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MLBTR Chat: 1/19/22
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Anthony Franco
5:11
He probably needs to take a leap from a plate discipline perspective to get to MVP level
5:12
Not to say he's not already a great player, even if he doesn't walk much. But it's tough to be a 150 wRC+ guy over a full season with a walk rate below 5%
Big Market Man
5:12
Why does everybody assume teams will stay under a phantom payroll amount? Padres for example, all the MLBTR predictions center around them running out of payroll space. Is the really a fair variable in those types of predictions?
Anthony Franco
5:13
It's a fair question, and you're right that there's an abundance of uncertainty with payrolls
That's particularly true in the case of a team like the Padres, which approved a massive spike last year that was unprecedented in franchise history
5:14
But the team's probably not going to give us a public guideline as to where they'll draw the line, so relying on past spending habits is, I think, the best barometer in gauging how much they'll spend in the future
Sandy Koufax lives on!
5:14
Re: Correa's contract - how much is the cheating scandal limiting interest?
Anthony Franco
5:16
I think it's minimal. He's a former first overall pick and top prospect who was a star from basically the time he made his MLB debut
He was awesome last year during a season in which there's no reason to suspect the Astros were up to anything nefarious
I think the conclusion is that Correa, with or without sign-stealing, is really good
5:17
And we've seen guys who had cheating scandals in the past (both PED's and someone like George Springer) get paid, so I doubt most teams see it as a moral issue
lgd
5:17
How convinced are you that the youngsters collected in the Pirates farm system can turn the major league club around? Are any of the kids likely to help this year??  How long is a turn-around likely to take???
Anthony Franco
5:17
I'm confident they
Whoops
5:18
I'm confident they'll have the core of a potential contender within two or three years. Whether they'll be allowed to supplement that group enough from the outside remains to be seen
Armchair GM
5:18
If the Astros truly intend for Pena to be their opening day starting SS, what other positions will they be looking to bolster?  And of those positions, which FAs would you guess they would go after?
Anthony Franco
5:19
I wouldn't rule the Astros out on a shortstop, but if they do go Díaz and then Pena, it feels like the bullpen's the only potential weakness
Ideally, they could use another lefty back there. Might as well go for Andrew Chafin, who's probably the top guy in free agency
Maybe the Twins would move Taylor Rogers as a possible alternative
Dombro Rules
5:20
Anthony, what do you think the Phils will do with their multiple areas of need?  I say get Bryant on a short-term high AAV deal and put him in left, and occasionally at the hot corner, CF and DH (assuming NL DH), bring up Bryon Stott to man SS, get rid of Didi, attaching a mid-level prospect for a reliever, and then audition The Mick and Haseley for CF or even, I hate to say it, consider Odubel and his baggage and airheadedness on a 1 yr deal.  We'll also need some reclamation project relievers to fill out the pen, and maybe a similar SP.  Don't see how we can keep up with the Mets and Braves in the NL East arms race with all the holes.... What do you think? What's the best plan to not waste another year of Harper's prime?
Anthony Franco
5:21
Signing Bryant, trading for a mid-tier reliever and auditioning Stott at shortstop all seem plausible enough to me. I think they have to acquire another center fielder though
Probably won't be a star, but I'd like the team a lot more if they had someone like Margot out there as opposed to Haseley or Moniak
Alex r
5:22
Isn’t it kind of a slap in the face to agents everywhere when a player fires them just before payday and goes and hires boras?
Anthony Franco
5:23
I don't know about a "slap in the face" since players are free to choose their own reps and everyone knows this. But I'm sure lower-profile agents are frustrated when the player moves to a bigger agency just before their massive payday, yeah
Roberto 21
5:24
do u see the ability to trade draft picks coming any time soon to the only sport ( MLB) that doesnt allow it?
Anthony Franco
5:24
It should, but I don't know that either MLB or the PA has enough motivation to include it in this CBA
They've got enough of a headache sorting out the stuff they actually care about
Big Market Man
5:24
Did roboumps die in the quiet of the night “lockout” ?
Anthony Franco
5:25
Same sort of consideration as above. I think robs-umps are coming eventually, but it seems like that stuff might wind up on the back burner this winter
Aaron Boone
5:25
Fans wanted me fired after the Wild Care Game last year. How bad a job would I do that would get me fired this year?
Anthony Franco
5:26
I'm guessing he'd be on the hot seat if the Yankees miss the playoffs next year (particularly if they're expanded)
5:27
But I don't think a playoff loss changes the org's opinion of a manager much. They all know that the postseason's highly random
A's top priority?
5:27
Are the A's going to do anything to improve their team?
Anthony Franco
5:27
From all indications, seems like they're going to move a few guys off the MLB roster
5:28
But if they pivot and don't actually sell, then a lower-cost replacement for Canha in the corner outfield feels like the top priority
5:29
Or even if they thread the needle and move say, Olson and Bassitt, but target big league ready players in return
Ken
5:29
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring……do you concur?
Anthony Franco
5:29
I'm familiar with this saying, know it was one of the old-time legends but can't remember which one offhand
5:30
Definitely miss baseball over the offseason -- particularly by around January -- but I follow football and hockey enough that I'm not entirely without hobbies for months
Paul
5:31
Why would the White Sox eat any money or attach any prospects to Kimbrel when they literally JUST exercised his option?
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