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MLBTR Chat: 04/15/23
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Simon Hampton
9:58
Good morning. Let's talk some baseball on this Saturday morning.
Guest
10:02
Will Bloom be back next year? He has ruined the team for years.
Simon Hampton
10:03
Eesh, hugely underwhelming off-season and not a great start to the season. Still plenty of time for them to turn things around and 6-8 is certainly not buried, but I'll be interest to see what happens next winter if they finish below .500 this year
Guest
10:05
what Are the odds kelenic has figured it out ? 280 BA 30 hrs 875 ops upside ?
Simon Hampton
10:06
.440 BABIP so obviously the numbers will drop but seems to have dropped the K rate a little and is hitting the ball much harder. Definitely like what I'm seeing... but it's still 41 plate appearances so a little early to declare him having 'figured it out'.

What a boost for the Mariners though if he has.
Cashless
10:07
Is Volpe the latest overhyped Yankee prospect.  Who was the last one who was actually good, Judge, 8 years ago?
Simon Hampton
10:09
Waaaay too early for this.

Judge is obviously the biggie but Montgomery, Severino, Torres - all turned into good players. Of course Judge is far beyond that but to say they haven't produced good players is inaccurate
DTR
10:09
Texas makes the playoffs?
Simon Hampton
10:09
Nah. Like the Astros, Mariners and Angels more
Dbacks
10:10
Are they for real? They look pretty good so far and the west looks wide open right now.
Simon Hampton
10:11
I was in on the Dbacks as a sneaky good team this year, so am enjoying them having a solid start. 8-6 is good not great and I still think the Dodgers and Padres will separate themselves from the pack in the West but could definitely see Arizona finishing third with a ~.500 record
Mike
10:12
what left fielders do you think will be available at the deadline?
Simon Hampton
10:14
Reynolds remains the biggest one who might be available here. Although I still think he and Pittsburgh figure out this extension.

Profar should be available. The Red Sox might entertain offers on Verdugo and/or Duvall. St Louis could well move an outfielder. Aaron Hicks might be available...

In short, Reynolds will be the star name possibly available, but there'll be no shortage of other guys
Lt Data
10:15
Re: Bloom - don’t the Red Sox always do this?  They’re totally lackluster, then have a blazing hot year out of nowhere (including their last two title years), then return to forgettable baseball right away?  That’s been going on since before Bloom (although I agree that Boston fans should be frustrated with his regime).
Simon Hampton
10:17
I'd have to defer to Red Sox fans who know this team better over the long term, but this particular off-season just seemed to lack any real direction. I obviously don't know what went on in the Red Sox war room but from the outside it felt like they were playing a lot of catch up and not really addressing their holes
Chris
10:18
Do the Rays finish in first in the AL East this year?
Simon Hampton
10:19
I'm not expecting it, but would consider it more of a possibility than I did at the start. I still think the Blue Jays get it done but I'm starting to lean the Rays over the Yankees now. Think NY is kinda vulnerable at the moment
Lt Data
10:19
Re: LF - what about Conforto and Pederson?  Or do you have the Giants contending?
Simon Hampton
10:20
Absolutely yeah - was never going to be an exhaustive list. Suspect there'll be plenty of outfield help available at the deadline (as there usually is)
Alan D
10:20
Is it just me or should the Mets be giving Alvarez the bulk of the playing time? To bring him up only to sit the bench is silly.
Simon Hampton
10:20
I get where you're coming from on this but at the end of the day the Mets are in a hugely competitive division and need to do what's best to try and get the team winning games
CJ Abrams Wardrobe
10:24
What starters are attainable for the Cardinals via trade?
Simon Hampton
10:25
This will become clearer as the season progresses and teams fall out of contention, but could see them matching up with the Marlins on a starter for outfielder trade.

Maybe the White Sox and Giolito? I think the Cardinals will pursue guys they can control longer term though
Fan
10:25
Who do you think is in more trouble Mets or Yankees as far as making playoffs
Simon Hampton
10:25
Yankees, definitely
Josiah
10:26
Worried about Padres pitching? Offense will obviously be fine, but the rotation and bullpen seem to have a few holes.
Simon Hampton
10:28
Not overly no. No one's looked outright awful, and the return of Musgrove will be a huge benefit. They could probably do with some improvement in the bullpen but I'd expect them to be aggressive in that area once trade season heats up
Sean
10:28
Not so much of a question from me, but I think the Rangers are being sold short by a lot of people. We’re excited here in DFW.
Simon Hampton
10:29
As you should be Sean! It's great to see a team going out and spending to try and win. I like a lot of their moves, just think it's a really tough division they're in
Nippon
10:29
Writing from Japan! Not asking which is the most likely, but what would you prefer? Angels being a fringe playoff team come the deadline and keeping Ohtani to try to make a postseason push, or Angels completely out of it by the deadline and trade Ohtani to a contender?
Simon Hampton
10:30
Hello from Japan! So I would prefer to see Ohtani and Trout in the playoffs with the Angels, but I'd also be fascinated by a deadline deal for Ohtani. I mean his free agency is realistically going to be limited to a small group of teams, but a trade would open up anyone that's competing.
Me
10:32
Correa looks pretty darn healthy to me. Did the Mets blow it?
Simon Hampton
10:32
I don't think anyone ever had doubts about his ability to be healthy in 2023. It was all about the long term
Greg
10:32
Has Cherington soured on Marcano and Puguero? Both are young and seem to have a higher upside than Roldopho Castro.
Simon Hampton
10:32
Well Jason Mackey just tweeted that Marcano is at Busch Stadium, so we'll wait and see there
Mr Nobody
10:33
Does this historic start give rays a huge boost to capture the Al west?
Simon Hampton
10:34
The Rays start is so good they'll not only win the AL East but also the AL West!

But in terms of their chances in the East, I mean it has to right? Sure their schedule has been very light and it's still only two weeks of games, but they've still banked the wins and made it getting to 95ish wins or whatever you need to win the division a whole lot easier than if they'd started 8-6
Round Tripper
10:35
Wouldn't an Ohtani trade require some team to give up all of its top prospects and thus empty their farm system? I mean, it will take more for some team to acquire him, than the Padres gave up  for Soto. Shohei is the best player in the world right now.
Simon Hampton
10:35
No it won't. It'll cost a lot, but Soto had two-and-a-half seasons left and Ohtani is a rental. In the event he is traded, it won't cost as much as the Padres gave up to get Soto
10:37
For the record, I still don't think the Angels trade Ohtani. They'd have to be WAY out of it I think
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