MLBTR Chat Transcript

Mark P

• Welcome, weekend chatters!  We’ll open the floor just as soon as a few questions enter the queue….

A’s at home

• A’s just can’t get it done at home. What needs to be done to turn it around? They are still in it and still lots of season left to play.

Mark P

• Today’s loss drops the A’s to 11-17 at home, with a much more respectable road record of 17-14.  Pitching at that ballpark just seems to be taking more of a toll on the Athletics’ pitchers than it does opponents, and it doesn’t help that the A’s have gotten even thinner in the rotation department due to the injury bug
• The more interesting stat is maybe the fact that the A’s are only middle-of-the-pack when it comes to home offense.  Kurtz, Langeliers, and (of all people) Cortes can only do so much to prop up an overall disappointing offense
• In what has become this chat’s catchphrase of the last month, “they’re still in it because the AL as a whole is so weak.”  If guys like Soderstrom start hitting and the A’s pitching becomes even half-decent (not even good), a run at a wild card berth or even the AL West crown isn’t out of the question.  But in general, the A’s seemed like a team that was still at least a year away, and that might well end up being the case

Hunter

• Murakami gets injured and White Sox pull up Jacob Gonzalez. He was hitting .300 with 18 bombs and 58 rbis in almost 50 games. What’s your current thoughts on the white sox right now

Big Hurt

• Are the White Sox legit playoff contenders?

Mark P

• Gonzalez’s 2026 output is so far beyond his previous numbers that it seems like an outlier, but then again, breakouts happen.  It doesn’t seem likely that Gonzalez will do much to make up the Murakami-sized hole in Chicago’s lineup, and losing him for at least a month is a tough break for both the team and for casual fans as a fun story.
• Still too early to say if the Sox can sustain this all the way through September, but it helps that the Royals and Tigers are both flailing right now.  I don’t think second place in the AL Central is even out of the question since I don’t trust Minnesota.

Jack

• What do the Pirates do with Carme M? Leave him on the restricted list list or trade him?

Mr. Mlodzinski

• Think I’ll be on the move?

Mark P

• While Mlodzinski isn’t happy with his current situation, I don’t think this is an Eric Lauer situation where there are hard feelings “and” the pitcher isn’t performing.  I’m sure a few teams have checked in with the Bucs on trade offers, but if you’re Pittsburgh, Mlodzinski is a valuable depth arm.

Snow the Informer

• If a MLB contract clause states X amount of time on the IL for an “arm injury” voids the opt out, does that include a shoulder injury?  Or what if he goes on the IL for a shoulder injury then stays on it because of a lat issue, does that void the opt out? Asking for a friend.

Mark P

• Ha, a friend named Craig?
  That’s an interesting question, and I’m sure the actual contract has more official language covering the specifics.

Rangers Fan

• Can Josh Jung keep this up? He’s hitting at an all-star level over the last month.

Mark P

• His advanced metrics hint that some regression is coming, but maybe not much.  Jung is making a lot of hard contact and he has drastically reduced his strikeouts, which is a nice recipe for sustained success.Interestingly, Jung seems to be the one batter who has figured out Globe Life Field.  He’s crushing the ball at home to the tune of a 1.000 OPS, as opposed to around a .700 OPS on the road.

Dustin

• What do the Mariners do with their starters? They have 6 up and 2 ready in Sloan and Anderson? I know they shouldn’t trade pitching, but, they have so many. Sell
• sell high on Hancock?

Mark P

• Obligatory “you can never have too much pitching” quote
  With the M’s in pure win-now mode, a major deadline trade can’t be ruled out.  But that’s still two months away, and that’s plenty of time for another injury or two to emerge.  Pitching surpluses have a way of solving themselves once someone inevitably gets hurt.

Yo Yo Mlb

• Under the current CBA, a team can only option a player up to 5 times a season, without exposing him to waivers. Might two teams agree to swap relievers midseason, just to reset with a fresh set of 5 options?

Mark P

• A player has only five options per year no matter how many teams he plays for

Awards

• Should MLB announce season awards during the playoffs like the NBA does? I feel like people lose attention by the time they announce them after everything is over.

Mark P

• I think the NBA has just the opposite problem, where the awards are buried in the headlines under everything going on in the playoffs.

Bucky McBimm

• More likely to get traded, Alvarez or Trout?

Mark P

• I guess Alvarez, just because the Angels aren’t at all moving Trout.

Barry

• With Detroit having nearly the worst record in the league. Are we know in the Skubal MORE likely to be traded side

Mark P

• After another dismal week, it’s looking increasingly likely that the Tigers won’t be able to dig themselves out of this hole.  Still plenty of time before the deadline, of course, but right now it certainly more likely than not that Skubal will be moved, assuming he’s healthy

Padres

• Is it possible that the new ownership shows Preller the door after this season?

