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Mark P
6:41
The weekend chat is upon us!  We'll take a minute for the questions to start rolling in....
Tiger Fan
6:42
Hey Mark! What should we make of the latest set of uninspiring talks? Any optimism for 140+ games?
MLBFan
6:43
Would you consider today progress? Or just another way to prolong negotiations?
Mark P
6:45
It's technically progress, but still baby steps considering that it's already mid-February.  The positive view (as made by Jayson Stark) is that MLB has bent a little on which "key economic areas" it is willing to discuss, so there is some room for further talks.  Yet, the players obviously want much more to be on the table.
At this point, I'm not very positive on a full 162-game season.
Teoscar
6:46
Will I resign or text free agency next year
Mark P
6:48
Teoscar is a free agent after the 2023 season, so his departure isn't imminent.  I wrote a post some months ago about Hernandez as a potential extension candidate and what it might cost the Jays to lock him up.  But, the bigger question is whether the Jays see him as a long-term piece, or if they're saving their dollars to extend Vlad, Bichette, Manoah, etc.
Bucs
6:48
Ke-bryan Hays due for a breakout year?
Mark P
6:49
With better health, it wouldn't at all be surprising to see Hayes have a big year
Kirk
6:50
If the new CBA puts rules in to dissuade tanking (like a draft lottery) do you think that will change the way a team like Washington approaches their "retool" as Mike Rizzo likes to say?
Mark P
6:51
This is an interesting wrinkle.  We've seen how some of the bigger-market teams may have been holding back on major moves (Yankees, Dodgers, Giants, etc.) until they know what the new CBA will entail.....the same could be said of teams like the Nationals, who are kind of on the fence about rebuilding.
6:52
I don't think a lottery will be of enormous consequence, since having the #1 pick in baseball's draft in comparison to, say, the #5 pick isn't as big of a gap as it is in other sports
Matt
6:52
It seems like the owners prefer 60 games and an expanded postseason as a way to make more money and spend less. After seeing 2020 is that their strategy here?  Give nothing in the hope of a small season and big payday in October?
Mark P
6:53
Having only a 60-game regular season took a big cut out of teams' TV money, however.  So if it's a shorter season, I don't think it'll be reduced that drastically (unless labor talks just completely go nowhere, which we can't rule out)
Kyle Lewis
6:53
Will I play centerfield for the Mariners this season or be saddled with injuries or traded? If traded to whom for who?
Mark P
6:54
A trade doesn't seem likely, since the M's would be selling low on a talented player.  How much center field Lewis plays depends on his health, and I can see Seattle easing him back into regular outfield work in order to not put too much physical strain.
Rox Guy
6:56
Blackmon for Heyward in a swap of bad contracts?  Blackmon has more offensive upside but has more remaining on his contract. Heyward could be a good defender in spacious coors field.  Thoughts?
Mark P
6:56
Heyward has full no-trade protection, Blackmon can block deals to 15 teams.  So even if a trade makes some sense from a baseball perspective, it's probably a non-starter
Al Kaline Battery
6:57
If the stadium issues in Tampa and Oakland are ever resolved, is a successful franchise sustainable in either market? Years Of poor support seem to suggest otherwise
Mark P
6:58
We've seen examples in the past about how a new ballpark can revitalize support in a city, which is also admittedly the argument that owners tend to make when asking for hundreds of millions in civic funds to help fund said ballparks.

Plenty of A's and Rays fans in these very chats have said over the years that the Coliseum and (especially) the Trop are just so unappealing and so out of the way, that simply having a stadium in a downtown area will help things greatly.
Mollysdad
6:59
Why would players want to limit how many times they can be optioned in a season? If it’s 4 times,  a player just stays in the minors and can’t be called up after? How is that a good thing? Even a MLB paycheck for a few days is substantial
Mark P
7:01
The union would certainly have concerns about what happens to a player after that fourth option, whether a player is just kept in the minors or maybe DFA'ed.

But the idea here is to actually stop the service-time games.  Plenty of these shuttled relievers back and forth are clearly seen by their teams as "big league-caliber players," considering how often those relievers are immediately put into high-leverage situations.  But, the quick trips down to Triple-A keep those deserving players off a roster, and not accumulating service time or a big league paycheque.
Bigger picture, fewer relievers also means less reliance on a bullpen, and thus more reliance on starting pitchers (and an increase in salaries given to starters).
7:02
Beyond that, there's also the simple human element of how much it has to wear on a player going up and down, up and down, so many times in a season
Bender
7:02
I am not sure I understand the A’s - why would they announce they are slashing payroll (not sure they actually said that) and then trade players…doesn’t that lower what Oakland could get in return if other teams think the A’s are desperate to unload? The situation seems based more on the A’s poor drafts than payroll.
Mark P
7:03
They technically didn't "announce" they're having a fire sale and cutting payroll, not that they necessarily had to.  And it won't hurt demand, given the quality of the players the A's have on offer
Guest
7:04
Sonny gray and Kyle farmer to the angels for Walsh.   Who says no?  Reds need OF’s and angels need SS and pitching
Mark P
7:05
Reds say no.  Walsh is more of a 1B than an outfielder
Athletics
7:06
With the beef between Kyler Murray and the Cardinals at a stalemate chances he makes the jump back to the mlb?
Mark P
7:06
Not exactly the ideal time for someone with options to be jumping back to MLB, eh?
Rafael Devers
7:08
What more must I do to get a long term extension in Boston?
Mark P
7:10
Off the top of my head, I wonder if Devers would be open to a Bogaerts-esque extension?  It wouldn't be the same framework since Devers has two years left before free agency and Bogaerts only had one, but maybe Devers would be amendable to a long-term deal with an early opt-out clause.  

That said, the Bogaerts extension seemed like an underpay even at the time, and I can understand why Devers wouldn't be interested in a similar contract
Random Guy
7:10
There's a lot of talk about the Mariners going after Suzuki. With Haniger, Julio, Kyle Lewis (assuming he's healthy), and Kelenic, seems a bit crowded there already, doesn't it? Unless the plan is to trade off Haniger...
Mark P
7:11
The M's don't know what they'll be getting from Lewis, Kelenic, or Rodriguez in 2022, which is a lot of question marks for a team that desperately wants to make the playoffs.  Even Haniger is no sure thing to repeat his 2021 numbers. Now, it can be argued that Suzuki himself is a risk since he's never played in the majors before, but I can understand the Mariners wanting more OF depth
Bryant
7:12
Wouldn’t Bryant have been a better option for the Mets then the guys they signed?
Mark P
7:13
Improving at three positions is better overall value than improving at whatever one position Bryant is playing on any given day
Jack
7:15
Just saying, if there was to be a chance Shane Bieber gets traded, do Oswaldo Peraza and Jasson Dominguez begin talks between CLE and NYY?
Mark P
7:16
Bieber isn't being traded, but if he was, Peraza and Dominguez would be the type of prospects the Guardians would want headlining a package.  But, the Yankees would have to give up more
Think Blue
7:17
It seems logical Will Smith or Diego Cartaya is getting traded at some point. Which one do the Dodgers keep?
Mark P
7:18
Cartaya hasn't even hit high-A ball yet, so the Dodgers don't exactly need to make a decision any time soon.  Plus, Smith is controlled through 2025 and already looks like a very productive player.
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