Front Office Chat: 7/3/26
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Mr. Royal
3:41
With what I expect to be a very quite trade deadline for the Royals, do you think this off season they might open the pocketbook. To keep Witt happy and support an aging pitching staff?
Anthony Franco
3:42
Not really, it's a bad offseason for it anyway. Other than Skubal (feels pretty safe to guess he's not signing with the Royals), there aren't any marquee free agents I'd want to throw huge money
3:44
Guess you could make an argument for them as a dark horse on Peralta but I'd be out on giving him five-plus years and think that'd be particularly bad for a mid-market franchise. Just not a contract I'd want any part of. Think they'll be back in the mid-tier range where they've gotten Lugo, Wacha, etc.
3:46
Agree it'll be a quiet deadline. Bubic might not make it back before the deadline at this point and their other impending free agents are meh. Cash in John Schreiber and Lane Thomas for a couple mediocre prospects and hope for better rotation health next year
Tom Rickets
3:46
Would a package of Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcantara and Dominick Reid be enough to get Reid Detmers from the Angels or Joe Ryan from the Twins.
Anthony Franco
3:48
Not for me but I think MLBTR as a whole is pretty down on Alcantara, has had so much swing and miss in Triple-A
MoneyBall
3:48
How much does preemption play into the trade deadline? I am thinking of the Red Sox trading for Jose Cansenco and then benching him.  They didn't want the Yankees to get him and jumped first. In this market, what is the likliehood of a contender acting first to get a trade chip off the market to keep him from being in the opposing dugout down the stretch?
Anthony Franco
3:50
Not a huge consideration. Might've made more sense when the playoff field was smaller but now you're jostling with like 8-10 other teams in each league that are jammed together in the standings and don't all have the same needs
Guest
3:50
is mookie betts back? as in good again?
Anthony Franco
3:51
Don't think he was ever actually bad. MVP Mookie is gone but he's still an All-Star caliber player
Joseph
3:52
If the Nats go into a sell mode, what do you think they could get for Foster Griffin and Luis Garcia? Could you provide a team and actual prospect example of something that sounds fair and realistic? Thanks!
Anthony Franco
3:55
I hate doing the specific prospect thing because teams have wildly different opinions on how they'll rank the middle tiers of other farm systems. Griffin's a cheap rental starter who profiles as a 3/4 type. That guy usually goes for a 45 FV type and could fit on basically every contender
3:57
I'll hypothetically put him on the Rays but have no idea whether the Nationals would rather have Santiago Suarez, Jadher Areinamo or Xavier Isaac. Any of those guys as a headliner for a couple months of Griffin seems reasonable, just comes down to team preference
3:59
García could work for Miami, Texas, Arizona or Cleveland. Still don't think he has huge trade value despite the recent form and imagine the Nats would be better off holding
Mike
3:59
Looks to me that Sal Stewart is having a better year than JJweatherholt   Sal is leading in every offensive category  not even close to, except batting average which is close  yet everywhere you read JJ Weatherford is running away with rookie of year race
Anthony Franco
4:00
Stewart's hitting for more power but they're comparable offensive seasons when you account for GABP. Stewart drives in more runs because he's in the middle of the lineup while Wetherholt's a leadoff guy
4:01
The defense is the separator though. Wetherholt's playing a Gold Glove 2B and Sal's an ok first baseman
Black and Gold
4:01
Can Cherington acquire Aroldis Chapman with just prospects, or will he have to include at least one player off the 40 Man roster?
Monstah
4:01
Where does Aroldis end up? Pittsburgh? Cleveland? Elsewhere?
Anthony Franco
4:03
Pittsburgh reunion makes some sense, think Cleveland has bigger priorities. Bucs really need a RH leverage arm but they probably need two relievers anyway
4:05
Pirates trade probably would involve someone from the 40 just because their farm skews so heavily to guys at the upper levels. If they offered Seth Hernandez or Edward Florentino, that deal's done in a heartbeat, so it's not like they couldn't do it with prospects so much as they just wouldn't
And then at that point, you're probably looking at someone from the Hunter Barco, Wilber Dotel, Antwone Kelly group leading it
Chris
4:05
would this make sense for both clubs? NYY offer combination of Volpe, Luis Hill, Spencer jones, J dom, other prospects for Reds Ela Dela Cruz and one if their Catchers?
Anthony Franco
4:06
Cincinnati wouldn't move Elly and if they did, it'd have to be a lot bigger return than that
Ben Cherrington
4:06
I'd be run out of town if I offered up Hernandez.  I'm not saying it would be a good move. I'm saying it would be unpopular.
Anthony Franco
4:07
To be clear, there's no way I'd give up Hernandez for Aroldis either
4:08
But the question was "could they do it without dealing from the 40-man," and the answer's yes. They just wouldn't do that, nor should they
Natitude Dude
4:08
Is Dylan Crews playing well enough that they could trade Jacob Young for RP?
Anthony Franco
4:09
I don't know if it's so much about Crews playing well and just that Young's a fourth OF type in his own right and they should dangle him if they can get a controllable reliever out of it, yeah
Giants Woes
4:09
What do you think Ray and Arraez bring back to the Giants. How do you see them approaching the draft? Thanks for taking our questions also!
Anthony Franco
4:11
Depends on what they want out of Ray. If the goal is just to offload a few million of the $25MM salary, then not much. If they eat the cash they could get a couple mid-level prospects
Arraez should get them someone who lands in the 6-10 range in their farm system
Wordan Jalker
4:11
AF happy 4th. Man Anthony when do the Cardinals become the Cardinals again ? I miss being in the NLCS and WS . y
Anthony Franco
4:14
The lineup core is pretty close already, especially if Joshua Baez hits and steps into the Nootbaar role. Tougher to see it on the pitching side short term but there are a handful of examples every year of pitchers who unlock something (extra velo, new pitch, arm angle tweak) and pop up out nowhere
4:15
Feels like '28 is the target for them being legitimately good again but there's an outside chance it happens next year if they get someone unexpected to become the rotation anchor
Chris
4:16
Does PCA deserve MVP consideration? He's not far behind Ohtani in WAR, is a great hitter too, and provides similar value in baserunning / defense that Ohtani provides in pitching.
Anthony Franco
4:17
Yeah I don't actually know which way I'd go on that one. He's definitely in consideration, shaping up to be Ohtani's top challenger in a while if he can maintain this level
John
4:18
Yes or No: Roki Sasaki is an MLB starter a year from today?
Anthony Franco
4:19
Yeah, he'll have enough leash for that. Would be in the bullpen already with these results if he'd followed a standard development arc though
Adam Stevens
4:19
In 3 weeks, If the Twins are in the same position they are now, how do they handle the deadline? They really need a bullpen and their defense is atrocious. I'm not sure there's anything to be done mud-season about the latter problem, but a couple of reliable bullpen arms seems attainable without mortgaging the future. Do they sell on pending FA (Larnach, Jeffers, and Bell who usually gets traded anyway) and use some of that prospect capital to acquire bullpen help? If they're in it, other hold on to Ryan and deal him over the winter? I'm assuming the Twins have no interest in an extension.
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