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MLBTR Chat: 05/20/2023
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Simon Hampton
10:00
Good morning, let's give this a couple of minutes to fill up and then we'll get going
Dan
10:03
Will the white Sox unload at the deadline, I hope they will
Simon Hampton
10:06
Depends how we view unload. Are they going to trade their upcoming free agents? Have to think that's the likely play at this point.

Will they trade longer term pieces like Dylan Cease? Still think that's highly unlikely unless some team comes in and absolutely blows them away with an offer - and given Cease is not off to a great start I have to think that's unlikely.

Tim Anderson is the interesting one for me. Under club control for next season via a very affordable option. The White Sox may well want to keep him around to try and contend again next season, but I think the complete lack of shortstop options this winter will make for a very robust trade market for him, so I think it'd be a good opportunity for the White Sox to get a decent haul there
Cory
10:06
Anthony said the other day that he would still take the Angels over the Orioles for his wild card, do you agree?
Simon Hampton
10:08
Yes - still think the Angels have more upside, particularly in the pitching department. The Orioles are better than I expected and the Angels not quite playing as well as I expected so it's a tougher call now, but I'd still lean the Angels.
Thanks Simon
10:08
Biggest name traded at the deadline? Destination?
Simon Hampton
10:08
Let's take a stab and say Shane Bieber goes to the Orioles. Now, how confident am I that that happens? Not particularly. But it makes a lot of sense.
Garrett
10:09
Do you think Endy Rodriguez gets called up at some point around the all-star break?
Simon Hampton
10:11
I don't think the Pirates are in a hurry there, he's 22 and hitting at 98 wRC+ at Triple-A - so about average. I think they're also very high on their big league catchers and how they've positively affected their pitchers.

What they do with Henry Davis is an interesting dilemma though. He's melting Double-A pitching at the moment and really should be at a higher level.
To be clear, I'm not saying you won't see Rodriguez by the All Star break. It could well happen and I think you'll see him up at some point this season, more saying I don't think it's a pressing concern for the Pirates
Ang T
10:13
Mets appear to have a catching logjam, what happens when Nido & Narvaez are healthy?
Simon Hampton
10:15
I don't think it's a logjam yet. Think the odds of Sanchez suddenly finding his swing and hitting like it's 2016 again are still pretty low, but if he does hit well I think they'll be fine. Alvarez can go back to Triple-A if needed for a bit and they could run three catchers for a while with Nido and Narvaez. Maybe a trade of Nido happens at some point.
Redlegs
10:15
when does Elly arrive?
Simon Hampton
10:17
Steve and I had a good chat about this on the podcast this week (plug!). There's not really an obvious spot for him now with McClain up. India isn't moving and Senzel is hitting nicely. I wonder if they look to sell high on Senzel at some point to open up a spot in the infield.

Hope we see De La Cruz up soon though, it's going to be a lot of fun watching those Reds prospects
Rangers fan
10:18
Rangers obviously need relief help.  Who could we possibly get for Josh smith and a prospect?
Simon Hampton
10:19
Depends a bit on what the Royals are looking for but it wouldn't be a bad place to start for a Chapman trade
Martian landing
10:21
Jasson Dominguez is having a weird season down in AA. Walking all the time, stealing every base, hitting for power, while running ~.200 average. Thinks he earns a promotion to AAA? Timeline for MLB debut?
Simon Hampton
10:22
I would be a lot more concerned if that was flipped, and the average was high while the walks and power were down. The average will figure itself out.

I suspect he'll finish the year in Triple-A and be pushing for a big league spot sometime next year, if the Yankees don't trade him of course
Hawk
10:22
Cardinals are starting to heat up, if they end up buying at the deadline, what pitchers are they targeting? Who might they have to give up?
Simon Hampton
10:24
Look for them to trade for guys they can control long term, or at least through 2024. Guys like Bieber would make sense for them. I think Nootbar and Walker are almost certainly off the table, but their other outfielders could be in play, and I think Ivan Herrera is a perfect trade chip for them now that Willson Contreras has successfully learned how to catch in the last week
MLB forever
10:24
Anyone hear from Madison bumgarner lately???
Simon Hampton
10:25
I'm sure a few teams would be happy to give him a minor league contract, but I guess he's just waiting for a team to give him another crack in the bigs
Twins fan
10:25
Correa is struggling at the moment with only a .201 batting average. Do you think he'll recover from this rough start and play well soon?
Simon Hampton
10:26
Take a peek under the hood and pretty much every underlying stat on Correa is in line with his past performance, yet his BABIP is about 80-100 points down. Correa will be fine
Brian
10:26
Hi Simon, any hope for the ms? How do they fix this team?
Simon Hampton
10:29
Lots of concern in here about the Mariners, and understandably so. The good news is there's still hanging in there while having an anemic lineup. At some point you figure Julio Rodriguez is going to heat up, and I have to think given the rotation and bullpen look great that unless they go on a big losing streak over the next few weeks that Dipoto will just look to add to that lineup.
Sad White Sox fan
10:29
You mentioned trading Tim Anderson. Do the Sox trade him at the deadline, or wait until the offseason?
Simon Hampton
10:30
Depends on the offers of course, but deadline prices are often higher and you're getting Anderson for two playoff runs rather than one, so don't see any reason why the White Sox would wait until the winter
Mr Curiosity
10:30
Season is 1/4 over. How are your initial post season projections looking?
Simon Hampton
10:30
Let me dig those out
10:31
AL East: Blue Jays
AL Central: Guardians
AL West: Astros
AL Wild Cards: Yankees, Mariners, Angels
NL East: Mets
NL Central: Cardinals
NL West: Padres
NL Wild Cards: Phillies, Dodgers, Braves
AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani
NL MVP: Juan Soto
AL Cy Young: Gerrit Cole
NL Cy Young: Corbin Burnes
AL ROY: Anthony Volpe
NL ROY: Corbin Carroll
World Series: Padres over Blue Jays
10:32
Those were my predictions on Opening Day for our Front Office piece
Vinny Boombatts
10:33
Possible acquisitions by the Red Sox?
Simon Hampton
10:35
They could probably do with an outfielder so they don't have to play Yoshida out there. Maybe they get involved in the Tim Anderson sweepstakes if they really feel strongly about their chances. I know they'll get Story back at some point but they could slide him over to second base.
Cubs don't regret Heyward
10:36
Any chance that the Cubs don't sell at the deadline?
Simon Hampton
10:37
They'll be an interesting one to watch. I'm expecting them to be sort of hovering in the range they are in now, not out of it, but certainly not looking like a top contender. Do you really want to go all in on this roster?

I could see them selling off guys that are free agents (Bellinger, perhaps) while looking to add guys they can control a bit longer
Impatient Reds Fan
10:37
Could the reds move India off 2B? They need another OF and with EDLC set to come up to middle IF, something has to give
Simon Hampton
10:38
Perhaps, they'll find a way to fit the puzzle together. At some point you have to expect they'll use one of these guys as a trade chip as well to strengthen another part of the roster. All good problems to have though
Jarred Kelenic
10:39
Is the league finally exposing me? Am I just having a little trouble adjusting after the league adjusted to me?
Simon Hampton
10:41
He was never going to keep hitting like he did over the first month. Ultimately, I think he winds up somewhere in the middle of what he did over the first month and what he has been over the past few years, so a much more productive player than he has been
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