You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
A's Outlook '23
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Anthony Franco
4:02
It
Sorry
4:03
It'll be fairly marginal but I agree the Yankees work on Brown. Pretty apt description -- decent role player, fine complementary bat, not a regular
Guest
4:03
Are there any intriguing potential Rule 5 draft candidates to consider in an attempt to duplicate the 2023 Ryan Noda success?
Anthony Franco
4:04
They did a good job with the evaluation on Noda but the Rule 5 isn't a reliable means of acquiring talent annually
Jim
4:04
Jordan Diaz has hit at every level of the minors, but has struggled to hit major league pitching. And the only position he has played somewhat decently is 2B, which is the only position the A's have a possible star at in Zack Gelof. To give Diaz's bat a chance to develop with everyday at-bats, do you consider moving Gelof to like left field and allowing Diaz to play 2B?
Anthony Franco
4:06
No I'd leave Gelof where he is since he's far likelier to be a potential core piece. If Diaz hits his way into reps at third base or DH, great, but he hasn't shown enough at the MLB level to start moving around players who have to accommodate him
Scuffy McGee
4:06
Are there any recent trades that have worked out in the A’s favor? Because it seems the Braves absolutely fleeced them
Anthony Franco
4:07
Hernaiz/Irvin was a win. Waldichuk has underperformed but they've already gotten more out of JP Sears than the Yankees did out of Montas. Not sure I'd call that a "win" really, but it turned out better for Oakland than N.Y.
Guest
4:08
Are they going to DFA Bleday? Out of options I think, and other than a good arm and a good eye, he really hasn’t shown much. (Not that I think anyone would necessarily take him)
Anthony Franco
4:09
He still has options and has shown enough in Triple-A to hold the 40-man spot, I imagine
Guest
4:09
Write up on the A's was not good for A's fans. Do you really not see any type of step forward with Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler, Esteury Ruiz at all? I think a full season of them and they might surprise people.
Anthony Franco
4:10
To be clear, I didn't do the write-up, although I agree with basically everything Steve said
4:12
I don't think he's foreclosing the possibility those guys (plus Langeliers) could improve. None of them was clearly a major league caliber player in his first crack at it, though
Ruiz is obviously an elite baserunner, but he needs to take step forward with the outfield reads. That has been a thing scouts have questioned for a while on him, it's why he was never a top prospect
4:14
Soderstrom might be a bat-only guy. He has to hit. Butler needs to make more contact. They pushed the latter two guys pretty quickly through the minors, so they're young enough that improvement is on the table. It's tough to project any as average or better MLB regulars in 2024 given what they've shown at the big league level so far though
A's Fan
4:14
I imagine most Free Agents would hesitate to sign a multi-year deal with the A's because who knows where the team will be playing after the 2024 season. How much of an overpay would the A's have to make to sign Jeimer Candelario to play 3B?
Anthony Franco
4:15
We've got Candelario at four years and $60MM+. Don't see him as a realistic fit
A's Fan
4:15
I feel like there are enough mid-rotation options available in Free Agency to mute the demand for Blackburn. I think the only teams who would have serious interest in him would be teams that need to add multiple arms this offseason, like the Cardinals and (maybe) the Dodgers. Are there any other teams that you believe would be in the mix?
Anthony Franco
4:17
Diamondbacks, Mets, Yankees, Padres, Rockies could all fit. Maybe Milwaukee if they trade away Burnes or Woodruff while trying to make a run at competing
Continuing to compete, in Milwaukee's case. Don't mean for that to come as dismissive of their chances
4:18
There's always demand for starting pitching though. Even a team like Miami that seemed like an overflow of starters signed Johnny Cueto after they traded Pablo López and acquired Ryan Weathers as a depth guy at the deadline. Teams can burn through a pitching staff quickly
rooker = goat
4:19
Brent Rooker the best hitter in baseball this year by only April+September stats, would love to see him get signed by Oakland again with no major prospects set to come up
Anthony Franco
4:19
He's under club control. They don't have to re-sign him
Sad A's fan
4:19
Why do MLB players who struggled before free agency not target the A's as team to play for on a free agent deal? They would get ample playing time and would know if they perform well enough they're getting dealt to a contender so they'll have a chance at the postseason.
Anthony Franco
4:21
If you've got a similar offer from a team that has a clearer track record of helping reclamation projects (Dodgers, arguably the Giants on the pitching side), that's probably more appealing
4:22
The A's still have to be competitive financially in those cases too. Noah Syndergaard was a reclamation project last year and got $13MM from the Dodgers. Matt Boyd got $10MM from the Tigers coming off a surgery that cost him most of '22. The A's signed May and Diaz at like $7-7.5MM AAV; that's not enough
4:24
Could they throw a rotation spot to Luis Severino this winter? Sure. If he figures it out, he'd get traded to a contender, which would take him out off consideration for a qualifying offer. But they probably still have to offer $12-14MM for one year to make it worth his while or someone else will
Him
4:24
What does the timeline of the Athletics look like at this moment?
Anthony Franco
4:25
For a return to competitiveness? Can't see a plausible path back to the playoff mix before 2026
4:27
There are some offensive pieces here that could potentially start to form a lineup core in the next year or two, albeit with a lot of necessary development projection. I don't really see that potential for the pitching staff anytime soon
Aviators fan
4:28
HYPOTHETICAL: If an expansion MLB franchise started playing next year AND could only sign non-top prospect minor league players + international free agents instead of an expansion draft, what would be their record? Over 20 wins?
Anthony Franco
4:28
So you're basically just constructing a roster out of minor league free agency? Low-mid 20s feels right
4:29
The pitching staff would get bludgeoned
Guest
4:29
What are your thoughts on Shea Langeliers going forward? One the one hand, his offensive and defensive stats aren't pretty. On the other hand, he did a great job throwing out runners, hit a bit better in the second half, and may have had one of the toughest jobs in baseball learning catch so many pitchers (39, I think) in his first full season.
Anthony Franco
4:31
Clearly has power, made moderate improvements with the approach but it's still not good enough. The framing wasn't good but that can be pretty variable annually and scouts have always liked him as a catcher
4:32
Still think there's a path to an average-ish regular who hits for enough power to live with a low average and OBP. A Jake Rogers or pre-2022 Mike Zunino type
Sad A's fan
4:33
We need some positive news. Besides Hernaiz, what prospects in the A's system do you see with potential?
Anthony Franco
4:36
Daniel Susac is pretty interesting. I'm fascinated to see how the Jacob Wilson thing goes. The all-contact, no-power middle infield profile can go in a lot of different directions. Gunnar Hoglund keeps getting hurt but I was in on him as a mid-rotation guy when he was in college. It's a long shot but I'm not completely out yet
bob
4:37
whats the point for a's fans to show up to games? stadium is horrible team has no recognizable players and is about to leave
Connecting…