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Mark P
7:22
Hi there everyone, it's time for some chatting on the weekend in the Weekend Chat!  Happy Mother's Day to all the moms and parental figures out there, and what better way to celebrate than....answering some baseball questions
Natitude
7:23
Any particular reason why James Wood hasn’t been called up yet?
Mark P
7:25
He hasn't even had a three-homer game yet, so Wood is clearly not ready!

Serious answer: the Nats want to make sure Wood is absolutely ready before coming to MLB, and want him to get more time in Triple-A to work on all aspects of his game.  Remember, he'd never been at Triple-A prior to this season, and while he's obviously taking well to it, the Nationals don't need any particular rush to get Wood to the big leagues
Jason
7:25
Should the brewers send down Chourio?
Mark P
7:26
For instance, Wood could be called up to the big leagues and look pretty ordinary against MLB pitching, as Chourio has in his first six weeks.

Milwaukee could wait until its outfield is fully healthy before considering sending Chourio down
Guards
7:27
It’s time to release Ramon Lauereno
Mark P
7:29
I was a little surprised to see Laureano even get tendered a contract, and that's looking like a misfire from the Guardians given how poorly he has hit.  This is another situation were health is a factor, since the Guards probably won't make any moves on Laureano until Kwan is back
Sweezo
7:29
Hi, what in the world is wrong with Julio? I’m worried to the point I can barely sleep.
Mark P
7:30
Adam Jude had a good piece the other day about Rodriguez's swing issues and his struggles at keeping the ball in the air.  And hey, J-Rod homered today, so things are looking up
M’s Fan
7:31
Would the Giants dump Conforto once he gets healthy? What about Wade jr?
Mark P
7:31
If the Giants aren't in contention, Conforto is an obvious trade candidate and Wade will probably be as well, since he's only controlled through 2025.
7:32
The Giants have enough invested in this roster that unless things absolutely crater, they probably won't decide until pretty deep into July whether or not to wave the white flag and start selling
Chazzy
7:32
Nightengale reporting that some of the veteran Astros players haven’t been too fond of first year manager Joe Espada’s communication skills. Could this be a reason for the Astros early season struggles?
Mark P
7:33
The pitching injuries are a much more obvious reason for Houston's problems
7:34
This isn't to say that there might not be some bumps in the road for Espada, which isn't unusual for a first-time manager.  Frankly, when a team isn't winning, obviously tensions can run high in a clubhouse
John
7:34
Would the Astros move Verlander? Vesting option for next year with the Mets paying half. He would have to waive his no trade clause. Probably accept a trade back to Detroit. But do the Astros want him for next year even at 42?
Mark P
7:37
I'd imagine that the Astros (if they keep struggling) would view this season as an aberration rather than a signal to rebuild, so I'm sure they've love Verlander back for 2025.  

As per a recent report (https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/05/will-justin-verlander-be-traded...), Verlander is pretty picky over his landing spot, and wanted to specifically only go to Houston last summer.  If he's uprooting everything in the middle of the year again, I can perhaps see him only agreeing to a city and team he has familiarity with.  So a return to Detroit would seem plausible, even if hitting is a much more overt need for the Tigers than pitching.
Funniest scenario, of course, would be if the Mets stay in the wild card race and Houston just trades him right back to New York.
Baseball fan
7:38
Manoah looked great today after a tough start. What do you expect from him going forward?
Mark P
7:40
It was a very promising outing for Manoah, especially since it was against a hot team like the Twins.  He doesn't have to be in 2022 Cy Young candidate form right away, but if he just has consistent starts and proves he's at least kind of back, that's a huge plus for himself and for the Blue Jays.
Orioles trade
7:40
Would mason miller make a good addition to the orioles bullpen?  Who do think the orioles would have to give up to get him?  Mayo? Holiday?
Mark P
7:41
Baltimore was the first team that leapt to mind when those Miller trade rumors surfaced, haha.  The A's are obviously asking for a ton in return, but the Orioles could step right up from their very deep farm system.  It wouldn't be Holliday but a Mayo-for-Miler one-for-one is not implausible.
John O
7:41
What are the Red Sox lacking?
Mark P
7:42
Hitting and defense, and I would expect the former would eventually pick up due to the talent in the lineup.  The pitching has been so surprisingly outstanding that the Sox might be a couple of bats away from really making some noise.
Mlbtr question
7:43
Did any of you guys play baseball?
Mark P
7:44
I was something of a legend in my house league baseball days.  And by legend, I mean that my playing highlight might've been the time I faked being hit by a pitch in a key late-game situation.  Meryl Streep herself couldn't have sold that HBP as well as I did.
Halos
7:44
Will we ever contend again 😩😩😩😩😩😩
Mark P
7:45
Tough times in Anaheim, I feel for Angels fans.  It simply might not happen until Moreno sells the team.
bill
7:45
Any chance the Royals will feel bad about the Cole Ragans trade and give the Rangers another reliever on the cheap? (Ha Ha) Where can Texas get some bullpen help?
Mark P
7:47
The Rangers ended up with a ring, so it's hard to entirely fault the Ragans trade?  Obviously they'd like a do-over in the big picture, but maybe that creates an alternate reality where (without Chapman) Texas falls just short of the playoffs entirely, or loses a key postseason game
7:48
In regards to other bullpen adds, relief pitching is (in theory) the easiest position to add by the deadline, in terms of sheer volume of pitchers available.  So Texas will have options, even if they might be a a little more circumspect over who they deal away this time
Jaxon
7:48
Mark, how many AB’s on average do teams like to see at a minor league level? I know it depends on individual development… Coby Mayo has 381 AB’s at AAA over the last 2 years. Thanks
Mark P
7:50
Mayo would surely be in the majors by now if the Orioles didn't have such a loaded roster, so he might not be the best comp.  It's hard to give an average since there's so much variance in Triple-A, let alone the individual quirks of each particular player.  

For a team whose Triple-A affiliate is in the Pacific Coast League, you're looking at more than just pure numbers when evaluating your prospects' readiness since there's so much hitting in that particular league.
7:53
Brief pause to update the Jung Hoo Lee post.....dislocated shoulder.  Brutal news for Lee and the Giants.
Cards
7:53
Everyone talks about the Dodgers acquiring Arenado, but would it make more sense for the Blue Jays to try and make a push for him?
Mark P
7:54
Arenado isn't hitting particularly well, so it wouldn't make sense for Toronto to add a big salary when they're already pushing it in terms of budget and luxury tax clearance
Guest
7:54
What's the music this evening?
Mark P
7:55
"Runaround Sue," by Dion
(Going very old-school tonight)
Nats fan
7:56
Most likely trade candidates? It will clear space for the next wave to come up.
Mark P
7:57
Winker, Rosario, Floro, Williams are all free agents after the year, so they're all logical pieces to be moved assuming Washington is out of it at the deadline
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