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Front Office Chat: 8/8/25
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey everyone, hope you've all enjoyed your week!
3:01
Looking forward to another of these, let's get going
Kevin in Tx
3:01
Does Texas rid themselves of Adolis Garcia this winter, his last year of arbitration, I’m guessing a raise to about $12-17 million.
Anthony Franco
3:02
It'd be much closer to 12 than 17. He's not getting an $8M arbitration raise coming off this kind of season. Agree that he's getting non-tendered anyways though
RoxTalks
3:02
Will Brandon Woodruff be extended the QO after he declines his end of the QO?
Anthony Franco
3:04
He's got a $20M mutual option with a $10M buyout. Just clarifying what the questioner means by "declines his end"
3:05
We'll see how he finishes the year but yeah, I think we're trending towards him receiving and declining the QO. Based on our FA deliberations this week, it seems like I'm the low person on staff about Woodruff's earning power, but there's a lot higher upside than there are with some guys who either received the QO last winter (Severino, Martinez) or signed for the same amount (Buehler)
3:06
I feel like Eovaldi's 3/75 is the absolute ceiling and would have him more as a high-AAV two year guy right now, but others at MLBTR (especially Tim Dierkes) think there's a path to a much better deal than that if he shoves through the end of the season and into the playoffs
GWA
3:07
Are the Yanks cooked for 2025.
Anthony Franco
3:09
Eh, I still think they'll hang onto a Wild Card spot. The bullpen's better on paper than it has pitched. It's tough to feel great about them with how badly they've played for the better part of two months, but there's a lot of talent on the roster and they're still in playoff position right now
Alan V
3:09
Who gets your vote for worst owner in Baseball? It could come from Colorado, Anaheim, Pittsburgh, Miami, Oakland Or the Chicago White Sox.
Anthony Franco
3:09
I'll take John Fisher with the A's but you probably hit the bottom six in some order. They're all terrible
Tony
3:10
Thanks for th chats. I have a question about the Cardinals. Hard to see them as competitive for the division next year as constructed. Given FO turnover, should Ollie be nervous? I think the whol MLB coaching staff needs turnover.
Anthony Franco
3:12
I'd be surprised. Their actions this year didn't point to them embracing sweeping changes. If anything, they've been far too passive because they seemingly don't want to rock the boat too much before Bloom takes over
3:13
The results this year are basically what they should've expected, maybe a little better. They hung around for a couple months at a time when the front office probably didn't expect to
Brewer Fan
3:13
I've seen a lot of people use us in 1st as evidence that there is not a need for a salary cap. I find this incredibly disingenuous. Is there anyone who would trade the Dodgers roster for ours? Doubtful. And just because a team can make such a budget discrepancy work doesn't make having it exist fair or right. Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:15
I've answered the cap question a bunch and I'm generally skeptical that it'd meaningfully improve competitive balance. The cap/floor system would push more mid-tier free agents to smaller markets. I still think you'd see a lot of the top-end guys team up in the bigger markets because teams can't separate themselves in bidding wars so it becomes about the roster quality and off-field considerations
3:16
All that said, I agree that cherry picking any one example of a small-market team having success (or pointing to the lack of repeat champions in comparison to the NFL, NHL or NBA) is disingenuous
3:18
The lack of recent dynasties is much more a reflection of small-sample playoff volatility. Of course the Dodgers and Yankees having winning records every year is aided by them outspending other teams. It takes more than that, but the margins are unquestionably tighter for Milwaukee than they are for a lot of other teams
Deb
3:18
Gilbert, Matos or Luciano. Which do you think has a better future in SF.
Anthony Franco
3:19
Gilbert but probably as a fourth outfielder. I just think Matos and especially Luciano are not good
I love BJS
3:20
Do you feel the Jays did enough at the deadline, and at this point, health concerns aside ar they WS contenders?
Anthony Franco
3:20
Ha, alright I'll take this one. You didn't sneak it by me though!
3:21
We talked about it on the pod but I liked their deadline, more than Darragh and a lot more than Steve. Stephen for Bieber is a lot at first glance -- it took me aback when it happened -- but they presumably had a good idea at that point that most of the starters we thought we moving were not going to
3:22
And at that point, Bieber's one of the few guys available (at least at a vaguely reasonable price) that has it legitimately within his range of outcomes to raise the ceiling on the rotation going into October
3:23
Then you've got Domínguez as a solid middle innings pickup and I love the Varland move. I get why the Twins would rather have Roden and Rojas, but the former was kind of a spare part in Toronto
Bob Bichette
3:24
Should the Jays extend Bichette or use that money to add to the rotation?
Anthony Franco
3:24
I assume they'll let Bichette walk, prioritize the rotation, and kick Giménez over to short
Dave
3:24
How about an estimate on Kyle Tucker contract this winter— both years and dollars? Thanks
Anthony Franco
3:26
Admittedly haven't given this much thought since we've been focused more on the deadline and even when we do the FA power rankings, he's so obviously #1 that there's no point digging into it further
3:27
500 feels like the goal for him. I'm inclined to go under and say something like 11/450 but I'm open to being talked higher once we get into the actual Top 50 prep in a month or two
Danny
3:27
Do the Braves have enough to get Joe Ryan in the offseason?
Anthony Franco
3:30
Man, I don't know. The answer to this kind of question is almost always "yes, just depends how willing they are to gut the farm," but if they're trying to pitch Fuentes and Caminiti or something, that still feels light
3:31
And even off the big league roster there's not a ton of cheap controllable talent. If they really wanted to do it, they could build something around Schwellenbach, but that kind of defeats the whole purpose. I have a tough time seeing a match there
None Pursuit
3:31
Which upcoming FA would make the most sense for the Nats to pursue?  Assuming that they pursue one big 'un and not just a constellation of ne'er do wells...
Anthony Franco
3:33
Don't think there are many great options on the hitting side unless you consider Naylor a big get. You could make the argument for Bregman but going into age-32 and probably seeking something close to $200M, I don't love it
3:34
Feels like if they were going to take a real swing, it should be a starter. Probably Cease given the durability, the stuff quality, and the fact that he's a little younger than Framber and Woodruff
Dealer
3:34
Please explain the reason why a QualifyingOffer is limited to 1 per player in his career. Would a second QO after 5  year gap be detrimental to player or owner? Would appreciate any insight. Thanks
Anthony Franco
3:35
That's a player thing. They built it into one of the recent CBAs -- 2016, I think
3:36
They got annoyed that a handful of guys in the early days of the QO got them a couple times in short order and felt they were never getting a fair shake at the market
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