MLBTR Chats News & Rumors

Nolan McLean

• Chances the Mets and I could get together for an early extension? Are they a little trickier for pitchers?

Mark P

• I’d be stunned if the Mets hadn’t broached the subject already, but these deals often come down to personal preference.  If McLean would like to lock in some security and a big payday right now, he might amendable if the Mets put a fair offer on the table.  Or, he might prefer to bet on himself and count on big paydays in his arb years, and into free agency.

Gary

• I know we have four outfielders, but how does trading Duran help the lineup?  Wouldn’t it make us a bat short?

Mark P

• In theory, trading Duran would open up the DH spot as a revolving door for multiple players, if not Yoshida specifically.  Or, someone like Campbell gets another crack in the majors and hits better enough to stick, so Boston is able to fill some of the Duran void from within.

Jimbo

• It’s a week before the trade deadline. The Tigers are playing a game below 500. They are 3-4 games out of the last wildcard. Do they break it down and try to get a package for Skubal? And others?

Mark P

• How far out of the AL Central lead are they in this scenario?  Actually, that may not even matter, since even if they’re 3-4 games out, that’s still close enough for Detroit to still make a run.  Don’t forget their late magic in 2024.
• In short, Skubal is only dealt at the deadline if the Tigers have an absolute nightmare of a season.

Oaktown

• The A’s seem to be the polar opposite of where they usually are at this point in a rebuild after tear down cycle with incredible hitting but not much pitching

Mark P

• Their ballpark situation is certainly a factor in that, as it was easier for arms to thrive in the pitcher-friendly old Coliseum.

Big D

• Do you think that the MN twins will exceed exceptions? Better won loss than loss loss?

Mark P

• I think the Twins are in for a rough year.  Last place in the AL Central isn’t out of the question.

Pirates1Fan

• Any hope for McCutchen signing with ANYONE? Maybe he should go to Japan or Korea?

Mark P

• Starling Marte’s deal may be a sign that teams are now starting to look closer at some of these veterans still on the market.  A reunion with the Pirates seems less likely at this point, but Cutch can still land with a big league roster.  Going overseas doesn’t seem to be in the cards at all.

MiraclesNeverCease

• Do you think the Blue Jays could make one more significant move before the regular season, possibly for Ketel Marte? Or will they wait till the summer trade deadline to address any team needs?

Mark P

• The ship has long since sailed on the chances of a Marte trade.  With Arizona bringing Gallen and Kelly back, they’re all in on trying to win in 2026.

  The Jays do feel a bat short, but a deadline move (or a trade earlier in the season) to give them time to truly access their needs seems likelier.  If Okamoto immediately adjusts to the Show, Barger and/or Clement continue their October hitting, etc., suddenly the offensive needs aren’t as glaring

Natitude

• What’s the latest on a potential CJ Abram’s trade?

Mark P

• Nats aren’t hanging up the phone to any offers, but they’ll need a lot to move him now.  Abrams having (another) big first half in a Nationals uniform only increases his value, and adds to the team’s asking price for a potential deadline trade.

Charlesco

• Can I count to see Schwellenback this year? What to expect?

Mark P

• Perhaps midseason for he and Waldrep?  It’s tough to say since “loose bodies” type of elbow surgeries can vary wildly from pitcher to pitcher.  A midseason return is probably a best-case scenario.

The offseason bob got pretty

• Who is more likely to extend Skenes or Griffin?

Mark P

• Since there’s zero chance of a Skenes extension, Griffin is the answer by default.  And to be fair, I could see the Bucs locking him up to a pre-career deal.

TO Mike

• Do you think that Vladdy will have a breakout season?

Mark P

• ….Vladdy hasn’t broken out already, in your view?!

Beer District

• Is Megill on the trade block or do the Brewers use he and Uribe as a one-two pinch in the closer role?

Mark P

• Megill drew some trade interest earlier in the winter, but if he is dealt, it’ll probably be on the Brewers’ usual timeline of a year before free agency.  So, Megill could be a popular trade chip next winter.

Zach

• Who are your mvp picks if you cant choose Othani or Judge?

Mark P

• Fun question!  Let’s say Jose Ramirez in the AL, and a spite-fueled Bryce Harper in the NL.

Steve

• I get the “you can’t have too much pitching” mantra, but eventually that has to not be true when you sign say a Houser and block your pitching prospects from meaningful development right?

Mark P

• If the Giants hadn’t signed Houser, they’d be counting on one of their younger arms stepping up immediately as a reliable big league pitcher.  Or, it basically puts two rotation spots into that category, since Roupp is also not a sure thing.

  With Roupp penciled in as the fifth starter behind the more experienced top four, it allows the Giants to perhaps explore a six-man rotation, or at least gives them lots of depth options in the event of injury.  The Giants are trying to win in 2026, remember, and can only give so much leeway to a young pitcher in the rotation.  Also, frankly, SF doesn’t have the kind of obvious up-and-comer who is knocking down the door for a rotation job.

BigTimeTimmyJams

• The O’s held back, and were non-competitive for so long and turned that period into a farm system coveted by all other MLB teams. Their grave mistake to me seems that they didn’t spend enough when the prospects matured into unproven but ready MLB talent. Is the Orioles plight an example of believing that every top prospect will turn into above average production, and more importantly

Mark P

• “Plight” is maybe too strong a word.  The O’s had a rough 2025 season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they bounced back to contend this year.

  In terms of not spending, the ownership instability was some poor timing, as the front office might’ve normally had a bit more of a green light to spend once the team starting developing into contenders earlier than expected.

Zach

• Does Trout have a top 5 mvp finish left in him?

Mark P

• If Trout can stay healthy, I think he still has a couple of big seasons (if not necessarily a top-tier MVP run) in him.  That kind of special talent is hard to entirely write off, even after all these years of injuries.

Astros71

• Looking Back At Last offseason: Should we have signed Kikuchi and not signed Walker?

Mark P

• Hindsight is 20-20, but sure, that would’ve helped a lot on paper.

  I’ve written this before, but Walker’s dropoff was a big surprise for me.  I thought that was one of the cannier signings of the offseason, and a blessing in disguise for the Astros once the Arenado trade fell through.  And to be fair, there’s still time for Walker to get back on track, but his underwhelming 2025 is a big red flag.

Olives

• Thoughts on the Oli Extension?

Mark P

• The Cards are writing off the next couple of years anyway on a rebuild, so it makes for them to stick with a familiar (and trusted) voice in the dugout.

Regret

• Do you think Lucas Giolito regrets his option year in Boston?  Does he admit his mistake and take a lower one year pillow contract at this point or will he hold out?

Mark P

• Giolito had a mutual option, as he pitched enough innings to turn Boston’s club option into a mutual.  It’s a moot point since the Sox would’ve likely declined their club option anyway, or would’ve declined their end of a mutual option if Giolito had chosen to stay in the deal.
• At this point, Giolito will almost certainly have to settle for a one-year deal.  I wonder if teams just don’t like what they see in his medicals, or if his asking price is too high, or any number of other factors that have contributed to his long wait in free agency

Zach

• Whats next for the Rangers if they miss the playoffs in 2026? Will they do what they did this offseason and make changes and tweaks or could they enter a rebuild if they finish bad enough?

Mark P

• Another .500-ish season probably means more tweaks.  Obviously it depends on how the season would play out and why exactly Texas played middling baseball, but on paper, the team’s blend of intriguing younger talent and bigger-name veterans still seems like a solid mix.  As much as ownership has closed up the pocketbook, I don’t see the Rangers entirely blowing it up unless they have a total disaster of a season.

Poutine Dream

• Would you rather have 10 straight divison titles or 1 World Series win?

Mark P

• A World Series win

  Put it this way….my favorite football team is the Packers. They’ve won the NFC North a bunch of times, and suffered a bunch of gut-wrenching playoff losses.  But, because they’ve won two Super Bowls during my fandom, those championships help make up for a lot of other playoff pain.

Cal

• Very slim chance the Brewers are willing to pay up for a Contreras extension. Do we see them trading him next offseason like we’ve done with Burnes and Peralta?

Mark P

• Very likely, which is why Jeferson Quero is a real intriguing player to watch for Milwaukee fans

Marco

• Who are your Cy Young picks if you can’t choose Skubal, Crochet, Skenes or Yamamoto?

Mark P

• Hunter Brown, Freddy Peralta

Nick

• Are you surprised that Danny Coulombe and Michael Kopech are both still available?

Mark P

• Kopech not overly due to all of his injuries.

  Coulombe yes because he’s just been so generally good, but his age and tough finish to 2025 are certainly factors.

  The relief market is always hard to gauge since I feel in many cases, teams evaluate a bunch of these guys on the same general level.  So whether a club targets one particular reliever over another might come down to salary demand, or how many minor league options remain, or maybe even a personal connection (i.e. pitching coach used to work with the guy).

Justin Turner

• Any chance I get picked somewhere up this year?  Also, when I’m ready to retire, will the Dodgers give me a one day contract so I can retire a Dodger?

Mark P

• For a ceremonial contract, sure, why not.  Maybe the Dodgers have already signed him to such a deal but have deferred the ceremony to when Turner choose to retire.

  On a more serious note, if the roster crunch is tough on veterans like Marte or McCutchen who had okay numbers in 2025, it’s even harder for guys like Turner who struggled.

Alex

• Is Sale a Hall Of Famer if he retired today or is he still 1 or 2 solid years away?

Mark P

• Sale’s definitely getting in.  The Cy Young Award removed any doubt as to his Cooperstown chances.

Mr Kow

• I’m excited about the Mets prospects getting opportunities to contribute. What position players have a real shot at making the team or getting called up this season? Could Benge start opening day at the third corner OF spot?

Mark P

• Call Mr. Kow, that’s his name, that name again is Mr. Kow

  Anyway, all signs are pointing to Benge breaking camp with the team.  He’s the only sure thing, plus McLean will naturally be in the rotation and Tong and Scott will definitely be part of the pitching mix.

Friedman is Evil

• True or false – Dodgers are bad for baseball

Mark P

• False

Ebenezer_Batflip

• Thoughts on the approach to trades from Craig Breslow, he made like 14 trades but refused to trade from his top 5 prospects and didn’t deal Mayer or Duran or any other big MLB talent. Dealing away substantial quantity vs the top trade chips, does this seem like a good plan or should Craig have been willing to pay for an established star?

