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Front Office Chat: 3/3/23
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Anthony Franco
4:00
Hey everyone, hope you all had a great week!
Kruk and Kuip are HOFs
4:01
Who would you consider as the most "top heavy" teams, where injuries to one or two stars will tank their season? I just can't see the Yankees making much noise in the AL East if they lose Cole and/or Judge for any extended period of time.
Anthony Franco
4:02
Yeah the Yankees are probably the team that stands out most for this. The Braves and Padres are built on stars over depth too but have a little more well-rounded group at the top than New York does
Joe
4:02
Is there any word on Profar?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Nope, kinda feels like he's waiting out an injury at this point
MikeD
4:03
Is there any market for Gary Sanchez?
Anthony Franco
4:04
I think there's a little clearer fit for Gary than for Profar given the lack of catching depth around the league. Still think Detroit fits, Colorado should do this but probably won't
Joe
4:04
What's the reasonable best case scenario for the White Sox this year?  Is their ceiling a World Series?  Or did last year set a more tempered realistic goal of making the playoffs in a near-best-case scenario?
Anthony Franco
4:05
I think any team that has a real shot to make the playoffs has a reasonable best case scenario of winning the World Series since the MLB postseason is more about being good enough to get in and then getting hot at the right time than inherently being an elite team. The worst playoff team in the National League has won the pennant in each of the last two years, for instance
4:06
So yeah, I think the best case scenario is they win the AL Central and catch fire in October. But I don't think being the actual best team in MLB is within their plausible range of outcomes, no. Feels more like a team that could be somewhere between fifth and tenth if everyone stays healthy and then you hope they beat a couple better teams in the playoffs
4:07
They're another good example of the most top-heavy rosters in the sport
Big Bob
4:07
Considering the Padre's player improvements, I think Friedman has to act now to improve at shortstop. Whom do you think he'll go after and at what cost?
No Lux
4:07
Assuming the Dodgers are in it at the deadline, how likely do you think it is that they go after a big name shortstop like Javier Baez or Willy Adames?
TrueBlue
4:07
White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson could be a free agent at the end of the season.  Have you heard whether the Sox are actively and seriously trying to extend him?  Depending on how the Dodgers situation goes with Rojas/Taylor sharing shortstop, Anderson would seem to be a great fit for the Dodgers as a deadline (or sooner) trade target.  If the White Sox are not pursuing an extension, wouldn't it be a good time right now to open talks between LAD and CHW?  Even if Anderson doesn't work out for the Dodgers, they can pivot back to a recovered Gavin Lux in 2024.  The Dodgers certainly have the loaded farm system to make a one-year deal for Anderson happen.
Anthony Franco
4:08
Got a few Dodgers shortstop questions to lump together
4:09
To True Blue's question, the White Sox aren't any contractual pressure with Tim Anderson. He could technically be a free agent next offseason but that's only if they don't exercise a $14MM club option. That's well below his market value and if things get to the point where they determine it's better to buy him out instead, then it's because something went haywire (probably injury) and they wouldn't want to make that kind of long-term investment anyways
4:10
Doesn't seem like the Sox have talked extension yet, although Anderson has publicly angled for one this spring
4:11
As to the broader Dodgers stuff, it's just Rojas for now. Injury protection is part of the reason they got him. I do think guys like Anderson, Adames and Amed Rosario could be in play midseason if their respective teams are out of it, but none of those guys are getting traded right now. All their teams want to compete this year and trading their starting shortstop on the verge of the season cuts against that
4:12
Maybe the Reds would move Kevin Newman and the Yankees would probably be happy to dump the $6MM they owe Isiah Kiner-Falefa right now, but neither of those guys moves the needle over Rojas anyways
Rene S., Dyer, IN
4:12
Is there any truth to the rumor that Seiya Suzuki has been trying to persuade Shohei Ohtani to sign with the Cubs when the time comes?
Anthony Franco
4:13
There's probably been some light-hearted banter between the two considering Suzuki's comments on the matter, but I wouldn't put serious stock in it affecting Ohtani's decision one way or another. He'll have plenty of Angels teammates doing the same
tigersFan
4:14
Who makes the tigers opening day roster, baddoo or carpenter?
Anthony Franco
4:14
I think there's room on the roster for both: Akil Baddoo primarily in left field with Kerry Carpenter getting the bulk of the DH at-bats
Tom Kelly's Blues
4:15
Sanchez provided below average catching, but he does have 2b/hr power and can DH, backup C, I think good bench guy too.
Anthony Franco
4:15
Agreed. I wouldn't be stoked about him as my primary catcher at this stage of his career but think he's a quality backup or 1-B in a time split arrangement
Tom Kelly's Blues
4:15
Has baseball attempted to study the injury issues that seem to plague the sport today?  Best athletes ever.  Most expensive training regimens available. Elite coaching. And it's rare for a player to play all 162 games.  Rest, yes. And a pitcher who gets "close" to 200 innings is worth their weight in gold..  Things are trending the wrong way? No?
Anthony Franco
4:17
I don't know that MLB as a whole really cares, though players and individual teams certainly have strong incentives to invest in the best ways to stay healthy. Higher injury rates are unfortunate but just feel like a byproduct of playing the kind of higher-intensity game everyone wants to play now
Joe
4:18
What would a $240M payroll White Sox team have looked like this year?
Anthony Franco
4:19
$240MM would involve about $50MM more than they're currently projected. That'd have basically been enough to take their pick of the upper mid-tier starting pitching class (Jameson Taillon, Taijuan Walker, etc.) instead of Clevinger and maybe go after Mitch Haniger or Michael Conforto to take right field
The Rangers fan
4:19
Y’all have two of us with the same name and my stuff doesn’t post, can the name be changed
Anthony Franco
4:20
Tim handles all the account stuff. If you drop me your email in here (I won't publish it), I can let him know to reach out to you and get it sorted out
4:21
This question was submitted a couple hours so if you're not still in here and don't see this until after, reach out through our contact form and Tim will get back to you
Question for my Rotisserie roster freeze
4:21
Do you think Stone Garrett or Corey Dickerson will get 400 at-bats?  I have them at one unit in an NL only league 260 units for 25 players.  Opposite profiles Garrett could hit 0.220 and 30 home runs if they gave him 500 at bats, while Dickerson might hit 0.265 with ten home runs.
Anthony Franco
4:22
Dickerson should get more playing time. Has more chances for favorable platoon matchups as a left-handed hitter and can't be optioned to the minors as Garrett can
4:23
I don't think Garrett has 30-homer power. He hit 28 in Triple-A last year but that's in maybe the most hitter-friendly environment in affiliated ball at Reno
Yankees
4:23
With Soto’s numbers the last 2 years and him reportedly turning down 425m from Nationals wouldn’t you wait till next offseason to really discuss extension?
Anthony Franco
4:25
I don't think he's signing anyways but no, I'd be happy to talk with him now if I were San Diego. Last year's numbers were mortal but the .242 average just feels like a fluke because of a .249 average on balls in play. He'd had a BABIP above .310 in every other season of his career
4:26
If he were striking out or chasing more pitches outside the strike zone than he used to, I'd maybe be a little more concerned. But his approach is the same as it always has been, which is the best in the sport. I think last year's relative down season was mostly luck based and he's still a top three overall hitter
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