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MLBTR Chat: 4/12/23
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Anthony Franco
5:59
Good evening everyone! Hope all is well
Flaherty
6:00
If I come back with a good year do you think 5/70 is fair?
Anthony Franco
6:01
I don't know that he'd find that especially appealing. A $14MM AAV is below mid-tier starter level; guys like Taillon and Taijuan Walker got $17-18MM per last year
6:02
Flaherty will only be 28 next year. If teams aren't willing to go nine figures even on the heels of a good platform season (which would be understandable considering the durability concerns), feels like he'd be better served doing the Rodón route of two years at more than $20MM annually with an opt out
Well then
6:03
Logan O'Hoppe for Rookie of the Year
Anthony Franco
6:04
Not going to change any of my preseason picks two weeks into the season -- I had Hunter Brown -- but I like O'Hoppe as a dark horse candidate. He's looked awesome so far
Extensions
6:04
Do you think every team tries to do what the Braves do where they lock guys up for a reasonable AAV long term? Or is it a philosophical difference where some don't want to make that kind of outlay?
Anthony Franco
6:06
There are definitely some teams that are more aggressive than others. Steve pointed out last year that the A's hadn't signed a pre-arb player to an extension since Sean Doolittle in 2014
6:07
There are going to be varying degrees of risk tolerance within front offices and ownership groups. I don't think any team -- even Oakland -- is categorically opposed to signing players to extensions. But there's some amount of risk involved in committing money to a player before you have to, which the Braves seem more comfortable than most clubs taking
6:08
It also helps that Atlanta has been great at developing impact players. Most teams wouldn't want to ensure that 40% of their roster is still around five years from now. The Braves have a ton of really good players
Future Jay?
6:08
Any whispers out there about Chris Archer?
Anthony Franco
6:08
Haven't seen anything aside from Joel Sherman noting about a month ago that he'd thrown a showcase at some point during the offseason
James Ward-Manassas, VA
6:09
Who is most likely to get traded by the Nationals at the trade deadline?
Anthony Franco
6:10
Jeimer Candelario and Kyle Finnegan are the guys I thought would be their most straightforward trade chips at the start of the season. Still think that's the case but they've both been horrible in the first couple weeks
Rick
6:10
Ashcraft vs Bubic....who do you like more?
Anthony Franco
6:11
Ashcraft
Greg
6:11
It looks like most of the MLB analysts have underestimated the SF Giants once again.  What's your personal estimate on the Giant's Win potential this year?
Anthony Franco
6:12
I picked the Giants to make the playoffs so perhaps I've overestimated them. It's not like they're off to a resounding start
I think it's like an 86-88 win team
Sample Size
6:12
Obviously it is impossible to judge any team based on 10-15 games to start the year. How far into the season do you think we need to be before we have an idea of the quality of any given team?
Anthony Franco
6:14
There's no hard and fast cutoff but I'd generally give teams six to eight weeks before I start to seriously reevaluate how I feel about them, assuming the roster hasn't been decimated by injuries
6:16
At the same time, not dramatically changing my opinion isn't the same thing as ignoring these games. They count the same as any other, so even if I don't think the Rays are notably better than I did two weeks ago (they were the best team in the AL East for me from the beginning of the season), that they've already given themselves 3.5-4 games of cushion on everyone else matters
Confused Rockie
6:16
What was the point of signing Bryant? I’m glad to have him on the team but given the direction of the team it still doesn’t make sense to me
Anthony Franco
6:17
I don't think the Rockies have a cohesive long-term target for a return to contention. They always feel they're closer to competitiveness than most people outside the organization do, and Bryant was one of the best players available in free agency over the 2021-22 offseason. They wanted a lineup upgrade and they got one
6:19
It's not something I would've done but I just think was as simple as them having some payroll space and going after a well-known and still productive hitter to anchor the lineup
Adam Cole BayBay
6:19
What are the odds Jackson Merrill actually makes it to San Diego without being traded? I am sure Preller would love to add a top of the line starter at the trade deadline. But San Diego has to let some homegrown talent stick around eventually, right? (I think Ethan Salas is untouchable. Preller has waited too long for an elite catcher to let him go.)
Anthony Franco
6:19
Merrill seems like the caliber of prospect who'll be off limits in trade
Donnie
6:20
Do you think we will get another shocking trade (like Soto last year) at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
6:21
No, I don't think there's anyone who's on the verge of a rebuild that has that kind of impact talent nearing free agency. Ohtani would be the one player at (or above) that caliber who could get traded if the Angels fall out of contention, but it's not like that would come out of nowhere. People have been speculating about Ohtani trades for years
It's my birthday (but actually)
6:21
True or false: now that they extended Happ, would adding nothing but Shohei Ohtani this off-season make the Cubs a contender?
Anthony Franco
6:24
Happy birthday! This Cubs team plus Ohtani minus Bellinger and Stroman (who can opt out) seems like a borderline playoff team. They'd have a decent amount of impact talent but they'd need one of Crow-Armstrong or Kevin Alcantara to step right into center field and the pitching depth would be pretty shaky
Ian Happ
6:24
Steve seems to think the Cubs got away with highway robbery with my deal. What say you?
Anthony Franco
6:25
I'm probably not quite as down on it for Happ as Steve is, but it feels light to me. Felt like he should've been able to get four years and push past the Benintendi guarantee ($75MM)
6:27
Happ's free to make his own choices and he seems to love Chicago. I don't think it's a good deal for him strictly in the context of the MLB market, but if he wants to take less than he could max out to be somewhere he's happy, go for it
Cardinals
6:27
Would the Guardians flip Quantrill for Edman this offseason? With Winn coming up soon middle infield seems like a position of strength for cards.
Anthony Franco
6:29
I could see that as a workable framework, sure. They'd both have two seasons of arbitration remaining. Cleveland could lose Amed Rosario to free agency, and while they've got a bunch of upper level middle infield talent, that's also true on the pitching side. St. Louis has Masyn Winn not too far off, as mentioned
6:30
I'd slightly prefer Edman to Quantrill in isolation but can see the argument for both teams doing this
Jorge78
6:30
Is Yainer Diaz, C, Astros ready for a breakout?  His minor league hitting stats are impressive!  Yet Cleveland did trade him away.  Steve didn't have time for this question yesterday, hope you can get to it?  Thanks!
Anthony Franco
6:32
The bat looks promising but scouting reports on his defense behind the plate aren't great. If the Astros don't really trust him at catcher -- and given how much they love Maldonado, defense and game calling is clearly the priority for them -- just don't where Diaz fits into a lineup that also has Abreu and Yordan
TigerDoc
6:33
Tigers fans are a miserable lot right now with a 2-8 start and Matt Manning breaking his foot.  Gloom, despair and agony on me!  Give us some reasons why Tigers fans should be more hopeful about the future than they are now.  Something, anything!!!
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