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Front Office Chat: 9/26/25
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Anthony Franco
3:42
Obviously I've got a lot more thoughts on them in the outlook that we posted last night, but they're clearly going to need more pitching. Would like them to take a flier on a bounce back closer like Helsley or Kopech, even with how well the bullpen has pitched since the Miller trade
3:43
Need two starting pitchers and at least one utility infielder so they're not playing two of Hernaiz, Harris, Gelof and Muncy every day until De Vries arrives
Bichette's long lost cousin
3:44
Does the recent struggles of the Blue Jays offense without him increase Bichette's asking price and possibly where his contract ends up?
Anthony Franco
3:44
I don't think this has any impact on his market but he's going to do very well regardless
Arizona Pitching
3:44
Is there a young controllable middle of the pack starter AZ can target this winter to cover the first 2/3 of the 2026 season until Burnes can return? Or are going to need to clench and accept “Crismatt” is now a regular…?
Anthony Franco
3:47
They should make a push to bring Kelly back on a two-year deal. Seems like he loved it there, has a strong rapport with Lovullo and the front office. They'll break in some of the young pitchers they got at the deadline (Mitch Bratt's probably the first one up) as well. Crismatt's a stopgap
3:50
As far as controllable rotation trade candidates go, I could see Miami swapping someone like Weathers for a young hitter. Angels should trade José Soriano, but the front office might stubbornly hold him again. Cincinnati could move Lodolo for offensive help
3:51
Big question for the D-Backs is deciding how they feel about Lawlar at this point. Tough to say he should be the starting third baseman given how he's played since they traded Geno. Is he trade bait for starting pitching now, and if so, what are they doing at the hot corner?
Steve
3:51
With woo, possibly injured the decision of who the top three mariner pitchers in the playoffs will be is easy, but if Woo is able to start, it could be a difficult decision which three pitchers do you feel should start the playoff games
Anthony Franco
3:53
He's throwing and seems on track to go in Game 2. Still Gilbert, Woo, Kirby top three for me but I think they'll have Castillo start as well rather than running a three-man group
Dalton Rushing
3:54
Has the emergence of a serviceable Ben Rortvedt since Will's injury put me on the trading block this offseason?
Anthony Franco
3:54
Nah we know what Ben Rortvedt is. Fine third catcher, you're in great shape if he's your #4
Sterns?
3:55
All right. So Sterns won’t offer a long term contract to a quality pitcher. I could (maybe) understand that when he’s running a small market team, but now he’s running the richest team in the history of the universe and gave the biggest contract ever to a hitter. Hasn’t Cohen told him – SPEND THE DAMN MONEY!!!!! What’s going on? (Or maybe even with his track record, Stearns isn’t the guy to run a big market club?)
Anthony Franco
3:56
Yeah they probably got a little too cute over the winter. Felt like they were lacking a true top-of-the-rotation arm coming into the year
3:58
But it worked really well in the first half. They did well on the minor league development side and had Senga and Manaea back from injury at the deadline. I get why they felt they were in pretty good shape by July even with signs that Holmes was starting to wear down
Noam
3:58
What's your take on the Marlins corner infield situation?  Are any of Norby, Pauley or Acosta and answer at third?  What cost effective upgrades are available at first, if any?
Anthony Franco
4:00
I don't know if Pauley's necessarily the answer at third, but I buy him as a low-end regular and someone you can live with if he's your seventh or eighth best position player. Never really been in on Norby and Acosta's bat is too light to play every day
4:02
Red Sox are going to non-tender Nathaniel Lowe. He'd make sense as a flier for Miami. Reds will probably look for an upgrade on Spencer Steer but I'd take him over Miami's in-house options at first if Cincinnati pushes him out
4:04
If you want a bigger swing, they kind of match up with the A's with the controllable pitching talent that could pique their interest on Soderstrom. Might be a tough match this offseason, especially with questions about Cabrera's elbow, but maybe something like that opens up at the deadline
Donny Baseball
4:04
Do you see Gil as the Yankees number three starter for the playoffs and do you think they make a real push for Tucker this offseason?  Thanks as always for the chats!
Anthony Franco
4:07
Eh, yes on Gil but largely by default. Don't trust Schlittler to throw enough strikes and Warren's home run issues and inability to get LHH out are still holding him back
4:09
Feels more they'll be on the periphery for Tucker. Bellinger's going to require like 25% of the guarantee and he fits perfectly in that park. I'd rather just bring him back. Signing both clutters the corner outfield/DH group too much
Awards
4:09
Humor us...who are your picks for the 4 awards in each league?
Anthony Franco
4:12
These are just off the cuff but not exactly the most original choices. Wouldn't argue if wanted Judge for MVP or Horton for Rookie of the Year, both totally reasonable.

MVP: Raleigh/Ohtani
CY: Skubal/Skenes
ROY: Kurtz/Baldwin
4:13
I don't really care about Manager of the Year. Give me Vogt and Murphy, I guess
Deb
4:13
I can see the giants possibly making a couple of trades this off-season. Matos and Luciano don't seem to have a home anymore.  Maybe a trade to St Louis since Bloom is going to be in charge or even Pittsburgh. Do you see anything either team might be interested in. Not just Matos or Luciano either.
Anthony Franco
4:14
Don't think either of those guys fit in St. Louis. Pittsburgh carried Alexander Canario on the bench all season, so they could swap Matos or Luciano in that role, sure
4:16
I don't see a ton of matches between the teams you mentioned overall. Cardinals have a decent amount of in-house position player talent and are retooling
4:17
Pittsburgh isn't going to be involved on any of the Giants' big-money guys. They're looking for infield help, so I guess you could put Casey Schmitt there (especially if they think he can play shortstop), but he's a lot like the guys they already have -- Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo -- who are just ok role players
David
4:18
Why didn't Blue Jays recall Jake Bloss and then place him on the 60 day IL to open a roster spot which would have prevented Alek Manoah from being DFAd
Anthony Franco
4:19
They decided they just weren't tendering him the $2.2M arbitration contract so it didn't matter whether they cut him now or at the start of the offseason
Roman Anthony
4:20
When do I swing a bat again?  Could I DH?  My team needs me!
Anthony Franco
4:22
Last update from the MLB.com injury tracker was from Tuesday and reads "feels better moving around, but still hasn't been cleared for baseball activities and doesn't seem all that close"
Wouldn't hold your breath unfortunately
Joel Childs
4:22
The Guards have a 10-game and a 9/10. Losing streak. Has any other team had streaks like that and still won 85 plus games?
Anthony Franco
4:23
I imagine this has happened a few times throughout baseball history but don't know of any way to quickly look up the most recent
4:24
I do know that the Twins had a 13-game win streak this season and have lost 90 with a good chance to finish 69-93
That feels even more "impressive"
Dave
4:24
If Cardinals pay all but 10 million of Arenado contract, is he a good fit for Dodgers? Platoon with Muncy Thanks
Anthony Franco
4:26
I know he's open to going there in a vacuum, but Arenado's an eight-time All-Star and 10-time Gold Glove winner who has full no-trade rights. If your pitch is "short-side platoon role with Max Muncy," I have a very tough time seeing him approve that
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