Mark P

• This isn’t exactly an accurate description, as Breslow moved Teel (one of Boston’s “big four” at the time) to land Crochet. And, reports indicated that the Red Sox have also approached the White Sox about acquiring Teel back, indicating some buyers’ remorse.

  In general, Breslow’s plan is sound. Keep the prospects your staff views as the real building blocks, and deal the prospects you have a few more questions about.

Ebenezer_Batflip

• Oh I just meant this offseason he made 14 trades, not his entire time in Boston

Mark P

• Ha, okay then!

  Based on just this offseason, I think the Sox have done quite well to add talent without giving up much in return.  In the multiple Cardinals trades, for instance, just taking on extra money helped the Red Sox add Gray/Contreras for only okay returns going back in the Cardinals’ direction.

Ted Turner

• Does Braves Vision mean more payroll for Braves? Seems like that announcement and Sale extension wasn’t coincidence. Not to mention highest one year guarantee ever for the Braves

Mark P

• Atlanta’s got a lot of money coming off the books after 2026, so Sale’s new deal basically just replaces a lot of those expiring contracts.

  Over the long term, however, BravesVision seems like it can be a very strong revenue stream for the club.

HUVIE33

• How long of a leash does Grissom get if he goes back to his no hitting ways with Jones waiting?

Mark P

• If Jones keeps crushing Triple-A pitching, he’ll be in the Bronx before too long.  If an injury arises, that solves any roster crunch, but sure, Grisham is the odd man out if he’s struggling at the plate.

  This only turns into a bit of a logjam if both Grisham and Rice are both hitting well, and everyone is healthy.  If Rice was slumping, for instance, Bellinger could be moved to 1B to open up outfield playing time for Jones.

Loveable losers

• What do think the Cubs do to back up 1st base?

Mark P

• Giving Matt Shaw a few looks might not be a bad shout, as he matches nicely as a platoon with Busch.  Or, if not a true regular platoon, he can get some starts at 1B against lefties to spell Busch

Matt

• If Miller has to miss some time should the M’s sign another stopgap starter? Bring Hancock/Criswell into the fold? I’m a bit nervous about those last two.

Mark P

• Dunning, Lawrence, and a couple of other SPs with experience are in camp on non-roster deals. The Mariners could also turn in that direction in a pinch, depending on how much time Miller if slated to miss (if any).
• The rotation depth is a bit of a broader concern for the M’s all season, yet obtaining another starter is also tricky because such a pitcher would be a clear #6 on their depth chart.  Unless a hole opens up in Seattle’s rotation due to a true long-term injury, available pitchers are going to prefer to sign with a team that provides more of a clear-cut avenue to a regular starting role.

Nobody

• Hi.  Thanks for the chat.  On a STL chat forum peoples heads are exploding with Oli’s extension.  Is he really that bad a manager or has the lack of talent been the primary problem?

Mark P

• Marmol is hard to evaluate.  Like with any manager, a lot of his work is done behind the scenes, plus he took over the Cardinals during a time when either the team was nearing the end of a competitive cycle, or the player development team was having more issues churning out prospects.

  I can’t say I’ve been particularly wowed by Marmol’s work as a manager, but the fact that the team stuck by him through the Cards’ struggles tells me that the organization trusts him.  It would’ve been very easy to fire Marmol and make him the scapegoat, but both Mozeliak and now Bloom view him as their choice in the dugout.

• Also, this is just my read from afar on the St. Louis fanbase, but it also seems like the Cards fans give Marmol less leeway because they keep expecting Pujols or Molina to eventually take over as manager.

Orioles Ace

• Could the Os trade for Gavin Williams or Tanner Bibee? They seem to have all the right pieces that Cleveland would need.

Mark P

• Williams is arb-controlled through 2029, and Bibee was signed to an extension through at least 2029.  Seems very unlikely that the Guardians would deal either of them, barring a truly knockout offer from the Orioles that the O’s probably aren’t willing to make.

Bullpen help

• Despite the Yanks “running it back”, one area they’ve seen a noticeable dip in value is the bullpen. Should Yankees fans be worried about this, given their propensity for finding/creating value in often overlooked arms (Luke Weaver, Nelson Cruz, etc)?

Mark P

• If the Yankees can turn Nelson Cruz into a good reliever, that’ll be quite the story.

  Having Bednar/Doval for a full season will help the pen.  Plus, if the rotation is relatively healthy, the Yankees will have excess younger arms they could deploy as relievers

Chris Getz

• We are clearly going to draft Roch #1. He’s crushing it right now. Where would he be ranked in the top prospect lists right now? Top 25?

Mark P

• The #1 overall pick usually slots right into the 25-30 range (at least) of the in-season top 100 rankings, so that sounds about right.

Alex

• If Judge and Othani were in the same league in 2025 who would have you chosen for mvp?

Mark P

• If Cal Raleigh is also in this league, he gets my vote

Littel

• Wouldnt I be more sought after than Giolito? What’s the knock on me?

Mark P

• Littell allows a lot of homers and doesn’t record many strikeouts.  He’s got great control and he has been a workhorse since being converted to a starting pitcher, though some teams may still have some worries about his overall durability.

  It may be a case of teams viewing Littell as having a higher floor than Giolito but with a lower ceiling.

Larry

• Breslow wanting Teel back would be sellers’ remorse, not buyers’ remorse …. right?

Mark P

• Oops, you’re correct

Record breaker

• What do you see as the best destination for Tarik Skubal next fall/winter?

Mark P

• I’m not “just” saying Toronto because I’m a Jays fan, but the Jays have a lot of money coming off the books and multiple starters (Gausman, Bieber, Scherzer) all heading into free agency.

Astros27

• Hear me out: Astros sign Littlel to one year deal for a little more certainty in the rotation

Mark P

• Houston has enough pitching that they might be able to run a six-man rotation.  Now, that’s a very big if since it relies on everyone staying healthy, and that’s hardly a guarantee with the Astros in particular.

  Littell in a hitter-friendly ballpark seems like a risk, though he held his own at Steinbrenner Field and at the Great American Ballpark in 2025

Curly W

• Do you see any method to the Nationals madness this off season?

Mark P

• They’re more or less restarting the rebuild, so it’s not a shock that they’ve done little to nothing in adding experienced talent.
• Since it’s now March and available free agents might now be getting desperate, I can see the Nats adding a couple of veterans on low-cost guarantees
• Time to wrap things up for another week(end).  Thanks for all the questions!
• If you’re interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you’re about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with hundreds of other questions in today’s chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link:

  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-3-1-26

Yamama

• Feelings on Yamamoto this year? Back to back deep playoff runs, in the WBC this year, regression on the horizon?

Steve Adams

• One of the ten best pitchers in baseball. I’m not worried about him

Jj

• Is there any way that scherzer signs with St. Louis?

Steve Adams

• He wants to pitch for a contender and is in talks about returning to the Jays. He’s not going to sign in St. Louis, and I don’t think the Cards would have all that much interest in giving those innings to a 41-year-old when they have a bunch of arms to look at (Mizzou connection notwithstanding)

Trader Phil

• Is there any shot of a Skubal trade midseason? He seems destined to leave in free agency, but are the Tigers really going to let him walk for nothing even if they
• ‘re contending?

Steve Adams

• The only way they trade Skubal is if they’re somehow like 10 games out at the deadline

JeffyM

• Would a Lauer for Romero swap work for the Jays and Cards?

Steve Adams

• Rebuilding Cardinals aren’t going to want to swap Romero for another one-year rental.

Pete

• If jays release berrios this season, can he potentially still opt in to 27/28 player options?

Steve Adams

• The player options are guaranteed money. If they release him, they owe him the entire three years and $66MM.
• (They won’t release him.)

Ryan Z

• Who’s the Nats’ opening day 1B? On house option are pretty thin – Andres Chaparro, or slide Luis Garcia over from 2b. Seems like the should have made a buy-low trade or addition.

Steve Adams

• I tend to agree. I don’t see why they wouldn’t have just signed Hoskins for a year and $2MM or so. I figure it’ll be Garcia sliding over to 1B, but I just wouldn’t have tendered a contract to him. I don’t really get the approach there. I suppose he’ll share time with Chaparro, but this seems like it was an easy area to add a veteran bat to help make the lineup more respectable and maybe flip for a middling prospect at the deadline.

Brody McBroseph

• What’s with the new fonts on MLBTR? Why are the “writer” names in all caps now? DON’T SHOUT AT ME!

Steve Adams

• Ha, yeah. Our developers are implementing a more uniform design with our other sites, but there are still some tweaks that need to be made. The fonts look a little wonky now, but sounds like they’ll be in line with the desktop designs at Hoops Rumors, Pro Hockey Rumors and Pro Football Rumors soon.Caught me off guard this morning, too, before Tim Dierkes sent an email update.

Drew

• O/U 39 HRs for Suarez in Cincy?

Steve Adams

• I’ll take the under but not by a ton. He’s only cleared 39 twice though, and he’s turning 35 in July. I’d probably feel more comfortable picking somewhere in the low 30s.
• I will hereby make 32 my official prediction. Very scientific process.

David Silver

• Who’s the giants closer this year? Ryan Walker the frontrunner?

Steve Adams

• Walker is the frontrunner by default. San Francisco’s bullpen looks … well, bad. I can’t believe they did so little to address it.

Matt Mervis

• Don’t forget me at first base for the Nats!

Steve Adams

• I don’t think Mervis is ever going to make enough contact to be a steady presence on a big league roster.

AA

• Is Sale’s contract going to age well?

Steve Adams

• It’s a one-year deal. Even if it doesn’t age well, it’s not a huge deal. I liked that arrangement for all sides.

Bob

• Does the Chris Sale extension increase his trade value if the Braves find themselves out of contention again this year?

Steve Adams

• Anthopoulos made clear last year he wasn’t interested in selling when they were out of it in July. Sale said he wants to play the rest of his career in ATL. Anthopoulos said he wants him to finish it there.Not everything is going to boil down to a trade. Unless Sale asks for one, I would be surprised if he suits up anywhere else.

Brook

• Will the Yanks bring in a RH OF or live with Dominquez?

