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MLBTR Live Chat With Jeff Todd
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Jeffrey Todd
2:56
Welcome! This is my first time with jotcast, so bear with me ...
Drop some questions in the queue and we'll get rolling here shortly.
Josh
2:59
Who will be the royals right fielder opening day?
Jeffrey Todd
2:59
They'll be facing a righty on Opening Day, right? So I'll guess Travis Snider. Guessing he takes Dyson's spot temporarily in a platoon, probably with Orlando.
Matthew
3:00
Just traded for him in my dynasty league -- when's Otani making the jump?
Jeffrey Todd
3:00
He's got at least a few more years til the clock runs on his service in Japan. And they don't have any incentive to send him early, since the fee is capped at 20 million bucks.
3:01
But someone recently suggested that they'd put him up if he asks, and he obviously has interest, so it could be sooner than otherwise would be expected.
He's a really exciting player, I can't wait.
Adam
3:01
O's interest in Markakis real, or just due diligence?
Jeffrey Todd
3:02
Hard to know, of course, but I'd guess it's real enough. Whether they'd take all his remaining salary and/or give up anything interesting to ATL is another question, though.
Eric
3:02
What are the chances lucroy is traded before opening day? Any new interested teams?
Jeffrey Todd
3:02
Well, Evan Grant told me on today's podcast (PLUG) that he doesn't expect TEX to be involved this spring unless Chirinos goes down. You could still see the sense for the Nationals and maybe a few others.
3:03
I'm still guessing he's a deadline guy, though it's sort of the least popular position for mid-season trades.
LouAllen
3:03
Do the White Sox still make a trade for an outfielder, sign Jackson, or sit tight with Avi?
Jeffrey Todd
3:04
Well, I think they have clearly been in an opportunistic stance for some time now, and I'd expect that to continue. It was nice to get Rollins to fall in their lap on a minor league deal. Maybe Jackson will fold and sign for a really light guarantee, or someone will decide to dump a decent player who isn't going to make their roster.
3:05
Guess my point is, I think it's pretty clear they aren't targeting anyone - as they did, say, Frazier - so it could go any number of directions. But I think some kind of addition still seems plausible.
Tim
3:05
Do you think Baltimore has the prospects to pry Charlie Blackmon from Colorado
Jeffrey Todd
3:05
I think that ship has sailed for the time being.
Kyle
3:06
Is there a chance Blake Snell makes the rays rotation out of spring training? And what type of impact do you think he will have this season?
Jeffrey Todd
3:06
I've heard no indication that he has much of a shot at that, certainly not by burning a year of service just to get him on the roster out of camp. But no reason to think he wouldn't be a guy they'd go to if he's in form, there's an opening, and they're in contention.
Chris
3:07
Any rumors or news about the Tigers making any moved
Jeffrey Todd
3:08
Sure, I believe Chris Iott reported they might be nearing a minor league deal with a pitcher, then said that wasn't happening.
Exciting times!
I'd guess they're pretty well set at this point.
Trent
3:09
How do you expect Hyun Soo Kim of the O's to do this season?
Jeffrey Todd
3:09
Your guess is as good as mine. But I think it was a nice investment.
Jason
3:10
Early guess for biggest name pitcher traded at the deadline this season?
Jeffrey Todd
3:10
Jose Fernandez?
Off the top of my head, he's the biggest name I can imagine going, though he wouldn't be a slam dunk deadline piece even if Miami is awful. (Not saying I think they will be or that I think he'll be traded.)
Dills
3:11
Heard anything about a possible Soler or Baez trade from the Cubs?
Jeffrey Todd
3:12
No recent chatter on that front. I just looked at March/early April trades in a really, really boring post. There are very few involving players like those. Really, none in recent memory.
Can certainly still see it occurring, especially in the less rigid trade environment we currently seem to live in, but it hardly looks inevitable to me.
YO'er
3:12
What is Reuben Tejada worth in a trade? He is a good defensive SS and has been mostly in 90-96 OPS+ range in his career.
Jeffrey Todd
3:13
He's a useful player, but remember how bad the free agent shortstops had it this winter. I wouldn't expect much more than an equivalently useful piece who makes for a better fit, or a fairly unexciting, far-off prospect.
He's also not super cheap at $3MM.
Stan
3:14
Is Dylan Bundy still a rotation option now that he is healthy or is he going to begin in bullpen no matter what?
Jeffrey Todd
3:14
Has to be in the pen this year, b/c he has to be kept on the MLB roster (or put on the 60-day DL if something goes wrong). But I don't see why he couldn't do that and then try to stretch out against next spring if he has a healthy year.
Keith
3:15
What do the Jays do if they fail to sign both Edwin and Jose? Do they try to fill those spots with pricey FA bats, or is this the start of a rebuild. Trading Donaldson, Tulo, and others would be a prospect goldmine for a new management group that loves stockpiling.
Jeffrey Todd
3:15
There's no reason that losing those players would have to coincide with rebuilding. They'd also likely be adding two QO draft picks and obviously freeing payroll.
3:16
It's all going to depend upon how things go this year, of course, but they ought to have plenty of options if it's a successful season but both Joey/EE hit the market.
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