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Front Office Chat: 7/7/25
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Anthony Franco
2:00
Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the holiday weekend!
2:01
Steve stretched his into a four-day weekend so I'm in today and he'll take the usual Friday slot. Going to stay around an hour on this one as a result
Let's get rolling
Cactusflair
2:01
Why didnt the Nats actually try to improve the team in this past off season??  Felt like outside of Sirotka signing they did nothing.
Denise Dunbar
2:01
Do you think the Nats' first pick in next week's draft will be even more telling after the Rizzo firing? It seems to me if they pick Holliday, they're saying the rebuild is ongoing for quite a while. In that instance, I think they should trade Gore if they can get a haul for him. Conversely, if they take one of the college lefties, to me that means they think they could possibly contend for a wildcard next year and might signal they plan to spend more this offseason. Interestingly, they sent out a season ticket holder survey about 10 days ago asking lots of questions about how satisfied we were with the direction of the team. I lambasted ownership, but not management, in responses. But I also wonder if this survey and its overall results factored into their decision making?
Anthony Franco
2:03
Two of a number of Nats questions in here. Martinez getting fired didn't really surprise me but I was a little taken aback that they moved on from Rizzo. I get why it happened, but I didn't see that coming
2:04
I actually think their offseason made sense. They felt they were still a year off from being competitive and didn't think a Danny Jansen signing or Eugenio Suárez trade would've moved the needle. Hard for me to disagree with that. They probably should've been involved at the top of the rotation market, but that's as much an ownership question as it is a front office one
2:05
Obviously, their series of low-cost bullpen pickups especially blew up, but I actually think they've shown progress this year in the more meaningful stuff (Wood's emergence as a superstar, Gore's development, etc.)
2:06
I wouldn't read too much into the #1 pick as a sign of their long-term direction. Even if they do take Holliday (or Eli Willits, I guess), it's not uncommon for top high school draftees to get to the majors within two or three years. It'd just be a sign that they think those guys are better prospects than the top college pitcher on their board
Opt-Out
2:06
Is this the trade deadline someone with an opt-out or player option finally gets traded?
Anthony Franco
2:07
Happened with Scherzer a few years ago, though he preemptively exercised the option to make it happen. I think someone will take the risk on Lugo this summer
2:09
He's obviously going to opt out if he's healthy, $15M if he does blow out would suck but isn't catastrophic (it's what teams gamble on the current version of Scherzer and Verlander and Alex Cobb), and the supply of starting pitching is really light
Edward Cabrera
2:09
What does a trade package look like for me and who do you think will be calling Bendix the most about it? Is there a world where Sandy and I get dealt to the same team?
Anthony Franco
2:10
He fits anywhere really (aside from the deep rebuild teams like Colorado and the White Sox). Cheap, amidst a potential breakout, two and a half seasons of control
2:12
Yankees, Cubs and Padres are the first three that come to mind but there aren't many places he could land that would surprise me
Seems less likely that someone would do the Alcantara/Cabrera package deal. They're both good enough to support a strong return individually, and the Fish would probably be better off splitting them up and shopping each individually. No guarantee they move Cabrera at all
M
2:13
Do you think Alex Bregman would agree to waive his first opt out as part of a trade?
Anthony Franco
2:13
I do not. This winter is his best chance to get the long-term deal he wanted last time
M
2:14
Does Emerson Hancock and like Michael Arroyo get a deal done for OHearn?
Anthony Franco
2:15
I'm out on Hancock at this point but I don't think that'd be a crazy offer on the M's part to see if Baltimore thinks they can fix him
RoxTalks
2:15
Given how the Rockies operate, could they pivot and keep Jake Bird, even though he's their most obvious trade candidate?
Anthony Franco
2:16
They should trade him and I believe that they will, but you can't be shocked by them keeping anyone given their past decisions
Guest
2:16
Is there a rental left handed 2B the Astros could trade for who’s average or better defensively and a reliably bit above average hitter?
M’s Fan
2:16
what would it take for Seattle to get Willi Castro and Jax from the twins?
Anthony Franco
2:17
Putting these together because I think Castro (a switch hitter) is probably the closest thing to the Astros question
2:19
He's a below-average defender but there really are only a handful of second basemen in the game who are above-average defenders who can kind of hit (e.g. Donovan, Hoerner, Chisholm)
2:21
Return for Castro and Jax would be big. Two and a half years of an elite setup man is really valuable. Mariners obviously have the system to pull it off but that's a middle of the top 100 type headliner plus a few interesting mid-level guys IMO
My Darling Ernie Clement(ine)
2:21
Am I the ultra rare example of someone leaning to hit several years into a major league career
Anthony Franco
2:22
Tough to sustain more than average results when you never hit the ball hard unless you have Arraez type bat control
I still think Clement's like 5-10 percent worse than a league average hitter overall, but that's perfectly fine for how good a defender he is
Nomar
2:22
After the PR disaster that was trading Devers, would the Sox really trade Duran too? The OF logjam needs relief, what could they get for Abreu/Rafaela/Garcia?
Anthony Franco
2:24
Yeah I've got a pretty tough time seeing it. They'd be selling a little low and the optics post-Raffy (even if they paint it as solidifying an opportunity for Anthony alongside Abreu and Rafaela) would be rough
2:26
Abreu's an easier sell, and he'd bring back a lot, but I also don't know that they need to do anything right now. Anthony's getting ABs at DH, Yoshida hadn't done enough pre-injury to force a trade of someone much better than him
Chad Patrick
2:27
Was I sent down for performance issues or service time reasons.
Anthony Franco
2:28
Neither. The rotation is just full right now with Woodruff back. Misiorowski and Priester are the only other starters with options. You could argue for sending Priester down but he was fantastic in June and that’d burn his last option year while Patrick has all three.
Craig Phelps
2:29
How did Chad Patrick not make the top 30 prospects list for Milwaukee?
Anthony Franco
2:29
As far as the prospect thing, the minor league numbers weren’t great until last year and everyone (myself included) underrated his ability to miss bats against MLB competition. This is a guy who got traded twice – once for Jace Peterson, once for Abraham Toro. His own teams didn’t think he was any good.
Gc
2:30
Would it make sense for the Royals to take back someone like Marcus Stroman in a Seth Lugo trade? They would be able to get a better prospect without a long term commitment and the Yankees would have more financial flexibility to make another move
Anthony Franco
2:31
The money isn’t too dissimilar and Stroman has no chance of vesting the option. So sure, you can argue the Royals would be better off taking him back to maximize the return if they’re trading with the Yankees specifically, but it’s not like they wouldn’t have other teams involved on Lugo.
Michael
2:32
The Braves were swept by the O's this past weekend.  That WC slot seems so far out of reach.  I don't foresee a fire sale, but I can imagine a scenario where AA is able to swing a trade or two with a look to the near future.  Do you think Ozuna, Albies and/or Harris II will be Braves come August 1st?
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