Mark P

• Preller just signed a new extension back in February, so the new owners would be eating some money if they wanted to make a move.  Not out of the question, of course, since some owners want their own hires in charge regardless of the incumbents’ past track record.
• But, Preller has a pretty good argument to keep his job, given how well the Padres have performed on his watch

Rays Erik Neander

• How active should I be to before the trade deadline?

Mark P

• The Rays look like legit World Series contenders, so on paper, I’d suggest they should be aggressive in adding a power bat or two, plus some help to what has been a pretty middling bullpen by Tampa standards
• fwiw, the Rays are pretty much always “active” at every deadline, even if that means also trading some higher salaries in a split buyer/seller approach.  It’ll be interesting to see how their new owner may alter this approach, or if a payroll spike may be available for a title push

JeffyM

• Can the Jays trade Hoffman to Baltimore for that 12 year old kid with an apparent rocket arm?

Mark P

• If that kid is named Rowngartner….

Nick

• Gotta love what the new coaching staff is doing in DC, right?  Butera is doing miracles

Mark P

• This Nationals/White Sox World Series is going to be epic!Seriously, Washington’s pitching is so poor that I don’t see this lasting for the Nats.  That still doesn’t erase your point that the front office/dugout changes have really turned things in a positive direction.

Mike

• Why don’t the reds send mclain and friedl to the minors?

Mark P

• That question may have to be put on hold if Elly is going to the IL

FJF

• Considering how many pitching issues the A’s always seem to have, do you think Emerson will get fired soon?

Mark P

• It’s not Emerson’s fault that his team is playing in such a hitter-friendly ballpark

A Riley

• With my big contract and poor results, am I at risk of the Braves trading me?

The Life Of Riley

• Braves long commitment to Austin Riley looked great at one time but now??? And Kim  is dismal so far offensively and defensively.Thoughts?

Mark P

• Teams aren’t exactly going to be lining up to acquire Riley given his struggles and his salary.  It would be one thing if Riley was just hitting poorly this year so you could maybe write it off as an extended slump, but he’s quietly been in decline for a few years now.
• As for Kim, he’s off to a rough start, but still in a small sample size.  The good news for Atlanta is that the team is on such a roll that they can afford to be patient with Kim (and Riley to some extent), plus Dubon and the hot-hitting Mateo provide some depth at shortstop if Kim can’t get it together
• One does wonder if shortstop may be a target area for the Braves at the deadline…..

Zach

• Who could the Rangers get at the deadline if buying?

Mark P

• It has to be a bat, yet where exactly that bat would play is an interesting question.  Texas isn’t going to just bench Seager, Carter, or Langford, even if they’re struggling.  Maybe the move is to get a veteran outfielder who’s a free agent after the year, since such a hypothetical player can provide short-term help while not blocking Langford or Carter in the future.Of course, getting Langford and Seager back from the IL in good form changes this equation quite a bit.  Bullpen help will also be a need for the Rangers regardless of how the offense is doing.

Brian

• What role will Senzatela be signed in over the offseason? Will he stay in the bullpen or get put back in the rotation? If the bullpen, short relief or long relief?

Mark P

• The wisest path forward for Senzatela would be to market himself as a reliever.  A higher-leverage role may be available depending on what happens the rest of the way with the Rockies, or how his next team (since he’s a prime deadline trade candidate) deploys him

Mets

• Do you think they might actually make the playoffs? Still a lot of season left.

Mark P

• New York is currently 5.5 games back of the last NL wild card slot.  They’re still only 26-33 so the hill is still pretty large, but it’s also just May 31.  Grimace may yet make an appearance in Queens.

Outlaw

• After seeing the players and owners proposals I fear games missed in 2027 is definitely possible and would be the worst outcome for owners and players alike. Thoughts

Mark P

• Agreed that it would be devastating to baseball, and a case of cutting off the nose to spite the face.  My guess is still that the two sides reach an early-March agreement a la 2022 and we still get the full 162 games played, since hopefully some common sense will prevail in the labor talks

Zach

• CJ Abrams is a Brave after the deadline?

Mark P

• That would be just about the biggest plausible move Atlanta could make.  The fact that the Nats and Braves are division rivals could complicate things to some extent, and Abrams’ habit of second-half fades may make trade suitors cautious about meeting Washington’s huge asking price

Jim C

• So if there were a cap, how would that work for teams that are already over? Would they have to fire-sale players for less than full value just to get rid of money? Kyle Tucker for a bag of peanuts to be named later?

