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Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat with Steve Adams: 3/17/25
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Steve Adams
1:16
Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'll get this going at 2:30pm CT, but feel free to submit questions in advance if you prefer.
2:29
Greetings!
RAGBRAI
2:30
Both Baty and Acuna looks like will make the OD roster with McNeil's injury. Who is the better replacement both real world and/or fantasy as the replacement?  Who gets sent down when he returns?
Steve Adams
2:30
Does seem like they're trending that way; Acuna is the better bet to stick around once McNeil is back since he can serve as a backup at three positions. Baty's not a great option at 2B and not an option at all at shortstop.

I'd expect more offense from Baty, but Acuna's defense might get him more playing time.
Cat Herder
2:31
With Jace Jung being sent to Toledo, does Tork get a ride at 3B (he was drafted a third base man) or is he going to be off the bench?  What about Baez since it seems like Sweeney has earned his playing time.
Mike
2:31
Wo would be a better Tiger's RF defensively, Torkelson or Malloy?
Steve Adams
2:32
They're working Torkelson out in the outfield, but not at third base to my knowledge. Neither Tork nor Malloy is going to be great in the OF, but Malloy would has more outfield experience. You wouldn't think it just based on their prior positions, but Tork does run better at top speed ... but he's going to be a lot more raw in the outfield.
baseball gods laugh and laugh
2:32
Who will start the season as the Tigers 3B?
Steve Adams
2:33
Meant to include this with the other two Tigers questions, oops
2:34
At this point I'd expect all of Baez, McKinstry and Ibanez to see some time there early. I suppose Baez maybe gets the nominal Opening Day assignment in a nod to veteran status, but I think they'll all see time there. McKinstry will get some OF time as well.
Opt outs and out of options bubble
2:34
Are we getting these lists soon?
Steve Adams
2:35
We ran the Out Of Options list at the end of February:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/out-of-options-2025.html
And I highlighted 10 in particular that I find interesting, for subscribers:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/10-out-of-options-players-mlb-s...
2:36
We'll probably do a list of veterans with looming opt-outs in the coming days, yeah. It won't be entirely comprehensive as some of those opt-out details are murky/aren't reported at the time of signing, but the Article XX(b) guys (six-plus years of service, finished last year on a MLB roster/IL, signed a minor league deal this winter) are easy to identify and we're aware of some others as well
Hotlanta
2:36
Wow, Strider was sharp in his debut today and he was pitching to Baldwin!Getting exciting,Murphy who?
Steve Adams
2:37
Ridiculously impressive to come back sitting mid-90s and fan five straight hitters in his first game action in 11 months.
Alex Anthopoulos
2:37
What am I doing at backup catcher until Sean Murphy gets back?  If Drake Baldwin does well, how fast do I trade Sean Murphy?
Steve Adams
2:41
Braves fans in general seem A) Overly excited for Drake Baldwin and B) Overly down on Sean Murphy

I know Murphy has struggled more than not during his time since the trade, but injuries have contributed to that and he's still a talented defender.

Baldwin is 23 and has 140 games above A-ball under his belt. He's had fewer than 350 PAs in Triple-A. He's had a nice camp, but I don't think it's wise to expect him to dominate out of the gates, nor do I think the Braves would be in any rush to dump Murphy. If Baldwin does hit from the jump and holds up defensively, I think you'd just see a fairly even playing time split when Murphy returns.
Calling a Doctor
2:41
Is it just me or have there been more injuries than usual across the board this spring. And if there have, any idea why?
Steve Adams
2:42
I would contend it's actually seemed like fewer this year. We haven't had too many season-enders yet, and a lot of the ones that have popped up in the past two weeks are relatively minor injuries that come with a mid-April return possibility.
Josh
2:42
In all the rumblings of a salary cap being the main point of contention in the next CBA, do you see something akin to the NBA's Bird Rights as anything that could be incorporated as the basis of any discussion?
Steve Adams
2:44
A cap is a non-starter for the players, period, and Bird Rights (as I understand them) allow teams to exceed the NBA's hard cap in order to retain their own guys.

I don't know see how Bird Rights could come into existence without a harder version of a cap, so no I don't expect that to be the case. I suppose you could offer lesser luxury penalties for teams that re-sign their own guys, but that would only benefit big market clubs, since the smaller-market teams like the Pirates, Rays, Guardians, etc. are never going to be in a position where luxury tax really matters to them.
thebeatlesshow
2:45
Hey, Steve.  Thanks and Happy St. Patty's Day to you.  Any idea what the premium was on the insurance policy the Yanks got for Gerritt Cole?
Steve Adams
2:47
I don't have specifics on it, no. Buster Olney wrote recently that insurance policies of this nature can cover around 75%. Ken Rosenthal said on Fair Territory today he thinks it could be somewhere around 50%. So, in general, I'd guess somewhere in the $18-27MM range for what they got back.

