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Kevin Goldstein Chat 2/8/21
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Kevin Goldstein
12:53
I'm not overly enamored with him. He's a weird profile as a big dude who you think would mash, but he's more contact oriented.
Adam
12:53
The Dodgers currently have a MAGA racist (Bauer), a domestic abuser (Urias), and are currently in pursuit of re-signing Justin Turner, who attempted manslaughter against members of his own team. Hell of an organization.
Kevin Goldstein
12:55
I get the criticism, but you are just saying that because you have some knowledge of stuff that formed those thoughts. I have no idea what team you root for, but I guarantee there are multiple players on that team that have things that would bother you just as much. That's just the reality of things. Also, your favorite team (and the Dodgers) have tons of really good people as well. Up to you how to deal with that information.
J
12:55
I don’t mean to ask this in an attacking way but, you were the last Pro Scout in Houston and the head of that department when all the scouts were fired. My questions are why did you/the org feel like that was the best way to organize your operation? And 2-With this becoming a trend (under Stearns’ and Elias’ regimes) this will likely be part of your legacy-are you happy about that (in the sense that you helped trailblaze a new way to structure a FO) or do you have regrets about it?
Kevin Goldstein
12:57
Not taking it that way at all. Happy to take questions like this. I'm happy that part of my legacy (if there is one) involves a new way of evaluating players, but I think eliminating all in-person pro scouting is going overboard. I think you need a combination of eyes on the players and data and video.
kelder23
12:57
What do we do with the 2020 seasons of guys like Bryant, Baez, JD Martinez?  Most seasons, they are bouncing back from a bad month.  Are these guys done?
Kevin Goldstein
12:58
There are 8 million reasons for bad seasons because of pandemic-related . . . stuff. It's exceptionally hard to know what was a real decline and what was an impactful distraction from player to player without knowing all of the circumstances.
Justin
12:58
Does it seem like all teams ultimately have what is basically their own version of WAR?  Was this also the case, say, when you first started with the Astros?
Kevin Goldstein
12:59
Yes, most teams have some kind of internal WAR or WAR-adjacent metric that is measuring the run-value of a player.
Great Moment, and Then Doubt
1:00
Kevin, I was on the edge of my seat in my living room for Altuve-Chapman in game 6, and there may still be a mark on my ceiling from where my head hit after jumping up when Altuve turned on that slider.  I am not an Astros fan per se, just  a huge baseball fan, and that was an amazing moment.  Two questions: First, where were you when he went yard? Second, the whole holding the jersey and immediately changing into a t-shirt is hard to dismiss.  What are your insights/thoughts on the alleged buzzer?
Kevin Goldstein
1:01
  1. I was in the suite watching with other members of the front office. 2. I have no reason to believe the buzzer stuff is true, which unfortunately only leaves me at about 95% sure that the buzzer stuff isn't true.
Hakuho
1:02
Have you been keeping up with my career?
Kevin Goldstein
1:03
Of course I have and I was upset to see the COVID situation catch up to you. Fun basho in January with Daieisho winning for the first time. I keep talking to Meg and David about starting Sumo FanGraphs, but they just make faces at me.
kelder23
1:04
Who you got:  Cubs?  Cardinals?  Brewers?  Reds?  Division is so bad, even the Pirates?
Kevin Goldstein
1:04
I definitely feel like one of those teams will win the division.
Drew
1:04
Is Wander Franco really all that? Lindor potential or overhyped?
Kevin Goldstein
1:05
I'm not a big fan of comps unless they are super accurate and obvious. Super-talented Latin shortstop isn't enough for me. Franco is really all that, but let him be Franco.
JS
1:05
While you were in Houston, the team had success in signing some J2 pitchers like Luis Garcia and Enoli Paredes who if they weren't "old", at least were older than 16. Are you going to write more about changes in scouting Latin America and/or some unique views you have on it?  Please?
Kevin Goldstein
1:06
Sure.
JR Richard
1:06
JR Richard looms large in my childhood 1970s baseball mind. Have you ever met him?  Is the impact/splash he made part of Astros organizational consciousness now?  Thanks
Kevin Goldstein
1:07
I met him a couple of times and shook his hand. I'm not a small human (6-2, 200, R-L) and his hand completely enveloped mine in a way I still remember.
Zirinsky
1:07
Hi Kevin. You might not want to answer this but when you were with Houston were there other front offices where you thought: “Yeah, those guys really know what they’re doing...”?
Kevin Goldstein
1:07
Honestly, most of them.
Jake
1:07
Can you provide any insight on how team view Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS)? The track record appears poor but the ever-thrifty Rays did not seem to hesitate to spend on Chris Archer.
Kevin Goldstein
1:09
It's a really disturbing procedure, because of the track record that you mention. The thing that makes you give a chance on guys like this is that the outcomes are usually he's done or he's fine, it's kind of a reverse bell curve with most cases ending up on the ends of the probability spectrum.
128 fl oz
1:09
What do you see Zac Gallen as? Budding ace? Decent mid rotation starter or does the league catch up to his average stuff?
Kevin Goldstein
1:09
I mean, it's not average stuff. Velo isn't everything. It's really good stuff. I think he'll be a well above-average starter or more for a long time.
GSon
1:09
Any chance the LIDOM and VWL and MWL will see some media play via streaming or some other form of media?. Baseball's off season is entirely toooo long !..
Kevin Goldstein
1:10
LIDOM had a very affordable streaming packing this winter. It was like 20 bucks and it worked great.
Scotty
1:10
When Rosenthal/Passan or whoever tweets out "X player is in agreement with X team", where in the process of signing a free agent does that happen? Is that after they have actually signed a contract, or when the agent has told the team they agree to the terms, or when its been submitted to MLB?
Kevin Goldstein
1:11
It's when terms are agreed upon. There is usually a letter of agreement to make it official. Player doesn't sign the actual contract until after the physical.
George
1:11
Is there a type of prospect you have been turned off to as you learned more about player development? I know Eric Logenhagen talks about overrating long levered swings (Lewis Brinson for example) and how he now rates those prospects much lower. Is there a similar skill that you used to overrate in your evaluation?
Kevin Goldstein
1:11
I think you can judge tools and talk about potential, but at some point, dudes have to perform as well, and I think some have gotten away from that a bit.
Not Evan
1:12
How much do teams know their own (/ each other's) international free agent signings that I don't yet? Seems these guys make commitments when they're like 14 and the world doesn't get eyes on them again until three or four years later.
Kevin Goldstein
1:12
They know almost all of them.
Todd Boss
1:12
Follow-up to the question about team-agent relationships; are there known team-to-team issues or GM-to-GM issues that prevent deals from getting done?  For example, the last time the Washington Nats made a trade with Houston was 2007 whereas they've made moves every other team in the interim (save Baltimore for obvious reasons).  Did the Houston FO just not like Washington or vice versa?
Kevin Goldstein
1:12
Liked them just fine. Got very close on a few things, both large and small.
Dante
1:12
How important are the locations of a minor league team to an organization?  I feel like the Astros have gone through many triple A teams in the past few years (OKC, Fresno, RR, now Sugarland).
Kevin Goldstein
1:13
You definitely want your Triple-A team as close as possible and driving distance is ideal. You have a night game and a player shows up at 2pm with a twisted ankle from playing with his kid and it's good to go a replacement there than night.
Buff
1:13
Good to have you on board, Kevin. So what topics in particular will you be covering? Since Eric appears to be unable to find the time to chat, I would hope you could talk about prospects a little and maybe even answer a few fantasy questions.That’s something that goes uncovered here.
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