Mark P

• I would imagine some kind of grace period would be granted, rather than the Dodgers, Mets, etc. having to immediately slice tens of millions from the payroll within like a week or two

Steals

• Who in your opinion is the best base stealer in baseball?  Do you think there will ever be another player to steal 100 bases in a season?

Mark P

• Chandler Simpson is probably my pick as the best pure runner, though the issue is that he doesn’t get on base enough.I don’t think 100 steals is entirely beyond the realm of the current game.

Kevin

• How many years and money do Walker and Wetherholt get?  Thank you!

Mark P

• JJW and the Cards reportedly had some extension talks in the spring but nothing came of it.  So in that sense, the Cardinals may have missed a window for a relative bargain since Wetherholt has now amassed a solid MLB record in his first season.  His agents have a case for something in the realm of Jackson Merrill‘s extension, depending on how the rest of the season proceeds.Walker is an interesting case altogether.
• Oops, posted too soon!Walker is interesting since he’s only breaking out now, right in time to nicely boost his first arbitration payday.  Assuming Walker keeps this up over the full season, the Cardinals may feel comfortable enough to put forward a notable extension, or they may want to play “wait and see” a bit deeper into 2027 before considering a long-term deal

Joe Judge

• Who would be your AL MVP and NL MVP right now?

Mark P

• Ohtani in the NL, and AL is a tougher call.  Yordan Alvarez?

Sad Tiger

• Things are rather dire right now. Should the Tigers clean house except for McGonigle, Dingler, and a few young starting pitchers (Jobe, Melton, etc.)?

Guest

• Who else would Tigers move if they be one sellers.

Mark P

• Skubal, Verlander, Mize, Torres, Flaherty, Jensen, and Drew Anderson are all either free agents this winter, or free agents if a club option is declined. Any of these players can and still be on the table as trade candidates if Detroit goes try to sell.Blowing things up entirely doesn’t seem plausible, if your idea extends to trading the likes of Greene or Colt Keith.  One might also think that if the Tigers did pursue such a direction, it might be under a new PBO.  We don’t know the terms of Scott Harris’ contract, but since he was hired in September 2022, a hypothetical five-year deal would have one year remaining (and a four-year deal would be about to end)

You can’t spell Ballesteros without

• Bees?

Mark P

• Beads?!

Dave

• Expectations for Jonah Cox? As much as I love the idea of a 25 year-old who isn’t even among the Giants’ top 30 prospects coming up and destroying major league pitching, this seems like it has the potential to be ugly.

Mark P

• Cox seems MLB-ready based on speed and defense alone, which isn’t a bad recipe for a fourth outfielder and pinch-running specialist.  If he can even hit enough to be a decent platoon bat, that’s a formula for a nice career in the majors.That said, it’s a little surprising that the Giants called him up without even a cursory stop in Triple-A.  Maybe it’s a case where they think having him hit in the PCL isn’t a valid gauge of his offense, or having Cox hit in such a hitter-friendly league might screw up his mechanics

Tim

• Can the Tigers get anything for Jake Rogers and his .143 batting average (career .198)…. Every year he gets worse but maybe a change of scenery.

Mark P

• The fact that I left Rogers out of the list of Tigers trade candidates says a lot, as Rogers is also an impending free agent.  His trade value is pretty close to nil.

Chris

• I wonder if the league would also institute an NBA 2011 era amnesty program, wherein each team could remove one contract from their cap (while still paying the player)

Mark P

• This seems like a possible compromise, but then some smaller-market teams might prefer to have a player with a big AAV on their books to help them reach a hypothetical salary floor

redrum

• what would it take for Reds to acquire Aroldis Chapman?

Mark P

• Chapman is working on a $12MM salary for 2026, and he has a mutual/vesting option for 2027 that triggers a $13MM guaranteed payday if he pitches at least 40 innings this year and is healthy at season’s end.  So Chapman is in pretty good shape to hit that 40-inning threshold, and I’d think that may make him a little too pricey for the Reds’ liking

Guest

• what releivers do the Pirates have their sights on?

Mark P

• Too early for any specific names to be thrown around.  Probably like most contenders, the Pirates will be vaguely “in on everyone” when it comes to relievers, though Pittsburgh will be operating at a lower price point.If the Bucs can remain in the race, it’ll be fun to watch them operate at the deadline since it’s been so long since they and Cherington have been buyers

John

• Can I ever have nice things? I just want the Orioles to lock up Gunnar and Adley

Mark P

• Henderson is a Boras client, and Basallo has already gotten the big extension in the catching corps.  My apologies, but I’d guess that neither Henderson or Rutschman is long for Baltimore.

Rights

• Will Jose Ramirez ever get it going?

Mark P

• Ramirez has a .235 BABIP and great peripherals.  It’s just a matter of time before his luck turns, and it’s impressive that the Guardians are playing this well while their star is off to a relatively slow start

Squinky

• Tampa bay has consistently put a competitive team on the field, yet they’re near the bottom in attendance year after year. Why?

