Front Office Chat: 4/24/26
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Anthony Franco
3:36
They're a little better than I expected coming into the year -- doubt anyone thought Caleb Kilian had this in him to be fair -- and they've got enough power arms that there's stuff to like about most of them, but still having a tough time trusting a bullpen whose most established arm is Ryan Walker
lauer
3:37
Eric Lauer seems to spend more time complaining to media than speaking directly to his manager. When all the injuries return, does he get traded? If he doesn't like an opener, I can't imagine he'll excel in the bullpen.
Jimmy's Key
3:37
So far, Patrick Corbin seems to have been a pretty smart (and cheap) pickup, doesn't he?
Anthony Franco
3:39
Lauer has to start pitching better or else it won't really matter. He was a huge find for them last year but he sits around 90 mph and had been a below-average MLB pitcher for the majority of his career before 2025
3:40
He could hold a rotation spot on a rebuilding team but on a contender, this is a five and dive guy who teams are going to try to keep away from the top of a lineup a third time
3:41
Corbin's similar but decent stopgap so far
Louie Louie
3:41
Does Varland go the rest of the year as the Jay's closer? Can Hoffman even be a 7th inning guy at this point?
Anthony Franco
3:42
Jays just announced they're moving to a committee while trying to get Hoffman right in lower-leverage spots. I think that's the correct call
3:43
Varland's too good at the roving leverage role to lock into the ninth. Would rather have him putting out fires in the seventh or eighth than protecting a 5-2 lead with a clean inning in the ninth
3:44
Tyler Rogers or even Braydon Fisher can handle the easier save opportunities. Varland to save a one or two-run game when the opposing teams' best hitters are coming up makes sense
Wandering Chief
3:44
Who takes a flyer on Walker after he's officially a free agent?
Anthony Franco
3:45
Surprised Philly pulled the plug entirely when they had a few open relief spots but yikes, he's been unplayable for two of the past three seasons
3:47
Tough time finding any team that makes sense offering him an MLB rotation spot
3:48
Angels on a minor league deal maybe? Would at least offer a veteran durability that they're lacking but he's worse than Jack Kochanowicz and they're hopefully going to get Grayson Rodriguez back at some point
RoxTalks
3:48
What will Yandy Diaz's next contract look like? He's one of the more (among the most) underrated players in the game, at least on a national scale, career 131 wRC+. Even though he turns 35 in August, I feel like he hasn't slowed down in recent years and most of his underlying metrics look good. He's one of my favorite hitters to watch.
Anthony Franco
3:49
Rays have a $10M option that vests at $13M if he gets to 500 plate appearances this year
Only way he gets to free agency is if he suffers a serious injury
Red Sox fan
3:49
We can’t be this bad right?  When is the tide going to turn?  I was hoping for a sweep this last Yankees series— be careful what you wish for!
Anthony Franco
3:50
You should've been more specific in your request to the baseball gods
Boston
3:50
Are the Red Sox slowly costing Cora his job?
Ghost Of Kevin Youklis
3:50
Time for the Red Sox to make plans to blow it up? This team has no fight. Unrealistic expectations on Anthony, poorly executed front office moves, and Cora has obviously lost the clubhouse. What's a possible solution?
Anthony Franco
3:53
Handful of a bunch of Boston questions in here. Don't think they're this bad, and we've seen the rotation start to turn things around, but there's too much dead weight at the bottom of the lineup right now
3:54
Anthony's not fully healthy. Don't know that I'd say they had unrealistic expectations given his prospect status and rookie year production, but they needed the outfield to carry the lineup and it's not happening
Conrad
3:55
Option Griffin when Triolo is back or DFA Gonzalez/Yorke?
Anthony Franco
3:57
Yorke and Gonzales also have options and they're carrying Billy Cook on the bench right now. Sending Yorke or Cook down is easy enough
Guarded Indian
3:57
I love the "Who says no" questions on here but have never done one so here is my shot.  Dodgers get Kwan, Genoa, Tugboat Wilkinson, Guards get Rushing.
Anthony Franco
4:01
While I think it's reasonably balanced on trade value, Genao's the best piece you're sending to L.A. and swapping a Double-A shortstop for a top prospect who's mashing in the majors right now just doesn't align with their timeline
4:03
I don't know what to do with Steven Kwan. We're coming up on a full calendar year where he's been quietly pretty bad offensively.

His game has never been built on power obviously, but his bat speed and exit velocities in the early going this year are down to a level where it's almost impossible to be a good hitter no matter how disciplined you are
4:04
I still think he's a better overall player than Teoscar Hernández but it's not such a clear upgrade that I'd love him as a Dodgers trade target at this point
Ludwig’s Clogged Cleats
4:04
There’s no way the Mets and Phillies stay in their ruts, and the Braves will likely balance out, but do you see them winning the East now that some star power is returning from the IL?
Anthony Franco
4:05
Yeah I was too low on Atlanta. They're really good
4:06
My concern was that the back of the rotation would tank them before Strider, Schwellenbach, etc. returned and it couldn't have gone much harder in the opposite direction. They've built a decent cushion despite Acuña playing pretty poorly by his standards
4:08
Still have some concern among the rotation depth but it's going to improve between injury returnees and potential trade acquisitions. Credit to Bryce Elder, who has been much better than I thought he'd be and seems like a fine back-end starter. It's a good lineup top to bottom and one of the better bullpens in the National League
A Large Wooden Badger
4:08
Bearing in mind the rather onerous financial distraction hanging over Alec Bohm right now, is there any reason to keep running him out there, and any hope he gets right this year? Seems like a shame for him to be cratering this badly in his free agent year, but....
Anthony Franco
4:10
They clearly don't trust Edmundo Sosa as an everyday player but it has to move a little more in that direction. I share some of their skepticism about Sosa's approach getting exposed if he's playing regularly against RHP but Bohm's lost out there right now
4:12
He's never been great at hitting the ball in the air to the pull side but he basically hasn't done that at all this season
4:13
Doesn't have the raw power to be an all-fields power threat but he's not a burner who's going to get the most out of bunch of ground balls
Josh
4:13
Gerrit Cole vs Carlos Rodon - who's the better stash?
Anthony Franco
4:14
I'd rather take a shot on Cole
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