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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 3/31/25
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Steve Adams
9:32
Good morning! Running today's chat a few hours earlier than usual. Feel free to send in questions ahead of time, and we'll get going in about 2.5 hours! Looking forward to it.
12:00
Greetings!
12:01
Just a heads up that I'm headed out on vacation with my wife and two kiddos tomorrow, so I won't have my usual free chat on the site tomorrow. Back in town next week, when hopefully the random snow we got in Minnesota (two days after it was 74 degrees, haha) will be gone. Good time to run to Florida.

ANYHOW ... let's get underway!
Sam
12:01
it’s been really quiet on the Joe Kelly front. Do you know if he is healthy and if he wants to pitch this year I’m surprised the Dodgers didn’t bring it back on a minor-league deal because you know they’ll be injuries in the pen like they’re already is and he’s a big-time favorite there
Steve Adams
12:02
Joe chatted with Rob Bradford on the Baseball Isn't Boring podcast in Feb or early March and basically said he's not quite 100% yet and isn't going to sign or make a decision on his future until he gets there
George
12:02
Could you please weigh in on the torpedo bats ? I'm interested to hear what you think.
Steve Adams
12:05
I think it's much ado about nothing. We wouldn't have batted an eye if the Yankees, led by a 3-HR burst from Aaron Judge, torched an injury-depleted Brewers staff with normal bats. Small sample insanity runs wild every year, and this feels like classic early-season drama that'll join Jeremy Hazelbaker and Chris Shelton's early-season outbursts as something we look back and shake our heads at.

If it ends up having a more lasting impact, then sure, maybe we can visit it. But for now, I find the whole thing generally kind of silly.
Big Al
12:06
I know it’s early, but if Max Muncy continues to struggle, do we start hearing the Nolan Arenado rumors again? We know that Nolan wants to come to Los Angeles so that’s not a problem.and the Dodgers would have no problem paying part of that contract.
Steve Adams
12:07
It's 20 plate appearances for Muncy, who just hit .280/.513/.560 in 39 spring plate appearances. That's not to put much stock in that spring barrage, but rather to remind that in samples this small, anyone can look like Ted Williams or Ted Lilly at the plate.
12:09
I wouldn't worry about Muncy, and if the Arenado talk is going to resurface, it's not going to be until much, much deeper into the season. The Dodgers basically carried a dead roster spot last year with Chris Taylor and still breezed into the playoffs. They're arguably even deeper this year. Even if Muncy's bat completely falls off a cliff, they an wait until late July to make a move at third base -- Arenado or otherwise -- and not risk missing the postseason.
Pitching 101
12:09
Why are so many putting in my circle putting down the Rangers bullpen? They just beat Boston 3 out of 4 games.
Steve Adams
12:11
The Rangers' bullpen gets flak because it's generally comprised of older journeymen types with minimal track record, recent injury-related struggles or (in Chris Martin's case) are in the final stage of their careers.

Texas relievers had a good overall showing in four games, but it's four games. They also walked 11.5% of the batters they faced, which is ... not good.

The depth behind the current group isn't great, either. There's a lot to like with regard to the 2025 Rangers. The bullpen, for my money, isn't one of those things. In isolation, their deals for Martin, Milner, Webb, etc. were all fine. When you add them up and you've rebuilt an entire bullpen for like $10MM total ... it looks a lot dicier.
Gadzooks
12:12
Is Esteury Ruiz a good fit for Cincinnati?
Steve Adams
12:15
I just don't think Esteury Ruiz is a difference-maker on a big league roster. He's not a great defender despite his speed, he has bottom-of-the-barrel batted-ball metrics, he doesn't walk and his strikeout rate is higher than you'd like for someone with no power of which to speak.

I'll fully admit to being on the Ruiz hype train a few years back, despite the really weak batted-ball profile in the minors. I also have no problem admitting that I look back at that opinion and think, "Hmm. I was very, very wrong."

Hope he figures it out, because he could be a fun player with that speed, but he looks like a one-tool guy to me.
Wagner
12:15
Toronto's Will Wagner seems to be labeled as a platoon player. Any chance he becomes full-time given that his bat hits anyone?
Steve Adams
12:19
Wagner doesn't have a great track record against lefties in the minors and hasn't hit them in a tiny 23 PA sample in the majors. He drew some walks against lefties in AAA last year, but he was even platooned pretty regularly in the minors.

I'm all for giving him a shot, but the last time he saw more than 100 PA in a season against lefties he hit .188/.342/.271 between High-A and Double-A with the Astros.

There's something to be said for the idea that he can't ever improve against LHPs if he doesn't face them, but it seems like both Houston and Toronto are pretty skeptical of his ability to hit them, despite decent small-sample numbers in 2023-24.
Braves fan
12:20
To me it looks like Alex is asleep at the switch. Why when they re making lots of money from the Battery do they reduce payroll and not try to improve the pitching?
Steve Adams
12:22
Anthopoulos can only spend to the level that ownership is willing to spend. The Braves are never big-time free agent players -- at least not for the very high-end, long-term deal guys -- but this offseason seemed more measured than ever, with a clear goal of staying under the luxury tax line.

Reducing payroll isn't Anthopoulos' call. I would still liked to see them do more with the rotation and bullpen though.
Devers
12:23
Am I protesting not playing 3B by being bad at baseball? Historically bad?
Steve Adams
12:26
He missed most of spring due to lingering shoulder troubles, got only 15 plate appearances in official games, and was plugged right into the lineup. I don't think that's a recipe for success, regardless of position/role.

