Front Office Chat: 11/6/26
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Good afternoon, hope all is well!
3:01
Looking forward to another of these, let's get it going
Ranger13
3:01
CY has expressed his hope to trade one of his big four contracts in a two for one scenario. What trade partner(s) would be the best fit for that scenario and what players would be involved?
Anthony Franco
3:02
Cubs or Braves would make the most sense on deGrom and Eovaldi if they're willing to waive the NTC. Those teams have a ton of short-term payroll space and need playoff-caliber starters
3:04
Yankees feel like the best fit on Seager (again pending the 10-and-5 rights). Could include McMahon in the return as a short-term salary offset -- plus the Rangers eating future cash -- and plug Seager in at third
3:05
I feel like they're just kinda stuck with Nimmo. Mid-30s, declining defensive grades, didn't hit much after April. He's still a useful player but another four years at $20.5M annually is not appealing
Carlos Garcia
3:05
Tarik is the best FA this upcoming season, Who is the best FA for 27-28 and 28-29?
Anthony Franco
3:06
Tim rounded up the '27-28 group this week:
Peña's the top guy there for me. It's a deeper class than this year but he's a pretty weak headliner
3:07
No slight on him, really good player, but I think he's a little shy of the true superstar you'd really want to lead the class
3:08
Haven't considered the '28-29 group, it's way too far out to say with much confidence on that one. Just eyeballing the 4-5 year arbitration group, could see any of Gunnar Henderson, CJ Abrams, Riley Greene or Hunter Brown as possibilities
3:10
Acuña and Yordan Alvarez on guaranteed deals that'll be up then. Going to be tough to be the #1 player in the class as early 30s corner guys but if they're hitting at MVP levels, they'll be up there
Dave
3:10
Hi Anthony - how do MLB teams address high strikeouts - get more contact oriented hitters or hire new hitting coach or perhaps change team approach to contact as opposed to power?  Just one person's opinion here, but I feel the biggest weakness the Red Sox had this year (besides obvious injuries) was lack of making contact with the ball and some folks like Durran and Story (when healthy) had too many strikeouts.  thanks
Anthony Franco
3:12
Yeah you'd have to mostly change this in terms of the personnel you target. Some guys make consistent contact improvements (Bellinger jumps to mind, completely different hitter than the guy who came up in L.A.) but it's a tough thing to teach
3:13
You can select for it in free agency -- signing Arraez is going to bring your team strikeout rate down by a percentage point or two by itself -- but if you want to do it organizationally, it needs to be something you're selecting for in the draft and on the international amateur market. It's usually smaller guys with shorter arms who are quick to the ball
3:14
Obviously that typically comes with a power tradeoff. You'd love to only draft a bunch of Kevin McGonigles but there's a decent chance you push this too far and get too many Ernie Clement types
Burgh Capologist
3:15
Is CJ Abrams still on the trade block? Could Pittsburgh be interested in putting him at 2b in the event they don’t re-sign Lowe?
Anthony Franco
3:15
I'm sure the Pirates would have interest but I think if the Nationals really wanted to move Abrams, they'd have more aggressively pushed him at the deadline when he was killing the ball
3:17
If you put Seth Hernandez or Braxton Ashcraft out there, they'd have to think about it but if Pittsburgh's floating Edward Florentino, Derek Curiel or Esmerlyn Valdez as a headliner, I don't see the urgency from Washington's perspective
The latter kind of package should still be out there at the deadline if the pitching staff remains non-viable
MrBill
3:18
Do any MLBTR writers  have any opinions /ideas on Profars future with Atlanta?
Anthony Franco
3:18
Unless the clubhouse is telling me they're completely done with this guy, I'd just bring him to camp and see if he's got anything left
3:20
Not getting out of the money and Profar has been a good hitter when he's played over the last three years. Maybe the power's fraudulent but at the very least, I think he'd still put the ball in play and work enough deep counts to run a decent OBP
cmac1973
3:20
Are you surprised we haven't seen ANY major moves this week, given the lockout is fast approaching?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Nah the baseball offseason generally works like this and the free agent class is bad. I think we'll get some activity at the GM Meetings but not expecting it to really accelerate until the week of Thanksgiving
Alan
3:21
The way things are going it looks like nobody is going to do anything in Anaheim. No one is manning this ship and it seems it'll be this way for months. The team is adrift and it's freaking me out... Can you help me coming to my senses?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Yeah I just think this one's tough circumstances that are out of their control
3:22
Can certainly blame them for a lot of other stuff but the MLB approval on franchise sales takes time and obviously you don't want Arte running a half-hearted GM search when he's out the door
3:23
It's unfortunate because they have enough payroll room that even if they're retooling, they probably should've been in on the mid-20s NPB/KBO guys before the lockout but everyone's hands are kind of tied
Mets
3:23
Please explain why you think the Mets would sign Ryan Jeffers, and Should the Mets sign Ryan Mountcastle to platoon at first with Jared Young
Anthony Franco
3:24
Jeffers was tough for us to place generally but I just think the Mets would be a better team if they trade Alvarez for a mid-rotation starter and have Jeffers/Torrens run a pretty even split behind the plate
3:26
With Jeffers also mixing into 1B/DH alongside Young, especially against LHP. He's a good offensive player and this is a way to cut back on the Vientos, Polanco (if he's even healthy), and Baty ABs while hopefully upgrading the pitching staff along the way
Is it going to happen? Probably not, but Jeffers was tough enough for us to place generally that I feel like he's going to end up with a team that can use him at both catcher and 1B
Greg
3:27
I had a question inn regards to the plan to change free agency from 6 years of service to 5 years. At what service time currently would that start. As an example the Angels have arbitration control for Reid Detmers 2 years and Neto 3. Would that be affected ( 1 and 2 yr control)or would it be implemented for players with 0-2 years of service for example to affect future free agency.
Anthony Franco
3:29
MLB's not going to agree to it unless it comes with a salary cap, so I don't think it's happening anyway. Haven't seen any indication that it wouldn't take effect right away but it only applies to players who have 5+ years of service time and are already 30 years old so Neto/Detmers wouldn't be affected regardless
Guarded Indian
3:29
Guardians need to trade Manzardo, no place for him with Vasquez on the doorstep.  Most he would fetch is a mid to low level prospect, right?  I'm thinking he is a fit in Texas.
Anthony Franco
3:29
Agree on all counts. Texas or Arizona the best landing spots IMO
Greg
3:29
Royals in my opinion need two OFs and an SP. Anyone in particular they should consider in the OF? Is a Brady Singer reunion a possibility? Kauffman will help with that HR issue.
Anthony Franco
3:31
I could see Singer there, sure. It's still a pitch to contact staff generally so I'd focus on plus defenders. Varsho works there, a Jarren Duran trade still makes sense
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