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Front Office Chat: 2/10/23
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Anthony Franco
3:59
Hey everyone, hope you're all finishing a great week!
4:00
Let's discuss what remains of free agency
Luke Voit
4:00
Why don't I have a job yet? Has everyone seen how far I can hit a baseball? To quote Vince Lombardi  "What the hell is going on out here?"
Anthony Franco
4:01
He had the second-highest strikeout rate among qualified hitters last season and has been just a slightly above-average offensive player two years running. The power-only slugger without defensive value doesn't do well on the open market after a down year or two
Metsiac
4:01
Are the Mets done adding to the roster, or will they add another piece before P & C (Chafin/Britton) ?
Anthony Franco
4:02
Still certainly have the opportunity to add a left-handed reliever. It feels likely, particularly since the expected Cubs' bullpen pickup turned out to be Fulmer
Atlee Cheesemaker
4:02
Besides Adley Rutschman and Dansby Swanson it seems every first overall draft pick in the past decade has been a disappointment. Of the remaining guys (Holliday, Davis, Torkelson, Mize, Royce Lewis, Moniak, Aiken, Appel) who has the best chance to still be an above average ballplayer?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Yeah it's been pretty rough overall. I think you have to take Davis and especially Holliday out of this equation. I'd take Holliday over everyone else you mentioned but that's largely because he hasn't had a chance to be challenged in pro ball right now
4:04
Of the guys who have reached the majors already but struggled and/or gotten hurt, I'm most optimistic on Torkelson. Just think there's too much power and a good enough approach for him not to be an above-average hitter in time. Probably not a star overall since he's a first baseman but I still buy him as a good player
4:05
Mize could be a mid-rotation starter if he can stay healthy, but durability has been the question since he was at Auburn. Aiken's done, Appel's an up-and-down reliever, Moniak's a fifth outfielder. Lewis might be an alright utility player if he can stay healthy
Vegas Lee
4:05
any update at all on former manager Joe Maddon......
Anthony Franco
4:07
Nothing recent, feels like he's content to just wait things out until someone calls with a managerial opening where he feels like he'll have autonomy and if it doesn't happen, then so be it
I imagine his name will come up again in future offseasons
Ryan
4:07
Could Evan White be the most important player nobody is talking about in Seattle?
Anthony Franco
4:08
Eh, it feels like anything White gives you at this point is  just a bonus. Injuries robbed him of a lot of the reps he needed to develop as a hitter
Rodon Right On
4:09
If a player is cut/ bought out of their contract, is there any way for teams to lessen their Luxury Tax implications?  Or do they basically have to buy relief through sending prospects in salary dumps?......Just asking for a friend.....who may, or may not be, Hal Steinbrenner 🙃
Anthony Franco
4:09
Ha no, you're stuck with the entire CBT hit unless the player gets traded or claimed off waivers
Which isn't happening for Hicks or Donaldson
Paul
4:09
What do you think of removing the shift. How will it affect the he hitters. I think it was stupid to remove it
Anthony Franco
4:10
I'm intrigued to see how it goes but generally expect it won't have the effect MLB wants it to, at least over the long term
4:12
The shift affects the left-handed slugger (an archetype that strikes out more than any other) to the greatest extent. The hitters most excited about its removal are the Joey Gallo types. I think we'll get a few more singles early on and the league will be content, and then teams will respond by valuing the high-strikeout slugger even more than they already do because the hitters who can use the field are comparatively less valuable than they had been
4:13
I have no emotional attachment to the shift and am not strongly against them getting rid of it. I just wonder if it'll turn out to exacerbate the problem the league thinks it's fixing. We'll see, I hope I'm wrong about that because I would like to see batting averages go up and more balls in play generally
Atlee Cheesemaker
4:13
If the Giants Pitching Value Extraction Machine pulls another Pomeranz/Gausman/Rodon, which of the two starters signed to the same contract - Stripling or Manaea - will take the bigger leap this season?
Anthony Franco
4:15
I think Manaea was in for a better season than he had in 2022 regardless of where he ended up but if they can find something that allows to mitigate his platoon issues a little bit, he could be really good
Jung-hoo Lee
4:16
Any predictions about my contract and team in 2024?
Anthony Franco
4:18
Not familiar enough with him to have a feel for that yet. He seems like the best player to come out of Korea in a while. Feels like a guy who could get nine figures given his age and contact rates but it's really early and we'll have to get in touch with scouts over there before making any kind of firm prediction
4:19
So much of the value for the guys from NPB and the KBO just comes down to different teams' scouts' evaluations of the player's hit tool. Those can be wildly divergent, hence the surprise from a lot of teams about the Red Sox giving Masataka Yoshida $90MM this year
Paul K
4:19
One thing about the shift rule change at has intrigued me, but I get the sense I am alone. Everyone is focused on the left-right aspect. What about the one foot on the dirt aspect? The premium on OF defence just went up a lot in my hypothesis. Comments?
Anthony Franco
4:20
Yeah that's the more important aspect of the restriction than the "two guys on either side" part. They want to eliminate that rover in shallow right field
4:21
Which theoretically leaves open the possibility that you could just put an outfielder in shallow right field, but Derrick Goold said in a chat this week the league had made clear to the Cardinals (and presumably ever other team) that if teams do that with any kind of frequency, they'll just change the rule to litigate it out
Brad
4:21
Joey Bart ever live up to expectations?
Anthony Franco
4:21
Feels like he's tracking towards a Zunino career with maybe a little less defense
4:22
I think he'll be an average starting catcher for a while, but that's probably not what you had in mind by expectations considering he went second overall
Cubs Fan
4:22
Is Hayden Wesneski in the rotation this year?
Anthony Franco
4:23
Re-signing Smyly bumped him from the season-opening group but he'll be one of the first guys in if someone gets hurt -- probably the first substitute if Hendricks starts the season on the IL behind Taillon, Stroman, Steele, Smyly and Thompson
So ultimately, I think he makes 15+ starts and will be one of their five best starting pitchers, even if he's not in the Opening Day rotation
KC Monarchs
4:23
Will Oscar Gonzalez (Cleveland) be a regular? If so, what kind of regular will he be?Is his .296 BA last year going to be his career highlight?
Anthony Franco
4:25
He's a fascinating player. There just aren't many MLB players who consistently hit at an above-average level while swinging as often as he does
4:26
He clearly has power and he hits pitches in the strike zone. I'm intrigued -- he already outplayed my expectations last season -- but still feels like he'll be a little volatile. I could see him having other seasons that look like his 2022 without being able to do that every year, if that makes sense
HOF
4:26
Sandy Koufax really only had 4 amazing years that got him (deservedly) into the Hall of Fame.  Should deGrom's body of work get him in even if he can't stay healthy the rest of his career
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