to make a compelling offer and probably offer the most playing time. Which maybe they can do anyway... but general point being, there'll be competition, even for the lower-tier "bargain" free agents.
Maybe more than usual, this offseason
Jed
3:51
Thanks for the chat, Steve. Cubs are reported to have signed John Berti and traded for Ryan Pressly. They have a full 40-man roster and would need to clear space. Because of the Japan series, the Cubs report in about 2 weeks for Spring Training at which time I assume they can put eligible players on the 60 Day-IL. I’m not sure if they have any in that situation, but, 1.-Could this be a viable strategy? and 2. Is it 60 days from February 10/start of ST or 60 days from the first game? Thank you!
Steve Adams
3:53
To my knowledge, they don't have an immediate 60-day IL candidate. But you can place players on the 60-day once camp opens. The 60-day IL begins on Opening Day and, like all IL stints, can be backdated a max of three days. So someone placed on the 60-day IL when camp opens would be eligible for activation 57 days into the season.
3:54
With regard to the Cubs' roster, I expect some of the depth adds they've made on the DFA market will just be cut. Matt Festa, Gavin Hollowell, Rob Zastryzny, Vidal Brujan come to mind.
Spaghetti Marinera
3:54
As we in Seattle wait for the weather — and the market — to thaw, I wonder: Can Bregman and Alonso freeze the corner-infielder market indefinitely? If they’re unsigned by the start of spring training, do teams like the Mariners have no choice but to keep sitting on their hands in order to have a shot at semi-quality regulars at first and third? Or do you that organizations will get impatient and do end runs around conventional market-setting signings?
Steve Adams
3:56
I don't think the Mariners' lack of activity is all that tied to Bregman/Alonso holding things up. There's just not much out there. Assuming Solano platoons with Luke Raley at 1B (which I like well enough), they're looking for 3B help in  a market where the top options in free agency are Yoan Moncada, Brandon Drury and Paul DeJong (plus guys they've already tried and cut, like Luis Urias and Abraham Toro). At second base you've got 36-year-old Whit Merrifield, Brendan Rodgers who's coming off a disaster season and was non-tendered by a bad Rockies club, and again, some veterans who've already flopped in Seattle (Jorge Polanco, Kolten Wong, Adam Frazier)
3:57
The trade market is a much more viable path for the M's, and I don't think Bregman/Alonso are holding that up too terribly much.

I'd be interested to see the Mariners trade for Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio (both Mets) or, if the Astros do re-sign Bregman, see about getting Isaac Paredes out of Houston.
M Hazen
3:57
Grichuk was great for us last year, but did that performance really make him so expensive that I can't just resign him? My boss has already blown through our budget, so what's a few million more?
Steve Adams
3:58
No, I don't think Grichuk is out of the D-backs' price range. I think he's probably drawing interest from a wide number of clubs who have him as a potential late-season bargain -- some of whom are trying to gain some clarity on the trade market or in other free agent pursuits before acting.
Artie
3:59
Michael King & Luis Arráez to the Yankees for Marcus Stroman (contract paid down to $10 million), Will Warren and a mid-level prospect. Saves Pardes about $12 million in salary & they get back 2 starters. Who says no??
Steve Adams
4:01
Looks like a net loss in the rotation for the Padres to me -- and one that doesn't necessarily line them up much better in the long term. Will Warren was extremely homer-prone in Triple-A last year, has below-average command and will be 26 in June.

If the Padres are trading King, they don't need to take on someone else's bad contract in return. And the Yankees' rotation is so strong that I also don't think they'd make the top bid to acquire an in-demand arm like King when he'd probably be a swingman for them.
4:02
I suppose you could push Clarke Schmidt into that role instead, but general point being -- paying top trade dollar for a pitcher with one year of club control when the rotation is already a strength ... I just don't think it's a great fit.
Reds fan Ryan
4:03
Unpopular opinion here, but perhaps the Reds already have their right handed hitting power outfielder on the roster.   Rece Hinds is a great athlete.  He had an insane coople of week last year.  Perhaps new hitting coach Chris Valaika can get him straightened out a bit. He has a lot of potential for sure.
Steve Adams
4:05
If it works out that way, I think that has to just be something you stumble into. Hinds K'ed in 38% of his plate appearances in Triple-A last year. That's staggering. You can't count on him being a notable contributor. The two-week run of dominance was awesome -- one of the more fun stretches for any player in the game last year -- but with that type of swing-and-miss he can only be a backup plan while he tries to refine his contact in AAA. (And it needs a lot of refinement.. he also K'ed at 32% in AA in 2023 and 39% across two A levels in 2022).
Connecting…