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!
Let's get right into it
Matty A
2:01
Do you think that Taylor Rogers will be the full time closer in Minny despite the bias against lefty closers?
Anthony Franco
2:01
I don't think they'll be so rigid as to have a single "closer" but I think Rogers will lead the team in saves
2:02
But if they need four outs in the seventh/eighth innings and are facing the middle of the order, I think Baldelli would be happy to bring him in and give an occasional ninth inning to Jorge Alcalá or whoever
Chriss
2:02
Any chance the dodgers swing a trade for Kimberly?
Anthony Franco
2:03
I can squint and see it but given how little talk there's been about the White Sox having a Kimbrel suitor in the past couple months, it feels like there's not as much interest there as they'd been expecting
Michael Conforto
2:04
Other than me, what’s the biggest name out there you’re surprised hasn’t signed yet?
Anthony Franco
2:04
Yeah it's basically just Conforto
Yusmeiro Petit, I guess?
Tony Watson should land somewhere
Timbo
2:04
Do you think Johnny Cueto will get a major league deal? If so, with who?
Robert
2:04
Anthony, which free agents not named Michael Conforto . Do you see signing soon. ?
Anthony Franco
2:05
Cueto's the next notable name I expect to sign. I do still think he's getting a big league deal, yeah
Can do worse than tossing him $5MM and hoping for like 120 league average innings
Matt
2:05
Did the Blue Jays get better by acquiring Tapia? Is he really an upgrade over Grichuk?
Anthony Franco
2:06
Grichuk's a slightly better player IMO. The Jays just saved a couple million bucks and got a lefty contact bat as opposed to a power-first righty
2:07
I guess I prefer the Rockies end of it, but I think it's mostly fine for both teams. Tapia at least brings Toronto a different look off the bench than Grichuk would've, and they pretty clearly wanted an outfielder who hits left-handed
JL
2:07
I'm a big Orioles fan and have been on board with the tanking process.  I feel at the major league level nothing matters until Adley is the starting catcher.  With that in mind, shouldn't the O's leverage Mullins for the best pitching prospects they can get?  One more year of tanking and next offseason they can spend money?
Anthony Franco
2:08
Never say never, but I'd basically set a ridiculous ask on Mullins and just keep him if nobody meets it
2:09
He's controllable for four seasons, I buy him as a legitimate star now. At some point, the rebuild has to end and they're going to start graduating some of the top talent to be a little more competitive in 2023 and hopefully a full-fledged contender by 2024
2:10
If Mullins is truly this good (and I think he is), I'd want him around at that point. And if things move more slowly than that because of injuries or just standard prospect attrition, he'd still have immense trade value a year and a half from now
Rangers13
2:10
What level do you see Lieter starting in this summer?
Anthony Franco
2:10
Probably Double-A
Bones
2:10
Is Pham a full time player in Cindy?
Anthony Franco
2:10
Should be, I think he's clearly better than Jake Fraley
2:11
I like Pham as a bounceback candidate and think it's a good move for the Reds in a vacuum. Haven't liked the offseason plan (or seeming lack thereof) overall, but I think he could be a 2-3 win player at a bargain price
Brian
2:12
Which roster hole are you most surprised about at this point? And how do you think it’ll be addressed prior to Opening Day?
Anthony Franco
2:12
Angels shortstop, Guardians outfield, Yankees catcher, Padres corner outfield jump to mind
2:13
On the first two, I don't think those teams are doing anything about it before Opening Day. Probably not the Yankees either, although I still think they should trade for Willson Contreras
2:14
San Diego? I'm sure they want to do something, and like I wrote in the subscriber piece this week, they make a ton of sense for Conforto from a roster perspective
But it seems like they've tied their own hands as far as payroll goes so I'm not sure there's a whole lot to be done there either. Maybe an Austin Meadows trade?
Jack
2:15
Which pitcher would you consider a better choice for the next three years, Skubal or Ian Anderson? Thanks.
Anthony Franco
2:16
I lean Anderson. More faith in the command and he's already shown the ability to get opposite-handed hitters out at the big league level
2:17
Righties have slugged .515 off Skull in his career. Until he finds something that works against them, Anderson feels safer
2:18
My computer auto-corrected that to Skull lol
Donnie Blue Jay
2:18
With the Trade yesterday, does this not open the door for Conforto, Sign a two year deal out clause after 1 yr, for a player looking to rebuild his identity as a top offensive player in the game to add his bat to the Jay’s lineup as a DH / OF, not make better sense than going to a team were he could be pitched around with a team that isn’t as Strong as Toronto  ?? , With 3 players on the Boras corp already on the roster. There 10/ 11th in payroll around 160,000 or so and getting a100,000 million from MLB for TV contract ??
Anthony Franco
2:19
I can kind of see the fit but then you're pretty much pigeon-holing Teoscar at DH. Ross Atkins threw cold water on the idea of them spending much more money this winter yesterday too. I think Conforto ends up elsewhere
Kevin
2:19
It was reported on the site that Albert Pujols had 4 or 5 teams interested in him. Is there any update on what team will sign him?
Anthony Franco
2:19
Haven't seen anything reliable on that front in the last couple weeks
Load More Messages
Connecting…