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Front Office Chat: 1/26/24
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Anthony Franco
3:48
Could still bring him back. Seems like he's got a lot of interest and is probably holding out for two years
JL
3:48
Being a diehard MLB and Orioles fan has made for a long offseason.  Am I safe taking a three week break from Baseball before spring training starts?  Or will I miss the the Orioles biggest offseason move?
Anthony Franco
3:49
Wouldn't have predicted this at the beginning of the offseason, but I'd guess the Kimbrel signing is their biggest acquisition of the winter
3:50
Could trade for a starter at the deadline, I guess? We've been calling for them to consolidate from the farm system for rotation help for a year and a half and they haven't done it
3:51
Given that they won 101 games last year, it's not crazy if the front office wants to play things slowly again
Don
3:51
Do you feel like today’s trade is about the depth of what AA is gonna play to find a RH platoon for Kelenic. I’m okay with that at this point as it seems we’ve pushed real close to the ceiling of spending.
Anthony Franco
3:51
I wouldn't read anything into the Braves trading for J.P. Martinez this morning
3:52
Atlanta had four open roster spots, Texas needed to move someone. Braves jumped on a player they like who has options and can go to Triple-A as depth
Edd G
3:52
I wonder if the Brewers have information of Brandon Woodruff's surgically repaired shoulder that gave them pause about him coming back to form?
Anthony Franco
3:53
Woodruff was always likely to miss most or all of this season and would've been a free agent next year anyway. No reason not to non-tender him at that point
Chief
3:53
Where does Whit Merrifield end up and on what kind of contract?
Ryan
3:53
As we come closer to spring training are the prices going down for Justin Turner and Whitt Merrifield? I like Whitt in Seattle best, but Turner as a 3rd base option wouldn't be awful if the price is right.
Anthony Franco
3:53
I'd put Turner at 1/15 and Whit at 1/10
3:54
Seattle makes sense for either guy still, sure
Chief
3:54
Who wins the AL Central? Have the Tigers done enough to come out on top? Looks like another mediocre season for that division.
Anthony Franco
3:55
We'll see what Minnesota does the rest of the winter. I lean Twins but Tigers have closed most of the gap
Rangers13
3:55
Do you think that CY is shaping the roster for a trade with the Marlins or perhaps Guardians/White Sox with these latest NRI minor league moves? What would be fair for Puk/Scott?
Anthony Franco
3:56
Don't read much into an NRI. They're depth acquisitions, not a precursor to a major trade
3:57
I'd be very surprised if Cleveland actually moves Clase. That always felt like a due diligence thing
3:59
I do think Miami and Texas could be an interesting match for a reliever. Texas could use a left-hander back there. They've still got a solid farm system and some upper level infield pieces (e.g. Ezequiel Durán and Josh Smith) who the Marlins could plausibly see as a short-term option at shortstop
Challenge Trade
3:59
What would a return look like if Baltimore wanted to pry Pfaadt from AZ? Obvs would not happen for either side, but is that the move to get the true top tier of the system involved?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Arizona doesn't have the rotation depth to trade Pfaadt. The area of the organization that they're strongest (infield and catcher) is where Baltimore has a lot of their upper level talent
4:01
From a strict value perspective, I'd have Pfaadt below Holliday (obviously) and Basallo. Probably below Kjerstad and Norby as well, maybe on par with Colton Cowser?
AirY0rdan
4:01
Do you think the Astros will end up signing a left handed outfielder this offseason, if yes who do you think it will be?
Anthony Franco
4:02
Could wind up grabbing someone off waivers or swing a minor trade for an Akil Baddoo type. Wouldn't expect a major acquisition
MikeD
4:02
Do you think there is a chance that White Sox circle back and  come down in the asking price for Cease from the Reds?  Seems like a package of Carlos Jorge, Brandon Williamson, Connor Phillips , and low level prospect would be fair for both sides…. Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
4:03
I think the White Sox turn that down pretty easily
4:04
Even if teams are reluctant to part with their top-tier guys this offseason off a mediocre year for Cease, the Sox can hold him until the deadline when contenders will be under more pressure to add an arm
Dewey
4:04
The Red Sox payroll cutting is puzzling to me.  Are they saving for next year's crop?
John
4:04
How can the Red Sox approach the 2024 season with such a weak roster?  Since they are one of the wealthiest team, how can the decision to cut spending be accepted by the fan base?  Chaim Bloom was the scapegoat for John Henry's unwillingness to compete with its AL East rivals.  Is there no fear that fans will abandon the team in droves?  I can understant the inability to spend in Pittsburgh and Kansas City, but how can it be acceptable in Boston?
Anthony Franco
4:06
Yeah I can't defend it. The Red Sox having a mid-level payroll isn't a good look, particularly when you've got high-ranking executives promising a bunch of activity early in the offseason and not following through
4:08
I wouldn't go quite so far as to call Bloom a "scapegoat" for ownership. There were aspects of his tenure -- the laughably low initial extension to Bogaerts in the spring of '22, indecision at the deadline in each of the last two seasons, investing heavily in Trevor Story -- that were head-scratching baseball ops decisions that didn't pan out
4:09
But they can both be true. Bloom had mixed results in his stint at the top of the front office and ownership has bizarrely pulled back spending without actually committing to any kind of rebuild
Closers
4:09
With Stepehnson in LA now, will Estevez get any saves?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Yeah I think Estévez will still be the closer. Stephenson said at his introductory presser that he doesn't care where he pitches
4:10
Maybe Carlos pitches his way out of the ninth at some point, but he should get the first shot at it
NL Central
4:10
Does playing in the NL Central put that division winner at a post season disadvantage? Their competition is multiple tiers below the other two, and wild card as a result. How long before an NLC playoff team makes it past the first round again?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Any three-game series is going to play pretty close to 50/50. Any MLB team can take two of three from another, and the NL Central winner isn't going to be dramatically worse than the top Wild Card team
Not Getting My Hopes Up, I Promise
4:12
So, I know the Mariners a) are keeping payroll down and b) don't need more pitching. I also figure the "Blake Snell is desperate to be a Mariner" rumors are more smoke than fire and I dismissed them out of hand early in the offseason...but...

The deferred deals we've seen gave me another thought: if a player is truly keen on playing somewhere but the team is facing a tight budget now that is expected to loosen up later (Ray off the books, for example), could we see a Snell to Seattle deal with a bunch of deferred money?

Or, if not that exact team and player, do you think we see deals of this kind of framework, with seemingly more impact players left on the market than teams with payroll space (or willpower, better yet) to pay them?
Anthony Franco
4:14
I don't expect to see rampant deferrals. Most players are going to want the money up-front. There'll be isolated exceptions -- Teoscar deferred a bunch of his money to join the Dodgers too -- but I wouldn't expect it to become super common
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