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Front Office Chat: 5/2/25
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Gavin
3:49
Is De Vris the top prospect in baseball?
How long does De Vris stay in A+?    and is he the starting SS for the Padres next spring?
Anthony Franco
3:52
I'd have a tough time putting De Vries above Roman Anthony before he even reaches Double-A, but you could make a real argument for him as the #2 prospect who has yet to make his MLB debut. Starting SS out of camp is a tough ask but we've seen the Padres push their top guys before so I wouldn't completely rule it out
Alan53
3:52
For all their much-discussed strengths--don't the Cubs need to add at least one, and probably two, good starting pitchers to have a real chance of winning their division?
Anthony Franco
3:54
Nah I think they're the best team in the division already. Probably need another starter to put themselves alongside the Mets, Padres, etc. as the best non-Dodgers teams in the National League though
Jesse
3:54
I just do not get the hype around the Mets. MLB.com and ESPN both have them atop their power rankings. Look behind the record and what do you see? An offense that is absolute trash after the top 3 in the lineup. A rotation full of over-performing starters who barely pitch past the 5th inning, a bullpen that is disintegrating rapidly and a pillow-soft schedule. The Mets will be in third place by the All-Star break. Change my mind.
Anthony Franco
3:55
Well power rankings are usually just slightly altered regurgitations of the standings and they have the second-best record in baseball, so that makes sense
3:57
While I agree that the rotation is pitching over its head and now have some questions about the bullpen with Minter probably not coming back, calling their lineup "absolute trash after the top 3" is just false
4:00
Vientos and Nimmo are above-average hitters. Alvarez is a better than average offensive catcher. Winker has a long track record of hitting RHP. They don't have a great offensive center fielder, but almost no one does. And glossing over the top third ignores the idea that it may be the best non-Ohtani, Betts, Freeman top three in baseball
Crusty Old Os Fan
4:00
Being an Orioles fan is getting depressing at this point. What do you see happening at this point? Selling off Mountcastle (and any others like him) for the future, or rolling the dice on the present (again) and hoping for the best?
Anthony Franco
4:01
AL in general is still congested enough that they may be able to hold their head above water until Eflin (and eventually GrayRod) returns to provide some hope
4:02
If that doesn't happen, then yeah, I think both O'Hearn and Mountcastle could go to give Mayo a clear path to playing time. They should get a better return for Mullins in trade than they would if he declined the QO and walked
John B
4:03
Any thoughts on the article in the Athletic about MLB changing the strike zone. MLB insists they notified every one but the in the article they couldn't find any players, coaches, or execs who remember being told about it. Seems like it would drive up pitch counts, especially early.
Anthony Franco
4:03
Bookmarked but haven't had a chance to read it yet
Chris
4:04
Is this the end for Kenta Maeda or will someone else sign him to a MLB deal? I can't imagine he'd be much worse than everybody else in the Nats current bullpen.
Anthony Franco
4:06
I think he'd probably be limited to minor league deals given the lack of roster flexibility and the diminished stuff. If he's willing to do that, could give him a chance to build back as rotation depth somewhere over a few weeks in Triple-A
Gavin
4:06
what would it take for the Padres to get Burger from Texas?    Preller has to be looking to upgrade bench and righty with power.
Anthony Franco
4:08
Texas gave up three mid-level prospects for Burger last offseason. They still need righty power and offense in general themselves. I doubt they're interested in trading him at a low point
Mike
4:08
are the Rockies worse than the 2024 White Sox?
Anthony Franco
4:09
I don't think so. Doyle should be better, they'll get Tovar back from injury. Dollander should improve over the course of the season and might steal a couple wins, especially on the road
Bravisimo
4:09
At this point I wonder why Arcia occupies a roster spot. Is there someplace to find a teams stats in clutch /RISP situations?
Anthony Franco
4:12
Braves are middle-of-the-pack in hitting with RISP. Quite good in what FanGraphs considers high-leverage spots -- which is more score dependent than RISP, since hitting with the bases loaded in a 12-2 game isn't actually a clutch situation
4:14
Arcia kind of hedges against Allen's bat evaporating, I guess, and the Braves have cycled through bench players without any kind of success. It's not a good use of a roster spot but they don't have much better to do with it right now anyways. Decent chance he doesn't make it the whole season though
Re: Naylor
4:14
Wouldn’t it make sense for him to just accept the QO then?  Bank the 20+ million, still hit free agency before 30, and not have Alonso, Arraez and Lowe as alternatives.
Anthony Franco
4:17
The QO decision needs to be made within the first two weeks of the offseason, and he's giving away a prime year relative to the next FA trip. Probably better off seeing if someone loves him enough to push closer to nine figures with the expectation that he can negotiate some kind of opt-out fallback if the market doesn't materialize
Dewey
4:18
Does Cam Smith eventually find a home at 3rd?
Anthony Franco
4:20
They control Paredes for another two years. Walker and Yordan are signed for at least as long. Feels like the corner OF need is going to remain more pressing for a while, and it's rarer to see teams bring someone back into the infield (outside of 1B) after years of outfield work than the other way around
Casas Struggle
4:20
How long do the Red Sox go with Casas until they send him down to straighten himself out in the minors.
Anthony Franco
4:22
If he were striking out a ton while hitting like this, I think it'd be more of a consideration. The contact rate and exit velos aren't dramatically off his usual level. I'd give him more time to see if the batted ball results normalize
Bradke Hrbek
4:23
As a Twins fan, it's frustrating to see the disparity with the Guardians in terms of overall run differential and W-L (both for the season and this week)... is there something about the way MN is coached or constructed that makes them susceptible to losing close games, or can we expect the outcomes to even out over the coming months?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Should even out. They've blown a decent amount of leads despite being 10th in bullpen ERA. It's frustrating to watch as a fan but that kind of thing comes and goes for teams. Twins were 22-20 in one-run games last year, for instance
4:28
If anything, it's more about the Guardians. They've been really good in close games over the last year-plus, and while that's not an easy thing to sustain, there's probably some signal there because they've got an excellent back end
Kevin in Ranger Texas
4:28
Chris Young is serious and this team hitting, Jake Burger as proof, and even more serious about staying under the luxury tax, if Texas is still in it come trade deadline will he go over the luxury taxes
Anthony Franco
4:30
That's a Ray Davis decision more than a Chris Young one. Their offseason trajectory was pretty clearly designed to stay under, so it just depends on whether the owner has a change of heart
Alright I've got to wrap this one at the 90-minute mark
4:31
I'm on X @affranco10 if you want to throw anything else at me throughout the week. Steve will do his standard chat on Monday and I'll do this again next Friday
Thanks for all the questions as always! Have a great weekend!
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