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Front Office Chat: 7/14/23
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Anthony Franco
3:47
Hey everyone, hope you're all having a good week!
I'm going to end the chat right around 4:00 today but I've got some time now so we'll get started a few minutes early
Let's get into it
Not a question
3:48
I pitched the idea of Luis Robert Jr to the Brewers last week. I want to expand a little on my thoughts. The Brewers have the upper minors talent to entice the white Sox, whose owner is old and doesn’t want to risk a long rebuild. They have major league ready talent that could shorten the Sox’s gap to their next competitive window. The Brewers said they want to remain competitive while being smart. They would have to sell off a lot of their farm. This way they could have a better deadline, from the team perspective, and go for it before all their players are free agents. Lastly, I am hoping to speak this trade into existence
Anthony Franco
3:50
I don't remember the specific players you had in there but I thought the deal you suggested was reasonably well balanced last week. I just don't think there's any chance of the Brewers giving up Chourio or the White Sox moving Robert in reality
Jdf21
3:50
What about Lance Lynn as a trade target for Astros?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Makes sense. Stable veteran to soak up innings in the middle to back of a rotation that already has higher-end talent
3:52
Lynn's homer issues and the Crawford Boxes at Minute Maid might be a problem, but the close wall is in left field and Lynn's having a lot more problems with LHH than righties. I think it fits well
Arthur Dent
3:52
A lot of baseball still to play… any dark horse out there you think could make an unexpected run at a wild card spot?
Anthony Franco
3:53
Tough to call anyone a dark horse since they're all kind of in contention still. Maybe Seattle's the closest thing to this at four games back?
3:54
I could see San Diego or the Mets getting hot too, but they're not dark horses to me
Marc
3:54
Do you picture Urquidy coming back with some success?
Anthony Franco
3:55
Don't see why not. He's starting a rehab assignment today and has been an effective pitcher for the bulk of his MLB career
john
3:55
Anthony,  I have always wondered about large markets teams deciding to sell at the trade deadline.  I understand if it is a salary cap issue or if the player just does not fit in the club's future plans, but the sale of good players just because this season has not worked out is something I don't understand.  I would rather retain the good player and be buyers and plan for a better outcome next year.  Your comment?
Anthony Franco
3:56
Have to take it on a case-by-case basis. If the player's an impending free agent and you don't think he'll be a good long-term investment (even as a bigger-budget club), there's little reason not to try to move him
3:57
If they have an extra season of control, then it's a closer call that depends on how the rest of your roster shakes out. The Cardinals are a pretty good example of this
3:59
I'm with you that they shouldn't tear things down and move Arenado or Goldschmidt. But they're objectively unlikely to make the playoffs in 2023, so impending free agents like Montgomery and Flaherty should be out there. Then you've got players like Tyler O'Neill or Paul DeJong, who you could keep around for next season but probably should upgrade on regardless
So I'd put those players out there given the other depth on the roster in the middle infield and corner outfield. For other teams that didn't have the same roster strengths, maybe that calculus would be different
OldHack
4:00
What would the Astros need to give in order to play at the top of pre-deadline pitcher's market? Who do you think will be the best pitchers available? Giolito ...?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Giolito and Montgomery are the top rentals for me. Ohtani's an exceptional case, of course, one I don't find plausible for Houston even if the Angels did make him available
4:03
GM Dana Brown has already said they won't trade Drew Gilbert -- probably their top prospect -- for a rental. They don't have a ton of high-end talent in the system. Maybe something built around Korey Lee or Ryan Clifford gets talks rolling for one of the rentals?
Lee would obviously be a better fit for the White Sox, who don't have a clear long-term catching solution, than for a St. Louis team that just signed Contreras and has Iván Herrera
SteveM
4:04
Minnesota needs to dump Baldelli for starters. He's lost the club house it seems. He's not enjoying himself. You can tell by his demeanor in the dugout. Time for a change. Secondly, While Falvey improved the pitching he's depleted the farm system and I don't want to hear about injuries. It's a lame excuse. DFA Pagan. Useless. DFA Kepler. He had one good year at the plate and poof its gone. 43 year old Nelson Cruz can hit better than him. I really, really thing they need a whole tear down. Join the rest of the division to see who can finish at .500. The only team in the AL Central I trust to turn it on is Cleveland.
Get RID of Byron Buxton. Trade him to anybody just to get him off the TWINS and get someone who actually stays healthy and can play the field for more than 75 games a year. A waste. His days are over.
Anthony Franco
4:06
Disagree on Buxton. Between the contract and the defensive concerns, there's not a ton of appeal there right now anyways. Dumping him just to save some money when his value is at maybe its lowest point seems short-sighted. He's a frustrating player because of the injuries but too talented to give away
4:07
I'm mostly with you on Kepler, though. I don't know about a DFA -- good defender, a little bit of power -- but I don't think he should be playing right field every day for a contender. I'd trade for an outfielder this summer, as I wrote for this week's subscriber email, and buy Kepler out at season's end
4:08
I have no insight into how Baldelli's handling the clubhouse but don't think we'll see a change there. Falvey has been steadfast in his support of him for years
Bruce
4:08
Ohtani for Juan Soto. Who says no?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Haha I doubt either team would do this but think Soto's extra year of arbitration control gives him more trade value in a vacuum
Its my wedding anniversary and I would appreciat
4:09
Do you think Brendan Donovan for Logan Gilbert straight up makes sense, or does one team need to give a little more?
Anthony Franco
4:10
Happy anniversary! I wouldn't give up Gilbert for Donovan if I were Seattle
4:11
I like Donovan a lot. Very good player, but it's so hard to find controllable upper mid-rotation starting pitching
Its my wedding anniversary and I would appreciat
4:11
Its not my anniversary. This was a joke from a previous chat, but I cannot remember the context : /
Anthony Franco
4:12
Happy Bastille Day?
Giants fan
4:12
Would Tyler O'Neill and make sense for my Giants, to replace some of the lost Mitch Haniger production? Would heliot ramos or Sean Hjelle get a trade done?
Anthony Franco
4:14
Wouldn't mind them rolling the dice on O'Neill if he's healthy by the deadline. The Ramos/Hjelle tier of "formerly good prospect whose stock is way down" is about what I'd expect O'Neill to return at this point
4:15
I don't know if the Cardinals like either player, but something like that feels about right. I'd roll the dice on Ramos for O'Neill if I were St. Louis. Wouldn't do it for Hjelle, who I've always been pretty low on
Guest
4:15
If a team plans to trade for Ohtani--is there any way for them to know beforehand if he would be inclined to sign with them once he reaches free agency (or even before if the team is willing to write a blank check)?  I assume that would be tampering? Do the rules change if the Angels permit such discussions (because they might get a better package of prospect)?
Anthony Franco
4:16
You can do this -- the Reds essentially had a conditional extension lined up with Sonny Gray when they traded for him a few years ago -- but there's no real incentive for Ohtani to commit to that
4:18
His camp doesn't even know yet how much the market will bear. They probably have loose milestones they'll want to hit, and maybe he has geographic preferences again, but they won't know where things stand until they get teams bidding against one another. I'd be shocked if he signs an extension with anyone this close to free agency
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