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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 2/3/25
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Gavin
3:37
Where do you see Cease ending up?   Mets, Braves, Orioles, Cubs?
Steve Adams
3:38
As I noted earlier, I'm working on a look at his most viable/plausible destinations. Those are four of my top six, yes.
James
3:38
Who is the favorite in the AL Central? Does that change if the Tigers sign Bregman?
Steve Adams
3:39
With Bregman, I'd probably put the Tigers as the favorite, I suppose, but in general I think it's pretty close between the Tigers, Guards, Twins and Royals -- so much so that they're all within a few percentage points of each other. It'll be a fun division... unless you're a White Sox fan.
HMM
3:40
Can you explain that every time I hear Bregman in the Bronx A lot of people say his bat wouldn't play there.When the tigers Are mentioned NO SCRIBE  says Bergman would have a hard time in that giant pitchers park. Ditto Gleybar.
Steve Adams
3:40
I haven't heard ... anyone say Bregman's bat wouldn't play in the Bronx?
I think a lot of people wrongly assume since he's right-handed and doesn't have lighttower raw power that he's a product of Houston's short porch/Crawford Boxes
3:41
But his road numbers are right in line with his home numbers in his career.
Spaghetti Marinera
3:42
I wonder which remaining free agents will be subjected to Brandon Belt Syndrome: guys whose careers appear to be at an end even though they can still play, because no organization apparently saw any value in signing them. Who seem like prime candidates for this treatment? For instance, there seems to be zero interest in Ty France.
Steve Adams
3:46
Eh, France is only 30. He's not in danger of getting the Belt treatment, I don't think. His skill set is just one that teams generally don't love (corner limited, short-side platoon with middling to poor plate discipline). I imagine a team needing a RH bat (Twins, Red Sox, Tigers, etc) will give him a minor league deal at some point.

I still find the Belt thing weird, so I don't know that I want to predict it as some kind of trend. But aging free agents who are still reasonably productive and have scarcely crept up on the rumor mill include Mark Canha, JD Martinez, maybe Kevin Pillar. Belt seems like he was kind of his own weird situation unto himself though.
Tiger Fan
3:46
Think the tigers will cut maeda as the corresponding move for jack flaherty?
Steve Adams
3:49
No. They're paying him either way. He still had good command last year. And he finished out the season with a decent 4.44 ERA in his final 13 appearances after losing his rotation spot. Ryan Kreidler seems likelier to me, and I suppose the Tigers could just drag this out until spring training and place Gipson-Long on the 60-day IL rather than DFA someone.

Can't rule out a trade of someone like Torkelson, either, but I don't know that I feel that's necessarily likely.
ClarkeinEcuador
3:50
Still waiting on a RH bat in Boston. I’m not a fan of getting Bregman or Arenado because they would block ‘the kids’…who’s left?
Steve Adams
3:52
Not a lot unless they can move an outfielder or dump Yoshida. Grichuk, J.D. Martinez, Adam Duvall and Justin Turner are the best RH available in free agency (at least going by their production against LHP). That said, Tyler O'Neill hit lefties better than any free agent on the market this winter and the Sox already let him go.
Wheeler Deeler
3:53
Is there any chance of the Phillies dumping the Walker or Castellanos contracts before they expire?
Steve Adams
3:53
In their entirety? No. A small portion of either? Sure.
Sandy G
3:54
Would Pete accept an offer from the Mets for 3/$75 with opt-outs and bonus opportunities for, say, $1M/40 HRs, 45, 50? 100 RBI? Or maybe they've just moved on?
Steve Adams
3:54
Can't do incentives based on specific performance incentives like that. They're based on playing time -- plate appearances, games started, time on the active roster, etc.

I imagine that even on a short-term deal, Alonso will want to top what Bellinger got last year ($80MM)
yo stevo
3:55
Are you more worried about the angels pitching side or hitting side holding up this year?
Steve Adams
3:56
Not a big fan of either, but it's easier for me to see the rotation being solid than the lineup, where you're looking at a lot of injury risk (Trout, Rendon, Neto on the mend from shoulder surgery), some young guys who just haven't performed all that well (Adell, Schanuel) and some pretty shaky depth beyond the starting group.
Gavin
3:58
what are the odds Cease gets traded right after you post the article youre working on?!?!?
Steve Adams
3:58
Hey that's fine by me as long as he doesn't get traded before I finish it!
Cubbie Blue
3:58
If both options were available (you're the Cubs' POBO), are you trading for Cease or signing Bregman? Cease provides a lot of impact at the front of the rotation, but would require a substantial return to SD for just one year of his services. Bregman could be had for just money, but may require a longer-term deal (into his mid-to-late-30s). Cease slides into the rotation easily (maybe Assad back to SD; Rea for depth); Bregman maybe pushes Shaw to a bench/AAA role to start the season (depending on Hoerner's injury status). Which route would you prefer the team take?
Steve Adams
4:02
It depends on the cost of acquisition, of course, but in general I'd probably skew toward Cease in this instance. There are cases where I'd take the position player even on the long-term deal, but Bregman's decline in plate discipline was worrisome, and I tend to think Shaw has the makings of a legitimate starter at 3B.

If you're talking some combination of Wicks/Assad/Brown/Caissie/Alcantara back to the Padres (one of the OFs and one of the arms), I could probably stomach that knowing Cease will net a comp pick in '26 and knowing that a rotation of Cease/Steele/Imanaga/Boyd/Taillon is pretty stout.
Lance
4:02
Which GM's could potentially find themselves on the proverbial hot seat if their teams underperform or don't meet perceived expectations this upcoming season? Some examples could be the Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, Blue Jays, etc.
Steve Adams
4:05
Blue Jays for sure. I don't think the Rangers or O's. Young was recently promoted to president in Texas. Elias seems to be in good graces with the new ownership.

Mariners, perhaps, which sucks for Dipoto since the main reason they'll underperform, if they do, is because ownership just gave him no money to work with in two straight offseasons.

Jed Hoyer (Cubs) comes to mind as one. Ben Cherington is pretty far into this rebuild effort in Pittsburgh without much to show for it, so it feels like they need a good showing. (But, again, he's had minimal to no support from ownership. And they'd probably make a managerial change before booting the FO)
4:06
In general, I don't like speculating on peoples' job security. I don't root for anyone to get fired. Objectively, the Blue Jays and Cubs seem like they could be facing changes if they don't perform well, though.
Josh Elliott
4:07
It seems the Padres will have Tirso Ornelas as the starting Left Fielder to start the year.  I have looked at his stats in the minors (not big on the newer stats like BABIP, so I am genuinely curious) and he seems to be ready for a shot.  What are your initial thoughts on him?
Steve Adams
4:11
Good contact skills without exciting batted-ball metrics. Walk rate has trended down as he's climbed the MiLB ladder. Scouting reports on him pretty much peg him as LF only, so he's really going to need to hit. Power showed up this season in a way it hasn't in the past but it was in a pretty hitter/homer-friendly environment. I'm skeptical of him hitting enough to hold down the job long-term, but if the Padres can add a bat to take most of the DH time and improve the back of the rotation, starting the year with Ornelas as the primary LF isn't the end of the world. I like that better than Randy Vasquez locked into a rotation spot or just a carousel of middling bench players rotating through DH.
4:13
Alright. I've got to pick up my kids from daycare. I'm on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social.

Thanks for joining today. I'll have a free chat on the main site tomorrow and Anthony should be back for another subscriber chat on Friday.

Hope everyone enjoys the week!
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