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Front Office Chat: 8/22/25
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Anthony Franco
3:01
Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week!
3:02
Have a bunch going on today so I need to keep this one at an hour
Olereb
3:02
Who do you see the Braves targeting to upgrade at ss, also do you see the Braves trying to rid themselves of Justin Profar?
Anthony Franco
3:03
Bichette would be uncharacteristic for them but they've got Iglesias and Ozuna coming off the books short term and there's a case they need to move off their usual operating procedure of prioritizing trades/extensions based on how poorly they've played this year
3:05
Albies doesn't look like a core piece anymore, so they'd be able to slide Bo over to second in a couple years if he can't stick at SS long term. Trade market at the position has been bad for a while. Sox would probably move Story to make room for Marcelo Mayer (eh), could try to get the Royals to give up Maikel Garcia but it'd take a lot
3:07
Profar's mashing since he's been back. They'd need a new left fielder if they trade him. I'm sure they're not happy with how things went down, but keeping him at 2/30 seems fine to me
Sam
3:07
What's the Twins' offseason ahead look like? Will it be frugal once again due to the Pohlads retaining ownership of the team, or will they decide to start spending again (a la Correa) to try to get back into contention?
Anthony Franco
3:08
I have a hard time seeing them kick up spending dramatically. Teams almost never follow up a massive teardown by throwing a bunch of money at it and trying again
3:09
I expect Ryan and Jeffers to go at least. Feels like they could hold Pablo into next season because of the injury impacting his trade value. Then backfill with a bunch of smaller deals in the bullpen (similar to last winter's Rangers approach) at catcher, and for a right-handed outfield bat
3:10
They brought back enough upper level talent, particularly in the rotation, that I could see a path to contention in 2027. Much harder for me to envision it next season
Brian
3:10
with Samuel Basallo now locked up long term, what are chances the O's trade Adley this offseason?
Anthony Franco
3:10
I don't think the Basallo extension moves the odds much. They had him under team control for six seasons and knew how good he was already
3:12
They can coexist with the DH but Rutschman's offensive decline has made it feel for a while that he's running out of time there. Guess I'd put the odds of an offseason trade at 55%? Feels like at least 75% chance he's dealt by the 2026-27 offseason
The best evah
3:12
Can you explain what makes Mackenzie Gore so attractive to MLB teams? Despite a higher K/9 this year compared to previous years (10.7), he has a career 4.01 ERA and (as far as I can tell) striking out half a batter more per nine seems to be the only thing he's improved in his game this year. To throw out another data point, Will Warren is a year younger and sporting a HR9/BB9/K9 of  1.0/3.9/10.1, compared to Gore's 1.2/3.4/10.7. Is Warren half a strikeout per nine away from being seen in a similar light to Gore?
Anthony Franco
3:15
I'm sure there are plenty of teams that really like Warren but Gore throws two MPH harder from the left side, and there's a huge gap in swinging strikes on a per-pitch basis. Gore's eighth among pitchers with 100+ IP with a 13.4% swinging strike rate. Warren is 69th at 9.5%
3:17
Warren gets a ton of called strikes, so they're pretty close in overall strikeout rate, but that's a little tougher to bank on year over year. Gore getting tons of whiffs with plus stuff from the left side feels like a higher upside play
3:18
Also feels like Gore's results are weighed down a little bit pitching in front of a Nationals infield that is by far the worst in MLB. It's a good shout though. Warren's good, just a tier down below Gore for me
Gadzooks
3:18
Do the Reds take the last WC spot from the Mets?
Anthony Franco
3:18
I'll stick with New York, probably against my better judgment
TheBeatlesShow
3:19
Hey, Anthony...and thanks.  If Ohtani keeps struggling on the mound, am I crazy to think that Kyle Schwarber might steal the MVP award from him?
Anthony Franco
3:22
Ohtani's still got Schwarber beat in all three slash stats in a home park that's a little tougher on left-handed hitters. He's one homer behind him, obviously a far better baserunner
3:23
I don't think the gap is so large that Schwarber can't close it with a monster finish, but I'd give Shohei the edge even independent of the pitching. Really a testament to how remarkable Ohtani is because Schwarber's having a phenomenal season and it's at best on par with Ohtani's average year
Greg
3:23
Do the Rockies have much to be excited about except Tovar, Beck, Doyle’s second half improvement and the potential of Bernabel/Karros?
Anthony Franco
3:25
Have a hard time buying it with Bernabel after years of poor production in the upper minors. I think it's mostly the first three guys you mentioned plus Goodman
Dollander obviously has a lot more in the tank than he's shown so far, but this is the challenge for any pitcher at altitude
BTinVT
3:26
Who is a better offensive player going forward Nootbaar or Marsh? Thank you
Anthony Franco
3:26
I'll take Noot
Greg
3:26
Do you see the Nationals in the market for Murakami? Their 1B/3B outlook is murky with early struggles from House
Anthony Franco
3:28
Agree about the roster fit, might be a tough sell for the player. We don't know if he prefers the West Coast, for one, and they'd need to sell him on a new front office breaking out of a six-year rebuild
3:29
That's before convincing ownership to hand out their biggest contract since Strasburg
Realistic Ranger Moves in ‘26?
3:29
With at least some contracts coming off the books next year, what can the Rangers realistically do to repair their offense and get a legitimate closer? And would it make sense to extend DeGromm by 1-2 years? Langford extension?
Anthony Franco
3:31
deGrom's already signed for two years plus the option that kicked in after he underwent TJ. That takes him through age 40. They can wait that out. Kicking around terms with Langford makes sense
3:32
I doubt they're going to be on Tucker but they've got so much off the books that they'll be close to $80M below the luxury line. Pretty modest arb class if they move on from two or all of Adolis, Heim and Jung
3:34
I don't know if the past with Houston gives them any baggage, but they realistically should be in on Bregman. Alonso could work too
Chris
3:34
Any shot Cristopher Sanchez takes the Cy Young from Skenes?
Anthony Franco
3:35
I'd give Skenes a slight edge but certainly don't think it's crazy to prefer Sánchez. They're neck and neck
3:37
Wheeler would've been right there if not for the injury. I'd be open to an argument for Logan Webb too based on the innings but assume he's trending towards third because the ERA's a little behind the other guys
Buddy Biancalana
3:37
Biggest moves for the Royals would be signing Garcia and Pasquantino to extensions this offseason. Who do you see them adding in FA? Figure corner OFs and a 2B/3B infielder?
Anthony Franco
3:39
Sounds rights. Guess second base comes down to whether they're willing to admit the L on the India trade and non-tender him. Feels like a team that'd make a lot of sense if the Braves move on from Albies
3:41
You can take your pick among the mid-tier corner outfielders. Yaz hitting well enough that they could bring him back plus a flier on Kepler, Mullins, etc.
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