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MLBTR Chat: 5/4/22
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Anthony Franco
12:17
Hey everyone, welcome to an earlier than normal Wednesday chat!
Going to give the queue a minute or two here and then we'll get rolling
Tom
12:19
Joe Girardi's seat has to be getting pretty toasty at this point. Who do you see as possible candidates to replace him if he gets the boot?
Anthony Franco
12:20
I'd be surprised if they make a move in-season. If they do, it'd probably just be someone already on staff like Kevin Long on an interim capacity
donh48
12:20
Anthony, thanks for the awesome chats. What's with the lack of offense this spring?? (Tigers fan)
Anthony Franco
12:21
On the Tigers specifically, Torkelson's struggling with swing-and-miss, which isn't unexpected this early in his career. School has always been pretty streaky because he swings so often, I think Candelario's mostly just been a victim of batted ball luck
12:22
As far as the league as a whole, it's a few things. Offense is always bad in April because it's cold everywhere and the ball doesn't carry. It's been particularly dreadful this year after every team added a humidor
12:23
The league has also obviously played around with ways to deaden the ball in recent seasons after the home run explosion of 2016-19. I'm not entirely sure what they've done there recently but it appears they've gone a little too far
12:24
And everybody strikes out all the time because pitching's too good, but that's not unique to this year
CY
12:24
What do you make of the Willie Calhoun trade demand situation? I go back and forth between “this is where we are in sports” and “that’s a .136/.283/.273 DH with an entitlement problem”
Anthony Franco
12:25
I wouldn't say "entitlement problem." He disagrees with the hitting philosophies of some of the coaches in the organization, which is his prerogative. He's probably right that it's time for a new environment and voices
12:26
At the same time, you're right that he has to perform better or it's moot. I still have a little bit of hope because he has great contact skills and can hit the ball hard, but the results haven't been there. I don't think the Rangers did any sort of injustice by sending him back to Triple-A
baseball gods are coastal elites
12:26
Josh Bell will be traded to ______ in ___?
Anthony Franco
12:28
Brewers if Tellez falls back to earth, Guardians, Twins all kind of make sense to me. Don't think he moves until July though
Jim
12:28
Twins can win the central as long as their starting pitching continues to do what they're doing right? Joe Ryan Looks like a steal from the Rays in the Nelson Cruz trade.
Anthony Franco
12:28
I'd still lean towards the White Sox but the Twins are absolutely a viable contender. I thought they'd be a Wild Card team heading into the year
12:29
The lineup's good. The rotation isn't going to stay "best in MLB" level, but if it's an above-average unit from here on out, they're among the best teams in the AL
Big fan
12:29
when do teams gain an extra year of control over a player and when will we see Nolan Gorman ? Thanks!
Anthony Franco
12:31
Players need 172 days on an active roster or MLB injured list to reach a full year of service. That doesn't all have to be in the same calendar year, but their path to free agency is delayed a season if they don't make their first MLB appearance until around two and a half weeks of the regular season have elapsed
The new CBA allows top prospects to earn a bonus service year with a top two finish in Rookie of the Year balloting, though, so there's no longer a hard and fast absolute cutoff date
12:32
On Gorman, I'd be surprised if he's not up within like two weeks. The Cardinals really seem to want to give DeJong every chance they can but at some point, the discrepancy in performance just has to matter
jawncarlo
12:32
Do you think Cole Hamels gets a minor league contract anywhere this season?
Anthony Franco
12:32
Yeah, he'll get an opportunity if he looks ok in the showcase
Spencer
12:33
Is that DBacks rotation for real? What will it cost to poach their starters come June/July?
Anthony Franco
12:34
Gallen's good, Merrill Kelly's solid. I don't really buy the rest. Bumgarner and Davies both have pretty rough K/BB profiles again
I don't think they'd trade Kelly this summer after signing him to a spring extension. Maybe they'd move Gallen for an absolute haul but they don't really want to tear things down, so I'd be surprised
Robert
12:35
If you have to do a ranking what will the Braves be a top 10 team as of today?
Anthony Franco
12:35
Hmm, I think so. They'd be in the like 8-12 mix, would have to give this more thought to compare them to like the White Sox and Padres
Shawn
12:36
Could the Reds get 2 top 100 prospects for Castillo? 1 for Mahle? What would be a reasonable return?
Anthony Franco
12:37
If he looks like vintage Castillo, that feels attainable. The Berríos deal last summer netted Minnesota two top 100 guys (albeit fairly divisive players) for one and a half years of the high-end #2 starter type
12:38
I think something similar could be viable for Mahle, but he obviously has to return to his 2019-21 self after an awful start this year
Bob Melvin
12:38
Thoughts on Cristian Pache's bat?
Anthony Franco
12:38
I think he's a well below-average hitter who'll be so good defensively he's a capable but not great regular
12:39
Kind of like Michael A. Taylor. Pache's plate approach is rough
Big fan
12:39
you Guys should at MLBTR should incorporate more fantasy relevant posts / chats / polls / trade chats kinda stuff. I’d pay monthly for that.
Anthony Franco
12:40
Subscriber service involves weekly fantasy articles and a bonus chat
Willson Contreras
12:40
Should Cubs look to deal me now ahead of summer speculation?  Which team would want me?
Anthony Franco
12:41
I was surprised they didn't try more aggressively to move him before the start of the year. It's rare to see players of Contreras' caliber traded in May -- typically those guys go closer to the deadline -- but I could actually see the case for an earlier deal here
12:42
Gives Contreras more time to get acquainted with a new pitching staff, Cubs could turn to Gomes and not completely punt on 2022 (although they're almost certainly not a playoff team)
Yankees seem like the best fit still. Maybe the Giants if they're worried about the shape of Joey Bart's production
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