You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 11/26/24
powered byJotCast
Steve Adams
8:46
Good morning! Planning to get things going at noon CT, though we'll see if my 1-year-old who's home sick from daycare complies with a nap near that time. If there's going to be any kind of delay, I'll try to drop a note here ahead of time. Looking forward to talking some offseason in a bit!
11:19
Hey all, I am indeed going to be delayed. This will probably get going at more like 1:00 to 1:30pm CT. Sorry about that.
1:22
Greetings! Apologies for the delay. I am not in charge of my schedule today, ha. That duty has been assigned to an ornery and under-the-weather 14-month old :(
But he appears to be snoozing contently, so let's get underway!
Biff
1:23
Steve, what are the Angels going to do about Rendon and their 3B situation? His contract is an albatross around Perry Minasian's neck and his conduct toward fans has been appalling. At what point does Arte Moreno just cut his losses and send Rendon packing?
Steve Adams
1:25
Rendon has two years left. I assume they ride it out this year and are now at the point where they give real consideration to cutting bait if he's just struggling this season. Of course, if he's going to spend time on the IL anyway -- very likely -- it doesn't really matter. He's not going to be on the roster at that point anyhow.

I get the impatience and wanting to move on, but from the team's perspective, they're paying him either way. And this past season was the first in which he was a true non-factor at the plate. From 2020-23, he hit .249/.359/.399 -- not at all what they expected when signing him, but better than average still. He was just hurt all the time.
Please Henry
1:25
Could you see Red Sox signing a top FA pitcher and trading for Crotchet?
Steve Adams
1:26
I'll be surprised if the Red Sox don't sign a top-tier starting pitcher.

Crochet has so many suitors that there's no point in really naming a "favorite". Sure, the Red Sox will be in the mix, but they're one of like 6-10 teams I can see plausibly meeting the White Sox' asking price.
Dan
1:26
thoughts on belli to the yanks to play 1B, seems like a fit?
Steve Adams
1:26
If the Cubs are going to pay some of the contract down and not ask for much in return, sure.
Williams for Bohm?
1:27
Devin Williams for Alec Bohm...Who is saying no?
Steve Adams
1:27
The Brewers
Baseball fan
1:27
Do you think a Springer + prospects like Barger Barriera + for Arenado framework makes sense?
Steve Adams
1:29
I don't think the Cardinals are all that interested in taking money back on in a potential Arenado trade. I also just don't think Addison Barger + Brandon Barriera is a super-compelling offer, though I'm perhaps more risk averse than some front offices would be in that regard. Still, he pitched one inning this past season and blew out his UCL. He hasn't pitched above A-ball. It's not that he's a bad prospect or anything, but the health is scary.
Rox
1:30
Who would be the best suitors if Arenado is truly willing to switch to 1B? Mariners? Astros? Rockies (lol)?
Steve Adams
1:32
The whole "Arenado is willing to switch to 1B" thing, while I'm sure it's 100% true (no reason to doubt Katie Woo at The Athletic, who reported it), is generally silly to me. It reads like he's saying "I'd go play for the Padres" without saying it out loud, as they're a Southern California contender with an entrenched third baseman.

If any of the other teams you listed (obviously not going back to the Rox) traded for him, they'd just put him at third base. San Diego is the only real viable fit with a 3B who's in the way and not likely to move.

But Arenado saying "I'll play first base" is insane, because the one thing he's still very good at is playing a strong third base.
Tiger Fan
1:33
Am I crazy for thinking Bregman is basically a must-have for Detroit? It doesn’t feel like any other player can add the needed value at a position of clear need, trade market or FA
Steve Adams
1:36
I don't think he's a must-have there by any means, no. Depending on where the contract lands, he could even be a "stay away" red flag. I'd probably rather sign Adames and put him at 3B than pay Bregman, for what it's worth. But the Tigers would be a fine Arenado fit, and there'll be other options that pop up on the trade market over time.

In general, I tend not to buy into any "Team A needs specific player X" scenario. It's just rarely the case.

Bregman's a fine fit in Detroit, but he's not the only option there. And if they like some outfield/SP options better and prefer to spend there while leaving 3B to Vierling/Jung/Ibanez, that's not insane -- it's just one of many ways the Tigers can attack their roster building this winter.
John
1:37
Austin Hays coming back to Baltimore?
Steve Adams
1:38
He's a free agent who's healthy now after what sounds like a pretty harrowing experience with that kidney infection. (Ken Rosenthal's piece on it at The Athletic is well worth a read)

Hays was in a platoon setting in Baltimore and that's how he'd be used again there. He's going to want to find an opportunity for more regular playing time.
Positively Half St.
1:38
Would it be a mistake for the Nats not to make an offer to Juan Soto at least? Or would they just be beat on for not offering enough no matter how much it was?
Steve Adams
1:40
The Nats have a wide-open payroll, an on-the-rise young core and a connection with Soto that basically no other organization has. I'd be going all out trying to sign him and think it's a mistake if they don't at least make an honest try to do so, yeah. Maybe the Lerner family just has no appetite for that type of contract, but they should be trying.

