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Front Office Chat: 3/8/24
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Anthony Franco
4:00
Good afternoon everyone, hope all is well!
4:01
Looking forward to another of these as we approach the regular season, let's get going
Jay
4:01
Tanner Scott not looking too hot (72ERA 11 WHIP) could  Nardi take the closer role for Marlins? Thanks
Anthony Franco
4:03
I don't think Scott's in danger of losing the job before Opening Day but if his strike-throwing is anywhere close to as bad as it has been in ST, he'd get bumped from the ninth pretty quickly into the season
4:04
It's three exhibition games, so I'm not sweating it yet, but five walks on 14 batters faced is obviously not tenable over the long run, and Scott never consistently threw strikes until last year
Question Mark
4:04
Although it is a small sample size, it looks like Colorado shortstop Tovar is tearing it up in Spring Training.  Many prognosticators seemed to write him off for this coming season.  He seemed to me to be pretty dang good last year for a very young player and in a park that inflates offensive numbers.  Do you see him becoming a notable offensive player this year?
Anthony Franco
4:06
Not really. I think he'll make more contact than he did as a rookie but I'd guess he's still a below-average offensive player overall. It's tough to be a consistently good hitter when you chase as often as Tovar does
4:08
I think you're hoping for some José Iglesias type seasons. Plus shortstop defense and enough contact to hit for a somewhat empty batting average. Tovar's probably never going to have the level of bat-to-ball that Iglesias did at his peak, but he's also not a guy I'd expect to strike out 27% of the time moving forward
The Votto Lotto
4:08
Does Votto break camp with the Jays?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Vogelbach's off to a strong start this spring but yeah, I don't think the Jays would've signed Votto if they didn't anticipate carrying him instead of Vogey
Dano
4:09
Who has the best, deepest bullpen right now?
Anthony Franco
4:11
This is a good one. Braves and Mariners are the first ones that come to mind, although the "right now" caveat could cut against Seattle with Santos, Brash and Kowar all banged up. They're so good at full strength, though
Minnesota's bullpen is sneaky good too
Brian Cashman
4:12
Let's say Hal gives me $550M to sign players next off-season (essentially what Soto could get).  Is it better to sign Soto for $550MM or Burnes and Fried for ($290MM and $260MM respectively).  I think a 3 headed monster of Cole/Burnes/Fried (coupled with Rodon if he can get back on track!) is better than a lineup with Soto. What do you think?
Anthony Franco
4:13
I'd take the under on 260 for Fried. Would take the under on 290 right now for Burnes as well, but I could see him getting there if he has another Cy Young caliber platform year
4:15
To the general question, though, I'd rather have Soto. You'd be spreading that 550 out over 10-12 years instead of the next 7-8 for the pitchers, so it'd afford you more flexibility in the short term. And I'd rather just bet on the MVP-caliber hitter in his mid-20s who doesn't have the kind of injury concern associated with any pitcher
Ryan
4:15
As an autograph collector in Syracuse i like the chance to get those guys trying to keep it going in the minors. Do you see Eddie Rosario making opening day roster? If not do you see him going to Rochester or does he have an opt out?
Anthony Franco
4:16
It's probably a camp battle between Eddie and Winker for one spot as a lefty-hitting outfielder. I'd lean towards Rosario but don't think it's a lock he makes the team out of camp
4:18
He's an Article XX free agent -- essentially a player who reached free agency by virtue of having six years of MLB service and finished last season on an MLB roster. Those guys have three automatic opt-out dates under the CBA: five days before Opening Day, 5/1 and 6/1
Automatic opt out dates on minor league deals, to be clear
4:19
So he would have the chance to opt out if he's not on the team, but it's not uncommon to see those guys bypass the first one. Particularly since he got a late start in camp, he could go to Rochester for a month and then opt out at the start of May if he's still not called up
Andrew Friedman
4:19
What's my plan for next free agency? Fill in holes and spend big on a starting pitcher? Does the Guggenheim Group allow me to keep committing $500MM+ next off-season again??
Anthony Franco
4:21
I'd guess they scale it back a little bit over the next couple offseasons. Probably one big SP contract -- bringing Buehler back perhaps -- but I think they viewed this offseason as an anomalous opportunity to sign two uber-talented and unique free agents and trade for a potential ace who was happy to sign an extension because he's a West Coast guy
John B
4:21
Looking like Ahmed might be SF opening day shortstop. How do you see that working?
Anthony Franco
4:22
Not much better than it did at the end of his time in Arizona
4:23
Loved watching Ahmed at his peak, unreal defensive shortstop. I think he's still a plus defender and a great guy to have in the clubhouse, but he should be a defensive specialist off the bench for a team with playoff aspirations at this stage of his career
Pitchers drive me nuts
4:23
Ooops. The pitchers I'd like you to rank are:
Garrett Whitlock, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibbee, Bryce Miller, Brayan Bello
Anthony Franco
4:25
I love Bibee, he's at the top for me. Kind of a cluster after that but I'd go Williams, Miller, Bello, Whitlock from there
Free Agents
4:26
Will each of Belt, Pham, and Duvall get major league deals at this point?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Man...
4:27
I mean, they should, but I don't know that I'd bet on Pham or Duvall getting one with how cold the market has been for mid-level hitters lately
HalfHoping
4:28
Hi, Anthony. What percentage odds would you give to the Nationals finishing third in the NL East? How about fourth?
Anthony Franco
4:29
Pretty slim on third. Steve and I were talking about this the other day, but we both think the Nats roster is pretty close to what the A's are going to run out there, which isn't inspiring
4:30
I'd give them like a 25% chance of jumping the Marlins for fourth and, idk, 5% of getting above the Mets too for third place
Jung Bong Jovi
4:30
I know it's spring training, but is there a chance that David Fletcher could get a decent chunk of playing time at short this year?  Arcia struggled a bit towards the end of the year, but maybe I'm reading into that too much.
Anthony Franco
4:33
I don't see it happening in the first month of the season, but yeah, that downside is present with Arcia. As you mentioned, he wasn't great in the second half and generally wasn't expected to be an average or better everyday shortstop going into the year
4:34
I don't think Fletcher's a regular either, but if Arcia's sitting on a 70 wRC+ through six weeks, they could rotate Fletcher or Guillorme in there and hope for a little better
Oracle Seagull
4:35
This RSN debacle has taken a slice of the pie of MLB revenues that will never be replaced.  That slice of $ was not only for this FA class but is also for players currently under guaranteed contract.  Shouldn't one of Montgomery or Snell take the best traditional long term guarantee contract they can get?  Maybe have options that vest or escalators for performance + health.   There's no guarantee everything is back to normal in 2024-25 and the Boras strategy to "wait" has the potential again not work.  Both these guys with the same agent in this most atypical of scenarios seems less than ideal.
Anthony Franco
4:37
You're right that the RSN stuff isn't going away, so they can't count on this being a complete blip, but they'll probably feel that next offseason brings the Mets and Red Sox back into play as legitimate spenders. Maybe the Orioles dive in with new ownership, Cardinals are going to need SP again
4:39
It depends on what's out there right now, but I generally agree that both of these guys should've been trying to max the guarantee basically all winter. They probably were and just overplayed it.

If Monty could still get $120MM or something, he should take it. If it's down to sub-100, might as well try again next winter
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