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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 2/10/25
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Steve Adams
3:30
No, the Brewers always find a way to be more competitive than people expect. I'd probably pick the Cubs right now, but Milwaukee and to a lesser extent Cincinnati both seem like viable thorns in the Cubs' side.
Kevin
3:30
Do y'all have any posts or comments when it comes to fantasy baseball? I'd love to know who you guys think will be sleepers to watch this year.
Steve Adams
3:31
We have weekly fantasy chats and columns from Nicklaus Gaut beginning in February and running through season's end. His first fantasy column went out last week and, coincidentally, was on some sleeper hitters:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/fantasy-baseball-the-seventh-an...
Hans
3:32
Expect a Stroman deal to materialize once the inevitable spring training injuries start to hit?
Steve Adams
3:32
I'll be surprised if Stroman isn't traded
Fan
3:32
If louis Robert starts hot does he even make it to the trade deadline? If I'm the white Sox I trade him early as possible if hot and healthy for a month
Steve Adams
3:32
That's the route I'd go and that I've suggested I think they should go, yeah. Make him this year's Luis Arraez (traded in the first week of May)
The Flash
3:33
Chandler Simpson (TB) seems to have elite skills except for power. Will we see him on the Rays this year? Is he a long-term regular or merely a fourth outfielder like Billy Hamilton with a better BA?
Steve Adams
3:35
Yeah I think he has a decent chance at coming up this year. He's Rule 5 eligible next year, so they need to add him to the 40-man before December anyhow. And he's going to open the season in Triple-A.

I wouldn't liken him to Billy Hamilton, since Hamilton struck out more than twice as often, even in the minors. There's probably more offensive floor here because of the hit tool/bat-to-ball skills, but Simpson also isn't the defender that Hamilton was -- at least not at this point.
Grimace
3:37
Thanks for the Mets write-up on the rotation. Do you see Clay Holmes replicating a Michael King situation (leaves NYY as a reliever and gets Cy votes as a first-time starter)? Are the Yanks doing something other teams are taking note of with respect to being able to stretch out their BP guys?
Steve Adams
3:40
I wish I had a better reason to think Holmes can handle the rotation move. In general, I tend to be a skeptic of all relievers moving back to the rotation. In most instances, they were starters who didn't pan out and found success when they scrapped their worst pitch(es) and saw their stuff tick up in moving to short relief. Moving back is a lot harder. Holmes has basically been a two-pitch guy since his breakout. There are starters who can get by with two pitches (increasingly so), and at 6'5" and 245 pounds, Holmes has the build to be a starter. But I tend to take all of these conversions with a heavy dose of skepticism -- especially the two-pitch ones.

I'd have just left Holmes in the bullpen, but we'll see. David Stearns, Jeremy Hefner, etc. obviously have their reputations for a reason.
Dipoto
3:41
I know ownership is crying g poor and has closed the purse strings for the off-season. If I have my team playing  well and leading or 1 or two games back at the trade deadline, will they finally let me spend some money via trades?
Steve Adams
3:42
That's the hope. At the same time, when the deadline rolls around, there'll be more teams looking for pure prospect returns than there are currently, when most teams fancy themselves at least fringe contenders.

