Crash Davis
- Do you think the Angels are going to spend big this off season?
Mark P
- Since it’ll be several months before the sale is finalized, probably not, especially when the lockout is factored in. Players will be more open to signing in Anaheim once the new ownership group (and front office, unless Mozeliak is retained) is fully in place.
Guest
- Does Arozarena make sense as an offseason target for the Tigers?
Mark P
- With Riley Greene already locked into left field, probably not. Detroit could use some hitting help in general, however.
Blue
- Your 2026 WS prediction from NL and AL?
Mark P
- My preseason pick of Seattle vs. LA isn’t looking so hot, so I’ll now amend it to Red Sox vs. Dodgers. Injury concerns and recent slumps notwithstanding, I still think the Dodgers can make it back to compete for the three-peat.
Dodgers
- Why aren’t the Dodgers locking Skubel up to a long term deal now? It seems like he would be eager to get it done now as well, since nobody (including the Dodgers) are likely to be able to spend as much after this season.
Mark P
- There is no way Skubal isn’t going to test the open market. Granted, there’s a strong chance he just re-signs with the Dodgers anyway, but Skubal (and Boras) will want to hear bids from the Blue Jays, Mets, and the other usual suspects to help establish a record asking price
Ed
- i feel like Chris sale is the most obvious blank hat hall of famer. Does scherzer go blank hat or is a Washington hat. And verlander could be a blank guy too but I’m feeling a Detroit hat
Mark P
- Yeah, I’d lean towards Verlander as a Tiger. Sale is pretty clearly still a White Sox hat, but a couple of more years like this in Atlanta could swing it. Scherzer is clearly Nats.
Angels fan
- what do you think Stan Kroenke will do when he takes over and do you think he can attract top players
Mark P
- Judging by Kroenke’s other ownership ventures, he’ll hire a good front office and then basically stay out of their way. Baseball is a different animal than other sports, but there’s no reason on paper why free agents wouldn’t be attracted to an Angels team that is capable of winning.If I’m an Angels fan, I’m very excited to have an owner whose teams have won championships in literally every other sport.
Kyle Harrison
- Hey uhm… remember when I was an ace? Or ace adjacent anyway? Am I just all the way broken?
Mark P
- It’s worth noting that Harrison has been good in three of his six starts since returning from the IL, but yeah, the other three have been rough. The Brewers are considering moving him into some kind of shorter-start or even a relief role heading into October, to see if he can get back on track.
John
- Can us Orioles fans ever have nice things? This window is over, right? Or am I just blinded by my lack of trust for this organization?
Mark P
- Tough week to be an Orioles fan, and really a tough couple of years. The team has enough talent that I hesitate to say that the window is capital-c Closed, but they’re going backwards in what was supposed to be the period when the O’s went to the next level as contenders. Writing off 2025 as a year from hell is a lot harder when it’s followed up by another mediocre season.
Braves
- Trade for Pena? What will it take?
Mark P
- Pena is a free agent after 2027, but it won’t be as high as the asking price for Kyle Tucker prior to Tucker’s walk year. But, I can see Houston wanting a similar package in the sense of one MLB-ready player (since the Astros still want to win in 2027) and one good prospect who isn’t far away from the Show.
- Then again, the Astros have also shown they’re happy to just keep some free agents until they hit the open market, so there’s no guarantee at all Pena will be dealt. Retaining him keeps that “infield logjam” situation in place, but as we saw this year, the logjam ended up being a moot point with Correa missing most of the year
Pudge
- Would Trevor Story make sense for the Braves? I’m sure they can get him pretty cheap…
Mark P
- Hmm, is there any history of an oft-injured big-name Red Sox player suddenly reviving his career after going to Atlanta?In all seriousness, I’d guess the Braves would want someone with a better recent track record than Story
Which one?
- Does Ohtani go kn the 10-day or 15-day IL?
Mark P
David
- Is Spencer Jones playing his way to an everyday role next year?
