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Front Office Chat: 2/7/25
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Anthony Franco
3:39
But that's still a collection of depth guys and they can't assume Darvish will stay healthy either. The Musgrove injury just left them in such a bad spot
Jordon
3:39
I have a question about the MLB draft...or should I say, really the 3 MLB drafts.  It seems like one of the things that would make things more competitively balanced would be 1 draft.  Meaning Roki Sasaki would have been in the same draft as the high school and college kids.  And the same would be for all the shady (illegal) stuff going on in Latin America - 1 draft.  No international draft, no amateur signings for the highest bidder (or whoever gave the most money under the table over the years).  If the Detroit Tigers select Roki Sasaki with the #1 pick, they pay the fee, he gets paid $X and then if the Pirates draft 2nd, and they select some 16 year old from the Dominican - that kid gets paid what the #2 slot pays.  If they select a kid who will help them sooner, and pick a college kid, same thing.  It just seems so dumb, but more importantly - not a competitive balanced playing field.  Please help me understand why I am wrong. Thank you (sorry for the long question)!
Anthony Franco
3:41
I prefer an international draft to the bonus pool system that they have now, but I don't think combining them into one draft is feasible
3:43
Largely because of the domestic high school/college decision. The soft slotting of the amateur draft allows high school kids to put numbers out to teams (usually before the picks are actually made) to decide whether they want to sign or go to school. The hard-slotting that you mentioned takes that flexibility away, which means you'd probably need to require the high schoolers to declare for the draft before they know where they'll be selected and what kind of bonus would be out there
3:44
Otherwise, a team could draft a high school player who thought he was going in the top 10 at pick 16 and then lose that player to college right away because they can't offer above slot
3:46
But the international draft would need to be hard-slotted because those kids don't have the same leverage. A 16-year-old from Venezuela isn't going to be able to negotiate up because he doesn't have the leverage of a Division I commitment (plus NIL money) as a fallback. So if you soft-slot for them, teams are going to lowball those kids because they're not bidding against one another and the player doesn't have anywhere else to go
Jerry Dipoto
3:46
Do you think Seattle ever brings the fences in? That ballpark is a killer for power and contact
Anthony Franco
3:47
I could see that eventually to try to get more power, but the higher strikeout rates at T-Mobile demonstrate that there's more going on there than the dimensions
3:48
Petriello's piece on this is a great read if you haven't checked it out already:
JeffyM
3:48
Atkins says any further additions will most likely come via trade.  The Jays still need someone to back up Kirk behind the plate and a DH, or an impact bat that can play the field and allow others to shuffle through DH.  Who could the Jays target, and which of their pieces might be attractive to other teams?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Could circle back on Justin Turner for the DH/corner infield role, wouldn't be expensive. Torkelson buy-low trade could happen, maybe Pavin Smith
3:52
I think they just like Heineman as the backup catcher. They've brought him in a couple different times and Atkins said pretty early in the offseason that he didn't consider that a need
Unqualified Reds Armchair GM
3:52
Does Gavin Lux breakout this year for the Reds?
Anthony Franco
3:54
I think he is what he is offensively, slightly above-average hitter. He'd be a lot more valuable if he had more defensive flexibility beyond second base. I imagine they'll give him some reps at third, but it's hard to tell where that'll go because the throwing accuracy has been so inconsistent throughout his career
JDP
3:54
The Athletics feel like a dark horse this year. Houston is trending the wrong way...Texas restocked but they're still coming off a bad year...Seattle didn't improve all that much...and LAA is still a ways away from being good. Could the A's be a WC?!
Anthony Franco
3:57
I still think they're a long shot and would have them fourth in the division. They deepened the rotation but the upside there is still pretty limited. The offensive core is coming into place, but it's a lot of young hitters and there'll be ups and downs (as they had with Gelof last year)
Jessica the fan
3:58
Is Rob going to lockout the players next CBA?
Anthony Franco
3:58
I expect the offseason lockout to be a thing during every set of negotiations for the foreseeable future
Will
3:59
What has been the best and worse move of the offseason so far in your opinion ?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Loved Boston's end of the Crochet trade. Liked the Rangers re-signing Eovaldi, obviously think the Tigers got great value on Flaherty based on what we predicted he'd get at the start of the offseason
4:01
Also, not an upgrade, but I think the Guardians make the right call in getting out from the Giménez contract when they did (especially with Brito on the doorstep and Bazzana not far behind)
4:04
Not a ton that I've hated. Don't like the A's value on Severino, but they were in a weird spot with the revenue sharing setup. The Reds using most of their budget on the Nick Martinez QO was meh. The Cardinals haven't made a single bad move because they haven't done anything at all
Head Scratching
4:05
Why did Tanner Scott get the contract that Nick Pivetta wanted? That's about the rate for a slightly above average STARTING pitcher and Scott has to be Rivera-esque in order to not be an overpay. Teams worried about the draft pick would do jumping jacks if their 3rd or 5th round pick developed into Tanner Scott, much less Nick Pivetta
Anthony Franco
4:06
That's not crazy money for a reliever, definitely doesn't have to be Rivera-esque to be worthwhile. He needs to be like 80% of Josh Hader or Edwin Díaz, which he probably is
4:07
I think most teams would disagree with your premise that a league average starter (or slightly above if you're bullish on Pivetta as an upside play) is more valuable than a top 5-10 reliever
4:09
The Dodgers almost certainly would. They don't put any emphasis on bulk innings in the rotation. That's enabled by their resources, but they also know they're almost certainly making the playoffs and chasing impact once October comes around. Scott fits that bill more than Pivetta
Cashman
4:09
Don't I have to sign Bregman or trade for Arenado? The 3B market for the next 2 years is pretty bare...
Anthony Franco
4:11
I wouldn't be thrilled with the acquisition cost on those players either, so I get why they've stayed away, but it's definitely suboptimal that they're just running it back with LeMahieu and Cabrera
4:12
I'm surprised that they didn't make more of an effort on Arenado for the short-term boost of a couple wins and just live with paying him $15MM in 2027 when they expect he'll be replacement level or whatever
Cubs Fan
4:12
Would PCA be a good leadoff hitter for the Cubs? Seems like he has speed and I think he would do good at getting on base.
Anthony Franco
4:14
Sticking with Happ at the top seems fine to me. Much higher OBP floor than PCA, who swings a ton and never really walked in the minors
4:15
I like PCA's overall game a lot, to be clear, but I'd feel better about him in the bottom half of the lineup
Orioles
4:15
The front office and fans really put a high value on their prospects, except in the Trevor Rogers trade. Do you see them making a big trade before April 1st?
Anthony Franco
4:15
Yeah I don't think their best playoff starter is currently on the roster
4:16
If they make the playoffs obviously. They're very good but they're not a lock before Opening Day
4:17
I'd push back against the prospect-hugging narrative a little bit. Agree that they've generally been protective of the young talent, especially this offseason, but they're one year removed from trading for Corbin Burnes
Guest
4:17
Is the padres starting catcher, for this year, currently on the roster?
Anthony Franco
4:18
Seems like it's Elias Díaz, at least for the first couple months
Arizona
4:18
What does the infield look like on April 10 and on July 10 in an ideal world? Does Lawlar get the benefit of his pedigree to make the Opening Day roster? Will he have forced Suarez or Perdomo in a lesser role by mid-summer? Will he be packaged with Montgomery to save the team money? Inquiring fantasy managers want to know!
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