Front Office Chat: 5/11/26
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Anthony Franco
4:17
Or even how much it actually matters. Year to year bat speed changes is probably an approximation for health and/or age-related decline but there's obviously not a perfect match between "bat speed" and "offensive production"
4:18
There are some pretty good hitters at the bottom of that leaderboard. Usually just requires them to maximize their skill set in some other way (e.g. elite strike zone awareness, contact rates, ideal swing path to maximize fringe raw power)
Still an A
4:18
Don't the A's have too many outfielders on the roster now that they called up Bolte? Soderstrom, Butler, Thomas, Cortes, Bolte, and sometimes Rooker?
Anthony Franco
4:21
Yeah it's a little clunky. They'll need Gelof as pretty close to a full-time 3B while Wilson's out with Hernaiz back in as the regular SS and Butler has struggled so much that they could just make him a fourth OF for now
Bradke Hrbek
4:21
Does it make sense for Twins to try for a Chris Paddack reunion?
Anthony Franco
4:23
Their bullpen's terrible so they could fit him in long relief but the ship has probably sailed on him being an effective starter
Angels fan forever
4:23
With Arte Moreno still the owner for the foreseeable future, is there anything that can be done to change the Angels fortunes around?
Anthony Franco
4:24
I wish I saw a path that doesn't involve the full rebuild that Moreno refuses to take
4:25
They just don't have enough organizational talent, which has been the case for a decade, and they've shown no inclination to change the way they approach the draft/player development while simultaneously pulling back spending at the MLB level
4:27
I'd trade Adell and Soriano this summer. Doubt they'll do either, especially Soriano. Realistically, their hope relies on hitting a few straight years of  good draft luck and stumbling into some mid-round contributors
GBS42
4:28
I'm not sure either of the AL Central and/or AL West winners will have a losing record, but I could see it happening.  Is it possible the AL could have just 2-3 teams with a winning record?
Anthony Franco
4:29
The West winner will have more than 80 wins. Probably also true of the Central but I could at least see the scenario where a losing record is enough for that one
Reds FO Anonymous
4:29
Are you as stunned as I am that Chris Valaika is still the hitting coach for the Cincinnati Reds given the number of players that have regressed at hitting on the team (Stevenson, Hayes, McLain, Friedl, Benson, Marte, Espinal last year, etc.)
Anthony Franco
4:32
I have no opinion on whether Valaika's a good hitting coach -- just not something I have any confidence in judging from the outside -- but the lack of offensive development from a lot of the guys you mentioned is a huge issue and something that can't be completely solved at the deadline
4:33
They're not all in that boat. Espinal's a low-end utility guy and Pittsburgh couldn't get Hayes to hit either, but I expected a lot more from Stephenson, Marte and to a lesser extent McLain than they've gotten
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:34
Any chance the Mets sign Clay Holmes to an extension before he opts out?
Anthony Franco
4:35
Sure. It'd be the Manaea playbook (hopefully with much better results), Royals did this with Lugo last summer with the opt-out clouding his trade value around the deadline
gavin
4:36
would Kash Mayfield, Bradgley Rodriguez and Wideman even close for Boston to send SD Duran?
Anthony Franco
4:38
Yeah I'd find that one pretty compelling. Potential mid-rotation development flier in Mayfield and buy Bradgley as a high-leverage guy who just doesn't have that opportunity in San Diego
Alright we're past 90 minutes so I'm going to wrap up here
4:39
Thanks as always for all the questions! Sorry for the stuff I couldn't address, feel free to throw anything else at me on X @affranco10 and I'll get back to you on there at some point this week
4:40
Steve will run a main site chat tomorrow and take the Friday one this week, and Tim obviously has his weekly mailbag on Wednesdays. Believe the plan is for Darragh and Steve to take some mailbag questions on the pod tomorrow as well
4:41
Thanks for your support of the site! Have a great week!
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