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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 8/19/25
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Steve Adams
8:38
Good morning! We'll get going at 1:00 CT, give or take a couple minutes, but feel free to begin sending in questions ahead of time if you prefer.
12:59
Greetings! Let's get going
Doug Sisk
12:59
What happens to Frankie Montas' 2026 player option if the Mets release him before the end of the 2025 season?
Steve Adams
1:00
The player option is guaranteed money. He'd make next year's $17MM and count against the luxury tax whether he's on the roster or not.
OsKnows
1:00
Mountcastle’s time as an O almost over?
Steve Adams
1:01
I do think he'll be traded this offseason (or perhaps just non-tendered if he really struggles down the stretch, but he's hitting well since returning from the IL anyhow). I'd expect first base to primarily be a combination of Mayo and Basallo next year. Mountcastle only has one year of club control left and will probably make more than $8MM. O's can move him and put that money toward pitching instead.
Guarded Indian
1:01
When a player is released to pursue an opportunity overseas, does that generally happen because the players agent is looking for better financial opportunities for their client or is it because the foreign team reaches out?  I'm trying to figure out how a AAAA player is identified as a good fit for a Korean baseball team etc.
Steve Adams
1:03
KBO and NPB teams have scouts watching MLB and MiLB games. They'll identify guys they like, get in touch with the agent, and if there's reciprocal interest you can then pull in the player's current organization and discuss some kind of release fee.

By the time a player is getting released to pursue a foreign opportunity, the contract and any release fee have typically already been sorted out.
Jerry Dipoto
1:03
Am I going to re-sign Josh Naylor to be my 1B next year? Or is there a different external options I should be looking at? I don’t see the player in house.
Steve Adams
1:03
I lean toward no. Mitch Garver is the only free agent position player Dipoto has signed to a multi-year deal since taking over the Mariners a decade ago.
TennesseeMG
1:04
Do you think Kyle Tucker's monster slump will have a major impact, moderate impact or little to no impact on the deal he gets in free agency?
Steve Adams
1:06
Little to none, provided it's not due to an injury or anything. We have like 5 years of telling us this guy's an amazing hitter... that's not going to get overshadowed by a few weeks of struggles. I mean, if he hits like .150/.225/.250 down the stretch, maybe it starts to impact, but as of right now, it's not a factor really.
Steve Cohen
1:06
Who do you think wins the MVP in each league?
Steve Adams
1:07
Ohtani in the NL, and I've probably flipped to Raleigh in the AL. I could go either way at this moment, but it increasingly seems like Judge is going to be limited or a total nonfactor on defense for the rest of the season, and he's in a pretty rough stretch at the plate which seems attributable to the injury.
Jose Alvarado
1:08
I'm coming off the restricted list today... My contract is done at the end of 2025...  but if I perform down the stretch similar to what I did before my PED suspension - do you think the Phillies will try to re-sign me? Or did a door close in Philly after I screwed up.
Steve Adams
1:09
The Phillies have a $9MM club option that comes with a $500K buyout. A net $8.5MM option is a pretty easy call for them on Alvarado. He'll be back.
Effin Eflin
1:09
Does Zach Eflin get a QO from the Orioles this off season?
Steve Adams
1:10
Had he been healthy, yeah -- but with the lat/back injuries and now back surgery clouding some of his offseason, no. The O's aren't risking around $22MM on day one of the offseason when he'll only be a couple months into the rehab process.
Jays in 43 parks
1:10
Bassitt is having a decent season. Would a 2 yr ext at same AAV be smart for the Jays. Would Bassitt accept?
Steve Adams
1:12
I think a two-year term is pretty reasonable -- he's not going to get more than that for ages 37 and 38 -- but the $21MM AAV feels a little steep to me. Bassitt is still effective, and he's consistent, but his velo is down more than a mile per hour from last year and nearly two miles per hour from the point at which he signed the contract. I don't think teams are going to excited about $20MM+ for a 37-year-old who's sitting 91 mph with his heater. I'd probably guess like $15-16MM per year over two.
Walter
1:12
How much longer before the Clase and Ortiz situation is resolved?
Steve Adams
1:12
They're on leave through Aug. 31, and it'll probably extend beyond that if this is anything like prior instances of players being placed on administrative leave.
PhilsPhansince1965
1:13
Harrison Bader is a hard one for me to forecast - love the CF defense even while he is now at an age that it can decline rapidly. His bat has never been a steady plus however, but perhaps he can be league average in center. What range of contract offers might he get this winter?
Steve Adams
1:15
I think he's done enough to get a multi-year deal. He'll be 32, but you can bank on the defense being good and there have been some real offensive gains. Something like two years and $22MM?
Brew Crewzing
1:15
NL Cy Young?  Skenes is most dominant but has a losing record, Wheeler is out for awhile.  Who can sneak in?  (Freddy Peralta? If he can reach 20 wins.)
Steve Adams
1:16
The record is irrelevant. It'll be Skenes, barring some late injury or collapse, and deservedly so. It's not his fault the team around him is awful.
John
1:17
Is Trevor Rogers a true 1? Does he finish top 5 cy young this year?
Steve Adams
1:19
I don't think he'll have the workload to finish top 5, and I don't buy him as an ace, no. He's obviously improved over last year, but it's an average strikeout rate and swinging-strike rate, good command ... and huge assists from a .214 BABIP and 85% strand rate, neither of which is sustainable over a lengthy period.

