Mark Polishuk's NL Central comments

[mikechamp]

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Mark Polishuk that occurred on April 5. Yes, I know this is from more than a week ago. I was out, so I'm getting caught up.

Fewer questions than last... issue. There are 4 bonus questions to help: two about challenges, one about time travel and one about injuries. Enjoy the read!!

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/04/ ... t-119.html
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How long can the Pirates maintain this short term success?

Mark Polishuk
I was in “I’ll need to see it to believe it” mode before predicting Pittsburgh for a playoff spot. In part this was due to my own reservations about their roster, and also my belief that they’re still behind at least the Brewers and Cubs in the NL Central, with the Reds possibly also in the mix.

But, the Pirates certainly look like an improved team. The rotation has performed well, and new guys Lowe and O’Hearn have been on fire. So far so good in the early going.
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Assuming the reporting about Griffin’s extension being basically done is true, is there any reason they’d delay announcing it? Does this mean they’re probably still negotiating?

Mark Polishuk
Since this looks to be the largest contract of its kind (i.e. for a player just entering the big leagues), no surprise that it’ll take a bit to cross the t’s and dot the lowercase j’s.

Also, don’t forget that it’s a holiday weekend, so that may be a factor in whatever delay is involved.
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How do you feel about the Reds starting pitching?

Mark Polishuk
They’ve been able to hold their own with Greene and Lodolo out, but obviously Cincy needs those two back to really kick into gear.
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What are the odds the Brewers get Made signed to a long term deal?

Mark Polishuk
He has barely played any Double-A ball, so I’d pump the brakes on any extension until next spring at the earliest. Given what we’ve seen with Chourio’s deal and the aggressive Cooper Pratt extension, it’s fair to guess Milwaukee definitely has an eye to locking Made up as well.

Another wrinkle in a Made extension… the lockout. Even if it’s a 2021-22 situation and the regular season still lasts 162 games, the spring will be compressed enough that the Brewers front office may have other things to deal with before really focusing on a contract for Made.
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It’s 2 starts I know I know... but how long until we can victory lap Kyle Harrison? Kid's a beast.

Mark Polishuk
Who could’ve predicted that the Brewers would fix a once-promising pitching prospect?!

….wait, I think everyone called that.
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Based on your answer, do you agree with me that Harrison has more upside than Durbin? Add how Harriosn has played and that feels like a steal right now. (Again, granted it’s early.)

Mark Polishuk
In terms of pure upside, yeah, Harrison was preferable. That’s not to undermine Durbin’s solid rookie year, or to discount the possibility that Harrison might have only unlocked something with the Brewers specifically given their pitching development magic. (And, as you noted, it’s early enough that this answer could totally change if Harrison is rocked in his next outing.)

The Cooper Pratt extension also lends more info to the Durbin trade. If the Brewers were obviously so high on Pratt that they saw him as a long-term piece, it explains why they were willing to move Durbin already.
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Do the Reds have a closer problem with Pagan? He averaged 1 HR every 5 innings last year which is unacceptable for a closer in my opinion. Your thoughts?

Mark Polishuk
Pagan’s struggles in keeping the ball in the park have been the story of his career, though the rest of his arsenal is good enough that he has been able to avoid damage some seasons (like in 2025).

It’s always going to be a highwire act to some extent if Pagan is your closer. But, the Reds felt solid enough in his 2025 performance to sign him to another contract and roll the dice again. Time will tell if that was the right call, or if they’ll explore a closer change at some point this year.
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What do you think about the Pirates not re-signing McCutchen now? He’s off to a hot start and Ozuna is completely washed up with no bat speed at all.

Mark Polishuk
It was handled in a very awkward manner, but I don’t hate the Pirates’ decision to move on from McCutchen as a pure baseball move. What didn’t make sense was then spending $12MM on Ozuna to clog up the DH spot.

The idea of Cutch going on a revenge tour and having a big season in Texas would be fun (especially for Rangers fans).
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Thoughts on challenge system? Most fans seem to enjoy the extra layer of strategy, how about you? Do you think we’ll see it expand to 3-5 challenges a game? Players given more than 2 seconds to decide if they want to challenge?

Mark Polishuk
I’m a big fan of the challenge system and how smoothly it’s become part of baseball lore. Dunno if any tweaks need to be incorporated just yet. If anything, I can see it maybe eventually bumped up to three challenges a game, though five seems like too many.
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I feel for the umps. I’ve seen a bunch of overturned abs calls by half an inch!

Mark Polishuk
Plenty of 50-50 calls, no doubt, where you can’t blame the ump for making the call (or blame a player to making the challenge).
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If you could go back to 1 moment in MLB history what would it be?

Mark Polishuk
Bartolo Colon’s home run.
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What can MLB do to reduce pitching injuries? It seems like every week someone else is blowing out their arm. Injuries are a part of all sports but this is becoming an epidemic.

Mark Polishuk
There’s no easy answer. Higher velocity leads to more injuries, but pitchers aren’t going to voluntarily shed velo since that makes them either less effective, or less likely to get signed in the first place.

Pitching a baseball is an unnatural physical act, and it’s inevitably going to lead to injuries. The modern focus on velocity and spin isn’t entirely to blame either, as if anything, modern medicine has helped pitchers stay healthier overall.
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