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Front Office Chat Jan. 31, 2025
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Darragh McDonald
9:54
Hello, everyone. Anthony needed to make a schedule change, so I'm taking his chat this week. Sorry for the downgrade.
9:55
We'll get going at Noon Central time, but feel free to submit questions in advance.
12:58
Okay, happy Friday, everyone.
12:59
It's cold and grey/gray here in the greater Toronto area but spring training is right around the corner.
1:00
However, there's still a lot of offseason stuff to discuss, so let's get into it, since dozens of questions are already in the queue.
Thanks, as always, for subscribing!
Rizzo
1:00
What are the padres doing? Trading one of thier top starters would completely deplete their rotation. Randy Vaszquez is a starter for them this year
Darragh McDonald
1:00
Yeah, it's a tricky tightrope. But they have no money and plenty of holes.
1:01
It's a similar line of thinking to the Soto deal, where the goal would be to trade one player for many lesser players and plug holes.
It will be tough since, as you mention, the rotation is already weak.
1:02
It's not a guarantee that Cease or King move, but they don't have better options. The top guys have no-trade clauses.
Luc
1:02
What is the Giants plan this year doesn't seem like they did enough?
Darragh McDonald
1:02
Yeah, it's pretty weird. They gave huge deals to Chapman and Adames but stopped short of going all in.
1:03
I guess they want to see more from Lee, Matos, Luciano, etc and see how that goes?
Elbow
1:04
Assuming he isn't traded and looks good this spring, what would a potential Michael King extension with the Padres look like? The team really unlocked him as a viable starter and King gushes about Niebla publicly every chance he gets, so is there a potential "hometown discount" possible in such negotiations? Padres tend to be comfortable with extra years to drive down AAV too, so would something like a 5yr/80mil extension get it done for both sides?
Darragh McDonald
1:06
I can see 5/80 being close, sure. The most recent extension for a starting pitcher one year from free agency was Luis Castillo, who got 5/108. King's track record is less, since he really only has one year as a real starting pitcher. That would be the argument for him coming in under Castillo. The counterargument would be that starting pitching prices have gone way up this winter and that deal is a few years old now.
ClarkeinEcuador
1:06
As a Red Sox fan, I was excited as the team started out with a bang, getting Chrochet and Bueller, but it’s been quiet since. Do you see anything coming up, especially to address their lack of RH hitters? I think Bregman and Arenado block the kids - hence the hesitation. Where do they turn?
Darragh McDonald
1:07
Yeah, I was expecting a bit more as well, but it seems like they just want to wait on the kids. If one or two of them come up and hit the ground running, there's no glaring hole in the lineup.
Brad
1:08
In the case of a team being sold where it requires other team's ownership groups to approve, what kind of due diligence and research goes into determining their votes?  I'd imagine the type of debt the new owners would be carrying would be a big piece but any other major pieces that you've maybe heard of being considered.  Thanks for the chat!
Darragh McDonald
1:09
I don't know exactly but I think they can consider anything. Supposedly, there were some people who didn't want to approve Steve Cohen because they thought he would spend too much money.
Bob
1:09
What’s your perspective on the Reds seemingly spreading risk out between Hays and Rogers for $11 million instead of going for Luis Robert Jr? Their strategy seems to be focusing on raising their floor, not their ceiling (cue Krall’s quote about eliminating peaks and valleys)
Darragh McDonald
1:09
That's probably more about the White Sox than the Reds. All reports have suggested that the White Sox are setting a superstar asking price on Robert, despite his rough 2024 season.
Ryan Redleg
1:10
I said it a couple months ago and I will say it again now: Bold prediction- Alonso signs with the Reds 10 days into Spring Training and will go on to lead the National League in Home Runs and RBI's, perhaps even be the MVP.  Make it happen Nick
Darragh McDonald
1:10
It's now on the record.
Youkilyptus
1:10
Isn’t Wilyer Abreu still expendable?  If the Sox wanted to pull the trigger, who would be interested?  Royals?  Guardians?  Back to the Astros?
Darragh McDonald
1:10
Those are all viable landing spots, sure.
TBJ Bullpen Coach
1:10
The biggest thing I like about the Max Scherzer signing is it pushes Yaril Rodriguez to the bullpen where I think he can have a breakout year as a once through the order multi inning reliever, what say you?
Darragh McDonald
1:11
Certainly possible. He was dominant as a reliever in Japan in 2022. But it's also possible that someone gets injured in the spring and he breaks camp as the #5.
central headquarters
1:11
Cleveland should sign Grichuk to platoon in RF and Turnbull for SP depth. Do you think it's good idea (all or part) and what would it cost the 'poor' Guardians ?   Thank you
Darragh McDonald
1:12
Sure, those are both sensible moves. At this point, I imagine both those guys are looking at one-year deals, probably around 5-6 mil?
Youkilyptus
1:12
The Blue Jays are slowly, painfully, inch-by-inch getting better.  Gun to your head: is this a playoff team?  At least a third place team?
Darragh McDonald
1:12
In the age of expanded playoffs, there are very few clubs where I would say they are definitely not a playoff team.
1:13
I think there's still plenty of risk on the roster but it's not entirely out of the question for them to get back into the 85-90 win range and make 2024 look like a bad blip.
If they're hovering around .500 at the deadline, I imagine they'll go for it.
Big fan
1:13
I’ve always loved the site but the podcast is probably my favorite part. Do you guys plan on posting it on youtube? The amount of good quality baseball podcasts on YT is amazing. Would love to listen to yours on there as well
Darragh McDonald
1:13
Wow, thanks!
1:15
We've had some chatter about putting stuff on YouTube. Until recently, we hadn't been recording video when doing the podcast, just audio. Though there's some desire to expand our social media presence, so we've started recording the video and sharing clips on X. Putting some stuff on YouTube is a possibility as well.
Trout Phishin'
1:15
Rare but every once in a while I see a reference to the Phillies and Bregman. Do think there is any serious interest?
Darragh McDonald
1:16
It seems that their plan earlier in the winter was to flip Bohm for pitching and then maybe sign Bregman or get Arenado or something. But they couldn't get the return they wanted for Bohm and decided to abandon that plan.
Ryan Redleg
1:17
The Reds have had a busy week!  I know they didn't make a big splash, but I think they've had a solid off-season.  I think the Austin Hays signing will turn out to be a real bargain.  He's playing in a contract year, at GABP.  I think he could be a 3 to 3.5 WAR player this year.   He is an upgrade both offensively and defensively.  Here is an interesting stat: From 2021-2024:
Hays: 8.0 bWAR
Santander: 8.5 bWAR
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