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Front Office Chat: 1/16/26
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Good afternoon, hope you're all well!
3:02
Interesting week, let's get rolling
LFGM
3:02
Head spinning! Lost Tucker, got Bichette all in the course of a day. I don’t think the Mets should trade Baty, if Bichette opts out after year 1 you have no 3B, so two questions, how do the Mets work out 1B, LF & DH if they keep Baty. Do you think Vientos, or Mauricio have the value combined with lesser prospects to get the SP the Mets need/want? Maybe Freddy Peralta?
Sam
3:02
Brett Baty on the move?
Lance
3:02
Mets have a roster full of middle infielders and at least 1 poor fielding outfielder, how do you see that shaking out?
Anthony Franco
3:02
A handful of the many Mets questions in here
3:03
I don't think Vientos (or certainly not Mauricio) has the juice to headline a Peralta deal, but it does feel to me that he's getting traded. Seems likelier than Baty, who offers more positional value as a capable defender at second/third (and presumably first)
3:05
Seems like the Mets balked at a Vientos/Robert framework at the deadline but I wonder if that's more workable now if Sox eat a chunk of the money or include a reliever other than Grant Taylor in there
Dave
3:05
How much of this "rush" from a few well-funded teams to spend large sums for short-term contracts is because of the expectation that the impending lockout will force a salary cap into place?
Philly A's
3:05
Are the shorter term but higher AVV contracts because of the possible strike?
Anthony Franco
3:06
I don't think that has much to do with it. Just seems like we had a couple huge spenders that didn't want to go long-term on very good but flawed hitters at the top of the class
3:07
Obviously if you're not keen on committing seven or eight years to either of these guys, you need to compensate by juicing the AAV. Mets had a ton of short-term spending room compared to last season and were running out of players on which they could use it after missing on Tucker
Stott Through The Heart And You're To Blame
3:07
Three years for Realmuto means that Dombrowski is planning on retiring after 2 and letting someone else clean up the mess?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Haha if that were the case, why balk at going to three years in November?
3:08
I'm a little surprised they caved but credit to JTR and his camp for waiting it out. Seemed like Bichette was the last other player for which they were prepared to spend and once he chose elsewhere, they said "screw it, let's get Realmuto done"
Justin
3:09
how do the Tucker and Bichette deals impact Cody Bellinger?
Anthony Franco
3:10
Mets could still accommodate Belli, I guess, but that feels less likely now. Beyond that, not sure it matters much. Dodgers never felt likely there and Yankees never seemed to be in on Tucker. My guess is they get the Yankees to cave on the sixth year and wrap it up
Shatkins
3:10
Did aaron judge just become the most underpaid player in the game (besides arb controlled assets)
Anthony Franco
3:11
It's Ohtani for me but Judge is second. That deal felt like a win for the Yanks at the time and obviously looks dramatically better with where salaries at the top of the market have gone since
Soooo
3:11
What’s next for Boston? I feel like they still need a bat, but I hate to see them lose Early or Tolle. Does some combination of Harrison and Crawford (plus others) get them Paredes?
Anthony Franco
3:12
Crawford's not moving the needle much and I don't think Harrison gets Paredes at this point. Albies fits there if Braves are willing to swap him for a starter, one of the Mets' infielders could work
SHAD
3:13
Any updates on Cardinals ? Maybe a reunion with Goldschmidt
Anthony Franco
3:14
Burleson moves to first. Goldy doesn't really fit at his age and where they want to take the roster. Offseason now revolves around trading Donovan and Romero, probably with a cheap lefty reliever signing to backfill the bullpen if they move the latter
Who's on Second
3:14
I desperately want Nico Hoerner to be traded. The Cubs need to get as much value for this commodity as possible. We cannot allow someone we have not extended for whatever reason to net us nothing. Especially when there is like zero chance he is tendered a QO. I love Shaw at second and think Triantos is near ready in AAA. Not to mention Ramirez and maybe a potential addition on the cheap like oncada for half of Hoerners salary. Your thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:15
Hoerner's really good and trading him gives back a lot of the short-term value they got with Bregman. I'd pretty comfortably give him a qualifying offer assuming he has his usual and would be really surprised if he accepted it
3:16
Gleyber Torres got the qualifying offer this year and he's like two tiers below Hoerner for me
Alex Anthopoulus
3:16
What's next for the Braves, should they sign Framber to keep up to the Phillies and Mets? Who's the favorite to win the NL East?
Anthony Franco
3:17
I think this offseason is a bust if they don't add a starter
Framber would surprise me given the amount they've already spent in free agency but Bassitt, JV or Giolito all make sense. Could get someone on the trade market
3:18
Way too much injury volatility with the guys they have now to do nothing and expect that another 25+ starts from Bryce Elder doesn't take your season
The Baseball Gods Love Chaos
3:18
It's very interesting that none of the free agent hitters this offseason have signed for longer than five years guaranteed. That feels like something of a departure from recent off-seasons where it felt like multiple players got deals longer than that. Are we seeing something of a return to the 90s and 2000s for contract lengths?
Anthony Franco
3:19
It's very easy to get caught up in trends on this stuff but we're dealing with a handful of players who are considering a lot of different options
3:20
Yankees have reportedly had a five-year offer to Bellinger for a while, he just hasn't taken it. Bob Nightengale reported this morning that the Phils were willing to go 7/200 on Bo until the Mets jumped in with the juiced AAV
If the Mets had offered a couple million more to Tucker instead, that doesn't happen and there's a decent chance Bichette's a Phillie on a long-term deal
Mariners
3:20
Who do you think the mariners end up getting for their infield? Gut instinct?
Anthony Franco
3:21
I do think they make the most sense of the Donovan suitors. Enough flexibility to move him around the diamond depending on whether Young, Emerson, Bliss, etc. contribute
Jon KK
3:22
If the Cubs were to move Matt Shaw, who would be a good return? Tolle or Early? Jared Jones? Anyone else?
Anthony Franco
3:23
I like Shaw and would be fine holding him as a utility piece for a year but if any of those pitchers are on the table, I'd pull the trigger if I were the Cubs
GBS42
3:24
Wouldn't it make sense to adjust a contract's AAV/NPV the reflect significant signing bonuses paid up front. Tucker is reportedly getting 22.5% of his total contract value on Day One, which makes that money more valuable than it it was spread out evenly over four seasons. Why do deferrals decrease a contract's value but signing bonuses not increase it?
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