JotCast | MLBTR Live Chat

MLBTR Live Chat

Mark P

8:11

After missing last weekend's chat due to an avalanche of pre-deadline news, let's make up for it with our second chat of the weekend. Question time!

Dave B

8:13

Where do the phillies finish in the standings with their upgrades?

Mark P

8:14

I think a wild card is a distinct possibility. Not to overreact too much to a week of play, but losing Hader seems to have thrown a wrench into the Brewers both on the field and in the clubhouse.

Guest

8:14

Thoughts on how the Braves can turn it around?

Mark P

8:15

I mean, maybe just get away from the red-hot Mets? It's not like Atlanta isn't comfortably in a postseason spot right now

Marky Mark

8:15

Do you see Soto signing an extension?

Mark P

8:17

That's the $500MM question. I can't imagine that the Padres would make that trade without being open to the idea of locking Soto up to the biggest contract in sports history. While it would make for a big commitment to devote so much of a payroll to three players, keep in mind that Machado can opt out after the 2023 season.

8:18

Machado would be leaving five years and $150MM on the table if he opt out, and he turns 31 in July 2023. I might lean against him opting out at this point, but if he keeps playing like he's playing, I do think Machado could score more than $150MM even at age 31.

8:19

So theoretically, if Machado walked, the Padres then have a lot more money available to lock up Soto

Bryan

8:19

16 games of 54 left against >.500 clubs. Definitely gotta close out and win the division for the Cards, right? Esp with the lackluster moves done at deadline(Quintana and Montgomery are solid and pretty typical for them, I know)

Mark P

8:20

The Cardinals always seem to go on a second-half tear, and the stage is set for another late surge this year.

Josh

8:20

Do you think the Redsox should consider denoting Duran back to Tripple-A to work on his defense? Whose a CF they could target in a off-season pickup?

Mark P

8:22

Well, I hear Jackie Bradley Jr. is available!

It's possible the Sox run it back by re-signing Enrique Hernandez (depending on his health situation) and going with the plan they had heading into 2022. Beyond that, it's unclear at this point what exactly Boston will be doing this offseason --- whether reloading with bigger names, or making more lower-key adds.

Gup

8:23

What can the A’s do with Elvis. Don’t want to trip the salary clause ?

Mark P

8:25

As a reminder, Oakland's $15MM club option becomes a player option for Andrus only if he had been traded. Since the deadline is passed, that is no longer a possibility. It's probably fair to assume that vesting clause erased all possibility of Andrus being moved

8:27

Oh hang on, I am mistaken! Andrus has already been dealt from Texas to Oakland in the first place, oops. So now he'd have to accumulate 550 PA this year or 1100 combined PA in 2021-22 to vest that option, and I highly doubt the A's would let him get anywhere near that threshold.

Congratulations, you just watched me misread an old post in real time! :)

Positively Half St.

8:28

After a painful Soto question, a question for where the Nats stand today. Should they take a flier and sign Franmil Reyes?

Mark P

8:29

Reyes makes sense for a lot of teams, including Washington. If he revives himself at the plate, the Nats might view him as a building block or (maybe more likely) someone who can be flipped for future assets

Will the Thrill

8:30

Has Joey Bart finally found himself?

Mark P

8:31

An .832 OPS in 74 PA would seem to suggest yes. Again, it's a small sample size, but there were also a lot of people yelling BUST after Bart had had like 120 plate appearances in the majors

8:32

It bears repeating -- Bart is a prospect who had his development really thrown for a loop by the pandemic, and is also trying to learn one of the most complicated positions in sports. Not to mentioned the added pressure of trying to replace a certified team legend in Buster Posey. It isn't a shock that he got off to a slow start in his MLB career

Dane

8:32

Thoughts on the call reversal in Minnesota today?

Mark P

8:33

As a Jays fan, the umpires got it absolutely right, no doubt about it!

Mr nobody

8:33

How many years before the A’s are competitive again

Mark P

8:34

Considering how Beane and Forst have turned the roster around in the past, nobody (or even Mr. Nobody) should be surprised if the A's are back in the mix by 2024 or 2025. The unfortunate part is that Oakland fans have to sit through another rebuild that was motivated only by payroll limitations, since the A's already has a solid core group in place

RoxTalks

8:36

The Rockies are the worst run team in the country, regardless of the sport. Agree or disagree?

Mark P

8:36

Disagree. The Rockies do some unusual things, but there are at least a dozen teams across all sports who are much worse off

Tiebreaker

8:37

Is there a link or story that explains the tie breaking rules this year since there are no more game 163s?

Mark P

8:37

Here you are: https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-playoff-tiebreaker-rules

Dodgers Fan

8:38

Thank you for your piece on Vin. It was well written and did an amazing job of summing up his huge career. He meant a lot to us Dodger fans who watched/listened to him almost every night from April to October

Mark P

8:39

Much obliged, even if those posts are definitely written with a lot of sadness. It's hard summarizing the impact of a legend like Vin Scully in a full-length book, let alone in a brief post

Athletics Obsessed

8:40

Do you think the A’s got good value for Frankie Montas?

Did the A’s get good value from the Yankees for Frankie Montas? The major prospect pundits/sources seem to disagree. (Fangraphs loved the prospect package; Keith Law called it underwhelming)

Mark P

8:42

Considering that New York was adamant about not moving its very top-tier prospects, landing Waldichuk and Medina (the top of their second tier) and Sears was a good return. Obviously no other team was willing to top it.

Guardians

8:42

how do you like our chances for the second half?

Mark P

8:43

Still pretty decent, but getting something (anything) at the deadline would've been helpful

8:45

Bees?

Mark P

8:45

Beads?!

Ramp