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Front Office Chat: 3/2/26
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Anthony Franco
5:32
Yeah they've gotten extensions done with most of the young guys you'd project as core pieces. Too difficult to know what to do with Lawlar right now
5:33
Guess I'd throw Ryne Nelson in there as a possibility if they want to buy out his arb years to get a free agent year with a club option for a second. Beyond him and Gabby, not a whole lot
Michael
5:33
Why do you think Giolito is still out there?  He wasn’t bad last year.
Anthony Franco
5:35
He and Littell were both guys we were back and forth during the Top 50 prep as to whether they'd get multiple years. I wanted three years on Littell for a while but remember joking that he's a guy who either gets 3/30 by Thanksgiving or signs like 1/6 in February, no in between
5:36
Unfortunately for him, sure seems we're getting the latter
I assume Giolito wanted two at a strong AAV but teams preferred him at one based on the lack of whiffs and the end-of-season injury
who's on 1st
5:37
Sale a HofF'er? he dosnt hit the mark on some typical stats fans look at. But, His win%, war, K's, awards- good enough for me.
Anthony Franco
5:38
I think so but I also got a bunch of pushback in here for saying that deGrom would already be in the mix for me a couple weeks ago haha
5:39
I just think voters are going to move away from the counting stats and skew more heavily towards rate dominance for pitchers. No one is racking up innings, wins and total strikeouts the way they used to because teams use pitchers so much differently than they had even 10-15 years ago
Jamie Moyer
5:39
Is it better for a full rebuild to create a solid core and then add a few superstars, or go after superstars and then fill in?
Anthony Franco
5:40
Certainly I'd rather develop the superstars and build around them but that's much easier said than done
phillies1993
5:40
Who has the better rookie year, Andrew Painter or Justin Crawford?
Anthony Franco
5:41
More faith in Crawford for '26. Should have a longer leash -- Painter could theoretically be pushed out of the rotation by the end of April if Wheeler returns quickly -- and just looked more advanced last year in Triple-A
5:42
Still higher on Painter long term of the two but it could be a little slower burn with the command after the elbow cost him two years of development
Rockin out
5:42
Things feel pretty bleak in Colorado these days. What does a path to 70 wins look like for this group?
Anthony Franco
5:44
This year? I don't really see one. Would need Dollander and Feltner to both pitch at mid-rotation or better and big rebounds from Doyle/Tovar to even get close
MLBTR Fantasy Chats?
5:44
Hi Anthony, any word on when fantasy chats will begin for this season?
Anthony Franco
5:46
I asked Tim about this today and we are planning to do these again. I'm not sure about Nick Gaut's availability yet for when he's going to start scheduling those
Bill G
5:47
Please explain the insurance issues that affect a player's participation in the WBC.
Anthony Franco
5:48
Seems like whatever third-party insurer MLB and its teams are using is being far more risk averse than in years past about reimbursing teams for a portion of the player's contract if they suffer an injury during WBC play
5:50
So it then falls on teams to decide whether they want to let the player go anyway and assume that risk themselves (D-Backs are doing this with Carlos Santana, for instance). Darragh made this point on the podcast a few weeks ago, but a lot of their hesitation doesn't make much sense to me
5:52
Obviously teams don't want their players getting hurt but it's not like injuries are shut off during Spring Training. Intensity is higher in the WBC than in exhibition play obviously, but it's still a weird stumbling block for what is ultimately an MLB-driven tourney that serves as a good marketing event around the world
BhamBrave
5:52
Is Profar a deadline trade candidate, even if the Braves are winning? If Murphy comes back strong and Yaz is playing well, Profar seems a little superfluous.
Anthony Franco
5:53
I could see if all three players are doing well and they can swap Profar for a starter, but that's a lot of conditions before we get to that point
LFGM
5:54
I’m interested for dynasty fantasy reasons, but fun general baseball question, who do you think is a young SP that could take the leap to become an Ace this year, like Greene form Cin last year.
Anthony Franco
5:56
Greene was already great before last year so if you're looking for someone like that, I'd go with Eury Perez now that he's healthy again
5:58
Cam Schlittler's a tier below that in terms of command but has the kind of stuff to do it. Braxton Ashcraft remains my longer shot pick for this kind of jump with a full year as a starter
Skeptical
5:58
I’ve seen multiple prediction engines show the Braves as the second best team in the national league. I look at their pitching depth and I can’t help but disagree. Are the models living in 2023, or am I discounting them?
Anthony Franco
5:59
I'm lower on them than that as well. They're the #3 team in the East for me
RWB
5:59
Hi Anthony, thanks for the chat. Is there a chance Littell returns to TB?
Anthony Franco
6:00
Martinez and Matz both signed for rotation opportunities. Could make Littell work if he's looking at like $4M and go to a six-man with injury questions about McClanahan/Rasmussen
6:01
I think someone like the Angels or Padres make more sense but at some point, the money drops far enough that Tampa Bay would probably jump
Brad
6:01
Sent this in to the Podcast as well but...Routinely, it seems like the Yankees over value their prospects. We’ve seen this with the previous baby bombers (Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Greg Bird) that amounted to fringe MLB’ers. Outside of Judge (obviously) and arguably Severino, why does it seem like this is the same strategy they’re using for Dominguez? If he’s “the Martian” and out of this world, why not either trade him and get value or play him and see what you have in him instead of relegating him to a year over year bench spot?
Anthony Franco
6:02
That nickname definitely didn't do him any favors. He's talented but not some kind of generational prospect
6:03
Don't have any issue sending him back to Scranton to begin the season but do think they should be willing to dangle him or Jones at the deadline
Omar
6:04
Due to consistent lack of spending from about 5-7 teams, do you see those teams selling  if say the rumored $140M salary floor is agreed on?
Anthony Franco
6:06
Still highly doubt this happens because the floor only comes with a cap and Bruce Meyer appears to be a hardliner for the PA, but if it did, I assume it'd come with a dramatic uptick in revenue sharing that gets a lot of those lower spenders free money to work with
SAN DIEGO CHARGERS
6:07
Padres have a need for another catcher now to compete for the backup role. If you’re the GM, who is the first person you’re calling?
Guest
6:07
Are the Astros really content with Cesar Salazar as their #2?
Anthony Franco
6:09
Feel like the Astros should trade for Korey Lee back. That could work for San Diego too, I guess, but they're probably better off signing Christian Vazquez to an NRI rather than adding someone on a 40-man with Campusano out of options
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