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Chat with MLBTR's Steve Adams: 3/4/25
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Steve Adams
8:29
Good morning! Another Tuesday means another chat. I'll get going at 1pm CT, but as usual, feel free to send in questions ahead of time if you prefer.
1:00
Hey there -- let's get rolling!
Eric G.
1:00
What's a sensible agreement between the Mets and Royals for Starling Marte look like?
Steve Adams
1:01
The Mets taking a negligible return (PTBNL or low-level, unranked prospect) and eating like $15-16MM of Marte's salary? I just don't see a ton of value there.
Peter Bendix
1:01
Will I add any underwater or bad contracts in Miami just so I won’t get an MLBPA grievance filing? Say someone like Rafael Montero? Essentially “buying prospects” by taking on bad contracts…
Steve Adams
1:03
I think they should be doing that -- wrote about it back in January -- but teams rarely actually go with this strategy. I think it's a hard sell for owners. The Marlins haven't shown much inclination to spend whatsoever, so I don't think they'll suddenly just take Jordan Montgomery from the D-backs and also ask for their No. 5-6 prospect as well, no.
Plus, the teams dumping those contracts are going to want to do so when there's still a decent supply of free agents left so they can potentially reallocate those dollars.
1:04
At this point, David Robertson is really the only semi-high-priced free agent out there. Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn etc. seem like they'll end up in the Quintana/Heaney range
Jordan Walker just left the Cardinals' spring game with pain in his left knee
Not great!
Rockies
1:05
Are the we screwed for a long time with all our bad starting pitcher contracts
Steve Adams
1:07
Marquez is signed through 2025
Freeland and Senzatela are signed through 2026
Gomber is in his final arb season before free agency
Feltner has four years of club control and is only arb eligible for the first time.

All of which is to say, that while a couple years ago I'd have agreed that the Freeland/Senzatela deals were anchors, at this point there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

I don't really think the Rockies have many "bad" long-term contracts on the books -- other than Kris Bryant, of course.
Brew crew
1:08
After the addition of Quintana yesterday afternoon, does someone like Civale get kicked out at the deadline potentially? Woodruff will be back sooner than later, so there will be 6 guys already, and from what I’ve seen Gasser is expected sometime after the break. They have Alexander who could work pout of the rotation for a few weeks by that time if someone were to get shipped out anyway. Can’t forget Ashby and Hall, but there is a lot of uncertainty with health and I see them out of the pen anyways. Thanks.
Steve Adams
1:10
The premise of the question assumes everyone is healthy. As the remainder of your comment belies, injuries are inevitable and will surely pop up and thin things out. If all of Woodruff, Peralta, Cortes, Quintana, Civale, Myers, Hall, Asbhy and the guys in AAA (Elvin Rodriguez, Logan Henderson, Chad Patrick, Jacob Misiorowski) are somehow all healthy, maybe they listen on Civale or Quintana, sure. They're both free agents at season's end.

But the far likelier outcome is that several of those arms are hurt and the Brewers are happy to have gotten a quality, affordable arm at a bargain price in early March.
Dodger Dog
1:11
Let's say the dodgers want to gamble and shop a excess starting pitcher, can they get a Michael Busch type return for either Dustin May or Tony Gonslin?
Steve Adams
1:12
No. They were trading six full seasons of Busch. May is a free agent in seven months and hasn't pitched since 2022. Gonsolin is controlled through 2026. Both have huge injury concern.
Luis Castillo
1:12
Am I still being shopped?
Steve Adams
1:14
He was never being "shopped." The Mariners reluctantly listened on him since they wanted to add MLB-caliber bats and the context of this offseason's trade market -- with very few pure rebuilding clubs -- meant that teams were more interested in adding big league talent than prospects.

Castillo also has a full no-trade clause that runs through this season.

