Front Office Chat: 6/5/26
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Guarded Indian
4:16
Guardians need a legit lefty in the bullpen.  Who is a realistic target?  I'm thinking Kayfus and a lower-level prospect should net someone decent.
Anthony Franco
4:20
Yeah seems pretty safe to say they're not doing Chapman even if Boston puts him out there. JoJo Romero looks good again, Bryan Hudson or Daniel Lynch maybe
Bryce Eldridge
4:21
Have I arrived? Absolutely locked in these past few weeks
Anthony Franco
4:24
I doubt he's going to continue making this much contact given where the whiffs were in Triple-A -- should start seeing a higher rate of breaking stuff as pitchers adjust back as they realize he's destroying the fastball -- but the power's immense and he's swinging at the right pitches
4:26
Excellent start, much better than I expected when they called him up. Felt like it was kind of a panic play at the time in response to how bad the rest of the lineup has been and he's instead hit the ground running
Chris
4:26
Do you think (not whether it should or shouldn't) KC's record affects Witt Jr's. shot at MVP?
Anthony Franco
4:28
Only to a small extent. Voters cared a lot more about this 10-20 years ago than they do now. Ohtani won it unanimously on a couple bad Angels teams, for instance. Most of the electorate has come around on the idea that a player can only control his own performance
4:30
Bigger factor on Witt specifically -- which I would find a more compelling argument -- is that  the offense has been merely very good and the league-leading WAR total is driven mostly by the absurd defensive grades
Brayan Bello
4:31
Shouldn’t i just keep pitching in bulk after an opener?  Numbers don’t lie.
Anthony Franco
4:32
Ha, they might not lie about what already happened but they can definitely mislead into reading in trends that aren't entirely there
4:33
I don't doubt that he's better behind an opener because it's an easier job than starting and he has huge issues with left-handed hitters in particular
4:34
But the overall performance had been so bad that I'm surprised it took as long as it did for them to swap in Bennett
4:36
The opener setup also isn't helped by the fact that the Red Sox's non-Chapman LH relievers are just ok
Fernandez, Jose (AZ)
4:36
Odds they’d trade me this summer for an upgrade somewhere? Optioned and frankly looking pretty overmatched with lots of potential.
Anthony Franco
4:38
Eh, I don't think he has the kind of trade value you're hoping. He's a mid-level prospect who started hot (including a phenomenal MLB debut) and quickly tailed off
4:39
He has tools but no real defensive home and a really aggressive approach. Other teams are probably going to see him as an extra infielder
Davey
4:40
Do the Dodgers actually have surplus minor OF at this point or is it just overblown?
Anthony Franco
4:42
I disagree with the idea that it's a surplus -- at least for the "Dodgers have to trade one of these guys" narrative -- since James Tibbs is the only one you might argue has been blocked at the MLB level. The others (De Paula, Sirota, Quintero) just haven't gotten there yet
4:43
They clearly have an atypical level of prospect talent in that regard, though. Certainly the best collection of outfield prospects of any team right now
Joshua
4:43
Has Keibert Ruiz become a tradeable commodity to teams looking for a catcher (NYY, Pitt, etc)? Thanks.
Anthony Franco
4:46
Yeah I think so. He's so cheap that he only really needs to be a high-end #2 catcher to be worth the money. There's enough legitimate process improvement with the bat speed/exit velo gains that some team probably talks themselves into it
Phillies Can't Hit
4:46
Some of us posted preseason that the lineup, from reall7 4-9, was light. That was kind of dismissed. Turns out, we were right, although Crawford has had some nice moments. What now? The team is hamstrung by so many long contracts to old players.
Anthony Franco
4:48
Just kind of stuck with Realmuto and Turner and hoping for better. Bohm has had a nice turnaround, still would like to see them add a multi-position infielder given the streakiness with him and Stott (and Aidan Miller increasingly a long shot to be a second half factor)
4:50
Adolis hasn't worked so they're going to need a right fielder, probably a RHH fourth outfielder yet again
4:51
Alright, we're coming up on two hours so I have to wrap this one
Lots of questions today so apologies if I didn't get to yours, didn't even have a chance to read them all
4:52
Happy to take anything on X @affranco10 over the weekend
Thanks as always for continuing to support the site and all the questions! We'll do this again next Friday. Have a great weekend!
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