https://rss.com/podcasts/the-bsblr-show/2208177/

The last 30 minutes of the podcast is about 2017.

Latest notes with @katiejwoo:

*Fairbanks market

*Astros’ Meyers in demand

*Cody Ponce a potential $30M-$40M man

*A fixture Rays might finally trade

*Sign of progress for Marlinshttps://t.co/WvhmFRCwqS

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2025

Quote:

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Few quality center fielders are available in either free agency or trade, triggering interest in players who might be pried loose from other clubs. The Houston Astros' Jake Meyers, coming off a modest offensive breakout last season, is one such player.

MLB Trade Rumors projects Meyers to earn $3.5 million in the first of his two remaining years of club control. The Astros are open to moving him for a controllable major-league starter, according to people briefed on their discussions. And the interest in Meyers entering his age-30 campaign is considerable, other clubs say.

The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Rays are among the teams exploring upgrades in center field, along with the Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. Meyers is an excellent defender. But if the Astros are skeptical of him replicating his offensive performance, they perhaps could get similar production from Zach Cole and/or Jacob Melton.

Meyers appeared in only 104 games last season due to right calf issues. His .292 batting average and .727 OPS were significant improvements over his four seasons, even if only slightly above average when adjusted to his park and league. In nearly 1,200 prior career plate appearances, he batted .228 with a .662 OPS.

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I've not heard a peep in hot stove talk about any of the better pitchers linked to the Astros... at least outside of Cease, who is now off the market. Am I missing some potential news or names?

Slide Cam to CF (wasn't this a possibility last year) and upgrade at one of the corner spots.

Not sure what's available there but just a thought

Farmer1906 said:

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ruxin98 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Latest notes with @katiejwoo:

*Fairbanks market

*Astros’ Meyers in demand

*Cody Ponce a potential $30M-$40M man

*A fixture Rays might finally trade

*Sign of progress for Marlinshttps://t.co/WvhmFRCwqS

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2025

Quote:

---

Few quality center fielders are available in either free agency or trade, triggering interest in players who might be pried loose from other clubs. The Houston Astros' Jake Meyers, coming off a modest offensive breakout last season, is one such player.

MLB Trade Rumors projects Meyers to earn $3.5 million in the first of his two remaining years of club control. The Astros are open to moving him for a controllable major-league starter, according to people briefed on their discussions. And the interest in Meyers entering his age-30 campaign is considerable, other clubs say.

The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Rays are among the teams exploring upgrades in center field, along with the Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. Meyers is an excellent defender. But if the Astros are skeptical of him replicating his offensive performance, they perhaps could get similar production from Zach Cole and/or Jacob Melton.

Meyers appeared in only 104 games last season due to right calf issues. His .292 batting average and .727 OPS were significant improvements over his four seasons, even if only slightly above average when adjusted to his park and league. In nearly 1,200 prior career plate appearances, he batted .228 with a .662 OPS.

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Sell high IMO. We need more offensive production/pop out of that position since we aren't getting it elsewhere.

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How many center fielders have more production/pop?

Varsho had a career year there (partial year)
Buxton when healthy
PCA broke out
Julio
Chourio
Grisham had a career year, too

It's not like any of these guys are available, though. You could try someone like a Bader, Moniak, or Marsh via UFA or trade, but you're likely chasing a solid 2025 and not getting the same production.

Center Field isn't the position where you see major production/pop generally.

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I mean Myers basically has no pop, so I would say everyone but him. Last year was his career year and he had what, 3 bombs? Slugged .370?

I love his defense, but we need more offense out of that position.

I'd give Zach Cole a shot.

Moniak would be a decent option for CF. Seems like he always hits well against us.

Ag_07 said:

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Slide Cam to CF (wasn't this a possibility last year) and upgrade at one of the corner spots.

Not sure what's available there but just a thought

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There is an obvious decline in defense while taking a risk offensively, too. Jake was better than Cam with the bat last year.

ruxin98 said:

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Farmer1906 said:

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ruxin98 said:

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EastCoastAgNc said:

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Latest notes with @katiejwoo:

*Fairbanks market

*Astros’ Meyers in demand

*Cody Ponce a potential $30M-$40M man

*A fixture Rays might finally trade

*Sign of progress for Marlinshttps://t.co/WvhmFRCwqS

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 1, 2025

Quote:

---

Few quality center fielders are available in either free agency or trade, triggering interest in players who might be pried loose from other clubs. The Houston Astros' Jake Meyers, coming off a modest offensive breakout last season, is one such player.

MLB Trade Rumors projects Meyers to earn $3.5 million in the first of his two remaining years of club control. The Astros are open to moving him for a controllable major-league starter, according to people briefed on their discussions. And the interest in Meyers entering his age-30 campaign is considerable, other clubs say.

The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets and Rays are among the teams exploring upgrades in center field, along with the Orioles, Arizona Diamondbacks and Kansas City Royals. Meyers is an excellent defender. But if the Astros are skeptical of him replicating his offensive performance, they perhaps could get similar production from Zach Cole and/or Jacob Melton.

Meyers appeared in only 104 games last season due to right calf issues. His .292 batting average and .727 OPS were significant improvements over his four seasons, even if only slightly above average when adjusted to his park and league. In nearly 1,200 prior career plate appearances, he batted .228 with a .662 OPS.

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Sell high IMO. We need more offensive production/pop out of that position since we aren't getting it elsewhere.

---

How many center fielders have more production/pop?

