Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to another edition of my weekly chat. I’m back from my Salt Lake City ski trip with my daughter (now a beginning intermediate skier!).

Jay Jaffe: Yesterday, I published a roundup of the top position players remaining on the free agent market. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/still-on-the-shelves-part-i-top-remaining-…

Jay Jaffe: The companion piece, on pitchers, is in the editorial pipeline as we chat and should go live soon.

Jay Jaffe: Speaking of my daughter, she spotted a new species of squirrel in our backyard this morning: the Brooklyn Pizza Squirrel https://bsky.app/profile/jayjaffe.bsky.social/post/3liyvdf5ux22l

Jay Jaffe: Pitter patter, let’s get at ‘er…

Gaijin: Well, since you mentioned it, are there any players you’re watching for in the NPB this year? Obviously Murakami, any others?

Dan Szymborski: And away we go!

Wrights_Back: What would the Mets have to give up to get Cease – if he is available?

Dan Szymborski: I think the closer we get to the season, the more the Padres will hang onto him.

Dan Szymborski: The Mets would certainly have to give up something real. YOu can probably fatten the offer a bit with guys the Padres have more reason to like than the Mets.

Dan Szymborski: Like Clifford, who is probably more useful to San Diego, but you’re not going to land him with JUST Clifford

Dan Szymborski: I kinda get the idea that the mets are happyw ith their rotation, and not likely to meet a rich price

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from overcast Tempe, it’s Top 100 Prospects day. I hope everyone is enjoying this year’s tome. Thanks for coming to the chat. I’m going to do my best to get to as many questions as possible for about an hour…

JB: Besides Sasaki, which T100 guys without MLB experience have the best shot at making Opening Day rosters?

Eric A Longenhagen: Shaw I think is likely. Maybe the Chander, Dollander, Sproat group…

Eric A Longenhagen: I’d say non-zero chance Kurtz and Freeland. Kurtz I imagine years of control will matter to LVofSAC…

Eric A Longenhagen: One of the Guardians 2B, Brito or Bazzana…

Eric A Longenhagen: Maybe one of the ChiSox catchers…

Jay Jaffe: Hey folks! Welcome to my Tuesday chat. Please hang tight for a moment as I’m in the midst of conferring with editors about today’s piece

Jay Jaffe: Ok, I’m back but please bear with me if there are further interruptions. My long-awaited-threatened opus — “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Enjoy Batting Average Again” — is in the editorial pipeline. No, that’s not a joke, it’s a piece that’s five years in the making

Jay Jaffe: Since the Hall of Fame circus has left town, I’ve gotten back into the business of covering transactions via the Taylor Rogers trade (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/reds-trade-for-taylor-taylor-not-tyler-or-…) and the Max Scherzer signing (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/max-scherzer-takes-flight-to-toronto/)

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, I’ll link to today’s piece when it’s up. In the meantime, on with the show…

WinTwins0410: Jay, thanks for all your Hall of Fame coverage.  I know that through your research and writing — and reaching conclusions based on where the data and narratives take you — you have been more enthused about some Eras Committees picks in the past few years than about others.  My question: Recognizing that the only other way to get guys in after their BBWAA voting eligibility expires is via the Era Committees — flawed though they may be — is it better to get some of the guys you’ve *really* wanted in as a trade-off for having to accept the induction of some of the ones you think fall short?  Put another way, over the past decade-plus, do you feel like it has been worth it to you to see Dick Allen, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons, Minnie Minoso, Ron Santo and Alan Trammell inducted if it has also meant the enshrinements of Dave Parker, Jim Kaat, Harold Baines and Jack Morris? (note that I didn’t mention Bud Selig lol)

Jay Jaffe: Thanks for the kind words. The results you cite are a mixed blessing, indeed, but the particularities of the first group lead me to prefer a more inclusive Hall of Fame to a less inclusive one. That said, I’d be happier with the concept of a Trammel/Morris trade-off if it also included Lou Whitaker

Eric A Longenhagen: Hi hello from Tempe, where the air is filled with the never-ending drone of leaf blowers.

Eric A Longenhagen: I’m gonna start chat off on a somewhat confrontational note.

Eric A Longenhagen: There are (more this week than usual) lots of questions in my queue asking me to comment on other peoples’ work or opinions. Here are some examples:

Simpson: Why is Chandler Simpson (Tampa) not getting any love. The guy’s a 70 hitter with 80 speed—and he’s not on the top 100 anywhere. What am I missing about him?

Johnny: who are some prospects you are higher and lower on consensus in the bluejays system

Accudart: Dodger Ferris projections are quite varied…is his ceiling only sp3 or do you feel more .thanks