Front Office Chat: 7/31/26
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Good afternoon, hope all is well!
3:02
Going to stay right at an hour today but will try to get through as many questions as possible, let's get rolling
Fishin’
3:02
Should the Mariners make J.P Crawford available? Who could be a trade partner for them
Anthony Franco
3:04
Still think they're close enough in the division that they wouldn't do it for a middling return. Having an ok but not great year, pivotal clubhouse guy, Emerson's not performing and might need to go back to Tacoma
Braves would fit if they moved him. Yankees, Rays, Red Sox, maybe Milwaukee
Gavin
3:05
The Brewers have the prospects to get Skubal and over pay for miller so Preller will trade him.  Why don’t they?   It’s great to make the playoffs every year but at some point you gotta go for it.  They could also trade 6-8 prospects and their system would still be fine.   Go for it brew crew!!!
Joe from Milwaukee
3:05
I know this will never happen but how cool would it be to see Skubal and Mason Miller on the Brewers? That pitching staff would be so disgusting it's not even funny.
Anthony Franco
3:06
Can't them seeing doing both, they just don't operate within tight windows like that. Either one, sure
3:07
I'd rather try to blow the Nats away on Abrams since the offense has dried up on them in past postseasons and they're light on power for as good as they've been offensively
3:08
But I also think the Nats should basically balk at anything that doesn't start with Made so if Abrams isn't out there, then hell yeah make a run at Skubal and try to win every playoff game 3-1
Ross Atkins
3:08
I keep reading the Red Sox are desperate for a SS.  Would they take Andres Gimenez and his soon to be escalating contract off our hands?
Anthony Franco
3:08
I think the Jays are stuck with that one, never made sense to take that much on in the first place
3:09
Get they needed the succession plan with Bichette but it was pretty clear even at the time that 2022 was an outlier and Giménez can't really hit
Jeremy Zoll
3:09
If you were in my shoes, would you a) trade for a rental starter and count on Pablo Lopez and Mick Abel coming back strong from injury next year, b) not count on that and trade for a controllable starter, or c) let it ride with Bailey Ober and Zebby Matthews at the back of the rotation?
Anthony Franco
3:10
Soft buy for a back-end rental and another reliever seems fine. Prospect cost on Dustin May isn't going to kill you
3:11
Ober's fine but I don't trust Zebby and who knows what kind of workload you're getting out of Prielipp for the stretch run
Black and Gold
3:11
What last night showed more than ever is the Pirates desperately need a RH leverage guy. Miller is too much of a reach. What might it cost for Zeferjahn or Brazoban??
Anthony Franco
3:13
I think either of those guys could fetch a mid-system guy, maybe a Darell Morel type. They'd help but honestly think the Bucs should be aiming higher. Wouldn't trust either Brazobán or Zeferjahn in leverage spots much either
Philbert
3:13
Will the Giants get any real return for their expiring contract guys? Would it make sense for them to keep Arreaz?
Anthony Franco
3:15
Should get a few 45 FV types between Arraez and Ray (assuming they're willing to pay down a decent chunk of the salary). No one in the top 100 overall but solid middle of the system types, other teams have to beat the pick value on the QO for Arraez
Mahle more lottery ticket types but he's at least pitched well enough lately that they can find a taker, which wasn't clearly the case six weeks ago
3:16
Brubaker, eh. Wouldn't surprise me if they just keep him
Josh
3:16
So are the Reds shopping Greene or not? Lots of conflicting information!
Anthony Franco
3:17
Wouldn't say it's conflicting information necessarily so much as it broadly seems like they're not shopping but also not hanging up if other teams call
Guess the Feinsand and Olney reports made it seem a little more likely than Rosenthal's column did though
Everyone at MLBTR would be pretty surprised if he's traded
ZacharyA
3:18
Who has more trade value: Ryan Weathers or Will Warren? Weathers has more velo/better stuff, but Warren has more team control and a cleaner medical history.
Anthony Franco
3:19
Yeah might just be a split camp situation where some teams prefer each for the reasons you mentioned. I'd rather have Weathers because I think he's just better and has rarer plus stuff from the left side
3:20
But wouldn't push back too hard on anyone who said they're scared of the medical or would prefer the extra couple seasons on Warren. Might differ based on the window of the team you're talking with too
Warren probably makes more sense for one of the ahead of schedule rebuilding teams like the Nats or Cardinals
Robert
3:20
How likely are X. Edwards and Otto Lopez to be moved?  We’ve been hearing rumors but those two players seem like they would be part of a young core for the Marlins.
Anthony Franco
3:21
Long shots, seems mostly like a due diligence thing
3:22
Otto feels a little more plausible to me just because he's the one I could see another team making the kind of offer the Marlins feel they can't turn down. Plus SS in what'd be a terrible market if Abrams and Neto stay, have to imagine this is his career year
3:23
No harm in hearing teams out to see if anyone else loves him and is willing to give up like a top 10 overall prospect for him
Employee #11
3:24
Hi Anthony.  What do you think an extension for Griffin would need to come in at or under to make it more worthwhile than the return in trade right now?  I just have to think he'll be overvalued in trade right now - especially if Skubal gets traded and triggers a keeping up with the Joneses stampede.
Anthony Franco
3:25
If he'd take three years in the $45-51M range, I'd rather extend him. If he's looking for 60+, cash him in
3:26
Probably true that his trade value will never be higher than it is now (even if he signed an extension) but they need multiple starting pitchers and should feel that 2027's a legitimate win-now year even if they consider '26 a pleasant surprise
Hits Like Rays
3:27
Carson Williams was the Rays #1 prospect a year ago, but MiLB.com doesn't even list him in the Rays top 30 any more.  Is that accurate?  Is it common for top prospects to fall so far so fast?
Anthony Franco
3:30
I assume he just graduated based on the couple weeks he had on the MLB roster this year? FanGraphs still had him sixth in the system last month. Stock's definitely dropping and I'd be pretty close to out given the strikeout issues but I don't think he's completely in non-prospect territory
Still has the glove, walks and raw power to fall back upon
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