You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 11/14/25
powered byJotCast
Anthony Franco
2:55
Hey all, hope you're doing well! We can get going a few minutes early
The Knuder
2:55
I've been asking this question since before yesterday's ownership news, so maybe the Pads' calculus has changed, but I might as well keep asking: what would an extension for Laureano past 2026 look like, and will the Padres offer it?
Anthony Franco
2:57
You're buying out ages 32+ on a corner bat coming off a very good year but with a lot of inconsistency. I imagine he'd happily sign up for Profar money (3/42) right now. Three years in the mid-30s seems reasonable if you're making that commitment a year in advance
2:59
Not sure the Padres really need to do that -- I'd rather let him play it out -- but it's not like it impacts the '26 budget so I guess I wouldn't be super surprised if the team wanted to lock him up
Thank you for the chat!
2:59
Can Ketel Marte play SS?
Anthony Franco
2:59
I don't think he can even really play second base haha
3:00
Dude can rake though
JC
3:00
Would a package around Seth Hernandez entice the Nats to send Abrams to Pittsburgh? Ditto for Keller to Baltimore for Westburg?
Anthony Franco
3:01
Hernandez as a starting point on Abrams seems reasonable enough. Teams are going to have varying opinions on guys who are that far away, but if the Nats feel like Hernandez has a chance to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, it'd be tough to pass on the upside
3:03
I don't think Keller's close to getting Westburg. He's a solid pitcher whose contract has a little surplus value. Westburg's a pre-arb, above-average everyday third baseman. Much rather have the latter
Rickey35
3:03
The A's need to spend about 30-35 mill this off season.  What do you think they do with the money?  Give Kurtz a Roman Anthony type deal or any trades rumor, free agent rumors that are likely?
Anthony Franco
3:05
I imagine the A's would be on board giving Kurtz that deal. Skeptical the player would. Kurtz has a longer MLB track record than Anthony did at the time -- though no one doubted that Anthony would be great -- and already has a full service year
3:07
He's also an Excel client and for all the talk about how Boras doesn't like extensions, I can't find any examples of Excel clients signing a pre-arb extension in the past 20 years. Precedents get broken, but Kurtz already banked a huge signing bonus on draft day and is going to do well in the pre-arb bonus pool
3:08
A low nine-figure extension for Jacob Wilson seems more viable to me and something I could see the A's pursuing. They'll obviously be in on pitching and a veteran infielder. Feels like they should be able to leverage some short-term payroll space to trade for a costlier starter with upside (e.g. Keller, Ray) if that guy's available
Free Agents
3:09
When do you expect significant free agents to begin signing contracts?  Any inclination as to who might sign first of the bigger / top 25 names?
Anthony Franco
3:10
Guessing we'll get two or three around Thanksgiving. A lot of the early smoke has been on relievers, so I'll guess Díaz or Williams to be the first shoe to drop
Bruce
3:10
Thanks for the chat.  What’s the latest regarding the Rangers and Heim/Garcia? If they tender a contract do they have to either ultimately reach agreement or arbitrate (and the Rangers notoriously never arbitrate).  Does  that mean they probably non-tender both unless they can reach an agreement to cut their salaries prior to the tender deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:11
They need to decide by next Friday whether to tender a contract. That does then commit them to either agreeing to deals or going to a hearing, yes
3:12
If they agree to a deal, the contract becomes fully guaranteed. If they go to a hearing, they can still get out of it for 45 days termination pay during Spring Training (which is what happened with the Giants and J.D. Davis a couple years ago)
3:14
But that's a suboptimal outcome. Termination pay still costs a few million, especially with what García's salary would be, and there presumably aren't great alternatives sitting around in mid-March
3:16
Sorry one second, sorting out some issues with Jotcast
3:17
Alright I think we're all set. Had some server issues that were blocking some people from getting in. Let me know if any of you still have issues
Stockholm, AZ
3:18
Hey Anthony! Should the Diamondbacks trade Marte?
Anthony Franco
3:18
Nah I agree with Hazen's general stance on this that they're built around a handful of elite position players and it becomes much tougher to win if you give up one of those guys
Trout Phishin'
3:18
Is Alec Bohm more likely to be the Phillies third baseman on opening day or on another team? What other third base options are possible if Bohm is traded?
Anthony Franco
3:21
I still think he's getting traded. Bregman/Geno/HSK obviously out there in free agency, albeit tougher fits for the first two if they re-sign Schwarber. Could trade for Josh Jung or see if the Tigers are out on McKinstry after a rough second half
Tarik Skubal
3:21
Wouldn't it be in skubals best interest to sign a 1 year extension to become a free agent in 2027 vs trying to get 350+ in a post lockout frenzy
Anthony Franco
3:22
Nah get the money while he can in case he gets hurt. Even the lockout itself won't begin until December 2. If he's all that worried about it -- and he'd be perfectly fine even if he waits until March or April -- he can sign in November
Teams threw around crazy money in the 7-10 days before the '22 lockout
Blue Jays
3:22
Do you think its realistic the blue jays could get some rough combination of impact hitter (Bichette or Tucker) + impact starter (Cease, Imai, Gallen?) + Bullpen (Devin Williams)?
Anthony Franco
3:23
I don't know about Tucker plus both those things, but re-signing Bo while adding one impact starter and reliever apiece seems doable
3:25
Springer, Gausman and Bieber all off the books next year. Could offload a good chunk of the Berríos money if they're signing an impact starter and want to open a little more room for a closer
Craig
3:25
If you were building a franchise from scratch, which five players on their current contracts, would you choose to build around?
Anthony Franco
3:26
Tough to answer in a vacuum. It'd be different if ownership wanted to spend $100M vs. $250M. I'll try this off the top of my head though
3:27
Assuming I get the deferral structure, Ohtani's obvious. Four years of Skenes is a no-brainer. I'll grab José Ramírez
3:30
Then it kind of gets into a budget question. If I'm expecting to spend like the Dodgers, I'm taking Judge and Acuña. I'll assume I need to budget somewhere though so give me Carroll and Hunter Greene
Bye Bye Balboni
3:30
I can't understand how Tampa cut Fairbanks for nothing. Teams would have lined up for a cheap closer. Do you think they move Yandy this winter?
Anthony Franco
3:31
I don't doubt that they tried to trade him and found no interest. They could've at least saved the buyout if they'd found a taker for cash considerations or a non-prospect (like the Cubs did with Kittredge)
3:33
Agree that it's kind of weird, and I think he'll do fine in free agency, but he's coming off consecutive seasons of league average strikeout rates and $11M is a lot to commit to a non-elite reliever on day five of the offseason
Not expecting a Yandy trade but I imagine it's time for them to move Brandon Lowe
Load More Messages
Connecting…