You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 2/21/25
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
Anthony Franco
3:43
I do think that if ownership were willing to absorb a $200M+ commitment for a top-of-the-rotation starter that it could have made them a legitimate Wild Card contender. There's no real indication that the Lerners have been willing to do a deal like that for a few years now.

So if the question was then whether it made sense to beat 3/60 on Christian Walker or 3/75 on Sean Manaea, I'd have also stayed away and given it one more year
Baseballisthebest
3:43
What do you think the chances are that the Red Sox add to their rotation between now and the trade deadline.
Anthony Franco
3:44
Yeah it's likely they'll at least add some kind of depth arm at the deadline given the durability questions with a lot of the guys they have right now
Julian B.
3:45
Who is going to be the Yankees backup catcher???
Anthony Franco
3:46
Escarra probably gets first crack, something they could address at the deadline
Adam Stevens
3:46
It appears to me that no trades of any significance are likely until we get closer to mid-season or the deadline. What are your thoughts? Anything likely to happen bigger than on the margins of rosters?
Anthony Franco
3:47
I agree with that. Expect it'll be relatively quiet (outside of a few extensions) for the next few months. A lot of high-profile impending free agents, though, so it could be a really interesting deadline
ATL Fan
3:47
Based on where things stand today, it seems like on paper the Marlins and Nats will be 4-5 in the East.  What is your prediction for NY, Philly, and ATL?
Anthony Franco
3:48
I'll go Philly, ATL, NYM, WAS, MIA. First three should all be very good
Jesse
3:48
Hello! So the Mets are saying they aren't looking for a starter and the Padres are saying they aren't moving Dylan Cease. But it certainly feels like that could change as we get closer to the season. I never liked the idea of the Mets moving Peterson and I'd really love to hang on to Brandon Sproat. But I image the Padres will want Major League pitching back to offset the loss of innings from Cease. Would the Padres have interest Paul Blackburn if the Mets paid down his salary? How about a package like this: Brett Baty, Ryan Clifford, Dom Hamel and Paul Blackburn plus cash to pay down Blackburn's salary. Thank you!
Anthony Franco
3:49
That's too light for Cease. Blackburn's a #5/6 starter with significant durability questions. He's not a meaningful piece in a trade like that
3:50
I think it'd involve Sproat and at least Megill (if not Peterson) to backfill the rotation
Robert Suarez
3:50
If you had to pick yes or no, am I opting out of my contract after 2025?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Yes
Go Guardians!!!!
3:51
Any chance Cleveland looks into Alex Verdugo?
Anthony Franco
3:52
Sure, still seems viable. He's probably a little better than Brennan, who could balance what looks like a righty-heavy bench if Verdugo's in RF
Fred
3:52
What's your early prediction for a Framber Valdez free agent contract if he puts up another solid full season with a low 3 ERA?
Anthony Franco
3:56
Somewhere around 5/150. He'll be 32, so that probably caps him at five years. I think the comparative lack of whiffs keeps him below Snell despite the superior durability and consistency
Mark Cherry
3:56
Taiwan Walker and Michael Mercado for George Springer, who says get away?
Anthony Franco
3:59
Money's pretty close. Phils would be taking on an extra $9MM over the next two seasons. Don't know where they'd fit him in unless they moved Castellanos in some other kind of bad contract swap though
JCCinDC
3:59
How do you rank the Nats 3b battle? DeJong, Tena, Rosario, Yepez … House?
Anthony Franco
4:00
I'd give Tena the first shot at it but hoping House pushes him pretty early in the season. Probably an area they'll need to address in FA next offseason because of House's strikeout issues
Anthony Stephan
4:00
What should we expect out of Kyle Teal this season?
Anthony Franco
4:02
Debut before the All-Star Break. Solid defense with some walks and a lot of strikeouts. Wouldn't expect a ton offensively as a rookie but the bigger priority is working well with the young pitching staff
Big in Japan
4:03
Do you think the Orioles owner ever goes full Cohen or Guggenheim group? Or is Rubenstein a different kind of billionaire?
Anthony Franco
4:03
I do not. That certainly wasn't the operating procedure in year one
4:04
That's tougher to pull off in Baltimore than it is in New York or Los Angeles. And the majority of new owners kick off a short-term spending boost (like the one Rubenstein approved) without immediately launching the team into the top 3-5 in payroll
Reds fan Ryan
4:04
Over/ under 7 WAR for Elly De La Cruz this year?
Anthony Franco
4:04
I'll take the over
Cheese and Beer Guy
4:05
The Brewers were 9th in MLB in attendance in 2024, but definitely not 9th in revenue. The Packers were 8th in the NFL in revenue in 2023, and that's a typical ranking for them according to Mark Murphy. The fans are supporting their teams. The difference appears to me to be the even split of national TV revenues in the NFL. Because MLB has so many more games, national TV revenues are just not the same. How are local TV revenues split up by MLB? In the NFL, I'd argue the cap actually hurts the Pack as a high revenue team, but that wouldn't necessarily be the case for the Brewers. Your thoughts?
Anthony Franco
4:08
National TV revenue is divided evenly among each team. The local revenue (which is most of it since there are relatively few nationally broadcast games) goes to each team based on what they pull in from their TV deal. As a lot of those TV deals fall apart, MLB is trying to put together a larger streaming package and more evenly distribute those as well, but the bigger franchises (Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, etc.) generally have more profitable TV deals and aren't going to be keen on signing up for something like that
Spiderman Meme
4:08
Which of the three Luis Garcias (Astros Starting Pitcher, Dodgers Reliever, Nats 2B) has the biggest impact this coming season?
Anthony Franco
4:09
I think the Houston pitcher is the best player of the bunch but the Washington second baseman is the only one who's likely to start the season on the active roster so I'll take him
CardinalRed
4:09
Really confused on the direction of the Cards. They have a few too many 1B/DH only guys plus some pitching that would get some upper level prospects. Burleson and Helsley would have looked good in Seattle and they have a deep farm system. Why sit on the chips only to risk a much lower return at the deadline, or no return at all if they get injured?
Anthony Franco
4:10
Haha this is a question we've been trying to figure out all offseason. Don't get it either
Uniblab8
4:10
Are the TWINS being sold or not? At least Pohlad shelled out a couple more bucks. Twins 76-86 4th place?
Anthony Franco
4:11
I think they're better than that. Around 85 wins and second or third place. No indication that anything has changed on the sale front, still expect that'll happen within the next couple months
David
4:11
Why doesn’t anyone want Marcus Stroman?  No team re-signs him, so many are desperate for pitching?  Is it his style or his personality?
Anthony Franco
4:15
18.5 is a lot for a back-end starter, especially at this point of the offseason. He's never been a huge swing-and-miss guy, the velocity went backwards a little bit last year, and other teams are probably holding out hope that the Yankees will pay down half the money just to give him away
4:17
I could see his personality also turning off some teams, but he's always been pretty outspoken. Just not a high-value trade asset
Connecting…