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Front Office Chat: 12/6/24
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Anthony Franco
4:09
Maybe that's two or three million low on D-Rob, but you get the idea
Guest
4:09
The Guardians had a great season and made a decent playoff run even with some rather large holes in their lineup. This is because of some good managerial decisions by Vogt and a real good bullpen. But will the Guardians address any of their needs this off-season? So far I have not heard Cleveland willing to spend more money, so what is their plan this off-season?
Anthony Franco
4:10
Antonetti said they're exploring the outfield market and they're going to do something with the rotation
4:11
Wouldn't expect them to go crazy, but bringing back Bieber and signing Austin Hays could work
Jonathan
4:11
The Braves won’t surely be as bad as they were last year right?
Anthony Franco
4:12
I'm ready to jump back on the "Braves have to start hitting eventually, look how much talent they have in the lineup" bandwagon
Changing trends
4:12
I love how teams are bringing guys up as relievers and then stretching them out once they get experience. Why do you so many fans want teams to keep guys with elite stuff in the bullpen?
Anthony Franco
4:14
Yeah I'm broadly in support of this. Continues the general trend of compressing the difference between starters and relievers on what I assume is a path toward the majority of pitchers being 3-5 inning types
4:15
Maybe that's not ideal from an entertainment perspective, particularly with cuts to starter workloads, but there's a lot less rigidity in consigning relievers to one or two innings than there'd been for the last couple decades. It's kind of the natural extension of teams following the Andrew Miller model of using top relievers like firemen as they did 50 years ago
Ethan
4:15
What's the Pirates' plan for the bullpen after losing Chapman? Joey Wentz is the only LH reliever on their roster and they'd benefit greatly from another high-leverage arm (Fairbanks/Doval?) especially after Bednar's struggles last year
Anthony Franco
4:17
They'll need a lefty, yeah. Probably a low-cost deal for Coulombe or Chafin but they'd make sense to go 2/16 on A.J. Minter too
Michael
4:18
Hi Anthony!  Just looking for your opinion, do you think draft picks should be tradeable?  I see benefits for both players and teams and am trying to see who would object or not benefit?  Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
4:19
Yeah. The idea that teams are going to sell their entire drafts and decimate their farm system feels like a remnant of a bygone era, and even if they do, why is that not a permissible team-building strategy? It might not be wise, but that's not a justification for prohibiting it
4:21
It's not a huge deal, because the draft still isn't going to be a spectator event the way it is in other sports since the players are generally less well-known and almost never jump right to the majors. But it'd make the process more entertaining for fans who are inclined to follow the draft and has no real downside as far as I can tell
TheBeatlesShow
4:21
Hey, Anthony.  Thanks and Happy Holidays.  If they spend on Soto, what do you think about the Yanks signing Justin Turner to play first (and some third)?
Anthony Franco
4:22
Turner or Carlos Santana work. If you want to argue for Turner because he can moonlight at third too, that makes sense
If they don't re-sign Soto, they should be in on Walker and Alonso
O
4:23
How hard do pitchers have to throw to actually become unhittable?
Anthony Franco
4:24
Ha, this is a great question. Wonder if there's a neuroscience study out there demonstrating at what point the human brain just wouldn't be able to process quickly enough to tell a hitter to swing
4:26
The answer is clearly above 105. A lot of MLB hitters can pretty easily handle 103-104 if the pitcher shows it early and there's not a ton much movement. I have no actual idea, but my guess would be like 120?
Guest
4:26
What are you hearing in regards to Yoan Moncada? MLB or Minor League Deal? Any interest from teams?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Haven't seen anything on Moncada but he should have enough juice to get a big league deal
4:27
Teams kept giving Nick Senzel MLB contracts until the end of this year. Moncada has shown a lot more than that at the MLB level. He could probably find $4MM with incentives
Ryan
4:27
Interesting idea from the Marine Layer pod. Seattle trades for Garrett Crochet to give them flexability to trade another pitcher for a bat. Seattle has the prospects to do it. What do you think of the idea?
Anthony Franco
4:29
I like the creativity. They have the young talent to make it happen without decimating the system. I wouldn't pick the Mariners as my Crochet landing spot for obvious reasons, but the Seattle front office has probably at least given it some thought
Grateful Follower
4:29
I realize that agents/agencies live off the % they get from their clients’ contracts but do you think an agent EVER says something along the lines of: “The team you’ve loved playing for is offering $300mil for 8 years.  The team you’re not so crazy about is offering $325mil.  To help with your decision making just make a list of all the things you’d like to buy that $300mil isn’t enough for but $325mil is”
Anthony Franco
4:31
Do I think agents are actively encouraging players to take less money? No. But ultimately they work for the player and if the player wants to take a discount for any number of reasons -- competitive cycle, geography, familiarity -- the agent has to go along with it
Mark Cercone
4:31
During the Winter Meetings, do you think there will be any discussion about all this deferred compensation players seem to be enjoying with certain clubs? Even though it might not be as bad as it seems and Ohtani’s contract just makes it seem outrageous, is there any concerns about competitive balance going forward? Only two more years on this CBA and it seems like something will have to be addressed eventually.
Anthony Franco
4:32
They're not going to make any changes halfway through a CBA and in the middle of an offseason, nor should they
I would expect MLB to make a serious effort, pushed by small-market franchises, to get the MLBPA to agree to deferral limits in the next round of CBA negotiations
4:34
Which I'd support by the way. I'm in the minority on the MLBTR staff on that one, I think, but I'd be on board with requiring a team to pay a certain percentage of the guarantee (75%, 90, whatever) within the term of the deal
4:36
I don't think the Dodgers are exploiting any kind of loophole or doing anything that's impermissible. The Ohtani deal is the only one that was really unprecedented, and even that was seemingly driven by the player rather than the team. But operating within the system doesn't mean the system can't be adjusted
PTY Bucs
4:37
If Christian Walker was the only offensive add Pirates made, would it put them in playoff contention?
Anthony Franco
4:38
I still don't think so, even if you're assuming Cutch comes back at DH as well. The lineup is just so weak
4:39
I want to feel like they're real contenders because the rotation's awesome, it's a great sports city, and the fanbase has waited a long time for a good team. I just can't get there with that group of hitters
Alright I've gotta wrap this one here
4:41
Thanks for all the questions! These remain a blast, glad to be back after taking last Friday off. I'm on X @affranco10 if I didn't get to yours. Had a lot in the queue today
4:42
Thank you all for continuing to support the site, it's much appreciated! We'll do this again next week coming out of the Winter Meetings. Feels like there'll be a lot to discuss
Have a great weekend!
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