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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 1/16/24
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Steve Adams
8:33
Good morning all! We'll kick things off at 1pm CT, but feel free to start asking questions early. Talk to you all then!
12:59
Let's begin!
Wyatt Landord
12:59
Will I break Camp on the Rangers MLB opening day roster
Steve Adams
1:00
I imagine Langford will have the chance to do so, but he's less than a year from being drafted so it's need to be a big spring showing. They're not going to put him on the roster by default if he struggles in camp and K's in like 40% of his plate appearances or something
Tom the Raptor
1:00
Would you consider  Kiermeier or Bellinger as a better defensive center fielder ??
Steve Adams
1:00
I don't think there are many (any?) better defensive CFs than a healthy Kevin Kiermaier
1:01
Maybe a healthy Byron Buxton? Both are varying degrees of rare, sadly.
Guest
1:01
Joey Bart to Tampa for low end pitching prospect?
Steve Adams
1:01
I think that's a reasonable enough scenario. Bart is clearly no longer in the equation in SF, and his trade value is way down. Rays need catching badly. It's a good match.
Jake
1:02
Nolan Gorman from the Cards to KC for Brady Singer; which team says no?
Steve Adams
1:03
Don't think the Cardinals give up five years of Gorman to buy low on three years of Singer. The 2022 Singer showed us how talented he is, but he just really doesn't have a consistent third pitch and feels fairly volatile as a result.
Yark
1:03
What's Biebers value and is there any reason CLE should hold onto him?
Steve Adams
1:05
I think the answer to both is kind of related; Bieber's value just isn't that high right now. He's a one-year, $13.2MM rental who's coming off a good-not-great season that featured shoulder/elbow injuries and an average fastball that was down about 3 mph from peak levels.

I don't think his trade value will plummet from now to the deadline, and if he rebounds at all, it might actually improve. The Guardians have a chance in the Central, too, so there's plenty of reason to hang on for now and reassess this summer if the current offers are weak (which I imagine they are)
Rox
1:06
Would a two year deal similar to the one German Marquez signed get the job done for Woodruff? 2 years, $20 million ish?
Steve Adams
1:06
Woodruff's a better pitcher, so I think the price will be higher -- but yeah, a two-year deal where you're paying for a year of rehab and a year of healthy Woodruff seems likely. I just think it'd be more in the $25-30MM range
Bucco Fan
1:07
Yariel Rodríguez will be signed by _____________?
Steve Adams
1:07
Both Enrique Rojas of ESPN and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic have said the Jays are favored to sign him.
Orioles
1:07
Does it make sense for the Os (or other teams trying to trade for sps) to wait for the deadline to make a push for pitching? Gives them more time to evaluate prospects and decreases the leverage of teams that need to sell.
Steve Adams
1:08
Also gives them about four months of patching the rotation together. The O's have been evaluating their in-house guys since the moment they were drafted (before that, really). If they don't either sign someone (unlikely) or make a decent rotation splash on the trade market, it's going to be pretty tough to say the offseason was a success.
Heyyyy
1:09
Where do you think Blake Snell will end up?  Will he end up lowering his contract demands?
Blake Snell
1:09
Is my next contract closer to what the Yankee's offered in the 5/150 range or what Boras and I are asking at 9/270?
Blake Snell
1:09
Is ANYONE going to pay me $245MM?
Steve Adams
1:10
There are a dozen-plus questions like this -- just posting a few of them here
1:12
I look at the reports on his asking price and just kind of shrug... if he and Boras want $200MM, which feels likely, of course they're going to go out saying they want significantly more. It's negotiation. I think it'll eventually settle around $200MM. I don't know that I see that coming from the Yankees, but I also have a hard time picturing the Giants.

The Angels still make a lot of sense to me here; pivot after losing Ohtani and make a somewhat rash and reactive move. Owner Arte Moreno has avoided the big long-term deals for pitchers to this point, but logically speaking it's just easy to see him going this route after watching Ohtani leave.
Manny
1:13
How come you did not submit an Entry in the free agent contest?
Steve Adams
1:13
I did. My picks weren't on the Top 50 post, because that was my first day back from paternity leave and between editing, writing and a bunch of other stuff I just didn't have time to get them together. But I did submit a slate of picks in the contest, and you can search for them on the leaderboard. I'm not doing great so far, haha
Vance Law
1:14
Other than Cease, which other White Sox players could likely be traded before opening day?
Steve Adams
1:15
Cease is the big one, but I wouldn't be all-out shocked if they moved Eloy. Moncada's contract seems too cumbersome, and I don't think they'd move Robert even though the haul they'd receive would be incredible. Like... Soto-esque (Nationals' haul, that is... not the Padres'). Maybe more? Four years of Robert at a total of $67MM is pretty incredible value.
Nolan Jones
1:16
Is Nolan Jones the real deal or does he have a Hunter Renfroe ceiling? His BABIP was extraordinarily high last year and even higher during away games which is weird for Coors.
Steve Adams
1:18
I think there's real power/speed there, but I wouldn't expect him to replicate last year's rate stats. Like you said, the .401 BABIP is bound to regress, and his 30% strikeout rate is pretty concerning. I think there's a world where you lop 50-60 points off the average and OBP and he's still hitting .225 to .240 with a respectable OBP, plenty of pop and some speed though.

That's not what he was in 2023, but it's still got value.
Eric Lauer
1:18
Is there a market for me? Or am I looking at overseas baseball?
Steve Adams
1:20
Lauer was really good as recently as 2021-22, and he's only 28. I imagine he'll have interest from MLB clubs on low-cost one-year deals. He only has 4+ years of MLB service as well, so anyone that signs him could control him through 2025 via arbitration.
Alex
1:20
The silence around Trevor Bauer is surprising...
Steve Adams
1:21
I get asked about Bauer every week, and every week I say no team signed him last year, so I'm not sure why it'd be a surprise that teams still aren't jumping at the opportunity.
MA RK
1:21
Kenley Jansen and Duran to the Giants for Kyle Harrison to the Red Sox… who says no?
Steve Adams
1:22
Farhan Zaidi plainly stated a couple weeks ago that he can't envision a scenario that involves him trading Kyle Harrison
BlackMana
1:22
Stearns has stated that the Mets probably have about $10M more in the budget for this year. Do you think there are any free agents whose market could slip to the point that it's too good of an opportunity and the Mets jump back in? I'm not saying it's likely, but if Spring Training games are starting and a free agent is seeing his market dry up, Mets could be opportunistic.
Steve Adams
1:24
I haven't seen Stearns state that on record. It's been reported, but that's not the same as the team president putting it out there.

I imagine the Mets will use that money on some bullpen arms. I don't think there's a scenario where, say, Matt Chapman is going to take 1/10 from them. And if a top free agent's market slipped to the point where he was available on a bargain deal, I think the Mets would be willing to go beyond the remaining $10MM or so they're budgeting anyway. It's not like Steve Cohen is shy about spending when marquee players are available at prices they deem fitting.
Lt Data
1:25
Where do you see Chapman landing?  In Chicago the infield defense would be insane.
Steve Adams
1:26
Giants would be my guess at this point, but yeah the Cubs are a reasonable enough fit -- Swanson/Chapman left side would indeed be pretty outstanding defensively.
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