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Front Office Chat: 1/5/24
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Washington
3:52
If Arizona were interested in Lane Thomas to make Gurriel their DH, what could we expect to receive in return? Jones on the table?
Anthony Franco
3:52
Snakes would have to have really soured on Druw Jones to do that. I don’t think we’re at that point yet
ws
3:52
playoff and ws predictions for 2024?
Anthony Franco
3:53
We'll do a subscriber email with all of our staff picks for playoffs, awards, World Series, etc. a little before Opening Day
Don't think there's much point to doing it now while so much of the offseason still has to happen
wvpirate
3:53
Is Derek Shelton on the hot seat this year? Or anyone else of the Pirates in danger of losing their jobs?
Anthony Franco
3:54
Haven’t really considered Shelton as a hot seat candidate but if they win like 68 games and finish last in the Central, I could see it. That’d be more of an indictment of the roster for me, especially the pitching, but we see managers take the fall for that all the time.
Expansion
3:54
When the league expands to 32, how will the divisions change? Will they remain the same and two will just have 6 teams? Will there be 8, four team divisions? No divisions and just leagues?
Anthony Franco
3:54
I assume they'd go to the NFL model of four divisions per league/conference with four teams apiece
Brad
3:55
If Robbie Ray was a free agent, what kind of deal would he get?
Anthony Franco
3:56
Mahle got two years and $22MM coming off the May TJS. Germán Márquez got $20MM over two. Ray probably has higher upside but he's older and still has the homer concerns
3:57
I think he'd beat Mahle but I'd take the under on $30MM. Something like 2/26, maybe 3/33 if he were only concerned with maxing out the guarantee and didn't care about ever going back to free agency
Reggie Smith
3:58
Are the Dodgers done with adding to their outfield?
Anthony Franco
3:58
I think they'll add a left fielder and push Taylor into a utility role
BJs
3:58
Isn't this the time that the Orioles sign their version of Jason Wurth - a first big FA that kicks off the "We're ready to spend now so we can win for a long time"??
Anthony Franco
3:59
They're already well past where the Nationals were when they signed Werth. This isn't even a symbolic "we're ready to compete" window. They showed last year that the rebuild is over
4:00
Should they be more active in free agency? Yeah. But it doesn't seem like ownership wants to do that.
Sox sam
4:00
rumors are swirling that the Red Sox want to shed additional payroll before pursuing free agents and that the front office is being hamstrung by a strict, low budget from ownership. That and agents are asking why they’re acting like a small market team. Why in the world is this? Do they not see a competitive window opening for another couple years? With so much payroll space, why not more aggressively go after pitching free agents? Just seems like a total tear down of a big market team.
Anthony Franco
4:01
Similar question to the Orioles one, although the Sox obviously aren't in as strong a position as Baltimore is
4:02
They're not totally tearing things down, but ownership has clearly shown they're not keen on topping the $230MM annual payroll range that they had in 2018-19
Question Mark
4:02
Happy New Year!  The J2 draft (International) is 10 days away. My league has a special draft for these players.  Is there anyone worth drafting from the group for the future? I have heard rumblings about  Fernando Cruz, Leo DeVries and Paulino Santana as three of the top guys.   Thank you so much.
Anthony Franco
4:04
Sorry to dodge this one but I don't know anything about those players. The only ones I've even heard of are De Vries and Jose Perdomo
4:05
I'd recommend Ben Badler's stuff at Baseball America for info on those guys. He has been the gold standard for public coverage on the international class for years
AA
4:05
Shouldn't I just go all in and trade for Cease? Fried, Morton, Minter, and Ozuna are all gone after this year.
Anthony Franco
4:05
Cease is only controllable for one year after that and there's a plenty good collection of talent competing for the #5 spot
4:07
Feels like the Sale trade takes the Braves out on Cease, but I wouldn't have pegged them trading for an All-Star catcher last winter, so anything's possible
Metsiac
4:07
Amanaga's clock is ticking. No one can sign him after next Thursday. Where do you see himvending up?
Anthony Franco
4:07
Give me Boston
4:08
I've guessed the Cubs the whole time but Patrick Mooney reported this morning that they weren't likely to land him
Metsiac
4:08
In other sports, players of both teams mingle and chat after gsmes. But in MLB, the losing team disappears while the winners line up to high-five each other. Why?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Probably inertia more than anything, but it makes less sense in MLB than other sports because you're seeing the same team for a few consecutive days
4:10
But yeah, MLB teams could do a handshake line after a series like NHL teams do at the end of a playoff series or something
Jed
4:10
Is Jed Hoyer on the hot seat this year? As a Cubs fan I’d be ready to see him go if they don’t make the playoffs again. He’s built an amazing farm system but hasn’t shown he can win. The Theo coattails should be coming to an end in my opinion.
Anthony Franco
4:11
I don't see it. They've improved the win percentage three years running. The farm system is better, they've done a decent job in free agency despite sitting out the absolute top of the market
4:12
Ownership let Hoyer hire Counsell to the largest managerial contract. I think they'd need a complete disaster of a season to change the front office within one year of that pairing
depressed fan
4:12
Will people evvvver get over the Astros cheating scandal or are we looking at something that will never be forgotten?
Anthony Franco
4:14
It'll always be there in terms of reflecting on the legacy of their teams over the past few years, but I don't think people will still be making garbage can jokes when a player on the Astros hits a double in 2030
Alright that's all the questions for today
4:15
Thanks for hanging out! As always, we really appreciate you all supporting the site
Hope you all had a great New Year and enjoy the upcoming weekend! We'll do this again next Friday, have a good one.
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