Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

[mikechamp]

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on October 25.

Fewer questions this week. I did include 1 bonus question about the impending lockout. Enjoy the read!!

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/ ... t-923.html
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Do the Guardians make sense to land Suzuki? What would it take to sign?

Mark Polishuk
Suzuki will get, at minimum, a $20MM average annual value and at least three guaranteed years. (I’d lean towards four.) This is simply so far beyond Cleveland’s usual price range that I doubt they’ll be involved on Suzuki to any real extent, even though a strong bat would so badly help their lineup.
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Gunnar Henderson in a deal for Paul Skenes. Who says no?

Mark Polishuk
This would be an incredibly fun and fascinating trade, ha! I think this is the type of offer that makes both front offices have a serious internal meeting, but all in all, I suspect Pittsburgh says no.
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What type of a deal would it take to land Tyler Stephenson? 5 years, 75 million a strong offer?

Mark Polishuk
Not anywhere near that. Think 2-3 years at maybe $10MM per year.
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Any chance Chaim moves a handful of prospects for a an All-Star-level bat or arm? The farm is as deep as it’s ever been with another top 12 pick next June, too.

Mark Polishuk
Unlikely, at this stage in the Cardinals’ rebuild. While they exceeded expectations this year, I doubt Bloom views them at the point where it’s time to start reloading for a real pennant run.
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Do teams make any sort of substantial (relative to payroll) amount of money going deep in the playoffs? Wondering with the playoff push and sorta kinda seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on Yelich makes it more likely they sign Contreras.

Do you think the results of the World Series impact what the Brewers do with Contreras at all? (I still think the “they trade their stars” narrative only applies to pitchers, they kept Adames after all, and that they have a far better chance of signing Wild Bill than people give them credit for.)

Mark Polishuk
The Brewers undoubtedly are generating plenty of extra revenue from this playoff run, so it’s possible this factors into their thinking vis a vis Contreras. I’m not sure if it translates into extending him, but at least the team might just keep him through 2027 to take another run at a championship. If Contreras then leaves in free agency so be it, but under the next CBA, probably some compensation would still come back Milwaukee’s way.

In all likelihood, the Brewers will see how the next CBA plays out (and, y’know, the World Series) before deciding on Contreras.
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Will the Cardinals finally fire Oli Marmol?

Mark Polishuk
Marmol just signed an extension last spring, and the Cards overachived in the first year of their rebuild. Ergo, he isn’t going anywhere. I admit to being a little surprised that Marmol was kept on, but Bloom clearly trusts him to help guide the Cards through this rebuild phase.
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Would Christian Yelich and/or Brandon Woodruff retire if the Brewers win the World Series?

Mark Polishuk
Yelich isn’t walking away from two more years on his contract. Back in the summer when it seemed like Woodruff was getting surgery, he was adamant about coming back in 2027, so I doubt a ring would halt those plans.
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Who you got the rest of the way in the World Series? Brewers finish it off or Rays make the comeback?

Mark Polishuk
Who wins the World Series?

Brewers finish it off (81.8% | 361 votes)

Rays make the comeback (18.1% | 80 votes)

Total Votes: 441
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Is there much chance the Reds would go after a Taylor Ward or Trent Grisham before the lock out? Or try to make a trade with a team like Kansas City?

Mark Polishuk
These feel like the kinds of outfield moves that the Reds would make in their price range, as much as Cincy fans would want something bigger.

Of the two, I’d prefer to have Ward, and maybe playing in Cincinnati would get his power going again.
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Seeing there is a reasonably high chance that Lowe prices himself out of the Pirates, could they look for a Jazz Chisholm or a rebounding Johnathan India?

Mark Polishuk
If I was a Pirates fan, I would be very disappointed by replacing Lowe with India. Jazz isn’t a perfect player by any means, but I’d much rather take him over India. Chisholm might take a one-year, “prove it” type of contract to set himself up for a longer-term deal next offseason. If that’s the case, Pittsburgh is at least a possibility for such a deal in their budget.
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Chances the Cubs run out Shaw and Ramirez in the corner OF spots?

Mark Polishuk
Non-zero, but it’s a lot more likely that Chicago fills one of those spots with a proven veteran outfielder.
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If you were running the Reds, would you retool or rebuild? I don’t see a path to contention next season.

Mark Polishuk
As long as Elly is around, I would try to win. Admittedly, the Reds are in a tough spot since I don’t love a lot of their roster, so they might just have more holes than can be fixed in a single offseason.

The move for this winter might be to see some shorter-term help to improve the team for 2027, and then with an eye towards a bigger push in 2028 when Greene is back (and presumably effective).

Elly is controlled through 2029, so this timeline still gives the Reds a chance to capitalize on his presence.
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There won’t be a salary cap but more of a higher penalty and more deterrents for big spenders.

Mark Polishuk
I think this will ultimately be the outcome of the next CBA, as the players’ union has been so consistently adamant in shutting down all talk of a salary cap.
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