Front Office Chat: 11/6/26
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Anthony Franco
4:06
Don't care much about these either way but it's weird to me that they just lump outfielders together. That really stacks the deck against center fielders, where the defensive bar is much higher
4:07
Obviously it doesn't matter if you have a PCA season but all the other NL nominees are primarily corner outfielders, which yeah, those guys are much better hitters on average
Josh
4:07
I think it’s past time for the Reds to move on from Matt McLain. He’s had enough chances post injury and just isn’t the same player. Who could be a fit for the Reds at 2b?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Agree, completely out on him. Problem is they have just as big a black hole at 3B and needs in the OF/pitching staff so there might only be budget room to upgrade one infield spot this offseason
4:10
I wonder about Clement coming available. Second base is an area where the Jays can take a bigger offensive swing. Much as they love Clement, not sure they'd want to devote nearly $8M to a utility guy
4:11
Miserable finish but he's a better player than McLain and Ke'Bryan and has the flexibility to play either if they're getting unexpected internal production from one of those guys
Or Juan Brito, who I'll never quit
Ned Colletti’s Toupee
4:11
Besides Teo are there any other Dodgers who should be talking to realtors?
Anthony Franco
4:12
I don't think anyone huge. Landon Knack's out of options and I imagine someone will trade for him to compete for a 5th starter or swing role that L.A.'s not offering
Burgh Capologist
4:13
Is there any chance the Pirates off load Mitch Keller’s contract this offseason? Who could be some trade partners?
Anthony Franco
4:14
He had a bad season and missed the final two months with what sounds like essentially a muscle rupture in his shoulder. I doubt anyone's touching him right now, certainly not at full freight (2/38)
Sacramento Waystation
4:15
How available do you think Yennier Cano and Wandy Peralta are? The A's need bullpen help and free agents start their search elsewhere...
Anthony Franco
4:15
Wandy, sure. Padres could listen on him and/or Matsui, especially if they get Morejon back
4:16
Baltimore was kicking around Cano at the deadline and extended him instead. He's not going to be untouchable or anything but it would be kind of odd to do that just to trade him four months later
KB
4:16
Do you believe that the baseball public is buying the stuff that the owners are peddling?  Couldn't all of this competitive balance stuff simply be handled by sharing the revenue?
Anthony Franco
4:17
For the most part, yeah. I imagine the majority of fans, especially those of lower-payroll clubs, would express support for a salary cap
4:18
Agree with you that greater revenue sharing gets at this more directly than the cap, which I think would aid competitive balance to an extent but is still mostly going to serve to funnel more mid-tier free agents (who tend to offer the worst ROI overall) to small-market teams
4:19
But the salary cap is easier for a lot of fans to formulate because it's a thing in the other leagues and player salaries are very visible and even third or fourth tier free agents are making the kind of money that 99% of fans will never dream of seeing themselves
Guy Incognito
4:20
So now that Santander has nuked whatever trade value he had left, and assuming the Jays can’t play him in Toronto anymore - what do they do with him?
Anthony Franco
4:21
Don't want to wade into the specifics of his social media posts but I ultimately don't expect that to have any bearing on their roster decisions
4:22
It's one thing to cut Anthony Bass when he's playing for $3MM, quite another to dump a player who's signed for $49MM over the next three years
KB
4:23
Name the starting 5 for the Rays in 2027, please
Anthony Franco
4:24
Rasmussen, one of Jax/McClanahan (other traded), Pepiot, Wells, Soroka
Jerry Dipoto
4:24
Did I make the correct hire in Jason Kanzler? Yes or No. And please give me 3 names you think would be a good bench coach for Kansler?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Sorry to dodge this one but I truly have no idea if Jason Kanzler's a good managerial hire. Would make sense to have an experienced bench coach to lean on
Pitching Rule Changes
4:27
There are ways to change the dominant pitching: fewer pitchers allowed on a roster, fewer options up and down the minor leagues for pitchers etc.  This would force pitchers to not max out as much and pitch at 'cruising speed' more often.  I think there is a chance some rule changes get implemented at some point to combat this and get more balls in play and more offense.
Anthony Franco
4:27
I think this was in response to the Red Sox question from the beginning of the chat, which I took as more about what an individual team could do than the league itself
4:28
But yeah, I agree with both of these as ways to force pitchers to work deeper in games and reduce strikeouts
4:29
I don't think we'll ever actually see that 'DH tied to the starter' concept but I could see MLB trying more blunt ways to kill the opener. They hate that thing
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:30
The Mets shut down their TV network today. Are other teams going to follow suitas we get closer to the lockout?
Anthony Franco
4:32
Not a ton of teams that have their own network anyway. I don't know if this was expressly lockout related or just the tough part of a declining TV industry. Seems like they're also dropping some of their Jets coverage too
Pitching Question
4:32
What are your thoughts on 6-man rotations?  With a 13-pitcher cap, that takes away a reliever, meaning fewer relievers have to handle more innings each.  And since the additional no. 6 starter is likely the 6th best (obviously), added starters don't mean more team starting innings pitched - ergo, even MORE innings needed for fewer relievers.
Anthony Franco
4:33
Yeah I think it's basically a necessary evil for teams during a particularly grueling part of the schedule but not something most prefer for the reasons you mentioned. You're probably accepting a tradeoff in pitcher quality to give your top few starters an extra couple days of rest
Arrer Prone
4:34
DH tied to the starter seems like a terrible idea.  You could throw in an opener with a bad DH and swap both out with better players, or whatever..
Anthony Franco
4:36
Idea would be that you lose the DH spot itself, so even if you burn your worst player by starting him, you're going to have pinch hit every time and burn through the bench or accept a near automatic out with the bulk guy hitting in the third or fourth
4:37
But ultimately that makes it harder for DH-only players to find jobs (which the union doesn't want) and will lead to some pitchers batting again (which basically no one wants), so it's not happening
Alright, going to wrap up here since we're beyond 90 minutes
4:38
Thanks for all the questions! Happy to take anything else on X @affranco10 over the weekend, still had a few that I didn't have time for in here
4:39
Appreciate all of you continuing to support the site and hanging out every week! Steve didn't have time for the Monday chat this week with all the roster activity and Top 50 publishing that evening but should be back on the usual schedule next week
Have a great weekend!
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