I loved Rogers back in '21, but he had an extra 1.5 mph on his heater then, several extra percentage points in his swinging-strike rate and was giving up less contact on pitches in the zone.

This version of him sure looks like a good mid-rotation guy to me, but I don't buy into the results being THIS good.
Oz
1:20
There were indications that the Braves would use Sean Murphy and Drake Baldwin next year as their DH/catcher tandem.  In view of Sean Murphy’s struggles, is it possible that they might re-sign Marcell Ozuna to a 1-year deal, acquire a back-up catcher, and trade Murphy to fill another team need?
Steve Adams
1:21
I do think there's a chance that they end up trading Murphy, but I'd be surprised to see Ozuna back with how much he's struggled since June.
Tom Kelly's blues
1:21
Do the Twins build around the core of Keashal, Lee, Lewis, Wallner, Martin and Larnach along with Buxton and Jeffers?
Steve Adams
1:22
I wouldn't call all of them core pieces. Keaschall and Buxton, yes. Lee will get every chance to prove he can be that, and I can't imagine them selling low on Royce Lewis. Wallner, Martin and especially Larnach feel much less like core pieces to me. I think Larnach is probably non-tendered or traded early in the offseason. Jeffers just has one year of club control left as well, making him a pretty viable offseason trade candidate.
Mike
1:22
why havent I heard anything about Merrill Kelly receiving a QO? He should get one right?
Steve Adams
1:22
He can't receive one because he was traded midseason.
1:23
If the D-backs had kept him, yeah, he'd have gotten one.
John
1:23
this would’ve sounded crazy a couple years ago, but do the rangers non tender Josh Jung or still too early?
Steve Adams
1:24
They won't non-tender him. He's only going into his first arb year. But I wouldn't be shocked with a trade, either. I imagine there are going to be sweeping changes to that lineup this offseason.
2023 Angels
1:24
If the Red Sox make the playoffs, is Nathaniel Lowe eligible for their post-season roster? Would this also be true if he had been claimed off waivers - i.e. if Boston had assumed his remaining contract?  Does this change for waived players added after August?
Steve Adams
1:25
As long as a player is in the organization -- not even on the 40-man roster -- before Sept. 1, he can be eligible for the postseason. If that player isn't on the 40 as of 9/1, they'd need to petition the league to have him replace an injured player, but teams do that every year.
1:26
Anyone signed/claimed Sept. 1 or later is ineligible.
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