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MLBTR Chat: 12/29/21
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Anthony Franco
5:59
The more I try to approach things at a high level for all thirty teams, the less attachment I have to any one of them
6:00
That's not applicable to other sports though. My mood for the week hinges far more heavily  than it should on how often the Raiders (usually, not often) and Hurricanes (usually very often) win in the NFL and NHL
Get Shifty
6:01
Would you approve of MLB finding a way to "copy" the premiere league? The worst 3 or so teams getting regulated to the minors. (It would obviously require a lot of re-working the system but it might help tanking.)
Anthony Franco
6:01
Ha, I'd be fascinated to see this play out from a theoretical perspective but I think it's a terrible idea to actually try
6:02
Between the different standards for MLB and MiLB facilities, the entire farm system structure that MLB needs, etc., I don't think it's all doable
Cars
6:02
If you were running the Cubs would you have signed Stroman or traded Contreras and Hendricks for much needed MLB ready prospects?
Anthony Franco
6:02
I think they'll still trade Contreras. Hard to see them signing Yan Gomes to 2/13 just to have him as a backup
6:03
But yeah, to answer your question, I don't think I'd have gone the Stroman route if I were them. It's good value at that price point and they have a ton of near-term payroll space, so I get it
6:04
But I'd have rather tried to "buy a prospect" by taking on another team's underwater contract with that money instead
Maybe they did and it just wasn't out there
Seamhead
6:05
Is a guy like Juan Soto worth more as a trade chip if he's on a $450m, 12 year contract, or as a first year arb guy with three years of control left?
Anthony Franco
6:06
Hmm, great question. I think it's the latter overall, since you'll have more teams involved in the bidding. (The Rays are just never going to be in the discussion for a guy on that kind of deal)
6:07
But for certain teams -- Yankees, Dodgers, etc. -- they'd probably be willing to part with more for Soto at 12/450 than they would for three years of Soto. So I think it's variable depending on team market but I'd guess overall, it's higher for three years of arb control since you've got more teams involved
Tiger Fan
6:08
Was it nice knowing you wouldn’t have news/work over the holiday break? Or just awkward?
Anthony Franco
6:08
We pre-wrote stuff for the holiday. The Phillies center field post that published on Christmas Eve was done by Wednesday but we held it back to make sure the site didn't go completely dark
6:09
I was glad to have the weekend off, though, yeah
Walker B
6:09
I need help! Is Kersh coming back? Who else fills the back end of the rotation?
Anthony Franco
6:09
I'd lean Dodgers for Kershaw still but that's nothing more than a gut-feel guess
6:10
Buehler, Urías, Gonsolin, Heaney, Price with May as a potential midseason boost is still good, better than most around the league
But I agree they'll probably add, since they're the Dodgers and they always add. If Kershaw leaves, a high-AAV, short-term bet on Rodón feels right up their alley
6:11
Spend big up front to minimize the long-term commitment and take a shot on a potential #1 starter? Very Dodgers kind of move
Al Kaline battery
6:11
Which team has improved the most this off season ( so far) ?
Anthony Franco
6:11
The Rangers, but they're still not good
6:13
I think Miami has quietly gotten better to the point where I can see them as a plausible Wild Card team if they upgrade CF. Tigers, Cubs and Mets are obviously all improved
Scott
6:13
Regarding Tamp trading from their infield depth - that wouldn't include Brandon Lowe...right? If they would what would it cost the White Sox?
Anthony Franco
6:14
I don't think the Rays would take Lowe completely off the table. That's just not how they operate, and they were willing to move Blake Snell last year for the right return
6:15
But with five years of cheap control, it'd take a whole hell of a lot to get them to even consider. I think they'd be justified in shooting for both Vaughn and Kopech as a starting point (which I don't think the Sox would do)
Tal
6:15
Does Cano play another game for the mets?
Anthony Franco
6:15
I'd be surprised. They've got other options who are probably just better
J.D.
6:16
Did I make the right decision by electing to not opt out of my final year @ $19.35m? Couldn’t I have gotten a 3 year deal for $60m? Or more
Anthony Franco
6:16
We were a little surprised he didn't opt out but if 3/60 were on the table, he and Boras would've known and jumped on it
David
6:16
Would Bryant make sense for the Red Sox? Use him in left and then following year he goes to third with Devers to DH because JD will be gone. Seems like a great fit.
Anthony Franco
6:17
Yeah I could see something like this. We haven't seen a big ticket free agent pickup of the Chaim Bloom era yet but it's a plausible fit on paper
Mr Red
6:17
Who closes for the Reds? Free agent, trade or internal?
Anthony Franco
6:17
Probably Lucas Sims, at least to open the year
Sad A’s Fan
6:17
Can you give me some good news?
Anthony Franco
6:19
The trades are going to bring back a bunch of really good young players. Ramón Laureano and Sean Murphy will probably stick around. I don't think they'll contend in 2022 given everything that's been floated about the sell off but I don't see a long-term rebuild here either
Rays enemy
6:19
As a Yankees fan I’m impressed by how the rays are able to spread their player contributions across a whole bunch of different people that they have for dirt cheap. What I’m worried about though is the contention window of the rays just could never end and they can win every trade imaginable so they can compete forever. Please give me a year by which the rays lose the AL East. Thanks
Anthony Franco
6:20
2022? The Rays are very good but given the strength of the rest of the division I wouldn't put their chances of winning the East next year above 50%
Cashman
6:20
Do you think bringing Didi back to the Bronx will help us at SS?
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