Steve Adams

• I think they’ll either sign one or use Caballero in the OF some. Dominguez should be playing every day, which means sending him to AAA — not sitting him on the bench 4-5 times per week and getting him a stray start and pinch-hit appearance here or there.

Ayden

• Do you think that the rays will end up trading Yandy Diaz?

Steve Adams

• Nope

steve84084

• Giolito and Littel. Possible interest by the Twins?

Steve Adams

• I would be surprised if, after Tom Pohlad talked about how he wants to be aggressive and show the fans they’re still trying to win (lol?), they don’t have at least some interest.Right now, I’d pick the Twins to sign one of them.

  Though realistically, they could also just give Tyler Anderson or Patrick Corbin like $2MM, too, which would feel very on-brand for the Pohlads.

Jay

• What’s the chances of Charlie Condon breaking camp with the Rockies

Steve Adams

• Almost none. He has 237 PAs above A-ball. He hit well but fanned at a 29% clip in Double-A. He doesn’t need to be added to the 40-man roster (to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft) until after the 2027 season.
• I could see a summer promotion if he’s decimating AAA and the Edouard Juliens and TJ Rumfields of the world aren’t doing much at 1B in Denver, but not Opening Day

Walter

• Which injured riddled Guardians prospects will finally provide major league impact?  Delauter? Valera? or Espino?

Steve Adams

• DeLauter > Valera >>>>>> Espino, for me
• That’s in terms of likelihood. On a pure talent basis, Espino by all accounts sounds like a monster, but he’s pitched like 17 innings since Opening Day 2022.

Frustrated Angels fan

• Could the Angels sign one of the remaining FA starters? Not named Tyler Anderson

Steve Adams

• They’ve made it pretty clear they’re not interested in spending any real money this winter.
• I guess they could sign Patrick Corbin for like … $3MM?

Mutual option

• When was the last time someone picked me up? Why does no one take me seriously? Why do people keep putting me in contracts just to turn me down?

Steve Adams

• Aramis Ramirez and the Brewers in 2014
• Mutual options are just accounting measures.
• It’s basically a fancy way to defer money. The Padres do this a lot, for instance. Cheap salary in year one, big buyout on a mutual option for the following season, which pushes the remainder of that salary to the following year’s books.

Weird trade

• Soler and a back end prospect for Yoshida with the Red Sox eating half of next year’s salary?

Steve Adams

• I don’t see why the Angels would want to give up a prospect to take on more money for another overpaid DH (even with the Red Sox eating part of the Yoshida deal)They’re free of Soler next winter (or this season, if they cut him loose). Even if you think Yoshida is marginally better, he’s a platoon DH who’s poor in the field. I don’t see any reason to lock that in a year early.

Hello Steve

• as it stands where would you rank the reds pitching staff as of right now, or just the rotation if you prefer?

Steve Adams

• I like the rotation much better than the bullpen. Rotation is probably top-five in the majors, for me.

Matt

• If healthy, how will the Royals bullpen rank this year?

Steve Adams

• Middle of the pack? Estevez is fine but less exciting than he was a few years. ago. Strahm is good. Big Erceg fan. Rest of the group is serviceable.I don’t think there’s enough swing-and-miss in the group as a whole, and the final few spots don’t inspire tons of confidence (Lange, Falter, etc)

Guest

• what are the chances that Konnor Griffin is named the starting shortstop after spring training ends. He has hit 2 monster homers so far in today’s game against the Red Sox

Steve Adams

• It’ll be a good litmus test to see how serious they are about competing. Obviously it depends on how he performs this spring. In past seasons I’d have said zero chance. Now, if he has a monster spring and the Pirates want to show they’re serious about trying to turn the corner, you’ve got to consider it.There’s no scientific way to put “odds” or “chances” on this sort of thing. I find it plausible but less than likely. 20-30%?

NRI players

• Do they have to make the opening day roster or be released?

Steve Adams

• No. A lot of them will just head to Triple-A. Depends somewhat on their service time; it’s different for guys with 6+ years of service who finished the preceding season on a big league roster/injured list (aka Article XX(b) free agents). Those guys have uniform opt-out dates built into their minor league contracts

Wayne

• It’s looking more and more like Houston is not trading Paredes before the season starts. What are your feelings on that whole situation? I think he’s insurance for when Correa gets injured.

Steve Adams

• I think they can make it all work in general, but I understand the idea that they’d prefer to be allocating that $9MMish to a similarly productive lefty-hitting outfielder, so I expect that they’ll keep exploring the market for options.
• As you alluded to, one injury and the “logjam” doesn’t look so … log…jamm-y……….

Ms fan

• What do you think of the Ms not being willing to include Cole Young in a deal for Ketel Marte?

Steve Adams

• I think fans tend to read too literally into such things. I doubt the D-backs ever said “We’ll do Young for Marte straight up.” I’m sure the Mariners would have done that.The idea that the Mariners considered adding Cole Young (on top of the sort of young pitching the D-backs were known to be seeking) to be a dealbreaker? That I can buy, sure.

Squinky

• I dont get the loperfido sanchez trade? More power? Loperfido the better all round player

Steve Adams

• Based on his 100 PAs in the majors last year? Sanchez is a fine defensive corner outfielder with plus bat speed and power against righties. Loperfido was a league-average hitter in AAA last year.I don’t think it’s outlandish to say Loperfido could outperform Sanchez, but I don’t agree that Loperfido is clearly better. The Jays (obviously) don’t, either.

Christopher

• With some injuries popping up… Do you see any significant trades revisited?

Steve Adams

• Isaac Paredes still feels like he could go

Billy

• When is the “out of options” post scheduled?

Steve Adams

• Hmm, good shout. We’ll get that together soon.

Friars

• Could Tyler Anderson be an option for the Nats? What about Wilmer Flores at first base?

Steve Adams

• Either works, sure. Anderson especially. They just need more innings there.

Dipoto

• Do i extend another one of the core players on the team this spring? If so who will it be?  Sure worked out Great last spring!

Steve Adams

• Wouldn’t be surprised if they try to extend Brendan Donovan. Bryan Woo is an obvious one, too.

Spud

• It feels like a Jake Bauers for Mark Vientos trade make sense for both the Brewers and Mets. What say you?

Steve Adams

• I’m definitely not trading four years of Vientos for one of Bauers.

Jason

• assuming health, what kind of season can we expect from luke keaschal? last year was a pretty SSS, can he sustain those numbers over a full season?

Steve Adams

• All he’s done dating back to college is hit. He doesn’t make tons of hard contact or have tons of raw power, but I’ll still take the over on the roughly .260/.350/.400 slash that both ZiPS and Steamer are projecting for him.

Jrue

• Who is the most exciting pitching prospect to make their MLB debut this year?

Steve Adams

• Assuming I can’t choose anyone who tossed even one pitch in the majors last year … Thomas White? Noah Schultz? Gage Jump?
• Andrew Painter

Djboy2898

• As much as I would like for the Giants to sign Giolito and go to a 6 man rotation I still think that one of our younger guys step up and give them quality innings and that someone will get moved to the pen to help it out as well. Although it just maybe wishful thinking lol

Steve Adams

• I’d much rather undo the Houser signing (or the Mahle signing) and sign Giolito for whatever he’s going to get now than give out either of those deals that they did.

West Coast Mets Fan

• Hey, why no love for McClean as a guy who threw a pitch last year?

Steve Adams

• McLean is awesome
• Question was about someone who’s going to make their MLB Debut this year

Cool Mama Bell

• The Cards rotation looks like a mess. Isn’t there one FA starter they can sign to help stop the inevitable losing streak(s)?

Steve Adams

• Yeah they’re another team I’d like to see add some stability. Not sure they will, though. I really dislike spending $12MM on Dustin May for them. Zero faith in him staying healthy

White Sox Fan

• Chances of a playoff Wild Card this season?

Steve Adams

• Still putting them fourth or fifth (probably fifth) in the ALC

Dismayed in Anaheim

• What do you make of the comments that winning isn’t a priority to fans?

Steve Adams

• Arte Moreno’s quest to make the Angels the biggest circus in MLB is super entertaining from an outsider’s perspective (in a “can you believe this guy?!” kind of way), but I’d be egging Angel Stadium if I were a Halos fan.

Drew

• Colton Emerson going to make is MLB Debut in 2026?

Steve Adams

• Yeah I think Emerson will be up in Seattle this summer for sure, if not sooner.

Jason

• Any chance the Mets extend Freddy Peralta, or is he destined for free agent, what’s his next contract look like?

Steve Adams

• I’ll be shocked if they don’t try.I said as soon as they acquired him that I think Stearns will try to get him to sign a short-term, super-high AAV extension. (4/140?)
• Starting in 2027

Chris M

• If Seattle extends Donovan what kind of contract do you see him getting?

Steve Adams

• Somewhere around Tommy Edman money? (5/70) Maybe a bit more.

John

• Dynasty question:  If you already have EDLC and Jesus Made, would you still draft Connor Griffin over Nolan Mclean?

Steve Adams

• I’d take Konnor Griffin over everyone, regardless of the rest of your roster. Can always trade. Plus, I love Nolan McLean a lot, but pitchers break.

Dave Mc

• The Orioles spent money and got a few guys but does their winter seem incomplete to you? Like they needed one more bullpen arm or needed to aim a little higher in rotation signings?

Steve Adams

• Yeah, I am generally underwhelmed by them.I don’t mind trading for Baz, but I would’ve liked that to be the lower-tier addition to the rotation. Taylor Ward just feels like taking a mulligan for what Tyler O’Neill wasn’t.

  I’m not sure there’s an actual aversion to long-term deals for pitching with Mike Elias (GM/president of bb ops), but he’s certainly painting that narrative with his actions

• Or rather his inactions

Adam Stevens

• is there an MLBTR fantasy league? If so whos the reigning champ?

Steve Adams

• We haven’t done one forever. I think I won the last one. Either that or the second-to-last one. Flags fly forever — even if you don’t remember what order they came in.
• I also inexplicably won the Pro Football Rumors/MLBTR football league like eight years ago, which is hilarious given how casual I am (well, was) with football at the time. That was a stone cold fluke and could never happen if we did another one

Jsh1993

• Who’s the closer in ATL? Iglesias or Suarez?