Varsho had a career year there (partial year)
Buxton when healthy
PCA broke out
Julio
Chourio
Grisham had a career year, too

It's not like any of these guys are available, though. You could try someone like a Bader, Moniak, or Marsh via UFA or trade, but you're likely chasing a solid 2025 and not getting the same production.

Center Field isn't the position where you see major production/pop generally.

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I mean Myers basically has no pop, so I would say everyone but him. Last year was his career year and he had what, 3 bombs? Slugged .370?

I love his defense, but we need more offense out of that position.

I'd give Zach Cole a shot.

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Jake had an OBP of .354 last year. If he would have qualified, that would have put him around #30 on the OBP leader list. The question is can he repeat those numbers while hopefully playing more next season.

Elite CF defense with the ability to get on base is very valuable.

Springer has messed with this board's expectations of what a typical great MLB CFer is.

Devin Williams Mets deal: $45M for 3 years. $5M per deferred for 11/20 years with $6M bonus prorated equal over 3 yrs

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 2, 2025

I really think whether you trade Jake comes down to what your hopes are for this year. We need his defense in CF, so you are taking a step back at that position if you trade him. Who we get back needs to improve us significantly as part of the everyday lineup to be worth it. Getting some prospects or a #5 starter back who is only going to make us better 1 game out of 5 isn't worth losing his + defense 5 games out of 5.

Like always, I can't say whether I'm willing to make a trade unless I know what's being offered in return. We can speculate on Jake's value, but some team may really want him and may be willing to part with some good players to get him. You never know.

EastCoastAgNc said:

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Devin Williams Mets deal: $45M for 3 years. $5M per deferred for 11/20 years with $6M bonus prorated equal over 3 yrs

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 2, 2025

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We'll that is perfectly simple and not even a little bit confusing. I think it comes to around 14 M per year AAV. While not monstrous like Hader, it's still a top 3-5 contract in AAV and total for a relief pitcher.

Any input on their backup plan now that Cease is off the market?

Ag_07 said:

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Any input on their backup plan now that Cease is off the market?

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Trade targets: Gore, Soriano, Sandy, Peralta, Rasmussen, Lopez

There is no way we have enough chips to trade for Donovan AND a high-end starter, though.

It will be interesting to see how we pivot.

SpaceCityAg05 said:

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There is no way we have enough chips to trade for Donovan AND a high-end starter, though.

It will be interesting to see how we pivot.

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I agree. I doubt we'll add multiple high-level impact players. If we trade for Donny then we'll probably add JV and another middle/back-end starter like Gioltio, Littell, Eflin, Montgomery, etc.

But if we do trade for a co-ace with Brown then we'll probably add multiple cheap bats to help impact.

and the thing we discuss every offseason with Jake:

"in the 9-hole his numbers would be fine"

but it never works out that way (in part due to Espada)

last year...Jake had his most AB's in the 7 spot...second most in the 6 spot

only 13% of his AB's in 2025 were in the 9-hole

Willson Contreras is open to trade offers and has become more willing to waive his full NTC over the last few weeks. How does that fit into the #STLCards trade plans?

Where things stand on Contreras, Arenado, Donovan, Nootbaar ahead of Winter Meetings:https://t.co/TG72zH22e5

— Katie Woo (@katiejwoo) December 2, 2025

Quote:

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Donovan continues to be one of the most coveted trade candidates available, but the Cardinals are not inclined to move him unless they receive an offer they simply can't refuse. On the surface, it makes sense for St. Louis to trade their lone All-Star representative. Donovan is fresh off the best year of his career and will be a free agent after the 2027 season, a timeline multiple sources within the organization concede will not line up with the team's next competitive window.

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https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/47166190/mlb-offseason-2025-2026-trade-candidate-player-rankings-skubal-marte-buxton-peralta

Some perspective on CF:

We ranked tied in last with only 6 HRs from CF. There was definitely a power outage, but we all know HRs are only part of the picture.

We ranked 4th in OBP and 13th in wOBA. Overall, offensive projection from the position was above average.

When you factor in defense, we were well above average. +13 Fielding Run Value (5th overall).

The weakest part of CF projection relative to its peers was baserunning. We were 27th in BsR.

In the end, CF fWAR ended up 2.7 for 12th overall. Better production than the eventual champs, LAD.

Would I like more HRs from CF? Of course. But CF is not some glaring hole. We got adequate production offensively. I would hope any Jake trade means, 1 - we improve significantly somewhere else & 2 - we fully trust in Cole to take over the position.

W said:

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and the thing we discuss every offseason with Jake:

"in the 9-hole his numbers would be fine"

but it never works out that way (in part due to Espada)

last year...Jake had his most AB's in the 7 spot...second most in the 6 spot

only 13% of his AB's in 2025 were in the 9-hole

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Jake ranked 140th in wRC+* @ 107. That kind of production is worthy of the 7 hole, probably higher.

*min 200 PA

W said:

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and the thing we discuss every offseason with Jake:

"in the 9-hole his numbers would be fine"

but it never works out that way (in part due to Espada)

last year...Jake had his most AB's in the 7 spot...second most in the 6 spot

only 13% of his AB's in 2025 were in the 9-hole

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That's been largely due to injuries and/or the struggles of players expected to fill those roles. I think Jake is fine batting 7-9 and Joe needs to leave him there regardless of what the rest of the lineup does.

I still think Jake is a guy who could hit around .245-250 with 15-20 HRs. But if we get the Jake that again hits for average without much pop, I'd be fine with that, too. He can be a table setter for the top of the lineup, assuming the top stays healthy.

Damn just beat me to it