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Front Office Chat: 3/20/26
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Good afternoon, hope all is well!
3:02
News is starting to pick up and we're a little behind schedule to finish the Offseason Review Series before Thursday, so I'll have to keep this one around an hour
Let's get it going
Save harry the K’s
3:02
Justin Crawford hasn’t exactly hit the cover off the ball this spring. What are the chances we see more Marsh in CF and Kemp/someone else in left if that continues?
Anthony Franco
3:04
I assume Crawford's got at least two months as an everyday player before the Phillies go there. Marsh is a little stretched in center, they don't have any great alternatives in left, and Crawford doesn't get much out of going back to Triple-A
3:05
Can argue they should've been more aggressive in shoring up the outfield depth but they weren't, and it some point, they do need to give Crawford to work through things at the MLB level
Gavin
3:05
Preller has to trade for a starter right?  Or is content riding the elite bullpen til Musgrove and Canning are ready?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Yeah just have to ride it out for a while. Hopefully Canning's back at some point in May. Tough to see any notable starters getting dealt at this point. Most teams are holding out some hope of contention and the few that aren't basically don't have pitching to offer
Albert P
3:07
Can Jordan Walker be fixed  AF ?
Anthony Franco
3:09
Can't see much reason for optimism there anymore. He's still young and was good up through Double-A but we're four years removed from that now with no real progress on the swing-and-miss or elevated ground ball rates
Ron
3:09
please rank the following back end starters for this year (nl league only). Marquez urquiddy roupp
Anthony Franco
3:09
Roupp, big gap, Urquidy, Márquez
Mers Man
3:10
Should I be concerned with Mark Vientos and his like 1 for 40 (wbc included)?
Anthony Franco
3:11
Nah he's been overaggressive but it's a total of 13 games between Spring Training and the WBC. He'll be fine
3:12
Doesn't really have a position and the strikeouts are always going to be an issue, so he's certainly a flawed player, but I still feel good about him hitting 25-30 homers if he gets a full season of playing time
Lo siento wilson
3:12
Which rule 5 picks look set to make a roster?
Anthony Franco
3:14
Good sign for Daniel Susac that the Giants optioned Jesús Rodríguez. Roddery Muñoz should have a spot in the Houston bullpen. Peyton Pallette and Carter Baumler have each pitched well this spring, feels like they should be safe
3:16
Griff McGarry and Jedixson Paez haven't been great but the White Sox and Nationals should be fine carrying them anyway. RJ Petit's going on Colorado's injured list
3:17
I'd be surprised if Ryan Watson, Zach McCambley, Spencer Miles (Jays would still need to carry last year's Rule 5 Angel Bastardo too because he was hurt) or Cade Winquest make it. Could go either way on Matt Pushard
Rick
3:17
Do you expect Colt Keith to step in up this year take over third base in a non-platoon role?
Anthony Franco
3:18
Wouldn't expect him to be an everyday player but he should be good against RHP and I think being "only" a plus lefty platoon bat is fine
3:20
The average lefty hitter last year hit .230/.299/.365 against left-handed pitching. That's terrible! There aren't many lefty hitters who are better than a righty bench bat would be in those spots
RoxTalks
3:20
Agree with the Rockies’ “large pitching arsenal” approach? Gotta be able to command all of your pitches in Denver, so the big arsenals might backfire if Quintana and Lorenzen can’t control their pitches.
Anthony Franco
3:22
I'm not expecting it to go well but that's true of any starters they would have signed at the prices for which they added Lorenzen, Quintana and Sugano. Wouldn't have been optimistic about Zack Littell there either
3:23
Broadly speaking, if you're limited to pitchers who don't have bat-missing stuff (which they are for financial, competitive and ballpark reasons), I like the idea of at least getting guys comfortable with kitchen sink arsenals who can try to win off deception for their first time or two through the order
Jays Fear
3:23
I'm not usually a Chicken Little type but I've got a creeping feeling that last year was lightning in a bottle for the Jays. With all the pitching injuries, Springer another year older, the loss of Bo, getting nothing at all from Santander etc... plus Boston and Baltimore looking much improved, it feels like there's a real chance they go like 83-78 and finish 4th in the division. How do you think the AL East shakes out?
Anthony Franco
3:25
I'd have them third behind Boston and the Yankees but there are thin enough margins between the top four -- don't even think the Rays are bad necessarily, but a tier below the other four -- that it's more so just about how difficult that division is on an annual basis
3:26
Also the Central looks terrible again and it's pretty easy to see the downside for anyone in the West aside from Seattle (and even they'd be in some trouble if they lose two starters to injury) that I imagine the East is getting at least three playoff teams again
JR
3:26
I forgot to include my name.  Is Lucas Giolito going to be signed before Opening Day?
Doug Ault
3:27
What is Giolito waiting for?  I dont believe the offers will get any better unless more Blue Jays pitchers go down..
Anthony Franco
3:28
Maybe he's awaiting an in-season injury, I don't know. Clearly it's not going to be a strong deal for him whenever it happens, and he's going to need at least a few weeks in the minors
Ludwig’s New Glove
3:29
Should Braves fans stop hyperventilating for a bit and just keep hoping for a mid season trade for starting pitching? Clearly the brass wasn’t high on anyone in the off season. Gotta get someone though, right?
Anthony Franco
3:29
That has to be the plan but obviously they're running a risk that the early-season pitching situation is bad enough that it puts them too far behind the eight ball before the deadline
3:30
Really need JR Ritchie to be good right away
3:31
I can't see any argument for not having him on the MLB roster right away with where they're at. Losing Bryce Elder or José Suárez on waivers is not a big deal, those guys shouldn't be pitching for a contender
Is it just me...
3:32
Everyone is bending over backwards for Cal Raleigh as the best catcher in baseball by a country mile. yes. He had a great year and he's one of the best. But his average OPS for the 3 years before 2025 was lower than about 4 other people. He went from hitting 30 to 60 home runs. Either last year was an outlier or the previous 3 years were. He's great. But he's not "I have no competition" great, don't you think?
Anthony Franco
3:32
He's coming off an all-time season so I don't really see the argument that he's not the best catcher in MLB right now. He was already a top five catcher before last year
3:34
I agree that there's not an astronomical gap between Raleigh and Will Smith (at least on a rate basis, though the Dodgers give Smith a lot more time off than Raleigh takes) but there's definitely a tier break after #1
Little Texas
3:34
Does Cutch make the opening day as a Ranger.
What’s going on with Joc Pederson in Texas, how do you go from being really good 2 years ago to now not being able to hit. Is it mental or all physical.
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