Front Office Chat: 4/24/26
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Good afternoon, hope all is well!
Looking forward to another of these, let's get it going
M
3:00
Which under .500 teams do you think are most likely to make the post season, and which above .500 teams do you think are most likely to regress and miss out?
Anthony Franco
3:02
Seattle on the positive side. There are a handful of teams a little above .500 that I doubt are playoff teams (A's, Tampa Bay, St. Louis) but most of the teams at the top of the league feel about right
3:04
Cincinnati's the exception, I guess, but they're a viable NL Central threat or Wild Card team even if they're punching above their weight right now
JimJam
3:04
Realistic expectations for Giolito in SD?
Anthony Franco
3:05
Better than Matt Waldron, Germán Márquez and Walker Buehler
3:06
Would guess he's a true talent mid-4.00s ERA pitcher at this point but a fine fifth starter. More intrigued by what they'll get out of Canning once he comes back though
Guest
3:06
How much longer are the Brewers going to let the left side of the infield not hit before making a change?
Anthony Franco
3:08
Just don't have alternatives right now. Jett Williams and Cooper Pratt aren't hitting in Triple-A and they clearly don't trust Tyler Black there defensively
3:09
Calling up 18-year-old Jesús Made straight from Double-A (where he has 23 games played) is too aggressive. Maybe by late season he forces his way into the picture but just have to ride it out for now
Dave Dombrowski
3:10
It's July 15 and the Phillies are 15 games out of a playoff spot. Zach Wheeler, who has promised to retire after the possibly unplayed 2027 season, is pitching reasonably well and improving with each start. Do I trade him for the best available return, or hope '26 is a blip and '27 is actually played?
Anthony Franco
3:11
Can't see any way that Wheeler's getting traded. They have to assume the '27 season is getting played -- would put the odds less than 2% that the entire season gets banged -- and they'll still be all-in even if this year is a complete disaster
Cat_Herder
3:11
All of the off-season talk was Skubal and Framber.  Thoughts on Casey Mize?  He's looking like a solid mid-rotation starter right now.  Especially with Jack not looking reliable and Verlander still rehabbing.
Anthony Franco
3:14
I don't feel much differently about him than I did entering the season. Splitter has gotten much better results than it did last year but that's kind of always been the one plus pitch
Solid mid-rotation starter seems right. Good player, agree he's their third-best arm with Reese Olson out
RAGBRAI
3:15
Is Curtis Mead anything to be excited about this year or next for Washington?
Anthony Franco
3:16
Probably not given the career production but I don't have a great explanation for why he hasn't at least been a slightly above-average hitter
3:18
He hit throughout his minor league career and the pitch recognition, contact skills and bat speed are all serviceable
3:19
Still not a great overall player given the lack of athleticism and defensive value but I'm not completely out on him being able to carve out a career as a bench bat
Jose Soriano
3:19
I know I can’t keep THIS up, but can I continue to be REALLY good? Maybe go for the Cy Young?
Arrer Prone
3:19
MLBTR has been saying Soriano is a really good pitcher, but after last year I was beginning to wonder. Clearly I was wrong, but does it surprise you at just how dominant he's been this season so far?  And does this put him as the clear Cy Young candidate, or at least in the running, or is it still too early?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Obviously I wouldn't have expected him to set the ERA record through a pitcher's first six starts but yeah, I'm basically buying him as a #1
3:23
Command and general pitch inefficiency would be the concern if you're forecasting regression (beyond the obvious that he's not the single greatest pitcher of all time and therefore will not maintain a sub-1.00 ERA) but it's legitimate #1 stuff
3:24
Makes sense that he'd be a bit of a late bloomer given the early-career injury history
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
3:24
Is it a big surprise that the Phillies have aged out of their window and the Mets look like The Island of Misfit Toys? What were Stearns and Dombrowski thinking?
Anthony Franco
3:25
More surprised by the Mets starting this badly than Philly, who I did expect to be good but given the age of the roster and the rotation depth  had more downside for me
3:26
Still not ready to bury either of them as a Wild Card threat but they've both been inexplicably bad offensively
Jay
3:26
How many ARI / SD hitters are you streaming this weekend in the Mexico City altitude?
Anthony Franco
3:27
Ha yeah if you're playing daily fantasy or something, stock up
Especially on Saturday for Márquez vs. Gallen. Could look like that Braves/Nats game from earlier in the week where every other AB felt like a home run
ScottHarris
3:28
Assuming Detroit is in and San Diego out at the trade deadline, what would it take to land Mason Miller? Can I do it without touching and of my top four prospects (as of today)?
Anthony Franco
3:28
The Padres will be in it. They're not trading Miller
Tribefan528
3:28
The Guardians did virtually nothing to improve their team this off season. Do think they risk alienating their loyal fan base if this season goes south. Any chance we see Ingle behind the plate. Naylor just can hit and on a team that desperately needs offense they have far too many holes in their lineup.
Anthony Franco
3:29
I share your disappointment with the offseason, especially when they got Ramírez to defer a bunch of money and subtracted the Clase salary, but I feel like Cleveland fans have a pretty good idea of how it works at this point
3:31
They've been better than I expected so far and I imagine they'll hang around the Wild Card/AL Central bubble again. They'll need to go outside the organization for a catcher, I agree, and I still can't figure out what they're waiting for on Bazzana
3:32
I like Brito but he's not hitting and the 2B defense is terrible. Find it hard to believe Bazzana's not the better player right now (and better than Gabriel Arias whenever he returns)
Brewers Fan
3:32
Jesus Made or Cooper Pratt make their debut first? I know contract and age say Pratt but Made seems just insanely good.
Anthony Franco
3:33
Yeah it's a good question. Probably would go with Made even though he's a level behind
Optimistic Giants Fan
3:33
Giants bullpen has ok to decent numbers on the surface but the walk rates for most of the guys they are using in high leverage situations are concerning. Still though, they are striking out a ton of guys, and some of them look pretty decent so far. How long can they get away with this high strikeout but higher walk thing they have going so far?
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