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Jeff Sullivan FanGraphs Chat -- 3/2/18
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Charles Finley
10:40
Is Adam Lind going to take the bench spot previously penciled for Tyler Austin?
Jeff Sullivan
10:41
It's possible, but I'm not convinced. Austin bats right-handed, and he can do more defensively
Bort
10:41
Are you excited about Andrew Triggs for 2018?
Jeff Sullivan
10:42
I wouldn't say I'm excited, but I'm hopeful that he can get himself back on track now that he's healthy. The A's could use him
HugoZ
10:43
What do you think of a payroll floor? What should it be?
Jeff Sullivan
10:43
I would not mind a payroll floor. It's also not a perfect solution. To go back to the example of the A's, on several occasions these past few years they've made large free-agent offers that simply weren't accepted
10:44
What do you do?
Mike sixel
10:44
Just a few years ago, maybe a few months ago, it would be inconceivable that three of the best free agent pitchers would miss the start of the season for not being signed.
Jeff Sullivan
10:44
I have to believe they'll get signed. I think Lynn will hurt the most, relative to what he's been expecting
Guest
10:44
What do you think about Red Sox bullpen? I think that's not enough to be a contender for the ring
Jeff Sullivan
10:45
I didn't like the Red Sox bullpen *last* season, behind Kimbrel, and yet they still literally led the majors in bullpen WPA
With bullpens, you just don't know. If Smith and Thornburg are reasonably healthy, they're terrific
Thurmon
10:48
Braves offer Ronald Acuna, Kyle Wright, Austin Riley, Mike Soroka, and Alex Jackson for Mike Trout. Do the Angels hang up?
Jeff Sullivan
10:49
It's funny. I just ran through general surplus-value estimates, and the Braves' side and the Angels' side here come out virtually identical
Now, because of that, I think the Angels still say no, because there's value to having Trout beyond his performance and the terms of his contract. But if the Angels, say, hadn't signed Shohei Ohtani, you wonder...
Evan Gattis
10:50
Will I stick at DH or will my playing time trail off as the season grinds on?
Jeff Sullivan
10:50
I imagine that it will dwindle
Cason Jollette
10:50
Should the Rays sign someone like Bautista or Holliday? There aren't a lot of good options available on the free agent market but neither of those players can really be counted on to play the field.
Jeff Sullivan
10:50
I think they should
Pat G
10:52
Bregman has a ton of helium right now, but I don't see him all that different to Benintendi (not that either is bad, but neither feels like a superstar). Where do you stand (on Bregman)?
Jeff Sullivan
10:52
I like them both, actually about the same when it comes to batting. Above-average hitters, non-elite
Bregman is benefiting from postseason exposure
Q-Ball
10:53
In the past, Dave did an excellent series on best and worst transactions of the offseason.  Are those planned for this year?
Jeff Sullivan
10:53
Yes, someone else will be running those
Slurve
10:53
How many different pitches are there?  Do you anticipate any new pitches or, based on the rules and/or ligaments, are all the pitches essentially out there?
Jeff Sullivan
10:53
Pretty much every pitch that could exist does exist. Eno wrote about this once or twice before
Jacob
10:53
Is the AL central taking the title of weakest division from the long time champion NL east
Jeff Sullivan
10:53
I will write about this soon!
Charlie
10:53
When is the 2018 playoff odds page expected to be launched?
Jeff Sullivan
10:54
I think within a week or two, but it's getting some extra work this time around because Sean Dolinar wants to introduce some new features
Harry Richard Head
10:54
How is the 538 story on the change in baseballs that Ben highlighted on yesterday's Effectively Wild not the top news story in all of sports? If I were a pitcher who saw my ERA tick up because of home runs, I would be furious. Because, unlike in the steroid era when the pitchers could also cheat (looking at you, Clemens), this seems to exclusively benefit batters.
Jeff Sullivan
10:55
Part of it is that this isn't new. There's been juiced-ball research for a couple of years. Part of it is that fans don't really mind. And part of it is that all pitchers are working with the same balls, so no one is really more affected than anyone else
10:56
Now, that last part isn't exactly true. This is worse for contact-oriented pitchers, I suppose. But like Justin Verlander said yesterday, he's not even mad about the ball. He's just mad that baseball itself hasn't been more forthcoming or honest, in his opinion
the one padres fan
10:56
Any thoughts about Matt Strahm's role this season on the Pads? Rotation or bullpen? Does it matter?
Jeff Sullivan
10:57
It matters, sure, but I don't think anyone really knows yet. Gotta see him pitch as his healthy self first. Then his role will work itself out
Very intriguing upside play
TF Fredrik
10:57
Do we have to assume we will see same run scoring environment this year until otherwise observed?
Jeff Sullivan
10:57
Yep
Tommy N.
10:57
Can Franchy Cordero be a 3-4 win player?
Jeff Sullivan
10:57
Yes!
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