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Mark P
1:21
A bonus post-holiday edition of the Weekend Chat, since things got postponed last weekend due to the big Willson Contreras trade. Let's open up the queue....
Guest
1:21
What is goinf on withe Luis Roberts rumors
Mark P
1:23
It's hard to say if much or anything has changed about Robert's market since the summer, except for the fact that his 2026 salary is now guaranteed.  My guess is that unless Chicago budges on its asking price, Robert will still be on the south side on Opening Day, as probably more teams view Robert as a Plan B rather than a top option
Mike Elias
1:23
Any chance I'm still in on Kyle Tucker?
Mark P
1:23
Probably not. If the O's make another big strike, it would likely be for pitching.
Friend
1:24
Do you see Arenado or Castellanos ending up with the Padres?
Mark P
1:25
Arenado makes no sense given Machado's presence at 3B.  Castellanos is a slightly better fit since SD isn't entirely settled at DH, but if the Padres want an outfield bat, they can do a lot better.
I guess Preller and Dombrowski might be able to come up with some kind of interesting bad contract swap, but I don't really see a fit here
Spider
1:26
What ther hold up realmuto
Mark P
1:29
It's worth noting that the last time JTR was a free agent, he didn't sign until the end of January.  So he seems to be content in taking his time and monitoring the market, since one catching injury or another unexpected development could quickly bring another team into the fold.  

Philly has an offer on the table to Realmuto, so it seems like he's evaluating things to see if any team is willing to match or top it.  Chances are Realmuto's camp will then give the Phillies another chance to up their offer, and overall I expect Realmuto to re-sign
The big Yo
1:30
Are the Vegas A’s going to win it all in ‘28 and is all star week going to be held in Vegas that same year?
Mark P
1:31
I'd expect MLB isn't going to schedule the All-Star Game for Vegas until the stadium is fully up and running.  Seems like 2028 will be in an AL ballpark just because the 2025-27 games are all in NL parks, and Toronto is apparently lobbying hard to host another ASG soon
Dipoto
1:32
How available are the elite 2B targets like Marte and Jazz?  Is it just smoke?
Mark P
1:33
Seems like Marte is more available, albeit at a much higher price tag.  I'm not sure Chisholm is really "available" outside of the broad way in which teams are usually open to hearing offers about impending free agents.
Stevil
1:34
It seems likely to me that acquiring Ketel Marte might mean taking Gurriel with him. What do you think?
Mark P
1:37
Gurriel is owed $13MM in 2026, and there's a $5MM buyout of his $14MM club option for 2027.

Maybe the argument can be made that Marte is enough of a relative bargain that adding another $18MM to the tally still works out in another team's favor, and maybe the math works if that other team isn't terribly deep in prospects.  And, if the D'Backs really are doing something like trying to move Marte in order to sign Bregman, maybe they'd just like to clear as much payroll as possible.

But, overall, teams don't want to water down the value of a price trade asset (like Marte) by attaching an undesirable contract to the package.  Gurriel's salary isn't so onerous that Arizona can't just eat it for one year left.
CardfaninIL
1:38
What is the best return we can get for JoJo? And can put a top15 kid with Nolan to get a better return? Thx
Mark P
1:39
Likewise, a rebuilding team like the Cardinals isn't likely to move any kind of notable prospect along with Arenado just to help a trade go through.  The Cards have shown they'll just eat some salary to accommodate these deals in order to help improve the returns.
grunt
1:40
what would it cost to get santander from bluejays  for the reds
Mark P
1:40
Hard to see a trade match there.  If you're the Reds and you're in need of offensive help, surely you'd want someone who a) isn't so expensive, and b) isn't coming off essentially a non-starter of a 2025 season.
GOATcloserEstabanYan
1:42
How likely is it that Rays trade Yandy, Rasmussen, etc. and just go all in on a full blown rebuild?
Mark P
1:43
The Rays don't ever fully rebuild.  There's enough talent on the roster that they still think they can contend in 2026, and never count out the Rays from suddenly swinging another trade to bring in a good talent, or someone else suddenly emerges from their minor league ranks as a regular
Alan Smithee
1:43
Are Yankees is on Tucker at all and is Tucker objectively the better player than Bellinger or not?
Mark P
1:47
Reports indicate that Tucker is a backup plan if Bellinger can't be re-signed.  That's kind of interesting framing that the far more expensive player is the "plan B" since in theory, Tucker is more difficult to sign.  But, the Yankees seem to have correctly gauged Tucker's market as limited to just a few teams, so they have the ability to wait and see on both him and Bellinger.

