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Front Office Chat: 1/19/26
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Anthony Franco
3:37
Newer version of this question asked about Cutch, who's fine there if he's willing to take a bench/veteran mentor role but that's not the easiest thing to ask one of the best players in franchise history. They don't really have the DH at-bats to offer anymore
Rangers closer search?
3:38
So let me get this straight. Why were the Rangers willing to spend 4MM on Jakob Junis but not 5MM on Kirby Yates who just had an off year?? Any other word on other possible Ranger moves?
Anthony Franco
3:38
Junis is pretty good!
3:40
Teams never believe it because the velo/whiffs are meh but the slider's a good pitch and he's got excellent command. Churns out solid results year and year. Pretty similar to the Maton pickup last winter
3:41
Would still like to see them poke around the first base market but their bigger priority is adding a cheap back-end starter to cover for Latz regression and Rocker's uncertainty
Angels Fan
3:41
If the current Angels roster is not a .500 team, what realistically can they do move the needle?  The TV situation seems to have taken out signing a top FA.  I would love to see them bring in Bader and Gallen or Littell.  Your thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:43
They'd probably need to add Framber, Geno and Bader before I considered them a .500 team on paper. Even then the pitching depth feels shaky but they'd at least have the high-end talent to win some games
Obviously that's not realistic
3:44
Bader + Littell or Nick Martinez should be on the table. They're incremental improvements obviously
3:45
Would not want to punt a draft pick for Gallen, especially if he's going short-term with an opt-out after one year where they'll enter the season with a 10% shot at making the playoffs again
Tigers
3:45
Don’t sleep on the Tigers. Scott Harris has made some nice moves with Finnegan, Janson, and Drew Anderson without breaking the bank. They retained Gleybar Torres and Jack Flaherty. They have done way more than anyone else in the division. I still think they will pounce on a right handed OF (Bader) or 3B (Suarez) and possibly another SP, once the teams overpaying for FA’s are done. Being a small to mid market team like Tigers are, they are doing fine not adding tons of payroll to the long term balance sheet, like previously. ( Baez, Zimmerman, Pelfrey, etc.) Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:46
They're pretty good and I liked the Finnegan/Kenley pickups. Just do not understand the Gleyber QO if that was going to take them out of the market for starters who are more reliable than Anderson
Guards4Life
3:46
I feel like the Giants are quietly talking about Kwan. Both Cleveland and San Fran have been relatively under the radar. What could the Giants send to Cleveland for Kwan?
Anthony Franco
3:49
Yeah I could see this being workable. Wouldn't involve Eldridge or Josuar but anyone from their next tier of prospects (Davidson, Level, Killen) alongside one of the controllable depth starters not named Louppp (Birdsong, Whisenhunt, McDonald) seems a reasonable starting point
Sandy Kazmir
3:50
What would the Braves have to offer to make trading Masyn Winn start to make a lot of sense to the rebuilding Cardinals?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Baldwin probably? Isn't happening
Center Phielder
3:51
Think the Phils still have enough to go after Harrison Bader? No hate to Justin Crawford but it seems really precarious to have a 22 year old with no MLB experience as your plan A for CF.
Anthony Franco
3:54
Nah I think JTR's the last significant move. Could look at McCormick or Spring Training waivers to add a right-handed depth outfielder but at some point Crawford has to get a look. Nothing to learn at Triple-A and better to see him for a couple months against MLB pitching so they can reevaluate whether they need to trade for Robert, Mullins or whoever at the deadline
Brian
3:54
Where do the yankees look if bellinger signs elsewhere
Anthony Franco
3:56
Free agent bats are dwindling beyond that so the pivot's probably to a starter even after the Weathers trade since he's still got a minor league option. Rotation feels a lot more secure there if you plug Bassitt in over Weathers or Gil to hold the fort for Rodón/Cole
Curious
3:57
Starting to feel like Gallen back to Arizona on a pillow deal with an opt-out? Just doesn't seem like anyone is going to pay the price in money or QO comp to get him after the season he just had and the Snakes could still definitely use him this year.
Anthony Franco
3:58
The pillow deal would still be north of $20M this year, so it'd have to be one of those where Kendrick ignores his own budget, but he seems to love Gallen so I can see it
3:59
Right-handed hitting first baseman (just get the Goldy reunion done) and middle relief bigger priorities in the short term
Birdfan
3:59
Who would the Brewers want from the Orioles in a deal for Peralta?  What's a reasonable framework of a deal?
Anthony Franco
4:01
On value it should be a slightly juiced version of the Burnes trade but I have a tougher time matching up players who are moving the needle for Milwaukee this time around
4:02
Assuming Baltimore's not doing Beavers or Westburg they're not giving Milwaukee the kind of short-term MLB help they did with Ortiz/Hall
1981
4:02
I'm not a fan of in season tournaments for a LOT of reasons.  And I know the Commissioner more or less implied it isn't likely to happen.  The split season may be an idea worth looking into.  Doesn't help teams that are the best throughout the large sample size of the regular season, but could keep fan bases engaged.  1981 is the only model we have.  Your thoughts on a split season?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Don't like it and have a hard time believing it's going to move the needle for many fans
4:04
All it really achieves is that teams who tank in April/May get a do-over, which maybe keeps a couple fanbases generally happier in September but feels cheap to me and isn't something that is going to convince people who aren't already baseball fans to care
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:05
What's more likely? Mets keep Baty for LF or 1B or trade him?
Anthony Franco
4:05
Former, mostly first base with Polanco at DH. Vientos or Acuña have to move though
Beantown
4:06
I'm not sure why the Redsox don't sweep up Gino Suarez right away now.  At worst he's a low average, 25 HR hitter and average fielder.  Chance Fenway is made for him and he'll hit much better.  Some righties have had career years there.  Jason Bay comes to mid and when healthy Tyler O'Neil was a nice fit there.  Using the monster a higher BA and 40 HR is not out of the question.   Plus he'll be the 2nd Suarez they sign in the off season.
Anthony Franco
4:07
No argument here. Allows them to have Mayer settle second base
Jojo
4:07
Surprised that Castellanos hasn’t been released by the Phillies yet. They’ve tried to shop him over the past 2? offseasons, and nothing has come to fruition. Do you think he'll be released or traded before the start of spring training?
Anthony Franco
4:08
Yeah seems like they wanted to wait out the winter to see if anyone would eat a few million but have to pull the plug before camp
4:09
Relationship with Thomson is stale, they've already replaced him in right field, and Castellanos has surely seen the reporting about it. This just becomes a distraction in Spring Training
Cal
4:09
How do you see the Orioles using Ryan mountcastle and Coby Mayo?
Anthony Franco
4:10
Mountcastle traded (SD, Tex, Mia all work), Mayo up and down as a bench bat and probably traded by midseason
Michael
4:10
After several free agent signings where players went to destinations that may not have been expected (thinking Bichette to Mets, Tucker to Dodgers, and even Bregman), does your team revisit the predictions and adjust?
Anthony Franco
4:11
The stuff from the Top 50? No
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