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Front Office Chat: 8/1/25
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Anthony Franco
4:38
Caissie's probably the long-term replacement for Tucker. With you on Alcantara though. Last option year, striking out a lot in Triple-A. I don't think he'd have a ton of value for that reason, but there's also a real chance we're approaching the end of Spring Training next year and they're debating whether he's a DFA candidate
Cub fan
4:39
I can’t help but be disappointed by the Cub’s deadline. Hoyer addressed some needs without addressing the most important- a solid starter. Because of the Tucker trade and where they’re at in the playoff picture, how could he not double down??
Anthony Franco
4:41
Yeah I get it. I like all the moves they did make but the rotation feels tenuous going into October
Alan
4:41
Did the Dodgers do enough? They really could've uses Kwan or Donovan. Did the Padres give up to much ? Who wins the West?
Anthony Franco
4:43
Yeah I don't think they needed to do a whole lot. Stewart for Outman is a no-brainer -- I'd have rather flipped Stewart for a lottery ticket guy in rookie ball than taken Outman back if I were Minnesota -- and most of the L.A. roster is pretty well set. Even Conforto has come on lately
4:44
I'll still take them to win the West
Jesse
4:44
Cedric Mullins doesn't do much for me, but overall I liked the way the Mets remade the bullpen. Still really feels like they needed another starter. The Frankie Montas deal never made sense and just keeps getting worse. And it looks like Clay Holmes has completely run out of gas.
Anthony Franco
4:47
I'm alright with the rotation. Holmes definitely looks worn down, but the top three should be good and I can't imagine they'd feel great about moving Montas to the bullpen six starts into that deal
4:49
With the three relievers they added, they basically don't even have that choice. Garrett's their only remaining reliever with a minor league option. Barring an injury in the next week, Blackburn's probably getting DFA when he's healthy. They could drop Rico Garcia and probably will have to eventually (especially if Megill comes back) but even he's pitching really well
ElysianPark
4:49
Dodger fan here....i was surprised that they got three players for  Feduccia.  I understand catchers are hard to find, and he had some value. I liked him.  But the return seemed pretty good, wouldn't you say?
Anthony Franco
4:50
Yeah that was a quietly interesting one. Seems like a pretty easy call for the Dodgers. Talented developmental pitching prospect plus a reliever with options who has dominated in Triple-A for a 28-year-old depth catcher with no path to playing time
4:52
Didn't love it for Cincinnati with Littell's home propensity. I don't mind it for Tampa. They've needed catchers forever and if they feel like Feduccia's a high-end #2 type who can split with Fortes, this is fine. I'd rather take this shot than pay what San Diego did for Fermin
Rockies Fan
4:53
Was it wrong for the Rockies to keep Seth Halverson and Victor Vodnik considering they fit into the competitive timeline for a rebuild to take place in its entirety?
Anthony Franco
4:54
Can't really say that definitively without knowing they declined. Even if you think they're five years away from a playoff spot (which I doubt ownership and the front office would agree on), neither Vodnik nor especially Halvorsen has really hit their ceiling
4:55
Decent chance they just never will in Colorado, of course, but I'm sure they feel they can coax more than a 5.00 ERA and 20% strikeout rate out of Halvorsen. Even in a multi-year rebuild, he could have more trade appeal in a season or two if they turn some of the raw stuff into results
Whither the Nats?
4:56
How do you rate the Nats deadline moves overall? Honestly they got more than I expected for Rosario and Finnegan. I'm a bit surprised that they didn't move Josh Bell, but as a bat-only guy in his 30's who has just hit his way up to league average it's possible that they didn't get any offers at all for him. Gore staying is encouraging, although mildly surprising. It seems that there was less starting pitcher movement than expected.
Anthony Franco
4:58
Boring but fine. Also surprised they got Beeter for Rosario. Finnegan return seems about right. They kept all the important controllable guys, as they should have, and got a few mid-tier prospects for moderately appealing rentals
Twins Fan
4:58
As a Twins fan, this trade deadline was crushing. Is there any way to look at this other than the Pohlads padding their pockets on the way out? It just feels insulting to a fan base that finally had a reason to be hopeful after 2023.
Anthony Franco
5:02
Yeah can't really defend most of this. The value on Duran was alright. I'm not a huge Taj Bradley fan but I get why they feel they can get more out of him. Beyond that, though, it was rough
5:04
Obviously Correa's a pure salary dump. From a value perspective, shedding $100M on a player performing the way he is this year is defensible, but I also have no reason to believe the Pohlads or the future owner are going to immediately reinvest that money into the roster. I don't get why they felt they needed to take what they did on Stewart and Varland
agcsnmb
5:05
Google chat yesterday? I didn't know about that, when & how. Thanks
Anthony Franco
5:05
Ha no sorry, it's just an internal MLBTR one to delegate who's taking what post as the trades come in
John
5:06
Do you think teams like the White Sox and Marlins were wise to hold a higher value on Robert & Alcantara?
Anthony Franco
5:07
On Sandy, probably. I'd have taken whatever was out there for Robert
5:08
Very little confidence that he plays well enough to justify a $20M option, and now they've put themselves in a spot where they probably feel pressure to exercise it even if it's bad value for the optics
Dan
5:08
Have you guys thought of doing an article of what your deadline “war room” is like? I imagine it’s quite a hectic day at MLBTR
Anthony Franco
5:10
Pretty simple setup. We've got the chat running to delegate responsibility and we're just all on X and following the trade trackers at The Athletic, ESPN, etc. as they come in
5:11
We can usually stay pretty well up to date on posts in the morning and early afternoon. By the final 20 minutes before the deadline through the first half hour after it, it's just a rapid fire rush to get headlines up on every trade
5:13
We're all virtual so someone just calls them as they come in to make sure we don't accidentally double post. By about 6:30 Eastern, everything significant has generally been reported, and then we take the next three or so hours backfilling all the trade write-ups and keeping an eye out for corresponding DFAs when the teams announce the trades
Picking Sterns Brain
5:13
As we wait for the Mets to announce their roster later, who do u think is the odd man out in the infield Vientos, Acuna, Baty, or Mauricio to make room for Mullins on the roster?
Anthony Franco
5:13
Just got your answer. Acuña's optioned
The Willies of SF
5:14
I know most pundits think the Giants best return was from the Tyler Rogers deal. Do you agree and who else that SF got in trades has some real upside for you?
Anthony Franco
5:15
I don't know enough about the prospects in the Doval trade to have an opinion on whether that was better than the Rogers return. I really like the value they got on Rogers though
Madmarc
5:16
How does Marte fit into the Cincinnati outfield? He has big reverse splits so he’s not a good platoon.
Anthony Franco
5:18
He has to play every day. I'd still rather have him in there against LHP than Fraley. Lux and Fraley just each lose a little playing time
Picking Sterns Brain
5:18
do u enjoy the deadline or find it stressful?
Anthony Franco
5:20
It's a little stressful but I don't think any of would do this job if we didn't enjoy the deadline. Obviously we spend months thinking about this stuff so it's exciting to see some of it resolve the way we expected and then other stuff (e.g. Correa, Miller) that comes almost out of nowhere
5:21
The final hour or so of the post-deadline write-ups is admittedly kind of a slog though. By like 8:30, the adrenaline has worn off and it's a lot less exciting to write about Phil Maton and Miguel Andujar
5:23
Alright I have to wrap it up here. Darragh's off today and I'm taking over coverage from Steve. The Rays and Giants both made a bunch of moves that I need to get on the site
5:24
Thanks for hanging out! Appreciate all of you continuing to support the site. As always, happy to take whatever I didn't get to here on X @affranco10
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