You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 1/20/24
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Anthony Franco
4:31
I think the rotation depth is fine but not exceptional, wouldn't feel obligated to move anyone from there
4:33
They have too many infielders and are going to need to waive guys like Rivera and Amaya. Don't think they'll make a significant trade until they see how Holliday and Mayo progress. May end up needing to leverage some of the infield talent in a trade for a top-of-the-rotation arm at the deadline
jaysfansince1977
4:33
What is next for the Jays after landing Santander? Do they chase Estevez, Flaherty and Bregman??? or are they still in on Alonso?
Anthony Franco
4:34
They all still fit on paper but they're into the second luxury tax tier and about $19MM from the point at which their top pick gets moved back
4:35
I'd like to see them add another high-leverage reliever at least but we'll see how much they've got left in the budget
GBS42
4:35
With several players getting massive signing bonuses this winter, does it make sense to increase the net present value of those contracts to reflect this?
Anthony Franco
4:36
Yeah the specific value calculations are over my head, but I agree that if a player's getting an up-front signing bonus, that should increase the NPV compared to an evenly distributed salary structure
4:37
It is basically the inverse of the deferral logic and something that we've seen a few teams (especially L.A.) build into heavily deferred contracts as a bit of a workaround
JeffyM
4:37
How did you vote in Tim's poll?
Anthony Franco
4:39
Generally not in favor of a salary cap (though in an ideal world, I would have some kind of deferral limit proportional to the contract value). Certainly wouldn't want to give up a full season over either one of those
4:40
I'm mostly agnostic about the economics -- though I understand why the players union and ownership groups are not -- and my main rooting interest is labor peace
Mike
4:40
The Tigers seem to be putting a lot of stock in their young players developing further without doing much to add to their offense or filling out their rotation. I don't know if most fans are that optimistic. What's your take? Do the Tigers have the talent right now to develop into a contender?
Anthony Franco
4:42
Fringe playoff team for me. Wouldn't consider them the favorites in the Central -- would probably stick with Cleveland there -- but there's a realistic shot for the top four teams in that division and they should all be in the Wild Card mix
4:44
They've got a ton riding on Skubal to stay healthy. Every team would be worse off without its ace obviously, but the drop-off for Detroit if theirs gets injured is bigger than any other club because Skubal is probably the best pitcher in baseball and they've got kind of a patchwork group behind him
4:45
If he makes 30+ starts, they should get in. If he misses any significant chunk of time, probably not. They're going to have a tough time scoring so they'll need to win a lot of low-scoring games
Pete Alonso
4:46
Is it his k-bb ratio or age that hurts his market more?
Anthony Franco
4:46
Position more than anything. Teams generally don't like long-term investments in guys whose only value comes in the batter's box
4:49
The other stuff you mentioned obviously matters. Soto's a limited defender but he's 26 and has the best strike zone discipline since Barry Bonds so he still got paid. But teams are going to nitpick your offensive profile a lot more if you aren't providing much else
Barney Rubble
4:49
Does Stowers play everyday and break out in MIami this year?
Anthony Franco
4:49
Play every day, yes. Break out, eh
4:51
Good athlete but the strike zone judgment and the pure contact skills have been issues going back to college. Tough to flip that switch at age 27 in the majors
JeffyM
4:51
Which free agent signing do you think will be looked at as the best bargain?  I feel like Tyler O'Neil at 3/49.5 looks pretty good when you compare it to Santander or Joc
Anthony Franco
4:52
I think the TON deal is fine but not super exciting. Agree that I'd prefer it to the Santander and Joc deals but I just don't love those ones (though in the Jays' case, I get why they felt they had to do it)
4:54
Snell deal looks great to me considering where rotation prices went right after that. I like the Rangers bringing Eovaldi back at 3/75, kicking myself for not pushing that on the Top 50 to begin with
He's just better than Kikuchi and should've been above him on that list
Yup Yup
4:55
Surely the Guards have some other move planned? Cleveland has more SP depth than last year, but the lineup is worse. They need another outfielder, who would you trade for if you were in charge?
Anthony Franco
4:56
Ideal pull would be to get one of Jake McCarthy or Alek Thomas from Arizona. If that's not attainable, maybe Leody Taveras as a fallback
4:58
Someone who can play CF and isn't a complete zero offensively -- Alek Thomas admittedly might be but I'm intrigued enough by the batted ball data to give that another shot
Deuce
4:58
Hot Take! I believe more than one voter will leave Ichiro off their HOF ballot due to the lack of postseason appearances and one-dimensional hitting.  Not saying I agree.  Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
4:58
If it happens, it'd probably be an anonymous voter, but it wouldn't shock me
Sean
4:59
What is the market looking like for Anthony Rizzo?
Anthony Franco
4:59
Guessing he'll end up around the $6MM that Josh Bell got
Deb
5:01
What if anything do you think the Giants will do. It seems kinda like Posey is done. Does he use the young guys like Matos? Luciano is now an outfielder so I don't see him up.
Anthony Franco
5:03
Still need another bat. Even if they don't jump in on Alonso, they could get a Justin Turner or J.D. Martinez to DH for a year
5:05
I think Matos is just a depth guy. Probably no room for Luciano in the outfield to start the season, I agree, but this is his last option year and they need to get a real look at him at some point
5:06
Trading Yaz at the deadline could open that up if an injury doesn't clear the path earlier than that. They could work Luciano through DH at times but he needs outfield reps on most days
Pumpsie Green
5:06
How do you see the left side of the Milwaukee infield shaping up? Does Joey Ortiz move to SS or stay at 3rd? I'm guessing the Brewers aren't making any moves that would add to payroll.
Anthony Franco
5:08
Yeah Ortiz seems the likeliest option to move over to shortstop. Keep Turang mostly at second and hopefully someone like Tyler Black or Caleb Durbin plays his way into regular 3B reps
Arizona
5:08
Would it possible to unload ERod instead of Montgomery? Having a pitcher likely to hurt himself is a major reason to hold Montgomery into Spring as is… and the roster is designed to be blown up before 2026 if necessary anyway.
Montgomery
5:08
Why do you think having Monty as long relief is not a good option for AZ? Even in 2024 he often had 1-3 good innings an outing. Seems like that would be an ideal situation for both sides: he rebuilds value and the team doesn’t have to worry about him going too many opportunities to blow games. Where’s the downside?
Connecting…