Steve Adams

• They said as soon as they signed Suarez that Iglesias is closing and Suarez is setting up

#1 Giants Fan

• Who could the Giants snag that’s an impact bullpen piece through trade? Jojo Romero is a name that comes to mind, but there’s a bigger need in the closer role. Any thoughts?

Steve Adams

• Not much left out there in terms of impact. Michael Kopech is the best remaining upside play.

Walter

• Steven Kwan plays entire season in CF? If the kids come through would Guards trade him at the deadline?

Steve Adams

• Hard to see trading Kwan if they’re contending for the AL Central, but I also don’t think they’re going to contend for the division with the complete dud of an offseason they’ve had, so yeah, I can definitely see Kwan being traded.I don’t see why he can’t handle CF, given how elite he is in LF. I just wish the move to CF would have been prompted by the addition of a legitimate bat for left field rather than the “by default” means we’re getting since ownership seems to have set the payroll budget at like $65MM.
• Sucks for CLE fans

Coop

• Hey Steve, thanks for the chat! Are there any smoldering embers that could turn into sparks over a Nico Hoerner trade or does it seem to be dead now? I figured it was dead but then I read Fansided saying the Yankees had promising talks with the Cubs recently. Please tell me Cubs are keeping him for the season.

Steve Adams

• Never felt Hoerner was likely to go, given how much he means to the 2026 roster when they’re clearly pushing to win now.
• I’d be shocked to see him traded this year.

TxDude

• Thoughts on the Rangers offense? I feel like it has to be improved almost by default

Steve Adams

• I don’t think it’s great, but I agree that it’ll be better than last year. Feels like a middle-of-the-pack group to me. Not much faith in Jansen, Smith or Burger providing a ton, and I’ve begun to sour on Josh Jung.But Nimmo-Langford-Seager is a really talented trio, and there’s just no way Joc is as bad as he was last year

I know Jack

• Would I be way off base to predict Detroit being this yrs Rangers, All Pitch No Hit?

Steve Adams

• I think each of Colt Keith, Riley Greene, Gleyber Torres, Spencer Torkelson, Kerry Carpenter (against righties) and Dillon Dingler can be above-average hitters, and they’ve got Kevin McGonigle and Max Anderson hustling toward the majors.So, while I would have liked them to add another bat, I also think you’re looking at comfortably better offense than the Rangers got last year

Buster

• DO you think the Giants have done enough for a return to postseason play this year?

Steve Adams

• I do not
• Bullpen is bad. Rotation is exceptionally top-heavy.

Prince

• Which Dbacks hitter is primed to break out this year, Jordan Lawlar, Alek Thomas or Pavin Smith?

Steve Adams

• Give me Lawlar among the three.I don’t think Smith really “needs” a breakout. He kind of is what he is. He can beat up right-handed pitching but needs a platoon partner. He’s a useful player, but it sure seems like Arizona fans have other views on him based on these chats, haha

Ludwig’s New Glove

• In all the moves the Braves DIDNT make, I am all the more perplexed at extending Sale. This maddening. Does this move make sense in the absence of no other starting pitching moves?

Steve Adams

• I don’t think the lack of additions is especially related to this extension. The Sale deal impacts the 2027 roster.The Braves, to me, feel like they were bullish on Schwellenbach, Waldrep and some other in-house guys, spent their money elsewhere, and now don’t have much financial breathing room to add in the wake of those surgeries.

Twins Fan

• Emmanuel Rodriguez should be on the Twins roster on Opening Day. Agree or disagree?

Steve Adams

• Eh, he’s only 22 and has minimal AAA experience, where he K’ed at a 32% clip. He’s always going to K a lot, which is fine, because he walks SO much and has so much power, but I’d want to see him at least curb the K’s a bit in AAA.I imagine you’re looking at Wallner in one OF corner. They should have non-tendered Trevor Larnach, though maybe they can trade him to a team seeking a LH OF (hi Astros!) and then give a look to Alan Roden in LF while Rodriguez keeps working in St. Paul.

  Regardless, his MLB debut will be this year as long as he’s healthy (which is no small caveat for Rodriguez)

Sam_Horn_Legendary_Slugger

• Grichuk signing anywhere? Royals make sense?

Steve Adams

• Think they view that as Lane Thomas’ role. I could see the Yankees or Cardinals. Twins have like 100 LH OFs and don’t really have someone filling the role Bader did last year. (I guess Austin Martin, kind of)

Josh E

• Do you think the padres are getting ready to trade Sheets?  Seems they have alot of guys that can do the first base/dh/corner outfield (in a pinch) job and Sheets might be the only one with any trade value.  If so, what are they trading for?  Pitching??

Steve Adams

• I don’t really think that, no. He’s easily their best LHH option at first base and really one of the only three LHH bats on whom they can rely for above-average production. You hope you get that from Song, but no way to know yet.
• Alright, I’ve got to wrap up for the week. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social for more questions.If you want more opinions and analysis from the MLBTR staff, you can sign up for our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription package, which removes ads, gives you access to a pair of subscriber-only chats each week, to Tim’s weekly mailbag, to multiple weekly articles from Anthony and me, plus our Contract Tracker, agency database, GM database and more.

  Have a great week, everyone!

Campbell Soup

• Do you think teams around the league have asked the Sox about Kristian Campbell?  Or is the long-term agreement something that would turn teams off / be unwilling to send something of value?

Mark P

• The Sox surely haven’t given up on Campbell less than a year after making such a big financial commitment.  I’m sure some teams have made some creative offers, though you’re right in that Campbell’s extension kind of blocks out any “buy low” offers.

Marky Mark

• Hey Mark, why not continue the trafition…what’s on the Playlist tonight??

Mark P

• “Victim of Luck” by Metric

nick krall

• i usually talk about the reds but what do you think about danny coulombe to the red sox? perfect fit in that bullpen and they are in need of LH relievers.

Mark P

• It’d be a good fit, sure.  Frankly, I’m not sure why Coulombe hasn’t been signed yet, unless teams were scared off his age and his poor numbers after the deadline.

Ao

• Jesus made debut this year?

Mark P

• He doesn’t turn 19 until May, though he has already gotten a handful of Double-A games under his belt.  If he just crushes it in Double-A and Triple-A, I could see Milwaukee maybe giving him a cup of coffee in September, but a 2027 debut is probably likelier.  The PPI will factor into the Brewers’ decision, assuming that the PPI will continue to exist in some form in the next CBA

Joe

• Surprised that the best that Hoskins could get was a minor league deal from Cleveland, why the lack of interest from teams that still need help at first base?

Mark P

• Teams like the Nationals, Rockies, etc. aren’t trying to win in 2026.  Could be that Hoskins preferred a minors deal with a contender rather than a guaranteed deal with a worse team, plus there’s a strong chance Hoskins makes the Guardians’ opening roster

Astros71

• Christian Walker bounce-back!!!

Mark P

• That would be a huge help to Houston’s chances.  I love that signing for the Astros last winter, so I was as surprised as anyone that Walker struggled so mightily.  It’s possible he needed a year to adjust, but it would be rough for the team if Walker suddenly hit a wall in his mid-30’s

Slick Ric

• Top to bottom, can you think of a pitching staff that is worse than Washington’s?

Mark P

• The 2025 Rockies had the worst rotation ERA in baseball history, so there’s that.  But Washington’s current rotation is indeed looking rough

Guest

• Will the dodgers hold up health wise? Where do u see a potential problem area

Mark P

• If they lost one of their real tentpole players (Ohtani, Betts, Smith, Freeman, Tucker), that’s a big problem.  I’d say that a bunch of pitching injuries would also be a problem, but the Dodgers have such absurd pitching depth that they’ve been crushed by injuries to their arms in the last two years and still have two rings to show for it

PJ

• What is your take on what the Astros do with Paredes? 2B? Trade? They cant possibly bench him right?

Mark P

• The situation will resolve itself as soon as one of the Astros’ infielders gets hurt, which will inevitably happen.  I can also see Houston using Altuve in LF a little more than they’re letting on.

NL East

• Mets or Phils. Which is the better team?

Mark P

• Who has the better record in 2026?

  ---

  Mets (40.2% | 378 votes)

  Phillies (59.7% | 560 votes)

  ---

  Total Votes: 938

Brewers

• good job on the brewers write up. you mention saves increase arbitration costs, does the fireman role make Megill more, less, or no difference in how likely they trade him in 26?

Mark P

• Having saves on his resume means that Megill will still get a decent raise next winter if he’s this year’s closer or not.  The Brewers might also be playing the long game in trying to limit Uribe’s save totals, in order to prevent him from having too large a first-time price tag once he becomes arb-eligible.

  All of this is next to the more obvious point that the Brewers are trying to win ballgames.  However Megill or Uribe are utilized this season, Megill probably isn’t being dealt until next winter, since the Crew usually move guys when they’re a year away from free agency (not two, as Megill is now)

Mike Elias

• Do I trade Colby Mayo or keep him, since the Orioles have injuries?

Mark P

• The Westburg/Holliday injuries probably close the door on a Mayo trade for now, given how Baltimore is suddenly short-handed in the infield

Baseball Savant

• Jeff Passan thinks the history of the last time baseball was locked out will convince owners and players to compromise so that next season won’t be lost. Do you think a salary minimum is a legitimate bargaining point from the MLBPA perspective when combined with a mild version of a salary cap? The teams that spend the least make quite a bit of money because they get the taxpayers’ money. I don’t like the idea of a salary cap because it will limit teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, etc. from making the game exciting by creating great teams on paper. There is enough history to know that WS aren’t won on paper.

Mark P

• The MLBPA will resist a salary cap in any form.  What’s interesting about a cap is that it has to have a salary floor as well, which (if I recall the NFL/NBA/NHL versions) is something like 90% of the cap high.

  If you’re referring to the same Passan column I’m thinking of, Jeff made the point that a salary floor will lead to a lot of consternation amongst owners.  Hypothetically, if a cap is something like $200MM, then an $180MM minimum spend isn’t something the Pirates, Guardians, A’s, Marlins, etc. are going to want to do.

  So it creates a bit of a catch-22 situation for all parties.  Plus there’s also the fact that teams would have to give the MLBPA full access to their books in order to accurately gauge a cap or floor based on league revenues, and teams don’t want to do that

Guest

• Baseball is still the greatest game!

