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MLBTR Front Office chat with Steve Adams: 8/19/22
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Guest
2:27
Would Turner move to 2nd? Has he ever played there before?
Steve Adams
2:27
He played second base primarily with the Dodgers just last season. He has 700+ career innings there. So, yes he could play 2B. I don't think he'll have to, though. Enough teams want shortstops, his glove there is good, and that's where he'll earn the most money.
charliewindow
2:28
OK, Steve, let's say you're the Angels' GM...and you might well be.  I think Perry Minasian is gone. 1.)  What would you do to make the team a real contender in 2023 while you still have both Trout & Ohtani? and 2.) What do you think the GM...whoever it is...will (be able to) do?
Steve Adams
2:28
Well, for starters, I don't think Minasian will be fired this winter. Arte Moreno signed him to a 4-year deal as GM and he's only through two seasons. Billy Eppler got five years in Anaheim. Jerry Dipoto would've gotten more than two, had he not walked away when Moreno sided with Scioscia in the DIpoto/Scioscia rift.
2:30
I'm perennially perplexed by the Angels' reluctance to spend aggressively on pitching. I know they were in on Gerrit Cole, but he seemed like an exception. Beyond that, it's been primarily one-year deals for once-great arms and hoping to recapture lightning in a bottle. The  Angels haven't given a free-agent starter multiple years since Joe Blanton, and that was three GMs ago.
2:31
I don't think the issue is necessarily the general managers so much as the owner who seems hell-bent on not getting burned by another CJ Wilson type of investment .... even though his insistence on signing big-name position players has routinely bitten him. (Hamilton, Pujols, Rendon)
2:32
If it's me, the most straightforward path is to just pay up and sign Carlos Rodon to pair with Ohtani atop the rotation. They'll need help at shortstop as well, and probably more pitching behind that Rodon/Ohtani duo, but the biggest thing they can do is to stop always trying to get cute with their rotation adds.
RAGBRAI
2:33
Josh Hader has really struggled since the trade. Is it post trade shock or is there something else going on? He hasn’t looked good for a month.
Steve Adams
2:34
He was also terrible for the couple weeks leading up to the trade. Hader has never been an elite command guy, and it seems pretty clear right now that he's in a particularly bad spot in that regard. I doubt it's due to injury -- the Padres approved of his medicals in making the trade -- so my guess (and that's all it is) is something more mechanical.
Guest
2:35
How does one go about getting a job in an mlb front office?
Steve Adams
2:37
Here are quotes from 10 baseball operations leaders giving advice on just that:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/04/how-to-get-a-job-in-baseball-gm...

Every few years we try to reach out to current GMs and presidents to get some advice for front office hopefuls. That's the latest iteration from us and includes Dayton Moore, Derek Falvey, Mike Elias, Ross Atkins and several others.
2:38
More broadly, I think it depends what area you're specifically looking to get into. Having a programming background, familiar with statistical modeling, regression analysis, SQL/Python/R languages .... all of that's going to play into your favor. Speaking Spanish certainly doesn't hurt.
We post job openings with teams and agencies on MLBTR from time to time. FanGraphs does this as well.
Bill
2:39
What will the Braves do when Albies ready to play? Interesting dilemma with Grissom doing so well.
Steve Adams
2:41
It's like 30 ABs for Grissom. A lot can change in a few weeks. Not saying he'll tank or anything, but he's not going to keep up a .500ish BABIP.

If he's still hitting, I'd expect Grissom to get some looks in the outfield and probably stick as a utility player who can spell a bunch of guys and serve as insurance against another injury to Albies, an injury to Dansby, etc. Again, come September, they'll have an extra couple roster spots.
Don
2:41
NL only league - Which players do you forecast as comeback players of the year for 2023?
Steve Adams
2:42
Oh man ... feel free to throw some names out folks, because I'm sure I'll blank on a few guys who are afterthoughts this year. Mike Soroka is one who jumps out to me, though. Jack Flaherty if his shoulder can get back to 100%.
I also have a hard time believing Nick Castellanos is just suddenly a bad hitter now.
Adam
2:43
What moves do you see the Twins making in the off-season to help make them actual WS contenders?
Steve Adams
2:48
Generally speaking, I think you're just looking at a pretty risk-averse front office group. They'll take chances but generally on short-term, higher AAV deals (Correa being the prime example). They offered Charlie Morton and Zack Greinke the same deals (or close to it) that both took with the Braves and Royals, respectively. Geography wasn't in their favor.