Then again, if I were running any team, I'd be going wild to try to sign Soto. It's Juan freaking Soto.
Dougald
1:41
If A's and Fisher are truly going to spend up to 100 million on payroll, do you think they will take on underwater contracts like Montgomery or Bellinger?
Steve Adams
1:41
That would be one way to do it, yeah. Honestly, they're not going to get many free agents to take their money, so if they told the D-backs "We'll take on Montgomery's whole $22.5MM and also we'd like your No. 12 prospect" or something -- good on them.
Donald
1:42
Do you think braves would be interested in bringing in Jordan. Montgomery?
Steve Adams
1:43
I don't think it's a great fit. They need stability and their luxury-tax ledger is a mess. Adding Monty's $22.5MM would really gum things up. I suppose it depends how much the D-backs are willing to eat, but there are cleaner and easier fits than just taking on an underwater SP contract
Rare German Baseball Fan
1:43
There's little chance that Soto will sign with the Jays. Why are they wasting time, risk bad fan sentiment and bad press instead of signing 2 - 3 decent FAs pretty quickly and making a good trade?
Steve Adams
1:45
A lot of those "good free agents" you're referencing don't want to sign until Soto is off the board, as it's going to bolster demand for them once the top name lands elsewhere.

I don't really agree that the Jays don't have a chance to sign him. I think the New York teams are probably the favorites just for fiscal reasons, but it's not like it's outlandish to think the Jays could put together the top offer. They're a corporate-owned team with a pretty clear long-term payroll outlook. They'd probably need to extend Vlad alongside the Soto deal to make it really make sense, but I don't think Toronto is an unreasonable potential landing spot -- even if I didn't pick him to go there.
Steve Adams Certified Genius
1:46
Any chance the Pirates can pry loose one of the many quality Orioles bats (Kjerstad, Mayo, Cowser) with Jared Jones?
Steve Adams
1:47
I love Jared Jones so I'm probably the wrong guy to ask, because I'd just keep Jones myself, ha.
1:48
But would the Orioles be interested in that? Yeah, especially if it were Kjerstad probably. But I don't think it'd be the best way for the Bucs to leverage their impressive crop of young pitching.

Skenes/Jones/Keller is such a nice top-three on which to lean for the foreseeable future.
Red Sox Fan
1:49
Do you think Wilyer Abreu is enough to front a deal for Garret Crochet? I am thinking Abreu, Kristian Campbell and Richard Fitts for Crochet and Ron Marinaccio?
Steve Adams
1:49
I would argue that Campbell is the headliner there, but that's beside the point. Yes, I think Abreu/Campbell would be a strong enough pairing to headline a Crochet return.
JS
1:50
Soto signs before winter meeting. yes or no?
Steve Adams
1:50
Can I say "during"? But it's all guesswork. Even he doesn't know when he's going to sign yet.
Di Fara Pizza
1:51
What type of percentage would you put on Spencer Jones becoming an every day player in MLB within the next two-to-three years?
Steve Adams
1:55
Probably a question you'd rather ask Anthony Franco than me. He likes Jones more than I do. The 37 K% in Double-A last year is just so hard for me to get past. I don't think he's a bust waiting to happen or anything, but I that lack of contact is the sort of thing I tend to run away from with regard to prospects. So... I don't know, 30-35%? I don't like putting percentages on these things. But Jones has some refining he needs still, and then there's just the obvious chance of any prospect getting hurt and slowing his timeline down. There's no prospect I'd put 100% likelihood on -- or even 90%, probably -- especially if we're limiting it to within the next two years.
LA Angels
1:55
I think we are overestimating ourselves with this early aggressive offseason.  We'll still stink and should entertain trading Trout while he still has drawing power for fans and for acquiring talent to replace him in the long run
Steve Adams
1:57
I don't think Trout has the trade value a lot of Angels fans seem to presume. Would he get six years and $213MM as a 33-year-old who's played 226 games over the past four seasons? If not, then you're talking negative value.
Nick
1:57
How do other teams view Bellinger?  Could Phillies or Mets be interested?
Load More Messages
Connecting…