Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments
Posted: August 10 26, 1:11 pm
These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on August 9.
A good amount of questions, with 1 bonus question about playoff seeding. Enjoy the read!!
The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/07/ ... t-135.html
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My question has to do with NL MVP. Ohtani vs PCA:
Mark Polishuk
Who is your pick for NL MVP?
Crow-Armstrong (58.5% | 464 votes)
Ohtani (27.7% | 220 votes)
Other (13.6% | 108 votes)
Total Votes: 792
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Will the Pirates fire their GM and their manager?
Mark Polishuk
Kelly was given a contract extension of some length last September. Cherington’s contract runs through 2027. These details notwithstanding, I think another losing record leads to both being fired. The Pirates were strongly pushing to at least get over .500 this year.
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Whose front office do you raid for the next GM of the A’s?
Mark Polishuk
It’ll be interesting to see if the A’s maybe promote a familiar face from within, or if they go with an entirely fresh new PBO/GM on the cusp of the Las Vegas era. Hiring someone from the usual suspects (the Dodgers, Rays, Guardians, Brewers, etc.) for front office hirings makes sense, but there’s some intrigue here since this is Fisher’s first-ever real GM search.
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I know it hasn’t been one week yet, but I’m one of the few that wasn’t that ecstatic for the Cubs return in their deadline deals. Am I crazy?
Mark Polishuk
The Cubs did pretty well in my view. Gausman/Holmes will help the rotation quite a bit, Garrett is a bit of a lottery ticket, and Zeferjahn bolsters the pen. The bullpen is also boosted in general by Gausman/Holmes pushing any of the excess starters into relief duty.
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Isn’t it pretty crazy that Mookie Betts has SIX career 3 homer games??
Mark Polishuk
This got me looking up the records, and Betts is tied with Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize for the most three-homer games in MLB history.
Nobody truly out of place on that list, since even though Betts isn’t as true a slugger as the others, he’s obviously a great player.
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Cards are SO deep in pitching prospects it seems a deal for 3-4-5 of them to a pitching poor team for a better prospect makes sense. Any possibility there?
Mark Polishuk
All together now… you can never have too much pitching!
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Pratt hurt, Ortiz hurt… this situation seems tailor…. Made. (Sorry) but do we see him soon?
Mark Polishuk
I find it hard to believe that he’d be promoted without even a brief stop in Triple-A. But, if that promotion happens and Made performs well, I can see the Brewers perhaps making the call to have Made as a secret weapon for October.
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Angels' next GM from MO’s St. Louis friends?
Mark Polishuk
I think this is very possible. Girsch and Randy Flores were mentioned as speculative candidates basically from the moment Mozeliak was hired in LA.
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Can someone explain how the Cardinals crashed so hard in the 2nd half?
Mark Polishuk
Reality caught up to a team that probably overachieved in the first half. And, St. Louis is still only at .500, so there’s still plenty of time to get on track and still make some kind of run at a wild card.
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Is Skenes' dip in velocity and results at all worrying?
Mark Polishuk
MLB.com’s Travis Sawchik had a good breakdown on Skenes the other day, so for the link….
https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-20 ... -deep-dive
On top of Sawchik’s points, we also shouldn’t overlook the fact that Skenes is still just 24 and in his third big league seasons. Maybe it just took the league a little while to start to figure him out, and now it’s on Skenes and the Pirates to make the necessary adjustments.
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Should the Reds trade Elly this offseason? What would a trade package look for him right now?
Mark Polishuk
Moving Elly would signal a rebuild for the Reds, and that’s very likely not a step the franchise wants to take. EDLC just becomes arb-eligible this winter, Burns was just signed to a big extension, and the Reds have a lot of money coming off the books.
Obviously dealing him would bring back a massive haul of young talent, with at least one or two players that could contribute immediately to Cincinnati’s 2027 team.
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What’s the deal with the Reds? How is Singer still there? What about Stephenson?
Mark Polishuk
Stephenson’s probably the player I’m most surprised to see stay put at the deadline. Between the BoSox getting Adley, the Rays getting Hicks, and (to a lesser extent) the Rangers getting O’Hoppe, perhaps that left the Yankees as the last real suitor standing, and the Reds didn’t like the offer.
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Shouldn’t the playoff seeding be redone after each round so that the highest ranked team plays the lowest ranked?