Mark P
- If I’m the Yankees, I’m very comfortable with Jones getting the bulk of the work in center field next year. The defense is iffy, but “iffy” is actually a lot better than what they’ve gotten from Grisham’s glove in the last two years
Ken
- Assuming the A’s don’t contend next year, do you think they should move Langeliers at the deadline if they get an Adley-like return?
Mark P
- If someone offers that kind of trade package, the A’s should definitely say yes.
Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan Maria Ramirez
- Think Posey would still be interested in moving Devers this offseason? Will Devers still be the offensive force that he has been lately when the Giants are good again? Thanks Mark.
Mark P
- Devers’ 2026 is shaping up as just an extreme version of his usual early-season slump, since he’s been hitting like his old self for months and will finish with his standard numbers. Given the lack of pop in SF’s lineup, you’d think the Giants wouldn’t want to move him at all, salary and 1B/DH logjam with Eldridge notwithstanding
Guest
- Guardians have the pitching to hold off the Blue Jays. Do you agree Mark ?
Mark P
- Can’t rule out the Tigers or Orioles from still making a late surge. Texas is an even bigger threat, in part because they hold the tiebreakers over both Toronto and Cleveland.It helped the Jays immensely to win that series (and thus the season series) in Cleveland, but it may very well come right down to Game 162 before things are decided.
Cambo
- What does timing look like, re: QOs? Is it possible they’re put on hold this offseason and amended before being actioned?
Mark P
- Teams have until five days after the World Series to issue a qualifying offer to any eligible free agent, and the player than has 12 days to decide whether or not to accept.The offseason calendar won’t be altered in advance of a lockout because technically, a lockout isn’t “guaranteed” to happen. (Even thought we all know it’s happening.)
Chad
- With Strasburg finally off the books next season, where do the Nationals invest that money?
Mark P
- This is a very interesting upcoming offseason for the Nats, given how their overachieved (at least on offense) in 2026. I doubt we’ll see any big spending splurges just yet. The front office probably feels more rebuilding needs to be done and ownership won’t need to have their arms twisted to not spend.
Twins
- Twins out of it at this point losing 2 of 3 to the White Sox definitely didn’t help our case.
Mark P
- Joe Ryan is back tomorrow, but that might be too little, too late for Minnesota
Beff Jagwell
- With McCullers and Walker’s contracts coming off the books, the Astros have some money available to spend this offseason, right? (Usual asterisk about the lockout notwithstanding)
Mark P
- Walker’s deal runs through 2027.
- Houston should have some spending capacity, but depending on what happens with the next CBA, Jim Crane isn’t likely to change his tune about going way over the luxury tax or suddenly going beyond six-year deals
Josh
- All of a sudden the Reds can score runs. Is Hector Rodriguez the starting right fielder next year?
Mark P
- He should get every opportunity to win the outright job in Spring Training.
GUEST
- In your other life you are really an AI agent, aren’t you?
Mark P
- You know who are two great actors? Jude Law and Haley Joel Osment
Blue Jays fan
- Does Anthony Santander return before the end of the season?
Mark P
- He’s slated to start a minor league rehab assignment sometime this week. Big if here, but IF everything goes well, that puts him track to get some at-bats in the majors before the year is out.Santander arriving to be the Jays’ late-season savior would be hilarious and delightful, but he’s been delayed so many times that I’ll need to see him on the field before I believe it
PawPaw
- Who you like for NL Cy Young this year?
Mark P
- Glad I don’t have a ballot, since I dunno where I’d lean between Misiorowski, Sanchez, and Sale. I’d need the next few weeks of season to provide a fuller answer.In terms of who I think will win, Miz might have the slight edge due to the extra hype and his gaudy velocity.
Pittsburgh
- Who might be on radar for a long term extension? Valdez? Ashcraft?
Mark P
- Valdez no, Ashcraft yeah. Ashcraft is already controlled through 2031 so the Bucs might not see the need to pursue an extension just yet when he’s still such a bargain.
