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Anthony Franco

4:56

There's also the matter of a Devers extension, which I'm sure they'll try again. Could use a catcher, maybe a shortstop (although I think it's likelier they let Bogaerts walk, kick Story over and promote Nick Yorke). There'll be plenty of places to spend the money

A's Fan

4:56

Does Sean Murphy stay in Oakland until the offseason or does someone (Boston, Tampa, whomever) make a good offer in July?

Anthony Franco

4:57

I think he'll stick around. I actually think Murphy's a building block type who'll be there for the next few seasons. Pretty sure that's a minority opinion at MLBTR though; I think Tim and particularly Steve believe it's more likely they'll trade him

Charlie O'

4:58

Is Tyler O'Neil's slow start going to subside soon? His peripherals don't look all too great and his strikeout rate is concerning. Was last year an anomaly? I know it's three weeks in, but it'd be great to see another opinion.

Anthony Franco

4:59

I'm not too concerned. The strikeouts are down, he's making a little more contact this year than he has in the past. Results on batted balls are down for almost everybody, but that's at least partially attributable to the weather. I think he'll be fine once things heat up and the ball starts carrying a little more

cpins

4:59

If you were Steven Cohen would you DFA w/Robinson Cano on May 2 or give him another 30 days?

Anthony Franco

5:00

I think that's more a Billy Eppler call than a Steve Cohen one, but I'd pull the plug

He's old, coming off a PED suspension, hitting a ton of grounders. The Mets have better position players. I'd release him

Ross A.

5:01

Is Juan Soto a possible trade target? Washington is not close to being good and there has been no extension.

Anthony Franco

5:01

No, I don't think so. I can understand the logic for it, but I just don't think the Nats want to give up two and a half years of a guy that good. You'd get back an otherworldly prospect package and it probably still wouldn't be enough

5:02

Now the flip side of that is I think they really need to push things next offseason. There's no time for a multi-year reboot. 2022's a transitional year. Ok, but 2023 needs to be a win-now season

Navin R. Johnson

5:03

Which team, between the NYYs, Jays, M's, or Angels, is the least likely to sustain their pace? Most likely?

Anthony Franco

5:03

Angels probably. They're just not as deep as those other teams

Pedro baez

5:03

Do I make sense for the Angels

Anthony Franco

5:04

Eh, I don't know that Baez is even worth an MLB deal at this point. He's been hurt a bunch the last two years and he throws 90 now

Navin R. Johnson

5:04

Think the Giants formula gets copied by other teams soon? Thanks Anthony.

Anthony Franco

5:05

I'm sure teams would love to copy the Giants' formula, but I'm not really sure what that is. It's not like they invented platooning. They've done an incredible job putting guys in position to succeed, but that's a lot easier said than done

Joseph

5:06

What's more important infield defense or outfield defense? Seems to me that teams are more willing than ever to throw out below average defenders in the outfield.

Anthony Franco

5:07

Obviously they both matter but I'd lean infield defense in a vacuum (particularly once they limit the shift next year). Fly balls turn into outs a lot more often than grounders. It's easier to manage, especially in the corners

Rick Hahn

5:08

Should I start worrying yet or is it only April?

Anthony Franco

5:08

It's early

Tinker to Evers to Chance

5:08

Is Seya Suzuki for real, or will the league catch up to him?

Anthony Franco

5:09

I don't think he's going to be the NL MVP, but I don't see why he can't be very good. He's not chasing pitches outside the strike zone, making contact, hitting for power

5:10

He also dominated the second-best level in the world and the Cubs paid $100MM to get him. They clearly thought he'd be an above-average player, and the early results are great

Catfish bunter

5:10

Should the diamondbacks change their plans and stop holding on to tradeable assets?Seems like they are making the process longer then it has to be.

Anthony Franco

5:11

This is a really tough one. The roster's already pretty young, the farm system's good. I don't know what a rebuild really accomplishes

5:13

At the same time, I think it's totally fair to point out they've been horrible for the last two years and aren't off to a good start again. I'm pretty sympathetic to the front office when they continually maintain they think the team is better than it has showed, because I like guys like Rojas, Varsho and Carson Kelly myself. But at some point, they can only lose so much before you start to wonder if they're just not good

That's a long-winded way of kind of sitting on the fence. I guess I'd be inclined to keep staying the course, but I get your argument against it

Blue Jay Crazy

5:14

Do the Jays have a chance of winning the World Series this year?

Anthony Franco

5:14

Definitely

Johnny Cueto

5:14

Fire Bell and Krall?

Anthony Franco

5:14

They just signed Bell to a two-year extension last September. Can't see them pulling the plug three weeks into the new season

5:16

Krall, I don't know. I haven't loved everything his front office has done (Moustakas deal, in particular) but they've also gotten kind of screwed by the payroll cuts coming right as they thought they were getting good

Aj preller

5:16

Should I stop trading with the mariners?They really got me good in 2020.

Anthony Franco

5:16

Ha, when you make as many trades as Preller and Dipoto do, you're going to have your share of both wins and losses

5:17

I think even the Mariners would concede the Matt Brash - Taylor Williams one was a lot of luck. Corey Brock had an excellent piece on that a couple weeks ago that Athletic subscribers should check out

That guy

5:18

What are you sporting? Mustache, full beard? Mullet?

Anthony Franco

5:18

Haha none of the above. I'm boring

Cards Fan

5:18

When do the Cardinals wise up and add another starter?

Anthony Franco

5:18

Closer to the deadline. There really aren't many selling teams right now