Mark P

• Agreed!

Bay Area fan

• Don’t know too much about it, but I heard rumblings of the A’s having trademark troubles going to Vegas. Should they just abandon their name and start fresh going into their new city like the Expos did?

Mark P

• I admittedly haven’t been paying much attention to this story about the name trademark.  But for tradition’s sake, I’d like to see the A’s keep the name.  The “Athletics” brand is the only thing linking the franchise’s long history from Philly to KC to Oakland to Sacramento to Vegas.

J2A

• Out of Pages, Hererra, Crooks, and pozo who is the primary catcher and who DH’s?

Mark P

• Herrera will catch as much as he can based on health and defensive capability, since he has a lot more value behind the plate than as a pure DH (even if he swings the bat well in any role).

  Pages will probably be the primary backstop until the Cardinals have a better gauge on Herrera’s situation, and the team will go from there.  For some of the talk about the Cardinals trading from this on-paper surplus, that depth suddenly dries up quickly if Herrera can’t really catch

Loveable losers

• How worrisome is it that the Cubs need to re-up with at Nico, Seiya, Happ, Steele, Boyd, and Taillon

Mark P

• This is by design, since it feels like the Cubs are preparing for some changes to baseball’s business structure in a new CBA.  How widespread these changes are remains to be seen, and of course there’s still a still a month of the 2026-27 offseason that will happen before the current CBA actually expires.

  Steele, btw, is a free agent after 2027.  The rest of the group are free agents after 2026.

Lou Whitaker’s HOF resume

• What, exactly, is missing?

Mark P

• Your guess is as good as mine, since if I had my way, Whitaker would’ve been in Cooperstown years ago.

Jake Jortles

• Assuming their average seasons (and that a QO is still a thing), does Toronto QO Bieber and Varsho?

Mark P

• Yeah.  Maybe some slight hesitation over Varsho since his “average season” is below average in terms of wRC+.  But overall, it’s a pretty safe call to think the Jays give a QO to a power-hitting center fielder with a superb glove

Zach

• Where do you think Skubal will sign if not extended and is a free agent?

Mark P

• The Dodgers are the obvious answer.  Having a rotation of Skubal/Yamamoto/Ohtani/Glasnow/Snell with Sasaki and all of the many younger guys as depth options sounds absurd, but this is the Dodgers we’re talking about.

  Beyond LA, it’ll be the usual suspects of the Mets, Blue Jays, Phillies, and other big spenders who can afford the gigantic number Boras and Skubal will be asking for

Jill

• Will Cleveland make any more moves?

Mark P

• MORE moves?  Hey come on now, you want more than Hoskins AND Austin Hedges?!

Jack Lazorko

• Do you think the loss of their local TV contract has caused the Angels to cut payroll?   I’m not optimistic about this season at all.   The roster looks thin and poorly constructed.

Mark P

• It’s a factor, but it feels like Moreno in his own way is trying to have a quiet rebuild without really calling it as much.  Or, you know, going about a rebuild in the normal way of tearing down a roster and focusing solely on young talent.

Brewerfan

• Did I miss it or did you guys not report Pat Murphy’s extension?

Mark P

• You missed it
  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/brewers-pat-murphy-agree-to-ext…

Chris M

• Why do you suppose it was so hard for the Royals to find a trade partner for their pitching depth? Like selling high on Noah Cameran

Mark P

• KC might’ve been asking for too much in return, or other teams were offering too little.  Even for teams with an apparent pitching surplus like the Royals, it’s tricky to line up on trades since teams are so loath to give up pitching

Brian

• Do you think any of the Mets’ moves were rage spending after missing out on other players?

Mark P

• Stearns is a measured guy. He isn’t operating out of spite.

Guest

• After considering the injury history, does Luis Robert have anything to offer the Mets?

Mark P

• Assuming he stays healthy, Robert is (at minimum) a good defensive center fielder who hits left-handed pitching well.  That’s a useful player to have on the roster, even if it remains to be seen if he can recapture any of his past stardom

MoonBeamMcSwine

• Can you provide a comment regarding “the Big Rig”, Gavin Williams.. could he challenge for league ace status & Cy votes during the 2026 season?

Mark P

• Some back-end Cy votes certainly seem possible.  Williams had a nice breakout last year and might be the latest frontline arm from the Cleveland pitching factory.

CY

• Shouldn’t I have sold them off instead adding Gore to the aging and injury prone DeGrom and Eovaldi?

Mark P

• DeGrom and Eovaldi both have no-trade clauses, so they’d have to approve any deal anyway.  And, their ages and salaries and injuries are also obstacles to finding an acceptable return in a trade, though either would’ve certainly drawn interest if the Rangers had really shopped them
• The bottom line here is that the Rangers are still trying to compete in 2026, albeit within payroll restrictions.  Trying to thread the needle by moving DeGrom or Eovaldi for salary relief and some win-now return and then still (either in the same transaction or in others) filling those new holes at the top of the rotation is mighty difficult.

Kurtz on 1st

• Who’s closing games for my A’s?

Mark P

• It’ll apparently be a committee, though plans can change if one guy really stands out in a closing role.  Hogan Harris is probably (big if) the top closer choice at the moment, if the A’s do give one member of the committee a larger share of the save chances.

Pablo Lopez

• Now that my season is over, what do the Twins do about the rotation? I’m not sure that Giolito or Littell move the needle much…

Mark P

• Littell is probably the better fit since he’ll be less expensive. Since I was pessimistic about Minnesota’s chances even with Lopez healthy, losing him for the season seems like it should already get the front office thinking about another deadline selloff

AJ Preller

• Are the Padres done dealing ?

Mark P

• Based purely on vibes, I feel like Prelller has one more notable addition still to come before Opening Day.

Dark 🐎

• Which team has been the most surprising to go on a run that wasn’t on anyone’s radar throughout the season? Maybe 2006 Cards?

Mark P

• Exactly nobody thought the 2023 World Series was going to wind up as Rangers vs. Diamondbacks, and yet…

Dark 🐎

• Best under the radar off-season signing?

Mark P

• Since I hyped him for months as a great darkhorse signing, Luis Rengifo going to the Brewers gives me a lot of hope that he’s in for a very good year.  Milwaukee excels are under-the-radar adds, so the fact that they’re in on Rengifo says something.

Ian

• Who wins the AL West this year?

Mark P

• Seattle is the clear favorite. Astros/Rangers/A’s should all be competitive, with the A’s a tier below the Texas clubs since I don’t trust the Athletics’ rotation.

  As for the Angels, well….uh, it’s an affordable experience at your ballpark?

• Anecdote about the Anaheim ballpark experience!

  My parents were vacationing in California years ago (maybe around 2011?), and on a night when their tour group was doing something they weren’t interested in, my folks decided to randomly just take in an Angels game.  They remembered nothing about the game itself, but said the ballpark was nice, and there was a pregame promotion where two Angels players squared off in a cow-milking contest.

Rick Rude

• Was the Twins FO delusional to think they could be competitive this season (at least before Lopez injury)? Do you think Buxton may eventually agree to a trade?

Mark P

• Buxton’s irritated comments the other day were perhaps some indication that he is rethinking his decision to stick it out in Minnesota.  That said, I’d still put a Buxton trade at at least 95% unlikely.

Ebenezer_Batflip

• 2013 red sox had no business being that good

Surprise

• The 2019 World Champion Washington Nationals.

Mark P

• If we’re looking even more recently, the Blue Jays were terrible in 2024 before winning the pennant last year.

Don Zimmer

• Have the Cubs done enough? Asking for a friend.

Mark P

• Chicago should reach the postseason at the very least.  Given how the Brewers took a step back on paper, winning the NL Central is certainly within the Cubs’ reach.

Tom

• I thought JoJo Romero would have been traded by now?

Mark P

• Same here. Could easily still happen before Spring Training is over.

Yu

• Is there any chance Murakami traded this year or next year?

Mark P

• Unlikely.  It probably wouldn’t be great for the White Sox reputation-wise if they branched out for this notable international signing, Murakami plays well, and the Sox immediately dealt him as part of the rebuild.

Brian

• Will the Phillies decline this year after losing Ranger and the star players getting another year older?

Mark P

• As per that survey from earlier, roughly 60% of Weekend Chat participants feel Philadelphia will still be better than the Mets, fwiw

  What’s interesting about Philly is that technically, they keep getting better. They’ve increased their win total in each of the last full (not counting 2020) MLB seasons.  The success just hasn’t paid off with a championship yet, and the playoff results have stalled out since their pennant in 2022.

  Phils fans could care less about regular-season wins, of course, since it’s title or bust.  There is some fear of the Phillies regressing due to the roster’s overall age, but the idea is that Crawford can give the lineup a jolt in the arm.  It also seems like not having Castellanos will help the team both on and off the field, so Adolis’ contributions will be welcomed.

Dan

• Brewers didnt take a step back. This is right where all the beat writers had them last year toom.

Mark P

• Ah, that’s why I said “on paper”
  Milwaukee just keeps figuring out ways to win, no matter how many stars they trade

Nick2112

• What do you think of the job bloom is doing in the Lou ?

Mark P

• Too early to tell, naturally.  Felt like Bloom has been going for quantity of prospects over quality, with the Cards also eating a good deal of money to ensure that they have gotten some quality in return.

  It’ll be years before we can gauge Bloom’s work properly, since so much of it depends on how the team drafts and develops, as well as future bigger-ticket moves like trades or signings.

Zakis

• You spoke of Buxton having irritated comments earlier.  What exactly are you talking about?

Mark P

• https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-twins-byron-buxton-spring-traini…

ROYALS

• If think people are really underestimating just how much of an upgrade the Royals OF will be this year.  They were SOOOOOOOOOO bad last year.  You could put a swarm of bees out there and it’d be an upgrade.

Mark P

• This a fair point.  Collins/Thomas don’t need to be world-beaters to top the dismal numbers posted by the 2025 Royals outfield (apart from Yaz).

  The issue is that Thomas is also coming off a dreadful 2025, and Collins had a promising rookie season but is far from a sure thing.  My preferred Royals offseason would’ve been Collins, and then a proven OF bat rather than Thomas.

