You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 1/16/26
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Anthony Franco
3:25
Agreed but the whole "calculate the NPV thing" is way above my head. I just go with whatever the league/PA say it is
3:26
Logically, yes, the up-front signing bonus and just frontloaded salaries should be more valuable than evenly distributed or backloaded deals. But then you're straying away from using AAV to calculate the luxury tax number at all
Please don’t trade him
3:26
Do you buy into some of the stories that Red Sox could “force” the Dbacks to reopen trade talks about Ketel with more pitching talent available?
Anthony Franco
3:27
I'm sure there's a price at which Hazen would reconsider it but the reason they basically cut off talks in the first place was because they sensed that no one was going near what they'd need to trade Ketel
Hits Like Rays
3:28
Please tell me the Rays are getting more than Gavin Lux in this trade.  If not, I struggle to understand why they did it.
Anthony Franco
3:29
Weird one! I don't think any of the three players are involved are particularly good, but I'd probably have kept Lowe and given Palacios first shot at second
3:30
They can still do that obviously. Lux is semi-useful as a bench bat but at $5.25M for them, meh
Alan
3:30
How amenable do you think players and teams would be on a complete ban for deferrals in baseball contracts? Plus a cap on lenght so not to teams offering 20 years just to mask deferrals, of course.
Anthony Franco
3:32
Not especially. The reason they're so in vogue is that teams and players each get something out of them. I get why they're annoying to a lot of fans -- and I would eliminate deferrals on the scale of the Ohtani deal if I could rewrite the CBA -- but ultimately fans aren't at the bargaining table
Optimistic Giants Fan
3:32
Approximately how many questions about a salary cap have you gotten lol
Anthony Franco
3:32
Enough that I'll address it haha
3:34
I get that this is pretty disheartening for fans of two-thirds of teams. Similar to Alan's question on deferrals, I think it's totally reasonable as a fan to want a salary cap in hopes that it democratizes free agent spending
3:36
I remain skeptical that it'll really do that at the top end, especially if you have maximum contract length/values following the NBA model, because they're incentivized at that point to sign with teams that are best equipped to contend and/or have the most off-field endorsement opportunities, which tend to be the largest markets anyway
3:37
And obviously there are plenty of lower-revenue franchises that could do more and choose not to, using the competitive balance aspect of a cap for their primary goal of driving overall player spending down
3:39
I still can't see the Players Association going for it under any circumstance, because these deals reinforce how much money players at the top of the market would lose the second a cap is introduced
KC
3:39
What can the Royals do - with their sights set on a new stadium, I don't get why Sherman is holding to the same budget as last season. The division is open, BWJ, Ragans, Garcia, Pasquantino are a good base, and they're a bat short. Trade from SPs or FA... but do something! They don't need another Hunter Renfroe
Anthony Franco
3:41
A little surprised they haven't made a rotation trade but yeah, pretty underwhelming offseason when the Central is there for the taking (again). If the budget was this tight, tendering India and Massey for a combined $10M is inexplicable
Jeff
3:41
You have teams that dont even spend the money that is straight up given to them from the teams that spend. Hearing complaints from them about spending is absurd.
Anthony Franco
3:43
Agreed from an ownership perspective. At the very least, they're having their cake and eating it too by refusing to publicly disclose revenue. But it's also true that Marlins fans have no say in how much Bruce Sherman feels like spending, so I don't think it's illogical on their end to desire a cap/floor system that constrains spending at the top and forces their owner to do more
Crouching Tigers
3:43
It seems like banking on the left side of the infield to be held down by Baez, McKinstry and a top prospect is a pretty shaky foundation.  Any chance the tigers are still in on Geno? Or another 3B/SS type?
Anthony Franco
3:45
I don't think it's a necessity with Keith in there too and McGonigle looming, but it's not so strong that I'd be completely closed off. Wouldn't want to go three on Geno but if he drops to two years in the mid-30s or something, they should jump in
Doug
3:46
Wanted to get your read on a few useful free agents who haven’t really been mentioned on MLBTR this offseason. Where do you see Marcell Ozuna, IKF, Luis Arraez, Victor Caratini landing?
Anthony Franco
3:48
I have a tough time finding anywhere that makes sense for Ozuna. Not convinced he even finds an offer that he considers strong enough to take. We've seen examples of that kind of player (JDM, Belt, Rizzo) just move on rather than take like $3-4M in March
3:49
Still think there's a two-year deal out there for Caratini, similar to the Jansen one. Padres reunion makes sense, Red Sox could work
3:50
Arraez one year at $8-10M. Should be Texas, could see a fit with Cincinnati if they use Steer more often in LF. I have no real opinion on IKF, who I expect to get a couple million to be a utility piece somewhere
Hopelessly Optimistic in Anaheim
3:51
Could Jo Adell/Reid Detmers package deal be enough to get Matt Shaw?
Anthony Franco
3:52
Don't think so. Cubs would need to really love Detmers because Adell's just kind of blocking them from getting DH at-bats for Moisés Ballesteros
Jagger
3:52
Do you still think Freddy Peralta or McKenzie Gore get traded?
Anthony Franco
3:53
Lean no on Freddy and yes on Gore but not with a ton of confidence in either direction. Figured there would've been more smoke about the Nats aggressively shopping Gore early in the offseason than there has been
JL
3:53
Is it Frambar or bust for the Orioles?  In terms of pitching, not the entire offseason
Anthony Franco
3:54
Well if the Brewers did trade Peralta, O's going for a repeat of the Burnes playbook would make sense. I do think it needs to be someone of that caliber though
3:55
I like Chris Bassitt and Nick Martinez but those guys feel a little redundant to the Eflin move. Would rather just wait until the deadline and see what kind of upside swing they can take at that point
Guarded Indian
3:55
Any chance the Rockies trade Doyle?  I'd love to see him in Cleveland.  Seems like a perfect fit.
Anthony Franco
3:57
Seems like they've inclined to hold for a rebound but they've said they're open to trading someone from the outfield and just took a flier on McCarthy, so it's not like they'd hang up the phone if the Guardians call on Doyle
3:59
In a weird spot as trade partners because a lot of the Guards' controllable pitching has backed up, but I have a hard time seeing them do Messick or Stephen for Doyle. Is Colorado doing it for Allen or Cecconi though? Those guys feel like they'd get rocked at Coors Field
Philly A's
3:59
Who will rhe A's overpay this year to play in WestSac?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Bring Bassitt home (sorta)
4:03
Martinez works too, but I feel like Bassitt -- independent of the previous ties to the org -- fits to a tee. Probably two years at a high but not outlandish annual rate, excellent durability track record, no real history of home run trouble, plays whatever veteran leadership role they need for the younger arms they've graduated and have coming through the pipeline
2b Addy
4:03
any playing time possible for Barger at the keystone bag in Toronto now that Bo is moving on?
Anthony Franco
4:05
Could see him getting a handful of starts on days when Okamoto is at third but doubt there's regular playing time there unless Clement gets hurt. As long as they're both in the lineup, better off with Clement up the middle and Barger at third
Connecting…