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Front Office Chat: 3/7/25
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Hey all, hope you've had a good week!
3:02
Looking forward to another of these, let's get rolling
O
3:02
I just heard a rumor that the Yanks were in on CES. Has there been any rumblings about this other than just on a random baseball blog?
Anthony Franco
3:04
I haven't seen anything serious on this. Even if the Yankees were interested, would be a weird time for the Reds to sell low on Encarnacion-Strand
Jordan Montgomery
3:04
Do I end up playing this year? If yes, do I block younger arizona pitching or help another team?
Anthony Franco
3:05
He's definitely going to play. Surprised they didn't pay down the bulk of the deal to send him to a team that needed a starter but it seems like he'll just begin the season in long relief for the D-Backs
Dano
3:05
Who's the favorite for the 5th starter job for the Dodgers?  Gonsolin?  May?  Someone else?
Anthony Franco
3:06
I'd guess Gonsolin with May in relief so they can keep an eye on his innings early in the season. They'll both end up starting games over the course of the year as injuries come up though
Joe
3:06
If Dominic Smith has a great pre season and Dominguez continues to struggle defensively, is there a chance the Martian starts the season in AAA and Smith is the opening day left fielder?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Smith hasn't played the outfield in four years. I can't see it
O
3:07
Does Ben Brown start the year in AAA?
Anthony Franco
3:08
Probably. It'd give them more flexibility in the bullpen, since Rea can work as the fifth starter. That'd allow them to carry Keller and Merryweather in lower-leverage relief
3:09
Don't think it'd be long before Brown pitches his way back up even if they try to stockpile all the veterans/out-of-options guys to begin the season
Curtis Mead
3:09
I am the flavor of the Month, but do I have a path to regular playing time in Tampa or do I need a trade?
Anthony Franco
3:12
He could just beat out Aranda at DH. Tough to bank on Brandon Lowe staying healthy all season too, which would open up second base. Don't think there's a spot in the true starting lineup for Mead right now, but they can bounce him around to make it work
HMM
3:12
The only thing that bugs me about deferred money especially to Ohtani , is When the money finally is paid to Ohtani,that should count against the luxury tax for the Dodgers in that year.At least some of it for God sake.Why isn't it?
Anthony Franco
3:14
If you do this, you'd need Ohtani to count for $2MM against the CBT for the next 10 years instead of the $46MM that MLB calculates as the NPV
3:15
That'd just incentivize more deferrals. The tax calculations use the AAV rather than per-year salary to deter teams from just kicking the tax hit down the road by backloading everything
Sandy A
3:15
What are the chances of me wearing a different uniform by opening day?  NYM, BOS, BAL, who else should be interested?
Anthony Franco
3:17
5%? I'm sure they're getting interest but they told Alcantara last summer that they weren't trading him before the start of the season. He'll go by the deadline though
Michael
3:17
Why do you think Turnbull is still available?  Pretty good in limited action last year?  Exorbitant contract demands?
Anthony Franco
3:20
Good pitcher but the injury history is alarming. Wouldn't have wanted to go two years on him. If he were looking for that or even Mike Soroka money (1/9), not really surprised that teams didn't bite. Still think he'll get a big league deal for a few million
Bob T
3:20
After watching 15 Angels’ games it is very obvious that having the worst rated farm system is not an exaggeration. There is little, if any position player depth. Pitchers all lack polish and most look the same as when they were drafted or acquired by trade. Almost halfway through the Spring and Moncada is still hitless. Coming off a horrible season why is he still there. I don’t see another team other than the Rockies  that can be worse than the Angels.
Next will be to see how they screw up the second pick in the draft. They desperately need OFs.
Anthony Franco
3:21
They'll be better than the White Sox but yeah, the lack of position player depth is an issue for what feels like the 15th year in a row
otispdriftwood
3:22
With his (so far) excellent spring, is J Suwinski creating a larger role/PT for 2025? It wasn't that long ago he hit 26 HRs and the Pirates OF - outside of Reynolds and Cruz isn't all that... Love to hear your thoughts!
Anthony Franco
3:23
Path is definitely there for him. Pham's kind of a low bar to clear at this stage of his career. The Horwitz injury opens up first base early in the season
3:25
Depends on his performance obviously. The strikeouts are always going to be a thing. He had a huge spike in grounders last year and lost five points off his hard contact rate. If he's going to make the three-true-outcomes approach work, he needs to turn that around. But I think he'll get early run at first base to try to make that happen
otispdriftwood
3:25
I'm reading lots of love for AJ PuK - including some prognosticators looking for a decent amount of saves. I guess I will broaden this and ask about Puk in AZ, Tinley in Colorado, and Tinoco in Miami. Are these guys going to close games for their clubs?
Anthony Franco
3:26
I think Puk will but Kinley and Tinoco probably not
Clarence Odbody
3:27
I know there is no way to know the true answer, but what percentage of the rumors that you read from the major journalists MLBTR consider respectable enough to follow are 100% fabrications - planted by an agent or front office?  (Not the noise from everywhere, just the highly visible reporters.)  Maybe you can't give a number but I assume this is something you discuss internally all the time and I'd love to hear some reflections on common you think the practice is.
Anthony Franco
3:31
Wouldn't use the term fabrications but most of the reports about "Team X being involved on Player Y" are going to come from agents, who have an incentive to overstate interest. It may be technically true that, say, 10 teams have called on a certain free agent, but most of those are probably expressing cursory interest without a serious pursuit
Fred
3:31
Prediction- Jung Hoo Lee will be the Giants team mvp this season.
Anthony Franco
3:32
Could see it if you're talking position players only. I'd take Logan Webb as their most valuable player overall
Joe
3:32
D. Smith is playing left field today FWIW.
Anthony Franco
3:33
No harm in getting him run out there in Spring Training. Don't think they'd do it when the games count though
Bill
3:33
Should Atlanta give Baldwin a shot or sign an "experienced" vet?
Anthony Franco
3:35
I'd go with Baldwin or select Curt Casali's contract if they think Murphy will be back in two weeks. Signing McCann or Grandal to a major league deal doesn't make much sense to me
Gavin
3:36
Cease, Campusano and Bateman to the O's for Basallo and Povich.   who says no
Anthony Franco
3:36
Baltimore
Youkilyptus
3:36
The Athletic power rankings had the Yankees and Rangers as the top two teams in the AL.  Isn’t Texas behind Boston and Baltimore?
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