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Front Office Chat: 9/16/22
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Anthony Franco
2:58
Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed your week!
Looking forward to another one of these, let's get rolling
Guest
2:58
I once asked the prospects for a 30-year old rookie. Your answer was: few have enduring success. Same question, but a view of the prospects for 27-year old rookies.
Anthony Franco
2:59
Generally not great. The vast majority of above-average players are going to have already at least reached the majors by their mid-20s and probably shown some amount of potential in the process
3:01
At the same time, I don't think you want to categorically dismiss everyone in a certain age/service bucket. There are occasional late-bloomers, Whit Merrifield/Mike Yastrzemski jumping to mind off the bat. So while it's an uphill battle at that age, you still have to evaluate each player as an individual
Maui Bill
3:01
It seems as though Jansen is losing control and movement and thusly games.Iglesias looks to be rockin and rollin.Why does Snitker seem averse to letting Iglesias close?
Anthony Franco
3:02
Yeah Braves fans seem really terrified about Jansen as the closer. I kind of get it. He's been solid overall but wasn't great in July and August
3:03
I don't think he's Atlanta's best reliever at this point, but he's also still a key bullpen piece and he seems to really value having the ninth inning. If that really matters to Jansen and not so much to Iglesias, then just keeping everyone happy is probably more important than the marginal upgrade you might get swapping them between the eighth and ninth innings in the regular season
3:04
If he's struggling come playoff time, though, I'm guessing they'll have a quick hook
RAGBRAI
3:04
Will Marte in NY be back soon? My offense was last seen in a group photo on a milk carton and I am barely holding on in first!
Anthony Franco
3:05
Seems like he could be back by this weekend
RAGBRAI
3:05
Is next year’s starting catcher in STL currently in house of a FA?
Anthony Franco
3:05
I think they'll add a mid-tier veteran who gets the job early as a bridge to Ivan Herrera, who takes it over by the early summer
NL Central
3:05
Are the Brewers going toward a rebuild? They have yet to have extension talks with Woodruff, Burnes, or Adames. I am worried they will pull a Reds and trade everything to cut payroll.
Anthony Franco
3:06
Can't see them going full Reds but I do expect they'll move one of the pitchers you mentioned for pre-arb, upper level talent this offseason
3:07
More of a Guardians-esque approach where they deal good players at an area of surplus for cheaper but less productive big leaguers in an effort to remain constantly competitive
Brian
3:08
Say the Cubs sign Kodai Senga, one of the shortstops, and then piece together a bullpen like they have the last couple years, are they contenders in ‘23?
Anthony Franco
3:09
I doubt it. The rotation's still pretty thin at that point, and they'd have question marks at first base, DH, center field
3:10
Everything you said makes them far better than they were this season obviously, but I wouldn't pick them as a playoff team if they bring in Senga, Trea Turner and cobble together a bullpen while letting Contreras walk. The current roster has so many holes
SteveM
3:10
The TWINS blame their lackluster season on injuries. The RAYS have had a ton of injuries yet field a contending team in spite of those injuries. The TWINS need a new front office...one that stops scraping the bottom of the barrel. (Correa can't wait to get out, I'm sure).  A new manager for sure. He pulls starters too soon and leaves bullpen arms out on the mount too long. I need an opinion on this. They have lame excuses at best,
Anthony Franco
3:12
Eh I think they're solid. Consistently aggressive front office that targets the weakest areas of the roster while drafting well enough to supplement with in-house talent and/or deal prospects when needed for immediate upgrades
3:13
I wouldn't consider Baldelli's handling of the pitching staff out of the norm for the game in 2022, and he's working with a collection of mediocre arms toward the back of the rotation. They've given Emilio Pagán too many high-leverage opportunities, but otherwise, I think he's handled the staff well enough
Are they as good as the Rays? No, few teams are. But I'd probably have Minnesota's baseball ops/coaching staff in the 10-15 range if I were ranking every team
thebeatlesshow
3:14
Thanks for the chat, Anthony.    Let's say you're Arte Moreno...I know.  Many people would consider that an insult, but, regardless...You'rre getting ready to sell the Angels.  Do you:  bulk up the team to boost back the attendance, try to keep Ohtani and maybe salvage your legacy before you sell?  Or Do you:  reduce the teams obligations to as minimal a level as possible to make the team more attractive pricewise...and not obligate any potential owner to spending they wouldn't have chosen to make?  (And this is what you would do, not what Arte is...which is probably to cut spending to the bone and leave the carcass to the new owner.)
Anthony Franco
3:16
Kind of an impossible question, since if I had Moreno's money, I'd just keep control of the Angels since owning an MLB team seems fun. From a strict profit maximization perspective, the best course of action is probably to keep Ohtani for his final arb year while cutting as much spending elsewhere (which is what I also expect them to actually do)
3:17
I don't think Moreno's legacy there is salvageable at this point. Even if he wanted to go out in a blaze of glory and jack payroll up to $300MM before selling the team, the sale would go through before you'd see many of the on-field benefits and the new group would get the credit for it anyways
Duffy Scliff
3:18
Did JD Martinez play himself out of a QO this year? He’s still going to put up 40 doubles, but other than that it’s been a pretty pedestrian season for him offensively.
Anthony Franco
3:19
Yeah I'd be really surprised if he gets the QO. He opted into $19.35MM last winter, coming off a .286/.349/.518 showing, suggesting he didn't think he could do much better than that in free agency
3:20
He's now a year older and hit .272/.342/.423 with a major dip in home runs. Doubt the Red Sox or anyone else are tossing him near a $20MM salary for next season. Nelson Cruz got $15MM last winter, I'd have JD in that range
Nomahhhh
3:21
What does Jameson Tailon’s next contract look like?
Anthony Franco
3:22
He's in that mid-tier starter range (DeSclafani, Wood, Kikuchi) that got between $25MM and $36MM last offseason
3:23
I'd have towards the bottom of that group based on the lack of swing-and-miss and the two previous Tommy John surgeries. Something like Alex Wood's 2/$25MM feels about right
Mo Vaughn
3:23
Who is the first person Chaim Bloom should go out and sign this offseason?
Anthony Franco
3:23
(Red Sox)
3:24
One of the mid-upper tier starting pitchers would be my top priority there. deGrom's ideal but seems unlikely, Verlander/Rodón fit as well
Could even throw Kodai Senga in there if they're really bullish on him
SteveM
3:25
I really hope Alec Manoah gets a good hard look from Cy Young voters. The guy has done nothing but give the Jays at least 6 innings and sometimes 7 innings every start. Even on an off night he battles for a team that is in heavy contention. He's a good kid, a great team mate and a fantastic pitcher to watch.
Anthony Franco
3:25
He'll get some down-ballot support. Doubt he's got enough strikeouts to win (or come particularly close) though
Cletis Boyer
3:25
I have more starting pitchers than I can keep. Who's going to be an All-Star in 2023? Garrett Whitlock, Luis Garcia, Brayan Bello, Michael Kopech, Tyler Wells, Kyle Bradish, Jose Suarez, Nest Cportes, Josh Winder.
Anthony Franco
3:26
I doubt any of them are All-Star starting pitchers next year, although Whitlock getting there as a reliever makes sense
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