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Front Office Chat: 5/3/24
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Anthony Franco
3:57
Hey everyone, hope all is going well! Won't be able to stick around much past 5:00 Eastern today so I'll try to move a little more quickly than usual. Let's get rolling
Spaghetti Marinera
3:57
What do you make of Mike Ford’s MLB market value? He’s a fascinating blend of big strengths (power, walk rats) and big weaknesses (no defensive position,  limited contact ability).I thought it was a bit odd that coming iff 16 HRs in part-time play with Seattle last year, he had no traction in the off-season market, had to settle for a minors deal, and got sent down despite a scary-good doting. Is he more than a Quad-A player? Could he help a team in the right role, and if so, what would the right role be?
Ryan Red Leg
3:57
The Reds have a brutal schedule this month. They could really use an offensive boost. Stephenson and Strand are in the lineup today and Friedl will probably be back next week if he doesn't have a setback. But, do you think they will DFA Martini or Thompson in order to keep Mike Ford?  I'm not saying he's a great player, but he could provide some good pop off the bench and definitely hit better than Martini has lately. I think they have until the end of the day today to do it. I've been watching for the announcement.
Anthony Franco
3:59
Seems like we should get the answer to this at some point soon. I agree that he's probably played well enough to earn a call-up
4:00
His value around the league isn't high, obviously. Teams don't seem to think he can hit LHP (although he's done pretty well in a small sample). There's no defensive value, a lot of strikeouts, and he can't be optioned. He's not the easiest player to roster
4:01
But he's mashing in AAA right now and I'd take him over Martini as well
Bravenewworld
4:01
Were the 2023 offensive years of Acuna and Olsen outliers and now normalcy ensues?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Nah, they were incredible players before 2023. Disappointing starts for both -- particularly with Acuna's strikeouts skyrocketing -- but they're way too talented for me to worry about either after one bad month
Tom Fonthill
4:03
If you were GM for the Blue Jays, and you needed some hitting, where would you look to get help and who would you trade in order to make that happen ??
Anthony Franco
4:06
Not much to be done about it right now. I'd get Davis Schneider into the lineup every day, which they've done lately. At some point, they're probably going to need to get outfield help. But for now, they basically just have to wait it out for Vlad and Bichette to get going
4:07
Not particularly optimistic on Springer and Kiermaier completely turning it around, but I also wouldn't expect either to stay this bad. Varsho's not going to continue at this level, though, so that'll offset some of what they can expect in terms of a rebound from the other guys
Robert
4:07
Please explain the various Injury Lists.  Why are there several shorter IL’s in addition to the 60 day list?
Anthony Franco
4:08
Seven-day is specifically for concussions or concussion symptoms. That's a relatively new addition so players don't try to push through head injuries
4:09
The 10-day IL is specifically for hitters, while the 15-day is for pitchers. The longer stint for pitchers is to disincentivize teams from throwing pitchers on the IL whenever anything minor comes up as a way to circumvent the roster limits
ROY Nobodies
4:09
Is Corbin Carroll totally broken? Does Arizona have a lot of money invested in some guy who will live on only as a Trivia Answer for winning ROY then falling off a cliff?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Plate discipline is still fine. I don't know why the power has completely disappeared but as with the Braves guys, I'm not concerned yet
4:12
At least not concerned long term. Carroll not hitting is a bigger issue for the D-Backs than Acuna slumping is for the Braves because Arizona needs every win they can get to stay in the playoff hunt while their rotation is reeling from the injuries
Mets Met
4:12
Why are the Mets bringing up Scott? Is this more than one start thing?
Anthony Franco
4:13
One of the Mets reporters -- I believe it was Joel Sherman but I'm not 100% sure off the top of my head, sorry -- wrote yesterday that they were giving Scott at least two starts
4:14
Not a ton of off days built into the schedule coming up and the Braves will be a pretty good measuring stick to see whether he's one of their five to six best starters right now
If Scott hits the ground running, it'd make it easier to move on from Adrian Houser if he's still not throwing strikes by the time this particular stretch of the schedule wraps up
Buffalo Brad
4:15
Why don't the Cubs let Heyden start full time? He was really good today
Anthony Franco
4:16
I still like Wesneski as a potential starter but they gave him a decent amount of run in that role last year and he wasn't good
He basically pitched himself down to sixth or seventh on the depth chart for now, but I think he's talented enough to get back into their top five at some point
jasonphillipsgoggles
4:17
What is your rough estimate of the odds for Soto re-signing with the Yankees after inevitably testing the free agent market? Hal-era Yankees are far more reasonable when it comes to free agency and after trading for him I didn't really expect the Yankees to go to the level someone like Cohen and the Mets would reach in free agency, but if the massive year that appears to be in the making ends up materializing over the next few months, I can see the Yankees perhaps matching a massive offer for Soto.
Anthony Franco
4:18
Like 35%? I'd probably have the Yankees as the plurality favorite since he's already there and I can't imagine Hal wants to let him get away. But I also don't see a reason to take any specific team over the field
4:19
No reason to think he'd take a discount to stay there and the bidding's obviously going to run wild
Buffalo Brad
4:19
Does Trout have positive value? Feel like he doesn't get $200 million on the open market today
Anthony Franco
4:21
I agree with that. At 33 with the recent injury history, he'd be under $200MM as a free agent. I don't think anyone would take the contract if the Angels just wanted to offload all the money
Joe J.
4:21
Who is on your way too early to tell starting pitcher trade list?
Anthony Franco
4:22
Erick Fedde, Paul Blackburn, Trevor Rogers, Jesús Luzardo, maybe Garrett Crochet. A lot of guys where it could go either way depending on how the team plays (Kyle Gibson, Luis Severino, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, etc.)
Chief
4:23
2019 Re-Draft. In what order are they selected based on what we know today: Adley; BWJ; Riley Greene; Abrams; Kirby; Volpe; Gunnar.
Add Lodolo to that list.
Anthony Franco
4:24
Man, this is a great question. I'd still have Adley at the top, probably Gunnar at #2
4:25
Beyond that, I'll go Corbin Carroll (who you didn't mention but was also in that class), Witt, Kirby, Abrams, Volpe, Greene
4:26
I'd have Josh Jung above Lodolo despite the injuries, I think
But man, what a loaded group. I can't believe Andrew Vaughn hasn't hit though
Dano
4:26
Do guys like Nolan Gorman and Colt Keith need to be sent down for some adjustments?  Keith has the complication of the long term deal, but both are really struggling.
Anthony Franco
4:29
Yeah I think we're probably at that point for both players, particularly Gorman. The whiffs are way too high for Gorman. Keith's approach has been fine but he's not hitting for any kind of power. That one's probably more about the coaching staff gauging where his confidence level is at
4:30
If he feels fine, I think giving Keith another couple weeks is defensible. But at some point, he might need a reset just to have some success in Toledo and not get into his own head
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