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Front Office Chat: 4/28/23
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Michael K
4:30
Are the pirates for real?
Anthony Franco
4:30
Steve's doing a subscriber email with his thoughts on this so keep an eye out for that. I mostly agree with what he says in there, although he's more bullish on Jack Suwinski keeping this up than I am
4:32
Generally speaking, I think they're clearly better than they have been and have played well enough to put themselves in the Wild Card mix. If they play .500 ball from here on out, they'd finish with 86 wins and be right on the border of a playoff spot. That doesn't seem impossible
4:33
I like the rotation they're building, particularly Keller and Contreras as mid-rotation caliber arms. Bednar's an elite closer, I think Holderman's a viable high-leverage arm. Solid pitching staff
4:34
Not as sold on a lineup that's this reliant on Suwinski, Rodolfo Castro and Connor Joe
Dan-O
4:34
Wow, so many young prospects already getting the call-up, and a Maggi too! Give me your best prediction on who among the young recently called up starting pitchers will enjoy the best chance of success this year - the list includes Bradley, Allen, Ober, Battenfield, Elder, G-Rod, Lodolo, Brito, Miller etc...
Anthony Franco
4:36
If you're including Nick Lodolo in there, then I'll take him. He's been around since the start of 2022; among this year's debut arms, I'm most intrigued by Gray-Rod and Tanner Bibee
Josh B
4:36
Bigger surprise in the NL Central, Pittsburgh in first place or St. Louis in last place?
Anthony Franco
4:37
Don't expect this to hold up but if the Cardinals finish the year below the Reds, I'd be more surprised than I'd be at the Pirates winning the Central
Vaughn Grissom
4:37
When Arcia returns does Grissom plug and play into outfield with Acuna and Harris and DH slot?  Grissom seems superior to Ozuna and Rosario and Hilliard’s lucky dice ain’t lasting forever.
Anthony Franco
4:38
I don't think so. They've been reluctant to give Grissom outfield work. Seems like they're afraid of putting too much on his plate and want him to focus exclusively on the middle infield in hopes he can be a franchise shortstop. I'd guess Arcia's return just pushes Grissom back to Gwinnett
4:39
You can definitely make an argument for pushing Grissom into left field on a win-now team, since he might be the best offensive player of the group. I don't think the Braves see it that way though
Oakland
4:39
Are the Athletics for real, on track to lose 131 games?
Anthony Franco
4:40
Ha, I'll take the under on 131 losses
I hadn't done the math on that pace. Pretty incredible
4:41
I'd set the O/U on A's losses at like 110 though. They're not quite this bad; there's some talent in the lineup at least
Juan Soto
4:41
I’m going to be ok, right?  J/K (sort of).
Anthony Franco
4:42
Horrible month, probably the worst of his career. Making less contact, rolling over everything. It's not been pretty
4:43
All that said, it's Juan Soto and I continue to believe he'll figure it out. Even great hitters go through slumps
Joe J.
4:43
When the Yankees hired Eric Cressey as Director of Player Health and Performance it was because they were having so many injuries. Since then it seems like its only gotten worse. Is his job in jeopardy or is this more of a league wide issue with the injuries?
Anthony Franco
4:46
This is an interesting question to which I don't have an answer. Not sure how teams judge their training/medical personnel. Raw injury totals or days on the IL is going to be very luck-based -- no matter how good the training methods, some pitchers are just going to blow out -- but clubs are predictably secretive about their processes for both a). keeping players healthy and b). evaluating those whose job that is
Warren
4:47
When can I expect Jordan Walker to be back in the majors? Should I drop him in fantasy baseball?
Anthony Franco
4:47
Still a hold for me if you've got roster space. If he mashes in Memphis for three weeks, they should bring him back
4:49
John Mozeliak has talked about wanting to clear the outfield logjam to get guys more consistent reps and find a rhythm. That's fine, I guess, but none of Tyler O'Neill, Alec Burleson or Dylan Carlson are lighting the world on fire. If Walker's killing it in Triple-A and one or two of those guys is still scuffling at the MLB level, Walker should be back quickly
Warren
4:49
What are Masataka Yoshida's chances at the RoY?
Anthony Franco
4:50
I think it was about 10 days ago that I was getting questions about how terrible the Yoshida signing looked
That's not a shot at Warren, to be clear. Just a funny observation about how quickly the pendulum can swing in small samples
4:52
I like Hunter Brown for AL Rookie of the Year but would probably have Yoshida second if I were sketching out early-season odds. I'm all in on the bat
Cards Fan
4:52
DeJong has returned with some promise on his new swing.  Think there are any takers out there for a trade?
Anthony Franco
4:53
He's been great but we need a lot more than five games before he becomes a viable trade candidate after three straight below-average seasons
Sultans of Swing
4:54
Chris Sale? Done? Patience is a virtue but it's also a ticket to last place in a fantasy league (and that includes Ks!).
Anthony Franco
4:56
Velocity's good, he's still missing bats. He's giving up a bunch of hard contact so far but that kind of thing can rise and fall throughout the year. That the raw stuff looks intact is the biggest concern through a few starts, and it's still there for Sale
4:57
I know it's frustrating to keep running out a pitcher who's getting battered right now but I'd ride it out. The results will get better
Texas tea
4:57
What's the story on Yainier Diaz and Bubba Thompson? Yainier, a decent prospect, isn't being given the chance to play regularly either in Houston or in the minors. Bubba isn't even being given the chance to pinch run or play as a defensive replacement more than once a week. Do either of these Texas teams have a plan for them?
Anthony Franco
4:58
The Astros love Martín Maldonado and they've given a decent chunk of DH time to Yordan obviously. There's not a path to consistent at-bats for Diaz in the majors. Could argue for him to go back to Triple-A for regular run
4:59
Bubba Thompson has just never seemed all that good. He steals bases but he strikes out way too often and hits the ball with almost no authority. I don't think Texas needs a plan for him, he's a fringe roster guy
Steve E
4:59
Hey there, Anthony. At what point should I start freaking out about the performance, velo drop and general malaise of Aaron Nola? He's not having the best walk year, is he? What do you see as the issue(s) so far? He's had bad years before, and has always been HR-prone, but nothing this sloppy.
Anthony Franco
5:01
Yeah I'm worried already. Velocity's down a bit, he's giving up more contact than he has in a while. It's by far the lowest strikeout and grounder numbers of his career to date
5:02
It's April, maybe he's battling something physically or having a harder time than usual getting right, but he definitely doesn't look like Aaron Nola at the moment
Expansion? Realignment
5:02
Hi Anthony. Thanks again for doing these chats. Now that the A’s and Rays stadium situations appear headed towards a resolution, do you think expansion is next? Does realignment happen with or without expansion? It makes no sense that the Mariners have to fly to Texas 4 times a year when they can fly down the coast to play the NL West teams.
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