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Front Office Chat: 5/16/25
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Anthony Franco
3:02
Hey everyone, hope all is well!
3:03
Looking forward to another of these, let's get going
Go Dills!
3:03
I've got a catcher crunch!  Now that Rushing has come up, I need to move either Joey Bart or Carson Kelly for pitching in my NL only league... which one do you think I should move?
Anthony Franco
3:04
Amazing as Kelly has been this year, I have a hard time really buying in after his pretty pedestrian numbers from the previous three seasons. I'd prefer Bart moving forward
ClarkeinEcuador
3:04
As a Red Sox fan, I expected more this season. Is a big change needed to change things up: I.e., fire Cora, fire hitting coach, send Story to minors and bring up Meyers, trade a big name player? What do you think is needed to right the ship?
Anthony Franco
3:06
Still think they'll be fine. A lot of their issue is that they've been bad in one-run games, which is kind of fluky. Agree that we're nearing the point where they've just gotta bring Meyer up and bench Story though. That's not working
I wouldn't overhaul the coaching staff or feel pressed into some kind of roster shakeup trade
Trout Phishin’
3:06
How would a lockout or work stoppage affect the 2026 WBC?
Anthony Franco
3:07
No impact. The CBA runs through the end of the '26 season, so the work stoppage won't happen until the following offseason
Go Dills!
3:07
We do you think we can expect from Strider, Acuna and Kopech when they come back?
Anthony Franco
3:09
I expect Acuna and Strider to be really good. Kopech's velocity is back in Triple-A but I'm a little more worried there given the number of arm injuries through which he's had to battle in recent years
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
3:09
What happens when Manaea and Montas return to the Mets rotation? Who's out? Any chance they'll trade or release Blackburn?
Anthony Franco
3:11
There'll probably be intervening injuries that clear space but I agree that it's tough to see how Blackburn fits on the roster if the other seven starters are all healthy. Megill probably the first one of the current five to go back to the bullpen
Dom
3:12
What are your expectations for the media deal post ESPN? MLB wants local rights by 2028 but what happens to the Sunday Night Package in the interim?
Anthony Franco
3:13
Still think they'll work out some kind of renewed short-term deal with ESPN to cover the interim years
Rick
3:13
Seems clear that Cam Smith needs more work in the minors, but have you seen enough to think he will be a long-term better than average right fielder?
Anthony Franco
3:16
Yeah I felt that way going into the season and don't see any reason to move off it. He's not MLB-ready, I agree, and the Astros aren't doing him any favors by pushing him this aggressively. But the power, plate discipline and makeup are all still promising
Bored at Work
3:16
I know luck is a big factor with injuries but is there a point where the Dodgers consider that their training staff or conditioning regimen could be responsible for their consistent rotation health issues? I realize they don't exactly load themselves up with the paragons of long term health but its been a really concerning trend for like a decade at this point and I'm curious if they would ever seriously re-evaluate their internal practices in regards to keeping pitchers healthy, or if they already are.
Anthony Franco
3:18
Prior and Friedman have both made comments to the effect of "we're conducting a deep dive to try to find out why this happens so frequently," so it's definitely something that's on their radar
3:19
They have no incentive to provide any details on it publicly, though, and a lot of it is definitely the selection bias in their willingness to prioritize pitchers' ceiling over durability and let their payroll paper over whatever losses they take from a health perspective
Josh
3:19
How concerned should I, a Phillies fan, be about the next 6 years of Aaron Nola?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Yeah I don't love the trend line. He's generally a slow starter but the velocity has gradually trended down to a point where he's probably always going to be very homer prone
3:22
I think he's going to be one of those guys where the peripherals overrate him a bit because the K/BB profile is still good. Could see the last couple years of that deal looking kind of Maeda-ish
Gary
3:23
If I change my name on this thing are you able to see that it's still the same person or do you not know what other questions I've already submitted now that I'm "Gary" ?
Anthony Franco
3:23
You're just Gary now and I have no way to tell what else you've asked
Jesse
3:23
I was all but certain before the year started that the Braves would win the NL East. And, despite the slow start, I'm still pretty sure they will, but now I think it will come down to the wire with the Phillies. Do you think the Braves are more likely to win the division or miss the playoffs?
Anthony Franco
3:24
Miss the postseason. I had them slightly behind the Mets and Phillies before the year. Not dramatically so and I wouldn't at all be surprised if they do win the division, but the mediocre start has only dug them a bit of a hole in what felt like a very tight three-way race to begin with
Ben
3:25
How does Luis Robert’s upside compare to a potential return for the White Sox?  Sure doesn’t seem like a lot of teams should be putting together a big package for him.
Anthony Franco
3:26
Don't see them getting anything of note at this point. No indication that he's going to find things offensively and the respective $20M club options that once looked like assets are probably getting declined now
3:27
Tough break because I agreed with their process to rebuff offseason interest and hope he bounced back this year. He just hasn't
Hits Like Rays
3:27
What do you think of Kameron Misner so far?  He had a hot start to the year and the Rays are now playing in in CF most days.  Will he hit enough to stick in MLB?  How does his defense look?
Anthony Franco
3:29
I like Misner. Real power, good athlete for his size. Don't think he's a long-term CF fit but I'd be fine with him in a corner
3:30
The strikeouts are always going to be an issue but I think he could be a low-end regular in the Luke Raley mold
Gavin Cordes
3:30
Campusano and Henry Baez for Joey Bart?  who says no
Anthony Franco
3:30
Pittsburgh
3:32
Baez is a decent prospect but most scouting reports put him as a back-end guy. Campusano barely has any value. Pirates already skew heavily towards young pitching and have very little long-term offensive upside
RAM
3:32
If you only have ruin for one, what batter would you stash (in a redraft league) Anthony or Mayer (or neither or someone else)?
Anthony Franco
3:33
More faith in Anthony to hit enough right away to be valuable in redraft
Arizona
3:34
Why is Tawa on the MLB roster and McCarthy in Reno? With Lawlar up to take the "backup" infielder role, wouldn't the upside of McCarthy's past be better for the team than eating Tawa's development time? Tawa will be the backup infield next season anyway.
Anthony Franco
3:36
I don't know that development time really matters for Tawa. He's 26 and seems pretty set as a utility guy, you kind of know what you have there. They play the same three outfielders every day. McCarthy wouldn't get much playing time barring injury
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