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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Tim Dierkes
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Tim Dierkes
9:42
Hello Front Office subscribers!  I'm not sure I've ever done a Front Office chat before.  I'm so excited to do one today that I'll get it going early!
9:43
If you don't know me, I'm Tim Dierkes, the owner of MLB Trade Rumors.  We really appreciate you subscribing to our service.  I hope you're enjoying the extra content from Steve and Anthony.  Feel free to make suggestions for Front Office in this chat for me to consider.
Around the Horn
9:43
A Monday chat is a Christmas miracle!
Guest
9:43
JD Martinez at 1/10 doesn't seem a whole lot different than Turner at 2/22. Are the dodgers trying to get cute here or is there a real plan?
Tim Dierkes
9:45
It might be seen as cold and calculating, but I think the Dodgers like JDM's bat more.  I think he's the better hitter, at least.  I also think JD may have turned down more money to sign with the Dodgers and reunite with Robert Van Scoyoc, the club's hitting coach.  Van Scoyoc got a lot of credit for revamping JD's swing about ten years ago.
It's possible, too, that the Dodgers weren't enamored of JT's 3B defense, and don't feel they'll miss that.
JohnnyNewGuy
9:45
Application the second chat to try and make our subscription more worth while. I have asked this a few times now in various chats but why did you guys stop doing the MLB blog roundup? I really loved it because it really showedme  good blogs to follow and read for baseball.
Tim Dierkes
9:46
That's a good question!  We last did an entry in this series in 2019: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/baseball-blogs-weigh-in
9:47
I think ultimately it's a question of how we use our writers' time.  I'd generally rather have them write an original for the site rather than review baseball blogs, although there are still plenty of good baseball blogs out there.
Dodger Fan
9:47
Tell me we won’t be starting lux at SS
Tim Dierkes
9:48
Unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat, I don't think anyone the Dodgers could acquire would be markedly better.  So yes, the club does seem willing to give Lux a legit try.
Jorge78
9:48
Do you think Gallo got overpaid?  It's been a while since he hit well.  I know the market went nuts this off season but $11 million?  Really?  Is his defense that good?
Tim Dierkes
9:50
His contract didn't surprise me too much.  11 mil just isn't a lot for MLB teams these days, and he does still have 40 HR potential.  I also think teams are placing a premium on LH hitters, and Gallo has been shifted on at least 90% of the time for the last four years.
9:51
I mean, making contact less than 60% of the time is not sustainable, and the strikeouts can be hard to take even when he's going OK.  But I don't mind the move.
RAGBRAI
9:51
As of today, who would you rate as the top three pitching staffs in the NL and AL?
Tim Dierkes
9:51
I think there are seven candidates for this in each league.
9:52
AL: Jays, White Sox, Guardians, Yankees, Mariners, Rays
NL: Braves, Dodgers, Marlins, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Padres
I tried to look more at starters 1-4 and relievers 1 and 2.
9:53
I think in the AL I'll go Yankees, Mariners, Astros
9:54
Yankees have to overcome a questionable bullpen, but the rotation is that stacked.  And since we are saying as of today, and at this moment Luis Severino is healthy, I place a ton of value on the awesomeness of Cole-Rodon-Severino.
Mariners and Astros I think are more balanced but don't really have the Cole/Rodon types.
9:55
The NL is even tougher.  I think I'll put the Mets first even though I don't love it - Senga is a real wild card, and David Robertson is shakier than people realize.
9:56
I think I'll do the Braves and Brewers next, although you could talk me into the Padres.  For the Phils, I'm just not that big on Taijuan and Suarez.
Thigmus
9:56
What would it take for the Yankees to get Alek Thomas from The D-backs?  I feel they need to do a trade like that or bring in Peralta in order to shore up their Left Field spot.  They need to get with it before their potential targets are gone.
Tim Dierkes
9:57
I think it would or should take Oswald Peraza, who I think is projected to be the Yankees' starting SS.  I like Thomas a lot and I am wary of putting too much stock into three or so months of struggles in his first exposure to big league pitching.
Kim Ng
9:58
How about trading Jesus Luzardo from our rotation depth for Alek Thomas or Jake McCarthy from ARZ’s center field depth?
Tim Dierkes
9:59
I think the DBacks are more focused on MLB-ready hitters.  I don't necessarily mind a Luzardo-Varsho matchup - they both have four years of control remaining - but Luzardo feels riskier to me.
Crash
9:59
Which outfield upgrades would the jays be realistically interested in?
Tim Dierkes
10:00
Continuing on this topic, the Jays-DBacks matchup still makes sense.  Kirk-Varsho?
JOE
10:00
Can you give us a list of most to least likely to be traded from Arizona's outfielders? Also most to least expensive to aquire?
Tim Dierkes
10:01
Just blasting through all the AZ OF questions in one go.
10:02
Friend of the site Nick Piecoro has ranked them as Jake McCarthy, Daulton Varsho, Alek Thomas in order of likelihood.  He put Corbin Carroll aside as an extreme long shot.
10:03
Nick's plugged in with the team, but outside of that you could really talk yourself into any of those three moving.
10:04
Varsho has the least team control, is the most expensive (though still cheap at south of 3 mil in our projection), and real concerns about hitting LH pitching.
Thomas doesn't turn 23 until April, has six years of control, and was a Gold Glove finalist in CF as a rookie.  How could you trade him??!
10:05
McCarthy hit well this year, no platoon split, super fast, but Piecoro noted, "This one feels a little less likely in large part because the Diamondbacks might value him differently than other clubs."
That might be because McCarthy doesn't have the prospect pedigree of the others.  He was a 40 grade type coming into the season, though the speed is obv real and guys make adjustments/improvements.
10:06
Interestingly, all three project to hit about the same in the Majors next year, 107-108 wRC+.  I'm fascinated to see which one Hazen pulls the trigger on.  I think he put a trade at 50-50
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