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Front Office Chat: 10/11/24
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Anthony Franco
4:00
Hey everyone, hope you're all having a great week!
Will probably need to keep this one around an hour. Steve's off today so I'm taking news coverage from Darragh at 4:00 Central. Let's get started
Guest
4:01
More surprising resigning Fried/Braves or Burnes/O's?
Anthony Franco
4:01
I'd take the field on both but would be a lot less surprised if Fried re-signs than if Burnes does
4:03
It's not really Atlanta's operating procedure to re-sign marquee free agents and it's possible Fried prefers to go out west. But Braves ownership has proven they're willing to support top five payrolls, which new O's ownership hasn't had an opportunity to demonstrate yet. And Fried obviously has a much longer history with the Braves than the Orioles do with Burnes, which could give them an edge if the bids are close
Borbin Curnes
4:03
Do the Reds trade Lodolo for Sonny Gray straight up? no mpney or other pieces moving?
Anthony Franco
4:05
I would not do that if I were Cincinnati and don't think the Reds would either. I still think there's a good mid-rotation starter with Lodolo. Gray is a better pitcher obviously but there's about a $60MM gap in what they'll get paid over the next two seasons and I don't think the talent divide is near that level
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:05
Which starting pitchers do you think the Mets will bring back next year?
Anthony Franco
4:07
Of the Quintana, Manaea and Severino group, I'd probably pick just Quintana to return. They got their bang for the buck with the rebound deals on Manaea and Severino but those aren't guys I'd feel compelled to spend top dollar for at three or four years
4:08
Manaea will reject a QO. Severino probably would too but I could see a world where he accepts. That wouldn't be the worst thing for the Mets, but if he declines and goes out looking for Taijuan Walker money, I'd let him walk
Luc
4:08
Will Posey actually be able to get a Star?
Giants
4:08
Barring some kind of crazy Soto Miracle, Adames seems to be the best choice for the Giants topush hard for correct? Other than him, what position players do you think the Giants pursue/would make a good impact for them? Christian Walker to let Eldridge come up at DH first to focus on hitting? A surprise trade?
Anthony Franco
4:10
Yeah the Giants/Adames fit is the easiest one to draw. Your mileage may vary on whether you consider him a star. I expect them to make a serious run at Soto too but it's hard for me to see him signing with a team other than the New York clubs
4:11
Zaidi wasn't in on the idea of spending on a first baseman with Eldridge not far off. Remains to be seen if Posey feels the same way but I think Wade's an alright stopgap there
4:12
If they miss on Soto and Adames but still want to make a free agent splash, I'd make a run at one of the top starters. The price on guys like Santander and Teoscar would probably be too high for me and they cut against the need to get more athletic and better defensively
Glenn
4:12
Who do you think the Ray's will trade with to obtain a decent hitting option behind the plate?
Anthony Franco
4:15
Marc Topkin, who's as plugged in with Tampa Bay as any beat writer is for a team, wrote last week that the Rays really like prospect Dom Keegan and were probably going with a stopgap catcher
I think it'll be a relatively boring signing (Carson Kelly, Kyle Higashioka) of a righty-hitting catcher to pair with Rortvedt
4:16
On trades specifically: maybe the Braves are done with Sean Murphy? Jake Rogers feels like a very Rays catcher in that he's a great defender who can't hit
Joe J.
4:16
If the Yankees lose out on Soto, what should be plan B?
Anthony Franco
4:18
Bregman makes a ton of sense as a roster fit but they might feel that there's too much bad blood from the '17 Astros or whatever.

If that's the case, probably Santander and a rotation splash for Snell or Fried
Borbin Curnes
4:19
Does Helsley bring back a MLB ready/young MLB already starting pitcher who is better than Pallante?
Anthony Franco
4:20
Yeah I think that's reasonable for one year of an elite reliever. I like Pallante but he's a 4th/5th starter for me. They should be able to aim higher than that on Helsley
Donny Baseball
4:20
Thanks for the chats. Do you see Cole opting out and if so do you see the Yankees picking up the option considering he has had a down year and his age is a consideration?
Anthony Franco
4:21
Such a tough one, really might depend on whether Cole helps pitch them to a World Series
Broke this down in more detail in August and think everything there still applies
4:22
He's basically pitching at exactly the level needed where it makes sense for him to feel he can beat 4/144 while it's also right for the Yankees to let him walk instead of committing to 5/180
Gwynning
4:22
Hey Anthony, thanks to you and the rest of the MLBTR staff for another fine season of articles. I have to ask... what's your take on Dave Robert's calling out Manny for... what again? Tossing a ball to his dugout?? Break it down for us!?!? Thanx!
Anthony Franco
4:24
I can only assume the Dodgers had some camera angle that made it look worse, because the video that the Union-Tribune put out there seemed so innocuous. From what I've seen, it's such a non-story that I don't understand why the Dodgers made a fuss over it
$$$
4:24
Best value off season signing for 2025  ,pitching/batting? Crystal ball for sure , but you are a quasi GM...
Anthony Franco
4:26
Ha, quasi-GM feels like an overstatement but thanks
4:27
Would still be very intrigued to see what a new coaching staff could do with Walker Buehler on a Flaherty-type deal. Matthew Boyd seems like he'll provide sneaky value on a two-year contract
4:28
I'm generally not a fan of the hitting class at the prices that they'll probably command. If you can get Profar for like Lourdes Gurriel/Jeimer Candelario money, I'd be in
Carlos Santana gets like $6MM every year and always outperforms it
Hoster Tully
4:28
Does Nolan Arenado make sense for the Yankees?
Anthony Franco
4:31
Clearly better than LeMahieu/Cabrera and anyone in the free agent class beyond Bregman, so I could see it. I don't think it'd be a great value over three seasons, since there's a decent chunk of money and he's clearly trending down. But he'd stabilize the position in the short term at a time when they're legitimate World Series contenders despite a terrible third base situation
Bo
4:31
Do we think the Jays sell low on Bo due to the seeming bad blood that's developed there? Or do they keep him there despite the leak that he has said he would welcome a trade and let him walk to FA?
Anthony Franco
4:32
Feels like such a sell low that I expect they'll keep him. Could always move him at the deadline if he's hitting again and the team still isn't good
4:33
That front office probably doesn't have much more rope. They need a lot to go right next year and you're just subtracting from the team's ceiling if you trade Bichette coming off the worst season of his career
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