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Front Office Chat: 8/29/25
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Anthony Franco
3:39
Yeah there has to be. Adolis and Burger out. I expect they'll move on from Heim and will at least hear other teams out on Jung. Seems like they've grown very frustrated with his overaggressiveness and overall inconsistency at the plate
Seager, Langford, Semien, Carter and Smith are the core. Joc is back by default. Wouldn't lock anyone else in there on offense for '26
Cashman
3:39
My Yankees look lost against playoff teams. Do we have to sign Tucker this offseason and get Cole back to 100% to make a real run at next year's World Series, or do we need more?
Anthony Franco
3:42
Getting Cole back would be massive obviously. Tucker would help, of course, but that probably means they're just swapping him in for Bellinger. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that they'll sort out the bullpen since that has generally been a strength under this front office/coaching staff (not this year, obviously) but the lineup depth just isn't there
3:44
They need Volpe to at least get back to solidifying things defensively. They locked themselves into RyMac, which is meh. Probably not finding a better catcher externally than Wells. A lot just comes down to them needing to get more out of Volpe, Wells, Domínguez etc. so the offense isn't always a one or two man show
John B
3:44
Do you think either Imanaga or the Cubs will exercise their option and if not what do you think his market would look like?
Anthony Franco
3:45
Cubs are picking their side up without a doubt
3:46
He'd get four years and beat Eduardo Rodriguez money if he were a free agent. 3/57 is really good value
McGonigle Breaks Camp in ‘26?
3:46
Do you think McGonigle will break camp with the Tigers next spring? If not, when will he make The Show?
Anthony Franco
3:48
Seems like they skew a little conservatively on the prospect promotion front so I'd set the O/U around May 15. I imagine they'll at least the window slightly open for him to force the issue if he has a monster Spring Training though
Pete
3:48
Robert Suarez should opt out right? If so, do you think the Pads will do the reasonable thing and keep Miller a reliever?
Anthony Franco
3:50
He should opt out, yeah. I expect them to give Miller a look as a starter next spring. Obvious risk from a health perspective but they've had a lot of success with Lugo and King going that route
3:52
Long-term rotation picture is uncertain, especially after they traded Bergert in what felt like a desperation play for a catcher. I don't doubt Miller would be a very good starter if healthy, just a question of whether the arm holds up
Rox
3:52
Re: Suarez, do you think the Padres will extend the QO to Suarez with the hopes that he'll decline it and sign elsewhere?
Anthony Franco
3:52
Nah, I think he'd take $22M for one year if offered and they're not going to want to tie up that kind of money
3:53
Let him walk. If Miller stays in the bullpen, he can close. Otherwise tab Adam or Estrada for it
Marsee
3:53
What does a Jakob Marsee extension look like? 8yr 55 million?
Anthony Franco
3:55
That feels high 27 games in for a guy who was never a top 100 prospect, even if he has had an awesome start to his career. I guess you could argue it's kind of the Rafaela deal, but the glove with Ceddanne made him feel much safer
3:56
I'd have Marsee more in the Colt Keith territory: around $30M with a couple club options to buy out his first two or three free agent years
Cubbies
3:56
Do you think the Cubs' inexplicably quiet deadline kinda deflated the team a bit? They have not looked like a playoff caliber team over the last 6 weeks or so.
Anthony Franco
3:57
I don't think that had anything to do with Tucker not hitting, which I'd say is the biggest factor. PCA was always going to have a tough time maintaining his early-season offensive level
3:59
But while I don't really buy it as a morale thing, the only move they made to address an already questionable pitching staff was to trade for a fifth starter with declining stuff whose shoulder immediately gave out. They're left relying on Rea, Taillon and now Assad to fill two rotation spots, which isn't good enough
Ben Cherrington
3:59
How do you solve a problem like Maria Oneil Cruz?
Anthony Franco
4:00
Pirates would be paying me a lot more than I'm making now if I could answer this question haha
4:01
I don't think he's long for center field and would probably move him to right over the offseason. Always felt a little strange to me that they just threw him out into center with a month to go in the '24 season
4:04
I have no idea how to get more out of him offensively. They've tried a couple different hitting coaches to find more consistency and it hasn't worked. Obviously there's always going to be a lot of swing and miss with arms that long, but it's crazy that he can't reliably post a .340+ average on balls in play when he hits the ball as hard as he does
Arthur Dent
4:04
The Stros just keep gettin’ done… surprised they still have the division lead.  What’s the status of their pitching rotation down the stretch?  Can they hold off the M’s?
Anthony Franco
4:06
Yeah I want to take Seattle because they feel like the better team on paper but they haven't really seized it. Houston has been just ok for the past couple months to leave the door open
4:08
Houston should get Luis Garcia back next week. No idea what he's going to look like after two and a half seasons lost to injury. The bullpen is floundering following Hader's injury. Javier is back  from his own Tommy John but understandably rusty
4:09
It's Valdez, Brown and Abreu and the rest of the staff feels held together by Scotch tape. I really don't know how they're managing, but that becomes easier to handle in the playoffs with all the off days allowing teams to lean so heavily on their top guys
Chris
4:09
Do you like the universal scheduling now, or did you like it before when teams played more games within their division?
Anthony Franco
4:10
I preferred the heavier division slate but I think I was in the minority
Cleveland Rocks!!’n
4:10
Do you think anyone is going to sign Carlos Santana and if yes, who?
Anthony Franco
4:14
Seattle wanted him back over the offseason and could view him as a better bench piece than Raley or Solano. San Diego's carrying Will Wagner on their bench, and I'd like Santana late in games over Arraez for defensive purposes
Bubba Or McLean or Tong
4:14
Rank the following 3 SPs insofar as who will have the best ‘26 and why?
Anthony Franco
4:15
Chandler, Tong, McLean. More or less just ordered by talent. Chandler's got the best stuff and I trust Tong's command more than McLean's
Cags ROS & ‘26 Outlook?
4:15
Cags is tearing it up on his rehab assignment. What is your outlook for ROS and next year? Will this get his mojo back?
Anthony Franco
4:16
Wouldn't put much stock into the rehab numbers. It's not like he had any issues demolishing minor league pitching before he came up the first time
4:17
Clearly extremely physically gifted but I think it's going to be a steep learning curve for a player who chases as often as he does. Feels like he's the type of hitter who is hurt most by the widening gap in pitcher quality between the big leagues and Triple-A
4:18
This is about Jac Caglianone with the Royals, in case that wasn't clear to everyone. Should've specified before the answer
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