Front Office Chat: 8/21/26
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Anthony Franco
3:40
He looks phenomenal but man, throwing a 20-year-old catcher into a tight pennant race is a tough ask and Campusano's still mashing
I'd be surprised if they did it this quickly even with how polished Salas seems to be on both sides of the ball
ca$hman
3:40
any chance Jazz earns himself the qualifying offer with a good 2 months?
Anthony Franco
3:41
Strong final two months should do it. I'd lean against it right now. Darragh and I discussed this on the pod this week and he seemed more in favor of the Yankees issuing it still
Sleeper SBs
3:42
I know this is a fantasy question, but any thoughts on a late season guy who might run crazy on SBs?
Anthony Franco
3:43
David Hamilton? Maybe the Royals give Tyler Tolbert some 3B reps with Garcia back down, guessing we won't see Maikel again this year
Bob T.
3:43
Hope you have had a good week. I want to get your opinion on something that bothers me. Too many times I see ground balls hit to infielders and the hitter jogs toward first. What is the problem with running 90 feet? To me it looks like players only care about doubles and homers. I see way too many players hit into double plays because they jog to first. Running hard to first puts pressure on infielders to make a clean play.
Anthony Franco
3:46
Yeah I get that this generally doesn't look good but MLB infielders make 95%+ of the routine plays. Teams don't care as much about whether players do this (especially stars) because you don't want guys blowing out hamstrings on a play where they're very likely going to be out either way
3:48
Obviously that's not universal and there are times where guys are just inexcusably loafing it. This does irk me in the postseason -- Brayan Rocchio had an egregious one a couple years ago that IIRC ended an ALCS game -- or on potential double play balls
But a routine grounder to short on August 20? Eh, it's a long season
Arthur Dent
3:48
Deserved or not, Dan Wilson is probably going to get the axe after the season ends.  Is there any advantage to pulling to trigger on that now?  Has there been any rumors about unrest in the Mariners clubhouse?
Anthony Franco
3:49
Haven't seen any reporting about the M's clubhouse aside from some of the starters being irked when they started doing the piggybacking thing before they traded Castillo
3:51
On Wilson: I hate calling for anyone's job when so much of what they do happens behind the scenes. I don't have any confidence in saying whether a firing would be "deserved"
3:52
But it's inexcusable that a team with this much talent has played so poorly. They already tried firing assistant HC Bobby Magallanes and it didn't change anything on the offensive side. The division is still there for the taking because the Astros and Rangers have done everything possible to keep Seattle Alvie
Alive*
3:54
They added one of the best bats available at the deadline, they're calling up the best pitching prospect in baseball. I don't know how many other ways they can try to give these guys a kick in the ass
Optimistic Giants Fan
3:54
What is the likelihood of greater freedom in trading draft picks (more akin to the other three major USA leagues) being added in this negotiation? Personally think it would make trades a lot more interesting.
Anthony Franco
3:55
I'd be surprised if this doesn't happen. One of the few things that should be easy for both sides to accept
Robert Jr
3:55
Do you think Mets will place me on outright waivers since it has been reported that they will not pick up my option? If so, who might be willing to put a claim in on me since I am still owed quite a bit?
Anthony Franco
3:55
Should waive him but I doubt anyone claims him for the reason you mentioned
Rusty Ross
3:56
Who survives and is a partof the 2027 BlueJays outfield??
BB is the new BB
3:56
I look at Brett Bateman of the Blue Jays and think of a previous BB has a comparison if he continues to develop, Brett Butler.  Is there a place for a player like that in the modern game....I sure hope so because he's already a fun player to watch.
Anthony Franco
3:58
I'm not really familiar with Butler but I'll say that if Bateman has anywhere near those numbers (probably not happening), yeah, there's absolutely a place for that guy
4:00
I think he and Lukes are a little redundant on the same roster. Guessing they'll keep Bateman and move Lukes this offseason. Beyond that, you've got Barger coming back and that's about it
Stuck with Santander but who knows if you're getting anything from him? Time to move on from Sánchez and Straw
Emmanuel Rodriguez 4th Option Year?
4:01
What are the chances Emmanuel Rodriguez (MN Twins  is granted a 4th option?  He has missed significant time to injury in every season and has yet to make his MLB debut, despite this being his 3rd option year.  He may be a September call up candidate, but he just returned from another thumb injury.  If they use September as an evaluation, would he forgo any potential of a 4th option year?
Anthony Franco
4:04
September call-up shouldn't impact it. I'd need more time to tally up how many days he's been on an active roster in every season but I think he'll qualify. He needs to essentially have five full seasons on a minor league or MLB roster
4:05
2021 doesn't count because he was at the complex and I think he missed enough time in '22 to meet it
Mike Elias
4:05
Ideal offseason to get the Orioles back on track: advise me! What do we do?
Anthony Franco
4:08
QO Rogers and get a compensatory pick if he walks. Sign Trent Grisham and Adrian Morejon and trade for Detmers
Two Strikes and No Balls
4:08
What do you think of Jared Jones for next year?  Near elite stuff or middle to lower tier SP?  His career so far has been so up and down.  What established pitcher do you see his career maybe mimicking?
Anthony Franco
4:11
Yeah still all in. Comp's tough, maybe a pre-injury Spencer Strider?
4:13
Or Carlos Rodón-ish. Obviously very different pitchers stylistically but I still think Jones has that kind of ceiling. Fringe top 5 Cy Young upside in any given year but the Wheeler, Skubal, Cole type consistency
Manager Needy Teams
4:13
Will lovullo actually be available this winter? How does a team court him if so? He’s an underrated manager IMO and if AZ lets him go they will regret it.
Anthony Franco
4:16
Tough for me to see it unless they move on from Hazen too. Those guys seem so tight -- even Hazen's defense of Torey on the Ketel situation was about as impassioned as I've heard him on anything -- and I have a hard time seeing what more they could've expected Lovullo to do with this pitching staff than keep them in the Wild Card picture
GWA
4:17
Will Anthony Volpe ever see Yankee Stadium in pinstripes again
Anthony Franco
4:19
That's a good question. Could see them swapping him in for Schuemann if McMahon's down into September but I lean toward offseason trade
Sandy G
4:19
Hey Anthony, Thanks for the chat! Does Jared Young have a future as a regular first baseman with the Mets (or some other team). He's cheap and his profile seems similar to Ryan O'Hearn.
Anthony Franco
4:21
Yeah I can see that comp. ROH was a really atypical development path, though, so the Mets can't afford to just hand Young the job going into '27
4:22
But make a relatively modest investment there (e.g. Andrew Vaughn trade) and keep the door open to Young at least winning the strong side of a platoon again
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