JotCast | Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat

Kevin Goldstein FanGraphs Chat - 2/1/2021

Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page

Frank

12:24

Thanks for doing this chat! Given how you wrote in your opening piece about the email you sent to the scouting staff “proposed... using cameras to be able to better see signals coming from coaches on the bases and in the dugout,” how do you expect people to believe that you didn’t have some knowledge of a similar scheme being used later or that you were surprised by the revelations? Your explanation matches the pattern of Astros front office staff completely denying responsibility, and your hiring has me contemplating canceling my FanGraphs subscription.

Kevin Goldstein

12:25

Frank, I hope you don't cancel your subscription. What I wrote is truthful and from the heart. You can certainly choose not to believe me, and that is your choice.

Josh

12:25

I am fascinated by the way the Rockies operate right now. Do you have any stories dealing with them?

Kevin Goldstein

12:25

Fascinated is a good word . . .

fake baseball fan

12:26

Welcome to Fangraphs! What was your favorite and least favorite transactions that the team made in your tenure?

Kevin Goldstein

12:28

I pushed hard for the deal in which we acquired Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers. I think when you work in baseball, you are more obsessed with the mistakes than what you are right about, and I think about that one a lot. I was right in telling the group not to worry about Brett Phillips, who I saw as a fourth outfielder, and I was right in saying Josh Hader was 'only' going to be a reliever, but I certainly didn't say we are trading away one of the most dominant relievers in the game. Ooooof.

George

12:28

We often talk about teams that have great development programs (LA, Houston, TB) and teams that are starting to be better known for their development (Reds Pitching) What do you think is the biggest difference between teams that have good player dev programs and bad ones (Pitt for example)?

Kevin Goldstein

12:28

The use of data, and more importantly, developing a strategy to properly communicate with players based on what that data shows us.

12:28

How would you compare the Gurriel of 2017-19 to the Gurriel of 2010-14 in Cuba?

Kevin Goldstein

12:29

I think if Yuli was able to come over to MLB when he was in his early 20s, Jay Jaffe would be doing JAWS articles about how he's an absolute lock for the HOF.

Josh Illes

12:30

What are you drinking?

Kevin Goldstein

12:30

Iced coffee. Despite the fact that there is a foot of snow on the ground.

Pedantic Reader

12:31

I think you meant to describe your japanese RPGs as 'obscure' in your intro because I'm not entirely sure what an 'obtuse' RPG would be.

Kevin Goldstein

12:31

Have you PLAYED the Trails in Cold Steel series. Great battle system, but certainly obtuse.

Sung Min Kim

12:32

Hey Kevin. I'm curious on the organization's decision to let RHP Brock Dykxhoorn go to Korea coming off a 2018 season where he performed well and posted nice surface-level peripherals in the PCL. I know the hindsight is 20/20, but, at the time, he did post numbers that may have led him to a chance to pitch in ML sooner than later.

Kevin Goldstein

12:32

Hey Sung! I negotiated his buyout and will likely discuss in a future article about how players end up in NPB/KBO.

Tim

12:33

So excited to have you back on Twitter. Pretty boring without you around. I’ll throw you a BP fastball (as A Soldiers Requiem blares) Luis Garcia, long term Starter or better suited for the pen?

Kevin Goldstein

12:33

The term we threw around a lot in Houston was "reliever risk". Garcia isn't a slam dunk pen arm, but there is definitely a considerable amount of reliever risk.

Bob

12:35

Hi. I read your "I'm back" message. The bit about how you objected to Osuna, and that your objection felt like enough felt a bit off. Especially without mention of Taubman. To say I don't want to hear your chats and stories is false, but I can't say I'm happy with how you handled yourself. I hope you can see how a more active role is necessary for violence against women.

Kevin Goldstein

12:35

That makes two of us. I'm not especially happy with how I handled myself either, and wish I found a way to impact that decision more.

Guy

12:35

Give us your take on Alejandro Kirk we’re dying to know

Kevin Goldstein

12:35

Dude can RAKE.

Karnak the magnifico

12:36

If you were to look into your crystal ball, what do you predict the most significant changes in the next CBA will be? And do you predict a labor stoppage? From the outside, it appears that the players union/ownership relationship has deteriorated.

Kevin Goldstein

12:37

I think the next CBA will be unlike one we've every seen. I expect significant changes in free agency, the draft, as well as the creation of an international draft. I also would say that there is a 86.823% chance that on December 1, we do NOT have a deal in place between MLB and the union.

GvK

12:39

KG, you mentioned talking about how the sausage is made. In terms of trades, how explicit are GMs or AGMs when they call about a player? Do they literally say, "What will it take to get Kyle Tucker (or Whitley, etc)? Or is it more abstract?

Kevin Goldstein

12:39

Both. Will write about in detail for sure.

Guille

12:39

Looks like this will be a "remembering some Astros guys" so... JD Martinez? Why did you guys miss so badly on him?

Kevin Goldstein

12:40

He made a swing change over the winter and we just didn't give it time to congeal. I watched him go 0-for-7 in a backfield game less than 48 hours before we let him go. Nobody argued for keeping him. Another oooof.

Wade Blassinggame

12:41

Fill in the blank. The next market inefficiency in baseball is ____.

Kevin Goldstein

12:41

I still think it's somewhere in the health/injury realm as far as keeping players on the field, but that's been the case for years, and great strides have NOT been made.

Guest

12:42

Kevin - so great to have you back, we missed you! Which types of minor leaguers do you think got hurt the most from missing a year of playing time in 2020 - pitchers or hitters? Latin players or those coming straight to the minors from high school, etc?

Kevin Goldstein

12:42

It's a fantastic question, and one that I'm sure Eric and I will explore. I think there's an argument to be made for various types of players, so I don't have a great conclusion unfortunately.

George

12:42

How often while working in the front office did someone read something in the public sphere that sparked internal discussions? Like was there ever a time you'd read a Jeff Sullivan piece about a player and then look internally to see what you knew about them?

Kevin Goldstein

12:43

Absolutely. We had a daily email that sent all of the interesting pieces from the public sphere. Fangraphs was a frequent part of that email.

12:43

I would be interested to hear where you feel scouting is headed in the next few years. With all the layoffs due to COVID and older scouts retiring, will in person scouting become obsolete with all the video being captured?

Kevin Goldstein

12:44

Definitely something for a larger piece.

NatsFan

12:44

Can you give us your recollection of the 2019 World Series and losing to the Nationals.

Kevin Goldstein

12:45

I have a piece in mind, specifically about watching Game 7 in the stands with my wife, and I think you'll enjoy it.

12:45

Which player did the Astros NOT draft that still bothers you the most?

Kevin Goldstein