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Front Office Chat: 3/10/25
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Anthony Franco
4:14
He has hit well enough that the deal would be fine even if they moved him to first base right away. The issues they've had with his defense are weird, though. It's not like they didn't know that he was a bat-first catcher or that they had Iván Herrera waiting in the wings
Rays Ownership Troubles
4:15
If MLB were to get its way and have the Rays sold, do you think they would allow a new city to make a legit run at collecting them? Say a Nashville or Charlotte? I'm thinking in a four year window, Rays move to Charlotte, White Sox move to Portland, Athletics move to Las Vegas, Nashville and Salt Lake get expansion teams. Not sure how divisions would need to change as a result, but that would be a large amount of new cities for the sport. Can't really be any worse than the 2025 season with Chicago horrendous again, Athletics and Rays playing minor league baseball and no games in major metro areas.
Anthony Franco
4:17
Drellich's report makes it seem like MLB's interest is in making sure that ownership is stable enough to keep them in Central Florida (which aligns with everything Manfred has said publicly)
It'd probably make the Orlando effort more realistic but it doesn't seem like MLB wants them moving to Nashville or Charlotte
David Robertson
4:18
What is going on with me? I hear Arizona is wonderful this time of year.
Anthony Franco
4:18
Sensible fit
davealden53
4:18
After Wilyer Abreu recovers from his illness, is there a path for Trayce Thompson to remain on the Red Sox?
Anthony Franco
4:20
Carrying him and Refsnyder is pretty redundant. Thompson's having a monster spring but he's going to be 34 and has over 1000 career plate appearances that suggest he's a Quad-A type
Grimace
4:21
Do the Mets attempt a James McCann reunion or give Yasmani a call?
Anthony Franco
4:22
Guess I'd rather have McCann of those two but I'd probably just call up Reetz and wait to see which catchers on minor league deals elsewhere opt out at the end of camp
ZacharyA
4:22
Can you guesstimate what a Jazz Chisholm Jr. contract extension would look like?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Off the cuff answer is that he feels like he's close to the Tommy Edman range. Edman got four/64.5 in new money (albeit with some deferrals) a year from free agency. Jazz is two years away from FA but he's younger with more power so he's got a better chance to get to five years and push above 80
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:26
Would Brett Baty and Nolan McLean be enough to land Alcantra?
Anthony Franco
4:27
I doubt it. Fish would need to really love Baty to do that
Med Student
4:27
Is there any documented medical evidence that Ohtani's elbow blowing out a third time could NOT be fixed with another TJS? I understand 3 is a lot, but has it ever not been done or medically been proven that he would struggle to open a mailbox when he's 55 years old (for example)?
Anthony Franco
4:31
Basically just that it has never been done. Jonny Venters got back to the majors after three TJS procedures but did so as a single-inning reliever (and obviously didn't have any wear and tear from hitting). It's becoming more common for guys to return from a second Tommy John but three has still be pretty close to a career killer
Joe schlobotnik
4:31
Injuries are piling up, especially with the Yankees and Orioles. Boston has relatively few injuries, and only Sandoval out beyond mid-April. Does that tilt the division in the Bosox’s favor?
Anthony Franco
4:32
Maybe nudges their odds up by a couple percentage points but it's a long season and the Sox have a ton of injury risk in their own rotation
Dave
4:32
It seems that Luis Robert, Jr is back to good health this spring.  What do you think it would take for Dodgers to acquire him? Say B. Miller, A. Pages, A. Freeland, and N. Frasso?   Thanks Dave
Anthony Franco
4:35
I think if the Dodgers were willing to include all four of those guys, Chicago would have jumped on it. One of Pages or Freeland as a headliner right now seems reasonable. Robert could play his way into making both realistic at the deadline but it's too much without seeing how he plays in the first half
Cat Herder
4:35
Thoughts on Detroit's rotation?  If it's Mize, does Maeda go to the 'Pen or is he dangled for trade?  Any dark horses you see joining those two?