Mark P

• Tropicana Field is in a very poor location travel-wise, which is why the Rays are trying to get their new ballpark built in Tampa proper.

Guest

• Is Eldridge breaking out? Or just Coors magic? Though his expected stats have always been good

Mark P

• Regular playing time may simply be the answer, as some injuries have opened the door for Eldridge to finally get mostly everyday at-bats
• Sorry for the delay, had to reset my router

Yaz67

• Wrigley or Fenway ?

Mark P

• Wrigley is one of my very favourite ballparks, so it gets the nod

Guest

• Angela are foolish to hold on to Trout. They are going nowhere and have gone nowhere with him. They owe him a ton of money and although he is still a great player when he is not hurt some team like the Phillies who was his favorite team as a youth near his New Jersey home would be glad to acquire him, Trouts loyalty to the Angels is admirable but if they talked to him that a trade would help the team in the future he might agree to a trade especially to the Phillies.

Mark P

• The word on Trout is that he likes keeping some separation between his professional life and private life, so a trade to the Phillies in particular might not be something he embraces, though I have no doubt Trout wants to win.If Trout did eventually ask for a trade, it’s anyone’s guess as to how Moreno might react.  Moving Trout seems counter to Moreno’s (outlandish) belief that the Angels are just a few breaks away from contention, yet maybe a trade demand from the face of the franchise might be a needed reality check.
• The other issue is that Trout’s age and salary are still obstacles in any trade talks, his 2026 resurgence notwithstanding

Nate Colbert

• What’s with Bregman?  Is he having growing pains adjusting to the NL  Is Wrigley just a bad park for him?

Mark P

• Bregman’s road splits are better than his home splits, if still below his regular standard.  There isn’t much difference metric-wise between Bregman in 2025 and 2026, but he’s hitting the ball with a lot less authority and thus generating less power

Archie

• Realistically, what can the Cubs do to add 2 starters?

Mark P

• Cabrera and Boyd won’t be out for much longer, and Justin Steele is still expected to be back in late August, even if there’s still a lot of uncertainty about his statushttps://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/05/latest-on-justin-steele.html
• So in theory, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel of pitching injuries here, which will impact how hard Chicago goes for rotation help at the deadline.  One can certainly argue the Cubs could use two more arms even with Boyd/Cabrera joining the mix, but the Cubs might feel they have enough pure depth to go for more mid-rotation type than someone like Skubal
• The question the Cubs must be asking themselves is whether they’re fine with Imanaga, Boyd, and Cabrera being their top three starters in a playoff series.  I’d argue they should aim higher to at least test the Skubal waters

Scott in Mongolia

• Do you think the new CBA will address anything like rule changes which might limit all the pitching injuries?

Mark P

• There’s no simple rule that will stop pitchers from getting hurt.  There may be an adjustment to the 13-13 roster setup, but having a 14th pitcher available isn’t going to save anyone’s arm.

Do You Really Wanna Jump

• I feel like the Mets will be an interesting almost exciting team when Polanco, Lindor, and Alvarez return. Please talk me off optimism’s ledge.

Mark P

• Wait, you want me to make you more pessimistic?  Hope springs eternal.  Plus, like I said in an earlier post, it’s still only May 31.  Crazier things have happened than a team in the Mets’ position making a playoff run.

Mike

• Thank you for the chat. Sanchez breaking Hershiser’s record?

Mark P

• Sanchez is at 44.2 innings, so he’s within two games of Hershiser’s record of 59.  He probably caught a break in missing facing the Dodgers this weekend, so his next start will come against the struggling Padres lineup.It’s very cool that there’s a viable chance of this record being broken, and I’m rooting for Sanchez to get it done.
• It occurs to me that if Sanchez gets through the San Diego start, he might be lined up to break the record in Toronto next week.  I might have to get a ticket to check that one out in person.

Nick

• When does acuna’s 8/100 deal end and: 1. What does contract number 2 look like and 2. Will Atlanta pony up the funds to resign him?

Mark P

• Braves hold $17MM club options on Acuna for 2027 and 2028.  So there’s still a ways to go before the team has to make this decision one way or the other, and their decision may also be impacted by whatever the new CBA looks like.Harris, Riley (uh oh), and Olson (in his final guaranteed year) are the only Braves under contract beyond 2028, plus Atlanta has club options on Strider and Murphy.  So there’s plenty of available payroll space in the future if they did want to explore locking Acuna up, but I wouldn’t expect any extension talks to really ramp up for at least another year
• That’s two hours in the books, so time to wrap things up on this week’s chat.  Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment!
• 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-5-31-26