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Front Office Chat: 1/10
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey everyone, hope you've all had a good week!
3:01
Looking forward to another chat, let's get rolling
Impatient Reds fan
3:01
Yesterday, Ken Rosenthal said on Fair Territory that the Reds were tied to Anthony Santander. Then today,  I saw that the Reds have interest in Carlos Estevez.  This was surprising to me because Nick Krall recently said the budget was tight. Maybe Krall can convince Bob Castellini to raise the payroll.  They don't have much on the books past 2026, so maybe it's possible.  What are your thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:02
I share your skepticism based on the budget. They both make a lot of sense on paper but they'd need ownership to sign off on a decent payroll jump for the upcoming season, especially to land Santander
3:03
Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but their lack of activity over the last couple months makes the Martinez QO more baffling. If they really only had like $25MM to play with this offseason, why lock almost all of it up in a pitcher who may or may not even be in your Opening Day rotation?
Pete Alonso
3:03
Hey Anthony. Can you give me some advice and a prediction on my future?
Anthony Franco
3:03
Back to the Mets for like 3/85M with opt-outs after each season
Baltimore Billy
3:04
Coby Mayo and Chayce McDermott for Dylan Cease, who says no?
Anthony Franco
3:04
I would not give up Mayo for one year of Cease. Kjerstad maybe
Brad
3:05
Rays need OF and C - wouldn’t Cartaya and Outman for Curet, Walls and a low level flyer be a fit for both Rays and Dodgers?
Anthony Franco
3:05
Twins traded for Cartaya yesterday
Agree on Outman being a viable trade chip. Rays make sense there, could be part of a loose platoon with Deluca
AJ Preller
3:06
If SD trades Dylan Cease, I’m thinking Mets, O’s, Reds and maybe even Seattle could matchup well. What are your top potential Cease destinations?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Baltimore, the Mets and (to a lesser extent) the Cubs jump out to me. Atlanta could do this. Seattle would probably need to offload Castillo first
Dave
3:07
Are the Dodgers still trying to trade for Robert Jr from
Anthony Franco
3:09
Doesn't make a ton of sense for the Sox to move him this offseason. The Dodgers could make it work by moving Edman to the middle infield and benching Kim, but they'd probably prefer to see how this position player group shakes out first, especially since Robert's a big question mark after such a bad year
If...
3:09
The Jays make no further moves at all (unlikely -- but in theory) but simply get a bounce back season from Bo Bichette, can they be competitive?
Anthony Franco
3:10
I don't think so. It's still a bottom five bullpen, they'd need an aging group of starters to stay healthy, and the outfield is not good
Philly Special
3:10
Even if the Phillies find trading partners for Bohm and/or Castellanos, who could they get to play 3B and/or RF at this point in the offseason?  do you foreees any sc the lineup better without them?
Anthony Franco
3:12
Kepler's probably better than Castellanos, so he wouldn't be that difficult to replace if they could offload the money. Agree on Bohm, though. Bregman may be the only available third baseman who's a clear upgrade and it's hard to see them making that kind of push with all the other contracts they've got on the books
Daniel H
3:12
Brewers need a power bat in the lineup after losing Adames.  The most likely spot would be 3b in my opinion doesn't seem like they have an internal option and the 3B free agents are probably to costly.  Am I missing something or do you think its more of if Chourio gets more power this year, and if G Mitchell plays more he has some pop, that the brewers might not really be concerned with adding power after losing Adames.
Anthony Franco
3:14
No I agree with you that it's light on power. I just don't think that's a skillset the Brewers value all that highly, at least relative to the cost on the market. They kind of stretched for Hoskins to fill that role last offseason and it hasn't really worked
3:17
If Yelich plays a full season, that'd help. Mitchell obviously has physicality but I don't think the swing mechanics will allow him to hit for power consistently. Maybe Tyler Black chips in 10 homers or so, but there's basically no way for them to replace a 30-homer shortstop
Trading Spaces
3:17
In Winter, many GMs talk about how difficult it can be to make trades happen. How the Winter Meetings are often just to get a feel for who may be available down the line. But come deadline day, we get a bunch of moves really fast. Is it actually difficult to make a trade happen, or are teams just hesitant to make a move before the free agent market gets going?
Anthony Franco
3:18
It's easier to orchestrate trades in season, yeah. There's the lack of free agent alternatives, which you mentioned, but I think the much bigger factor is that teams have a clearer idea of where they stand competitively
3:19
Right now, I think everyone aside from Miami, Colorado and the White Sox believes they can compete (and the Rockies don't trade even when they know they're bad). By the deadline, there'll be another 5-10 teams that realize they're at best long shots to make the playoffs
3:20
All that said, it's not like teams are just sitting out the offseason trade market. We've seen win-now teams trade Juan Soto, Corbin Burnes and Kyle Tucker within the last two winters. It's possible, just more complex because it probably takes the acquiring team sending MLB talent in return
Kevin C
3:20
The Nats did not come to an agreement with Nathaniel Lowe yesterday, although they are within $1M of his requested salary. I realize that he is not a standard 1B power bat, but his high OBP has me hoping they are looking to offer him a longer contract. Would you consider this a smart move for DC?
Anthony Franco
3:22
Always depends on price but I'd be fine playing out arbitration for now. They've got him under club control until age-31. Brady House may project as a long-term first baseman. Waiting a year on Lowe to see how House develops makes sense to me
Shaving time
3:22
Where does Brendan Rodgers stand? Previously it seemed like he was destined for a late spring pickup, which makes the Yankees' recent interest in him somewhat surprising. Considering the success of Profar last year, a former top pick who found success later in his career, do you think his market will heat up more?
Anthony Franco
3:23
Eh, I'd guess he's going to sign somewhere in February for like $3.5MM. The Yankees were also linked to Jorge Polanco and Paul DeJong, so that doesn't mean they've identified Rodgers as a prime target
Chris H
3:23
Do you think the Angles could/should pick up both Hoffman for the BP and Profar for the OF, or would that be "to expensive" for Arte?
Anthony Franco
3:24
They could do both and stay below the luxury tax line. I expect Hoffman to go somewhere where he can start, but the Angels can offer that opportunity. I would like both of those moves for them, yeah
The way of the Jed
3:25
What is Jed Hoyer's plan exactly? Between trading away Belli and Isaac Paredes, acquiring Kyle Ticker, and failing to reach an arbitration agreement with him, it seems he wants to win it all in 2025 and hasn't thought much about what the club will look like after that.
Anthony Franco
3:26
I really wouldn't put much stock into the Tucker arbitration hearing. It happens. He was never likely to sign an extension anyway and the Cubs would need to deviate wildly from their recent spending habits to keep him beyond this season
3:28
I agree that the Tucker trade generally signals a win-now push, but that was warranted for the Cubs. The division's there for the taking, they've been a low-ceiling roster for too long. The farm system is strong enough that the window's not going to slam shut even if Tucker walks
Too many pitchers...
3:28
Thoughts on possible suitors for a Marcus Stroman trade at this point?
Anthony Franco
3:29
Angels make sense. Some kind of swap involving a Padres infielder (not a direct one-for-one for Arraez, who has more value) could work
Youkilyptus
3:29
Where in the world could Nick Pivetta end up?  Is he regretting rejecting that QO?  Any chance he falls back to Boston, maybe as long man or leverage to trade Crawford?
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