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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 7/21/25
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Steve Adams
3:29
So yeah, I do think they'll move Robert. And Tauchman and Houser. Civale will go. I don't really see a big market for their fringey relievers like Dan Altavilla and Steven Wilson, but if either went for a PTBNL or something, it wouldn't shock me.
Sean Murphy
3:29
Where is a logical landing spot for me? What's the return?
Steve Adams
3:31
I don't think he'll be traded before the deadline, but it feels plenty possible in the offseason. Rays, Twins, Rangers, Guardians, Padres all have some long-term questions behind the plate (though San Diego obviously has Salas coming, and Murphy's contract is probably too steep for Cleveland)
JeffyM
3:31
Can the Jays acquire a high/mid leverage reliever trading from their older prospects/optionable 40 man depth? Do any of Loperfido, Schneider, Wagner, Roden, Jimenez, Martinez, Clase, Lukes have enough value?
Steve Adams
3:33
Feels like Roden should be able to get that, yeah. I liked Wagner coming into the season but he obviously hasn't helped his stock with poor results and really deteriorated batted-ball metrics.
DrunkPhilsFan
3:33
Am I wrong NOT to be optimistic about the David Robertson signing?
Steve Adams
3:33
Hey, don't let me tell you if you can or can't be pessimistic. But for what it's worth, I think it's a fine signing and expect Robertson to pitch well.
Jack T
3:34
I just saw CBS has the Brewers ranked #1 in their latest power rankings. Crazy!, right? How can the Brewers use the trade deadline to solidify themselves as true World Series contenders?
Steve Adams
3:36
Winning 10 straight does a lot of good things for you. I think any team that's sitting first place in a division -- or tied for it -- is a World Series contender, but if they went really aggressive and paid up to get, say, Eugenio Suarez and Cade Smith, they'd get a lot of love as a possibility to win it all.
Ken
3:36
JP Sears and Hogan Harris to the Mets for Jonathan Santucci, Brandon Sproat, Anthony Nunez, and the A's take on Starling Marte's remaining contract. Who says no?
Steve Adams
3:37
Sears doesn't move the needle there. He's another fourth/fifth starter on a team that has plenty of them. I'd rather just put Sproat in the rotation. Shedding Marte's contract isn't enough to offset Sproat/Sears, and that's before even getting into the other guys in the proposed package.
Whither the Nats?
3:37
Where are you on the "should the Nats trade MacKenzie Gore?" spectrum? Full disclosure, as a Nats fan I'm in the "you always listen" category but it would take a tremendous haul of near-MLB ready prospects to make it worthwhile. Nats fans are spoiled by how well the Soto trade turned out; that high of a hit rate on prospects is a 90th percentile outcome to me.
Steve Adams
3:40
I go back and forth but have warmed to it as the summer has worn on. Part of it depends on how aggressively the Lerner family ownership group is willing to spend this winter. If they're going to really give a new front office some financial resources, then you can justify hanging onto Gore under the assumption that a pair of quality veterans join him and a bunch of the young hitters rally together to form a good lineup.

If it's going to be shopping in the Mike Soroka/Trevor Williams/Josh Bell aisle again this offseason, then you might as well give real thought to trading Gore for what would be a major return. They can rightly ask for multiple top-100 types and a couple other pieces. I've said it before, but Gore should command more than the White Sox got for Garrett Crochet.
That Baseball Fan
3:40
Will the Brewers, Cubs, Reds, or Cardinals be most active at the trade deadline?
Steve Adams
3:41
I think the Cubs will be the most aggressive of that bunch. They already made a big 2025 push with Tucker. President Jed Hoyer is in the last year of his contract. They've lost their ace and need multiple rotation arms.
Steve
3:41
Should Minnesota start from scratch, reuild?
Steve Adams
3:43
They already have a nice farm system, pretty clean payroll and a decent number of young players. The division isn't great beyond Detroit. I don't think there's any need to blow it up. If they go 3-6 over their next nine games or something and trade Willi Castro, Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe, that's sensible. But shipping out Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, etc. seems unnecessary, especially if a sale is indeed going to come together and they have an owner who's more not as frugal as the Pohlad family has been the past couple offseasons.
JeffyM
3:44
How would you rank Alcantara, Ryan, Keller, Bradley, Gore in terms of biggest/best package to acquire to smallest?
Steve Adams
3:46
Ryan and Gore are up in their own tier. I don't think Alcantara will get the return the Marlins want so I'm increasingly leaning toward them keeping him, since they'd be selling low. Keller's more of a proven commodity than Bradley.

So ... I guess: Ryan, Gore, Keller, Bradley and N/A on Sandy since it's tough to see someone paying the asking price (probably between Gore/Keller) when he's struggling like this. And it's tough to see the Fish trading him when his value is down so much.
dhat333
3:47
What would the Tigers have to offer to pick up Suarez
Steve Adams
3:49
Sorry had to answer a phone call quickly.
3:51
All else being equal, I'm sure the D-backs are going to go be targeting young starting pitching. Troy Melton as a headliner is a decent start but it'll take multiple pretty good prospects. But the Tigers aren't going to have to give up Max Clark, Jackson Jobe or Kevin McGonigle to get Suarez.
Guarded Indian
3:51
Henry Davis seems like a change of scenery guy that Cleveland might be able to afford to attempt to upgrade their catching situation.  Am I being silly?
Steve Adams
3:53
I'm kind of out on Davis at this point. I held out hope even up through last season, but the batted-ball numbers have never been great, he's 25 now and he's not hitting at all in the majors.

