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Front Office Chat: 5/24/24
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Anthony Franco
4:26
Criswell's not this good but he's a solid #5
Cohen
4:26
Tim says that the Mets need basically a complete overhaul.  I agree.  What day you
Anthony Franco
4:28
I get the argument for it but I'm a little more bullish on their outlook than Tim seems to be. Lindor's going to come around, the Nimmo contract looks better than expected, Alvarez is a franchise catcher. They've got some decent arms and Christian Scott could step in as a mid-rotation or better guy
4:29
Ronny Mauricio should be back in 2025 too. Still in on him as a core piece
There are certainly some things they'd like to have back, and I'd probably trade Alonso this summer rather than re-sign him, but there's too much talent here for me to blow the whole thing up
RAGBRAI
4:29
Ranger Suárez, what’s going on? Is this sustainable or how much regression should be expected?
Anthony Franco
4:30
Wouldn't expect him to keep a sub-2.00 ERA all year in that ballpark. Even with the huge grounder rate, he's going to give up a few homers
4:32
He's a high-end #2 starter for me though. Plus command, offspeed stuff misses bats, the sinker gets a ton of grounders. Not quite the overpowering velocity and power fastball of a prototypical ace, but he's a complete pitcher who has probably been overshadowed for a couple years by Nola and Wheeler
Cards Fan
4:32
Our terrific local beat writer here in STL, Derrick Goold, suggests that a surprise early trade by the Cards could have a real impact, and I'm guessing that would be a fifth starter in the rotation.  Do you think either Yusei Kikuchi or Erik Fedde would be reasonable pursuits and if so, what might it take to get either one of them?  Thanks.
Anthony Franco
4:34
I'd probably wait until the deadline if I were them to evaluate whether they can actually stay in the playoff mix, but if they're hanging around,  those feel like viable targets
4:35
Jays also wouldn't trade Kikuchi this early since they still hope to compete, but I'd guess Fedde could be had today for the right price
4:36
A fringe top 100 guy for either one seems right. I've long been a Kikuchi skeptic but he's been awesome this year and could end up being the best rental starter to move. Fedde's not as exciting but he's got the extra year of cheap control
Giantsphan
4:36
Hi Anthony, As you're always more bullish on the Giants than I am, I'd love your take on how you view their progress to date this season.  Any thoughts on this upcoming offseason acquisition targets?  Do you think the Giants may go after Juan Soto this winter, or will the Dodgers BUY him?  Are the Giants going to be relegated to third (or 4th) in the NL West for the next decade?  Thank you
Anthony Franco
4:39
They're still in the Wild Card mix despite all the injuries, so I guess that's a plus, but I like the roster less than I did two months ago. The rotation feels like it's hanging by a thread beyond Webb and Harrison, especially if Snell doesn't find it almost immediately. Jordan Hicks has been huge so far, but I don't know how long you can reasonably expect him to hold up
4:40
I'm sure they'll be in on Soto but I'd have a hard time picking them as the landing spot over one of the New York teams
Anthony Franconstine
4:40
Why are the Guardians so good. It doesn’t feel like their players stats support their record
Anthony Franco
4:44
They've got an elite bullpen, which is often the case for teams that are surprisingly good. They've played a fairly soft schedule overall, which helps, but they're also coming off six straight wins over teams (Minnesota and the Mets) that I think are comparable to them on talent
4:45
Still skeptical they can keep it up with the rotation looking this thin and the bottom half of the lineup being pretty underwhelming, but they've already played well above my preseason expectations
HoHum
4:45
Does Cavan Biggio last the year in TO?
Anthony Franco
4:46
I doubt it but I'd have said that in 2022 and '23 too
BO's back
4:46
Both Bo and Vladdy seem to be turning things around. Can the jays still get the wildcard?
Anthony Franco
4:47
They're three games out and it's May. They're still very much in play
Anthony Franconstine
4:47
Is Candelario going to be moustakas 2.0
Anthony Franco
4:47
Nah, the Candelario deal made a lot more sense than the Moustakas one
BILL G.
4:48
With the lousy offenses most teams are putting out and the two strike batter time-out, can we now conclude that the hitters have not done as well as the pitchers in adjusting to the pitch clock?
Anthony Franco
4:49
Wouldn't say that. The problems with league offense started long before the pitch clock
4:50
Strikeouts have trended up for basically the entire history of the league, but they really skyrocketed during the second half of the 2000s into the 2010s. The juiced ball covered up for it a bit in the second half of the last decade -- the game got really static, but at least teams were scoring because of the homers -- and that has leveled off over the last few seasons
Numb Mets fan
4:50
Hey Anthony, when the Mets start selling off players, is there a name or two you would be genuinely surprised the Mets trade this summer, BUT under the right circumstances could see it happening?
Anthony Franco
4:50
Brett Baty
4:52
Not a traditional sell-off move, but if Vientos thoroughly outplays him and someone else still sees Baty as a potential everyday third baseman, this could be their best chance to cash him in while he still has decent trade value. Similar to what the Mariners did with Kelenic
Dills
4:52
Should PCA be trade bait?  Who / what could the Cubs get for him?
Anthony Franco
4:53
He feels like the heir apparent in CF if Bellinger walks next winter. Tauchman has been a good story but he's a 33-year-old journeyman
They'd get a lot for PCA, but I'd be really surprised if they moved him
Ryan Red Leg
4:54
It's crazy that the Reds have played 50 games but have only played 3 against their division. They have 49 more games to play against the Central.  They could gain some ground of the offense comes alive. Any idea if any other team has only played 3 division games so far this season?
Anthony Franco
4:56
I hadn't noticed that. That is pretty wild. Appears they're the only ones at three games, although the Angels hadn't played a single division series until getting the Rangers and Astros within the last week
Anthony Franconstine
4:56
What do you think about Steinbrenners comments
Anthony Franco
4:57
Nothing out of the ordinary. Even the highest spenders like to dip below the CBT to reset their tax line every once in a while, and the Yankees are at a franchise record payroll this year
4:58
At some point, payroll probably will come down a little bit, but I don't think anything Steinbrenner said changes their odds on re-signing Soto next winter
Pip
4:58
luis Gil ROY? He plays for Satan‘s team, but he’s pretty amazing.
Anthony Franco
5:00
He's been awesome. Not sure he'll be able to get the number of innings to win ROY after barely pitching in 2022-23 because of the Tommy John
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