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Front Office Chat: 7/18/25
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Anthony Franco
3:00
Good afternoon everyone, hope you're well!
3:01
Sorry about dropping back to one subscriber chat these past two weeks. Prioritized getting those team-by-team deadline outlooks done before trade season really picks up
#1 Marlins Fan
3:01
Sounds like all of the Marlins trade news has gone completely silent the last couple of days. How many of players do you expect to be dealt?
Alcantara
3:01
When will the stove get warm? I am beginning to go crazy.
Anthony Franco
3:02
Probably still another week before it really gets going. Most of the activity will take place in the July 29-31 window
3:04
Barry Jackson with The Miami Herald had some details on the Marlins' thought process a couple days ago. Nothing especially surprising: listening on Cabrera, Sandy, Bender and Sánchez; would love to move Quantrill (obviously)
3:05
I think the first four guys will all go. They should get a ton of hits on Cabrera given the scarcity of potential top-end starters. Feels like a sell-high opportunity with his injury history, and he's their trade candidate who'd get the biggest return
3:06
I expect someone to add Fortes for a mid-level prospect. Might as well take what they can get for Faucher. Henriquez is probably their most interesting reliever but they might prefer to hold and let him build up a longer track record
Brewer Fan
3:06
Why do prospects sign for less than slot value? I get why teams want to obviously but what stops a prospect  from just saying pay me slot value?
Anthony Franco
3:07
Just a lack of leverage, especially for college guys. If you're a college senior, you basically can either take whatever the team offers you or not play affiliated baseball
3:09
High schoolers who go underslot usually do so because they're drafted higher than they'd go if it were just based on talent. The Braves went underslot with their first-round pick, but he was around 45th on Baseball America's pre-draft board. Slot value around that pick is in the $2M range
3:11
So if the Braves come to him and say "hey we'll take you at 22 but you have to sign for $2.6M against a slot value of $4M," he's better off taking that than waiting for the slot value of a pick between 40-60. That discussion happens before they make the pick, because if the player says no, then the Braves just draft someone else
Ross Atkins
3:11
Do you think Reid Detmers and Jo Adell might be available if the Angels are sellers?
Anthony Franco
3:12
I do not. I think the Angels will buy as long as they don't completely tank in the next two weeks, and even if they sell, it'd be rentals
Ken
3:12
What could the A's get for JP Sears?
Anthony Franco
3:14
Three and a half years of control. Durable but it's middling velocity and below-average swing and miss. You could kind of write off his huge home run rate this year as a product of the Sacramento bandbox, but that was an issue for him in Oakland as well
3:15
There'd be interest for sure but I think most contenders would view him as a low-end #4 or a fifth starter. Could see someone packaging a few mid-tier prospects but I'd be surprised if they got a huge headliner
Blue Jays
3:15
Would a package headlined by Yesevage and/or Nimmala along with players from the Wagner/Loperfido/Clase/Roden/Martinez/Jimenez group be enough to get Gore or Ryan?
Anthony Franco
3:17
Nah I don't think so. Feels like you need both Yesavage and Nimmala to get the ball rolling on those guys
Or one of the prospects plus Barger
3:18
If Gore or Ryan were available (skeptical either one will be), there'd be 15+ teams making a push. Actually acquiring one of them would require the biggest prospect package anyone gives up this deadline
Alex Anthopoulus
3:18
Should I stick with what I've said about not dealing team controlled players or should I open my mind to a more flexible approach?
Anthony Franco
3:18
(Braves)
3:19
I'd be a little more flexible than they seem to be. Take Acuña, Baldwin, Strider, etc. off the table for sure. But I don't understand refusing to listen on Murphy or Albies
3:21
Pierce Johnson has the affordable club option but he's a 34-year-old reliever having arguably the best season of his career. They should at least see what kind of offers are out there
Cleveland
3:21
Is Jose Ramirez actually gaining momentum to get dealt?
Anthony Franco
3:22
This happening would be 10 times more surprising to me than the Red Sox trading Devers
Justin
3:22
A year and half into the Jackson Trio. Which one are you taking for the remainder of their career? Chourio, Holliday, Merrill?
Anthony Franco
3:23
Merrill
Angels Fan
3:23
While I believe the Angels should be more sellers than buyers at the trade deadline, 3B is a glaring need.  What do you think of a Kochanowicz, Eder, and Rengifo for Alec Bohm trade; who says no?
Anthony Franco
3:24
Philly's not doing that. Eder and Rengifo have basically no trade value. You can kind of convince yourself that Kochanowicz is interesting based on the velocity and grounders, but he has been a well below-average MLB starting pitcher to this point
Brewer Fan
3:25
I keep seeing Logan Henderson's name as a trade chip. I at times wish they were more aggressive but overall like the "as many bites at the apple as you can" philosophy. That being said, Woody is probably gone next year, Peralta easily could be traded this offseason, would trading Henderson be short sighted or you think worth it to add to this roster?
Anthony Franco
3:27
Depends on what you're dealing him for right? I take your point that the long-term rotation picture is pretty thin, especially if they deal Peralta, but they've also had a lot of success with the $5M bargain free agent signings over the years
The Ditto
3:27
Post All-Star Break! I've checked all the sites and trying to identify the SP I should look to deal high. on that list is A Abbott, N Lodolo, K Bubic. I'm not sure whose skills look most volatile and better to deal. Is Abbott for real? More K's possible? Is Lodolo going to get his strikeout curve back? Will Bubic start having an innings limit, and if not can he keep the skills going? Thanks!
Anthony Franco
3:29
I'd be most willing to sell high on Abbott of those three. I like him but not at the level he's pitching now -- this level of home run suppression in that park doesn't feel sustainable -- and think the gap between him and Lodolo is relatively small
3:30
Fair point on Bubic's innings but I haven't seen anything from the Royals suggesting they're going to back him down and I'd feel best about him of that trio moving forward
Alan
3:30
What moves do the Dodgers make? Pen arm or two? Do they need another starter? I think they need another bat. No one on the team is hitting.
Anthony Franco
3:31
Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that they're pursuing bullpen help, as is the case every deadline. Still feels like they're ok on the rotation and betting on enough of them (even they don't know which) will be healthy in October
3:33
Have to add an outfielder on the position player side. Teoscar deserves a long leash but Conforto isn't working and the alternatives right now are James Outman and Esteury Ruiz
When Muncy comes back, that opens more outfield time for Edman or Kim, but that presupposed no one else gets hurt in the interim
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