Anthony Franco
4:36
I'll stick with Mize and assume Maeda ends up in long relief. Hurter was probably my favorite of the longer shot guys entering camp but Mize and Maeda have each pitched well enough so far that I imagine they'll stay 5/6 in some order to start the season
Next Gen Natitude?
4:37
As a Nats fan I'm trying to figure out my expectations for the season. The rotation has a lot of solid depth (but they all look like #3-#5 starters), the defense should certainly be better (although the team needs Abrams to improve and 3b is a mess), and the lineup should be better, too (although Ruiz is still there and, again, 3b is a mess). My optimist self says .500 is achievable, even in the NL East. My pessimist says it could all go south and end up with another 71 win season (or even worse). How do you see the 2025 Nats?
Anthony Franco
4:38
Yeah you much summed up where I'm at on them. Feels like a mid-70s win team to me, which would have both 71 and 81 within the realistic range of outcomes. Still think they're a year away but they should be prepared to make a splash (ideally for a top-end starter) next offseason to make a real push for a playoff spot in '26
Dana Brown
4:39
If I offer Victor Caratini for Ronny Maucio would David Stern accept? Gets more money off the CBT for us and I get a playrr
Anthony Franco
4:40
I like Caratini and think he'd be a good #1 catcher but I'd be floored if the Mets gave up five years of control over Mauricio for him
AJ Preller
4:40
Who will be in my starting rotation on Opening Day 2026?
Anthony Franco
4:42
Haha I have no idea. Musgrove, Pivetta, Darvish, Tyler Mahle and Mike Soroka?
Western skies
4:42
Drake Baldwin has said Leon was a great mentor. If Baldwin makes the opening day roster, do you think the Braves bring Leon along as the backup until Murphy returns?
Anthony Franco
4:44
Carrying both would mean cutting Tromp, who they seem to like. León's probably easier to stash at Triple-A
Kevin in Dallas
4:44
Who will be the Rangers closer.
Anthony Franco
4:44
I'll take Martin
Jay
4:44
Nick Deeds just wrote a great piece looking at the arguments for and against the Phillies extending Kyle Schwarber now. The poll results at the bottom are fairly split (with "against" currently ahead). Where do you stand on the issue?
Anthony Franco
4:46
I'd be open to it. If he's looking at something like the Teoscar Hernández deal, I think it's worthwhile. They run huge payrolls, have a decent amount of money coming off the books, would only get minimal compensation if he rejects the QO and walks
4:47
Seems like they're going to wait it out with Ranger Suárez (and probably acquired Luzardo to replace if Painter stays healthy). I'd be much more inclined to extend Schwarber than jump a year early to lock Realmuto back up
baseball gods laugh and laugh
4:48
Do Baty or Acuña have a real chance to be the utility IF to start the season?
Anthony Franco
4:49
Acuna, sure. Baty can't play shortstop so he's not a good fit for that role. Feels like Acuna's more likely to be a long-term utility piece anyways, whereas Baty should be playing every day in Triple-A if there's no path to MLB at-bats
Pitch framing importance
4:49
While stating on this site that McCann is not a good idea as a sub for Alvarez because of poor pitch framing abilities, someone posted that is a fringe thing for a catcher. I disagreed and stated the need is real for the Mets and gave one example Senga. Do you consider pitch framing abilities when predicting catching free agent contracts?
Anthony Franco
4:51
Definitely plays a role, though it might be a little less valuable in future offseasons with the challenge system probably coming into play by 2026 or '27. Those metrics can be pretty volatile year to year, but if a catcher has a multi-year track record of excelling in that regard, it's a big part of his FA case
4:54
Catcher defense generally is huge but kind of nebulous because a lot of it is "how much do pitchers like working with this guy?" Teams have a better feel for that than we can from the outside, but by the time catchers have enough experience to get to free agency, they usually have a general positive/negative reputation for the soft skills part of that position
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