You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 4/2/19
powered byJotCast
Steve Adams
3:05
MOAR EXTENSIONZ.
3:06
I'll get this underway in one minute or so but feel free to start dropping questions at any point
Daniel G
3:07
Will Jose Reyes get a job?
Steve Adams
3:08
I don't see any reason why he should based. Beyond the awful domestic abuse background, he was just flat out one of the worst players in MLB last season.
Bob Melvin
3:08
Can we get Keuchel on a one year deal for 25 million?
Steve Adams
3:08
There are zero indications he's willing to take one year. If he'd been willing to do that, he'd have signed a long time ago.
Jeremy
3:09
First Morales than Pillar.... When do Smoak/Stroman/Sanchez get traded?
Steve Adams
3:09
Well Kendrys and Pillar were basically salary dumps. They'd be asking for a more legitimate return for Smoak and certainly for Stroman and Sanchez, so I think that'll take longer to come together.
3:10
Very good chance all three are moved this summer though, and sure, if a team develops an acute need and wants to push to get something done sooner, you have to think the Jays are open to talking whenever.
Josh
3:10
Who do you think can be an all-star/breakout with the white-sox?
Steve Adams
3:10
Eloy is the easy answer, but a healthy Rodon would be an interesting pitcher, and I'm by no means out on Moncada yet.
Ryan
3:11
Who is more likely to stay with their team: Betts, Linor, or Rendon?
Steve Adams
3:12
I see zero chance Lindor stays in Cleveland long term. Betts or Rendon are plausible if their respective clubs are willing to just pay market rates. I think both will be.

I'll lean Rendon over Mookie just because he's been open about wanting to work out a deal, whereas Betts' most recent public comments basically said he expects to test free agency.
Red Sox
3:13
Thoughts on the Boegarts deal?
Steve Adams
3:14
Stunned that he only took six new years. Great deal for the Red Sox, and I think Xander sold himself short. I have to imagine Boras was pushing him not to take the deal, but at the end of the day, he works for the player.

Even in this weird free-agent climate, I think Bogaerts would've done way better than 6/120
Moonarc
3:14
Kluber gets traded at the deadline if Indians are not in the race anymore?
Steve Adams
3:14
If Cleveland is floundering, yeah we'll hear all kinds of Kluber and Bauer chatter again.
Cash
3:15
Do the yankees make a move for a full time guy to replace andujar, or do they get a bench piece and let DJ play 3B?
Steve Adams
3:16
This sort of injury scenario is precisely the reason they spent on a guy like LeMahieu. They'll find him ABs if everyone stays healthy, and he protects them against a serious injury like Andujar's. Think they just decided that 2/24 was too good a price to pass up on DJLM (I agree).

I don't think they'll make a significant addition right now, no.
Pablo
3:16
Is Tim Beckham just an illusion?
Steve Adams
3:18
You had 1420 prior plate appearances to tell you what kind of player he is. If you want to get your hopes up based on 31 PAs in 2019, be my guest, but he's not sustaining anything like this. He has a .471 BABIP right now, and again... 31 PAs. He could go 0-for-10 or something and his line would crater.
Marcus H
3:18
When do you expect the Keuchel/Kimbrel saga to end?
Steve Adams
3:18
At this point, I have legitimately no idea. I don't think anyone really does, including Kimbrel, Keuchel and their respective agents.
Trick Flair
3:18
So what the best extension so far?
Steve Adams
3:21
For the team or the player? I can't believe Acuna basically gave up the first decade of his career for a max of $124MM. Jeff and I were talking about this ... Eloy can earn $85MM total on his deal and only gave up one FA season. Acuna gave up three more and only got a max of an additional $39MM? For a player of his caliber, that's brutal.

The $100MM guarantee is a nice, shiny round number, but he'd be a $30MM+ player in fre agency right now -- and who knows where the market will be by the time he'd have actually reached that level. $35MM could be the new norm for star free agents in their prime. Maybe more. They gave up so much control to get to that symbolic $100MM deal. It's a great contract for the Braves.
3:22
Player-wise -- Arenado did pretty damn well for himself.
Brian
3:22
Thoughts on the Pillar trade for Giants? I have seen some say that the trade is not worth it because they are not good, but Zaidi has preached incremental improves.  Plus they did not give up much for him.
Steve Adams
3:23
He's a fine plug-in for the time being. I don't mind it one bit, and there's something to be said for taking on a little cash to try to improve the on-field product even marginally.
Alex Anthopoulos
3:23
Did Acuña left money on the table with this deal?
Steve Adams
3:26
I mean, every player leaves some money on the table when they take an extension multiple years from free agency, but man alive did Acuna ever. As a 26-year-old free agent you're looking at Harper/Trout/Betts scenarios -- maybe more if the market has advanced at that point. Even waiting a year they could have gotten so much more.

I mean, at a certain point, you can shrug, look at this from a human perspective and say, "Can't blame a 21-year-old kid for taking $100MM guaranteed..." but that contract is going to look like an all-out heist for the Braves in a few years.
Bernie Brewer
3:26
Hader has only thrown fastballs this year. He can't keep this up right?
Steve Adams
3:26
Bold prediction: Josh Hader will throw at least one breaking ball in 2019.
Pepper
3:27
Are the Indians a shoo-in for the AL central crown? Is their ticket for the playoffs already punched?
Steve Adams
3:28
Cleveland opened the season with Tyler Naquin hitting third, Eric Stamets at shortstop, Brad Miller at second base, the ghost of Hanley Ramirez as their DH and Roberto Perez behind the dish. If Lindor is out for awhile, I don't know how that team is going to score any runs, and the bullpen doesn't look great either.
They'll compete because Kluber/Bauer/Carrasco/Clevinger/Bieber might be the best rotation on the planet, but it is by no means a foregone conclusion.
ATX Halo
3:29
When will Eppler finally put out a solid rotation?
Steve Adams
3:32
I mean it's not like he hasn't tried, but I was pretty befuddled by the decision to buy a couple of one-year stopgaps. In isolation, I love Cahill at one year and $9MM -- love the stuff and think if he's healthy it'll be a bargain -- but a team with this many injury issues on its staff should've been looking at more durable arms. It's easy to point to Keuchel, but his asking price was probably still $25MM+ annually and more than four years when they signed that pair. But optically, it doesn't look great to spend a combined $20MM on Harvey and Cahill when Gio takes a minor league deal and Keuchel is unsigned.

I think a lot of the Angels' internal arms are talented -- Skaggs and Heaney in particular -- but at this point I don't think you can realistically bank on either throwing 150 innings. If things don't work this year, they need to be more aggressive in shoring up the rotation with a more meaningful arm or two.
Todd
3:33
Small sample size but Pete Alonzo & Jeff McNeil can really swing the bat! What are your thoughts on it continuing?
Steve Adams
3:35
I think Alonso will hit for power with a mediocre average, decent OBP and no real defensive value at first. McNeil can hit but didn't even show much home-run pop in the ridiculously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so I expect sort of the opposite from him. Better average with fewer walks (but a solid OBP due to said average) and some gap power. I don't think either is a superstar but I think both are nice long-term pieces for the Mets.
Wall Street Trader
3:36
I wouldn't have  taken on Pillar's contract unless the JAYS included a prospect or two.
Load More Messages
Connecting…