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Front Office Chat: 9/26/25
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Anthony Franco
2:59
Good afternoon everyone, hope you're doing well!
It's been a couple weeks. Glad to be back
Unclemike1526
3:00
What is the total number of players for a Playoff rosters? Does it revert back to 26 or does it stay at 27? If so does Ballesteros even make the team if Tucker is back? Does it have to be 13-13? Thanks
Anthony Franco
3:01
It reverts to 26 with a 13-pitcher maximum. Doesn't necessity need to be 13-13 and maybe for the Wild Card round you'll see a team go with 12 pitchers because it's a short series, but most teams will want as many pitchers as they can carry as it goes along
3:03
Either way, they need to find room for Ballesteros. I'd probably drop Turner (and Santana, who's already out) but any of Turner, Castro or Alcantara seems plausible to me
3:04
Willi hasn't hit at all. Alcantara's only really on hand in case PCA gets hurt and they need someone to step into CF. Turner's been a little better lately and provides a right-handed bat off the bench but they don't have that many LHH for whom they'd pinch hit anyway (it's basically just Busch) so I don't know that they really need one
this little piggyback cried oui oui all the way
3:04
Most of the playoff contenders haven't even named their starters for Saturday and Sunday. Is this a new trend?
Anthony Franco
3:06
Probably? The borderline playoff teams don't know yet if Sunday will be a must-win and they'll need to bring their best pitchers back on short rest
3:08
Tigers would love to clinch by Saturday and have Skubal for Game 1 but they may not have that luxury. Astros are almost certainly going to need to bring Brown back on short rest as well
World Series Victor
3:08
Is anyone going to topple Seattle? Or will we finally get to hoist the trophy?
Anthony Franco
3:09
Obviously the odds are stacked heavily in favor of the field over any individual team but Seattle feels like the most complete team in the American League, at least. Tougher call when you pit them against Milwaukee and Philly but yeah, I'd probably have them as slight World Series favorites
The Knuder
3:10
Which free agents, if any, do you see the Padres bringing back?
Anthony Franco
3:11
Don't think it's all that likely they're keeping any of them besides Laureano, who has the easy yes on the club option
3:12
Beyond that, King's the only one that I really see a path for, but it probably requires his market not materializing as hoped and turning to an opt-out situation
3:14
Cease, Suarez, Arraez, ROH and Nestor all feel like they're gone. Diaz, Hart and Iglesias are minor league deal guys
Arise, Sir Loin of Beef
3:14
Mets make the playoffs, yes or no? I'm guessing no.
Anthony Franco
3:15
I still expect them to get in, though I'll admit that I'm kind of pulling for the Reds just to shake up the field
Dirt
3:15
Thanks for the chat! Despite the broken hamate, Ozzie's option with the Braves next season is a no-brainer, right? If so, where does that leave Nacho? Utility infielder or trade bait? Is Nick Allen the odd man out?
Anthony Franco
3:16
Agreed. $3M difference between the option price and the buyout gets you Kevin Newman or Luis Urías. Even with the downward trend and the injuries, Ozzie's better than those guys
3:19
I think they'll trade Alvarez in a deal for some kind of pitching help. Nacho's not going to get you Joe Ryan or MacKenzie Gore but there'll be teams that'd like him in return for a back-end starter. Allen's glove-only profile fits better in a utility capacity. Probably need to work out a multi-year deal with HSK to keep him from opting out at that point
pitching chaos for everyone
3:19
Will anyone pitch 7+ innings in one game this weekend?
Anthony Franco
3:20
Haha Logan Webb goes Sunday at home against the Rockies. Might set the O/U at 8.2
john
3:20
If Woodruff is out of the NLDS who takes the #3 start?  Quintana/Miz/Patrick all come with high risk.
Anthony Franco
3:22
I think it's Patrick, maybe after an opener. In any case, not extending that third "starter" to go more than 3-4 innings. Get to the bullpen at the first sign of trouble
TheBeatlesShow
3:22
Hey, Anthony.  Hope all is well.  Remind me, weren't the Tigers called 'the best team in baseball' around the middle of the season?  But the real questions:  If they do lose the division, where does that stack up against the greatest collapses of all time?  And, over the last month or so...or less than that, has Steven Vogt gotten himself a lot of votes for AL Mgr of the Year?
Anthony Franco
3:25
I don't think it's as bad as the '64 Phillies blowing a 6.5 game lead with 12 to play. Pretty similar to that '07 Mets/Phillies one, I think
3:26
I'll at least cut the Tigers some "slack" for the collapse being against the team that ran them down. The only real way it happened was if the Guardians took five of the last six games head to head and basically never lost to anyone else this month, and they've done that
And yeah, I think Vogt's going to be up there for Manager of the Year. Schneider and Wilson will get support too
Angels fan
3:26
Who will manage us next year and isn’t there anyone we can get
Anthony Franco
3:27
I'm assuming they give Wash another shot but that's just a guess. Don't think it really matters with the state of that roster unfortunately
The Seaward
3:28
After having zero trade value 12 months ago, does Taiwan Walker spark any interest in the trade market this offseason? How much would the Phillies have to pay down to shed his salary, and how much to get a 40/45 FV prospect in return?
Anthony Franco
3:29
Still has a year left at $18M. He's been durable enough but it's a sub-16% strikeout rate with HR issues and he's limping to the finish line
3:31
There's no scenario in which I'd give up a 40/45 FV prospect for him if I were another team. I'd pass on that even if the Phils paid him down the minimum. I'd probably need them to pay it down to like $2M for no return just to carry him on the roster as a long reliever
Peter
3:31
Mayo's Last 30 day numbers stand in stark contrast to his previous output. With 94 PAs, he's put up a 259/330/471 line with 5 HRs and 8 RBIs. However, his CT% is 67% - not very good.

Sell high on him?
Keeper in a 20 team 5x5 (W/OBP) with 12 keepers?
Anthony Franco
3:33
Yeah the whiffs are still a huge issue and I don't think he's shown enough for Baltimore to give him the first base job going into a '26 season where they want to be more competitive
Joseph
3:33
I'd love to see the Orioles trade for MacKenzie Gore (although I know there has been bad blood between the two orgs in the past due to MASN, etc). But for the sake of this discussion, if the O's were willing to attempt a deal, what would it take? Would something like 1B Coby Mayo, RHP Trey Gibson, and 2B Aron Estrada make sense for both teams? Thanks.
Anthony Franco
3:37
Relatedly, I'd consider Gibson the headliner of this package over Mayo at this point. I don't think this is a bad offer though. Gibson's got a shot to be a mid-rotation guy, the Nats could afford to give Mayo more runway at first base in what'll be another rebuilding year. Not sure what to make of Estrada given his size and lack of standout physical tools but the numbers are good enough that I could see some teams loving him
3:39
Feels like a utility guy to me but I was unenthused by Caleb Durbin for similar reasons and he's better than I thought. I have no idea if Nats ownership would block a trade to the O's full stop but I'd give this one real thought if the front office had full discretion
Drake
3:39
Loyal green and gold fan here...take away that horrendous 1-20 stretch earlier this season and the A's would be a playoff team which is crazy. There was a report in the Athletic that said David Forst might be out at the end of the year, what are your thoughts? And how do the Vegas A's of West Sacramento take that leap next year so we can see playoff baseball in a minor league park?
Anthony Franco
3:41
If you're referring to that Ken Rosenthal column, I wouldn't say he was reporting that Forst could be on the way out. Contract's expiring but he also reported that Forst and Fisher are in talks and suggested he was likely to sign for at least another two years
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