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Front Office Chat: 12/20/24
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey all, hope you've had a great week!
3:01
Apologies on sending the link out a little later than usual, but we've got a decent number of questions from the last hour. Let's get rolling
Positively Half St.
3:01
Nationals fans had our hearts set on Christian Walker. The fact that he signed for so little means that he really didn't want to play in DC, or that the Nats didn't even try. If Mike Rizzo is serious about the Nats improving this year, where would you direct him now?
Anthony Franco
3:03
I'll push back on the premise to start. I think 3/60's a pretty good deal for a 34-year-old first baseman. I thought he'd have to settle for two (credit to everyone else on the staff for correctly overruling me and picking 3/60 on the Top 50)
But I think the Nats could've made a real run at the player without wanting to go that level considering the ROI on the Rizzo and Abreu contracts
3:05
Still think they make a lot of sense as a potential Alonso fallback if he takes a high-AAC deal, less so if he gets $125MM+. Could trade for Nathaniel Lowe too. I'm not as big on the Gleyber to third base thing that they're apparently kicking around, even though it's tough to be super excited about José Tena as a bridge to Brady House there
Duffy Scliff
3:05
Of the 9-10 relievers in the Free Agent Top 50 list, only one has signed a contract (Seguno) (not counting Holmes since he’ll be a starter). A handful of relievers have been signed, but not big names. What’s the hold up? Who do you think gets the market going?
Anthony Franco
3:07
I don't know but it's surprising. It's not a great class, so that's probably part of it, but I figured we'd have heard more about teams being all-in on Tanner Scott or Jeff Hoffman by now
Obviously Hoffman could also do the rotation move
Youkilyptus
3:07
if no further additions were made, who wins the AL East right now?
Anthony Franco
3:09
That's a good question. I'd probably take the Yankees but I don't love it. All those teams have pretty clear weaknesses still
Polar Express
3:09
Does the walker signing mean we’ll start to see more movement on the rest of the infielder and 1B market
Anthony Franco
3:10
I doubt it'll really spur things. Alonso was always going to aim way higher than this and Santana and Turner (and even Goldy to some extent) are the kind of guys teams are ok waiting on until January
3:11
Doesn't mean none of them will sign in the coming days, but they're all close enough in value that teams could try to fade that market and see which one is willing to lower the ask as Spring Training gets closer
Max Fried
3:11
Is my deal terrible?
Anthony Franco
3:12
I wouldn't go that far but I'd rather Blake Snell or Nathan Eovaldi at the prices they signed for than going 8/218 on Fried
3:13
Like the player a lot, would've been comfortable going between 175 and 200 if I were the Yankees. Don't love the eighth year but the timing of Soto took them out on Snell, and if Burnes was asking for 250+, then I get why they bit the bullet to make sure they landed Fried
El Chupacabra
3:13
Royals offseason concludes with signing Carlos Estevez and Josh  Rojas, along with trading for Taylor Ward.  Sound plausible?
Anthony Franco
3:14
Sure. Rojas wouldn't move the needle over Maikel Garcia for me, but you're talking like $3MM there, so whatever
3:15
Estévez and Ward both make a lot of sense
Masa Yoshida
3:15
If the Sox ate most of my contract, am I decent fit anywhere roster-wise?
Anthony Franco
3:16
Yeah I still think Yoshida can be a pretty good MLB hitter, just nowhere close to what he'd need to be to justify that contract as a DH/mediocre corner outfielder
3:17
Nats make the most sense to me. Jays could work if they don't get Joc and the Sox were fine dumping him in division. Arizona doesn't have an obvious Joc replacement
A Padres Christmas gift
3:18
Any idea on any plans for lf, back up catcher or starting pitching for the Pads?
Anthony Franco
3:19
Man, tough to suggest anything when it seems like they've got no money
They could throw like $2MM at Luke Maile for backup catcher. The other stuff is more problematic and why it feels like they'll need to make a move on Arraez (or Cronenworth ideally) at some point
3:21
At least then you're giving yourself a shot to re-sign Profar. Feels like they're going to stretch at least of Morejón or Hoeing out to address the rotation. Unless they get controllable starting pitching in a Cease trade, it's hard to see where that's coming from if the budget is as tight as it seems
3:22
Also, not exactly a huge needle mover, but bringing Donovan Solano back for like $1.5MM feels like a no-brainer
Guest
3:22
who has the better season out of these young OF kids next year? James Wood, Jasson Dominguez or Wyatt Langford?
Anthony Franco
3:24
I'll take Wood. Already showing good zone awareness, contact skills weren't as bad as I thought they'd be for a rookie. He needs to get the ball in the air more than he did this year, but that wasn't a huge issue in the minors
Thank you for the chat!
3:24
Does Arraez for Stroman framework start conversations for both sides?
Anthony Franco
3:26
Stroman's more expensive and I'd rather have Arraez as a player. If the Yankees paid down like 2/3 of the Stroman money, I could see the argument for it
JD Martinez
3:26
Do I have any market? I know I’m an aging player in a crowded DH mostly/only market. But I still had an above average OPS+ and BB %. Will I go somewhere I can win, or a team that could flip me at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:28
I expect he'll get an MLB deal but probably for a few million in February. Most teams think they can win, so I doubt he's signing with the Marlins, but he'd probably need to land with a fringe contender (another one where Washington fits) if he's going to get regular DH playing time
followthrough
3:28
Thoughts on Oswald Peraza as a trade candidate?
Anthony Franco
3:29
Could certainly see him moving but we're at nearly 1200 plate appearances of him being a mediocre Triple-A hitter. Not much value there anymore
Ben
3:29
What would the Padres want from the Giants for Cease?  (Assuming that they would deal within the division at all)
Anthony Franco
3:31
I don't think they'd move him in division since they're still trying to compete. If they were open to trading him anywhere, feels like you'd need Kyle Harrison in play as a starting point
3:32
I don't think the Giants would do that for one year of Cease, to be clear, but I also doubt that the Mason Black and Landen Roupp tier of upper level starter is moving the needle on that one
Cat Herder
3:32
Anthony, can you give a Tigers fan some hope?  I mean, they are going to do something beside Cobb, right?  So much optimism and energy last year seems to be wasted by this lackadaisical Winter.
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