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Front Office Chat: 8/8/25
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Anthony Franco
3:38
You're probably right that a five-year gap wouldn't be a real deterrent, but the likelihood that a guy would be good enough to warrant them that far apart is pretty slim (most don't hit FA the first time until their late 20s or early 30s). So it's not a huge benefit to the owners, but to get that built into a future CBA, the players would view it as a concession relative to the status quo and want something in return. Probably not worth bothering
Yankee CF
3:38
Given they don't do extensions, are the Yankees looking for a CF this free agency? Or do they give Spencer Jones a shot and try to get a mid-tier fourth outfielder who can play CF (if there even is one)?
Anthony Franco
3:40
Mullins kind of fits that bill at this point. Bader too, but I can't really see them bringing him back. I assume they'll try to keep Bellinger even if Grisham walks. At that point, maybe they feel they can live with Belli and Jones splitting time there and continuing to rely on the outfield to outhit whatever defensive shortcoming they've got
GBS42
3:41
With the Marlins inexplicably on the ragged edge of playoff contention, do you think Jakob Marsee gets close to full-time playing time to show what he can do? I don't really see an alternative, but you never know...
Anthony Franco
3:42
Yeah I think he's playing every day in CF from here out. The front office and coaching staff know they're not making the playoffs despite how well they've played lately. Trading Sánchez was in large part about opening the spot for Marsee
3:43
Dane Myers also hasn't hit in a month, so it's not like he's locked into everyday playing in RF. They're already cutting him back a little for Heriberto Hernandez and Troy Johnston
j6proulx
3:44
Any hard feels between Nats and Cubs FO's over Mike Soroka trade, given his injury in first Cubs outing? Sounds like he passed physical and medicals were ok but that's a tough trade outcome.
Anthony Franco
3:45
Assuming everything that has been said publicly is true, I don't see why there would be. Soroka said an MRI right before the deadline came back clean. The Cubs' front office was aware that his velocity was dropping in his final three starts with the Nats and rolled the dice anyway
3:46
Obviously it looks like a bust, but not in an unforeseeable way. Soroka was always a volatile play. He misses bats but the stuff was fading as he approached his highest workload in six years
Danny
3:46
Do you think Bichette has pushed his next contract just past the Adames/Swanson tier? How willing are teams to forget one abysmal year the further it gets in the rear view?
JeffyM82
3:46
What do you think Bo's free agent earning power is? Does he get to 30 million AAV like Correa, Lindor and Seager? Or the mid to high 20's like Adames, Swanson and Turner?  He's only 28...does someone give him 10 years?  Is Xander Bogaerts a comp?
Anthony Franco
3:49
I'm sure Bo's camp would love for Bogaerts to be the comp. I don't think that one really applies to future players. I don't mean for this to be insensitive, but that deal was an obvious extreme overpay from day one that was approved by an owner who was battling health problems and really wanted to push his team over the top in the short term
3:51
I think Bo's slightly above Adames/Dansby based on the higher offensive ceiling. Would have him a little below 200 and the #2 player in the class. Don't love going past seven years given the high probability that he moves to second base pretty early in that deal
RP
3:51
Has a relief pitcher ever gone in the first round of an MLB draft? Even if they're amazing they're probably generating 2-3 WAR max at the MLB level
Anthony Franco
3:53
I'm sure it's happened but can't think of one in the past couple years. There are a ton of pitchers who go round 1 who have reliever risk for whatever reason (little used third pitch, injury history, below-average command) but they're usually pitching as starters in amateur ball or the big league team thinks they've got a shot to convert to rotation work
3:54
Crochet's probably the closest recent example that I can think of. Mostly a reliever his first two years at Tennessee. Converted to the rotation for his junior season but only pitched once before the college season got banged by Covid. White Sox drafted him 11th overall and fast tracked him to the big leagues in the bullpen
3:55
But they maintained (correctly, it turns out) that he had the talent to start someday
clutch
3:55
How can a team team improve runs scored when hitting with RISP production is abysmal?
Anthony Franco
3:55
This almost always just naturally evens itself out over time
Tigers
3:56
I think the Tigers took RP Matt Anderson first overall several years ago. What a bust pick it was.
Anthony Franco
3:57
Ha, there you go. Nice pull!
3:58
I had never heard of this guy but it does seem like he was a full-time reliever even at Rice
What a wild pick
Beano
3:58
What do the Cubs have in Ben Brown? Will he be a useful starter or a middle reliever who can pitch multiple innings or a bust?
Anthony Franco
3:59
Yeah I lean more toward multi-inning reliever based on the lack of a third pitch and the command history but think he could be a pretty good bullpen arm
ClarkeInEC
4:00
Has Roman Anthony put his name into the ROY discussion?
Anthony Franco
4:01
Pretty good case for second, especially with Jacob Wilson breaking his arm. I expect Kurtz to run away with it though
CB
4:02
Cody Bellinger has been awesome this year. How close does he come to Kyle Tucker money?
Anthony Franco
4:04
Very different tiers. Bellinger remains very good but the market has basically rejected him each of the past two offseasons because the batted ball metrics are just ok. Obviously we way overestimated how teams would feel about him two years ago. At this time last year, the Yankees got him for nothing other than taking two years and $47M on his contract
4:05
I think he's a nine-figure guy and it seems pretty clear that the league overcorrected because his hard hit rate isn't good and under appreciated how dramatically he improved his pure contact skills relative to his time with the Dodgers
4:06
But the batted ball stuff still isn't great, and it feels like teams view him more as a corner guy who can play center as opposed to a true center fielder
MLBContractRumors
4:06
Have you considered changing the name of the site, seeing as you also cover things like free agent signings and waiver claims?
Anthony Franco
4:07
Nah, obviously we do much more than just trade rumors (and occasionally people complain about us covering an injured list stint or something) but the brand has been what it is for like 20 years
M
4:07
What do you think about Naylor, 5 years, $15-20 mil per, with a vesting option or team option for a 6th year as an extension offer from the Mariners?
Anthony Franco
4:09
I know he's young but five years for a very good but not elite hitter at first base is not for me. More of a three-year guy in that salary range for me
4:10
I think you also kind of see that in the recent trades. Cleveland dealt him to Arizona for a draft pick and a sixth starter. Seattle got him for a middle reliever and a mid-tier pitching prospect in A-ball
OP
4:11
Despite his lackluster performance in the bigs, I always thought Oswald Peraza had too much upside to trade- 25 year old, elite defender, if he started hitting he'd be a 4-5 WAR player at least (kind of similar to Andres Gimenez in that sense). Super loaded and speculative question, but what do you think his MLB career will look like when all's said and done? Does he look like someone who's two years from retirement, or does he just need more experience?
Anthony Franco
4:12
I assume the glove is good enough that he'll kick around for years but more in the Nicky Lopez mold than Giménez
4:15
The bat had leveled off in Triple-A. He's never made a ton of contact. Even if you still think he's got untapped physical upside at 25, he's out of options (so you'd have to get him through waivers to send him to Triple-A) but not playing well enough to warrant regular playing time at the MLB level. It's hard to see him getting consistent reps unless/until he clears waivers, but even then, the quality of Triple-A pitching is low enough that teams are going to bucket him as a utility guy no matter how well he hits down there
Brewer Fan
4:15
What do you make of Andrew Vaughn? Obviously he won't be this hot forever, but think he's our starting firstbaseman next year AND we're excited about that?
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