JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Steve Adams

2:02

Greetings all! Thanks for joining, as always. Let's get underway.

Bob

2:02

Lately I am getting a little concerned by the inconsistent balls& strikes being called by MLB umpires. Can you see any way robot umpires will be part of the new collective bargaining agreement?

Steve Adams

2:04

I think there are more pressing elements on the table in the immediate CBA talks, but I do think we could see an electronic strike zone in the next few years still

Rich

2:04

There's been a lot of speculation on why the Dodgers decided to sign Pujols [and more recently, Tsutsugo]. Is it possible they did this to enable Muncy to move 2B and "enable" the struggling Lux to move to the minors, in part because they do not expect Bellinger back any time soon? Obviously, with Seager's injury, this plan [if that's what it was] has fallen through, but I wonder if that was their original intent.

Steve Adams

2:06

I don't think it's anything that complicated. Plus, Lux has been absolutely raking for the past 2-3 weeks. I imagine they feel Tsutsugo brings a similar skill set to that of Edwin Rios, who they lost for the year, and Pujols is just seen as a platoon option at 1B whose batted-ball profile suggests he's not AS bad as his bottom-line results with the Angels this year. Plus, hey, jersey sales!

John

2:06

I know Pujols has no real value but I would have still rather the cardinals cut carpenter and signed Pujols for a much better bench bat. Your thoughts?

Steve Adams

2:08

I think there's a better chance of Carpenter turning it around than Pujols. Cardinals fans are sick of hearing about his exit velocity and all that, but he is making really good contact this year. Yes, the shift is depriving him of some hits, but the shift shouldn't render someone to a .105 average on balls in play, which is where Carp is at presently.

2:08

Weekly Cubs question: why wouldn't a big market team like the Cubs try to resign an MVP candidate like Kris Bryant? Javier Baez? Anthony Russo? I have a feeling the ownership group will continue to shave payroll each year and not really compete any more than a token effort for a few years until all their neighborhood debts are paid for. Loyal Cub fans will still poor into Wrigley every day when allowed(we don't stay away if our team is down like the self proclaimed "BFIB" crowd does). Revenues should increase soon with the fans allowed back in the gate. I'm loyal til death but we need to keep winning and not go back to the old tribune ways. How many of those 3 All stars do you think they will resign?

Steve Adams

2:11

There's no good reason that the Cubs wouldn't sign that trio. It won't happen, but it's going to come down to the Ricketts family simply not wanting to spend that money, which is a shame for the fans. I don't think they'll let all three walk; Rizzo and Baez feel likelier to stay than Bryant at this point.

If I had to guess -- and that's all it can be at this point -- I'd say Rizzo stays, as he'll probably have the lowest earning power of the three in free agency. Baez is a coin flip, and I think it's overwhelmingly likely that Bryant signs elsewhere.

2:11

Do you see teams manipulating the 10 day injured list and the COVID list just to get some extra days off for the players?

Steve Adams

2:13

Seems like the Phillies have already done this. Realmuto is banged up with a knee issue? He suddenly has a fever, too, and is on the Covid list while they bring up another catcher.

The Dodgers kind of pioneered the practice of manipulating the 10-day IL to keep their bullpen stocked with fresh arms; I would imagine we'll see more and more teams looking to skip a guy's start or get a fresh bullpen arm via IL manipulation as the season wears on.

Cashdude

2:13

If Hicks is done for the year is it realistic for the Yankees to make a call for Max Kepler?

Steve Adams

2:15

They can try, but even with the Twins buried they're not going to sell off much beyond the impending free agents. They have Kepler and Polanco signed cheaply through 2024 (2025 in Polanco's case), and they'll still have Buxton, Berrios, Maeda in 2022 -- plus the rising young core of Kirilloff, Larnach, etc.

I'm sure they'd be open to trading Pineda, Happ, etc., but a controllable piece like Kepler isn't going to happen, barring some comedic overpay.

2:17

Kepler would probably wear out the short porch in right field, though!

Sorry, my internet cut out for a second there. Think I'm back. Weird.

Kirt

2:17

When will Wander Franco receive a call up?

Steve Adams

2:17

Probably late June, once the Rays know they're clear of Super Two possibility

Dave

2:18

Has Ian Happ finally put his miserable start behind him and what kind of numbers do you see him putting up the rest of the season?

Steve Adams

2:19

It's looking that way. He still strikes out too much to ever hit for too high of an average, but he walks a ton, too, so that doesn't concern me as much. If he hit something like .240/.350/.450 or so the rest of the way, that wouldn't surprise me. Low average, good OBP and power... maybe another 20ish home runs the rest of the way?

tigerfan

2:20

will Turnbull be traded at the deadline

Steve Adams

2:21

I think there will be a market for him, and after failing to pull the trigger on deals for Fulmer and Boyd earlier in their careers, Avila will have to be extra-tempted to make a move. I think the Tigers, in general, are going to have one more nice push at this deadline. They could sell off Boyd, Turnbull, Fulmer and a few others, get one more influx of talent and then start spending to supplement a near-MLB core of Mize, Skubal, Manning, Torkelson and Greene. It's a rough product in Detroit right now, but I think they're finally nearing a corner.

