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MLBTR Chat: 4/7/26
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Anthony Franco
11:20
Hey all, Steve's on vacation this week so I'm stepping in for the Tuesday chat. Apologies for the time change from the usual afternoon schedule. We'll get going at the top of the hour
12:01
Good morning, hope you're all doing well!
Let's get rolling
AL Central Casting
12:01
With all the extensions getting done around the league lately, I'd love to see the Twins lock up Luke Keaschall long-term. What do you think it would take? What about for Walker Jenkins?
Anthony Franco
12:04
Both sensible targets. I'd have Jenkins below Colt Emerson based on the higher defensive floor for Emerson as a shortstop but they're not too dissimilar as prospects. Jenkins should be closer to Emerson's $95M guarantee than Cooper Pratt's $50M range
12:05
Some questions about the long-term defensive home for Keaschall but more proof of concept that he can hit MLB pitching than we had with Campbell or Samuel Basallo, even if they were better prospects pre-debut. Would guess somewhere between $60-70M on him?
Jason
12:05
I thought Boston was going to be middle of the pack this year, so I’m not completely surprised by the horrible no good very bad start, but did you think they’d be this bad so early? I know a lot can change but wowzers.
Anthony Franco
12:07
Still think they'll be fine -- no way the starting pitching remains this bad -- but obviously the worst first couple weeks for any team and it's not an easy division to climb back from if they keep spiraling through most of April
AA
12:07
Why do I get the feeling this year's Braves team isn't gonna be much different than the last two?
Anthony Franco
12:08
Obviously remain concerned about the rotation depth there but credit to Bryce Elder, whose first two starts have been really good. If he's able to stick around as a league average starter and they get contributions from Ritchie and Fuentes, they'll be better than last year
Ham
12:09
Despite a couple big adds, the Orioles offense still looks like last year's lackluster offense.  What's going on?  And when will they learn to hit an offspeed pitch?
Anthony Franco
12:10
Alonso's better than this obviously but I think they've skewed too heavily toward RHH power at the expense of their OBP overall
12:11
Would still take them as a slightly better than average offense moving forward but I worry that some of the redundancy in the offensive profiles will make them pretty streaky
Redsy
12:11
If Sandy Alcantara has another excellent outing would you go all in on trying to trade for him this early if you are one of the big contenders? No way the guy stays in Miami past the deadline this year right?
Anthony Franco
12:12
Darragh wrote a Front Office post on this so he and I were discussing this yesterday. I lean towards them holding and trading him this offseason
12:13
Would be really surprised if he signs an extension -- only way I could see it being plausible is if the league gets the MLBPA to break on a cap/floor system that forces Miami to almost double their payroll
But I don't think it's out of the question this Miami team can hang around the Wild Card picture where the final spot might be 83-85 wins and Sandy would still have immense trade value next winter
Reds fan
12:14
What are the reds doing with Marte? He is a building block guy and he hasn't played against a right hander yet-is he just a platoon bat moving forward? I don't understand it
Anthony Franco
12:15
Yeah I don't get that one either. They're not really platooning him, just kind of alternating between him and Will Benson and I'd much rather have Marte out in right field
Cardsfansince1973
12:15
There have been reports about the Cardinals trying to extend JJ Wetherholt.  Any updates?  Do you think they will try to extend Masyn Winn as well?
Anthony Franco
12:16
Don't doubt that they'd love to get both of them done. Wetherholt seems likelier to me just based on the number of early-career extensions we've seen the past couple years
decinces
12:16
is the angels decent start (third best record in the al) just small sample size or a hope that the pitching is a little better than advertised and better depth is making the lineup deeper and able to string together some momentum, even with adell and lowe not doing anything offensively so far (though both have been phenomenal in the outfield corners so far)
Anthony Franco
12:17
I just can't muster any kind of optimism with this roster. Much the same pattern as previous Angels teams where there are handful of impact pieces (Neto, Soriano, Trout if healthy, maybe Detmers) but the depth is going to get exposed over 162
Chris
12:18
Even off to a good start, preseason concerns about Yanks bottom of order and back end of bullpen look legit, dont they?
Anthony Franco
12:19
Lineup will be fine. Caballero's in over his head as a starting shortstop but you can live with him or Volpe at the bottom of the order. McMahon and Wells should be close to league average bats who provide strong defensive value
12:20
Bullpen bridge to Bednar and Cruz concerns me a little more, but that's a spot where they can again take a volume approach at the deadline (hopefully with better results than they've gotten from Doval and Bird so far)
Connor⚾️
12:21
Expectations for the Rangers this year?⚾️
Anthony Franco
12:21
Right around .500, clearly behind Seattle for me but there with Houston as the second and third best teams in the division in some order
The Ghost of Mickey Lolich
12:22
To the surprise of no one, except Scott Harris, the Tigers offense ‘stinks’.   When will we see Max Clark called up
Anthony Franco
12:23
Ha, I still mostly like this offense on paper. Do think we could see Clark by the middle of May, though, especially if Parker Meadows isn't hitting
SCR
12:23
Wacha , Soriano or Messick rest of 2026 ?  ( K's dont matter ) .
Anthony Franco
12:23
Soriano
Too Early
12:23
Related questions:  How does a lockout impact service time, and does the potential for a lockout get factored into some of the extensions we are seeing?
Anthony Franco
12:25
An offseason lockout obviously doesn't impact service time. If it costs an entire season, that's something they'd need to sort out within the CBA
12:26
I don't think it's having much of an impact on extensions. It probably plays into contract structure a little bit -- players would prefer the money as signing bonuses rather than 2027 salary as a hedge -- but if the '27 season gets canceled, they're not getting paid salaries either way
Slick Ric
12:27
If CJ Abrams keeps hitting like he is, does that make it more likely or less likely that he is in Washington after the trade deadline?
Buster Posey
12:27
Fine: I should have traded for CJ Abrams. Does Eldridge straight-up get it done or would the Nats want more?
Anthony Franco
12:28
Better performance has to drive up the likelihood of a trade. Nats still aren't close and 2.5 years of Abrams might be the most valuable deadline trade chip
12:29
I don't think Eldridge is getting it done as a standalone. Sensible headliner but this kind of deal is basically never one-for-one for a top prospect. Teams like to hedge their bets with multi-player packages
Circle Me Bert
12:29
Where is Byron Buxton playing after the trade deadline?
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