• There’s also the Jac factor (or the Jac-tor, if you will), of hoping Caglianone will be markedly better.  It would be hard for him to be worse than his rookie year, yet counting on him to improve is a risk for a Royals team trying to win

Basket ball GEEK

• Marlins may surprise people if the kids hit and pitching staff stays reasonably healthy…may give the Braves a run at least…also, Phillies pitching is suspect until Wheeler returns and pitches…. What do you think?

Mark P

• The Marlins are one of the more interesting teams to watch in 2026.  Trading two starters doesn’t seem like the usual tactic for a team that truly plans on making a playoff push, but it’s still ultimately a building year.  Getting to a .500 record doesn’t seem out of the question for Miami, though I think it’ll take (another) perfect storm of struggling rival teams for the Marlins to get close to the playoffs.
• The Phillies are a team I’d consider as contenders for Giolito or Littell.  This moves Walker to the pen and adds some depth until Wheeler is ready, or if Painter isn’t ready for the Show

German Marquez

• Am I a dark horse candidate for Improved Player of the Year in San Diego?

Mark P

• Stranger things have happened.  Ruben Niebla has worked some wonders in the past, but this would be his masterpiece.

Wally

• Red sox #5 starter is?

Mark P

• Likely Oviedo
• I’m not entirely ruling out a Bello trade, which opens the door for one of Early/Tolle

Blake

• Does Paredes to the Orioles make sense?

Mark P

• For the moment, but Paredes would be going from one crowded infield to another once Westburg and Holliday returned.
• We’ve passed the two-hour mark, so it’s time to call it a night.  Thanks for all your questions, and more chatting will commence next weekend!
• If you’re interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you’re about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with hundreds of other questions in today’s chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link:

  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/membership?ref=chat-2-22-26

Steve Adams

• I could see them signing Giolito or Littell, sure. Their payroll is in the gutter after all the trades.Smaller scale like Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray etc. probably also in play. Doubt it’d be someone like Scherzer, who’s clearly going to be prioritizing playing for a winner.

White Sox

• Could the CWS finish the season in 3rd place or better?

Steve Adams

• Sure. Need some things to break their way, but it’s a young team with lots of upside and the AL Central is a dumpster fire. Cleveland has done literally nothing to get better. Minnesota just lost its best or second-best SP after an offseason of minimal upgrades (and still has no bullpen). Kansas City is … fine? Outfield and 2B still look terrible, though. Lineup is extremely top-heavy, so one notable injury to Bobby Witt and they don’t even look like a surefire .500 club.

Still an A

• Aaron Civale got $6M, Sugano got $5.1, and Quintana got $6M. All got around the same amount. Which pitcher will do the best?

Steve Adams

• I don’t like the landing spot for any of them, but Quintana is the best/most talented pitcher of the bunch for me
• A’s getting Civale for $6MM seems fine though. I assume you’re wondering if they’d have been better off giving that money to Sugano or Quintana.I’d take Civale over Sugano pretty easily, and while I’d prefer Q to Civale, we don’t know that Quintana would’ve been open to signing to play in a minor league stadium which has been a real turnoff for some free agents

Six feet of bubble tape

• Who replaces Tony Clark? Sean Casey? Gordon Bombay?

Steve Adams

• My assumption is that deputy director/lead negotiator Bruce Meyer just steps up. Based on Brent Suter’s comments, it doesn’t sound like they’re going to conduct a big search outside the PA and want to preserve some continuity. Meyer achieves that.

FA

• When do you think Giolito and Littell might sign ?  Any ideas with what teams ? thanks

Steve Adams

• I’d be surprised if either is still unsigned in two weeks. Just connecting the dots, I would imagine Giolito is on the Twins’ radar now. (They probably both are, but Giolito has the higher pedigree, throws harder, etc.)

Bloom

• So Do I make good on finding a decent Right handed hitting outfielder especially with Nootbaar’s health in question or do I roll with what is in Jupiter?

Steve Adams

• There’ll be enough guys bouncing around on waivers, to say nothing of yet-unsigned free agents like Grichuk/Pham, that I feel the Cardinals will bring someone in. Obviously isn’t going to be a huge, marquee acquisition.

Jacob D

• Would Ramon Urias be a good match for the Royals as a non roster invitee?

Steve Adams

• Sure, but he’d be a good fit just about anywhere as an NRI guy. Even on a team with established options at 3B/SS/2B, it’s fine to bring in a guy like Urias on a non-roster deal since you’re only ever one injury away from needing the depth.Fit in KC is maybe a bit better than in other spots, since the bench just looks really, really bad.

Met Ric system

• How do the Tigers fill the void left by the injury to Reece Olson ? Last season of Skubal so it’s now or never.

Steve Adams

• I feel like they sort of already did with the Verlander signing.Their top five is now Skubal, Valdez, Flaherty, Mize and Verlander, with Drew Anderson, Troy Melton, Keider Montero and Sawyer Gipson-Long as decent depth options. Never hurts to throw an NRI at a Wade Miley or Anthony DeSclafani, but the depth in Detroit looks decent as is.

Guest

• Any fits for German Marquez?

Steve Adams

• He’s already a Padre!
  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/padres-german-marquez-agree-to-…

Patty O’Furniture

• What is the biggest trade you could realistically see happening between now and Opening Day?

Steve Adams

• Washington moving CJ Abrams for a bucket of prospects?
• I think the Twins will move a left-handed-hitting outfielder (Trevor Larnach?)Still think there’s a 50% or so chance the Cardinals deal JoJo Romero
• Isaac Paredes another candidate for “biggest feasible trade”

Tyler Anderson

• How about a one year deal for me for $2 million to the Twins or A’s?

Steve Adams

• Sure, but for $2MM you could drop Anderson on basically any roster and I’d say “Sure why not?” Haha

Bucs trade

• Bucs send Keller to Baltimore for 3B Westburg and minor leaguer Aloy then sign Littell to take Keller’s spot.  Thoughts?

Steve Adams

• I think if they could’ve gotten Jordan Westburg for Mitch Keller, they’d have done it on day one of the offseason haha. O’s aren’t doing that.

AA

• Am really going into the season with this rotation

Steve Adams

• I still think the Braves will add someone. As Anthony said his chat yesterday, I don’t fully buy the “We’re only looking at guys who’d fit at/near the top of the rotation” stance
• What I would buy is if the Braves were just right up to their budget limit and thus are going to try to piece it together with in-house options.

Snakes

• Lawler a breakout player for the snakes?

Steve Adams

• Breakout hitter, sure. I don’t have much faith he’ll be a good defender anywhere, but if you told me he ends the season as the primary LF who’s like 15 to 20% better than average in the batter’s box, I’d buy it.

Patrick

• What are the rules around trading a player that accepted a QO?

Steve Adams

• Can’t trade a player who accepted a QO without his consent until June 15
• Same as any other free agent signing. The CBA treats a QO like a free agent signing (as it should, since those players have a couple weeks to gauge the open market before determining whether to take that fat one-year deal)

barry bonds

• I think we can all agree that the cardinals have had a horrible offseason

Steve Adams

• I think they had a horrible offseason last winter. This time around, I think they’ve done well, given the organization’s goals.

Twins Guy

• Do you think Twins trade Joe Ryan before the season now that Lopez is out?

Steve Adams

• Nah. Pretty hard for Tom Pohlad to be out here doing semi-regular media appearances saying “We like our team! We’re going to compete!” (I disagree, but hey) … and then immediately say “Ah hell we lost one player, burn it all down”

Rhys H

• Who’s going to sign me?

Steve Adams

• Rhys Hoskins doesn’t even know the answer to this! The GM/president who’s going to eventually sign him probably doesn’t, either, haha.A few landing spots that make sense:

  Nationals, Marlins, Rockies, Guardians

Dodgers are Ruining Basketball

• Is the salary cap inevitable?

Steve Adams

• I’ve long been of the mindset that the opposite is inevitable
• Teams/owners talk a big game, but in the end, they can’t lose a whole season when business is booming like this, when there are so many streaming rights/national broadcast rights up for negotiation in the near future, and when Manfred’s lasting legacy would be “the commissioner who oversaw the first loss of games in nearly four decades after calling the World Series trophy a ‘piece of metal,'” haha
• If the MLBPA were going to go out and bring in someone new to run the ship in the wake of Clark’s resignation, I’d say maybe that changes my stance.But Brent Suter (executive subcomittee member) has already said they’ll name an interim head and prioritize continuity. If it’s Bruce Meyer taking over, he’s fully aligned with Clark in his “any talk of a cap is a complete nonstarter” mindset.

Ebenezer_Batflip

• Which Red Sox OF has the best season, Anthony, Abreu or Ceddanne? Bonus option for Duran

Steve Adams

• Roman Anthony is going to have a better season than most people, including those on all 29 other teams.
• I’m fully on board the hype train. He’s a monster.

Rox Optimist

• Out of the Rox FA signings this offseason, which one do you predict ends up having the most worth as a trade candidate?

Steve Adams

• Willi Castro and then Jose Quintana

Fire cashman and sell the team

• Dominguez Volpe and a pick for Skenes who say no

Steve Adams

• The Pirates say no to everything involving Skenes.

Nico Hoerner

• What would it take for me to sign an extension? I’ve seen 5/$90 floating out there but that feels like an obvious win for the Cubs

Steve Adams

• Anthony wrote about this at length last week:
  https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/ballparking-a-nico-hoerner-exte…

Joe

• Am I wrong that the Reds need a better corner outfielder? Steer is good but they could have done better than Bleday or Meyers, right?

Steve Adams

• Yeah I’d have preferred a better option than Bleday — and I say that as the guy on the staff here who seems to “like” Bleday more than the others (I don’t think he’s especially good, I just think there’s a chance he’s a reasonably serviceable 1.5 to 2 WAR guy)

G

• w does Skubal winning arbitration do to what Skenes could possibly get

Steve Adams

• Nothing until Skenes is also in his final year of arbitration eligibility

Ken from Steel City

• Do you see any teams taking a flyer on a Suwinski trade? Do you think the Pirates will find a suitor for Bart? If so, what would the return be?

