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Front Office Chat: 3/7/25
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Anthony Franco
3:37
I'm pretty high on Texas. Think I'd have them second as well, but you can reasonably order the AL in a million different ways
O
3:38
Grant Holmes or Ian Anderson for the Braves 5th starter?
Anthony Franco
3:39
Seems like they'll both be in there to start with Strider on the IL. Of the two, I think Holmes has a better shot of holding a spot throughout the season
Baxter
3:39
Any chance the Backs can trade a CF (McCarthy or Thomas) or some formulation including a Jordan Montgomery salary dump to land a actual closer? If so, which teams and closers are the most likely or best matches?
Anthony Franco
3:43
Both in one trade? Probably not. Don't think anyone has that level of budgetary room to take a good chunk of the Monty contract at this point. Cleveland probably matches up best on paper -- deep bullpen, thin rotation, could use a CF who could push Lane Thomas to right -- but Monty would represent like 20% of their payroll
RAGBRAI
3:44
With a work stoppage in our near future, are players more or less likely to sign extensions and come next off season are FA more or less likely to sign early?
Anthony Franco
3:46
I don't know if really changes the decision whether to sign an extension -- they wouldn't get paid if the 2027 season gets banged either way -- but it'll change the way some of those deals are structured. Maybe some mid-level free agents opt for the loftiest one-year deal next winter rather than going for two years at a lower AAV
3:47
No coincidence that even on the Soto deal, they structured it so his '27 salary is lower than it is in any other year
Paging Dr. Lecter
3:47
Let’s say, just for argument’s sake, an epidemic of mumps, measles, or chicken pox hits the Dodgers and they don’t win the NL West. In your opinion, who does? And if not the Dodgers, which NL team goes to the World Series?
Anthony Franco
3:47
1. Diamondbacks
2. Phillies
Dave
3:48
Do you think White Sox are mainly looking for position  players or pitchers for Robert Jr ?  I would assume they want either with little or no MLB experience. Thanks Dave
Anthony Franco
3:51
They targeted position players back in the Crochet/Fedde trades, but they keep using their top picks on pitchers. Maybe that partially reflects what they consider the strength of their respective scouting staffs -- more confidence on the amateur side in pitching, vice versa amongst their pro scouts -- but the cliché (and likely true) answer is that they'll just take whomever they consider to be the most talented prospects they can
Alek Thomas
3:51
Am I in the final half season of relevance? Seems like I am about to become the next Pache if it doesn't click. Arizona has Pavin Smith and Randall Grichuk to replace me to say nothing of Barrosa and the rest further below. And it's not like any team is going to target me in a trade...
Anthony Franco
3:54
I've still got more confidence in Thomas' bat than I ever had with Pache. The latter's strike zone awareness has always been a huge issue. Thomas has plate discipline, bat-to-ball skills, and bat speed. His issue is getting the ball off the ground a little bit more
3:55
Doesn't mean he'll be able to fix it, but I'm willing to bet on that as a realistic adjustment for longer than I would be that Pache would suddenly learn how to diagnose breaking stuff
JBD
3:55
Any scheduled Fantasy Baseball chats with Nicklaus Gault?  Drafting is upon us.  Thanks.
GBS42
3:55
Hi, Anthony.  Are fantasy baseball chats returning, and if so, will they be back soon?  I have a couple of questions I'd like to get an expert's view on.
Anthony Franco
3:58
Just texted Tim about this. The plan was for Nicklaus to begin these next week but he recently suffered a wrist injury that may prevent him from being to able to type for a while. Not sure on the timeline, sorry
Small market problems
3:58
Do you think contracting the minor leagues and draft hurts small markets more (even if slightly) who have traditionally built competitive teams through prospect development?
