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Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 4/21/20
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Steve Adams
5:18
Greetings all -- sorry for the lack of chat last week and for the fact that this week will likely be a bit abbreviated in that regard. Don't have a theme in mind for this one, so we can just open it up to general questions.

As always, I'll start by reiterating that no one has any real clue what's going to happen with the 2020 season; there's no good way to accurately predict when or whether the season will start.
Yys
5:18
If the season is pushed so late will the Dodgers be able to undo the betts trade with the Red Sox?
Steve Adams
5:19
Nope -- as we've written and covered in a recent MLBTR video, the trade is in the books and can't be undone. It stinks for the Dodgers, but that's just a bitter pill they'll have to swallow
John
5:19
Has there been any word on whether players who were optioned already would use an option in the event of no season? I haven't seen it at all
Steve Adams
5:21
I can't imagine that'll be th case. With the need for a new spring training and no clarity on what'll happen with the state of minor league play, I have to believe rosters will effectively be reset. When those players were optioned, teams thought they'd only be permitted to carry 26 players. It'll very clearly be more than that now, and they'd want a full slate of options at their disposal.
I'll try to look into that and gain some actual clarity on it as opposed to just my own speculation/expectation, though.
James
5:22
Are you eventually gonna make videos with Jeff and Tim?
Steve Adams
5:24
I shot one with Jeff on Monday -- I'm sure it'll be up this week. As we've gradually rolled out our video endeavor, we started with Jeff and Tim since they live in houses and have the space to set up a dedicated recording space. That doesn't work so well with my smallish apartment, ha, so we didn't make the investment in nice video equipment for me just yet.

You'll see my grainy face in questionable webcam quality soon enough though!
baseball gods laughing
5:24
Related to the option question, can a team keep all their Rule 5 picks in the event there’s no season?
Steve Adams
5:25
Those players wouldn't receive service time since they didn't last year. At least as has been laid out currently, I believe their Rule 5 status would roll over into 2021. But that's a relatively small-scale issue in the grand scheme of things, and I doubt the two sides have spent much time actively bargaining over it.
White Sox fan
5:25
Who do you think will be the best position player and best pitcher from the White Sox in their prime(s)?
Steve Adams
5:26
Moncada and Kopech, if he remains healthy. I'm buying GIolito's 2019 breakout, too.
Reds Rooter
5:26
If and when Spring Training #2 gets underway, how long will it take starting pitchers to get stretched out enough that they are ready to pitch 6-7 innings (80-100 pitches) in a game?
Steve Adams
5:27
I doubt they'd be built up to seven-inning readiness when things got rolling. There'd probably be something like a three-week ramp up period in hopes of getting guys up to five innings or so ... hence the more widely expanded rosters.
Rangers29
5:28
Out of the Pirates, Marlins, or Mariners, which team is the most prone to over-performing in their respective divisions in 2020 (assuming there's a season)?
Steve Adams
5:30
Marlins have the most interesting rotation but the toughest division. The Mariners aren't going to run down the top teams in that division.

I'd probably pick the Pirates since the NL Central is competitive but doesn't have as many standout teams. And the Pirates have the makings of a passable rotation (Archer, Musgrove, Keller, Williams) with some solid lineup pieces (Bell, Reynolds, Frazier, Polanco, Newman) and a pretty interesting 3B prospect looming (Ke'Bryan Hayes)
Amir
5:31
Does Mookie take a 1-year $40M deal from the Dodgers?
Steve Adams
5:33
Even with 2020 revenue losses, I think that number substantially underestimates what Mookie would get on a one-year deal. The Dodgers were offering Harper ~45/year on a four-year deal, remember.

