Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

[mikechamp]

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on October 11.

A lot more questions this week. I also included 2 bonus questions: both about the impending lockout. Enjoy the read!!

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/ ... t-921.html
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Any news on the A’s GM hunt?

Mark Polishuk
Well, we know it won’t be Sam Fuld or Rob Cerfolio. That leaves a bunch of other known candidates still potentially in the running, though maybe in a slightly awkward sense if Fold was the top choice. Reports suggested the A’s were getting relatively close to hiring someone, but it remains to be seen if moving onto a backup choice on their list after Fuld might delay things a bit longer.
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I’m sure Seiya Suzuki will draw quite a bit of interest in free agency as a right-handed bat with power and solid OBP skills. But at 32, how many years can he realistically get? Will clubs buy the defensive improvement enough to offer 4-5 years? Will he get 9 figures?

Mark Polishuk
Nine figures is a reach, but replicating his previous contract in terms of AAV is feasible in a thin hitting market. It’s way more likely Suzuki gets a four-year deal than a five.
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Who wins Game 1 of the NLCS tonight?

Mark Polishuk
Is it wrong to consider Game 1 to be a must-win game? Because if the Brewers lose Misiorowski’s start and then Yamamoto looms in Game 2, the “not again…” feeling is going to suddenly creep into Milwaukee’s fanbase (and maybe into their clubhouse).
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Do you see Nolan Gorman in the 2027 picture for the Cardinals? Maybe as a guy who comes off the bench at least.

Mark Polishuk
I listed Gorman as a non-tender candidate in the STL offseason outlook a few days ago. I suspect 2026 was his last-chance season and the Cardinals are probably ready to move on.
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Who’s on first for the DBacks next year, if any? Could Alex Burleson be of interest? Bats left handed and can play first, or is he too expensive?

Mark Polishuk
Burleson isn’t expensive in terms of money, as he is projected to earn $8.3MM in 2027. With similar numbers next season, he’ll earn something in the ballpark of $11.5MM for 2028, which will be his final year of arbitration eligibility. Any team would happily sign up Burleson’s production for two years and less than $20MM. But, that makes him more valuable to the Cardinals if they did decide to shop him, so the D’Backs would have to come up with a particularly impressive offer of younger talent.
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What will the Tigers do this winter? Possibly trade for a bat or perhaps go after Suzuki or Jazz?

Mark Polishuk
Suzuki is the bigger upgrade of those two, and Suzuki’s ability to play right field creates room for both Torkelson and Carpenter to stay if the Tigers wish. As to whether or not the Tigers would make such a big splash for Suzuki, that remains to be seen. Detroit has been cautious about spending too heavily on free agents, and such reluctant teams might point to Suzuki’s age as a reason (or an excuse) to look elsewhere.
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Who ya got in their prime: Frank Thomas or Sammy Sosa?

Mark Polishuk
I’ll take the Hurt, that’s a pretty easy call in my view.
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Make sense to you that the Brewers will look to deal Mitchell this winter, as he is only under team control for 2 more years (sadly, he’s been on the IL for much of his career until this season)? Vaughn looks like a non tender candidate too, as his projected number is over $7M.Finally, Bauers offered a QO or not? If he is, think he will he accept it? I think he’ll 2-3 year offers for $15M+ per, even though he only has had a single year of being more than a reserve/platoon guy. His ability to play 1B/LF/RF means a dozen teams will have some degree of interest.

Mark Polishuk
Milwaukee’s usual tactic would be to trade Mitchell next winter, not this winter. There might be some logic in selling high now, but if Mitchell (who had a sky-high BABIP, for what it’s worth) is actually figuring things out at the plate, then a solid bat who can play excellent CF defense is immensely valuable to the Brewers themselves.

Bauers would almost surely accept a QO if offered. As good as Bauers was in 2026, the Brewers probably won’t want to commit such a big chunk of their payroll to a player with Bauers’ limited track record, so I doubt they make him the offer.
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Is Shota out of the budget for the Pirates this offseason? PNC has been known to elevate left handed pitchers.

Mark Polishuk
I’ll be interested to see what kind of contract Imanaga lands, but you’re probably right in guessing that he’ll be out of Pittsburgh’s price range. One would imagine Imanaga might specifically look for a team in more of a pitcher-friendly park, but PNC isn’t the only stadium in that category. It’s also amusing to think of the Pirates wanting to sign Imanaga just because he has completely owned them throughout his career. An 0.61 ERA over seven starts and 44 innings!
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On that note, would signing Shota Imanaga be a good plan for the Giants, considering his fly ball rate would be not as big of a problem in Oracle?

Mark Polishuk
This would be a good fit, yes.
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Seiya Suzuki to the Yankees. While they have other needs, since when does that stop them from signing the player than can most?

Mark Polishuk
That does create the obvious question of where Suzuki would play. The 2027 outfield looks like Judge, Jones, and Bellinger, and both Suzuki and Judge might balk at splitting RF/DH duties. Garcia could be moved to 2B with Rice at 1B, but that creates the question of whether or not Garcia can show any defensive improvement as a second baseman again. Plus, adding Suzuki turns Stanton into a glorified pinch-hitter, unless the Yankees were to release him entirely.

Bottom line, Seiya isn’t a great fit for the Yankees’ needs. I don’t doubt that they’ll check in on him out of due diligence, but other teams figure to make bigger pushes for a signing.
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Suzuki would be a great acquisition for any team that wants to have its rallies killed by lightening-fast noncompetitive strikeouts.

Mark Polishuk
“Our ears are burning!” — the White Sox
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Would the Reds try to sign Alec Bohm or players like him, or try making trades to improve roster? At a loss… would they even try moving Hunter Greene?

Mark Polishuk
Greene just had TJ surgery in August, so teams won’t be after him in any fashion. Bohm isn’t the most exciting of options, but he’s the kind of player the Reds will likely target as a relatively inexpensive FA that can be signed for one year.
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Will there be a trade or free agent signing completed before the potential lockout clock strikes?

Mark Polishuk
There’s going to be a ton of activity. If you remember the last lockout in December 2021, the few days leading up to December 1 were among the most chaotic transaction days I can remember in all my time at MLBTR.
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How likely is MLB to revert to 154 games and have a longer division series without getting a salary cap?

Mark Polishuk
Assuming the league doesn’t attach those ideas to a cap, I can see the MLBPA being open to these concepts. More playoff games means more TV money for all parties, and while reducing the schedule means eight fewer game-day paychecks, players might appreciate extra time off for rest and recovery.
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[Felix The Cat]

In a vacuum, shortening the regular season to add more playoff games is more reasonable than the league adding playoff games without shortening an already long season (NBA) or the league that just adds more games to both (NFL).