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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco
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Anthony Franco
1:59
Hey everyone, welcome to the first post-lockout chat!
It's been a long time coming, glad we can focus on hot stove stuff again
Feury
2:00
Do you see the in stadium experience improving any time soon? Across all sports its becoming more and more difficult to justify going to a game live, when we sit through commercial breaks, that just keep getting longer and longer, AND we pay MORE and MORE to do it. When's the payoff coming for the literal ticket holders?
Anthony Franco
2:00
Yeah I don't think you're going to get any major adjustments here unless or until attendance figures start going down
2:01
Then they'll have to recalibrate pricing and/or in-stadium entertainment options
But I think mostly the benefit of going to the game versus watching from home is just the experience of being at the park, typically outside on a nice day and enjoying a couple hours of leisure time
DennyDoyle
2:01
Would the A’s have interest in Nathaniel Lowe as part of a deal for Olson?
Anthony Franco
2:02
I think he'd be part of the return if they made an Olson deal with Texas, yeah
2:03
More of a secondary piece than the headliner probably, but five years of control of an immediate plug-and-play first baseman who's probably league average or a bit better? Solid value there, and definitely a guy I think Oakland would like to have back
Trades
2:03
Part of me hopes that teams agreed to trades during the lockout and would announce said trades as soon as the lockout was lifted
Anthony Franco
2:04
I have no idea if a bunch of back-channel deals were done during the lockout, but if there were, would you want to be the first person to leak one?
"Really, Commissioner, we negotiated the whole Freddie Freeman deal in fifteen minutes. I swear"
Bob T
2:04
Anthony, Rengifo and Wade aren’t everyday players, where do the Angels go for a SS? I don’t see them as a player for Story since they have the Ohtani extension coming up, but they need a SS who will be there for several years. Who would be the best trade targets?
Anthony Franco
2:05
Yeah I've said for a few months that I think this is the biggest area of need for them, one of the top weaknesses for any hopeful contender
You're right. The options are pretty rough if they're not signing one of the top two free agents
2:06
Nick Ahmed's probably attainable but he's a lower-end regular. Kevin Newman's a cheaper but worse version of Ahmed. Maybe make a run at Jeff McNeil and move Fletcher to shortstop?
I'd seriously be thinking about a run at Story if I were the Angels though
Chris
2:07
Hi Anthony, I'm a big Matt Harvey fan.  Do you think a team will take a flier on him when the suspension ends.  Really hope the guy lands on his feet.  Thank you.
Anthony Franco
2:07
Man, I don't know. He's been terrible for like five years now, was probably going to be looking at minor league deals before the Skaggs trial
2:08
I don't think he should be banned from the game or anything, but I could also see a situation where all 30 teams just independently decide it's not worth it because he's not a good pitcher anymore either
Braves Fan
2:09
Do you find it strange that the executive board voted unanimously against the deal but the reps actually passed it?
Anthony Franco
2:09
Very
I was really surprised by that. My guess, and it's entirely speculative, is that it shows the union didn't have quite the solidarity it projected throughout negotiations after all
2:11
That's not to say they took a terrible deal. I think it was solid -- not a resounding victory, but fine enough that I'd have probably voted yes were I a player -- but it seems like ultimately, the leadership had appetite to keep the battle going. Most of the players got to a point where they did not
Because the player reps are casting their individual vote on behalf of the team they play for, so they're more closely connected to the so-called "average player" on those rosters
Crash
2:12
Will the expanded playoffs affect the jays free agent/trade plans?
Anthony Franco
2:12
I doubt it'll have much impact on Toronto. Really tough division. They seemed like a borderline playoff team to start with
2:13
Obviously, their odds go up with an expanded playoffs. Every team's do (except maybe the Pirates' and Orioles', which stay at about 0%). But even with six AL playoff teams, I don't think the Jays can sit back and say they'll get in now without upgrading over Santiago Espinal at third base
A's Fan
2:13
How much "extra" would Texas have to give up in order to get the A's to trade Matt Olson in the division AND with a window to hammer out a contract extension?
Anthony Franco
2:14
Eh, the extension window thing rarely happens. I doubt there'll be a huge divisional premium either since the A's would be taking a step back this year
If Texas makes the best offer, I think Oakland would take it
Kevin J.
2:15
What’s the state of Clayton Kershaw’s arm, He’s been seen at multiple places here in the Dallas area, Which is unusual cause he’s always lived here, why now, Is he gonna sign with Texas?
Anthony Franco
2:15
I lean Dodgers on Kershaw, but it does seem like L.A. or the Rangers are the two real contenders
Kevin J.
2:15
should Texas stay away from Olson, and give Lowe another shot and spend elsewhere?
Anthony Franco
2:16
Evan Grant made it sound like the Rangers would only spend on Olson or Kershaw, that they consider those guys special players they'd set aside money for
If they don't end up with either, it's probably more of the Martín Pérez type moves for the rest of the offseason
Tricky Ricky
2:17
Do any of the new agreements affect what the White Sox are planning for this year?  What moves do you see them making to contend right now?
Anthony Franco
2:18
I think they're in the same boat they were pre-lockout. Reinsdorf was unlikely to go to the tax threshold anyways, playoff expansion maybe lightens their need to upgrade a little but they want one of those top two seeds in the AL
So I expect the same stuff I thought before. Efforts to trade Kimbrel, acquire help at second base and/or right field (probably lower-cost guys given where the payroll's at), maybe a depth add for the rotation
Dan
2:19
If the Yankees offer a package headlined by Dominguez for Olson, do the A's pull the trigger?
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