Mark Polishuk
I think every sport should do this for their playoffs, not just baseball.
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A good amount of questions, with 1 bonus question about playoff seeding. Enjoy the read!!
The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/07/ ... t-135.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My question has to do with NL MVP. Ohtani vs PCA:
Mark Polishuk
Who is your pick for NL MVP?
Crow-Armstrong (58.5% | 464 votes)
Ohtani (27.7% | 220 votes)
Other (13.6% | 108 votes)
Total Votes: 792
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Will the Pirates fire their GM and their manager?
Mark Polishuk
Kelly was given a contract extension of some length last September. Cherington’s contract runs through 2027. These details notwithstanding, I think another losing record leads to both being fired. The Pirates were strongly pushing to at least get over .500 this year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Whose front office do you raid for the next GM of the A’s?
Mark Polishuk
It’ll be interesting to see if the A’s maybe promote a familiar face from within, or if they go with an entirely fresh new PBO/GM on the cusp of the Las Vegas era. Hiring someone from the usual suspects (the Dodgers, Rays, Guardians, Brewers, etc.) for front office hirings makes sense, but there’s some intrigue here since this is Fisher’s first-ever real GM search.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I know it hasn’t been one week yet, but I’m one of the few that wasn’t that ecstatic for the Cubs return in their deadline deals. Am I crazy?
Mark Polishuk
The Cubs did pretty well in my view. Gausman/Holmes will help the rotation quite a bit, Garrett is a bit of a lottery ticket, and Zeferjahn bolsters the pen. The bullpen is also boosted in general by Gausman/Holmes pushing any of the excess starters into relief duty.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Isn’t it pretty crazy that Mookie Betts has SIX career 3 homer games??
Mark Polishuk
This got me looking up the records, and Betts is tied with Sammy Sosa and Johnny Mize for the most three-homer games in MLB history.
Nobody truly out of place on that list, since even though Betts isn’t as true a slugger as the others, he’s obviously a great player.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Cards are SO deep in pitching prospects it seems a deal for 3-4-5 of them to a pitching poor team for a better prospect makes sense. Any possibility there?
Mark Polishuk
All together now… you can never have too much pitching!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pratt hurt, Ortiz hurt… this situation seems tailor…. Made. (Sorry) but do we see him soon?
Mark Polishuk
I find it hard to believe that he’d be promoted without even a brief stop in Triple-A. But, if that promotion happens and Made performs well, I can see the Brewers perhaps making the call to have Made as a secret weapon for October.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Angels' next GM from MO’s St. Louis friends?
Mark Polishuk
I think this is very possible. Girsch and Randy Flores were mentioned as speculative candidates basically from the moment Mozeliak was hired in LA.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Can someone explain how the Cardinals crashed so hard in the 2nd half?
Mark Polishuk
Reality caught up to a team that probably overachieved in the first half. And, St. Louis is still only at .500, so there’s still plenty of time to get on track and still make some kind of run at a wild card.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Is Skenes' dip in velocity and results at all worrying?
Mark Polishuk
MLB.com’s Travis Sawchik had a good breakdown on Skenes the other day, so for the link….
https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-20 ... -deep-dive
On top of Sawchik’s points, we also shouldn’t overlook the fact that Skenes is still just 24 and in his third big league seasons. Maybe it just took the league a little while to start to figure him out, and now it’s on Skenes and the Pirates to make the necessary adjustments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Should the Reds trade Elly this offseason? What would a trade package look for him right now?
Mark Polishuk
Moving Elly would signal a rebuild for the Reds, and that’s very likely not a step the franchise wants to take. EDLC just becomes arb-eligible this winter, Burns was just signed to a big extension, and the Reds have a lot of money coming off the books.
Obviously dealing him would bring back a massive haul of young talent, with at least one or two players that could contribute immediately to Cincinnati’s 2027 team.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What’s the deal with the Reds? How is Singer still there? What about Stephenson?
Mark Polishuk
Stephenson’s probably the player I’m most surprised to see stay put at the deadline. Between the BoSox getting Adley, the Rays getting Hicks, and (to a lesser extent) the Rangers getting O’Hoppe, perhaps that left the Yankees as the last real suitor standing, and the Reds didn’t like the offer.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Shouldn’t the playoff seeding be redone after each round so that the highest ranked team plays the lowest ranked?
Mark Polishuk
I think every sport should do this for their playoffs, not just baseball.
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