The biggest and most plausible name that fits that mold this offseason would be to beat out the field for Verlander if his market is capped at two years (though I expect someone will push to three and doubt that'll be the Twins).

I think if you're looking for impact Twins moves, you look at a bunch of high-ceiling names who could be had on short-term deals and assume there'll be interest in a fair number of them. That's Verlander, perhaps Morton again (though the Braves should just pick that option up), maybe Eovaldi and Heaney among pitchers.

White Sox fans will kill me for saying this, but ... Jose Abreu on a short-term deal?
They were in on Rodon last year, but it would just be very unlike them to say "Ok, fine we'll give Rodon 5/130 this winter."
Julius
2:48
Does Preller try to move Tatis in the off-season, or is he selling too low given the contract and questions of makeup?
Steve Adams
2:49
No I don't think they'll try to trade Tatis this winter, but I think there's some work to do to repair the relationship both with the front office and the clubhouse.
Julius
2:49
Looks like the Blue Jays will have two big holes in the rotation next year (Ryu and Kikuchi, if he sticks in the bullpen), AND Ross Stripling could depart in free agency. Ross Atkins didn’t do much at the deadline to address the rotation long term; what is a viable option in the off-season for Toronto, either via trade or free agency?
Steve Adams
2:51
They have Gausman and Manoah for four more years, and I think Berrios will be better in '23 than he's been in '22, so I don't know that they direly need another "long-term" option. Some established, mid-rotation arms who could start in a playoff game should be in the mix... I'm thinking guys like Eovaldi, Mike Clevinger (who has a big Cleveland tie with Shapiro/Atkins), etc.
2:52
Also, speaking of Twins upside plays on shorter-term deals ... Derek Falvey also came from the Cleveland front office (where Clevinger broke through and broke out).
I know the Twins have tried for Kluber in the past, too
Guest
2:52
What is the secret to Atlanta's success in signing young stars to long reasonable contracts? Do career minor leaguers who get their first call-up at 30 ever have long-term success?
Steve Adams
2:54
I don't know how the Braves continue to get their players to ink such club-friendly deals, but hats off to them for selling the players on the vision and I guess for perhaps identifying guys willing to take early cash rather than betting on themselves in the market.

I can't think of many guys who debuted in their 30s and went on to have meaningful careers (sorry Kevin Herget).

Darin Ruf and Rich Hill come to mind as guys who have carved out nice careers with mid-30s breakouts, but both had debuted prior to their 30s
2:55
Caleb Thielbar in Minnesota sort of fits this mold I guess?
Chip
2:56
After your explanation last week about the Sunday night start time I understand it better and want to thank you for taking time to explain it to me.
Steve Adams
2:56
I'm filling in for Anthony Franco on the front office chat this week, so I assume he was the one who provided the answer you're referencing! He's on vacation but I'll shoot him a note so he sees your message! Always appreciate kind feedback
Pitching dilemma
2:56
Some otherwise mediocre pitchers are doing very well in the past month: Dane Dunning, James Kaprielian, Jose Suarez, Kutter Crawford, Daniel Lynch. Are any of them actually good?
Steve Adams
2:57
I'll run through each of these guys a bit...
2:58
Dunning: I've always bought Dunning as a viable fourth starter type and think that as long as he's healthy, he'll be a solid option for the Rangers. I don't think a hot month is representative of a huge breakout, but I think he can be a 150-180 inning guy with an upper-3.00s/low-4.00s ERA for  Texas.
2:59
Kutter Crawford: Intrigued that he's had better success of late after pretty much doubling the use of his curveball at the expense of some 4-seamers. I'm still a little skeptical, as lefties have torched him and the upper-minors performance wasn't great, but he's interesting.
Kaprielian doesn't miss enough bats for me and doesn't have good enough command for be to believe he can be much more than the type of back-end starter who has some decent years in Oakland because the Coliseum is gigantic.
3:00
Lynch has long intrigued me and is probably the most interesting of this group. I soured on him a bit when he struggled early, but I think he can be a No. 3 SP type in KC
3:02
Suarez, I don't really buy that he just suddenly figured out how to stop walking people, which has been the case over his past 4-5 starts. He's also rocking a .230 BABIP and a strand rate over 80% in that time, neither of which is sustainable. More than the rest of the bunch, this feels like small-sample theater to me
Stowaway
3:02
Kyle Stowers getting called up today. The photo used (by the Sun, Score, etc) makes his #83 look like an #8. He's not Cal, but will he be a starter for a contending team?
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