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Front Office Chat: 10/13/23
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Anthony Franco
1:56
Hey everyone, hope you've all had a great week! I have a friend's wedding to attend tonight so I have to run right at 2:00 central but we'll get going a couple minutes early
Guest
1:56
From a "wins during the season" perspective most top seeds lost to lower seeds. As traditional powerhouses, Dodgers and Braves particularly came up small. I was told that Baltimore hadn't lost three games in a row since last year, but at least they are up and coming. Thoughts on why lower seeds advance and win World Series'?
Anthony Franco
1:58
I know it's not satisfying but this is just the way that baseball works. A five-game series is the equivalent of like 3% of the regular season. No team's perfect and they're all going to have ups and downs throughout the year. They're just hoping it doesn't come at the worst possible time
2:00
3% of an NFL season would be about one-half of one game. It's the equivalent of 2.5 games for hockey or basketball. Those sports also have elements of small sample playoff randomness and their postseasons take on a larger share of time compared to the schedule in MLB. Short of giving the higher seed a game or two to start a series, this kind of fluctuation is just going to happen every year
Naterz
2:00
Assuming the Angels lean into rebuild mode is Griffin Canning a good fit for the Reds and what would it take to acquire him?
Anthony Franco
2:02
I haven't really thought of Canning as a trade candidate but he's a plausible target if the Angels take a step back, sure. Decent back-end starter with two years of arb control and an extended injury history, so the asking price isn't going to be huge. Two guys in the 8-15 range of the system seems about right, wouldn't move a top-of-the-system talent for Canning
Receo
2:03
With another disappointing playoff performance by the Dodgers, can we now just move-on from Dave Roberts?  You know, try someone and something different?
Duke of Flatbush
2:03
Sorry to ask another  question about Dodger debacle but at what point do the Dodgers move on from Dave Roberts? Three early exits with three 100 win teams must be concerning. Thanks for the chat.
Anthony Franco
2:04
Seems unlikely. You can quibble with the pitching decisions Roberts has made in past years but the pitching staff didn't give him much of a chance this time around. Probably should've gotten Lynn out a little sooner in Game 3 but there's only so much you can do when none of your starters can get out of the third inning
2:06
There's blame for that to go around. Urías' arrest was a killer, had terrible injury luck again. But they also knew they needed starting pitching going into the deadline and came away with the most homer-prone starter in baseball as their solution
2:07
Even if that's because they never saw the E-Rod deal collapsing, they didn't do enough to put together a viable playoff rotation and it burned them. I actually think Roberts deserves a lot of credit for getting another 100-win season out of what was the worst Dodger roster in a few years
AA
2:07
Jared Schuster, and Vaughn Grissom for Dylan Cease. Who says no?
Anthony Franco
2:08
Shuster's not really a factor in this kind of trade. If the Sox think Grissom's an everyday shortstop then he's a decent starting point but the Braves have to do better with the secondary piece
Maui Brave fan
2:09
Then I think the playoff system needs to change its is awful that a team is a huge success over the course of 162 games it  means nothing really.A world series without the best teams playing  sucks
Anthony Franco
2:10
I'd be in favor of starting the higher seed up 1-0 in a series like they do in Korea. Would add a lot more excitement to the end of the regular season because there's such a tangible advantage going into the playoffs. That'd be a bridge too far for most fans and seems to be for MLB as well, though
2:12
The U.S. sports leagues value playoff randomness because it gives more fanbases a chance and upsets are exciting to a lot of fans who don't have direct rooting interests. Can't have it both ways. If you want a legitimate chance for Cinderella runs every year, there's going to be a strong possibility that the best teams aren't the ones left standing at the end
2:13
All of Houston, Texas and Philadelphia are really good, to be clear, even if the Braves are clearly the best team in my view. Arizona's the only one who'd be a particularly surprising World Series winner to me
Ben
2:13
Hey Anthony,
                          The Guardians are in an interesting place. The Twins are in the midst of a contention window, while the Tigers seem primed to break out of their rebuild. Yet nobody in the AL Central is really running away with the crown.

