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Chat With MLBTR's Steve Adams: 5/11/21
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Steve Adams
2:22
Greetings all
Albert Pujols
2:22
Am I finished?
Steve Adams
2:23
Probably not quite as bad as he was with the Angels this year -- he made decent levels of hard contact and had particularly poor luck on fly-balls and liners -- but I don't think he's an average hitter at this point. And with zero defensive value and the slowest wheels in the game, you can't really hang your hat on "average or slightly below average hitter"
Guest
2:23
Anyone take a chance on Tsutsugo?
Steve Adams
2:24
Not at the $5.46MM he's still owed on the deal. If the Rays release him, someone might take a look at the prorated league minimum though
braves
2:24
What do you make of how little the Braves paif for shane greene
Steve Adams
2:26
My assumption for quite some time has been that Greene's camp probably set out looking to be paid based on ERA and his status as a regular closer/setup man, when the rest of his numbers just weren't great. If he'd been willing to take a year or maybe even two at a cheap-ish rate early in free agency, I would think a team would've gone there.

That's speculation on my end, to be clear. His camp has been tight-lipped, which is why we heard nary a word reported on him all offseason. Dave O'Brien with The Athletic reported in Spring Training the Braves only wanted Greene back around a million or so, and the recent report that the Twins were willing to offer a bit more cash suggests he preferred to remain in Atlanta -- at least over that alternative.
2:27
Greene is a solid reliever, but I think his status as a closer, the frequent holds he racked up, the fact that he made good money in arb, and the fact that he was a high-profile trade candidate in a year where the trade market really sucked ... all of that combined to probably overinflate his reputation to some extent.
2:28
Not a knock on him. I thought some team would give him two years and $8-10MM this winter, and I thought that'd have been a fine price.
Daddychill
2:28
think the Brewers will trade Hader? Seems like his peak is right now and could get back some Tatis level proespect
Steve Adams
2:29
I don't think they'll trade him as long as they're contending. In the offseason, when his arb price is going to be up in the eight-figure range, then yeah, it seems possible if not likely.
Josh B
2:30
MLB gave the Athletics permission to seek relocation as an option. If you had to pick, where are the A's playing their home games in 2026?
Steve Adams
2:31
The whole thing is just a threat tactic to put pressure on the city of Oakland. MLB wants the A's to stay in Oakland, and I imagine they'll eventually find a way to make it work. As many have (rightly) pointed out, baseball can talk about expansion and relocation all it wants, but they love having Vegas, Charlotte, Nashville, etc. as markets they can use to dangle the threat of relocation when the current 30 clubs want a new park.
Deep Friar
2:32
I know it’s not on anybody’s radar, but the Padres currently have 14 pitchers on their 25 man roster. I would love to see AJ trade a Crismatt type relief arm for Pujols assuming he angels foot the bill. How great would it be for Nando to spend some time with Pujos, who could play a little first and pinch hit daily?
Steve Adams
2:33
No one is going to trade anything for Pujols. He'll be released. The reason Pujols is out in Anaheim is that he was frustrated about having his playing time reduced. I doubt he's going to head to the NL and be happy to be a pinch-hitter. Also, I honestly don't think that's a good use of a roster spot at all for the Padres.
Elvis Andrus
2:33
Do I lose my starting job to chad pinder for f he hits and I keep hitting .180?
Steve Adams
2:34
The A's are putting out the line that they're sticking by Andrus, but I don't see how that can keep up if he doesn't turn things around in the very near future. Whether it's Pinder, a trade acquisition, some random minor league promotion ... they can't keep this up too much longer.
Adge
2:34
Is Pujols a better idea than Tellez?
Steve Adams
2:34
No.
Marlins
2:35
Marlins have some outstanding young arms on their pitching staff. What say you?
Steve Adams
2:36
Sandy, Pablo, Richards and Sixto is a hell of a group to build around, and with Elieser Hernandez, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer behind them (Braxton Garrett to a lesser extent, I guess), it's a pretty deep group as well. I cringed a little at the Gallen/Chisholm swap at the time, but man Chisholm looked good before hitting the IL with the minor hamstring issue.
Angels
2:36
I know its a small sample size, but is Jared Walsh for real?
Steve Adams
2:37
He's up to 244 PA of .323/.381/.618 dating back to last year. There's some regression to come still, sure, but I buy him as a legitimately above-average hitter.
Jarred Kelenic
2:38
Am I winning my inevitable service time grievance?
Steve Adams
2:39
The Cubs called up Kris Bryant the literal first day he could be promoted without getting the full year of service, and that was after he was the No. 2 overall pick and had already decimated Triple-A pitching. He didn't win his grievance.

