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Front Office Chat: 3/15/24
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey everyone, hope you're all well. Looking forward to another chat this week, let's get rolling
Erik
3:01
How much does the Dylan Cease acquisition move the needle for the Padres. Does it help them go from playoff wannabees to legit wild card contenders?
TheBeatlesShow
3:01
Thanks once more, Anthony.  First, a side note.  With the 'opener' happening on March 20th, that means the baseball season is actually starting in Winter.  But, besides that, what are the chances in the Padres, if they don't contend, turning around and dealing Dylan Cease at the deadline?  (And what are the chances of them contending now?)
Anthony Franco
3:02
A few questions about Cease so I'll start there, Padres angle first
3:03
Yes, I think it puts them more firmly in the Wild Card mix. I considered them a borderline Wild Card team to begin with -- there's still a lot of top-end talent and the one-run game thing from last year should normalize -- but addressing one of the bigger issues on the roster with an upper mid-rotation arm should add another two or three wins
3:05
Cease could be back on the market this summer, but I think they'd need to be way out though. They didn't sell last year at a time when there was a pretty strong argument they should have. For better or worse, this front office doesn't like to give up on a season
Padre Jonathan
3:05
Preller actually did something. Drinks are on me ... The obvious next question is addressing one more spot in the OF. Because SD is taking on $8M for Cease, I feel they should spend a bit more from the farm for a cheap outfielder. Frelick still feels realistic. If Preller wants to leave the $13M in space left for the August deadline, seems better to keep trading at this point. Thoughts? FWIW, Pham was a bust for the Padres before. Even a cheaper Pham still feels like a bad move for us.
Anthony Franco
3:07
Tough for me to see Milwaukee moving Frelick, particularly if they're serious about him as a viable infielder. He might end up being their primary third baseman. I wouldn't be all that excited about Pham either, but I find that a lot more likely than a big trade for a pre-arbitration regular like Frelick or Jarren Duran
thorpe
3:07
He was alongside King as the headline to get Soto, now he's the headliner for Cease. How good is he?
cease
3:07
did the Sox really wait this long to deal Cease for only one top 100 prospect? What did you think of the return for them
Anthony Franco
3:09
I was underwhelmed by it on first glance. Tim discussed this further in the mailbag this week and made the case that it fits pretty well with other starters with two years of remaining control, so I'm not as down on it as I was initially
3:11
I don't have strong takes on the prospects beyond what BA, FanGraphs, Keith Law, etc. say about them. Zavala seems like he's already kind of trending in the wrong direction because of the strikeouts. Thorpe is generally viewed as a decent mid-rotation changeup specialist
3:12
Iriarte is kind of the x-factor. If he develops as a strike-thrower and becomes a 2/3 caliber starter, the Sox come out well here. If that doesn't happen and he ends up in the bullpen or as a inefficient starter, it'll be underwhelming
Spaghetti Marinera
3:12
If you could be a fly on the wall during conversations between Scott Boras and his unsigned clients, what do you think you’d be hearing?
Anthony Franco
3:13
Boras preaching patience
3:14
And bemoaning how owners haven't been nearly as bold as he expected/wanted this year
Pip
3:14
The AL West is much improved, and with Cole going down, do you think it more likely that we have all three wild cards from the west?
Anthony Franco
3:14
I do not. Angels aren't a playoff threat for me
3:16
I think it increases the Wild Card odds for one of Minnesota/Detroit a little bit, but it's probably more so just opening the door a little wider for whichever AL East team (potentially still including the Yankees) finishes second
Sully
3:16
AL-only, QS + 0.5W instead of wins.  Who's my last keeper?  McKenzie $5, Crawford $3, France $3, or Woo $1?
Anthony Franco
3:16
I'd take Woo
3:17
I assume these are Kutter Crawford and J.P. France, not the Mariners infielders, but it wouldn't change my answer anyways
Farhan
3:17
Cancelled Correa’s contract because of known injuries. Cut JD before the season despite his production. Am I the most ruthless execution in baseball?
Anthony Franco
3:19
Most? I don't know. The Mets also canceled a Correa deal because of the physical obviously. I think Farhan's part of a larger trend of front office leaders who are very value-oriented. He's up there but I wouldn't consider him unique
Boras vs GM’s
3:19
Do you think FO’s collude against Scotty boy? It would be in their best interest to freeze him out on his worst clients
Anthony Franco
3:20
No
3:22
I think there's probably a growing collection of owners who express dissatisfaction with Boras the way that Tom Ricketts did, and maybe some of them are getting wiser to his "directly appeal to ownership to bypass front office skepticism" play, but I do not believe they're actively conspiring in violation of the CBA to keep prices down
Joe
3:22
How serious are the Yankees about Lorenzen or was it just a case of Jon Heyman connecting the Yankees to every FA to ever exist?
Anthony Franco
3:23
It's not like Heyman said anything was close, merely that they'd checked in with Lorenzen's camp. I don't see why they wouldn't be involved. They need a fifth starter and still seem reluctant to pay what it'd take for Snell/Monty
bill
3:23
Does Duvall signing indicate dwindling faith in Kelenic?
Anthony Franco
3:24
To some extent. It's not a great sign that AA is already walking back his "we're not platooning Kelenic" comments within like a month
3:25
But they also love Duvall and he's good value at $3MM. Red Sox miscast him as an everyday center fielder, but he's a productive MLB outfielder making less than the kind of money they took on to buy a depth reliever in Ray Kerr and an infielder who's not even a lock to make the team in David Fletcher
Andy Friedman
3:25
“Dodgers clearly prefer Lux over Mookie at SS” That didn’t age well
Betting on Mookie
3:25
Last insider chat someone asked why LA doesn’t move Lux to 2nd and Mookie to SS. You responded along the lines of “Dodgers clearly prefer Lux at SS” then you ended the chat to write up that exact move. Do you ever feel silly so quickly after expressing wrong contrarian opinions?
Anthony Franco
3:26
Of course. Pretty sure this happened with a Yankee question a few months ago where someone asked what they'd do in the outfield and they traded for Juan Soto like two hours after I guessed Bellinger or whoever
3:27
It's an occupational hazard. I'd love to be right about everything, it's not going to happen
mlbfan
3:27
Given that he's injured again, do the guardians keep espino on the 40 man this offseason or cut him. Doesn't seem like two shoulder surgeries is something you can come back from
Anthony Franco
3:29
I'd guess they keep him around for another offseason at least. Teams tend to be so reluctant to give up on those guys who once showed huge potential. Even if the Guardians don't think he's a viable starter anymore -- and I don't see how they could -- they'll probably hold out hope for him making an impact out of the bullpen
The Astros have kept Forrest Whitley around forever. Miami still hasn't given up on Sixto Sánchez even though they probably should have
Ryan Redleg
3:29
Do you think Michael A Taylor signs for 5 to 7 million since it's so close to opening day?  If so, what's stopping the Reds from signing him?
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