It's a decent chunk of change -- enough that I'm surprised they didn't add Kyle Gibson or Spencer Turnbull, but I can see the front office being concerned about A) those pitchers not being sufficiently ramped up and B) not being all that impactful when you're talking about paying more than double their actual price tag once the 110% luxury tax is factored in.
Rocco
2:48
Royce Lewis . . . poor kid. Do I go with Miranda at 3B and Lee at 2B? Or Lee at 3B with either Gasper or Julien at 2B to start the season?
Steve Adams
2:49
Snakebit, for sure. They played Lee at 3B today in the immediate aftermath, but I still think Miranda seems like the more obvious fit. Second base would go to Lee or Castro; Dan Hayes implied he thinks it'll be Castro last week.
J.H. Lee
2:49
The Giants appear to have a wealth of riches, both in young arms and bats making Spring Training cuts very difficult. How many options—if any—do Casey Schmitt, Brett Wisely and Kyle Harrison have?
Steve Adams
2:50
Harrison has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining. Schmitt and Wisely are both entering their final option year. So they can all still be sent down without being exposed to waivers, at least for the coming season.
Jay
2:50
What would constitute a "successful" season for Washington and Miami this year? Short of disaster striking one of the other three teams in the division, they have a 0% chance of making the playoffs, so what are they actually playing for?
Steve Adams
2:52
I don't think that's as true for Washington as for Miami. They have a decent group of young, exciting players already in the majors (e.g. James Wood, Dylan Crews) or about to get there (Brady House). MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker are solid. I loved the idea of Soroka as a reliever, but I can see a little upside left in trying him as a starter again.

I don't think they're anything close to a likely playoff team, but I can see giving them an 8-10% chance or so, whereas the Marlins feel like 0-1%.
2:53
As for what constitutes success, for me it's mostly about getting the most out of Wood, Crews, House ... getting more consistency from Abrams at SS and helping Garcia replicate his 2024 showing. Also seeing if you can get Gore and Parker in particular to avoid the late-season slumps they had last year.
2:54
In Miami, keeping Sandy healthy and getting a huge return for him... getting more consistency out of Jesus Sanchez and getting a decent return for him. Seeing Max Meyer and Ryan Weathers solidify themselves as big league arms. Getting good progress from Connor Norby and Xavier Edwards.
RoxTalks
2:55
Might Pittsburgh try and dangle Jones again at the deadline? They might be able to get more from a team desperate for SP (looking at you NYY).
Steve Adams
2:56
I don't think it's fair to characterize their prior openness to listening as "dangling." From my understanding, they weren't out there shopping him around or anything.

They currently have five full years of control over Jones ... 4.5 come the deadline. The return would need to be astonishing. I'm probably more bullish on Jones than a lot of people, but I think he has the ability to be more of a 1b to Skenes' 1a than "just" a No. 2-3 starter there.
2:57
Padres just announced they released Niko Goodrum and Forrest Wall, both of whom were in camp as non-roster invitees.
Jimmy Racer
2:57
Should the Cardinals trade Donovan? With Weatherholt a year away, and Prieto, Koperniak, and Sagasse having great ST. Could Donovan be a centerpiece in a trade for a back end cost controlled starter?
Steve Adams
3:00
If the return is a back-of-the-rotation guy, no, I wouldn't move him. Donovan has three years of club control himself, including 2025, and the Cards already have some back-end types they'll look at this year in McGreevy, Graceffo. Pallante kind of already is that guy. Tekoah Roby and Sem Robberse might fall into that bucket, too.
3:01
That said, I think they should be open to listening on anyone with fewer than three years of club control left, so sure, they should be open to dealing Donovan at the deadline.
Cambo
3:01
Drink a cold one for me!! There has to be a team out there to take Taijuan Walker off the Phillies hands isn't there? I'm sure they'd be willing to pay for at least 50% of the remaining contract.
Steve Adams
3:03
Think you'd need to find a GM/president who's had more than a few of those cold ones to seriously consider taking on the Walker deal. You're talking two years and $36MM left. Even eating 50% isn't going to get someone to take that on. There's no way he'd get 2/18 as a free agent right now. He'd probably have signed for like 1/4 early in the offseason or a minor league deal if he lingered into Feb/March.

If there were a team willing to take on even like $6-8MM of that contract (total), I think the Phillies would've done it.
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