Cohen
- Happy Memorial weekend, I wanted to see your thoughts in hindsight so far. Do you think the Simien for Nimmo and cash was worth it and what do you think i should do with Semien going forward?
Mark P
- Semien is owed $46MM over the final two years of his contract, which is simply looking like sunk money given his decline over the last couple of years. I could see the logic in trying to move Nimmo last winter, but not in bringing on a player coming off such a red-flag of a 2025 season as Semien.To some extent the Mets are locked into bringing Semien back in 2027, unless he can be moved in some kind of bad-contract swap.
Zach
- When will we see 2023 Evan Carter again?
Mark P
- While Carter just turned 24, it’s possible his incredible rookie breakout might be the high point of his career. The injuries and lack of production are beginning to stack up, to the point that the Rangers probably consider him a platoon option at best going forward
- Maybe this is an overly pessimistic take and hopefully I’m wrong, since it would be a bummer if such a promising career stalled out due to injuries
Twins fan
- With Minnesota all but out of the playoff contention, would you say their season was a disappointment? My opinion is that they exceeded just about everything for this season. Should Shelton get some votes for manager of the year?
Mark P
- As someone who thought the Twins were going to be terrible this year, being just normal mediocre is at least a step ahead. But, don’t let the AL’s mediocrity fool you into think the Twins were a “playoff contender,” per se.
kurt the hurt
- does javy baez have a role next year or do the tigers just pay off his last year ?
Mark P
- Baez is owed $24MM in 2027, the final year of his contract. Since he won’t be (or shouldn’t be) getting regular at-bats next year, the Tigers may view having a roster spot as more important than keeping Baez around as dead money anyway.Releasing Baez will lead to a day of bad headlines, but it’s not like that signing isn’t already viewed as a bust.
Cheis
- Does Ohtani ever pitch more than 100 innings in a season again?
Mark P
- This season provided Ohtani and the Dodgers with some interesting info on how to progress in a two-way fashion, if nothing else. I doubt Ohtani abandons pitching unless he physically has to, but I could see him used in a bit of a piggyback capacity rather than as a normal starter.This adds to the Dodgers’ need for pitching, as now they’ll basically need seven starters for a six-man rotation. And, realistically, many more starters since we can’t view Snell, Glasnow, etc. as candidates for 200 innings. But, since the Dodgers can great at finding and developing pitchers, I don’t have much doubt they’ll figure out a way to keep Ohtani on the mound as much as possible
Oswald P.
- How much playing time will Michael Arroyo get?
Mark P
- With the Mariners basically out of the race, they might as well give Arroyo plenty of at-bats as an audition for 2027.
Dodgers
- Do you think Mookie will move back to RF next year and let someone take over at SS?
Mark P
- Since Tucker and Hernandez are very unlikely to be traded, there’s no room in the outfield. Plus, Betts has somewhat quietly become an outstanding defensive shortstop.
Dan’l
- Are the Cards at a place that they should make a play for a higher end FA starter? They have back-half rotation depth and a good top-half of the lineup. Or will they wait another year and give more young starters a chance (I.e. Doyle).
Mark P
- Similar to my answer about the Nationals earlier, I doubt the Cardinals view their overachieving 2026 season as being so far ahead of schedule that they’re ready to flip the switch to “let’s spend and contend.”
Chev Chelios
- If Texas were to pick up Cody Freeman’s older brother (Tyler), off waivers…would he be eligible to be on their potential postseason roster?
Mark P
- Tyler Freeman has cleared waivers already. Colorado outrighted him to Triple-A, and he has the ability to reject that assignment and become a free agent, but there’s been no word yet on his decision.To your question, if Freeman did become a free agent and then sign with Texas, no, he’s not eligible for a playoff roster
- Time to wrap things up for the evening. Thanks as always for all the questions, and thanks for reading MLBTR!
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