Alfonse

2:23

It's probable that Miguel Cabrara's stats for the next two plus years will significantly diminish his heretofore Hall of Fame numbers. Assuming that to be the case, would that place the likelihood of his Hall election in doubt?

Steve Adams

2:23

His rate stats will decline, but he'll tack on a few more counting stats to the pile. I think at this point his status as a Hall of Famer is already set, regardless of how he plays between now and retirement.

Do the questions we leav

2:24

Do the questions we leave before the chat starts appear? Or should we just save them until the chat starts?

Steve Adams

2:26

I see the questions prior to the chat starting and the new ones as they pop up. I try to take a mix of preloaded questions and some that are coming in live (like this one). I still generally can't get to *every* question even in the subscriber chats, but it's a difference of submitting questions when there's between 12-50 people live versus 500-3000 live on the site, depending on the time of year.

Tony La Russa

2:26

Do you think my thoughts on 3-0 counts would have the same legs if they were said by a manager that hadn't become the offensive old uncle of MLB?

Steve Adams

2:27

I think any manager would be criticized for effectively siding with the other team over his own rookie slugger -- one who has helped carry the offense with a couple of key stars out.

That said, the biggest concern with La Russa was that he's out of touch with today's game and a 2021 clubhouse, so there's probably some extra attention being placed on the issue because those concerns are being proven right.

Horace Fury

2:28

Hello! Do you think that--with a bit of batting instruction, some time in AA and AAA, and a little TLC--that Franchy Cordero can return to the bigs as Teoscar Hernandez?

Steve Adams

2:31

It's a similar offensive tool set, and Cordero is faster and probably has a better defensive ceiling. Cordero is almost 27, though. He's only a year younger than Teoscar. Injuries have kind of sapped him of some developmental reps in the minors, but he's gotten about a full season's worth of time in AAA. He could perhaps use a bit more refinement there, but there's also just a decent chance that he never capitalizes on the huge raw tools he has. He certainly wouldn't be the first guy to end up like that.

Sean M.

2:31

How many of the shortstops in the ballyhooed shortstop free agent class of 2022 do you think will actually reach free agency? How many ultimately change teams? I just have a hard time seeing anyone except possibly Chicago letting one of them walk.

Steve Adams

2:32

Correa sounded almost offended with the Astros' spring offer, and there's no way Story is re-signing with the Rockies. I could see Seager and/or Baez staying, but at this point I expect all four to at least test the market.

Erik Neander

2:33

Which relief arms do I need to target to help out with the numerous holes I have in the pen due to guys on the IL... or do I promote from within?

Steve Adams

2:36

The Rays always seem to find some guys from within, and while they could go out and grab a Richard Rodriguez at the deadline, they also tend to target under-the-radar guys who you wouldn't necessarily even think of as trade targets. I don't think anyone was expecting them to turn Nick Anderson and John Curtiss into big-time arms, but they managed to do that.

I expect whoever they go after to be pre-arbitration or a veteran on a pretty negligible salary. Could look within the division (Orioles have Paul Fry, Cesar Valdez, and a few other decent arms)... Ian Kennedy would make sense if they want a veteran guy on a low-cost deal.

The likelier answer is they'll acquire someone from a seller where we think "Huh ... yup, I had barely even considered him"

Hammerin' Hank

2:37

Do you see any chance that the MLBPA will push to get the younger players more equitable pay in the upcoming CBA, or do you think they will keep the same structure as we know today?

Steve Adams

2:39

I think they'll push to up the league minimum and/or get their young stars to free agency or arbitration quicker, yes. It's kind of backwards that the current system keeps players at $550-600K for three years, gets them through arb at a fraction of their market value... and then by the time they hit free agency, they're 30-31 years old and teams say "Well you're too old for us to pay you what you were worth when you were 27 (and making only 20% of that number)"

2:41

They're not hurting for money at $560K or whatever, of course, but a lot of these guys spend 3-4 years in the minors making like $8-13K per year from baseball along the way. If they didn't have a big signing bonus, it's a grind.

I also think that's damaging to their ability to attract young athletes. If you're a two-sport star -- Kyler Murray, for instance -- do you want to go grind through three minor league years, another three making league-minimum, and another three arbitration years before free agency?

2:43

Or do you want to sign with an NFL club and be their starting QB with tens of millions guaranteed? It's an extreme example, but the general lack of immediacy for both appearing at the game's top level and for getting paid like a star probably don't help MLB attract some of those uber-athletes.

Ricardo

2:43

Since we're on the topic of Trade deadline, if Trevor story were to get dealt what team and trade possibilities will it be?

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