Kelenic had a knee injury in Spring Training and has still barely played above A-ball. He won't win a grievance hearing.
Matt
2:40
What do the White Sox do with Eloy, Vaughn and Yermin Mercedes when Eloy returns? Seems like you have 3 players for 2 spots
Steve Adams
2:41
I would say the current status of Eloy and Robert is proof that you can't plan on one certain group to remain healthy. If they do all come back healthy, you could either see Vaughn at some point, there are various routes they could go. Vaughn could see time in Triple-A -- he's not hitting for any power in the Majors and hasn't really played above A-ball -- or they could decline Eaton's option and just live with the horrible defense of Vaughn/Eloy in the corners for one year before moving Vaughn to 1B.
Of course that would require them letting Abreu walk, and I feel like Abreu is going to be there as long as he wants.
2:42
It's part of the "good problem to have" bucket, but we have a lot of "ifs" to sort through before that time comes. Who knows whether Mercedes will still be hitting, whether they'll ever all be healthy together, etc.?
Jesse
2:43
True or False: If deGrom wins not only the Cy Young this year but also the NL MVP, he only needs to get to the minimum 10 years in order to make it to Cooperstown.
Steve Adams
2:44
I think most voters, right now, would say deGrom is a Hall of Famer. I think he could pitch another five years with like a 4.00-ish ERA and 2-3 WAR per season and he'd still get in.
Tribes fan
2:44
Bauers is gone soon, right? Cleveland has to give Bradley a shot, or anyone that can hit above 100...it is crazy to be this far in and get so little production from catcher, cf and 1b...well most positions really.
Steve Adams
2:46
Yeah -- there's no way they can keep just living with this output from 1B. That said, Bradley is almost 25 and isn't really all that highly regarded of a prospect at this point. FanGraphs has him 37th in Cleveland's own system (which is partly a reflection of their deep farm, but still).

Anyone with a chance to be even an average bat should be starting over Bauers at this point though.
Connor⚾️
2:47
The rays just DFA’d Yoshi who do u Think claims him or signs him? Thanks man!
Steve Adams
2:48
No one is claiming that salary. The Jays, Marlins, Twins and Tigers all at least had some level of interest in him as a free agent in the 2019-20 offseason.
Ryan
2:49
Do you buy the idea that accepting a mediocre trade return for a player who is a pending free agent will cause teams to offer less for your more controllable trade chips? (Ya know, the ones who yoy don't have to trade)
Steve Adams
2:52
Is this in reference to the Rockies and Arenado?

Anyway, I don't buy that it'll dramatically impact an eventual return, no. Like you said, the team doesn't *have* to trade the controllable asset(s) you're referencing, so if the offers are perceived as mediocre, they'll just hold until offers improve or until the market changes at a later date.

Besides, taking a "mediocre" return is generally a matter of opinion. The Arenado return generally looks pretty poor, but we've seen lots of trades over the years with a "That's it?" and it ends up looking pretty good. Teams evaluate players differently. It's not like they're all just looking at Baseball America's Top 30s and Top 100 and basing decisions on that.
Universal DH coming in 2022
2:53
Which NL team benefits from the universal DH?
Steve Adams
2:53
All of them?
Mets being able to get Alonso and Dom in the lineup regularly is pretty nice though
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