Steve Adams

• I was surprised they even tendered him a contract. I guess I could see the Astros giving up cash to get him or something, since they really want a cheap LHH OF, but I can’t imagine he’s netting a player after hitting .169/.271/.297 over the past two MLB seasons. Even while he was putting up big rate stats in AAA last year, he was doing so with a 30% strikeout rate.
• Bart … shrug. I think most teams just few him as a backup with a hint of upside. Better than a total journeyman but probably not someone you’re starting for 70+ games without some notable injuries driving it.

Taylor57

• Friars appear to have a jog jam at 1b. Who is the odd man out? I don’t see France going back to El Paso.

Steve Adams

• Yeah I figure France just plays there during camp then opts out/asks for his release to sign with a better fit late in camp

Astros OF

• are there any NRI depth options the astros can sign? i was disappointed to see tauchman sign with the mets. astros need OF help desperately, right?

Steve Adams

• Conforto? Verdugo? Winker? All LHH OFs who haven’t signed yet

The bigger they are,

• I forget who but someone from MLBTR threw out some amusing “wild” takes for the upcoming season on a chat a few weeks back, and one of them was that neither Ohtani nor Judge will win MVP this year. Do you agree?

Steve Adams

• Tim was asked to come up with some “hot takes” in a recent mailbag, and he prefaced it by saying he doesn’t necessarily think any of those things are certain, he was just listing some unlikely opinions that he feels are plausible.If I had to bet on at least one of Judge or Ohtani winning, I would say that’s likely, of course. But not excessively so. Judge barely ousted Raleigh last year. Both he and Ohtani have notable injury histories. It’s not hard to see a scenario where neither wins an MVP.

Matt

• Even without Pablo, the Twins still have a lot of SP options and LHH OF (plus a clear need for a RHH IF bat). Does a SWR, Larnach, and Alex Jackson package get a deal done for Paredes?

Steve Adams

• I wouldn’t consider that enough of an upgrade to move Paredes
• Woods Richardson is a fourth/fifth starter. Larnach probably should’ve been non-tendered. Jackson is a third catcher.

Girsch

• How does MLB assuming local distribution rights affect teams’ financials?

Steve Adams

• They get less money than they would have under the RSN deals, but it varies from situation to situation.

Blue

• What’s the deal with Walker Buehler signed “minor” league? No team was interested in him?

Steve Adams

• Stuff is down considerably compared to where it was before his second Tommy John. He has a 5.10 ERA, 17% strikeout rate and 10% walk rate over his past 40 MLB appearances / 201 innings.I wouldn’t have given Buehler a 40-man roster spot, either. (Though I figured someone would give him like $5-6MM based on name value, admittedly)

Kris Bryant

• Do you think Kris Bryant will play baseball again or is his back issues just gonna be too much to recover from. I’ve got the same thing he was diagnosed with. Back pain at 34(when my tissues started) now 40 are no joke.

Steve Adams

• I tend to lean no, especially after some comments he made this morning. Which is a shame. Everyone will poke fun at the contract, and that’ll be the legacy for now, but man, what a great player early in his career. That he’s been reduced to this at a still-young age by a chronic condition that’s probably going to impact him for the rest of his life is just an abject bummer.

Ortiz

• Clase is toast, any chance I pitch again?

Steve Adams

• Doubt either ever throws a pitch in the majors (or minors) again

Tterb Ytab

• Thoughts on Brett Baty?

Steve Adams

• Nice solid regular — not a star but maybe winds up with an All-Star nod or two in his career since he’s talented enough to put together a real nice first half and get some fan support.

Sid

• Who gets more playing time this season, Mark Vientos or Matt Shaw?

Steve Adams

• There’s an easier path for Vientos to hit his way into a notable role on the Mets’ roster, even if everyone’s healthy, than there is for Shaw in Chicago. So I’d lean toward him, but obviously it just takes one injury for Bregman or Hoerner for Shaw to be in an everyday role.
• Or a Swanson injury, since Hoerner would slide to SS and Shaw would play 2B

M’s Fan

• If one of the top five starting pitchers for the M’s goes down in Spring Training, do they run out Hancock or roll the dice early with Anderson?

Steve Adams

• Kade Anderson didn’t even throw a professional pitch after being drafted last season! Love the optimism, haha, but it’d be Hancock, Dane Dunning or Cooper Criswell
• (Or an additional signing … Zack Littell, Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray, etc.)

Schanuel

• Do I develop any power throughout the next few years?

Steve Adams

• He’s never been projected to hit for power, and his batted-ball metrics thus far in the majors are … well, they’re not great.

Guest

• Who will be the Giant’s 4th Outfielder (or 5th) and who gets traded seeing Matos and Encarnacion are both out of options?

Steve Adams

• Drew Gilbert or Will Brennan are probably ahead of both? To your point, I have a hard time seeing both Matos and Encarnacion make the roster. I think there’s a chance they’re both off the roster by camp’s end.

I Pika-Choose U

• Does Cleveland know it’s almost time for baseball to start?

Steve Adams

• Hard to find a team that had a worse offseason. Maybe their ownership group thought the lockout started *this* winter.

Park M

• You’ve mentioned Jon Gray a couple times but won’t he be out for a while due to TOS?

Steve Adams

• Oh true. I just had our remaining free agent list pulled up and listed him a couple times off the cuff. Wasn’t thinking about his specific timetable. I haven’t heard when he’ll be ready or even if he plans to continue pitching — he was noncommittal last year — so I could’ve been using a better arbitrary example in those cases, oops. Can we pretend I said, I don’t know, Patrick Corbin instead? Haha
• Alright I’ve got to wrap up for the week. I’m on X @Adams_Steve and Bluesky @adams-steve.bsky.social for more questions.If you want more opinions, analysis, etc. from the MLBTR team, you can sign up for our subscription service, which includes two weekly subscriber-only chats, exclusive articles (including Tim’s weekly mailbag), access to our Contract Tracker, agency database, GM database, ad-free viewing, fantasy advice and more.

  Thanks for chatting, everyone!

Sox Fan

• Do the White Sox have under 100 losses this season?

Mark P

• Will the White Sox lose fewer than 100 games in 2026?

  ---

  Yes (73.4% | 701 votes)

  No (26.5% | 253 votes)

  ---

  Total Votes: 954

Oops all RH 1Bs

• Given the reporting earlier, is there an actual market for Os 1Bs Mountcastle or Mayo?

Mark P

• The Marlins and Rangers stand out as a couple of teams that could use help at either CI position, though who knows if they’ve had any real talks about either Baltimore player.  Mountcastle’s market is pretty limited but there is likely still a good deal of interest in Mayo

Rossy Atkinz

• Is running 162 games with a middle infield of Gimenez and Clement a mistake?

Mark P

• From a defensive standpoint, not at all.  From a hitting standpoint, definitely.  Clement’s great playoff run (and even Gimenez’s multiple clutch hits in October) shouldn’t overshadow their subpar offensive numbers during the season.

  Davis Schneider will be chipping in at 2B as well, but the Jays are really rolling the dice here on their middle infield plan

Ryan mountcastle

• How am I still on the team?

Mark P

• Feels like the O’s were caught between a rock and a hard place.  They felt Mountcastle was too good to just non-tender (given how injuries might’ve been the key factor in his 2025 slump), yet he is also not good enough to trade for what they’d deem to be a decent return
• Keeping Mountcastle also gave the Orioles some cover in case they didn’t make a big move at first base, but once Alonso signed, Mounty became even more expendable

Brad

• How many more seasons without the Phillies winning a World Series until trading Bryce Harper suddenly makes sense for both sides?

Mark P

• Harper has a no-trade clause, so the ball would be in his court on this subject.

  And blaming Harper for the Phillies’ lack of a championship is a wild take

Matt D

• Much like TB, the Brewers tend to win most of their trades. What needs to happen in order for Milwaukee to ‘win’ the Durbin trade? I was very surprised to see Milwaukee give up on Durbin so soon for unproven prospects and a utility IF.

Mark P

• The deal also struck me as surprising, but it could be that the Brewers see Hamilton (and new signing Luis Rengifo) as being able to replicate much of what Durbin brought to the table

Long time first time

• Currently sat in the hospital appreciating the fact I’ve got a chat to read.  So thank you and all the guys who do these weekly. Very enjoyable.

Mark P

• Our pleasure.  Get well soon!

Piratus maximus

• Are Suarez and Lowe enough offensive upgrade for the reds to win the Central?

Mark P

• Kinda confused by this question since Suarez signed with Cincinnati and Lowe was dealt to Pittsburgh.

  I still favor the Cubs and Brewers over either CIN/PIT in the NL Central race, but the other two should at least be in wild card contention, and will make things interesting in the division

Chris

• Is Griffin Canning a sneaky good move from the padres?

Mark P

• I think so.  The Padres generally do a good job at helping pitchers find new levels of performance, so I wouldn’t be shocked if Canning has a solid season (if healthy)

Eric G.

• I assume the Reds question was about Nathaniel Lowe – which is odd considering he’s just on a minors deal at the moment.

Mark P

• It’s a sign of how forgettable Nate Lowe’s season was that I’d already blanked on him signing with the Reds, oops.

  I doubt Lowe will be a needle-mover for the Reds, though stranger things have happened.  Maybe getting back into a winning environment will help him regain his old Rangers form.

Mike

• Do you see Atlanta adding to it’s rotation.

Mark P

• It may depend on what happens with Waldrep’s visit to Dr. Meister, but I thought the Braves should’ve gotten another starter even before the Waldrep news broke.  Feels like they could use another back-end starter type to soak up innings.

Cool Mama Bell

• Bees?

Mark P

• Beads?!

Cleveland

• Thoughts on Chase Delauter?

Mark P

• Very promising young player, but if I’m the Guardians, I go out and get a veteran OF rather than putting extra pressure on DeLauter to be good right away
• DeLauter doesn’t have a ton of Triple-A experience, and while he has hit well in the minors, some more seasoning might be needed before he’s ready for the Show

jeff

• I can’t see MLB getting a salary cap but do you think that they can eliminate deferred contracts in the next agreement?

Mark P

• Some kind of limit on deferred money seems reasonable.  The MLBPA will resist since they (rightly) will view it as a way of curbing spending, but in lieu of an actual salary cap, addressing deferrals could be seen as a bit of compromise.