Devers batted .285/.352/.524 in 3500 plate appearances from 2019-24. The idea that he simply can't hit because he's a DH now feels far, far less plausible to me than "Hey this elite, still only-28-year-old hitter isn't/wasn't fully healthy, had about 25% of a spring training, and it's showing"
There could certainly be an adjustment to the new routine of DHing, don't get me wrong, but the mass calls of "he can't/won't hit as a DH" are silly to me.
The future, o swami…
12:27
The White Sox seem to have an interested crew of pitchers. When Noah Schultz comes up, who drops out of the rotation? And what's the future of Shane Smith?
Steve Adams
12:32
More often than not, the question of "who gets bumped from the rotation when [prospect] is called up a couple months from now" is organically made pretty obvious/apparent, because it's rare for any group of five starters to stay healthy that long. Of the current guys, I guess I'd bet on Davis Martin being the odd man out unless they bump Smith to a long relief role.

The Sox seem to like Smith quite a bit, and they can easily afford to carry him in any role if they want to keep him around, given their rebuilding status. The Sox seem to like the stuff. Command has been an issue for him at times, though not in egregious fashion.

I expect him to stick on the roster all year and be a part of the rotation/bullpen picture moving forward.
Lefty
12:32
Giants pitching and defense strategy looking good through this small sample size. Much more enjoyable to watch as well. Am I premature in thinking they could be a surprise team?
Steve Adams
12:33
I don't have the Giants as a playoff team, but that's not because I think they're terrible or anything. They're in maybe the best division in MLB. I think it's perfectly plausible that they make the postseason, despite not picking it to happen.
Kyle Freeland
12:34
If Freeland pitches anywhere near his 2018 level this year, which his Opening Day start was a great start, do you see him in a Rockies uniform at the trade deadline? Who do you see making a run at him at that time?
Steve Adams
12:38
2018 was a long, long time ago. Freeland isn't the same pitcher now, with a different pitch selection, different velocity, mechanics, etc. I'm not bullish on him ever getting back to that level, frankly, and even at the time thought it looked fluky since no one sustains an 83% strand rate over multiple seasons.

If he's pitching well in July, the contract is affordable enough that other teams would have interest, sure. But the Rockies historically don't trade those guys at peak value (see: Jon Gray, Trevor Story, Daniel Bard, German Marquez, and the list goes on). Freeland, as a Denver native, might be even less likely to go because of that sentimental aspect.

The Rockies 100% should be open to trading him if he's pitching well. Hell, they should be outright shopping him. But I don't see it happening.
Idiotic Failson
12:38
The Yankees are going to be the first team to go 162-0 while scoring 1,600 total runs, aren't they?
Steve Adams
12:38
Yes.
That is the logical conclusion to draw.
TheBeatlesShow
12:38
How many more no-hit, glove only infielders are the Angels going to add to their roster?  They've only got five or six of them now.  Sheesh!!!
Steve Adams
12:41
They'd look better with Zach Neto at shortstop, but generally speaking, yeah they have a whole lot of fringe bats on the roster right now with Anderson, Lopez and Newman.

I think an infield with Moncada at 3B, Neto at SS, Rengifo at 2B and Newman on the bench could generally be fine, though Moncada's obviously a roll of the dice.

I'm not a big Nolan Schanuel proponent, though, so even at full strength, the corners are pretty sketchy in my view.
Terry Bevington
12:41
Will White Sox offense be as offensive as last year?
Steve Adams
12:43
It's really hard to fathom a repeat of that ineptitude. I think just by virtue of the looming promotions of Kyle Teel and Colson Montgomery -- provided they hit in the minors -- and better (hopefully) health from Luis Robert Jr., they should be an improved club.
And that's to say nothing of Andrew Benintendi quietly bouncing back over the final three-ish months of 2024. If he can continue that (or even 90% of it) in 2025, it'll only help.
Steve
12:45
do you think the mariners could acquire a helpful infielder (who can hit) for 2 high top 100 players Arroyo INF Famello OF
Steve Adams
12:48
I do think that sort of deal will be more possible for them this summer than it was over the winter. The extreme parity in the AL and the fact that the few clear rebuilding teams in MLB have already sold off most of their competent bats probably did create some challenges in trading for young big leaguers this winter. The fact that the Phillies were asking for rotation members in return for Alec Bohm speaks, in many ways, to how few options were available.

This summer, there should be a few more teams willing to either embark on a sell-off or at least willing to deal from a position of strength in the infield as prospects push toward the majors.

Also, I'll be keeping an eye on how Cole Young fares in AAA, as he could be a 2B option at any point if he's forcing the issue.
Ben Cherrington
12:48
What did I do to Bednar?
Pirate Pal
12:48
Is there any hope with David Bednar in the bullpen?
Steve Adams
12:51
I'm not sure you could draw up a tougher start to the season after the 2024 he had. They're paying him almost $6MM, so he'll get some leash, but I feel like you have to either move him to lower-leverage spots to try to get him back on track or find some, ahem, injury to put him on the IL and get him to AAA for rehab work.

I suppose he can technically still just be straight-up optioned, so that's a possibility as well. Tough conversation to have, but realistically, it's not like he could credibly push back against it. If we're treating the roster as a meritocracy, it's been some time since he's looked like the version of David Bednar who thrived as the closer for his hometown team.
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