I wouldn't hate it if Cleveland picked him up in some kind of buy-low swap, but I would be aiming higher if you're looking for a potential catcher of the future.
Jesse
3:54
True or false: The Mets need a least 3 bullpens arms (and at least one lefty) to have a chance of holding their playoff spot?
Steve Adams
3:54
I don't think things are ever so black-and-white, but I generally agree that they need bullpen help and expect them to acquire at least two arms.
Masa Yoshida
3:55
I played outfield last night while Roman Anthony was DH.  Was the purpose of that this move showcasing the proposition that I’m a legitimate option in the outfield?  Is anyone buying it?
Steve Adams
3:56
Even if Yoshida proved himself a competent, average defender, no one is touching that contract unless Boston is eating like 75% or more of it.
Brad
3:56
[sorry for the double question, I accidentally submitted the other prematurely] Which do you see as the most likely trade scenario for the Rays prior to the deadline: 1) adding another backend bullpen arm 2) trading for a bigger bat down the stretch 3) some minor leaguers for minor leaguers trade
Steve Adams
3:58
I think they'll trade Zack Littell and consider moving some other big leaguers (Brandon Lowe, Taj Bradley, Pete Fairbanks) while also looking to add some controllable young big leaguers. They never operate in a true buy or sell capacity, really, and I don't think this year's going to be any different. If they can add a high-end catching prospect or a notable outfield prospect, that'll be something they look into -- especially the catcher.
Gavin Cordes
3:59
What would it take for the Padres to get Ryan Jeffers?
Steve Adams
4:02
Catchers rarely change hands midseason, and the Twins aren't completely tearing down/don't have an immediate heir apparent behind Jeffers in 2026. That doesn't mean they can't/won't trade him, but it feels pretty unlikely.

I'd expect the Twins -- as mentioned with the D-backs earlier -- to be looking at near-MLB talent. Padres don't have a ton of that, and I doubt they'd want to move Ryan Berget for a 1+ year catcher like Jeffers, but maybe the Twins could send them a free Chris Paddack reunion to try to replace the innings?

It's tough to line up on for me, really, since both of those teams have a long-term need behind the plate and the Padres are the one with a prospect who actually fits the bill (Ethan Salas). If the Twins were rebuilding totally, you could make a package for some lower-level talents, but I don't think that's in their future.
Lefty
4:03
Giants are in position record-wise, but they don't look like a serious wild card contender watching the offense day to day. Would Flores, Yaz, Tyler Rogers trade returns be nothing more than mid range prospects?
Steve Adams
4:04
I think you could get a decent-ish prospect  (singular) for Rogers but not a whole lot for the other two.
Brian Reynolds
4:04
I know he’s having a down year and has a contract that doesn’t match this years productivity. But Reynolds being a switch hitter, a decent defensive outfielder, and always been hitting in a lineup with absolutely  no protection makes him intriguing. Don’t you think he could be a sneaky good pick up for a team with a decent offense that’s lacking another impact middle of the order bat? And the prospect return for him would be mid level at best. A win for both sides.
Steve Adams
4:08
I would push back on Reynolds being a decent defensive outfielder. A few years ago, perhaps, but he's graded poorly out there pretty consistently, regardless of which corner they plug him into. I think his bat should bounce back to an extent. He's still making strong, quality contact -- but the frequency of that contact has dropped quite a bit. He has a career-high K% and his lowest career contact rate when he chases off the plate.

Right now, there's just not much (if any) trade value for me. I don't think a team would even just take the contract with no return. He's basically owed the Andrew Benintendi contract from 2026-30. Pittsburgh would probably have to pay down the contract, and that's a bad look for a player who's been so central to their identity.

But there's enough in the batted-ball profile that I wouldn't be surprised with a big second half or a rebound showing in 2026, which could send the value back up.
Fat Cat
4:08
Can you please explain in layman's terms the differences of recalled, selected, called up, DFA, waivers, released. Or maybe just point me to a link that breaks it down. Thanks Steve, love the chats!
Steve Adams
4:10
Recalled = bringing a player who's on the 40-man roster up to the majors after he was optioned.
Selected =  adding a player to the 40-man roster (and usually to the 26-man as well)
DFA = player immediately removed from 40-man roster (and active, if applicable). Team has a week to trade, release or pass player through outright waivers
Outright waivers = Player is made available to all other teams who can claim him + contract and place him on 40-man roster. If unclaimed, player is outrighted to AAA (but players with 3+ years of service or a prior outright can reject and become a free agent)
4:11
Released is ... released. Though players have to clear release waivers and technically can be claimed off release waivers. If they're claimed off release waivers, however, they have the right to reject the assignment to that new team and become a free agent. That's happened like once in my 12 years at MLBTR that I can remember, however.
M's
4:11
Are you buying this version of Canzone we are seeing since his recall.
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