JotCast | Front Office Chat: 5/22/2026

Front Office Chat: 5/22/2026

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Donny Baseball

3:39

What do you make of Andrew Painter through 2 months?

Anthony Franco

3:40

Thought there'd be more swing and miss. The home runs and Phils' general reluctance to let him see a lineup for a third time make sense though

3:42

Still like him as a long-term starter. Deep repertoire, has handled LHH well enough, around the zone to get chases. Did expect a slightly better rookie season though

Brewers Pen????

3:42

I just added Bryan Torres in my fantasy league. Getting called up by the Cardinals today. My question is why was he considered such a marginal prospect? His AA numbers were .320/.396/.401 and was even better at AAA. There he hit .330/.445/.467. This year alone he had more BB's than K's and 2 HR & 10 SB. Am I missing something or is everyone else?

Anthony Franco

3:42

He's just old

3:43

Already in his physical prime so there's not much long-term projection. Credit to him for getting there at all though, impressive comeback after he was out of affiliated ball for a while

Antonetti

3:44

What should I do with Gabriel Arias when he gets off IL ? He is out of options. Bazzana is fine at 2B. Rocchio likewise at SS. Between Schneeman and Martinez, there is flexibility

Anthony Franco

3:45

Like the glove enough to keep Arias around as a utility guy. There was too much swing-and-miss for him to play regularly at SS, middle infield obviously in a much better spot with Bazzana up and Rocchio performing

3:46

Probably just takes the roster spot that Halpin has now

Positively Half St.

3:46

Mike Rizzo had a great record in the 2010s but terrible in the 2020s for the Nats. Do you think another team would be interested in hiring him?

Anthony Franco

3:47

Recent track record was bad enough that I don't think he's jumping right back into a GM job but he could certainly get a scouting or advisory role if he wanted one

thebeatlesshow

3:48

Hey, Anthony. Best to you. if you're the Angels, who do you sell and when do you start?

Anthony Franco

3:49

José Soriano's the big one. I'd have him out there now but with the understanding that the interest probably peaks in late July anyway

3:51

Would still be inclined to hold Zach Neto even if they're clearly not good enough to have anyone who's truly untouchable. Would be looking to move Reid Detmers this summer, feels like it's never going to fully click there but there'd be a lot of teams really intrigued by two and half arb years on him

3:52

Any of the impending FAs can go whenever but they'd be lucky to find a taker for any of them. Guess Kirby Yates could net a rookie ball lottery ticket

walterj23

3:52

Which Cubs player has the most trade value , Shaw or Ramirez ?

Anthony Franco

3:53

I know Steve answered this one on Monday and said he thinks it's a split camp. I agree with that but would still lean Shaw myself

GuardIndian

3:53

With the way things have gone Rocchio and even Bazzana(!), short sample size and all could be all stars. I don't think anyone had two Cle MIF's as all stars this season. Also, what would CLE's biggest area of need be? I think a good RP that can help in the 7th or 8th is needed. Maybe an innings eater as a SP. They need another big bat but ownership would be offended if they added a big salary

Anthony Franco

3:57

Yeah they don't have anything super glaring. Could argue Steven Kwan's their worst regular at this point, maybe there's a sequence where they shop him this summer (likely offseason trade or non-tender anyway) and swing for a bigger bat in the corner OF to guard against Martínez coming back to earth or a DeLauter injury

3:58

I still think Hoskins/Manzardo at first base will be fine but not like they've been great so far. Back-end starter to push Cecconi to a depth role would be ideal

4:01

I like the bullpen quite a bit overall but would poke around for another lefty to push Herrin out. Second straight year where the walks are too high and he doesn't have Sabrowski's stuff to overcome that

BoSox Need Power

4:01

What would it take to pry Hunter Goodman from Colorado? Any other power bats out there for the Red Sox to go after if they continue to be in a wildcard chase?

Anthony Franco

4:04

Three and a half years of a top 10-15 starting catcher in MLB. Guessing it'd be a bigger ask than I'd want to meet given my trepidation about the swing-and-miss. Sox aren't doing Arias obviously and I can't see Eyanson either, feels like Colorado would have their pick of a few of the lower level international signees Boston has added over the past couple periods

Mark Jolly

4:05

You might have been asked before, but where does the ABS system measure a strike? The front of the plate? Also, does it move up and down depending on the size of the player? Judge should have a huge strike zone. Ricky Henderson would have driven it nuts because of his stance being so compacted compared to his size

Anthony Franco

4:06

It's set at the middle depth of the plate. Front would've been annoying because it'd catch some very low off speed pitches that end up closer to the dirt by the time they reach the catcher, pitches that we've all just agreed aren't strikes for decades

4:07

And yes, it varies for hitter height. MLB measured everyone during Spring Training

Almost everyone lost a couple inches off their previous listed heights. Turns out they're not all above 6'0" after all

Meow

4:08

Why do teams always wait until it's strictly necessary to open a 40-man roster spot to move guys to the 60-day IL? I always assumed it's so they can say they're using all 40 spots as much as possible without having to promote people until necessary, but I have no idea if that's accurate.

Anthony Franco

4:09

Believe it's technically a rule that they can't put guys on the 60-day unless it's as a corresponding 40-man roster move

Not that it matters, there's no incentive to do so. The 60-day window backdates to the original IL placement, so there's no advantage to putting someone on there vs. the 10-day or 15-day beyond clearing the 40-man spot

4:10

It's not a workaround to make their rosters seem full. Teams can carry fewer than 40 players, there's no minimum beyond the 26 or 28 necessary to fill out the active roster on game days

OttoKempBots, Roll Out

4:11

Assuming Aaron Nola continues to throw more meatballs than a red sauce Italian joint in Hoboken, what alternatives do the Phillies have? He seems a poor fit for the bullpen, and that contract would appear to be untradeable.

Anthony Franco

4:13

There really isn't one. Contract is way underwater. Could move him to long relief eventually but wonder if they'd just release him rather than doing that. Agree he doesn't feel like someone whose stuff would really play in short relief

4:15

The K/BB profile is league average and he's mostly been durable if nothing else, so they'll just keep running him out there for now. Don't really see much to try to get the hard contact under control

what is a Ray to do?

4:15

The Rays are in a spot that most never saw coming. Assuming they stay in the playoff hunt by the trade deadline, what sort of moves do you see them doing? They just nabbed up a bunch of young talent with the intent of opening up a new window of contention in the next few years, but how should they address this year? Do they then flip some of the newly acquired prospects for a new role player here and there (and potentially a cheaper starting pitching rental) or do you see them run a complete overhaul of a couple positions (bye bye Mullins, Fraley, Fortes?). Maybe they’d hate to mess with the friendship formula?

Anthony Franco

4:17

I think they should push in for Abrams, try to capitalize on the weakest year for the AL in forever, and then reexamine next offseason or at the '27 deadline whether they want to trade him before the arb window closes

4:18

Mullins is rough but unless the Twins put Buxton out there, tough to see where the CF upgrade is coming from. Might just need to turn that over to Jacob Melton once he's back in a rhythm after the injury in Triple-A

4:19

Probably need a back-end starter given the innings questions on Matz, McClanahan and Jax

Ewitkows

4:20

Who's your top 3 for the cy young so far?

Anthony Franco

4:23

Hmm, haven't given this any thought but off the cuff:

AL - Schlittler, Soriano, probably Davis Martin
NL - Sánchez, Misiorowski, Sale

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