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Front Office Chat: 12/12/25
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Anthony Franco
3:34
Consolidate some of the younger pitching talent in a trade for a pitcher who slots in the upper half of the rotation. Bellinger probably the cleanest fit if they sign a free agent hitter, though I'm more partial to Bregman with Baty sliding over to first base personally
Bill
3:34
Do you see the Braves pursuing another SS or relying on Dubon?
Anthony Franco
3:35
Feels like Kim or bust if they go anywhere else. Given the amount of money the Braves are spending in other areas and the need for a mid-rotation starter, I'd guess it's Dubón
Who Says No?
3:35
Two proposals (contract costs part of the consideration): (1) Bryan Reynolds & Mike Burrows for Heliot Ramos, Casey Schmitt and Hayden Birdsong. (2) Stephen Kwan & Hunter Gaddis for Heliot Ramos, Casey Schmitt and Hayden Birdsong. Who says no?
Anthony Franco
3:36
Non-Giants team in both cases. Ramos and Schmitt are kind of spare parts, Birdsong's probably a reliever
Bama Reds fan
3:36
With all the trade talks about Mackenzie Gore and him being worthy of a high price tag to acquire, why wouldn’t the same be true for Nick Lodolo?  He’s outperformed him, except for number of games played, over their careers to date, and is only one year older.
Anthony Franco
3:37
I think the same is true for Lodolo, he's just not mentioned as a guy who might get swapped for top prospects because the Reds aren't in a rebuild
3:38
Gore throws harder and Lodolo has the more concerning injury history, so I do think Gore has a slight edge, but two years of Lodolo would hold a ton of value as well
MoTork City
3:38
Don’t know how much interest they have shown in him, but outside of being a lefty Bellinger would fit the roster flexibility that the Tigers love.
Anthony Franco
3:39
Makes sense from a roster perspective but doesn't seem like they have any interest in spending at that level
Twins 1B
3:40
Mountcastle seems like he could be a good fit, now that Alonso signed with Baltimore.  What kind of trade package would get him to MN?  I don't like the 1 year rental, but maybe we avoid arbitration by signing a 2-3 year contract with a reasonable AAV ($5-7M)?
Anthony Franco
3:42
Wouldn't cost much, surprised Baltimore brought him back at all. Agree he fits for the Twins and think the O's should be fine dumping him for a 35-grade prospect
3:43
He's projected at $7.8M for his final arb year. He's not taking a $5M AAV just to get a second guaranteed year. He'd probably be on board with 3/21 or whatever, but I can't see why the team would be. He was having a pretty bad year even before he got hurt
Bruce T.
3:44
Braves and Angels:  Zach Neto heads east to play SS for ATL in return for Caminiti, Ritchie, and Nacho Alvarez. Both siders good with that?
Anthony Franco
3:44
Neto's not getting moved
Mariner Steve
3:44
whar Is a fair trade return to the cards from the Mariners for Donovan.
Anthony Franco
3:47
Guessing it'd be something around Miller and one of the further off pitching prospects (Cijntje or Sloan probably)
buffy, the umpire slayer
3:47
Trying this again. Who says "no" to a Bryce Eldridge for McKenzie Gore trade? If close. who, who needs to add something?
Optimistic Giants Fan
3:47
Bryce Eldridge, Jhonny Level, and Hayden Birdsong for Hunter Greene. Who says no?
Anthony Franco
3:49
I wouldn't do Eldridge for Gore if I were the Giants, though I could see the Nats holding out for that given the drop-off in the system after that. Cincinnati should pass on the second trade, Greene's so good
Fandom
3:50
When a player gets DFA'ed how do they find out? Does the team call the agent and let them know?
Anthony Franco
3:51
I think they generally tell the player directly, especially in season when the player is already in the clubhouse and it happens after a game
3:53
It seems a little more variable during the offseason but generally the front office leader will try to call the player and let them know. Guessing it's not the most fun conversation to have
Curious A's Fan
3:53
Soderstrom, Wilson, Kurtz... You have to Trade 1, Extend 1, let 1 reach FA.
Anthony Franco
3:55
In terms of pure talent, I'd order them Kurtz, Wilson, Soderstrom (though they're obviously all very good). I assume Kurtz is basically already out of their range  on an extension so I'd extend Wilson and hold Kurtz while flipping Soderstrom for a starter
No Name
3:55
What do you make of the Tyler Glasnow rumors? Would there be a market for someone with his stuff at that number but as many 140 IP seasons in the majors as you and I have?
Anthony Franco
3:58
I don't see it happening. 3/80 would be prohibitive to a bunch of teams. Could they get the Mets or Yankees to take it on? Maybe, but not without any kin of significant prospect return
This is a classic Dodger pitcher, pay a premium for the talent without caring about the injury risk because they only need him to be healthy in October. They don't need to salary dump anybody
Mariners
3:59
gut instinct: Has the mariners backup catcher come opening day played a game previously for the mariners?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Ha, this is basically just Garver vs. the field? I'll take the latter
John
4:00
Hi,Anthony! So the Bucs want to trade for Lowe. What starter will have to go the other way? Same question for Ketel Marte.
Anthony Franco
4:02
Very different situations. Lowe's got one year left at $11.5M. Even if the Rays aren't itching to trade him, there'll be prospect packages the Bucs could put together without dealing from the big league rotation that'd get their attention
4:04
If they dangle an Antwone Kelly or Wilber Dotel, that'd be tough for the Rays to turn down. I feel like talks with the D-Backs need to start with Chandler or Ashcraft
TedS
4:04
Do you make anything of the Braves' rumored ~$22M max salary cap for players?
Since Riley, Olson, and Sale all cap out there. It might be AA's strategy to keep their early extensions (which typically suppress AAV) from causing locker room friction by not massively overpaying lesser free agents.
Are other teams this consistent with their top salaries?
Anthony Franco
4:06
I don't believe this is a real thing. They stay away from top-of-the-market free agent splashes and prefer to spread the money around, sure, but setting an internal cap to avoid locker room friction is silly
4:08
If they signed Ranger Suárez to a five-year, $115M deal ($23M AAV) because they need a reliable mid-rotation starter after the rotation was decimated by injuries, which players would be pissed?
Al
4:08
Jordan Walker went to Driveline.  Will that help? And is he done in St. Louis?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Will it make a huge difference? Probably not, but credit to him for trying different stuff to get back on track. I think it's easier for the labs to improve bat speed (which has never been Walker's probably) more than bat control. Maybe they can tweak the swing angle a little to get more balls in the air, but the biggest issue is that he doesn't make enough contact -- which is probably the toughest part of a hitter's profile to change
4:12
I don't think he's done in St. Louis yet but if it doesn't happen next year, that's probably it
The Knuder
4:12
Who starts at first base for the Padres on Opening Day? Gavin Sheets, Luis Arraez, or someone else (who?)?
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