I'm sure if someone came to the Mariners and offered a controllable, MLB-ready bat, they'd perk up and listen. But the Orioles, Red Sox, etc. aren't sending Coby Mayo, Triston Casas to Seattle for him. They didn't want to several months ago and surely don't want to now that they've addressed their rotations in other ways.
Jesse
1:15
Most likely spot for Jose Iglesias on opening day: The Mets, one of the the other 29 teams, the Minors, retirement?
Steve Adams
1:15
One of the other 29 clubs (perhaps in AAA)
Still an A
1:15
Does Adam Duvall get the $3M he's asking for?
Steve Adams
1:15
I'd be very surprised.
Garrett
1:16
Vlad Jr. ending up in Washington next offseason would be a cool full circle moment since Vlad Sr. began his career with Montreal. Perfect match and timing, right? (please give me hope)
Steve Adams
1:18
Sure, it makes sense on paper. Nats will need to convince ownership with their play that they're ready to come out of the rebuild period. But if you get breakouts from Wood and Crews, if Brady House shows up and hits, if CJ Abrams sustains his first half over a full season, if Luis Garcia keeps improving, etc etc etc -- you could sway me that it's enough to convince Nats ownership to spend big.

Doesn't need to be Vlad, specifically
Speaking of the Nats
They just announced that Stone Garrett went unclaimed on waivers and was assigned outright to AAA
So he's staying in the org but is no longer on the 40-ma
man*
CardsTalk
1:19
With the hiring of Chaim Bloom as special advisor to the GM in St. Louis, do the Cardinals start their rebuild, such as Arenado this year, or Gray/Helsley, now or next year when he takes over as GM as per rumors? Or do they think that the core they have can give it one more run in an open NL Central? Thanks if you respond!!
Steve Adams
1:21
It's not rumored that he's taking over. The team flat-out announced that this is Mozeliak's last year and that Bloom signed a five-year deal, beginning in 2026, to serve as the Cardinals' president of baseball operations.

Any decisions on the direction post-2025 will be dependent on how the team performs, but I'd expect a stepback for a couple seasons while Bloom builds up the player development department, focuses on the farm, and so on
Carl
1:21
Can you put ketchup on a hot dog or is it mustard-only?
Steve Adams
1:21
Let people eat how they want to eat
(I don't do ketchup, but whatever, if you like it, you do you)
O Fo Sho
1:21
Do you think the O's could just be waiting for next years FA crop to go all out. There are a heck of a lot of big time Starters available.
Steve Adams
1:22
I think Mike Elias has just shown that he'll take a risk-averse approach to free agency
Quintana
1:22
Are you surprised the Mets or Braves didn't pursue Quintana who only signed for $4-5 mill plus incentives ? Their potential 5th starters aren't that reliable and he agreed to only a 1 yr deal.
Steve Adams
1:24
Surprised the Mets didn't do more with the rotation earlier in the winter but not surprised re: Quintana, specifically. Ditto the Braves. The Mets have stressed they'll probably stick in-house with the injuries to Montas and Manaea. Braves president Alex Anthopoulos pretty strongly indicated that if he was going to add a starter, it needs to be a definitive upgrade over the out-of-options guys it'd bump from the rotation (and potentially the roster): Ian Anderson and Grant Holmes.
1:26
At this point, I don't think you can decisively say that Quintana is better. I'd prefer him, but it's not at all outlandish to think he delivers comparable or lesser results.

I'm surprised Quintana ultimately came in so low, but it happens to a few guys every offseason -- usually mid/late-30s players who lack the type of skill sets that generate buzz among modern front offices. (If Quintana posted the same numbers at the same age but did so throwing 95-96 mph on average, he's probably making $12MM+ this season.)
payroll
1:27
not long ago the yanks released Aaron Hicks from his contract and he became a free agent so they had to pay him but it didn't count against the luxury tax -- why don't they do that with Lemahieu?
Steve Adams
1:27
It did count against the luxury tax and would count against it for LeMahieu as well.
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