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Front Office Chat: 5/17/24
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Anthony Franco
4:58
The Wendle signing obviously didn't work but the money is a drop in the bucket for the Mets and they're basically operating without a backup middle IF now that they cut him
Rick
4:59
Esteury Ruiz seemed to have made some positive strides in hitting until Oakland started keeping him out of the lineup, sending him down, etc. Do you think he can ever be a full-time starter on Oakland or some other team or always a 4th outfielder? A Billy Hamilton type?
Anthony Franco
5:00
I don't think he's a regular. The pitch recognition isn't good and he has been a fringe defender in center despite the speed
Don
5:02
Do you think the Braves will try to add another mid tier starter to protect against innings limits on Lopez and Sale, or do you think they will role the dice with the group of prospects and suspects at AAA and AA
Anthony Franco
5:04
I expect they'll add some kind of stable innings. Neither Waldrep nor Smith-Shawver is dominating in the minors to feel great about how they'd step in if one of their top starters went down
5:05
Morton's age is a question and they seem to like Elder more as a depth guy
Guest
5:05
when will at least 2 of the 3 Padres "superstars" start clicking and producing. and don't include Jurickson Profar in that list, please.
Anthony Franco
5:08
Tatis' raw slash line (.256/.343/.438) doesn't look great but it's well above average in a league hitting .239/.311/.385. Willing to chalk Machado's start up to an atypical offseason after the elbow surgery
5:09
Xander's been really disappointing though. He's 31 and the track record is so good that I expect him to rebound, but I can't defend the way he's played so far
Lefty
5:09
13 players on the IL. Are the Giants cursed? Should they be sellers at this rate?
Anthony Franco
5:11
They don't need to make that call anytime soon. Two good weeks would pull them right back into the muddled NL Wild Card picture
5:12
But they've had a terrible start and they're down to a patchwork lineup because of the injuries. Feels like it'll be another year where I expected the Giants to be better than they are
Chris
5:12
How much do you expect the horrible .239/.311/.385 to get better? If it doesn't get too much better, what does MLB do next to get more offense?
Anthony Franco
5:15
Offense ticks up a little in the summer because the ball carries better in warm weather. But the league hit .248/.320/.414 last year, so it's not like we're getting a dramatic improvement. Probably 4-5 points of average and OBP and like 10 points in slugging
5:17
I don't know what they can do about it besides making the ball livelier again (which will increase offense but make the game more homer-dependent). They can't meaningfully move the strikeout rate. The shift limits marginally increased average on balls in play but it didn't make a dramatic change
Guest
5:17
Time to revisit our favorite hot stove topic: whether the rich teams always prosper and the poor teams can never get ahead. A quarter of the way through the 2024 season--what does the scorecard look like and are there lessons for both the rich and the poor?
Anthony Franco
5:19
Doesn't seem notably different than in prior years. The Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies and Braves are all really good but you've got a few low-payroll success stories (Milwaukee, Cleveland). The Astros have started slowly, the Mets are just ok
5:20
High payroll definitely helps but it's not close to a 1-1 correlation with success
I'll wrap this up in 10 minutes, going to try to run through a few more quickly
Cards Fan
5:20
I'm fearful that our Cards' rotation is an injury away from reverting back to last year's performance.  Is there a reasonable target trade-wise that we could go after with at least a couple of years control?  Is Luzardo a feasible target?
Anthony Franco
5:21
He's a viable trade target for someone but the Cards probably won't be in position to beat the competition for one of the more talented starting pitchers on the market
5:22
Not saying he wouldn't help STL, but if the Cardinals aren't legitimate playoff threats in 2024, other teams should be more motivated than the Cards to get him
Awful Teams
5:22
With Colorado going on quite the streak, what will the lowest Win column entry be at the end of the season?
Anthony Franco
5:23
White Sox have been playing better lately too. I'll go 108 losses for the worst team
Still think that's probably Colorado or the Sox but Miami's got a chance
Caminero
5:23
Any guesses on a timeline for a Caminero Call-up? I'm increasingly convinced it's gonna be a while, both because of they're Rays Ways and the current roster construction.
Junior
5:23
What more does Caminero have to prove at AAA?
Anthony Franco
5:25
Paredes is really good but they're playing matchups at second base. Caminero should probably get into that mix within the next couple weeks
A. J Hinch
5:25
Should the tigers cut Maeda once he's off the injured list? Seems manning's the better option?
Anthony Franco
5:26
Too soon to go that far. Terrible first month but he's not getting cut seven starts into a two-year, $24MM free agent deal
MLBTR Fan Stan
5:26
What number does boras tell Steinbrunner to get Soto to sign today?
Boras
5:26
What is the "sign and drive" number for Soto today?
Anthony Franco
5:27
It has to start with a 6 right? Even if he may not be able to get that in free agency, the Yankees would need to go above the market to get him to give up the chance to see
Driving Crooner
5:28
What upgrades could the Mariners realistically make to their lineup by the deadline -- or have they put themselves in a spot where it's mostly just going to be up to the guys already on the roster (Haniger, France, Polanco, etc.) to really get going? And IIRC, both Dipoto and Servais are in a contract year; could that affect how aggressive the front office is at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
5:30
Could probably upgrade over Hangier or France at the deadline. Think they're basically waiting on Polanco, Garver and obviously Julio to get things going at those spots
Butlerization
5:30
Lawrence Butler is back in the minor leagues. Given that you can't steal first, will he ever hit enough to use his speed?
Anthony Franco
5:31
Butler's more of a power than a speed guy, but in either case, I don't think he'll make consistent enough contact to be a regular
Thanks
5:31
I never get to participate in the Front Office chats in real time and the first time I do you answered six of my questions! Very cool.
5:32
Make that seven answered!
Anthony Franco
5:32
Thanks for all the questions! Have to wrap this one up since we're well past 90 minutes, but as always, I'm happy to take questions on X throughout the week
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