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Front Office Chat: 4/28/23
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Anthony Franco
3:55
Hey everyone, hope you're all wrapping up a good week!
3:56
I have to run right at 4:00 today so I'll start taking questions a couple minutes early. Let's get rolling
Guest
3:56
What do you make of the Orioles MI playing time carousel of Mateo, Urias, and Joey Ortiz? (Not to mention Gunnar!) Assuming Frazier stays in the OF, and that they didn't promote Ortiz to have him sit, which of the other two (Mateo or Urias) gets squeezed out?
Anthony Franco
3:57
Seems like it might just be Ortiz who gets squeezed back out. Brandon Hyde said yesterday that a big reason they promoted the right-handed hitting Ortiz was because they were facing a Tigers team that was rolling out lefties Joey Wentz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Matt Boyd consecutively
3:58
Feels like Ortiz's first promotion might be pretty brief. They can option him back to Norfolk after the series and reevaluate the infield mix as things play out throughout the season
Steve E
3:58
Are the Dodgers really this ... bad?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Still way too much talent there for me to see this as a .500-ish team over a full season. Getting Will Smith back helps the lineup, Julio Urías isn't going to be this homer-prone all year. They're better than this
4:02
They're pretty clearly worse than they've been in recent seasons though. The rotation depth has thinned and Syndergaard and Michael Grove don't look like starters on a division contender. Feels like they're going to need one of Bobby Miller or Gavin Stone to hit the ground running at some point, and it's an area they'll probably have to address via trade when the time comes
James
4:02
Is there anything left in the tank for Chris Taylor or is he done? Would he be an upgrade over say Hilliard or Hampson or maybe even Edmond Sosa?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Not particularly optimistic on CT3. Strikeouts were untenable last year and he's not making any more contact in the early going this season. That's also the case for Sam Hilliard though, so that's kind of a toss-up
4:05
I'd probably lean towards Taylor from here on out because his MLB track record is better than Hilliard's, but they're similar hitters and I'm not really in on either. Hampson and Sosa are utility infielders whose paths to consistent playing time I don't see
Dave Mc
4:05
What do you think the White Sox could get in trade for Giolito? Seems like they are bound to sell
Anthony Franco
4:06
Depends on how he's performing around the deadline but as of right now, he's the top rental starting pitcher I'd expect to be traded this summer. Should net them a prospect at the back or just off a top 100 list if he's pitching well
Buff
4:07
Any chance that Kevin Long can coach Cristian Pache into a useful major league hitter?
Anthony Franco
4:08
I don't see it. Pache's stuck in a catch-22 because he's out of options and can't go to the minors while needing consistent reps to find some way to dial in his strike zone awareness. The Phillies aren't in position to give him regular playing time for that offensive development
4:09
His first 24 plate appearances have been good but that's way too brief a look to glean anything meaningful. Still think he's a fifth outfielder right now who could find himself on the roster bubble later in the year
Will in Westport
4:09
What do you think are the chances of Justin-Henry Malloy being called up to the big league team by the Tigers this year?  Thanks for doing this.
Anthony Franco
4:11
He's off to a .358/.495/.519 start with almost as many walks as strikeouts over 23 games in Triple-A. Neither Nick Maton (3B) nor Akil Baddoo (LF) are hitting at the positions Malloy plays. I'd be surprised if they didn't call him up by the end of May at this rate
AA
4:11
8/$175 get it done with Max?
Anthony Franco
4:13
If you value Fried's final arbitration season around $18MM, that's approximately 7/$157MM for his free agent years at ages 31-37
4:14
It's not a laughable offer but I don't think he'd take it after seeing Carlos Rodón -- who had a more questionable injury history -- sign 6/162 last offseason. Feels like Fried should be nearer to the 190-200MM range
Mark E
4:15
Any word on when Travis d’Arnaud might return?  Campusano?  I have both rostered in fantasy, also had O’ Hoppe… send help please!
Anthony Franco
4:17
d'Arnaud's been catching bullpens and taking BP for a few days. Always tricky with concussions but it seems like he's coming along. Haven't seen any updates on Campusano since he first hit the injured list 11 days ago with a thumb sprain on his catching hand
Doesn't seem like either's overly serious but I'd guess we're looking around the second week of May in each case
Rick Hahn
4:18
What. The. Hell. ?
I built this team, I know they're not THIS bad.
Anthony Franco
4:18
This feels like a fair take on the White Sox
4:20
I agree they're not this bad. I don't think they're dead quite yet but they're running low on time. They need more out of Vaughn and Benintendi, and the second base/right field situations have been predictably terrible. Back of the rotation isn't good
4:21
It's all stuff that was questionable coming into the season and why I thought they were the third best team in the AL Central to begin with, but the odds of everything lining up this poorly in a Murphys Law kind of month are pretty slim
It'll get better -- it has to -- but it needs to happen quickly if they're to have any chance of hanging around
Jack
4:21
I'm assuming Winn will be Stl starting SS in 2024. Would you rather have him or Neto?
Anthony Franco
4:23
I wouldn't pencil in Winn for '24 over Tommy Edman but I like him a little more than Zach Neto over the long term
Will in Westport
4:23
Forget fantasy (for the moment).  IRL, who is a better catcher for their team Hasse or Jansen?
Anthony Franco
4:24
It's been Haase so far but I'd still go with Jansen's pre-2022 track record if I'm taking one from here forward
Like Jansen more defensively, better plate discipline even if there's maybe slightly less power upside than Haase brings
Mark E
4:25
Do Bo Naylor’s odds of a callup improve with the promotions of Bibee and Allen, since he has caught them, or is that irrelevant.  Might we see Bo in MLB by May?
Anthony Franco
4:26
I don't think that's much of a factor. Naylor's development is the top priority and while there's some value to the continuity of working with young pitchers who could be teammates for years, it's not enough to dictate promoting him before they think he's ready
4:27
Zunino's playing well so there probably aren't the catching reps at the MLB level for Naylor right now. If Zunino gets injured, I'd rather call up Naylor at that point than turn things to Cam Gallagher or Meibrys Viloria though
Don
4:28
My Braves are a little short in the pen. Iglesias coming back helps, but do you think they will push Lee to more high leverage situations or add another lefty to take a little pressure of AJ. I knew we would miss Matzek and we do. No panic but all of our last 4 losses are due to bullpen wasting good starts.
Anthony Franco
4:29
Still like the personnel back there a lot, not concerned about the Atlanta bullpen. I'm with you on Lee deserving more consistent high-leverage run -- he's really good -- and think the combination of him, Minter and an eventually healthy Lucas Luetge should be enough left-handed bullpen help
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