JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 6/15/26

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Ben Clemens

3:00

famously technically a different city

but your point is taken

NYC has some of this too

the Giants have a team in San Jose, etc. (definitely different cities, to be clear)

but I don't think Vegas quite fits here

3:01

the Twins do that b/c the Saints were a very famous team for a long time

lmb2020

3:01

I think those two extremes on ASG theory are interesting. My contention with "only the proven best" means you probably don't get Jordan Walker, when his carrying tool is cool (hit ball really reallllly hard) and I don't really want to see, like, Bryan Reynolds there (sorry Bryan). But also, don't need to see Kyle Tucker.

Ben Clemens

3:01

yeah, mine is probably in need of some nuance and better definitions

but basically I want the superstars. and eh, Kyle Tucker is a superstar enough that I disagree with you there. But I do think that you want to see some new fun players, plus some stars

bosoxforlife

3:03

The Mets High-A team is in Brooklyn which is most definitely part of New York.

Ben Clemens

3:03

yeah. and the Yankees had a team on Staten Island, also

but it's definitely generally not accepted, or at least, generally they want teams to be separated. there are no minor league teams in a lot of large cities

3:04

anyway I'm guessing they'll move the A's affiliate around to somehwere else, I dunno where exactly

rather than have Vegas try to support both teams

bosoxforlife

3:04

This Red Sox fan is actually hoping the team doesn't have a fake spurt and cause whoever is actually making the decisions, Breslow or Sam Kennedy, to trade some young prospect for a quick fix. The last two deadlines have been disasters. James Tibbs for two awful months of Dustin May, please not again.

Ben Clemens

3:04

Tibbs and Harrison both being smash hits is a really funny capper on the Devers trade

the Athletic had a good retrospective on it today, its one-year anniversary (!)

basically like, sadness, many places

PC1970

3:04

Miz/ Sanchez is reminiscent of Arrieta/Grienke in 2015 & Gooden/Tudor in 1985..sometimes you just get 2 all time seasons in 1 year..& then none the next.

Ben Clemens

3:04

Arrieta Greinke is actually the vibe I've been getting

3:05

because that's a year where I was really into baseball

cosmichero

3:05

I'm sure this has been asked before, but where do you stand at this point in the season on will/should CJ Abrams be traded?

Ben Clemens

3:05

I think that he will get traded, but in the offseason

3:06

unless the Nats fall hard in the next month, I don't think they'll trade away key pieces now. particularly since teams trading for Abrams would want him to play a non-shortstop position

3:07

That just lines up to me to be an offseason trade

didace

3:07

When is it too early to scoreboard watch? I need to wait until at least the All-Star break, right? (Even though I'm already doing it, I can't help myself. It's just been so long since there was even an unreasonable reason to do so.)

Ben Clemens

3:08

yeah, I think the first time it's appropriate is August. But also, you're going to do it earlier even if you don't want to, it's human nature

PC1970

3:08

PH to get the platoon advantage- What's your general stance- Asking because AJ Hinch has been VERY aggressive this year- taking out Carpenter & Keith as early as the 5th for Jahmai Jones (who has been awful, of course)..only to then have their spot come out in the 8th/9th inning & now lost the platoon advantage. My sense is he's way too aggressive in doing it so early, like I don't think I would ever do it unless their spot was unlikely to come up again.

Ben Clemens

3:08

Yes. I think that Hinch particularly is WAY too aggressive with iht

I feel like I've maybe noted this in various postseason writeups on him before

sometimes you just need to let it breathe

or like, build your roster differently if you're going to be so hair-trigger on these

3:09

probably the second, really. I do think he's trying to find extra edge. I just think that it ends up coming back to give that edge away, particularly if you hav ea guy like Jones who you don't want to bat against same-handed people

cosmichero

3:09

If Abrams is traded, what even is the Nats timeline? When are they supposed to compete? Are they on a Willits timeline now essentially (2028+)?

Ben Clemens

3:10

yes. but also, I think that it's just reasonable to trade away people who are headed towards the end of their team control and aren't your locked in stars. Not because you're giving up, just because it's part of how to run a team if you're not going to spend infinite. The Brewers trade people a year before free agency and we still think of them as perpetually competing. It hink that an Abrams trade is defensible in that sense. I don't think they necessarily have to, of course, but I think it'd fit with how teams do business. Basically am I sure they're going to compete in '27? No. So it doesn't seem outrageous to me. But I hear you that either it means giving up on '27, or maybe it means getting back people who can contribute right away

Jeremy Fox

3:11

The Phillies have officially entered Late Stage Dombrowski. He won't be fired yet, but we can all see it coming, right? How long will it be?

Ben Clemens

3:11

Yeah, this is how the Dombrowski expeirence tends to go

3:12

again, that's fine

3:13

but yeah, stretching out the window over this many years has left the cupbboard bare

Matthew VanWinkle

3:13