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Meg Rowley FanGraphs Chat - 1/8/19
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Hi Meg
2:24
Can we get Fangraphs Audio on Spotify?
Meg Rowley
2:24
I am not sure, but I will investigate.
Also, thank you for listening.
Xolo
2:25
Who of next year's free agent classes do you think is most likely to sign an extension before then?
Meg Rowley
2:25
Hmmm allow me please to refresh my memory of who is up in 2020
2:27
Man, this feels like a mean answer, and I am just very sorry to the state of Arizona, but maybe Paul Goldschmidt.
I mean the real answer is probably like, Drew Smyly or something.
Turg
2:27
If Machado only ends up getting ~$230 million, do you think players set to hit free agency next year notice and think about their plans?
Meg Rowley
2:28
If a generational talent we all think is worth $300 million makes significantly less than that, yes, I think it will spook potential free agents.
Pat's Bat
2:28
Will Mike Trout be the best hitter of all time when he's all finished?  And why isn't he a bigger celebrity like the other candidates for the title?  Ruth's fame transcended baseball, Mays is the game's most revered living player, people would drop everything they were doing to change the channel to watch Bonds walk on 5 pitches.  I feel like most fans even here at Fangraphs wouldn't recognize Trout if he passed them on the street.
Meg Rowley
2:30
I don't know that he'll be the best pure hitter (there's some obviously stiff competition there), but he'll likely rank assuming health and a gentle decline.
2:31
And I think because he seems like a pretty boring guy. Hard to build a brand around liking the weather, the Eagles and hanging out with your wife, even if that's a nice way to be.
I do have faith in the FanGraphs audience to recognize him, though. We're an odd lot.
John
2:32
What do you see the Indians do to help their outfield and bullpen?
Meg Rowley
2:32
There are a lot of very good options and they seem uninterested in availing themselves of those options.
Mark
2:32
If you're elected head of MLBPA with the goal of increasing player salaries league-wide, what reforms would you propose? I.e., salary caps/floors, a percentage of revenue spent per team, etc.
Meg Rowley
2:35
The issue with the greatest moral urgency is paying the minor leaguers a living wage. They aren't union members now, but you have to at least make that part of your stance publicly. Outside of that, they have to get money to players earlier, which likely means changing the free agency rules. I'd support a required rev split. The overall goal should be solidifying avenues to pay players at the points in their careers when teams are willing to.
GraphsFan
2:35
If Kyle Seager bounces back to a 3-4 WAR pace, do you think the M's attempt to offload him?
Meg Rowley
2:35
Yes, I do.
Some dude
2:36
Are fans in any way actually entitled to rapid offseason action? Seems like there is increasing talk about somehow forcing the issue- which seems like a bad idea for the people involved, to me.
Meg Rowley
2:37
I mean, fans aren't really entitled to anything. I think that observers are right to point out that the slowness of the market often puts players at a disadvantage.
a frog
2:37
At this point can we start to assume that slow offseasons with players getting less money than expected are the new normal? And the more this goes on, is it inevitable that some kind of drastic move (i.e. a strike) needs to be made to change it?
Meg Rowley
2:38
I think this is the new normal, and I think it will take a work stoppage to change it.
The union relinquished a lot of leverage in the last CBA. Not a lot of other ways to get it back.
I don't say that to excuse ownership getting the things they asked for.
CamdenWarehouse
2:39
Mike Leake has to be on another team by next month, right?
Meg Rowley
2:39
I'm sure they're listening very hard.
He has a no-trade, but also doesn't seem to especially care for Seattle, so...
Slurve
2:40
Do you think original amateur draft position impacts trade value much or is it mostly based on minor league performance and current/future tools?
Meg Rowley
2:40
It has some effect, sure. It goes into prospect perception.
Poised
2:40
What will the Rockies do at catcher?
Meg Rowley
2:41
They really oughta sign Grandal. Someone reallly ought to sign Grandal.
Brodie
2:41
The internet is windy?  I thought I was the drunk one...
Meg Rowley
2:42
Hey so this isn't a great joke format, and also, when it is very windy here, sometimes my Comcast misbehaves.
Guest
2:42
If you're a reliever who'd like to go the playoffs, but can only get a bubble team interested in you, would you be better off signing for Baltimore / White Sox / Padres / etc?
Meg Rowley
2:42
White Sox, Padres, Baltimore
Billy Beane
2:42
Hey Meg, how is life?
Meg Rowley
2:43
It is good. Very busy. Rainy at the moment, but I mean that as a bit of weather news, not as a pronouncement on my emotional state.
Kosmo
2:43
Have you bought your JP Crawford shirt-jersey yet?
Meg Rowley
2:43
Think I'm taking myself out of the new baseball merchandise market for a while. I have so much baseball crap.
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