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Front Office Chat: 2/2/24
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Anthony Franco
3:43
I wouldn't want to take a straight 7/175 or something
3:44
If Bellinger just wants the max guarantee, Boras has to do it obviously. The agent can't overrule the player on that kind of thing
Diamond
3:44
Does the Diamond situation seeming to be clearing help the market start moving?
Anthony Franco
3:46
Eh I don't think it moved enough for teams to dive back into free agency aggressively. The ones who are getting full rights fees for 2024 seemed to have an inclination that was going to happen. There's some benefit for Texas, Cleveland and Minnesota in getting the number locked in, but it's below what they would've hoped for
3:47
The broader concern for those teams, I think, is that they're still skeptical about Diamond's viability beyond this year. Even with the short-term influx of cash as part of the Amazon deal, there's a lot of skepticism about the long-term viability
Guest
3:47
How much improvement can a veteran player make by spending the winter working with a seasoned instructor? Joey Gallo would be the immediate example---very high strike-out rate and a below Mendoza line batting average....but walks a lot, hits towering homers, has a decent OBP and his wRC+ is just above league average. Spent the winter adjusting his hitting and vows to be significantly improved. Of course, he is going to say that...but how likely is it to be true?
Anthony Franco
3:48
It’s case by case but the “one offseason success stories” are rare. Most of these guys are working really hard ever offseason but there are only a few each season who dramatically change their profile.
3:50
Generally, I think it’s more common for pitchers. If you can find a mechanical tweak that unlocks an extra 1-2 MPH of velocity or a pitch grip tweak that creates a new breaking pitch, that can go a long way. Hitting is so inherently reactive that it’s a lot harder to fix in drills. That’s particularly true when it comes to dramatically improving pure contact skills, which is obviously Gallo’s big issue.
Dave
3:50
Do you think Dodgers will add another bullpen piece before beginning of regular season?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Yeah I think there’s another move coming. Could bring back Brasier still
Dallas
3:52
Mets World Series back on?
Anthony Franco
3:53
If they do get there, brace for some four hour games as Carlos Mendoza plays matchups with the 16 relievers they’re carrying on the playoff roster
Mike
3:53
Will the Rays be competitive this season?
Anthony Franco
3:56
I expect them to be around the Wild Card mix but I wouldn't pick them to make the playoffs. I'm lower on them this year than I have been for quite some time given the pitching injuries and the shortstop question
Dave
3:57
With the trade of Burnes, will the Cease trade seem more possible before opening day?
Anthony Franco
3:57
I don't think it has much of an impact on the White Sox's decision there
Jo Adell
3:57
Where am I on Opening Day? On the White Sox as their RF?
Anthony Franco
3:58
This makes sense. I'm out on Adell at this point but it's not like Oscar Colás or Gavin Sheets took hold of that job either
mmddyyyy
3:59
At what point in the calendar do you get excited for the upcoming season?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Not until pretty close to Opening Day. I don't really care about Spring Training
Middle of March probably
Curious A's Fan
4:01
Maybe it's just me but it feels like it's taking a lot longer to process FA signings this winter. For example, MLBTR announced that the A's were signing Alex Wood on 1/27. It just became official today. Any idea what's going on?
Anthony Franco
4:02
This winter hasn't seemed out of the ordinary to me in that regard. Some guys take a few days to report for their physical
Arizona
4:02
Much ado has been made in AZ online fandoms about Joc's expected stats for 2023 and how he's a great signing. But $12.5M for him seems high considering he's a middling bat with less than 0 defensive value. He's likely better than internal options, but can't help feeling there were better options on the market (free agents or trades) who fit the mold of a dynamic team ready for any punch. Having a DH only is counter-intuitive for a team that plays "small ball" so well. GIDP especially feel like a major issue with Gurriel and Moreno getting everyday at bats.
Anthony Franco
4:03
Yeah I agree with this. I don't hate Joc at 12.5 -- Steve Adams does -- but I'm not super pumped about it either. Darragh and I talked this about on the pod a little this week, but if I were given the choice between Joc at 12.5 or Justin Turner at 13, I'd take the latter easily
4:06
To your general point, the Pederson and Suárez acquisitions have cut against the youth/athleticism mold that made up a lot of the roster. That's not inherently a bad thing -- you don't want to be too rigid and exclude good players because they're not a specific archetype -- but it does mark a bit of a shift
tigersfan
4:06
Do the tigers cut maton before opening day? He's out of options and I don't see how he makes the opening day roster
Anthony Franco
4:08
He was good enough in Triple-A last year that I'd find a bench spot for him if I were them. I think he'd get claimed if they did put him on waivers
Rangers13
4:09
Should the Rangers not be able to sign Montgomery, who do you think would be the best depth add? Lauer, Turnbull, Boyd, Cueto, or Syndergard?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Boyd might miss the whole year after undergoing TJS last June
I'd go Turnbull, then Lauer from that group
Fandom
4:09
Has this job made you more of an MLB fan or do you view more as work now?
Anthony Franco
4:12
A little of both, probably more so the latter. I don't have rooting interest for teams anymore, and I'm less likely to watch a full game in the afternoon if I'm working that evening since I have other interests and don't want to devote all of my time to baseball
4:14
At the same time, I'm a lot more invested in the transactional side than I was before taking this job. I find the roster-building questions with MLB a lot more interesting than in any other sport -- largely because baseball success skews more towards depth over star talent than most other sports do -- and this job allows me to engage with that a lot more
O’s Rotation
4:15
Top 10? Where would you put it? It seems all the major networks and reporters are hyping it up but I’m still not convinced. There’s a lot of uncertainty there
Anthony Franco
4:16
Top 10 production is within the range of outcomes, but my guess is I'd have it just outside if I were to rank everyone 1-30
Brandon Crawford
4:16
Will I get a 1 year major league contract or is it the minor league deal with invitation to spring training pathway?
Anthony Franco
4:17
Could see it going either way but I lean towards NRI if he wants to keep going
mmddyyyy
4:18
Do players in deeper systems gain any developmental advantage from proximity to more talented players?
Anthony Franco
4:18
There's probably some trickle-down effect there, yeah. I doubt it's a huge impact but being around other really talented players can't hurt
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