Anthony Franco
4:00
I think the on-field effects are pretty marginal -- the vast majority of the players who would have taken those roster spots weren't going to come close to the majors -- but it probably deals a small hit to teams with strong player development systems
4:02
That doesn't directly correlate to small-market franchises though. There are certainly some (i.e. Rays, Guardians, Brewers), but the Dodgers and Yankees also have great player development systems and ownership groups that were willing to build out rosters for multiple affiliates
O
4:02
What role does Mike Soroka take on for the Nats? Starter? RP? SPARP?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Should begin the season as a starter but could kick to the bullpen midway through if his command doesn't improve relative to where it was last season
Who is Better?
4:03
Jake McCarthy or Lars Nootbar? Which would you prefer to have on your team in 2025 and beyond?
Anthony Franco
4:03
More of a Noot fan
Bryan
4:04
I like the Red starting rotation but I'm a bit concerned with the back end of their bullpen.  Does Alexis Diaz have a short leash and, if so, who could close for them if he blows up?
Anthony Franco
4:07
Yeah feels like he'll be on a short leash. Santillan might already be their best reliever, it's just a question of whether they'd want to take him out of leverage spots earlier in games. Taylor Rogers has plenty of closing experience. Moll and Suter give them enough left-handed depth that they could go with Rogers in the ninth
met fan
4:07
I saw a lot of talk about how the Mets were trapped in signing a veteran backup infielder because none of their position players had any options left.  The argument had to do with the need to pull up a replacement for a short-term (3-4 days) without the injured list.  If Alonzo gets a twisted ankle and misses 3 days, they can't pull up a minor leaguer.  Can you explain how it would be different if the backup infielder had options vs. no options?
Anthony Franco
4:11
If none of their position players can be optioned, they'd have less flexibility to promote a minor leaguer in response to a day-to-day injury.

In your example, they could put Alonso on the 10-day IL (which rules him out for longer than they expect he'd need to miss). They could  just play a man short for a few days, or they could send down a pitcher to carry an extra position player. So they could pull up a short-term replacement, yes, but it'd require them to run a 12-man pitching staff if they didn't want to put the injured player on the IL
4:12
If they wanted to call up a position player without sending down a pitcher or using the IL, they'd need to DFA one of the out-of-options players who is on the bench. If that player has at least three years of service (e.g. Iglesias), that player could become a free agent even if he went unclaimed on waivers
Reds fan Ryan
4:12
I don't think there is enough "hype", so to speak, about Chase Burns.  I know he isn't quite Paul Skenes, but I don't think he's to far off from that. He made his spring debut on Wednesday, pitching 1 inning,  and had 3K's and a walk.  Sure, it was minor leagues that he struck out, but he still looked really good. I believe he has 2 78-80 grade pitches.  He was consistently throwing 98-100 and has ridiculous rise to his fastball.  Do you think the Reds would use him in the bullpen come August if he's dominating in the minors and they are challenging for the division/playoffs?
Anthony Franco
4:16
I think we could see Burns this season, yeah. They called Lowder up within a year even when they weren't competing for a playoff spot. That was partially out of necessity due to injury, but if they're in the hunt and Burns is shoving, don't see why they wouldn't at least give him a look in the 'pen down the stretch
Trot
4:16
Could Cam Smith break camp with the big club?
Anthony Franco
4:17
I'd still be surprised but Chandler Rome (who's as plugged into the org as anyone on that beat) wrote last night that it's not out of the question if Walker starts the year on the IL
4:19
That was more informed speculation on Rome's part than substantive reporting that it's something the Astros are seriously considering right now, but he's clearly turning heads in camp
Deferrals
4:19
Why not have it count for the mystical $46M for the entire 20 years it’ll be paid out instead? Seems the fairest option regardless of team/player. Money is being paid that whole time, so the hit should be counted the whole time.
Anthony Franco
4:20
If you treat count it for $46MM annually for 20 years, you're treating it as a $920MM contract
4:21
They'd have negotiated a 10-year deal in the $500MM range instead. This would just kill the usage of deferrals, which you can argue for, but it's disadvantageous for both the player and team signing the deal
Fred
4:22
If Pete Rose gets reinstated will the HOF place him on the ballot or do they find a way to keep him off?
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