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Front Office Chat: 2/3/23
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Anthony Franco
4:00
Hey everyone, hope you all had a good week!
Let's get rolling
Bob Loblaw's Law Blog
4:00
How do the Cardinals shake out their seeming surplus of second basemen, outfielders, and DHs?  Too many average-ish players.
Anthony Franco
4:01
I think they'll eventually consolidate some of that depth at the deadline for a starter. In the meantime, they can keep guys like Gorman and Burleson in Memphis as injury insurance
Astros
4:02
Any idea who will have the better OF defense - Tatis or Chisholm?
Anthony Franco
4:03
I'd guess Jazz has a better chance of being a plus defender but he's also shouldering a tougher workload in CF than Tatis, who'll play a corner in deference to Grisham
Dodgers fan
4:03
I heard that Ryan Pepiot could be on the trading block. Also are they still looking at Reynolds   Or CJ Cron. What are your thoughts
Anthony Franco
4:04
Certainly wouldn't give up Pepiot for Cron. I think he's a fine piece of a Reynolds trade package but not the headliner
charlie window
4:04
Would David Peralta be a great fit for LF for the Yanks?  Good defense, enough power that would play well in Yankee Stadium.
Anthony Franco
4:06
Decent fit on paper but if they're really concerned about the final tax threshold, hard for me to see them breaking that for Peralta
For Love of the Game
4:06
Nobody at MLBTR will answer this question:  What is up with Michael Fulmer this offseason?  I haven't heard anything about him.  He isn't going to have to settle for a minor league contract, is he?
Anthony Franco
4:07
Ha there's no conspiracy to dodge Michael Fulmer questions. Just don't think any of us believe he's all that good
4:08
Average swing-and-miss rates, not many grounders, a few too many walks. Could see him as an NRI guy or a low base one-year big league deal, he's right on that border
Dan-o
4:08
How do you see the Angels infield shaping up? I’m like the boosters they’ve added but also liked what I saw in Rengifo and Soto last year… thanks!
Anthony Franco
4:09
Livan Soto has never played at Triple-A and was fine but not great in Double-A last year. He's probably starting the season in Salt Lake
4:10
Barring future additions: I'd imagine it's Walsh, Drury, Urshela, Rendon as the primary infield to open the year, with Fletcher and Rengifo rotating into the middle pretty frequently. At some point, someone in that group will get injured and they adjust from there
Buffy the Umpire Slayer
4:10
why is Andrew Chafin still available?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Top of the lefty relief market behind Taylor Rogers just froze. Seems like teams are waiting out Chafin, Moore and Will Smith (and maybe Britton/Hand to a lesser extent) to see where the best value ends up
4:12
I know Rosenthal floated the idea that Matt Strahm threw everything off by getting 2/15. I don't buy that theory. Strahm was on the back of our top 50 at times during the process, ended up just outside of it. We always thought he was getting two years and over $10MM. 15's a little above where we'd have projected but not dramatically so
Bob Loblaw's Law Blog
4:12
Who are going to be the best starters available at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:14
Answered this in the main chat this week as well, but it really just depends on how teams play in the first half. None of the clear non-contenders has any starters who'd be in super high demand except maybe Colorado with Márquez -- and there's no guarantee they'd listen even if they're well out of it
Lucas Giolito's the most interesting speculative possibility to me, but it's certainly not of the question the White Sox are close enough to the top of the division that selling doesn't make sense for them
Willie
4:15
If each team gets over $90 million this year from MLB for TV, merchandise and streaming plus the sale of BAM, how does Oakland and others justify their very low team salary total?  Are they just pocketing the excess?
Bob Loblaw's Law Blog
4:15
Is there an owner worse than Fischer? A billionaire failson who refuses to invest any money into his team, extorts the city for free money, tax breaks and property (that will hurt actual union blue collar jobs) and who straight refuses to talk to the press. Its like he actively hates the city of Oakland. Oakland would be better off with a delusional incompetent like Montfort. Why would Vegas even want this grifting moocher to come to their city?
Anthony Franco
4:16
Yeah I'd probably have Oakland ownership at the bottom. Obviously I have zero insight into their revenue streams and how much truth there is to the idea that the stadium situation is so bad they're in dire straits until they get that figured out, but the payrolls and on-field product they're putting out there are rough
Duffy Scliff
4:17
More likely this year: Arizona gets a wildcard spot, or Baltimore does?
Anthony Franco
4:17
I'd take the D-Backs
Rangers13
4:17
Rangers seem to be ok based on reports from CY with one of Thompson, Smith or Duran in LF, a point I am hardly sold on as it does not provide them another power bat for the roster. Who might be on their radar as a person on the waiver/DFA/ Trade group that could provide some extra pop?
Anthony Franco
4:19
Still think there's like a 5-10% chance Anthony Santander gets traded. There's not much power out there in free agency still. Franmil Reyes as a DH/corner outfield hybrid maybe?
Stormy
4:19
Since Urias is like 27 isn’t it probable that he exceeds 300m next year if he hits FA?   I know the dodgers are very profitable and consistently in the upper tier as far as spending but… if they were to spend say 550m plus on Ohtani do you think they would try and keep both at those numbers?
Anthony Franco
4:20
I don't think 300's entirely off the table but it'd take a Cy Young-level platform season probably. Gerrit Cole was essentially the perfect free agent pitcher -- multiple seasons of elite performance, top-of-the-rotation velocity and spin, durability track record
And he got to 9/324M
4:21
Urías has the rate production but not as overpowering an arsenal, good but not elite whiff rates, and he's never reached 200 innings
4:22
He's trending well past $200MM but I wouldn't project 300 yet
As for the Dodgers aspect, it's hard for me to see them signing both Julio and Ohtani given the kind of money that'd take. They spend but they're not the Mets
Stormy
4:22
I love the roden signing even with the inherent risk but I don’t see the current yankees team as enough to get by Houston.  Forgetting that anything can happen on any given day and over a season but on paper is anyone close to Houston at this moment?  Not assuming break outs or career years
Anthony Franco
4:24
Houston is still the class of the American League for me. NL teams like the Braves, Dodgers, Padres all seem like reasonable debates though
I'd consider the Astros the best team in baseball but don't think they're dramatically better than the top teams in the NL. There's a gap between them and the Yankees in the AL but as you mentioned, it certainly doesn't mean they're a lock to win the pennant or anything
Mel O'Drama
4:24
Where do you see Michael Wacha signing?
Anthony Franco
4:25
Angels
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