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Front Office Chat: 4/14/23
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Anthony Franco
4:38
At the same time, the Cubs are free to have their own evaluation of players. It's not like they sat on their hands. They signed Dansby for more than twice the money and added a bunch of veterans on shorter-term deals. They shouldn't sign a player they're not enamored with to a top-of-the-market deal just because he played for them
Blank Frank
4:38
Curious about your projections for Muncy. Is he finally "fixed?"
Anthony Franco
4:39
He's striking out more than he did at his peak and will probably hover around the Mendoza line, but he's going to draw a boatload of walks and hit for enough power that he's a very good version of the "three true outcome" hitter
4:40
I think he's a lot closer to himself from 2018-21 than he is to last year's version
John B
4:40
Hi, thanks for the chat. A stat that doesn't get a lot of notice is RISP, but to me it's one of the most meaningful in the game. Who can get a hit when it counts and who can not. Would you agree?
Anthony Franco
4:42
Depends on what we're using it for. If we're looking back on a player's season and trying to assign credit, then yeah, I think there's value to that. Not all hits are created equal and coming through in clutch situations is a big factor in whether your team wins or loses
4:44
I wouldn't use it as a predictive measure though. The correlation on that kind of thing is going to be pretty small year over year. It's about a quarter to a third of most hitters' plate appearances. When you're talking about 150-200 at-bats, there can be a lot of variability in whether your batted ball finds a glove. Flares that drop in or scorching line drives hit right at someone are magnified in smaller samples in a way they're not over a full season
4:46
So I think it's a perfectly valid thing to point to in retrospect if you're debating who should win an MVP. But I'm not any more bullish on Isiah Kiner-Falefa this year (as one example) just because he hit .324 with runners in scoring position last season
4:47
Here's the leaderboard on that by the way
Lefty
4:47
Is Javy Báez worth a gamble if Tigers pick up half the bill? He’s erratic but dynamic. Could you see bring rich team like Giants making a play ?
Anthony Franco
4:48
I don't see it. He's due $120MM over the next five years (including this season). Even discounting the slim possibility he opts out after this season if he gets scorching hot, I wouldn't want to drop $60MM on him right now
4:50
If he were a free agent, I think he'd be looking at one or two year prove-it deals. He's reached base at a .271 clip in 635 plate appearances as a Tiger. That's just not cutting it even with good defense and flashes of game-breaking power
Dan
4:50
Their is a team that has 3 good catchers, what would cards have give up to get one
Anthony Franco
4:52
Not sure which team you're referring to. The Blue Jays were this club over the winter but they traded Gabriel Moreno
4:53
Cardinals aren't going to make a trade for a #1 catcher immediately after signing Contreras though. Have to give him a lot more time than two weeks
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:53
How long will the Mets try to put off bringing up (and playing!) their prospects? The lineup 6-9 needs help.
Anthony Franco
4:54
I'd be surprised if Baty isn't up within a week or two. Not sure what more they need to see from him
Guest
4:54
Please rank these OFers for ROS in a league where Ks are -1, and walks are .5. I have room for two: Ruiz, Hays, Friedl, Marsh, Kepler.
Fantasy rook
4:54
Head to head with strikeouts is minus one. Deep league to outfielders for the rest of the season: marsh, Ruiz, Hays, Cordero, McCormick? I can play 2. So, thinking points, but also regularity.
Anthony Franco
4:55
I assume these are from the same person. I like Hays and Chas 1-2
Bryce Harper Fanatic
4:55
Could all the AL East teams reach the playoffs this year?
Anthony Franco
4:56
Not simultaneously obviously. There are only three Wild Cards. Are each of them individually playoff contenders? Kind of, although there's a pretty clear drop between Tampa/Yankees/Toronto to Baltimore and Boston for me
Dave
4:56
What are reasonable (and realistic) expectations for Eloy Jimenez for the remainder of the season - and his career trajectory for that matter?
Anthony Franco
4:57
Seems like the injuries are just going to be a problem intermittently throughout his career. It's a lot of soft tissue stuff
4:58
When he's healthy, he's an impact bat though. Think there's 25-30 homers with a slugging percentage north of .500 in seasons where he gets 400-500 plate appearances
Marcmooo
4:58
Do you think Ramos in SF is up for good and is there anything there?
Anthony Franco
4:59
No room for Heliot Ramos in the outfield whenever Haniger comes back. I'm out on him as a regular at this point. Liked him a lot in his early prospect days but the swing-and-miss has become really problematic against upper level pitching. Looks like a depth guy at this point
Mike
5:00
Who is the first major player to be traded this year?
Anthony Franco
5:01
Tough one. Does Scott Barlow count? Wil Myers?
Jason
5:02
Brooks Lee + Marco Raya / Connor Prelliepp for Ohtani get it done? Twins are really legit with just that ace aspect
Anthony Franco
5:04
Could be a viable starting point if Raya takes the step forward that people expect in the first half. Obviously it requires the Angels falling out though
5:05
It's light right now. But if Lee still looks like a top 20 prospect midseason and Raya's a back of the top 100 future mid-rotation arm, that's in the ballpark of what I'd expect
MeanReen
5:05
One more:  How in the world did the Cubs think they couldn't use Christopher Morel?
Anthony Franco
5:06
He should be back soon. I'd rather give him right field run than Miles Mastrobuoni
5:07
I'm cautious on Morel because of the lack of a defensive home and the very aggressive approach. I don't think he's necessarily a regular on a contender. But the power and athleticism are real and he should be a good bat-first utility type
Brett
5:08
Most of the KC players are hitting below the Mendoza line. Is it time to cut bait on Michael Massey?
Anthony Franco
5:09
Yeah I still think Massey could be a serviceable regular but he's off to a horrible start and the lineup/park aren't doing him any favors
Bob T
5:09
What do you make of the Angels’ bullpen? I just don’t trust Loup and especially Tepera to hold leads. Estevez lacks command constantly working from behind in the count, Quijada and Wantz have been the only reliable arms so far. Of course, they sent Wantz down in favor of Tepera, Loup and Davidson. I don’t understand why Minasian ignores the need for lockdown late innings relievers. I still don’t understand why they gave Iglesias away last season.
Anthony Franco
5:10
I'm more on Estévez than you are. Control has been wobbly dating back to the spring but wasn't that bad for most of his time in Colorado
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