You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco
powered byJotCast
Anthony Franco
2:00
Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well!
Looking forward to another one of these, let's get into it
Stormy
2:00
Following up on my question for last week about Suzuki not being on a 40 man roster.  I understand that he cannot sign a MLB contract at this time.  However, as he did not finish last year on a 40 man roster what is to stop him from negotiating at this time?
Anthony Franco
2:01
I believe negotiations on major league contracts are prohibited as well, given that back-channel trade discussions are off limits
Even if that weren't the case, barring Suzuki's reps from having any contact with MLB teams would've probably been put into place as a condition for freezing his posting window clock
Ranger
2:01
The past couple months the website seems to load sooooooooooo slow. Any insights????  I have emailed a couple of times with no response as of yet And yes, I am I paying customer :-)
Anthony Franco
2:02
I don't know anything about this, but I'll pass your comment along to Tim
Bob T
2:02
Anthony, it appears that there is hardly any common grounds in the negotiations. The owners calling for a mediator was a PR stunt to try and make the MLBPA look bad. Right now it appears there will be a long lockout. What is your take on your his.
Anthony Franco
2:02
Yeah my hope of the season starting on time basically went out the window when MLB declined to even make a counter-offer
2:03
Agree btw on mediation. MLB knew the PA was going to refuse -- tough to mediate at this point, since it's not as if they've really done much negotiating here -- but they can then point the finger at the union for refusing something that sounds, on the surface, as if it might be helpful
Jim C
2:03
What do you think of the Phillies starting 5 as currently constructed? What backend of the rotation pieces do you think might make a good fit for the team?
Anthony Franco
2:05
Yeah it's great the top. Depth is an issue, particularly with Eflin's spotty health history. Given the amount of other needs on the roster, I think any rotation pickups there are just going to be boring back-end types
A Jakob Junis flier or whatever
Duffy
2:06
Really enjoyed your article yesterday on making the Rockies better; fantastic stuff there. Question on them: is Charlie Blackmon unmovable? Or could someone who needs outfield help be willing to take that bad contract?
Anthony Franco
2:07
Thanks! I think Blackmon's unmovable at this point. At least $31MM over the next two years, already in his mid-30s, not much defensive value anymore
2:08
They could probably get somebody like the Phillies to pick up a third of the money for a minimal prospect return, but since the Rockies hoping to contend, why bother at that point?
Feury
2:08
For the Brewers... Nelson Cruz comes back to where he started to DH? What's the contract like?
Anthony Franco
2:09
I like Cruz to Milwaukee, yeah. Believe they were my pick for him on the Top 50. One year at like 10-12MM. Just remains to be seen whether they'd do that kind of thing given they're already about $25MM over last year's payroll
Rich C
2:09
Did MLB owners just hand my hope a vile of hemlock?  A few pieces I read by reputable writers seem to suggest so.  Dismal.  Whoever complains about the players being cry-baby millionaires doesn't realize the far greater propensity for billionaires to be money-hoarders.
Anthony Franco
2:10
I get why a lot of fans are content to say "yeah, I don't care what they're bickering over.  They all have a bunch of money. Let me know when they figure it out"
2:11
But there's obviously going be a bunch of haggling when you're talking about the kind of money involved in a negotiation like this. And it seems, from my vantage point, that the PA has generally been more amenable to moving towards an eventual midpoint than the league has been
BrewCrew
2:11
Better value for the Crew, in terms of production vs cost, Jorge Soler, Nelson Cruz or Dan Vogelbach? Is Soler's (albeit minimal) ability to "play" (read: stand) in the outfield worth the extra dollars? Or stand pat, hope for a Hiura rebound (w/o that bothersome fielding)/Tyrone Taylor (who looked good when healthy), and/or use the spot to give regulars a psuedo day off?
Anthony Franco
2:12
I guess it kind of depends on the money we're talking about with Soler. I'd rather have him than Cruz or Vogelbach in a vacuum, but if we're talking three years -- as Tim, in particular, thinks he'll get -- I'd want no part of it
2:13
But if it's Soler at 1/12 vs. Cruz at 1/10, then give me Soler
Ryan S
2:13
An observation leading to a question. I realize sports writers right now are just throwing things against walls so we have something to read. I really do appreciate the effort. But it seems every week someone reads something different about their team. What I truly appreciate about MLBTR staff are the unbiased answers and opinions. Instead of reading a Yankees writer who thinks they should trade for DeJong and basically "free" the Cardinal's of him for nothing. A Guardians writer who loves a scouts opinion on Lars Nootbar so thinks Cleveland should trade for him because he's going to be good, "as long as they don't give up much" How is a normal everyday Joe supposed to have realistic opinions if the writers have asinine ideas? Again, I realize they want to give fans SOMETHING, but come on guys. If DeJong hits anywhere near .250/.315/.450 and plays his typical defense, I'll take that and run with it. He's projected at .223/.305/.405. He's also working with Garmendia. I'm signing Joe Kelly and Ryan Tepera. You?
Anthony Franco
2:14
I'll break this up in two. To your first point, I think it's really hard for beat people -- who spend so much time focused on the ins and outs of everything the particular team they're covering does -- to have a great feel for how the market functions from a 30,000 foot level
2:15
Even the beat people we think are really good at what they do -- and there are plenty of those out there -- don't spend the kind of time we do looking at macro trends in the free agency and trade market. That's just not their job description
2:16
As for your Cardinals specific stuff, I think that's all sensible. Derrick Goold (among the aforementioned collection of elite beat reporters around the game) keeps suggesting they'll keep DeJong around at short. We trust him enough on that that DeJong's probably not going to even make the Trade Candidates stuff we're putting out next week
2:17
As for the relievers: Tepera should be pretty good value on an affordable two-year deal. Kelly's tougher, just because he ended the year with a shoulder thing and it's not clear precisely how healthy he is right now
Sorry, biceps on Kelly, not shoulder
Zack
2:17
What impact would mediation have on the timing of getting a deal done between the owners and players?  Faster, slower, or no impact?
Anthony Franco
2:18
This question came in before the PA announced its official rejection, but yeah, mediation isn't happening
Parker
2:18
Thanks for doing this chat! Do you see any big trades in the Red Sox plans?
Anthony Franco
2:19
I think they're likely to make some form of big move, although I still lean towards a FA signing. Story, Bryant, Schwarber, maybe even Correa or Freeman could all fit there
Millie-WAU-kaaaay
2:19
What wod Teoscar Hernandez cost the Brewers to acquire? Is a straight swap for Adrian Houser enough/plausible, or would the Brewers need to add?
Anthony Franco
2:19
Jays aren't going to do that. I don't think they're much interested in trading Hernández at all
G l a y b e r (spell check… ugh) Torres
2:19
Being the infield odd man out, will I stay or will I go?  If I go, can I bring in a #4 or #5 starter?
Anthony Franco
2:20
We kicked around Gleyber this week in our Trade Candidates prep but ultimately leaned towards that being too much of a sell-low situation for the Yankees taste
Voit feels likelier to be the odd man out there
2:21
But yeah, if they traded Torres, I think they could get a capable back-end starter with a similar level of remaining contractual control
Load More Messages
Connecting…