Front Office Chat: 5/11/26
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Good afternoon, hope you all enjoyed your weekend!
Looking forward to another of these, let's get it going
My WS Teams
3:01
Could the Cubbies or Mariners make a big time move for Freddy Peralta seeing that the Mets are out of it? What would it cost?
Coach Wall
3:01
Given their terrible start, is it time for the Mets to deal? Freddy Peralta could bring 2 prospects to replace what they gave up to get him. What say you?
Anthony Franco
3:03
Too early. He'd be the best rental pitcher available at the deadline, the return will still be strong in mid-late July
3:05
They're pretty close to cooked but doubt they're ready to wave the white flag yet and waiting until July just allows potential buyers to have a better feel for whether they're going to be in or out. Cubs will be in Peralta two months from now too
3:07
As for the price, similar to what they gave up is about right. Trade value is down a little bit -- acquiring team now can't make him a QO, half-season instead of full, Tobias Myers (presumably) not included -- but Williams/Sproat wasn't a massive package and some of the drop in trade value is counteracted by teams like the Cubs losing a bunch of starters to injury
Jackalope
3:07
How real is the Riley O'Brien breakout? If the cards fall out of contention, will he be a midsummer trade candidate?
Tony
3:07
It's difficult to see the Cardinals hanging on to the race. What would o'brien bring back at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:09
He's cheap, building back-end experience, and has the 99-100 MPH sinker that hitters seem to have a really tough time differentiating from the breaking stuff
3:11
I think he's the second- or third-best reliever in a good bullpen, and he's old enough (31) that it saps some of the value of the five remaining years of club control, but he's a good trade chip
I'd have him below Jose A. Ferrer (and obviously way below Mason Miller) when they got traded but do think they could pull a couple mid-level prospects for him and should at least be open to the conversation
Another Eric Lauer Question
3:12
Could I be a long shot to be DFA'd today when Yaril Rodriguez is added to the 26?
Anthony Franco
3:12
Nice call to the person who sent this question in at 1:40 this afternoon
Jed's Dead
3:12
Giants looking to unload some salary. I don't think the Cubs make sense for any of their position players, but Robbie Ray would be enticing to me. Even if not for another month or two, what sort of package do you think it would take to acquire him?
busted posey
3:12
I am stuck with 4 unlovable and unmove-able contracts (Devers, Chapman, Adames and Jung Hoo Lee). Luis Arraez and Robbie Ray are potentially trade-able rentals. Could I get back more now vs. at August deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:15
I'd be looking to move Ray now if I were them but that was true throughout the offseason and they didn't have much interest. Good pitcher, someone I'd be alright with as my #3 starter in a playoff rotation, but the command/HR issues are enough that I don't see much surplus value on a $25M salary
3:16
If they're willing to pay down some of the money, think they could get a 45 FV type prospect -- someone who'd be like 8-12 in an organization ranking on an average system. If the focus is just on offloading the money, looking more at a couple lottery ticket types for me
3:17
Arraez, man, I have no idea. Market didn't really know what to do with him last offseason
3:18
Everyone knows exactly who he is as a hitter but has differing opinions on how valuable that is and now you've got him inexplicably playing Gold Glove caliber defense at 2B after a career of being really bad there
3:20
I know there's the "Ron Washington fixed this guy" narrative and there's probably some truth to it but his problem has been less about his hands or throwing accuracy and more that he just doesn't move that well, which still kind of applies
Jagger
3:20
Do you think Bryce Elder and Davis Martin respective breakouts to start the season are legit?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Talked about Elder more in Friday's chat but the short version is that I buy him as a #4, which is much higher than I was going into the season
3:23
Martin? Eh, not really. Chase rate is way up but the pitch mix is basically the same as he had last year. He's getting more chases this year, but that feels more about the series of pretty bad lineups he's faced
3:25
Still gives up a lot of hard contact, which becomes more of an issue during the summer. Certainly not buying this level of HR suppression and the walks are going to climb when he faces lineups that don't swing as often
3:26
Can only beat who you play, and he's more than done his job so far, but I'd still project him for a low-mid 4.00s ERA moving forward
Bruce Sherman
3:26
Now that Sandy Alcantara doesn't suck anymore, what type of return could the Marlins get for him at the deadline knowing they have a good young rotation with Perez, Meyer, Snelling, and White.
Anthony Franco
3:28
Could probably pull a Peralta-like return with the extra year of control via the club option but I'm less convinced than most that the Marlins are doing it this summer
3:30
I get your point about the young pitching but they've got nothing on the books next year and aren't that far off being a factor in the Wild Card race. This guy has been one of the faces of the franchise and is still their most reliable source of innings
3:31
Also an ancillary consideration but if we do get a cap/floor in the next CBA, the Marlins will be nowhere close to whatever floor they set and would probably much rather spend that money on Sandy than throwing it at a Zac Gallen reunion or something
Lloyd
3:31
Jose Soriano for Matt Shaw gives both teams something they’d be looking for, right?
Anthony Franco
3:32
Soriano's more valuable so Cubs would need to add to it but I like this as a starting point, yeah
Beano
3:32
JJ Ritchie - a number 4 starter or a guy who should be in AAA to learn not to issue so many walks?
Anthony Franco
3:33
The latter for now but I buy him being better than a #4 starter at his peak
Ross Atkins
3:33
Where do I start. Do I try to add an infield bat? Do I try for a mid-rotation starter? Everywhere I look on my team I already have a guy that I like, but they just aren't producing. Do I have too many guys that are 'jack-of-all-trade, master-of-none'? My hair is falling out at an alarming rate. Please help!
Anthony Franco
3:36
True of the Jays to an extent but it was largely true last year and obviously they made it work. I feel good about the infield. Giménez can't hit but that's nothing new. Okamoto and Clement with occasional Barger work at 3B is fine
3:38
More concern about the outfield, especially if Barger ends up missing a decent amount of time again. Have never been in on Jesús Sánchez, still prefer Myles Straw as a fourth OF
Catcher's bad right now too but just have to wait for Kirk to come back
3:39
That's mostly true with the starting pitching. We'll see where they're at in July but for now it's just trying to weather the injuries
Sam M.
3:39
As a Giants fan, looking at how they handled the offseason, what did anyone else expect when you don’t shore up holes in your lineup. They may break even as a .500 club, and that would be a good season at this point. What say you?
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