Objectively, Tucker is certainly the more consistent and better player than Bellinger, as evidenced by their numbers over the last few seasons.  Whether that's worth, say, an extra $200MM gap or more in salary remains to be seen, in terms of the Yankees and other teams are evaluating the two
Luc
1:48
Any chance Giants are back in on Imai?
Mark P
1:49
They are, as per reports.  The Giants' apparently unwillingness to commit to a long contract is an obstacle, yet if Imai's market isn't developing to the point that he's getting truly larger offers, maybe SF thinks they can sneak in there with three or four years.
Kuiper
1:51
Happy New Year! When will my Guards get a right handed bat if ever?
Mark P
1:52
They were keen on Lane Thomas, is that something?

Miguel Andujar would be a perfect fit for Cleveland....except his two best positions are also J-Ram and Kwan's two positions.  Still, the Guardians could use him in RF or at 1B, or as a DH, or just any way to get Andujar into the lineup against lefty pitching
Stearns
1:53
Are you in favor of seeing more trades like the Nimmo/Baty trades? It was especially surprising since Mets fans love Nimmo (and presumably Ranger fams too with Semien), but it's kind of exciting to see veterans join a new team at the same time.
Mark P
1:54
It was an interesting deal on many fronts.  As the writer who was on MLBTR duty when that trade broke, there were so many facets to address that my word count for that post ended up being pretty high, haha.
Jake
1:55
Chances of Okamoto going to the Pirates?
Mark P
1:56
Probably seems unlikely.  While the Bucs have been busy in adding offense (and willing to spend some money), Okamoto's probably not going to Pittsburgh unless his market really collapses.
Dirt
1:57
Thanks for the chat, Mark. What are your thoughts on Chris Bassitt to the Braves? Quality, durable arm, innings eater, no QO, veteran leadership, reportedly good in clubhouse. Seems like he would be a perfect fit at an affordable price?
Mark P
1:58
Agreed.  Bassitt is a good fit on a few teams for that very reason, and we probably can't even entirely rule out a return to Toronto yet.  But, you're right that he'd check a lot of boxes for a Braves team that is in the weird spot of technically having "enough" pitching but also absolutely need another reliable arm.
Tatsayu Imai
2:00
Who is favored to sign Imai? Do the Cubs have a legit chance?  There's only a week left for him to sign.
Mark P
2:01
There doesn't appear to be a clear favorite for Imai, but the Cubs have been linked to him and would appear to have as much of a shot as anyone in the field.  The Cubs have a history of landing top-level Japanese talent, and Imai might fall within the Cubs' "spend pretty big but not TOO big" price range
Joe Hardy
2:01
Didn't see Michael King coming back to San Diego and signing Song was interesting. What do you think happens with Chronenworth?
Mark P
2:03
I actually felt there was a decent chance King would just accept the qualifying offer and stay in San Diego that way. But, in example #7903 of why I'd make a lousy player agent, King ended up testing the market and walked away with a much bigger payday while still ending up in his preferred spot.
Phanatic
2:05
I keep wondering why the Phillies don’t just decide to walk away from JT. Combine the 16m or so you’ve got earmarked for him with the 10m for Bohm and you’re close to Bichette or Bregman.
Mark P
2:06
First they'd need to find a trade partner to absorb all of Bohm's salary.  Then they'd need to actually sign Bichette/Bregman.  Then they'd need to go out and find someone else to play catcher, since counting on Marchan and company is a big risk.
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