Given this, how does Cleveland approach the offseason? Specifically, will they entertain trading one of their starting pitchers and go through a bit of a retooling phase, or do you expect they will make some signings around the margins while retaining their best arms in an attempt to compete for the division title?
Anthony Franco
2:15
A little of both. Trade Quantrill or McKenzie for a hitter who could factor into the outfield mix. Maybe sign a first baseman to take some pressure off Kyle Manzardo to hit the ground running
2:16
Try to thread the needle without giving up on the season. They've got a decent nucleus, another strong rotation, and as you mentioned, the division's still very winnable
Jose Ramirez
2:16
Unlikely to be traded, but what kind of package would it take from the Cubs to get Jose Ramirez? What about Kevin Alcantara and Ben Brown as the headliners? Each team could add more small pieces to balance it out.
Anthony Franco
2:17
The chances of a José Ramírez trade are less than 1% and I think that's way light if the Guardians were willing to move him
America's North Shore
2:17
What's your take on Will Brennan? It seems like he'll hit for average average, but will he ever find enough power or speed to make a differnce in fantasy baseball?
Anthony Franco
2:17
Guess I'll round out the rare Guardians run in the queue
2:19
I was in on Brennan as a regular coming into the year. I think it's still a possibility but feel less confident about it after the year he had. Don't think he'll ever be a good fantasy player, though, the profile is basically dependent on the contact skills without many supplementary tools
Big Apple
2:19
The Yankees have a ton of freshmen and sophomores, none of whom had sterling debuts. Please rank Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza, Everson Pereira, Oswaldo Cabrera, and Estevan Florial in terms of their future contributions. Thanks
Anthony Franco
2:19
I'd flip Pereira over Peraza but otherwise order them the way you did
Motor City
2:19
Is Detroit's Akil Baddoo going to improve on what we saw this year—low double-digit HRs and SBs, and a putrid batting average?
Anthony Franco
2:21
I think this is basically what he is. Good athlete, some power and patience, but below-average pure contact skills with a fly-ball approach that's going to keep the BABIP fairly low
2:22
Still a really nice find for a Rule 5 pick but he's more of a rotational guy than a regular for me
Question Mark
2:22
Do you believe there should be some changes to the most recent in-game changes for the playoffs?  i.e. 5 more seconds for a pitcher to throw a pitch...etc
Anthony Franco
2:22
Nah I think the rule changes are fine and generally don't like the idea of having different rules for the regular season and postseason
2:23
Other than the extra-inning runner. I'd hate if they brought that to the playoffs, but I also don't especially like it for the regular season
Tigerfan
2:23
If e-rod walks should the tigers replace him with an equivalent free agent starting pitcher?
Anthony Franco
2:25
I think they should aim higher if E-Rod walks honestly. There's a ton of payroll space in the short term. The division's winnable. They have a talented young rotation but there's enough uncertainty with the injury history for a lot of those guys that locking in a #2/3 starter would be ideal. They should be in on Aaron Nola or Jordan Montgomery
Real Craig Mish the Dish
2:25
Hey Anthony, the Marlins need offense and have starting pitching. The Cardinals have offense and need starting pitching. What does a fair trade look like that helps both teams?
Anthony Franco
2:26
Yeah a lot of potential fits between those two. Maybe something involving Braxton Garrett and Nolan Gorman? Miami could move Gorman back to third, rotate him and Jake Burger (and sometimes Josh Bell) between DH and the corner infield if Soler walks
2:27
If Miami thinks Iván Herrera's an everyday guy, he's a sensible target given their catching situation. Herrera for either Edward Cabrera or Max Meyer is justifiable if they think they're getting a starting catcher -- kind of similar to the Burger/Jake Eder swap from this summer
Dome City
2:28
Will the Rays stick with Osleivis Basabe (assuming Franco is toast)? What can we expect from Basabe?
Anthony Franco
2:29
I think so. The shortstop market this year is terrible and they might not know for sure on Franco until well into the offseason anyways. Basabe hitting around .265/.335/.400 to hold down shortstop seems reasonable
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