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Front Office Chat: 12/23/22
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Anthony Franco
4:43
Sure, I think that's a palatable price. Donaldson's still a decent player, if well overpaid on his current deal. Would be an upgrade for Arizona, Miami, Giants maybe
Elf's shelf
4:43
If Bloom doesn't extend or trade Devers, he's fired, right?
Anthony Franco
4:44
I don't think it'd be this direct a correlation, but if they don't extend or deal Devers and miss the playoffs again next year, I have to imagine he'd be in jeopardy by next offseason
4:45
Guess that'd be true even if they did trade Devers. Not sure he can afford another season like 2022
Logue
4:45
What COULD go wrong for the Mets?
Anthony Franco
4:45
If you assured me they miss the playoffs next year, I'd guess the rotation did them in. You can see the downside there
4:46
Verlander/Scherzer are old. Carrasco's old and has an injury history. Senga has no MLB track record. Things could unravel there with a couple injuries
4:47
I don't expect it to or anything. They're a slam-dunk playoff team for me. But that's the part of the roster that'd most concern me if I were a fan
SoCal
4:47
Vaughn Grissom the starting SS for the Braves on opening day ?? or more seasoning in AAA ?? or ??
Anthony Franco
4:47
I lean towards Arcia for a few weeks before Grissom seizes it by early May
Logue
4:47
Zach Logue gets claimed. The first of 4 falls in the Matt Chapman trade. Will this end up being worse than the Donaldson trade for the A's?
Anthony Franco
4:48
Logue was kind of an ancillary piece in it. I'm more disappointed that Kevin Smith was terrible for most of the season, albeit with a strong finish in Triple-A
Gunnar Hoglund was the best player they got back though, and he missed most of the year rehabbing from Tommy John (which they knew at the time of the trade). I don't think it's a disaster yet
4:49
Peak Donaldson was much better than Chapman as well
Wild
4:49
I picked Correa to the Giants in the contest… I want my point
Anthony Franco
4:49
Haha sorry about the tough turn of events
Tony
4:50
Thank you for the chats and Happy Holiday to you and my fellow readers. Without going into a long rant, the high-quality guys are getting paid...but there are only so many Trouts, Ohtani's and Harpers to spend on.  I think the Mets are the outliers on what teams can do (buying the top tier free agents). Isn't a more reasonable expectation for fans of mid-tier revenue a roster of some all-star with a sprinkling of MVP caliber players rather than replicating Phillies/Mets/Dodgers/Yankees? If so, would a $150M -- $175 M roster be considered spending? My question is trying to move the discussion on what constitutes spending from high revenue to mid-tier level considerations.  Sorry for the length.
Anthony Franco
4:51
Yeah most teams aren't going to be the Mets or Padres. I think you just have to compare team payrolls to the league average and then factor in their prior spending habits
4:52
According to Cot's, the average 2023 payroll projection right now is $159MM (Colorado). So yeah, a $170MM roster in a vacuum is above-average. That's Cardinals/Cubs territory
4:53
But prior spending habits also set expectations. The Marlins getting to $175MM would constitute an extremely aggressive push for them. The Red Sox doing it feels really underwhelming to their fanbase because it's a dramatic cut
Guest
4:53
This off-season has seemed like the richer teams getting richer in star power. Have any of the ten or so bottom teams made noteworthy progress in becoming a play-off team? Have any of the top ten or so lost significant ground?
Anthony Franco
4:54
Yeah I agree. By and large, it feels like the 2022 playoff teams just created a bigger gap between themselves and most of the field
Man's fred
4:54
Brett Baty fits the Jays needs perfectly, doesn't he? (OF this year, possibly 3rd next year). Does Biggio + Pearson get it done?
Anthony Franco
4:54
Mets wouldn't do this
Jamie Taco
4:54
Dipoto said during the Winter Meetings that the M’s want to add 1-2 more MLB-ready bats in the offseason. Since it doesn’t seem like that’s coming via free agency, are there any obvious trade targets (aside from Reynolds, of course) that you’d expect them to be looking at?
Arthur Dent
4:55
What trade possibilties might be possible for Dipoto to land a left fielder?  Any players lurking under the radar that might be available not named Reynolds, Varsho, or Kepler?
Anthony Franco
4:56
I think Baltimore could move Anthony Santander still. Kepler's the guy most people expect to go in Minnesota but they could deal Trevor Larnach or Nick Gordon instead (or as well). They have a lot of left-handed outfielders now
The doc
4:56
Will Alex Verdugo ever live up to my expectations or will he just give me vertigo?
Anthony Franco
4:57
Doesn't seem like it. He's fine but this has been kind of underwhelming. I thought he'd be a star, still not really sure why he hasn't gotten there
Bob T
4:57
Anthony, happy holidays! What has given the owners so much optimism this offseason that they are willing to pay these huge contracts at this time?

Does Juan Soto need to have a huge year to get Judge money? He was almost a non factor for the Padres after they traded the farm for him.
Anthony Franco
4:58
I think it's some combination of being past the revenue losses from the COVID seasons and knowing where the CBT thresholds will be over the next few seasons
Plus Seidler and Cohen, both of whom are relatively new owners, really pushing the envelope in pursuit of a title
I'm not worried about Soto. He'll be fine, still has two years to get back to peak form before free agency
Roger Maris
4:59
What's the story on Manuel Margot? This past year seemed to be a huge regression. Is he doomed to become an IL list regular, or, if not injured, a platoon player?
Anthony Franco
5:00
I just think this is who he is. Wouldn't say he's a platoon player. He's a good defender with some contact skills but limited power, feels like a league average regular to me
5:01
Give me a minute to check in with Darragh and see if there's anything urgent to cover for the site. If possible, I'll stick around another 15 minutes or so
5:02
Ok, going to run through a few more quickly here
Paul
5:02
Can you see the Padres moving either machado or tatis. Machado says he wants to opt out and they are less then pleased with Tatis after his suspension
Anthony Franco
5:03
Nah. Zero reason to deal Machado and it's a terrible time to sell low on Tatis
Ken
5:03
Garrett Whitlock seems to be heading for the Boston rotation. How will Whitlock the starter perform compared with Whitlock the reliver?
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