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Front Office Chat: 4/7/25
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Anthony Franco
3:15
Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed your weekend!
3:16
Steve and I are flipping chats this week because his vacation carried an extra day. Need to stay right around an hour on this one
Brewer Fan
3:16
From initial reading, Brewers got worked in this Priester trade. Your thoughts?
Ewitkows
3:16
That was a lot for the Brewers to give up for a pitcher that doesn't have that much MLB experience.
Bernie Carbo
3:16
Quinn Priester was cited as part of the Red Sox starting pitching depth, but it seems like he was given away early in the season for a meager return for his pedigree?
Anthony Franco
3:17
A couple different takes on this one. I'm in the middle, maybe slightly lean towards Boston's end of it
3:18
Rodriguez is a super high variance prospect given how far away he is and the pick is the equivalent of a second Rodriguez-level prospect. It’s pretty similar to what the Reds gave up for two years of Gavin Lux.
3:19
If Priester turns out to be a plug-and-play #4 starter who they control for six seasons, Milwaukee comes out ahead. The major league numbers have not been good but he’s continued missing bats and getting ground-balls in Triple-A. I think this one makes more sense for them than swapping Williams for Nestor and Durbin ever did.
jayfisher
3:19
I know it's pretty early, but are the Halos exceeding your expectations? sustainability?
Anthony Franco
3:20
Yeah they've been better than I expected, especially against Cleveland. I thought there was a decent chance they wouldn't get above .500 after they lost to the White Sox on Opening Day
3:21
I need a lot more than nine games to buy them as a legitimate contender though
Michael R
3:21
thoughts on Baldwin over Tromp in ATL?
Anthony Franco
3:22
I like it. They can manage Murphy's workload with something close to an even split in playing time and Baldwin was actually hitting the ball pretty well and just hasn't been rewarded
Torpedo Bat
3:22
Is it just me or is scoring up the season?
Rox
3:23
In regards to the torpedo bats, shouldn't people be excited that their injecting some more offense into such a pitching dominated era of the game? Obviously if teams start/keep hitting home runs at a 2019-pace maybe then its a problem, but more offense means more excitement in my head. What do you think?
Anthony Franco
3:24
We’ve had 4.47 runs per team game this year. That number was 4.55 through April 6 last season. League was hitting .241/.319/.388 at this point a year ago; they’re hitting .239/.317/.394 now. Hard hit rate is up a percentage point but not much change beyond that
3:26
I agree with Rox's point that if the bats can moderately improve offense -- even something like 5-10 points of OPS league wide -- that'd be a welcome change. I'm not sure they'll actually make that much of a difference though
3:27
I'm open to the possibility and generally in favor of hitters trying different things to try to tilt the balance back somewhat since so much of data-driven player development skews in favor of pitchers. A lot of the attention on the torpedo bats stems from one game where the Yankees put up 20 runs on Nestor Cortes (who may have been pitching through forearm soreness) and Rule 5 pick Connor Thomas
Gentle Giant
3:27
You pegged San Francisco as a fourth place team before the season started.  Now, 9 games in, the Giants have the best record in baseball.  Still down on them?
Giantsphan
3:27
Hi Anthony!  Do you think the Giants strong start is attributed to Buster’s oversight and influence?  Or, maybe it’s attributed to a team-wide upgraded skillset due to players like Adames, Lee, and Matos?  Do you think this level of play is sustainable for this particular team recognizing that “this” level does not mean a virtually lossless season similar to their “near-lossless” start???  Thanks so much!!
Anthony Franco
3:30
Down in the sense that I still think they're the fourth-best team in the division, yeah. They could be back in third place by this time tomorrow
3:32
They're probably a little better than I gave them credit for though. Getting Lee back is huge. I'm still not a huge Matos fan but adding Adames to Chapman and Ramos gives them real RHH juice. Can't imagine Wilmer Flores keeping anything like this up but that should be offset by positive regression from Adames
3:34
So I'm a little higher than the offense than I was before the start of the season, but the bullpen and rotation behind Webb still feel shaky. Birdsong has looked great in two relief appearances but going with Roupp and Hicks over him in the rotation doesn't make much sense to me
Captain Dunsel
3:34
The Phillies starting five have looked pretty good so far, including a surprising quality start from Taijuan Walker. Suarez should be returning soon and Painter appears on the way this summer. Should they try to trade Walker if he has another good start or two, or enjoy their abundance of starting pitching riches knowing a team can never have enough?
Anthony Franco
3:36
A handful of good starts from Walker aren't going to immediately make the contract look palatable to other teams. It's encouraging that he got some of the velocity back, but they're going to have to keep riding that one out
3:37
If he does turn out to be a capable #4/5 type again, that's a nice boost to a contender and they're better off for it anyway, since the depth beyond their top six is spotty (at least until Painter gets healthy)
Mets pitching
3:38
Most of the off season analysis here was that the Mets pitching was no good and they would suffer for it. Steve Adams wrote a particularly damning piece. Thoughts now?
Anthony Franco
3:41
That it's been nine games and the rotation has been effective but inefficient. Aside from maybe Canning, it's not like they're running out anyone we expected to be actively bad. They just don't have the same talent at the top of the rotation that the other best teams in the National League do
Scott J
3:41
Do you think the conversation around bringing ABS to the major will increase after this first week? As a Mariners fan, watching Vargas get hosed by the umps was frustrating but I know I'm not the only one. Videos have circulated on Twitter about the number of blown calls by umps.
Anthony Franco
3:42
The challenge system is basically a lock already -- if not by next season, then in '27 with the new CBA
Brian
3:42
Super early world series predictions?
Anthony Franco
3:43
Dodgers over Rangers was my preseason pick. Still fine with it
AJ
3:43
Hi Anthony.
With Vlad done and Gimenez in the fold. It seems like the end of the line for Bo to me.
His comments about Tatis Jr. giving the Padres a deal suggests his asking price is ludicrous relative to  value.
What's your thoughts? Do they attempt to sign him, play out the season, deadline sell?
ANITA
3:43
What are the chances the Jays will try to extend Bo after Vladdys contract
JeffyM
3:43
Doe the Vlad signing make it more or less likely that they'll resign Bo?  Do you think Xander Bogaerts deal is a decent comp for Bichette?
Anthony Franco
3:45
Yeah I think he'll walk. I know Bichette has talked about wanting to play with Vlad his entire career but most of the reporting out of Toronto for a couple years has been that Vlad's the guy they'd prioritize and the one they thought they had a much better shot to keep
3:48
Xander deal feels high. Bichette was actively bad last season. I think he'd get there if he puts up a 135 wRC+ type walk year but I'd be really surprised if the Jays were willing to offer that right now. A second straight year with mediocre or worse power numbers and he's probably looking at an opt-out laden pillow deal
Bowden
3:48
Two starts in and Bowden Francis is looking good. How many good starts before believe he's a great starter and not just someone who got lucky?
Anthony Franco
3:52
I already think he's pretty good. He was really effective for basically the entire second half last year. I don't think he'll ever have the stuff to be a true top-of-the-rotation guy but I buy him as a 3/4 type who's punching a little above his weight
Dodger Fan
3:52
How concerned should I be about Andy Pages in CF. Is he ready and would you make a move for another established cf.
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