Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

[mikechamp]

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on December 1.

Enjoy the weekend chat, part 2. There are 2 bonus questions this time: one about closers and one about a possible solution for the Rays. Enjoy the read!!

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://live.jotcast.com/chat/mlbtr-liv ... 19717.html
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Any chance Jordan Walker is moving back to the infield now that 1B and 3B appear to be open in STL?

Mark Polishuk
1B won't be open since Willson Contreras is moving there, and I wouldn't say an Arenado trade is a sure thing whatsoever.
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Is Holliday a trade target? What would the Bucs need to give? Jones + Ashcraft?

Mark Polishuk
I'm sure the O's would ask for Skenes, but Jones/Ashcraft is a reasonable realistic ask.

But it's a moot point since I highly doubt Baltimore is giving up on Holliday this soon.
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Where does Soto go? Where do the Yankees pivot if not the Yankees? Do you think they are better off with him leaving?

Mark Polishuk
I think they're better off having him because it's Juan Freaking Soto. As we saw this very season, having Soto and Judge in a lineup helps paper over a lot of flaws.

If he does sign elsewhere, a Bellinger trade would help, or the Yankees might make more of a push for Walker or Alonso to make a splash at first base.
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Why are so many people convinced that the Pirates are going to trade Jared Jones?

Mark Polishuk
Apart from that one question earlier, I haven't heard such buzz. Jones is probably one of the last players Pittsburgh would look to trade, as they have enough young pitching depth that one of those arms is far likelier to be moved than a guy who looks like he might be a #2 starter.
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Where do you think Cody Bellinger will end up at?

Mark Polishuk
Assuming the Cubs do trade him, the Yankees are my pick. They've been interested in him for a few years now, and if Soto doesn't re-sign, that creates a clear opening in the Bronx outfield.
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Would the Pirates be better off spending their $30M on one or two difference makers (on the offensive side), rather than spreading them out like they have unsuccessfully done the past two years?

Mark Polishuk
The Pirates' tactic of spreading their limited payroll space around makes sense, except they didn't get much return on most of their signings last year. If they did deploy that same strategy and just got more productive players, everything would be fine.

All this being said, I do think it's high time for the Pirates to get aggressive and just bring in a more clear-cut productive player.
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Bellinger also plays 1B, which the Yankees need.

Mark Polishuk
Forgot to mention this very important detail. A scenario exists where the Yankees could re-sign Soto and trade for Bellinger, to create more outfield depth and address first base all at once.
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Could the Giants conceivably sign both Burns and Adames and can Taylor Rogers have any influence?

Mark Polishuk
It couldn't hurt? Rogers only pitched with Milwaukee for a couple of months, so I'm not sure he exactly formed any lifelong bonds with Burnes or Adames.
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Is Cal Quantrill someone a team like Milwaukee could target on a budget friendly 1+1 yr contract?

Mark Polishuk
This seems like a Brewers-esque type of signing, and Quantrill would then suddenly deliver a 3.10 ERA type of season as another Milwaukee pitching success story.

The Crew might already have enough arms that they'd prefer to give innings to ahead of Quantrill, but CQ's ability to at least eat innings could be of interest to the Brewers or several teams.
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For a team like the O’s, Brewers and D’Backs who are potentially getting pick(s) after the 1st round, if they sign a QO free agent before their guy signs, what pick do they lose? Their third pick as of signing day or when the dust settles?

Mark Polishuk
Their third-signing selection on draft day itself. That's why the phrasing is specifically "their third-highest selection" and not "their second-round pick" or something.
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Who gets in next week from the committee?

Mark Polishuk
I'd certainly hope this is finally Dick Allen's year, and it's a shame that he couldn't have been inducted when he was alive.

Allen, Vic Harris, and Luis Tiant would get my votes. I'd have to think harder on Parker or Tommy John.
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Any chance the league tests out an expansion site like Nashville in 2026 if the Rays can’t figure out the stadium?

Mark Polishuk
The Brewers would have to sign off on that, since their Triple-A team plays in Nashville at presumably the ballpark that would be used to house the Rays.
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Could the Brewers get Mayo in a Devin Williams trade?

Mark Polishuk
No way do the Orioles trade Mayo for one year of a relief pitcher.
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Do you think the importance of closers is overrated? I mean quite a few save opportunities come with three run leads, facing the bottom of the order or both.

Mark Polishuk
It is critically important to have a key reliever (or relievers) who can erase threats late in games. Whether or not that threat is in the ninth inning specifically or perhaps in the 7th or 8th when the opposing team has its three best hitters due up, having a closer or fireman is crucial.

Nothing is more demoralizing to a good team than a leaky bullpen, as a blown lead instantly erases anything good achieved over the first eight innings. We shouldn't ignore this psychological aspect of the game, and the extra confidence an entire team gets by having peace of mind with its closer.
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Could MLB possibly do something similar to what the NHL did with the Coyotes, and move the Rays to another city, while giving Tampa a certain time period to resolve their stadium issues and then possibly get a new franchise?

Mark Polishuk
It's more logistically difficult to move a baseball team on such short notice, since fewer cities have ballparks that are MLB-compatible. The arena in Salt Lake City, for instance, could easily be converted to hockey and already had strong "big league" types of facilities since the Jazz play there.

This all being said, some kind of answer is going to have to be figured out for the Rays pretty soon. Their 2025 is settled for Steinbrenner Field, but the clock is already ticking on figuring things out for future plans.
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