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Front Office Chat: 12/15/23
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Anthony Franco
4:16
Enjoy? Probably years, but I think the total is more meaningful to the player so that's where we start the discussion
MLP
4:16
Signing bonus can be paid *any* time agreeable to both parties.  Jason Heyward only starts receiving his $20M signing bonus from the Cubs this year, after the expiration of the term of the contract he signed; it's paid out over 4 years.
Anthony Franco
4:17
Sorry if this wasn't clear from the initial response, but this is true. The signing bonus doesn't need to be up front, it just often tends to be within the first couple months of a deal
CatdinalRed
4:17
Just trying to understand, does the Ohtani contract have a $46 million dollar hit for all 20 years then or just the 10? Paying $68 million a year for 10 years after the contract, and then for it not being part of the tax seems like a luxury tax dodge to me.
Anthony Franco
4:17
The approximate $46MM tax hit is only for the ten years that Ohtani is on the roster, not all 20
4:19
The reason the tax number is not $70MM is because the $700MM guarantee is kind of an illusion. It's true that he'll be paid $700MM, but the fact that so much of it won't come for more than a decade makes the deal itself worth a lot less than if he were paid from 2024-33
4:20
That Ohtani isn't getting the money in the short term means he can't invest it. The dollar for everybody is going to be worth more in 2024 than it will in '34 because of inflation, etc.
Ryan
4:20
Luzardo to the Reds for who?  Marte, Phillips, and Hinds. Maybe Tyler Stephenson is part of the deal?  Although, that would leave a hole at catcher for them.
Anthony Franco
4:21
Miami would need more than that. If Stephenson weren't coming off such a poor year, it'd be viable
Astros fan
4:21
The Athletic has a post suggesting the Astros may be considering shopping Framber. Have you heard anything? What kind of return would the Oriels be willing to give up for Framber?
Anthony Franco
4:22
I have a post on this that'll go on the site shortly but the TLDR version is that I'd be shocked if the Astros traded Framber and wouldn't be surprised if Dana Brown basically shoots that possibility soon enough
4:23
Rosenthal didn't report that they're listening to offers so much as that other teams are monitoring in case they do. I'd monitor too, Framber's great. But there was similar chatter about Alex Bregman and Dana Brown killed it by saying they're a win-now team. Why would it be any different with Valdez?
Guest
4:23
anything on Snell? Or is he waiting for Yamamoto to sign?
Ken
4:24
Do you think Yamamoto picks his team before January 4th? And which team do you think he is leaning toward at this point?
Anthony Franco
4:25
Seems like Yamamoto goes before Snell. He's higher priority for a lot of the big spenders and has to accelerate his signing process because of the posting window
I'd guess Yamamoto signs by the end of next week. I'll stick with the Yankees as my prediction
KBO and Nippon
4:25
Is there a way to watch Korean and Japanese league games here in the States?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Not sure if anyone knows the answer to this. I don't know of any way (although I'm sure there are illicit Reddit streams or whatever) but I also don't seek those games out
4:27
I know ESPN broadcast the KBO during the Covid stoppage but I don't believe that's a thing anymore
John B
4:27
Hi Anthony, I like how well Lee's skill set fits at Oracle. Could see him hitting a lot of triples in that yard.
Giants
4:27
Is Jung Hoo Lee overpaid?
Anthony Franco
4:28
It's a lot more than I'd have given him based on what we heard from the people we talked to, but I generally agree with John's point that he's a good fit for the park and their scouts must be all in on the hit tool
mmddyyyy
4:28
Do you remember any other baseball trades contingent on an extension? Seems like they're proposed every year, but when have they ever actually happened?
Anthony Franco
4:28
Sonny Gray's the one that springs to mind
4:29
The Yankees/Reds trade, not Cincinnati and Minnesota
Life long Angel fan
4:29
If the Angels acquired Snell, Justin Turner as a DH and 3rd base backup, and two good bullpen arms, say Neris and Moore, would they be competitive this year?
Anthony Franco
4:30
Probably puts them back in the range they have been for the past few seasons. Fringe Wild Card roster if everybody stays healthy but unlikely to have the depth necessary to weather injuries over 162
Nick krall
4:30
Fraley for Bieber makes some sense!  Indians get some power for their outfield and reds get a starter without dealing prospects. Thoughts? What do you think Bieber’s return should be?
Anthony Franco
4:31
Fraley's only controllable for three seasons and is a strong side platoon corner outfielder. Tough to get too excited about that profile
I'm not super high on Bieber either but I'd take on year of him as a #3 starter over Fraley pretty easily
wvpirate
4:32
Does Nick Gonzales have any trade value? If so,  does he need to be packaged with someone else to get a starting pitcher?
Anthony Franco
4:33
The trade value's not zero but it's pretty low. FanGraphs had him as a 40 FV prospect (20-30 range in the system) last year. The minor league slash line was good but came with a decent number of strikeouts and he didn't hit in his MLB look
mmddyyyy
4:33
How would you rank the defensive positions in terms of the value they add to a free agent?
Anthony Franco
4:34
SS, CF, C, 3B, 2B, RF, LF, 1B
Guest
4:35
Who is the starting LF on opening day for the Jays?
Anthony Franco
4:35
Trading Glasnow and Margot in one deal makes it seem like they're keeping Randy
mmddyyyy
4:36
How many mlbtr authors are there?
What is your editorial process? Who looks at posts before they go public? How far ahead are things written?
Anthony Franco
4:37
Steve, Darragh and myself work full-time. Mark, Leo and Nick contribute part-time. Tim has final say on anything that goes on the site but only posts occasionally. He's mostly in an overhead role while he focuses on bigger-picture maintenance/site features
4:38
For the most part, we'll post on our own. Very little is written in advance since we're largely responding to news in real time. We'll have a second or third set of eyes for stuff that's going to generate a ton of traffic (massive trade/signing, Top 50, original and Front Office content)
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