Front Office Chat: 7/20/26
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Anthony Franco
4:01
Good afternoon, hope all is well!
4:02
Lats minute change to the chat schedule this week. Steve will do the Friday one. Let's get rolling
Haha, yes. I am a "guest." Riiiiight....
4:02
Does Lars Nootbaar to Houston bring Xavier Neyens or Kevin Alvarez to the Cardinals' farm system?
Anthony Franco
4:05
Yeah I think either of those guys is reasonable. I know they're Houston's top prospects in some order, and most teams aren't going to do that for Noot, but Houston's system is weak enough that those guys are on par with the 4-7 range in most other systems
Josh E
4:05
When is the first major trade of the trade deadline season?  Will it start next week?  Will it actually wait until August 3?  What say you?
Anthony Franco
4:06
I'll guess Freddy Peralta's moved by August 1
Black and Gold
4:06
Any way the pirates can help the back end of bullpen without giving up a frontline starter? There are just too many teams looking for the SAME guy. Either give up the farm or wait and hope something shakes out nearer the deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:07
They're not giving up someone like Ashcraft for a reliever obviously. Mentioned last week that I think Chandler would make sense in a Mason Miller package but not for any other reliever
4:08
But there'll certainly be a lot of other options below that. We'll see if they're willing to take on the money for a Luke Weaver type, Mets could also pay him down to get Pittsburgh to move one of the young starting pitching prospects like Dotel or Barco
Dan
4:09
Is the concept of “untouchables” merely posturing?  Sure, David Stearns said he wouldn’t trade Benge, Ewing, McLean, or Soto, but what if Andrew Friedman had a massive head injury and offered Ohtani for Benge straight up?  Is there any truly untouchable player in the league today?
Anthony Franco
4:09
Benge certainly isn't in that category but Ohtani would be. Judge too
4:10
There are probably only 2-3 players like that but dozens more where the asking price would be essentially impossible for another team to match that they're functionally "untouchable"
Jagger
4:10
Are Reid Detmers and Jose Soriano actually gonna be available?
Anthony Franco
4:12
I'm sure they'll have conversations but still doubt it's happening. That's a full rebuild type move and it'd be a weird one to let Mozeliak handle if he's truly just running baseball operations for a few months
ponopoly
4:12
How many moves do you see the White Sox making?
Anthony Franco
4:13
Trade for a mid-rotation starter and a right-handed setup type. Could poke around for a fourth OF but the pitching additions should be the focus
Walcott This Way…
4:14
Do you think the Rangers will call up Sebastian Wolcott when rosters expand to give themselves an offensive boost and “give him a taste” to prime him to compete for a full time job next Spring Training?
Anthony Franco
4:15
I'd be surprised. Still 20, just returned from a serious elbow surgery, doesn't need to go on the 40-man roster this offseason
If he kills Double-A for six weeks, the Rangers are still without Seager (or lose him again) and are basically tied for the division lead, then maybe
4:16
But short term I'd trade for a better second baseman than Nicky Lopez and hope that you don't need to throw Walcott into that spot in September
RoxTalks
4:16
Wish the Rockies hadn’t sent Halverson to a division rival, no less the Dodgers, but I like the return for them. Are both top 30 prospects for CO now and how long until the Dodgers turn Seth into the best reliever in baseball?
Anthony Franco
4:19
Frasso, no. Vidourek probably sneaks into the back half of the 30. Kind of an underwhelming return for me but Halvorsen's major league performance hasn't been good and he doesn't get as many whiffs as you'd think given the velocity, so it seems like the Colorado front office wasn't really in
Get Kralled
4:19
What could the Reds get for Tyler Stephenson?
Anthony Franco
4:21
A couple prospects who'll slot into the 10-20 range in their system. He's a solid fallback for the Yankees or Rays if Goodman and Jeffers don't move
Brady
4:21
How likely is it that Arizona sells and what kind of price would Michael Soroka command if they did
Anthony Franco
4:22
He's a little less desirable than the Foster Griffin, Dustin May and Clay Holmes tier of rental starter for me. Would've been in that group had he stayed healthy and kept pitching like he was early in the season
Above what the Mets got from Chicago for David Peterson though
4:23
Ultimately don't think Arizona sells anyway unless they go like 4-9 between now and the deadline
4:24
They'd basically need to be out of the Wild Card picture to trade from an already too thin rotation
Red Sox Fan
4:24
What are some realistic trades you can see the Red Sox making? I saw Jim Bowden propose the following:
“Red Sox receive: Hunter Goodman. Rockies receive: Connelly Early, LHP; Kyson Witherspoon, RHP; Marcelo Mayer, SS; Carlos Narváez, C.” Is this seriously a feasible trade scenario? I know additions will be particularly expensive this deadline, but as a Red Sox fan (who admittedly knows very little about Goodman), I want no part of that.
Anthony Franco
4:24
Haha no, I wouldn't put any stock in that. Sox wouldn't go anywhere close to that
Alan53
4:24
Are you guys finally ready to admit the White Sox are probably going to win their division? What a collection of young hitters they have! And what a lousy rest of the AL Central!
Anthony Franco
4:26
Hmm yeah I guess I'd have them as narrow favorites over Cleveland at this point. Detroit's more likely than Minnesota if someone makes a late run
Gadzooks
4:26
Would the Reds ponder an Abbott trade?
Anthony Franco
4:28
Singer and Lodolo more the priorities. No harm in listening on Abbott to see if someone's desperate enough to give up multiple fringe top 100 types but they do need someone to pitch behind Greene and Burns in 2027
Brewer Fan
4:28
Everyone assumes we trade Contreras this off-season, but we didn't trade Willy, and it seems like we only really do that move with pitchers. Think there is any chance we keep him and get the QO pick for him after 27?
Anthony Franco
4:29
Sure. I think trade's likelier but I'd put it like 60-40. Could partially depend on whether they include Quero in a package for pitching this summer
Mets
4:29
Chances of the Mets moving Holmes?
Anthony Franco
4:30
I lean hold and issue QO (or extension). Pretty sure Steve thinks he's gone though
Sam
4:30
Hypothetically, imagine the Twins try to continue the sell-off they started at the last deadline. In this case, what could the Twins get for Kody Clemens?
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