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Front Office Chat: 5/23/25
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Anthony Franco
3:02
Hey everyone, hope you're doing well!
3:03
Looking forward to another of these, let's get going
Gadzooks
3:03
Taylor Ward to Cincinnati for a 55 FV and 45 FV, who says no?
Anthony Franco
3:05
Assuming you view a 55 FV as a top 50-100 prospect in MLB, that's too much for Ward. Agree he makes sense as a Reds target for a couple mid-level guys, though the Angels aren't going to move him anytime soon since they've played their way back into the Wild Card picture
Brewer Fan
3:05
I know he has shown some signs of life the last 2 games, but think there is a chance Chourio could get sent down at some point?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Have a tough time seeing that. I don't think he's playing poorly enough right now to do it and I expect he'll be better over the next two months than he has been so far. Things would really need to spiral with the approach -- say, chasing like 50% of the time -- for me to go that route
MLP
3:07
Would Miami consider trading lefty Ryan Weathers?  He's pre-arb, but they could probably get a haul -- wouldn't surprise if they could get more than they'd get for Alcantara right now.
Anthony Franco
3:08
Yeah I think he's got more trade value than Sandy given the affordability. As long as he stays healthy over the next eight weeks, there
There's a decent chance he moves
Secrets Secrets are No Fun
3:08
So MLB.com has Travis Bazzana as a 70-grade hit tool. Keith Law said in the comment section of one of his articles that "No one in the industry gave him a 70-grade hit tool." It makes more sense considering Bazzana has a .250 batting average in his entire pro career and 420 PAs isn't a small sample size, but (and Keith refused to answer this question for whatever reason: what is the consensus grade on Bazzana's hit tool, and why is MLB.com so clearly wrong?
Anthony Franco
3:09
I'm not a scout and can't speak to what Bazzana's "true" hit tool is (though I'd have a hard time putting it at a 70 given his minor league strikeout rates)
3:11
MLB Pipeline gives more favorable grades across the board than the other prospect evaluators that publish those
3:12
Pipeline has a 55 grade on Ryan Waldschmidt, who is their current #100 overall prospect. FanGraphs only has 30 players with a 55 or better future value on its board
Smalls
3:12
I'm of the opinion that Trevor Bauer has unfairly been chastised by the MLB for his off-field issues that have been resolved, and he since gone on with his life and been performing fairly well in the international leagues. He's also a large presence on social media. Why haven't smaller market teams, teams needing a spark, or just low-attendance teams going for him? Is it really the off-field issues and maybe his personality that are keeping him out of the MLB?
Anthony Franco
3:14
There's no way to sign him without having that be a major story, even for small-market teams. They've all concluded the PR fallout (and perhaps some backlash from within the clubhouse) outweighs whatever on-field value he'd provide
3:16
He's been good in Japan but not elite and hasn't pitched in MLB in four seasons. Seems to be like he'd probably be a fine fourth or fifth starter for a big league club at this point, which isn't worth the off-field fallout. If teams still thought he was an ace, I imagine one of them would've done it. It's never happening at this point
Brewer Fan
3:16
Saw Arcia hit waivers, with Ortiz struggling, any chance the Brewers would take a swing on a reunion?
Anthony Franco
3:17
I wouldn't play him above Ortiz but if you want to claim him over Monasterio as a utility guy, that seems fine
BTinVT
3:17
Hi… Does Dodgers Kim have an all star ceiling? Thank you
Anthony Franco
3:19
Have a tough time seeing that. He never hit for power in Korea and the batted ball metrics here (both in Triple-A and MLB) have been poor even though he's having success
3:20
I can buy him as a soft regular at second base but don't think he's an All-Star level performer unless you get one of those David Fletcher/Nicky Lopez type seasons where he rides outlier defensive metrics to 4+ WAR
Philly A's
3:20
A's are starting to bring up the next round of prospects,  but none are pitchers that can help.  What's the answer
Anthony Franco
3:22
Keep throwing resources at the rotation next offseason? Just don't see enough pitching talent there to expect them to climb back into it this season, especially with the stress their home park puts on them now
Pete
3:22
Surprised Caglianone wasn’t the call?  It has to be soon, right?
Anthony Franco
3:23
Moderately surprised but I get it. He has three games of Triple-A experience and is learning right field on the fly. I imagine he'll be up by mid-late June as long as he's hitting in Omaha though
3:27
Drew Waters is kind of holding up, which buys them a little bit of time, but I don't have much confidence in him continuing to hit at something close to an average level and think there'll be a two-week stretch where he's unplayable and they feel they have to go to Caglianone
Bob
3:27
What year would you guess Jesus Made might reach the majors?
Anthony Franco
3:28
2027
3:29
Seems like he's on that path of elite international hitting prospect who gets there at age 20
Bored at Work
3:29
What's your pick for the worst contract ever given to a pitcher?
Anthony Franco
3:30
Unfortunate because it was career-ending injuries, but the Nats got eight starts out of Stephen Strasburg after guaranteeing him $245M
Tough to do much worse than that
I Feel Like I'm Taking Crazy Pills
3:30
Why are the Red Sox demanding Eddie Murray level qualifications for 1B despite continuing to run out Eddy from Ed Edd 'n' Eddy every night to cover for Triston Dalbec's injury? Roman Anthony should be up by now
Armchair Scout
3:30
If Jac Caglialone can learn RF on the fly then why can't Roman Anthony play 1B on the fly?
ClarkeinEcuador
3:31
What is keeping Trevor Story in the lineup? Does he have named pictures of Cora or something? He needs a trip to the minors to rediscover his swing and let Marcelo Mayer take a shot at short
Anthony Franco
3:32
I wouldn't want to move Anthony at first but I can't see the justification for keeping him down at this point. Get Wilyer some first base reps or take Rafaela out of the everyday lineup and use him as a fourth outfielder/backup middle infielder
3:34
Tend to agree on Mayer as well but I get why that's a tougher call for them given Story's contract. Seems like they'd rather break Mayer in at second once they feel Campbell can play first so they don't have to make that call on Story yet
Tigers
3:34
As a long time Tigers fan, I doubt the team will invest a 400 million long term deal for Skubal, which I agree with. His injury history scares me. That said, it makes sense to go after Skenes hard right now (they have the prospects to do it) and have Skubal and Skenes as one two punch for at least two seasons…  Thoughts?
Anthony Franco
3:35
Pirates just aren't trading Skenes. Their GM Ben Cherington went on record to confirm as much last night
3:36
Even if you think they should do it, which I don't, they'd need ownership to approve moving their most marketable star and Cherington -- a GM who is on his sixth losing season and just fired the manager -- to commit to another massive rebuilding move
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