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Front Office Chat: 5/12/23
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Hey everyone, hope you all enjoyed your week!
3:01
Looking forward to another one of these, let's get started
Spirited
3:02
Will twins win the central?
Anthony Franco
3:02
They were my preseason pick and neither Chicago nor Cleveland has done anything to change my mind. I'll stick with Minnesota, yeah
Guest
3:02
What is your expected 2023 regular season win total for each team in the AL East?
Anthony Franco
3:03
Man, this is a tough one. Feels like they're all ending above .500, which is crazy
3:05
Tampa Bay- 105
Toronto - 94
Baltimore - 91
New York - 88
Boston - 84
Brian
3:05
When will Hosmer be let go and replaced with Mastrobuoni for versatility or Tauchman as a left-handed bat capable of playing the outfield? Surely his “veteran presence” isn’t worth losing games when there are other veteran bats like Swanson, Happ, Mancini, Bellinger, Gomes, Barnhart, etc., right?
Anthony Franco
3:07
I don't really get why he's still around. I'm with you that Mastrobuoni just seems like a better bench piece based on the versatility and Triple-A production. I'd be surprised if Hosmer's still on the roster by the All-Star Break
Duffy Scliff
3:07
Who is a starting pitcher the Red Sox should target at the trade deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:08
Not really unique to the Red Sox but Lucas Giolito and Jordan Montgomery are the rental starters I find most interesting
JDP
3:08
Who should the Red Sox extend next?
Anthony Franco
3:10
If Brayan Bello is willing to take something like Aaron Ashby money ($20.5MM guarantee, potentially buys out two free agent years), I'd be intrigued
3:12
Alex Verdugo's has a year and a half left in a arbitration and is playing really well right now. I buy it -- I've been awaiting the Verdugo breakout forever, as have the Red Sox -- but it might be too late to get something done with him considering the free agency proximity
Jolly Roger
3:12
McCutchen is closing in on some milestone numbers (300 homers, 400 doubles, 2000 hits). Any chance of him in the HOF? Maybe by a committee later on?
Anthony Franco
3:13
Sure, I think he's got a shot. Going to top 2000 hits, 3000 times on base, 300 homers as you mentioned. He's got an MVP, four top-five finishes and should end up in the 50-55 WAR range. That's a perfectly reasonable HOF case in my view
3:14
He'd be right on the border for me. I'd probably lean towards no but I wouldn't scoff at anyone who put him on their ballot
Around the Diamond
3:14
Who is the first manager to get fired this season?
TheBeatlesShow
3:15
Early, but I'm looking for some signposts.  Who's in trouble of being the first (few?) managers getting guillotined?  Marmol?
It may be early in the game but who's going to be the first (few) managers to get the guillotine?  Grifol?  Marmol? Buck?  Anybody else?
Anthony Franco
3:16
Nobody stands out to me as being in serious jeopardy right now. Can't imagine the White Sox firing Grifol six weeks into his tenure, same for Matt Quatraro in K.C. Maybe things spiral so hard with the Cardinals that Oli Marmol becomes a consideration but we're not there yet
3:18
If I had to pick "first manager fired," I'd probably go with David Bell in Cincinnati. He's been around for a while, the team isn't good, only under contract through the end of this season. But there's no single manager I feel is likelier than not to be let go in-season
Social climber
3:18
Is there any evidence that the pitch clock is responsible for the increase in pitcher injuries this year, assuming the latter is in fact true? It's certainly seems so.
Anthony Franco
3:19
I haven't seen any firm data to suggest the premise that pitcher injuries are up is true. It feels like it, but it feels like pitcher injuries are crazy every year
3:20
Even if there were a notable spike in injuries, I don't know how you'd parse out whether the pitch clock is responsible. It's a perfectly reasonable hypothesis but it's hard to prove causation unless you're getting league wide biomechanical data suggesting that pitchers' arms are feeling more stress because of the diminished time between pitches
First Chair Picollo
3:20
How many more combined PAs would YOU give Matt Duffy, JBJ, and Hunter Dozier if you were in charge? I could make the same gripe about veteran pitching, although the injury attrition rate for that position and, in Greinke's case, sentimental factor don't have me as aggravated. Play the kids already! The season was lost weeks ago, and the Royals need every bit of evaluation data they can get, no?
Anthony Franco
3:22
Isbel and Waters are on the IL and Olivares is playing regularly in the corner, so I don't have an issue with continuing to run Bradley Jr. out in center until those other guys get healthy. Matt Duffy has been solid in a veteran utility role, I think he's fine
3:23
I don't get why Dozier is still on the roster though. The extension was a clear whiff, he's never come close to replicating the 2019 production, and he doesn't offer much defensively. I'd move on and just rotate Maikel Garcia, Michael Massey, Nate Eaton and occasionally Duffy through third base
Tony
3:24
Greetings. Thanks for taking the questions and the chats. Cardinal fan here and I think they will get back in the race by August (I know...irrational fan) but I do think the clubhouse has some issues with Flaherty and O'Neil (not blaming anyone, just an observation from someone not in the clubhouse) and Mo has been one historically to move on from guys like that. I personally don't think their performances warrant the amount of angst I see. Would Cards move on from both for a lottery ticket or try to package them with a quantity type trade to bring in some starting help? Or do you think the front office will write off the season? Thank you.
Anthony Franco
3:25
I think they'll get back in the race as well. Trading Flaherty is tough if they get back in it because the rotation is already such a concern. Could certainly see O'Neill moving to thin the outfield logjam though
3:26
He hasn't played well enough to get them much in return, but it could wind up being a situation akin to the one with Joey Gallo and the Yankees last year. It's not working, they've got other options, so they take a lottery ticket minor leaguer and sell low
Tigersfan
3:26
Do you think the tigers will up call Dillion Dingler this season?
Anthony Franco
3:27
He has to go on the 40-man at the end of the season. If he's mashing in Double-A and the Tigers fall out of it, I could see them getting an early look at him in August or September
In a similar situation to what happened with Kerry Carpenter last year, I guess
Baseball Pickers
3:27
What trade value do Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiminez have?
Anthony Franco
3:28
If Anderson's healthy around the deadline, he'd have a ton. The free agent shortstop market is horrible, next year's $14MM club option is well below market value. He'd be an obvious fit for someone like the Dodgers
3:30
Eloy's tougher. Looks like an impact bat when healthy, which he rarely is. He's going to be out for over a month with appendicitis and has had a number of soft tissue injuries. He's guaranteed around $17MM after this season and has two team options for 2025-26
3:31
I think there's still some surplus trade value there. If he were a free agent right now, I think he'd be in the Mitch Haniger range ($43.5MM over three years). But it's not huge value and feels like the Sox wouldn't get enough in return to make that worthwhile this summer
Guest
3:31
Who ends up in the Boston rotation now that they have a busload?
Anthony Franco
3:32
My guess is they'll option Bello and keep him stretched out in Worcester until somebody else gets hurt
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