Front Office Chat: 10/2/26
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Anthony Franco
3:36
Guess that depends on what Goldschmidt wants to do. Obviously if he comes back for another season, he's a much better option against LHP than García is
3:37
I would be curious to see if this version of García can hold his own vs. LHP but the vast majority of left-handed hitters are going to be in at least semi-platoon roles. There are only a handful who hit well left on left consistently
Red Sox
3:38
Will Curtis Meade be a starting caliber second baseman in 2027?
Anthony Franco
3:38
He'll give a few runs back with the glove but he can rake. I'd be fine with the tradeoff, yeah
3:39
They might need that spot for Story though if Arias forces his way onto the Opening Day roster
Ben Cherrington
3:40
Edwin Florentino and The Password or The Magician (Or perhaps both) for Zach Neto.  Who hangs up? I'll throw in Triolo as well!  This will be my replacement for Lowe as there's no way Bob Nutting is going to sign off on 3/$60. Maybe add Mlod as the third player?
Anthony Franco
3:42
Florentino as the headliner feels light for three years of a franchise shortstop. I don't think it's a laughable offer but the Angels basically weren't listening on Neto for anything short of a top 10 overall prospect at the deadline and yours is more of a volume package
3:43
Doubt the Pirates would do Seth Hernandez, wonder if they could split the difference around one of the big league starters (probably Chandler)
RoxTalks
3:44
Any insights to the reports that came out of the Denver Gazette a few weeks ago that suggested the Monforts sold another 35% stake to the Penners? Initial reports came out Sep. 5, but even if it did happen, I'm not expecting an announcement until the spring/summer after the lockout.
Anthony Franco
3:45
Interesting. Missed that report at the time, not really plugged into Woody Paige's work since he doesn't break a ton of baseball news
Not casting doubt on the report or anything, just don't think it came up on MLBTR's radar at all
3:47
Agree with your reading that it seems like it's more of a handshake agreement that'd take effect after the lockout -- sensible since Dick Monfort is a key figure on the ownership side of CBA talks
Have to be excited for Rox fans if it happens though. Current ownership has been a disaster
Cat_Herder
3:47
Thanks for the chat Anthony.  What are your thoughts on Detroit's infield next year?  It almost seems they have too many options when you throw Anderson and Brucenio in to the mix.
Anthony Franco
3:49
Trading Tork opens that up. Can use Keith a little more at first base, Briceño will mix in there as well
3:50
Lee's a positionless bat for me. Like him as a bench piece but don't think they need to have him in an everyday spot anywhere. They can bounce Anderson around as well
3:51
Obviously they love the positional versatility to the point that they're not even committing to McGonigle at one position. I'd lock him in as an everyday SS personally
3:52
Would like to see them add a cheap glove-first middle IF to raise the defensive floor. Could be Ha-Seong Kim, maybe just someone who gets non-tendered and takes $2-3M post lockout
Guest
3:52
Is Donny Baseball back next year?
Anthony Franco
3:52
I'd guess he's reassigned to some other role in the organization but I can't see him getting the full-time managerial position
Kid Stuff
3:53
Just out of curiosity, what's your baseball playing background? Little League, HS team, ?
Anthony Franco
3:53
Played until I was 13. Got cut from my freshman year of HS team and that was it
3:55
I could never really hit and I was later than most kids to develop physically so the move to a regular sized diamond meant I was done. Barely strong enough to get the ball out of the infield
AZ
3:55
Any guesses who the “Impact Middle Infielder” the Jays pursued at the deadline was?
Anthony Franco
3:55
Abrams or Neto would make the most sense
3:57
Obviously they knew the Angels loved Nimmala. Could've floated him in conversations about Neto or Soriano and moved to the latter when the Angels held firm on a higher ask for Neto
Greg
3:57
Assuming the Nats feel good about a trio of Cavalli/Early/Alvarez what are some good options to round out the rotation? Also, do you see them going shopping in the low to mid tier relief market or could they make a bigger splurge?
Anthony Franco
3:59
Middle tier relief makes sense. I don't think they're ready to splurge on Bednar or Morejon  but a mid-level deal for an Abreu or an Evan Phillips, yeah. It can't be a bunch of guys who just take $2.5M base salaries
4:00
Similar spot on the rotation, I guess. I expect them to be in on the Jack Flaherty or Walker Buehler tier. Could roll the dice on Kris Bubic if he goes into the offseason healthy
4:01
Reasonable dark horse for one of the mid-tier arms, especially if prices drop post lockout. But between Cavalli's breakout and the Early trade, they've added some of the rotation ceiling they didn't have coming into 2026
If they're hanging around next summer, they can look to the trade market for a playoff-caliber starter
The Ghost of Pat Gillick
4:02
How do the Phillies escape this trap of too many aging, declining, overpriced players?
Anthony Franco
4:03
I don't think they do. Steps forward from Painter and Crawford and a healthy year from Aidan Miller would help prevent them from falling completely off a cliff
4:04
But they've built the team the way they have and ultimately that kind of roster construction just comes due at some point. I think the hopeful scenario is that it's more of a graceful decline like what we've seen from the Astros over the past two seasons
M
4:04
Do you think the Mariners could successfully trade for Stephen Vogt? Would something like Hancock for Vogt and Kwan work?
Anthony Franco
4:06
Man I have no idea. My gut reaction is that both teams would be too risk averse to do that but I'd love to see a manager trade as a kind of proxy for how much value front offices really think they provide
4:07
The managerial pay scale suggests it's not that high. Even the top ones are paid what a free agent fifth starter or medium leverage reliever makes
4:08
In that sense, trading a cost-controlled mid-rotation starter for a manager seems insane
4:09
But I also don't know that I'd risk the clubhouse shakeup of that if I were Cleveland. They kind of develop Hancock-type pitchers at will
Cubs
4:09
How many more underperforming years do we have before Counsell feels come pressure?
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