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Mark P
8:35
The Weekend Chat is here! We'll get things rolling after a few questions get into the queue....
Giants fan
8:36
Any truth to the rumors of the Giants being close on a Ketel Marte trade? Chances of that happening and what would the Giants have to give up to get him?
Mark P
8:37
I'd find it surprising if the D'Backs moved Marte to a division rival, of all teams.  One would imagine SF would have to significantly outbid other teams to make that happen, which might mean Eldridge would have to be involved.
Bloom
8:38
Is there a way you’d see the cardinals both buying and selling?
Mark P
8:39
As in, trying to make an effort to contend in 2026?  Probably not, though the Cardinals aren't turning up their noses at players who can be MLB contributors immediately.  Fitts, for instance, can help next year.
CBA
8:39
What’s one thing you want to see in the next CBA?  Any chance the league would go after establishing max contracts?
Mark P
8:40
The union would push back hard on max contracts, as they would anything directed at limiting salaries.

One thing I'd like to see in the next CBA is a longer-term agreement, so we only have to suffer through all of this depressing lockout talk every 6-7 years instead of every four years
Dave
8:40
Hi mark, do you think the royals make  another trade for a bat?
Mark P
8:41
I'd think so.  Collins and Thomas are upgrades over what they had, but I'd suggest more is needed to really get things cooking.
Motor City Beach Bum
8:41
Who is the best non-Bregman bat the Tigers will realistically pursue?
Mark P
8:44
A quick glance at the Tigers' entries on MLBTR this winter reveals a real push towards pitching.  Bregman, Ketel Marte, and HS Kim are the only position players really linked to Detroit so far, which makes sense since Jeff Greenberg literally said pitching was the Tigers' priority this winter.

The link to Marte was a little odd since Gleyber will be back at 2B.  I'd think Detroit fans wouldn't be too enamored by Kim as the fallback plan to Bregman, but that might be as realistically big as it gets for Detroit on the position-player side
nym fan
8:46
what in gods name are the mets thinking letting alonso and diaz walk?
Mark P
8:49
Seems like Stearns has been pretty ready to let Alonso walk for over a year now, and signing him to any sort of truly long-term contract never seemed to be the Mets' plan.  Same with Diaz, as I suspect the Mets didn't want to take the risk of paying big money deeper into his 30's

Obviously letting both go is a risk unto itself, since that's a lot of high-caliber talent that now has to be replaced.  Polanco can only replace a portion of Alonso's offense, and that's assuming Polanco can replicate what he did in 2025.  Trying to build a pen out of strategic spare parts carries a lot of question marks, and that tactic tends to work better if you have a stabilizing closer like Diaz (or, like Hader or Williams for Stearns in Milwaukee)
Front Office
8:49
What is your initial reaction to Colorado's new Front Office and Coaching staff?
Mark P
8:51
A step in the right direction.  It's funny, some people speculated on Byrnes as the Rockies' next front office boss since he worked for them back in the day, but he'll instead return as the number two behind DePodesta.

Sure, there's the oddity of DePodesta being out of baseball for the last decade, but the bottom line is that these are some new voices who can bring some fresh ideas into an organization that badly needs a shake-up.
draft
8:52
The draft is supposed to help competitive balance. How does ending up with a team like the SF Giants picking 4th help ?
Mark P
8:53
That's the magic of the draft lottery.  And, given how the Giants have had just one winning season in the last nine years, maybe they need the extra help!
Park M
8:53
idc if CY said he isn’t shopping Seager, he didn’t say he’s untouchable. Could Seager bring back Anthony +?
Mark P
8:53
There is no world where the Red Sox trade Roman Anthony.  Zero.
8:54
If the Red Sox actually did offer Anthony for Seager, then Young would quickly change his mind about Seager's availability.
Dan S.
8:55
Any word on how teams are feeling about Michael King's durability? Does 3/75 still feel like the right gamble? Would there be an opt-out?
Mark P
8:56
I think a lot of teams would happily take a three-year deal on King, with the added AAV perhaps a necessary cost.
Ghost of Mike Rizzo
8:57
What would it take for the Nats to move Gore? With Toboni’s focus so far on coaching and analytics, wouldn’t it make more sense to develop Gore into a better pitcher, and try to move him at deadline or next year?
Mark P
8:58
I think the Nationals have that same idea, as it would take a huge offer to get them to swap Gore right now.  There's no real immediate incentive for the Nats to move Gore unless another team really levels up with something Toboni can't refuse
Blue Jays fan
8:58
If the jays don’t sign Bo or Tucker is there a plan B or do they just go with a lineup of 1. Springer 2. Lukes 3. Vladdy 4. Santander 5. Barger 6. Kirk 7. Varsho 8. Clement 9. Gimenez
Oil Can Boyd
8:58
You want to get back to the world series. Does Tucker fill the void of Bo's 200 hits ability?
Mark P
9:00
Toronto absolutely needs to add another bat to that lineup.  Going with that lineup means that you're putting a lot of faith in everyone to match or top their 2025 numbers, and counting on Santander to have enough of a bounce-back year that he can replicate Bichette's contributions.
If forced to pick one, I'd take Tucker over Bichette.  He's just a better overall offensive force, and his LH bat works better in the Blue Jays' lineup
Kyle
9:01
How serious do you think the Red Sox are in their interest in Michael King? Curious how they'd make that work and still be able to get two bats
Mark P
9:02
No reason to think they don't have legitimate interest.  If King did get signed, then the Red Sox get more serious about shopping their young pitching depth for offense.
Guest
9:02
Long term preference - Nick Kurtz or Roman Anthony.
Mark P
9:02
Who would you rather have over the long term?
Roman Anthony (49% | 941 votes)
 
Nick Kurtz (51% | 978 votes)
 
Total Votes: 1,919
Guest
9:03
Kind of a role player, but has anyone shown interest in Dominic Smith?  He had a resurgence with SF last year. Great dude, easy to root for.
Mark P
9:04
Smith probably isn't going to get much attention until a lot of the bigger, everyday player types land contracts.  Smith is indeed coming off a nice year, but most every team probably views him as a part-timer at best
Shaker Moseby
9:05
How much of a fantasy is it to hope the Jays sign both Tucker and Bo?  And if that fantasy comes true, what would you do with Clement and Barger?
Mark P
9:07
This wild scenario isn't happening, as much as the Jays are in all-in mode.  

If it somehow did happen, the lineup is Bichette at 2B (presuably?), Barger 3B, Gimenez SS, Clement getting at-bats against lefties spelling either Barger/Gimenez, Tucker in one corner OF spot, and Santander/Springer in the other OF corner and the DH spot.

Realistically, the Jays would probably then try to unload Santander for as much of a salary dump as possible, to save some money and to open up at-bats
Guest
9:07
What do you think of the Tyler Rogers deal?  I thought we were looking for a closer, but…
Mark P
9:08
I loved that signing for the Jays.  Rogers just gets results, and he brings a lot of durability to the bullpen.
I also wonder if the Jays made that signing in part as free advertising for Rogers Communications, haha
Joe
9:09
why do guys use baseball reference instead of FanGraphs for player pages?
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