You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Front Office Chat: 8/1/25
powered byJotCast
View Full Chat Next Page
Anthony Franco
4:01
Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the week!
Going to stay around an hour today, it's been a long week. Let's get going
Angels
4:01
What do you think was the most jarring trade of the year or deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:02
Jarring as in "wow, didn't see that coming" was Devers. Has to be Correa for the deadline
4:03
In terms of a move I just don't understand, it's the Red Sox making the Dustin May trade. They must've really soured on James Tibbs in a span of like six weeks
BeLieber
4:03
What did you think of the risk??
Anthony Franco
4:05
In isolation, Stephen is more than I would've wanted to give up (or expected to get, in Cleveland's case) for Bieber
That said, the Jays' biggest need IMO was a playoff-caliber starting pitcher. Ultimately, there weren't that many of those guys moved. Everyone else balked at the price on Ryan, Cease, Alcantara, Cabrera, Keller, etc. too
4:07
Bieber has that within the range of outcomes in a way that very few starting pitchers who got traded did. So while my initial reaction to it was "man, I think the Guardians beat the Jays in another trade," I've come more around on it as being defensible for Toronto in light of what didn't happen in the ensuing eight hours
M
4:07
Who do you think did the best at the deadline? Who made out the worst?
Arthur Dent
4:07
Which team(s) did the best job of addressing their needs with deadline deals?
Anthony Franco
4:09
I think the Padres did the best job of checking off every box that they needed. Obviously that's easier to do when you trade away more young talent than any other team. Similar logic with Philly to a lesser extent. Needed an elite late-game arm, paid heavily but got him
4:11
On value alone, I think Texas and Seattle came out pretty well. Rangers did give up a decent amount for Kelly but he was one of the better starters available and they had pretty limited budgetary room. Would be a fair criticism that their biggest need was offense and they didn't address that though
4:12
On the other end, this was a pretty big letdown for Detroit. They got a couple back-end starters, neither of whom is as good as Reese Olson (who they lost to injury). They needed to upgrade the back of the bullpen but instead opted for a bulk approach where they're swapping out three or four mediocre relievers for marginal at best upgrades
BeBopCola
4:13
Do you think the brewers should’ve done a little more to acquire a bat at the deadline?
Anthony Franco
4:14
I'm surprised they didn't get a better utility piece, at least, but I get why they didn't want to disrupt the lineup when it's going this well
Pretty quiet overall but I'm a fan of the late Shelby Miller dart throw for a couple million dollars
M
4:14
Were you surprised at the small return for anyone? Or thought someone had a significant overpay?
Anthony Franco
4:16
Given how definitively Suárez had pulled away as the best rental bat, I thought Arizona would do better than they did. Not necessarily a top 100 caliber prospect but they're putting a lot into Locklear being a plug and play average or better regular at first base
4:17
Mentioned May already. Not even a huge James Tibbs fan really but I don't see a ton of appeal with May so that felt rich. Mets went a little heavy to get Tyler Rogers
4:19
Really liked the Royals' end of the Fermin trade. Ryan Bergert's a potential #3/4 starter who is MLB ready and they got six years of him for a low-end #1 catcher
Ben Cherington
4:19
After the trades I made (and didn’t make) is my job safe for next year?
Anthony Franco
4:20
Would've been tough for me to feel like Cherington's safe to be back as Pittsburgh's GM no matter what he did at the deadline
4:21
I thought they did fine. Not blown away by any of their moves but don't think they butchered anything either. Expected them to trade Keller but they're not the only team that held a starter I figured would go. Probably should've taken whatever they could've on Dennis Santana though
Stockholm, AZ
4:21
Hey Anthony! Your honest opinion on the Diamondbacks’ deadline? I’m kinda positive, Locklear and those Texas pitchers look all right to me.
Anthony Franco
4:24
Aside from being a little underwhelmed on Suárez, I think they did pretty well. Needed an influx of controllable pitching and got it. A lot comes down to Mitch Bratt and Kohl Drake from the Kelly return. If either of those guys is a league average starter, that's a strong get
Felt like the returns on Gallen would be pretty light so I'm ok with them holding and making the QO
Mariners Faithful
4:24
How busy do you expect the waiver wire to be between now and August 31? What names do you think may still change teams?
Anthony Franco
4:25
Feels like the Angels opened the floodgates on the waiver dump strategy, tends not to happen until the end of the month though
4:26
They could do it again with Jansen, Anderson, Moncada, etc. Outside chance of the Reds going that way with someone like Pagán if they fall six or seven back in the Wild Card race
4:28
Texas could've done this last year and Chris Young was pretty adamant that they wouldn't. Maybe they'd have the same reservation this season but they're up against the tax line. They'd need to have an atrocious August to fall far enough out of it to think about it, but if they somehow drop like six games back, they'd probably be better off trying to dump Heim or Gray
M’s Fan
4:29
Which closer trade did you like better? Duran or Miller?
Bradford
4:29
With the Padres adding Miller to the bullpen, do they make him the closer or leave Suarez? Do they do something like a split bullpen for rest purposes: Team A - Suarez, Estrada, Peralta Team B - Miller, Adam, Morejon?
Anthony Franco
4:30
I imagine they'll defer to Suarez as the incumbent, use Miller in leverage spots, then decide next year whether to keep him in the ninth or stretch him back out as a starter
4:31
As far as the trades themselves, I'd rather have done what the Phillies did on Duran but with the understanding that was very likely just not possible for San Diego. If they were going to take a swing like this, it had to be De Vries. Mayfield doesn't have that pull and Salas' stock has dropped enough with the injury that it seemed like he didn't either
4:33
Tim made the point in our Google chat yesterday that it was essentially choosing between a top five position player prospect or a mid-20s flamethrower to stay healthy and that he'd take the position player basically every time. I agree with that and consider this an offer the A's couldn't refuse. Only really makes sense from San Diego's perspective if they're going to give Miller another rotation opportunity next year, which worries me with his injury history
Western skies
4:34
Do you think Anthopoulos hurt his leverage by putting all his controllable players off limits? Iglesias and Ozuna were pretty underwhelming assets to offer.
Anthony Franco
4:35
Yeah very puzzling all around. Iglesias has pitched well enough since April that I find it hard to believe they couldn't get a mid-level prospect, especially if they paid it down. Instead they took a Rockies approach and said something to the effect of "we're not going to trade just to trade"
4:36
Pierce Johnson's good and would've gotten a real return. Instead, they're banking on him to repeat a career year in his age-35 season. Even the steadfast refusal to move Sean Murphy was bizarre
Commander McBragg
4:37
Why didn't the Cubs trade either Kevin Alcantara or Owen Caissie for SOMETHING?   Surely they could have gotten a top-tier starter (Cease, Keller, Gallen, Kelly, etc...) and maybe a tad more for one of them, maybe packaged with another lower prospect or two?   Seems like the Cubs missed the proverbial boat on this one.
Connecting…