Chaim Bloomin’ Onion

• If there’s one thing I’ve never understood, it’s the way new GMs will put certain players lower on their charts because he’s not “his guy”, he was the previous regime’s guy. You understand what I mean? The Granillo thing felt like that, he wasn’t “Chaim’s guy” so maybe he was more expendable to him than Mo. We’ve seen Bendix do it a few times too. I’m sure there’s tons of behind the scenes to it, but from a fans perspective I’ve always thought that was odd.

Mark P

• Any two executives (even within the same organization) will have differing views on their prospect base.  So if isn’t surprising that a new exec entering a team will look to get rid of the guys that his old team never valued, unless that exec learns some behind-the-scenes intel that changes his mind

carpathian florist

• Can you explain why the giants are so set on sticking to their current pitching staff? Pretty unanimously, people seem to believe they need another starter and the bullpen doesn’t inspire any confidence either

Mark P

• The Giants may well still be (and probably are) scouring the market for other pitching options, since teams are forever looking to add more pitching whenever possible.  Still plenty of time for some more arms to be brought in, on the rotation or bullpen side
• The pen in particular feels like it needs more work than the rotation at this point

Mlbfan

• Will there be baseball in 2027?

Mark P

• Yes

CY

• Should the Rangers go after TB Cleavinger ?

Mark P

• I think pretty much any team should be in on Cleavinger, but I highly doubt the Rays will trade him

J.R.

• Who do you see as the most disappointing offseason? For me it’s Cleveland. Even with Clase off the books they’ve practically spent nothing.

Mark P

• This is probably my answer as well, just because the Guardians’ needs (at least one quality RH bat) are so glaring, yet they have done almost literally nothing this winter.  Again, there’s still time before Opening Day, but it feels like the Guards will basically stand pat in a division that is open for the taking.

dale

• Did the Yankees overcorrect by building an elite bullpen (Bednar, Doval, Cruz) at the expense of rotation depth?

Mark P

• Having a team that can play a proverbial six-inning game is a huge plus, even though I’d hesitate before considering the Yankees’ trio a truly “elite” set of leverage arms.

Bryce Harper

• What do you think the chances of me playing for the LAS VEGAS Athletics in 2028 would be?

Mark P

• Zero

jeff

• Centerfielder for that Angels? They can’t seriously think Adelle can play CF. He can’t really play RF.

Mark P

• Even with Teodosio being liberally used as a late-game sub, I agree that the Angels’ OF defense looks dire.  Lowe’s not much of a right fielder, Soler can’t play LF, and Trout may not be able to physically hold up if he gets much time in the outfield.
• The answer would’ve been to acquire someone besides Lowe, but the market (in both trades and free agency) was very thin on good CF options this winter

Mariner fan

• The mariners are really high Kade Anderson. They have even mentioned publicly that they could possibly see him in a major league uniform this year. With that in mind, do you think the Mariners would be interested in trading a current starter to get another solid bat?

Mark P

• Unlikely.  The M’s already lost Logan Evans to TJ surgery, depleting their rotation depth.  Trading from the current starting five leaves Seattle even thinner, and then very thin if one of the remaining starters gets injured.  It also puts a lot of pressure on Anderson to continue developing at a rapid pace.

  For a team that has designs on winning the World Series this year, the Mariners will want to retain as much pitching as possible.

Bob

• what’s with the Bees and Beads every chat?  I don’t get that at all.

Mark P

• It is a longrunning joke based on an obscure old Arrested Development gag.  It has been going for so long in these chats that I forget how it even started.

Overconfident yankees fan

• can we see breakout seasons from Volpe, McMahon, rice, Grisham, Gil, and weathers?

Mark P

• At least you described yourself as overconfident!  A couple of these guys have already had breakout seasons, but overall, it doesn’t seem likely that all six will be productive.  Some or even most, sure, but not all six.

NOT MARK P

• The Brewers added and subtracted this offseason. I can’t tell if they got worse or are about the same. What do you think about their offseason?

Mark P

• On the one hand they signed my offseason dark horse free agent darling Luis Rengifo, so I have no choice but to predict Milwaukee will now win the World Series.

  On a more serious note, the Brewers had the kind of offseason I’d be worried about if they weren’t the Brewers.  Their track record implies that they’ll figure things out and still be contenders for another NL Central title, but on paper, I don’t love their moves this winter.

• It also doesn’t help that the Cubs, Reds, and Pirates have all theoretically gotten better

Blue

• Nationals feel like they could use Ramon Urias & Rhys Hoskins to balance out 1B & 2B

Mark P

• Seems like the types of low-level signings the Nats will probably have coming, since no major additions are on the way

Gregg

• The Nationals have been in a rebuilding phase for a while and should be on the rise by now. Any idea on what’s holding them back?

Mark P

• Many of the players the Nats felt would be big pieces of their rebuild (Wood, Gore, Abrams) have delivered.  The problem was that nobody else in the organization did much of anything, especially a lot of the Nats’ homegrown prospects.  Obviously the jury is still out on guys like Crews, but the utter lack of help in the minor league pipeline really stalled out the rebuild.

Barney Coolio

• Aren’t Nick Castellanos and Miguel Andujar incredibly redundant and not useful for the Padres?

Mark P

• Andujar brings a lot more to the table than Castellanos in my view.  But, Castellanos at the price of virtually nothing is worth a flier, and the Padres can always just release him if he isn’t hitting.

William Murdoch

• Why do you think the AL Central is open for the taking? The Tigers are heavy favorites, unless you think Skubal will be traded?

Mark P

• Signing Valdez and Verlander reinforced the Tigers as favorites, but their roster still has some flaws.  The gap would be a lot closer if the Guardians had done anything with their lineup besides re-sign Austin Hedges

Jim Thorpe

• Which current MLB player would be the best winter Olympian, and at what event?

Mark P

• Eddy Alvarez played in MLB as recently as 2024, and he literally won a silver medal as a speed skater in the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Alan Bundy

• Are the Royals ever going to get a star outfielder or even a more than serviceable outfielder?

Mark P

• The Royals are another team that didn’t wow me this offseason.  Collins is a good get for the outfield, but Lane Thomas is a roll of the dice.  Their pitching is strong enough that only a decent amount of extra offense could’ve put KC in there as real contenders, but I’m not sure Collins/Thomas/more of Jonathan India counts

Mike Trout

• How will I be remembered once my career is over? Will people remember me as one of the best ever in my prime?

Mark P

• Trout is a first-ballot HOFer, and he’ll rightly be remembered as an all-time great.

  Unfortunately, every discussion of Trout will inevitably include mention of his near-total lack of playoff exposure.  He’s this generation’s Ernie Banks, the superstar who never got a chance to shine in the playoffs

Chester Cheetah

• Mark, how do you prefer your burgers? Plain? The works? Mushrooms and cheese? What is your jam?

Mark P

• Ketchup, mustard, tomatoes, pickles, and (depending on the restaurant) relish.  This is the standard Mark Burger.

Watts

• Will Bryce Harper and the Phillies relationship improve or not?

Mark P

• I’m not sure it’s actually that bad.  Harper was surely annoyed at the phrasing of Dombrowski’s comments, and his most recent remarks indicate that he was more irritated that Dombrowski made the “not elite” statement publicly, rather than DD saying it at all.  Harper is the first to admit that the 2025 season wasn’t his best, but obviously he has every confidence that he’ll get back into “elite” territory in 2026
• As we saw with the Castellanos stories this week, seems like the Phillies had a lot more actual clubhouse issues to worry about last season than Harper or Dombrowski

Zach

• Which team that did not make the 2025 playoffs would you pick as a surprise playoff team for 2026?

Mark P

• Not sure how “surprising” either of these choices are, but I see Baltimore and Arizona returning to the postseason in 2026

The Dude

• Have you given up on Jac???

Mark P

• Nope.  But, Jac did so little at the plate that I can’t count on him for anything in 2026, or view him as a real win-now piece.

Scott H at the Copa

• Has my spending been related to the Jobe and Olsen injuries or am I really trying to improve by spending? I desperately need a right handed bat in the middle of the order to balance my lineup. What should I do?

Mark P

• On the offensive side, the Tigers seem to be willing to go into the season with their current roster, and see how things pan out with Keith at 3B, Vierling healthy, Baez given another shot, Jung maybe at 1B, etc.  It feels a little “house of cards”-ish, and ultimately I do feel Detroit will target a proven right-handed hitter prior to the trade deadline.

Hamate Bone

• Are you in quarantine to protect yourself from Hamate2026?  Stay say out there

Mark P

• I’m wearing protective wrist sheathes as we speak, though it’s really hard to type

Guest

• Please help me to believe that the Red Sox did enough to improve on last year’s Wild Card club.

Mark P

• The pitching is way better, Willson Contereras is a good hitter, and you get a full season of Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer.  The Red Sox should be in good shape to contend again.

Naylor Sailor

• Now that Donovan is onboard, it feels like it’ll be either Cole Young or Colt Emerson making the OD roster, not both (barring injuries). Do you agree, and if so, who’s your pick?

Mark P

• Young.  Emerson’s played barely any Triple-A ball, so Seattle will want to give him some more time in Tacoma before calling him up

Desert Blossom

• Am I just so desensitized that I automatically identify the DBacks Bullpen as awful, or is there actually anything there to start the season? It looks rough

Mark P

• It’s not great, but Gallen’s return also helps the pen for depth purposes.  Assuming (big if) everyone in the rotation is healthy, Soroka can be moved into a relief role, or swingman role.

Ben

• Twins seem loaded with veteran outfield lefties with poor defense. Any thoughts on maybe moving Larnach for a solidified bullpen arm or a right handed bat?

Mark P

• Good idea in theory, except Larnach doesn’t have much trade value
• He can’t hit lefties, is pretty average against righties, and as you noted, he’s not much of a defender.  Doesn’t add much to a very enticing trade chip.
• Time to wrap things up.  Thanks for all your questions, and for sticking it out for this later-than-usual edition.
• If you’re interested in more baseball Q&A, one of the many benefits of our Trade Rumors Front Office subscription is the exclusive weekly live chats. The more limited field means you’re about 10 times more likely to get a question answered, as opposed to battling for space with hundreds of other questions in today’s chat. For more on our memberships, check out this link:

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