At that point, those teams will often be more willing to pay down contracts in exchange for a slightly better prospect return, so the Mariners will have that option as well.
Mystery Snakes
3:42
Hear me out...The Dbacks trade Montgomery and Suarez to free up cash and then pull a Burnes deal take 2, and be the mystery team to sign Bregman?
Steve Adams
3:43
I'd say there's like a 0.01% chance of this happening, but as a general enjoyer of offseason chaos, I'm all for it. Make it happen.
TBJ Bullpen Coach
3:44
We've done a pretty good job lengthening our bullpen from the right side bringing in Hoffman, Yimi Garcia and Sadlin as well as presuming moving Yaril Rodriguez into the pen.  The port side still looks awfully shaky though, any southpaws remaining in free agency that might fit in north of the border?
Steve Adams
3:45
Almost any of them? I agree they could use a lefty. Andrew Chafin is the best one left, but if they signed Scott Alexander or rolled the dice on a cheap Matt Moore rebound, I'd say "yeah, that makes good sense."
Angels Fan
3:46
Some reports of the Angels bringing in Marcado mentioned that he will be their starting 3rd baseman instead of Rendon.  I have not seen any reports that Rendon would not be 100% for opening day (although, sadly, I expect that to change).  But if he is 100%, why wouldn't Rendon be their starter?
Steve Adams
3:48
He's played a total of 205 games over the past four 162-game seasons -- less than one-third of the possible games in which he could've appeared. At this point, I imagine they plan to play Rendon like once or twice a week over there, give him some time at DH, and then rest him a lot in hopes that he can at least be something resembling an average bat. But they're just counting the days until the contract is over, really.
Tigers
3:49
From any team in general are you surprised Quintana is unsigned? He had a better year than some guys that will get better deals
Steve Adams
3:50
Yeah I thought he'd have signed by now. At this point he'll be a bargain for someone on a one-year deal worth probably less than $10MM
Rudolf
3:51
Who gets traded first, Brandon Lowe or Yandy Diaz? I can’t see both (or either) finishing their contracts in TB.
Steve Adams
3:52
Diaz is older and has less defensive utility, so I can see him being the odd man out before Lowe, even though I don't expect either to go prior to Opening Day at this point.
Tigers Fan
3:52
If the Tigers miss on Bregman, and decide they want to improve 3B still, what is a realistic deal to move for Arenado? And should they do that/would Arenado waive his NTC? Thanks
Steve Adams
3:56
I don't really think, wherever Arenado goes (if he does go), it's going to be a particularly notable haul. Cards could try for some of the arms who've tumbled down the depth chart (e.g. Matt Manning), but more than that I'd just expect some lower-level prospects.

I'm not sure there's much to be done for a team to convince Arenado. Usually you're talking about picking up an option in advance. They could offer to work a conditional opt-out into his contract or something, I suppose, giving him some more control over his future.

In general, the biggest advantage they or any other team would have would just be Nolan getting anxious that the clock is winding down on the offseason and deciding "No, I'd rather be on a team more focused on winning, even if I don't love the location"
Chief
3:57
Surely the Royals don't roll with their current outfield - Melendez, Isbel and Renfroe would have to be among the worst in baseball.
Steve Adams
3:58
It's horrible, but they seem to have an unwavering faith that Melendez will be something he's yet to show in any capacity despite a very, very long runway to realize that potential.
JeffyM
3:58
Does Joey Gallo make sense for the Jays on a cheap 1 year deal or for a minor league deal with an invite to spring training?
Steve Adams
3:59
I'm pretty well past any hope of a Gallo renaissance, but on a minor league deal and NRI, I suppose. Could make that case for most teams, though.
Donny Baseball
4:00
If you had to choose between Roki Sasaki and Paul Skenes, who would you prefer?  Thanks as always for the chats!
Steve Adams
4:00
The younger guy who's already done it in MLB.
4:01
Not a knock on Sasaki, but Skenes has already proven his ability to be one of the best pitchers in the league. Plus, talented as Sasaki is, he's had some injury scares in NPB already
RFE
4:02
How do you feel overall about the Cubs' offseason? I personally feel pretty good about it, between Tucker and solid pitching arms added.
Steve Adams
4:04
Mixed. Good on them for going and getting Tucker. Pressly was fine at the price they paid. I don't understand the approach in the rotation. I'm sure ownership is pushing pretty hard to stay comfortably under the CBT, but the Cubs could've passed on the Boyd/Rea combo and made a more legitimate run at some higher-end arms. Flaherty would've been a good fit there, even if they were never going to match the Yankees on Fried or pry Burnes from living at home in Arizona.

I like Boyd more than most, but I didn't love the deal for the Cubs specifically, given the context of the rest of the roster.
Cat Herder
4:05
Is it going to depend on Bregman to know what the Tiger's future with Torkelson will be?  He's invited to Camp and Harris keeps saying that he needs a "strong" time in Lakeland, but it is a struggle to see where on the infield he might get innings.  Thoughts?
Steve Adams
4:06
I assume he is:

1) Very available in a trade
2) Going to see lots of time at 1B/DH against lefties
3) Probably the first guy up at 1B if Keith is injured (or if Gleyber is injured and they move Keith back to 2B in the interim)
4:07
Ok, I've got to get ready to go pick up my kids at daycare. Thanks for chatting today, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your week! I'll have a free chat on the main site tomorrow, and Anthony will host another subscriber chat on Friday.
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