You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 5/5/23
powered byJotCast
Anthony Franco
3:57
Hey everyone, hope you had a good week
3:58
I'm not feeling great today so I'm going to move a little quicker than normal and keep this one to an hour
Let's get rolling
TheBeatlesShow
3:58
Is Taylor Walls' #'s for real?
Anthony Franco
3:59
This kind of power's a mirage. He'd had nine homers in a season and a half headed into this year and has five in 22 games so far. That's not going to keep up
4:00
I think he's a slightly above-average hitter who plays plus defense at multiple infield positions though. The bat-to-ball skills and plate discipline are real
Lefty
4:00
Will Joey Bart ever play in an All-Star game?
Anthony Franco
4:01
I'd say no at this point. Don't think he'll make enough contact for that
Marc
4:02
Any optimism about Rendon’s power returning?
Anthony Franco
4:04
He's still making hard contact at an above-average clip, so yeah, I think there's still bat speed there. Doubt we're ever seeing 30-homer Rendon again but I don't think 15-20 homer seasons are out of the question
Bob T
4:04
Why in the world do the Angels still carry Aaron Loup on the staff when they sent Wantz and his .076 ERA, down? Loup can’t go an inning without giving up runs.
Anthony Franco
4:05
They'd have to cut bait with Loup entirely, whereas Wantz can stay in the organization because he has options left
4:06
Can make a reasonable argument they should just DFA Loup and prioritize having the best bullpen they can in the short term but it seems like they're prioritizing stockpiling the organizational depth for now
KC and the Sunshine
4:07
Maikel Garcia is at least a little exciting. Pratto too. Do they stay up when Nicky Lopez comes back?
Anthony Franco
4:08
Pratto's still striking out so much that he should probably head back to Omaha. If Garcia's playing well, I'd keep him in the majors and play him over Lopez
JJ Bleday
4:08
Will JJ Bleday do enough to make the A's less angry about giving up Puk? Or is A's anger just life at this point.
Anthony Franco
4:09
I'm not really a Bleday believer. He draws plenty of walks but there's a lot of swing-and-miss and lazy fly balls
4:10
He got off to a great start in Triple-A this year but Vegas is an absurdly favorable home environment for hitters. I need to see it at the MLB level before I buy in
The Taj
4:10
I feel like there's financial/contract manipulation in the Taj Bradley demotion. Is there a specific date when he could be brought back while still allowing the Rays to be cheapskates?
Anthony Franco
4:12
He's already been on optional assignment for more than 20 days this year. Unless he earns the bonus service time by winning Rookie of the Year, he's not getting a full season of service in 2023
4:13
I buy that they're looking to get him into a consistent rhythm in Triple-A before he gets a permanent big league look. He got blitzed for eight runs in one inning during his lone Triple-A start since his most recent demotion, which obviously isn't ideal for building the workload
Taylor Made
4:13
I'm still holding out hope for Taylor Trammell. Do you see him carving out a regular role for the M's?
Anthony Franco
4:16
Draws plenty of walks and hits for enough power that I think he can be a strong side platoon corner outfielder despite the swing-and-miss. Ship has probably sailed on him being a star but I buy him as a useful contributor on a good team
Go A’s
4:16
Have you checked out Ryan Noda’s baseball savant page? dude has a crazy K% and BB% lol is he good???
Anthony Franco
4:17
Noda's doing in MLB what he has throughout his minor league career. Rarely swings, works deep counts that give him plenty of chances to both walk and strike out. Pairs it with above-average power
4:18
There's a limited ceiling for any player who's a below-average defensive first baseman, but I'm in on Noda as an above-average hitter who has huge three true outcome rates
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
4:18
Are the Mets a product of their injuries, or is it something more insidious?
Anthony Franco
4:21
Lineup should be better than this; I'd expect that to get better. Rotation's a real concern though. That's in large part because of injuries but was within the realm of possibility for a team putting a ton of stock on aging pitchers and an offseason signee from NPB
Scherzer has been awful. He has to figure things out quickly
Big Bob
4:22
What move(s) in your opinion should the Dodgers do either now and/or the trade deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:23
Nothing to be done right now. Rotation depth and shortstop feel like the deadline priorities, especially if Gavin Stone doesn't hit the ground running
0for5
4:23
The Jays simply don't need Biggio do they? Espinal as back up. Merrifield as the starting 2B. Give him a fresh start...
Anthony Franco
4:24
Yeah he's not playing very often and he's not hitting when he does get in the lineup. Viable midseason trade candidate, although it'd be for a minimal return. Wouldn't surprise me if they option him at some point soon
Mass Appeal
4:25
Don't look now but Michael Massey walked a few times this week. Will he rebound into an everyday bat?
Anthony Franco
4:26
Needs to dial in his approach a little more consistently but I still think the talent is there for him to be a league average hitter if he does
Rick
4:26
I know Elly De La Cruz is one of the top rated prospects, but his strikeout rate is scary. In your opinion, is it wise to trade him for a prospect with less upside with better chance to be a solid player or is Cruz's upside too high to do that?
Anthony Franco
4:28
It's not the kind of profile I love and I'd at least be open to moving him for a higher-floor bat in a dynasty league, but don't go overboard and give him away. Prospect evaluators baked in the strikeout risk and still ranked him in the top 15 because the tools are so huge
john
4:28
Anthony, does it appear the slow start for Jose Abreu look like the norm now, or will he recover?
Anthony Franco
4:29
Wrote about this for the main site earlier this week
Load More Messages
Connecting…