To be clear, I think Betts gets a lucrative multi-year deal regardless, but if he wants to take one year and hope for a healthier market in 2021-22, I expect it to be larger than that.
A’s fan
5:34
What will the A’s 2nd base situation affect other players
Steve Adams
5:36
I'm not entirely sure what the ask here is, ha, but I think Barreto gets the bulk of the early looks with Mateo/Kemp being interspersed. I don't really see much to love in Kemp, but the A's are obviously intrigued -- and last I checked they're a bit smarter than me
Mookie
5:36
To the Red Sox. 10/375, who says no?
Steve Adams
5:38
If a season is played and the Red Sox are therefore able to reset their luxury penalty and make such an offer, I think that gets it done unless Mookie gets some 4/200 offer from the Dodgers or something with opt outs and wants to really bet on himself.
Stevil
5:38
Generally speaking, do you think teams are going to be more reluctant to spend this coming offseason, or that it should be somewhat normal?
Steve Adams
5:38
I think MLB owners will continually look for any and every excuse to keep money for themselves and not pay the players.
(Yes, I do think they'll be reluctant to spend)
Ca$hman
5:39
If the season is lost, do I benefit more by basically getting G Cole on a 8/300 contract, or is losing out on this prime season at $36 mil more of a drain?
Steve Adams
5:40
When they were valuing out that offer, you know the Yankees considered 2020, 2021, 2022 more valuable seasons than 2026, etc. Losing the first year of that deal hurts. The Yankees would only miss a few months of Severino as opposed to a full season, which is some degree of silver lining. But they'd also see Paxton and Tanaka both become free agents and lose a year of development for Deivi Garcia and Clarke Schmidt.
Missing Baseball
5:41
Will MLB model there 2020 season like the Korean league will if it is successful? I know they are starting their season on May 5th
Steve Adams
5:43
The KBO is eyeing a full 144-game season (full for them) from May 5 through Nov. 2. It's clear that MLB won't be ready to go in that same timeframe, and MLB's season is obviously longer. They can look to some logistical elements of the KBO's plan and borrow from that -- regular doubleheaders, no extra innings in doubleheaders, etc. -- but they can't just use South Korea's model.

Testing is still a major obstacle here, for now.
Nostalgic
5:44
With all the replays happening, what’s your all time favorite game to go back and watch?
Steve Adams
5:47
I've rewatched the Twins/Tigers Game 163 from 2009, which was utterly insane. I was at that one and doubt I'll ever see a more hectic, back-and-forth game. Constant tension and drama, too. It felt like every inning started with the batting team being allowed two baserunners somehow.

Also rewatched Jays/Rangers from '15 -- the Bautista bat flip. That's a fun one.

Generally, I haven't been dedicating tons of my off hours to baseball related things, though. I've found it more important than usual to try to separate work (baseball) from my personal life. I love the game and all aspects of it, but mentally, it's been nice to just kind of stop thinking about it when I close the laptop for the day/night.
baseballjunkie
5:47
If this is a really deep draft class why is MLB thinking of only having 5 rounds instead of a longer draft?
Steve Adams
5:47
Because the owners don't want to pay bonuses in a year they're not making money.
Ca$hman
5:48
I'm pro 7 inning doubleheaders. You?
Steve Adams
5:49
In the long run, I don't like it -- but in a pandemic-shortened season of crazy strangeness, sure let's get weird. If it helps us have some semblance of a season, I'm in.
Commish
5:49
Do you think the lifetime bans the Braves GM got is equal to the penalty the Astros management received. If no season is played the Astros did not even get penalized.
Steve Adams
5:51
No I don't think they're equal, and I think Luhnow should've been hit harder. It seems like MLB tried to make an example out of Coppolella. I've read that he wasn't forthcoming in his interviews and was dishonest whereas Luhnow was more accountable, but I don't know that first hand.

Regardless, Luhnow's punishment was light -- the entire thing feels kind of light -- and Jim Crane coming away scott-free is just utterly pathetic.
5:52
I don't believe for one second that he was in the dark, and if he was, then his head-in-the-sand idiocy should be punished in some capacity.
King Kelly
5:53
Do you think the negative financial impact of the 2020 season will affect the 2021 CBA negotiations?  If so, how?  Could it help, by giving both MLB abd MLBPA a wake-up call as to how bad a strike/lockout would hurt?  Or has it engendered animosity that will actually hurt the process?
Steve Adams
5:54
The animosity will only make negotiations more contentious, and owners are going to use the lost revenue in 2020 as a major piece of leverage. I don't have high hopes for the union's ability to get a good deal, although I hope I'm proven wrong.
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