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Front Office Chat: 9/27/24
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Anthony Franco
2:59
Hey everyone, hope you've all had a good week! Should be a fun weekend, especially in the NL. Let's get rolling
Always Sunny in St Paul
2:59
Tellez had a terrible year--but Pittsburgh cutting him 4 PAs before a $200,000 bonus? That's a little chunk of money for nothing, yes; but I can't help thinking this is a terrible sign to the Pirates young core about the franchise's treatment of players and ability to invest in the team. They could have cut him a month ago. What's your take?
Anthony Franco
3:03
Certainly don't buy Cherington saying the bonus had nothing to do with it, but as Ethan Hullihen pointed out in another X thread, this kind of thing happens fairly frequently and doesn't usually get the attention the Tellez situation did.

In August, the Cubs released Hector Neris a handful of appearances before he vested a $9MM player option for next season. I don't blame them, because I wouldn't have wanted Neris at that price point either, but that's a lot more of a financial hit to the player than what happened with Tellez and it didn't get nearly the same level of scrutiny
RAGBRAI
3:03
Who do you see as locks to get a qualifying offer? Who takes it and who rejects it?
Anthony Franco
3:05
We'll do a post looking at this in more detail in a couple weeks. Everyone eligible from our most recent top 10 power rankings should receive and reject
3:06
I'd add Severino, Teoscar, Profar, Kim, Manaea and Walker as guys who probably should get one. I think Profar might accept from that group, wouldn't be stunned if Severino did as well
Win and you’re in
3:07
Hi Anthony, The Braves pretty much need to run the table to make the WC, right?
Anthony Franco
3:07
4-1 would probably do it. They've got the tiebreaker over Arizona so getting to 90-72 would be enough unless the D-Backs sweep San Diego this weekend
3:08
Doubt anything less than 4-1 would cut it though. They'd need Arizona to have a rough final series
$$$
3:08
Top 5 worst players to contract value for 2024?
Anthony Franco
3:10
Ones that immediately spring to mind: Rendon, Báez, Bryant. Obviously the Nats aren't getting anything from Strasburg but they're still on the hook. The Bogaerts deal isn't as bad as those ones but it's not looking good
3:11
There are a ton of others in the mid-tier range -- Benintendi, Taijuan Walker, Marlins still on the hook for Avi García money, etc. -- that are almost complete sunk costs
Pip
3:11
Do the tigers or royals match up better with the Orioles?
Anthony Franco
3:12
Hmm, I think I'd rather face K.C. if I were the Orioles. Not a huge difference but in a three-game series, give me the chance to avoid Skubal (who'll be up for Game 1 unless Detroit needs him to clinch on Sunday)
3:13
I wouldn't want to face Cole Ragans either, and the Royals' rotation is deeper, but Skubal really has a chance to single-handedly throw an opposing team into two elimination games by dominating Game 1
Curious A's Fan
3:13
Do the A's have enough pitching to push for .500 in 2025?
Anthony Franco
3:14
I think they're a little light on rotation talent to get to .500 but not too far off. A mid-high 70s win total seems reasonable
Kevin C
3:14
Will the Braves keep both Ozuna and Solar this offseason or trade one of them? Does AJ Minter leave as a free agent?
Anthony Franco
3:15
Feels like they need to trade one of those guys, probably Soler. Having them both for a full season and needing to play Soler in right field for 140+ games is a tough sell
3:16
I think Minter will probably be back. Would've guessed that he walked if he'd gotten through this season healthy and been well positioned for three years at Joe Jiménez money
3:17
But since he got hurt, he's probably looking at one year or a lower base two-year deal. That makes it less of an issue that the Braves already have a ton of money tied into the bullpen, and Minter has already talked about how much he's loved it there
Cat Herder
3:18
Do we see a Triple Crown winner?  Or two?  Or, less exciting, none?
Anthony Franco
3:19
Judge and Ohtani are both .007 points back in average (of Witt and Arraez, respectively) with three games to go. I'd love to see it but I don't think it's happening in either case -- especially since both guys can take their foot slightly off the gas this weekend after locking up their divisions last night
Kevin
3:19
What was the Main cause of the 2023 World Champions, Hitting or pitching?
Anthony Franco
3:20
Obviously you don't win a title without both but the separator for last year's Rangers was the offense. The lineup depth was why I (clearly incorrectly) thought they'd weather the early-season pitching injuries this year and had a good shot to repeat
Giants Fan
3:20
The Giants have lots of good players, even if few are really good and can be penciled in for 2025.   With some good young players coming up, there seems to be a little bit of a roster crunch in the middle infield and outfield.   What should they do with Lamont Wade Jr., Michael Conforto, and Tom Murphy?
Anthony Franco
3:22
I disagree regarding a roster crunch in the middle infield. I don't think Luciano can stick there. I like Fitzgerald as a replacement for Thairo at second but would look for an external upgrade at shortstop
3:23
I'm with you on the outfield surplus, though. That's especially true if they keep Yaz and do end up pushing Luciano into the corner outfield. Obviously Ramos has earned an everyday job out there. Lee's coming back in CF, still have Matos and McCray as depth options
3:26
They'll let Conforto walk in free agency. Might as well keep Murphy as the backup catcher again. I wouldn't be fully committed to Wade at first base but Farhan made it clear they're not going to pour resources into that when they've got Eldridge looming in the upper minors. Even if Farhan gets fired, new management probably takes the same approach
So at that point, they can keep LaMonte for one more year. Probably need a righty bat to platoon, but that could be Murphy if he's healthy I guess
Bill S
3:27
Regarding the Nats rebuild: can one say a team has continued to improve if it puts up a record of fewer wins than in the previous season? What other factors or metrics are there to consider?
Anthony Franco
3:29
Sure, I think you're mostly looking for young contributors. I wouldn't be that concerned about the record regressing because a lot of last year was driven by guys like Candelario and Thomas who weren't going to be part of the long-term solution because of their age and team control window
3:31
Crews and Wood are up. Luis García looks like a viable second baseman now. Abrams took a step forward offensively, at least early on. Irvin, Parker and Herz are all viable rotation pieces
3:32
Keibert Ruiz doesn't look like an MLB-caliber catcher and Josiah Gray got hurt, so it wasn't unanimously positive, but I feel better about the long-term outlook than I did 12 months ago. The position player group is coming into focus, even if the defensive outlook up the middle still worries me
3:33
I'm not as sold as the Nats seem to be on the pitching. I like a lot of the guys they've developed as fourth starters, don't think they've got anyone who is a budding ace. (Cavalli could be but we've gotta see him healthy first.) I'd like to see them chase upside on the rotation front this winter
KeepItDown
3:33
Nobody expected the Royals to be in this position this quickly, and it seems like they still have holes to fill. What do you think their priorities are in the off-season?
Anthony Franco
3:34
Same as it was at the deadline for me: bullpen and outfield
3:36
The Erceg pickup looks great but Harvey busted and there's not a ton to work with in the middle innings. An outfield with Melendez, Isbel and Renfroe remains suboptimal
Could argue for a third baseman who can provide more juice than Garcia brings to the table but they're not going to sign Bregman and there might not be much else out there
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