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Front Office Chat: 6/21/24
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Anthony Franco
4:27
I'll go Minnesota for one spot. The other? It's still hard for me to pick Texas to miss the playoffs even though it's a long road back
wvpirate
4:27
Have you heard of the rumor A's JJ Bleday to the Pirates Suwinski and Peguero? If so what do you think of it?
Anthony Franco
4:29
Hadn't seen this. Guessing this was a speculative suggestion somewhere?
4:30
I actually like the idea. My guess is Oakland wouldn't do it with how poorly Suwinski has played this year, but I'm still not sold on Bleday and would be in on the A's trying to buy low on both Suwinwski and Peguero
Cecil
4:31
Torkelson hasn’t done much since being sent down to AAA.  Can he eventually turn things around or is he on the verge of being a bust?
Anthony Franco
4:31
"On the verge" feels right. I'm still clinging to hope but it's dwindling
Hoster Tully
4:32
Do you think the Cardinals are making a mistake by playing Michael Siani everyday in CF instead of Dylan Carlson?  Should they be using this time to get a final evaluation of Carlson and maybe showcase him in center for a deadline trade?
Anthony Franco
4:33
I just think the ship has sailed on Carlson. He's not going to play his way into being a valuable trade chip at this point. Never turned into the caliber of hitter most people (myself included) expected
I'm not really a Siani fan but at least he's making a big impact defensively. Playing him over Carlson at this point seems right
Incentives
4:34
Why don’t you see as many incentive laden contracts as you do in football?
Anthony Franco
4:35
The MLB collective bargaining agreement prohibits building incentives based on statistical performance. You can do playing time incentives (PAs, IPs, starts, games finished, etc.) but can't condition bonuses on RBI, batting average, stuff like that
4:37
A lot of MLB contracts have some kind of playing time bonuses, but the majority of deals (outside of players with exceptional injury cases) have the bulk of the money guaranteed. MLB's player union has been more successful than the NFLPA
Thank you for the chat!
4:37
Washington has limited payroll obligations after the year. Does it make sense to got after multiple high end free agents this off season? Maybe a Fried/Burnes + position player?
Anthony Franco
4:38
I'd be surprised if they jump all the way to the top of the market. The Lerners still seem like they're at least open to restarting talks with Ted Leonsis about a sale, and they owe deferred money on Strasburg, Scherzer and (to a lesser extent) Corbin
4:40
They should be more aggressive than they've been for the last few years. The market for mid-level hitters is pretty interesting. Could pair a Rhys Hoskins type with a run at Jack Flaherty or something even if they don't want to play for Burnes or Fried
Mike D.
4:40
If the Reds wanted to swing for the fences in a big way what would Mets ask in return for 1/2 season on Pete Alonso?
Anthony Franco
4:41
Probably depends on where they sit in a couple weeks. I don't think the trade value on Alonso is all that high given the limited control window and defensive value. If they're like two games out of a Wild Card spot and getting offered a couple mid-tier prospects for Pete, it's not worth it for them to move him
4:42
That calculus could change if they fall six or seven games back with a half-dozen teams to leapfrog in the standings
Guest
4:42
Juan Soto being a mercenary will no doubt go to the highest bidder. I had been leaning towards the Yankees however I am beginning to tilt towards the Mets. Your opinion?
Anthony Franco
4:43
I'd take the field over any individual team but would still have the Yankees as the plurality favorite
Rob
4:43
Is there a universe where the Angels could trade both Trout and Rendon to one team?
Anthony Franco
4:43
Nah, no one's taking Rendon
4:45
They probably couldn't offload the entire Trout contract either. But it might be possible to pay some of that down if he reversed course and wanted to force his way out (no indication that'll ever happen). Rendon's far likelier to get released at some point than being traded
Will in Westport
4:45
Hey Anthony, thanks for doing these chats.  In the podcast this week, you folks cited the Erick Fedde of the White Sox was a probable trade candidate at the deadline.  And, in one of the news items earlier this week, you guys discussed the possibility of Tommy Pham being attractive to the Royals.  Presuming both of these to be true, do you think the Sox will get prospects (rather than MLB talent), and, if so, who would be the logical call-ups by the Sox?
Anthony Franco
4:46
Pham's not going to bring back much. Maybe a fringe top 30 prospect in an organization. He's a nice stopgap but he's not lighting the world on fire and no one wanted to beat a $3MM deal when he was a free agent two months ago
4:47
Fedde's a lot more interesting. They should get a couple legitimate prospects there, could see him pulling a guy who's in the Top 100 overall conversation
Sox should prioritize prospects over MLB talent. They're nowhere close at the big league level
Thank you for the chat!
4:48
Does a Bregman/Pressley deal make sense for the yanks? If so, what kind of return would work for Houston?
Anthony Franco
4:48
I'd still be surprised if the Astros moved either of those guys at all and would be shocked if they traded them (especially Bregman) to the Yankees
Dave
4:48
Would Rushing, Hurt, Ryan, Vargas, and Lux get Robert, Kopech, DeJong from Chisox for LA. If not how much more prospect capital
Anthony Franco
4:52
Trades that big almost never happen. Vargas and Lux aren't moving the needle on a Robert deal.

Rushing's a decent headliner in a vacuum, but the Sox already landed a highly-regarded catching prospect (Edgar Quero) in the Giolito trade last year and brought in Korey Lee for Kendall Graveman. I don't know that they'd want to build a Robert deal around another catcher
Thank you for the chat!
4:52
How do you envision TEX approaching the deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:54
Another team that'll decide that based on how they play over the next five weeks. They're not going to be huge sellers in any case, but they'd probably stand pat if they're still 6+ games below .500. If they can claw back around .500 by the end of July, they need bullpen help and maybe a corner bat who could chip in between DH and the outfield
Coop
4:54
I suggested in a Sunday chat with Mark that Jed Hoyer's job should be in jeopardy if they don't make the playoffs this year & he was incredulous that someone would say that. But 230 million and this is what we get? I'm sure Ricketts loves him but to me he should be on the hot seat. What say you?
Anthony Franco
4:56
I get where you're coming from but I think that'd be too hasty. Seems like Ricketts has closed off spending at the absolute top of the market and has mostly required them to attack the middle tiers of FA while building the farm system
4:57
They've done a good job at the latter. The former strategy results in the kind of roster they've got -- a lot of decent players but not enough impact talent to really get over the top.
4:58
There are fair criticisms with Hoyer (especially the front office's approach to the bullpen in recent seasons) but he wouldn't be on the hot seat for me
JL
4:58
Well since my dreams of Mariners pitcher are dashed, what would you do if you were Mike Elias?  Specifically who do you target?
Anthony Franco
5:01
Ha, I don't think there's literally zero chance they move a starter. Just feels unlikely

As to the broader Orioles question, adding a back-end reliever is probably the big thing. They make sense for Fedde or Luzardo on the rotation front. I'd at least kick the tires on Robert with the way Mullins has hit this season, but that feels a lot less likely than just addressing the pitching staff directly
Matt
5:02
Any baseball podcasts you recommend? Other than MLBTR’s of course haha
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