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Mark P
7:56
Walter "Mother" Watson pitched two games with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1887, so let's kick off this Mother's Day edition of the chat
Jonathan W.
7:57
What can the Royals do to turn their season around? Or is it too late?
Mark P
7:58
An 11.5-game deficit is daunting but not insurmountable in mid-May, so on paper, the Royals could still mount a comeback in a weak division.

More practically, however, they're already in too deep of a hole, and they have too many weak spots on the roster.  It looks like another lost year in KC
HTown713
7:58
Should Astros fans be concerned now? It's midway through May now and there's still barely signs of life in the team rn and I don't feel like getting Altuve and Brantley back is gonna help
Mark P
8:00
Brantley's return has been delayed anyway due to ongoing shoulder inflammation, but obviously getting Altuve back will be a big boost to the lineup.

Unfortunately, Altuve is just one bat, so he won't be able to bail out a team that is basically struggling en masse, except for Alvarez and to some extent Tucker.  The rotation's injuries are also a big problem but overall, Houston's pitching numbers are still pretty good even with the missing arms
8:01
Could be a bit of World Series hangover, but even this "lackluster" version of the Astros still has a winning record, and is still only four games out of first place
Bacon
8:01
Haven’t heard a peep about Jordan walker since his demotion. Any word on how he’s doing or when we might see him again?
Mark P
8:02
He had a nice day at the plate today, but overall the numbers have been pretty quiet at Triple-A.  Walker will be back at some point, but the Cardinals first need to settle on a rotation of their position players, and a trade might yet be the only way to really carve out space
Morgs13
8:03
The more and more I look at Grienke resume, the more and more I see a HOF pitcher.  Let’s say u?
Mark P
8:03
I think he'd get my vote, yeah.  Greinke is perhaps a little underrated because he's bounced around to so many teams
Guest
8:04
Which is bigger: The positive impact of gaining an extra roster spot from Ohtani, or the negative impact of losing two stars to one injury?
Mark P
8:04
Positive impact, hands down
Jon
8:05
What is Nick Krall waiting on? Newman and Myers have been awful and there’s a big hole in the rotation with Lodolo injured. When do McLain, CES, De La Cruz, and Abbott get called up?
Mark P
8:06
The Reds aren't trying to win games in 2023, so they're not going to call up their top prospects with the specific intention of filling holes.  The kids will get the call when the Reds think they're ready.
JP
8:06
With Eduardo Rodriguez having an opt-out at season's end, what are the chances the Tigers trade him and what do you think they'd be looking at in return?
Guest
8:06
Do the Tigers trade Eduardo Rodriguez?
Mark P
8:07
As per my note about the AL Central being weak, Detroit is only four games back of the Twins for first place.  They might not trade E-Rod at all if they're still close to the division lead at the deadline
8:08
If a trade did happen, the Tigers would still get a decent return since Rodriguez might well be the best starter available at the deadline.  But only a decent return, since he'd be viewed as a rental due to his opt-out clause
JohnnyP
8:09
Jo adell ??
Mark P
8:10
This might be the first time in a few weeks Adell's name has been mentioned in this chat....a new record!
A lack of Jo Adell trade talk, wow.  What next, am I going to give up that bees/beads running joke?
Guest
8:11
With the Rays injuries, when does Taj Bradley get the call back up?
Mark P
8:12
Maybe as soon as this week, except the catch is that Bradley has really been roughed up at Triple-A.  He's not exactly forcing the Rays' hand in getting himself back to the majors, even if he is still probably Tampa's top SP depth option
Robert
8:13
Does Sonny Gray re-sign with the Twins? If not, could the Twins potentially trade him and get something of value in return with the season he's having?
Mark P
8:13
Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press discussed the topic of Twins pitching extensions on a recent edition of the MLBTR podcast....
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/04/mlb-trade-rumors-podcast-athlet...
8:14
A trade certainly isn't happening unless Minnesota falls entirely out of the race, which doesn't seem likely because (again) the AL Central isn't a strong division.  The Lopez extension struck me as a hedge against the possibility of Gray or Maeda or Mahle leaving in free agency, but the Twins getting some good results from younger arms is also a nice problem to have for the team
petev
8:16
When is it Bo Naylor time in Cleveland ?
Mark P
8:17
He's hitting really well in Triple-A, and obviously the Guardians need all the bats they can find.  It's a question of how many at-bats they'd be able to land for Naylor between catcher and DH, which would also mean less time for Zunino, Bell, and big brother Josh
Josiah
8:18
Scale of 1-10, what should the worry level be in San Diego?
Mark P
8:18
Maybe 3.5?  As middle-of-the-pack as they've been this year, it's still just the middle of May, and the Padres are good one week away from being on track again
8:19
I can't imagine Machado and Musgrove will keep struggling to this extent all year long
Damo Garcia BBQ
8:20
Is Brandon Belt done?
Mark P
8:21
He's been hitting a little better over the last week or so, I wouldn't get too worried just get.  Belt might've just needed some adjustment time since he didn't play all that much in Spring Training
Chapman Value
8:21
With the resurgence of Chapman, will the Royals move him while he may be wanted?
Mark P
8:22
Chapman is basically a lock to be traded as long as he's healthy and is anywhere close to his current level of effectiveness.  The Royals can't trade him until June 15, but it wouldn't shock me if he's moved pretty shortly afterwards
Sammy So-so
8:24
Do you suspect that last year was an outlier and that Andres Giminez is more a guy who's somewhere around a league average hitter or a little below but is still valuable because of his defense? Thanks, Mark.
Mark P
8:25
Gimenez outperformed his peripherals to such a huge extent last year that some regression was inevitable, but I didn't think he'd struggle this much.  You could be right in that the "real" Gimenez is somewhere around the middle of the two extremes of 2022 and 2023
And of course, the struggles really stand out since Gimenez just signed that big extension
Erstwhile As Fan
8:27
Is Las Vegas somehow doesn’t work for the A’s will MLB force Fischer to sell?
Mark P
8:28
I'm not sure what the next step would be, or to what extent an owner can be "forced" to sell a team.  But if a Vegas ballpark can't be arranged, it's possible Fisher might get frustrated enough to just sell the team, pocket the $1 billion or so he'd get in a sale, and move on
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