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MLBTR Chat: 5/4/22
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Anthony Franco
12:43
A 128 wRC+ is very good, particularly for a catcher, but Bart's striking out 43% of the time. That combination is tough to maintain
Big fan
12:43
Is Jose Ramirez quietly the best hitter in baseball?
Anthony Franco
12:44
Bets hitter in baseball, no. One of the top five overall players, yeah. I'm not sure it's even quiet though. He's got four top 6 MVP finishes in the last five years, everyone agrees he's incredible
drt
12:44
Do you see Upton or Cano latching on anywhere for league minimum as a potential bench bat or DH? Both seem worth the minimal risk for the potential to turn things around and produce in a limited role a la Pujols for the Dodgers last year
Anthony Franco
12:45
It seems like Upton's kind of holding out for the right opportunity -- join a contender, get regular playing time. I'm not sure that'll all come together, but I do think he'd be a decent righty bench bat somewhere if he wanted that role
12:47
Canó is a tougher sell. Missed 2021 because of a second PED suspension, early results in 2022 have been horrible. If he were willing to take a minor league deal, there'd be a fair bit of interest. I don't think I'd offer an MLB roster spot right now
Bob Melvin
12:47
Will the A's really regret that Luzardo trade?
Anthony Franco
12:47
In the sense that he turns out to a good pitcher? Probably
12:48
But he wasn't helping them last year. They knew they were gearing up for one last run with that core before payroll constraints were going to bring it down. In that context, swinging for the fences is defensible
12:49
They missed the playoffs so I guess you could say it flopped, but Marte was everything they could've hoped for down the stretch
Joey Votto’s missing contact lense
12:49
We are losing 105+ this year
Anthony Franco
12:49
I don't think the Reds are that bad. Wouldn't be all that surprised if they played around .500 from here on out
12:50
Now obviously, that's not enough to avoid an awful season because they're already 17 games under. But I'd still take the under on 105
J. Dipoto
12:51
What's wrong with Jarred Kelenic?
Anthony Franco
12:52
Just too much swing-and-miss in the strike zone. He's still only 22 and a lot of guys struggle in their early looks, so I'm not in complete panic mode yet. But I'll admit I thought he'd be a lot better than .173/.258/.338 through his first 116 MLB games
Twinsfan
12:52
Why not just DFA Sano? His numbers are terrible. He refuses to beat the shift and strikes out too much. They can't be entertaining picking up a $14 million option and now he's out for most of the year. What's the reason for keeping him in limbo versus just paying him and moving on?
Anthony Franco
12:53
He had a good second half last year, was still barreling balls up in the early going even if the results were bad. No one's taking the rest of this year's money, so the question is just whether Sanó's worth a roster spot
I still think he is, even if he must be a frustrating player to watch on an everyday basis because of all the strikeouts
KC Stengel
12:54
Will Isbel show us his stuff this year or will he not have enough at bats
Anthony Franco
12:55
There should be opportunity for reps, particularly if the Royals fall out of the playoff picture, but I think he's more of a fourth outfield type anyhow
Olivares is more likely to be a long-term regular, in my view
Small market awesomeness
12:55
Have the Brewers displaced the Rays as the best-run small market team? Is anyone else even close?
Anthony Franco
12:56
They're both awesome. Wouldn't say the Rays have been upstaged though; they won 100 games last year
12:58
Guardians and A's are probably a little behind those two teams, but both those front offices have won a lot of games in recent years despite never really getting to dip in free agency. Cleveland has been excellent at drafting and player development. Oakland not so much, but they've done a really nice job identifying under-the-radar trade targets from a pro scouting perspective
Bam Bam
12:58
How good are the Padres? They've mostly beat up on bad teams but their starting rotation is very deep and they are winning without Tatis.
Anthony Franco
12:59
I'm still on the fence about them myself. There's obviously a ton of star power there. The rotation looks great when everyone's healthy, Machado/Cronenworth are excellent, Tatís will be a better midseason addition than any trade pickup obviously
1:00
At the same time, I don't think Eric Hosmer and Jurickson Profar will keep playing this well. That's also kind of true (albeit to a lesser extent) of Ha-Seong Kim
1:01
So my unsatisfying answer is that I'm torn. They're clearly a good team, but are they "hang with the Dodgers and Giants all year" good? Still not sure
Etrain
1:01
Lou Trivino has been awful.  Do the A's really think they can get anything for him?
Anthony Franco
1:02
He had a horrible outing yesterday but I'm not really worried
I think he'd be a nice middle relief trade target for a contender
Jamoche1
1:02
After a month of the season, can you assess the AL central? Any surprises and disappointments?
Anthony Franco
1:03
White Sox the most disappointing but that's largely because of injuries, not really worried there. I thought the Royals could be alright, but they've not shown much
Farhan
1:03
I'm PBO for one of the richest teams in the league and I won't spend big, is the well running dry for my moneyball approach?
Anthony Franco
1:04
The Giants won 107 games last year and have started 14-9
Voomo
1:04
When do we see Vidal Brujan?
Anthony Franco
1:05
I think he'll just bounce on and off the roster as needed all year. Rays just have so much infield depth that guys like Bruján and Paredes probably don't get 400 plate appearances
Voomo
1:05
How will the Padres handle their glut of starting pitching, specifically, Gore?
Anthony Franco
1:06
Have to keep him in the rotation, at least until he hits a speed bump right? 20 strikeouts in three starts, walks haven't been as big a problem as they would've been the past couple years
1:07
I'd probably kick Martínez into relief and run a six-man rotation if everyone's healthy. Maybe occasionally skip Gore starts to keep an eye on the workload but he'd be a "starter" as long as he's pitching like this
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