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Front Office Chat: 5/23/25
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Beano
3:37
Why is Otto Lopez struggling? Or is this O Lopez and last year was the "career"?
Anthony Franco
3:37
Yeah I just don't think he's particularly good
3:38
Makes enough contact that you can get by when the singles are falling in, but it's entirely dependent on batted ball fortune to approach league average offense overall
Cedric Mullins
3:39
If Baltimore is selling at the deadline, could you see them trading Mullins? If yes, would James outman and Tony Gonsolin be enough to get him to LA?
O's Magic
3:39
If you're the General Manager of the Orioles, what do you do at the trade deadline, and who do you sign in the offseason player-wise to get the team back on track?
JL
3:39
If the Orioles traded Bautisa, what is a reasonable return?
Jace
3:39
What kind of prospects could the Orioles get if they traded any of Eflin, Mullins, Mountcastle, O'Hearn, Laurano, Urias, and Metao at the trade deadline?
Anthony Franco
3:41
I think they'll trade Mullins but Gonsolin/Outman isn't doing it. Gonsolin's a year and a half from free agency and has a worrisome injury history. Outman is a non-factor, fringe 40-man roster guy at this point
3:43
I'd shop all the guys Jace mentioned, could throw in Seranthony Domínguez and Keegan Akin too. Mountcastle, Laureano and Mateo aren't bringing much back. Eflin (assuming he's healthy) and Mullins will each net a real prospect, think O'Hearn should bring back an interesting mid-level guy as well
3:45
Urías is a weird one, because it's not a profile that really gets much on the trade front but he's consistently a quality role player. They can control him for another season via arbitration, so while I'd obviously see what's out there, think there's a decent chance it won't be enough to outweigh the value of holding him for next year
3:46
Feels like the wrong time to move Bautista with how poor his command has been and the additional two years of cheap control
As for the offseason, the focus is obviously on overhauling essentially the entire rotation
thebeatlesshow
3:46
Hey, Anthony.  Thanks.  Old Buffalonian.  How's the weather up there?  2nd...more applicable question.  I know they're very hot now...The line up has been producing and the bullpen bleeding seems to be stanched...but do you think...long term...that this team...as is...can be a fringe contender and (3rd question, I guess) do you think Moreno will spend if he thinks they can get into the 'tournament'?
Anthony Franco
3:49
  1. It sucks, high-40s and rainy
  2. Assuming you're asking about the Angels, I still don't see them as a realistic contender. Even with the bullpen coming around, the lineup depth and back of the rotation aren't good enough IMO
  3. Yeah, I could see them taking on a few million at the deadline if they're hanging around. They've got space before the CBT threshold and taking on salary is preferable to leveraging an already weak farm for short-term adds as a fringe contender
Alan53
3:49
What are the chances that a wild-card team will come out of the NL Central?
Anthony Franco
3:50
I'll say 25%
3:52
NL West is getting at least two playoff teams, I feel pretty good about the Mets and Phillies both getting in. That'd leave the second-place NL Central team beating out the Braves and at least two of San Diego, Arizona and San Francisco
Seems unlikely to me but definitely not impossible
Nick
3:53
Red Sox get Lamont Wade or maybe Yaz and Giants clear some space for younger guys to hit. Make sense.... nor nah?
Anthony Franco
3:54
Wade's having an atrocious year. Wouldn't hate it as a flier over Toro and Sogard for a month, but they'd probably need to upgrade on him again at the deadline
3:55
Yaz has been good this year and the Giants are eight games over .500. Don't see why they'd move him
Brian
3:55
Will the Rockies finish worse than the 2024 White Sox?
Anthony Franco
3:57
Yeah at this point, I'll take the over on 121 losses. Crazy to imagine a record that stood for over 120 years immediately getting broken
Burgher Time
3:57
The only flak Skenes caught last year for ROY was his limited innings. Are the Bucs taking that into account on a Chandler call up so they can avoid any arbitration woes?
Anthony Franco
3:59
The Super Two arbitration cutoff might be a part of it but the bigger thing is the Prospect Promotion Incentive in the CBA that allows a top prospect to get a full service year if they win Rookie of the Year (which is what you're referencing with Skenes)
It's less about arbitration and more so that it moves the player's free agency eligibility up by a season
4:02
It's the only real explanation on Chandler. It sucks for fans but it also does the Pirates no good to run the risk of Chandler getting the full service year when they know they have zero playoff hopes at this point. It's the one drawback of the PPI, which has worked for the most part but occasionally incentivizes teams to keep guys down longer than they otherwise might have
Also worth considering that last year's NL Rookie of the Year field was way better
4:04
Merrill's performance would have made him a unanimous selection in a lot of years. Chourio would've been a realistic candidate in other seasons. This year's odds-on favorites are a part-time catcher (Drake Baldwin) and a pitcher with a 3.67 ERA (AJ Smith-Shawver)
Brewer Fan
4:04
How is that an incentive?
Anthony Franco
4:05
If the team calls the player up on Opening Day, they can get an extra draft pick if the player wins ROY or finishes top three in Cy Young/MVP balloting during their first three seasons
4:06
The potential for the extra draft pick is the incentive, but if the team doesn't call the player up early enough to get a full service year -- usually Opening Day but anytime before the second week of April works -- then the pick goes away and the "full service year" provision actively becomes a disincentive
The Var-Show
4:06
Is Daulton Varsho’s offensive breakout for real and sustainable?
Anthony Franco
4:08
He's striking out more than ever and has a .239 on-base. Tough to call that an offensive breakout, it's more of a power barrage
4:09
Exit velocity is way up and he's hitting more fly-balls, so I could see him approaching the career-high 27 homers he hit in his last year with Arizona. Still don't think he'll be a great all-around hitter, though he obviously doesn't need to be given the glove
thebeatlesshow
4:09
Do you think Jacob DeGrom is going to go the 'Sandy Koufax' route...not ten years at the top of the game, but five years so dominant that he can't be kept out of the Hall of Fame?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Yeah I think he's getting in. I figure we'll see the voting for starting pitchers continue to skew more in favor of peak over volume over the next 10-15 years as voters become more comfortable adjusting to the diminished workloads that teams ask of starters in today's game
Beano
4:11
Do you think Canario is going to be a Pirates OF guy for the ROS? And do you "like" him?
Anthony Franco
4:13
There's probably too much swing-and-miss to make it work, but there's also no reason for them to give at-bats to Tommy Pham or Jack Suwinski rather than letting Canario get a real crack at it
Hits Like Rays
4:14
What are the Rays going to do with Curtis Mead?  They don't seem to want to play him every day in the infield, but he seems to need everyday reps to get going.  Will they trade Brandon Lowe in order to open up 2B for him, put him in LF (which has been the Rays biggest black hole position this year), or just look to trade him to a rebuilding team and try to just get a good relief pitcher for him?
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