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: 5/19/25
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat
O
2:56
When is Bubba Chandler getting the call?!
Steve Adams
2:57
It's laughable that Pirates owner Bob Nutting can talk of acting with "urgency" (when he fired Shelton) while Chandler sits in AAA. I would expect he's up sometime next month. Nutting is probably still stinging from Skenes winning ROY and getting a full year of service even after they held him down to try to buy the extra year.

Sucks for Pirates fans. Sucks for baseball fans, really. I just want to watch Chandler pitch to big league hitters.
Angels
2:58
Are you buying Matthew Lugo's breakout?
Steve Adams
3:00
I wouldn't call 26 plate appearances a breakout, especially when he hasn't walked but has a 31% strikeout rate. Lugo didn't hit in AAA, and his swinging-strike rate is through the roof while his contact rate is in the gutter.

There are some tools there -- decent power and speed -- but no, what he's done so far doesn't look real with that approach (or lack thereof)
Thanks
3:01
What kind of deal is Trent Grisham looking at if he sustains this performance?
Steve Adams
3:06
If he sustains THIS, or anything close to it, he's going to be one of the most interesting free agents in a good while. We really don't see prime-aged center fielders get to the market often. Most times they get extended earlier or by the time they reach the market they're already beginning to move more to a corner.

Grisham would be going from a marginal backup outfielder to a legitimate All-Star caliber CF ahead of his age-29 season. I don't know that we've had a good example of this in recent memory.

There'd be legitimate skepticism about his ability to replicate it, and if he's hitting like this, he'll have a QO hanging over him, too.

I think it'd be in his best interest to sign a mid-range deal (3-4 years) and that there'd be enough demand on a contract of that length that he could get an opt-out after the first year.

Tyler O'Neill just got three years and $49.5MM with a year-one opt-out at the same age. Grisham would get even more if he could somehow keep up a 170 wRC+ (though I doubt he will).
3:08
He'd have a case for like ... Bellinger money? I don't know, honestly. There's such little precedent for this type of eruption at a premium position at this age.

You could kind of squint and say Dansby Swanson really cashed in on a mammoth age-28 season, but he was a former No. 1 pick who hit 27 homers two years prior to free agency before following it up with a more well-rounded offensive campaign in his platform year. I don't think Grisham, even with a 170 wRC+ would have that kind of juice.
3:09
Incredible season from Grisham, though. He never chased much in the first place, but he's radically cut his K% and swinging-strike rate without sacrificing any batted-ball strength -- and now he's elevating the ball more than ever before. He looks great.
Mike in Andover
3:09
In 2026, Mikę Yastrzemski will be 35 year old free agent.  Could he be in line for a multi year contract?
Steve Adams
3:10
Teams have shown enough reluctance to go multiple years for guys in their 30s that I'd strongly bet against that. If he goes out looking for two years at a decent AAV, he might end up being one of the guys who's sitting around in Feb/March and takes like 1/6.
Steve D
3:11
Does the Mariners success this year in spite of injuries and offseason inaction actually validate ownerships position?
Steve Adams
3:12
No, it just makes me wonder how good they might've been if they'd had some actual money to work with. Imagine if you dropped Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman into the middle of that lineup.
Ben Cherrington
3:13
I’m late to the chat! When am I releasing Tommy Pham?
Steve Adams
3:16
Really tough season ... I didn't have the highest of hopes, but man, I would not have expected this level of decline. His bat speed has gone from plus to average over the past couple seasons, and he currently has his highest swinging-strike rate and second-highest chase rate since 2016. It's not looking good. They just don't have any depth that's ALL that interesting in the upper minors, but at a certain point, if Jack Suwinski is still hitting in AAA, I don't see how you don't give him another look over Pham. It's just not working and the season's lost for the team anyhow. Might as well give the ABs to someone who could be around beyond 2025.
Alex Anthopoulos
3:17
Most of the projection systems have Acuña being a 3.5 - 4.0 fWAR player for 2025. I know he is that good, but do you think is fair to expect that kind of production coming back from his second knee surgery? What kid of production is realistic to expect from him?
Steve Adams
3:18
Yeah, it's more productive than I'd personally bank on. The projection systems inherently are not going to factor the rigors of a second knee surgery. I'm of the mind that he's too talented to just be BAD when he comes back, but I'd err more toward him being more like 15-20% better than league average with the bat than the 50% that Steamer, ZiPs, etc. are crediting him for based on his track record.
3:21
Alright, I've got to wrap this up for the week. Sorry for the dozens of questions I couldn't get to. I'll have another chat on the main site tomorrow. Tim will do a mailbag on Wednesday. Anthony will have another subscriber chat on Friday.

Really appreciate the support from your subscriptions and for all of the kind words and thoughtful questions. We're lucky to have a good group of folks supporting us, and I don't ever want to take that for granted. You guys rock, thanks so much.
Enjoy your week!
Connecting…