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Front Office Chat: 6/16/25
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Anthony Franco
3:44
He's been back into a slump this month. Hitting the ball reasonably hard overall but hasn't really elevated consistently, which isn't too surprising considering the jump he's making
3:45
I also don't think the Astros' lineup construction is doing him any favors. They're more right-handed than any lineup I can remember, so teams throw righty pitchers at them. Smith has gotten 30 plate appearances against lefties all season
3:46
I've been impressed overall with him holding his head above water and think the impact will come in time, though it might not be this year
Sam
3:46
The Twins have dropped to 1 game above .500. What approach do you see them taking at the deadline next month?
Anthony Franco
3:49
Obviously depends a lot on how they play the next month. I'd have them as soft buyers right now -- rotation depth, maybe a first base upgrade over France -- but they can play their way off that if they continue to slide
North side
3:49
For the Cubs, I think you can only call the Kyle Tucker trade a success if 1) the Cubs win the World Series this year, or 2) Kyle Tucker gets extended. What do you think the chances are for each?
Anthony Franco
3:51
I disagree with the premise because the Cubs made the trade knowing that both those outcomes were unlikely but I'll say somewhere around 10% on each
Texas Ranger Suarez
3:51
The Royals have to pull the trigger on an OF or 3B (or both) soon, right? Pitching and catching to spare, Ragans injury aside.
Anthony Franco
3:52
Third base is fine. Maikel Garcia is good and I don't see them moving him to second to bench India
3:53
They desperately need outfield help, of course, but that's a lot easier said than done six weeks before the deadline
ANM
3:53
Any chance of a Clase and or Kwan get moved?
Anthony Franco
3:54
Hadn't really considered it. I'd be really surprised if they moved Kwan with two and a half remaining arb years. They should be trying to extend him if anything
3:56
Clase? I don't think it's likely but seems more viable than Kwan. They're a small-market team, and he's a reliever who could net them a haul. If someone's willing to blow them away, I doubt they'd close the door entirely
North side pt. 2
3:57
Curious why you disagree with the premise. The Cubs gave up a huge prospect for one year of a star player. If they don't walk away at the end of the year with a ring or that player, aren't they just where they started a year ago minus that prospect? Agree it was a risk, but not sure how you'd call that move a "success" otherwise.
Anthony Franco
3:58
I just feel like if you take the approach that acquisitions are only worthwhile if it results in a ring, then you're setting such a high standard that almost no big swings will actually be worth it
4:01
Tucker's awesome. He's having a great year that'll probably push them over the top in the division for the first time in six seasons. I think that has a ton of value even if they lose in the NLDS and he walks after rejecting a qualifying offer
Beano
4:01
Is H Hernandez of Miami just having a good week? Or is he someone who is going to play ROS?
Anthony Franco
4:02
He's 25 and was striking out at a 35% rate against Triple-A pitching. Not buying that one
Tyler A
4:02
If the M’s slide into sellers, what could they get for JP Crawford who has 1.5 years on a cheap deal?
Anthony Franco
4:04
He'd bring back a ton but I have a really hard time seeing them do that. They're very likely going to be within shouting distance of a playoff spot this year and it'd be a massive hit to the 2026 roster
4:06
Dipoto's also been on the job for a decade and has one playoff appearance. I think he's better than that suggests -- he took over when they were about to drive off a cliff and they've had near misses in three of the past four years -- but I also imagine he's feeling the pressure to get over the hump if they've got any kind of shot to do so
Chris
4:07
How does Sandy Alcantara have trade value? Yeah his last two starts were good but he faced Pittsburgh and Colorado.
Anthony Franco
4:08
It's a bet on the track record and the stuff. Value's certainly down from where it was coming into the season
Andres
4:08
Thanks for the chat. To your point of Civale likely getting flipped by the ChiSox in a month for a marginal prospect, which is more than they would've gotten for Vaughn, couldn't the Brewers have easily gotten more themselves directly from a semi-contender? Why go through the White Sox? Could there be an element of spite in Civale getting sent to the White Sox because maybe the Brewers didn't like how he handled himself?
Anthony Franco
4:10
I don't think they deliberately sent him to Chicago out of spite -- not like they didn't know that the Sox just planned to flip him anyways -- but it did feel like they just wanted to be done with the situation and were willing to move him anywhere as quickly as possible even if they probably could've gotten a slightly better return had they held him for a couple weeks and shopped him around
Joshua
4:10
What type of prospect would Michael Soroka bring back to the Nats? As a reliever for a contender I think he could be a steal.
Anthony Franco
4:11
He's a moderately expensive rental so it'd be a mid-level prospect but I agree that he's an interesting target for teams seeking bullpen help
Rick
4:12
Schanuel hitting well, but little power. Long-term term, how would you rank Schanuel, Manzardo, N.Lowe, Mayo? Anyone stand out positively or negativity? Thanks
Anthony Franco
4:15
Probably in that order. I would've had Manzardo at the top coming into the season but the consistency still isn't there and he continues to hit a lot of weak fly balls that depress the average on balls in play
4:16
Alright I'm going to wrap up here
Thanks as always for hanging out and for your continued support of the site! It's truly much appreciated. Feel free to throw stuff at me on X @affranco10 throughout the week
4:17
I think Steve will be back for the main site chat tomorrow and then he'll do the subscriber one on Friday afternoon. Typical schedule again next week
4:18
Hope everyone has a good week! We'll do this again soon
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