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Front Office Chat: 12/8/23
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Ranger Danger
4:53
So do the baseball writers have a system going where each of them will pick a day this weekend to predict Ohtani reveals his choice that day?  Morosi, you take Friday, Rosenthal, if he's still out there, you take Saturday, and Bowden, you've got Sunday?  Eventually one of them will be right!
Anthony Franco
4:53
I guess this is what you get when the player is being super cagy about the whole process
Cease Return
4:54
Chicago is asking for the moon for a guy with significant question marks. It seems doubtful LAD will be outbid if they want him, but should Chicago trust a prospect heavy return from LAD? None of their traded prospects have really panned out except for Gray and Ruiz. And frankly the players they kept haven't really turned into stars either. Would new administration be better off looking to less heralded prospects from a different system instead?
Anthony Franco
4:55
This kind of question usually comes up more with the Rays than the Dodgers, but you're right that L.A. has been really good about internally evaluating which of their players they're willing to give up
4:56
That said, I think you just have to trust your own evaluators if you're the White Sox. If your scouts think the best package on the table is the one that the Dodgers are offering, it's overthinking it to pivot to another team because the L.A. front office might be smarter than you
Guest
4:56
After watching the draft lottery, I am very confused about the rules. Would it be possible for you to refer me to a simple explanation, or give it a shot yourself. Thank you again for all Trade Rumors does for us.
Anthony Franco
4:57
There isn't a simple explanation because there a bunch of distinctions about where teams end up based on their luxury tax status, last year's draft pick and whether they pay revenue sharing
4:58
But I tried to break it all down in the post we did when the lottery odds were set a few weeks ago
Joshua
4:58
Do you see the Nats trading Hunter Harvey this offseason? With how bad the Nats roster is, I can’t understand why they wouldn’t trade relievers that can help a contender.
Anthony Franco
5:00
Feels like they'll hold him into the season and at least see how the first couple months play out. Harvey's injury history means he's not as valuable as most pitchers with his résumé would be
But if he's healthy and effective at the deadline, it's an easier sell for a team that's on the fringe of contention and needs bullpen help to bet on him to hold up for another couple months
Andrew
5:00
Lugo 2 years 25M$ what do u think?
Anthony Franco
5:01
Over. Three years around that AAV
Andrew
5:01
what's the market for Grandal?
Anthony Franco
5:01
If he wants to keep playing, probably could get $3-5MM for a year
Clarence Odbody
5:01
Pull back the curtain a little... what's going on today in the MLBTR team's slack channel?  Are you all on duty while Ohtani is jetting to Toronto?  Are you all debating how exactly to present the nonsense you are all reading everywhere else?  Or is Darragh all alone trawling the interwebs and managing the main site while the rest of you are mapping how this may impact everyone else?  This week must be madness for you guys, no?
Anthony Franco
5:02
Mostly standard coverage today just waiting it out. Darragh's on Twitter until 7:00 Eastern, I'm on until 1:00 am after that
5:03
We have a text thread debating how much emphasis to put on that one report that said the deal is agreed upon, which we all kind of believe but walked back to some extent after the Jays (through the entire Toronto beat) shot down until they're ready to make an announcement
Duke of Flatbush
5:04
Hi Anthony! I am amazed at the acquiescence of 31 professional  sports teams, for one player’s demands for absolute control of a narrative. Only a few teams were even involved in the Shohei pursuit, yet the entire off season has ground to a halt because of this guy and threats made by his agent. Am I off base on this one?
Anthony Franco
5:05
I mostly agree that the way this whole thing was handled was pretty absurd. I don't think Ohtani owed it to anyone to conduct interviews or make his free agent process more entertaining. He's an individual and if he wants to stay quiet (and tell his representatives to do the same), so be it
5:07
But whatever they said to teams in the early going got to a point where the Dodgers were treating Dave Roberts as if he leaked the nuclear codes and Ross Atkins is afraid to specify what city he's in while conducting media availability. I think that's ridiculous
5:08
Maybe team personnel just got super paranoid, but that part of this whole thing hasn't been enjoyable
Cautious Optimist
5:08
How crippling would it be for a team that is paying Ohtani say $50M/ year for the next 11 years if it turns out he can no longer pitch? Do you think teams will have contract stipulations that reduce his salary if that happens?
Anthony Franco
5:09
Not all that crippling really. Judge is making $40MM annually and I think Ohtani could play a solid right field if we ever got to the point where he's not pitching. Shohei's probably more marketable as well
5:10
If he were just a hitter, he wouldn't get $50MM per. But he'd probably get 80% of that and there's a reasonable chance he does pitch effectively again
Chief
5:10
Where does Bellinger end up?
Anthony Franco
5:10
Giants seem the obvious pick at this point
Michael
5:10
If Ohtani goes to the Jays, how do you rank the AL East at that point?
Anthony Franco
5:11
Pending the rest of the offseason:

  1. Toronto
  2. Baltimore
  3. Yankees
  4. Boston
  5. Tampa
5:12
Crazy good division. Legitimately think I'd take all five of them over anyone in the AL Central
Jorge78
5:12
Any rumors on Stromans market?  Haven't heard a peep!  Did his travails last year scare of teams?  Oh, and thanks for the excellent coverage (as usual) the last few days!
Anthony Franco
5:13
Should heat up once the bigger rotation names start coming off the board. I'm not worried about Stro yet
Jorge78
5:14
Will the Jay's put in his contract that his dogs name be revealed?  The fans need to know!
Anthony Franco
5:14
Somebody will definitely ask this at the introductory presser
Utah Fan
5:14
What's the latest on the TWINS?
Anthony Franco
5:15
Slow-playing the offseason. Probably going to trade one of Polanco or Kepler and reallocate that money for a back-end starter
Michael
5:15
I know we have a lot of action this year, but any thought on what Fried will command in next year's offseason?
Anthony Franco
5:16
Platform matters a ton coming off the injury-plagued '23 season but I'd set the O/U on Rodón's $162MM right now
Whatever Snell gets this offseason could be a pretty apt comp for Fried next winter if he has a typical year
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