JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Prev Page View Full Chat

Anthony Franco

2:38

The August waiver trades were abolished in 2019, so this wasn't one of the pandemic rules changes. I think MLB (not unjustifiably IMO) considered the whole process kind of arcane and complex

2:39

I'd like to see them back as well, because I think it's more interesting -- personally and from a content perspective for MLBTR. But it's also really tough to explain to more casual fans

Jorge78

2:39

Thanks Anthony! Sorry to be a bother.....

Anthony Franco

2:40

Not a bother at all! You're far from the only person to raise that question

David

2:40

Is there a way to have the FO content on the website/app instead of in our emails?

Anthony Franco

2:40

Not sure, but I'll ask Tim

mmddyyyy

2:40

Would A.J. Pollock have trade value?

Anthony Franco

2:43

Hmm actually, just glancing at his contract, I think he might wind up reaching the plate appearance threshold to opt out this winter

2:45

Which I think he'd almost certainly do because there's a $5MM buyout on a $10MM option. Let me confirm that after the chat and I'll get back to you next week

Good question, thanks

RAGBRAI

2:45

Who takes the second NL Wild Card spot? My head says Padres but my heart is saying Reds. Their easier schedule and Padres somewhat lack of traction makes me thinks the Reds sneak through.

Longfoot

2:45

Padres seem to be fading fast. Preller has made a lot of deals and spent a mountain of money, but the results are there. Took a big risk in hiring Tingler. They’re not even close to the Giants and Dodgers. How long is his leash?

Anthony Franco

2:46

I still lean Padres but every week my confidence in that goes down. It's like 55-45 at this point for me

2:47

I don't think Preller's on the hot seat even if they miss the playoffs though. They've done a lot of great stuff over the past couple seasons. He should at least get a chance to run it back in 2022 and then reevaluate if the team struggles

Guest

2:47

Baseball America hates Rangers' end of Spencer Howard trade w/Phils. Rangers give up good starter and reliever; and, in BA's opinion, give up a better prospect in Hans Crouse than receiving in Howard.

2:48

BA also doubts Ranger Gallo trade w/Yankees, commenting 'The Rangers took quantity over quality, a questionable strategy'.

Anthony Franco

2:48

BA's more familiar with the prospects than I am, but my general take was that the Gallo deal was perfectly fine and the Gibson return was kind of light

Paw Paw

2:49

Gotta have Freddie Freeman over Harper for MVP considerations.

Anthony Franco

2:50

I wouldn't say that. Harper's got moderate edges in OBP and slugging percentage. Basically a coin flip between those two right now in my eyes

Manfred Mann

2:50

Which would be worse for me? Lockout or player strike

Anthony Franco

2:51

It seems like we'd get a lockout before we get a strike just based on the way the CBA works, but functionally I don't think there's any difference

Either way, you'd have a bunch of fans mad at basically everybody involved until they reach a new agreement

daddydeerist

2:53

It's getting really painful to watch the Zack Britton show. At a nearly 6 ERA why is Boone trotting him out there to watch him fail? Much the same can be said about Chapman's sore elbow & diminished velocity. Yanks have 2 young capable late inning lions. Why not make some 2022 changes now and try to save the play-offs? Loyalty to a veteran player is great but at the end of the year...? isn't W/L record greater?

Anthony Franco

2:53

Chapman pitched pretty well immediately before hitting the IL, so I'm fine keeping him in the ninth

2:54

Britton, though, I agree. Probably time to use him as a situational middle innings guy when you need a ground ball and use someone like Loaisiga against the middle of a lineup with a one-run lead

Hits Like Rays

2:54

Thanks for the chat! What would an early, long-term extension for Rays players like Shane McClanahan, Wander Franco, Austin Meadows, Luis Patino, etc look like?

Anthony Franco

2:56

They're very different players, so it's hard to give a general catch-all answer

2:57

For Patino and McClanahan, the Freddy Peralta extension's basically the only real comp for a starter with one-plus year of service

Peralta got a five-year, $15.5MM guarantee with a pair of club options. I think McClanahan in particular would have a case to top that

2:58

On Wander, it's a copout but I honestly have no idea

2:59

Acuna got $100MM to buy out three free agent years. He was more established than Franco is now but I think that deal also looks like a steal for the Braves in retrospect

3:00

So I'm not sure the Rays would offer it, nor am I all that confident he'd take it

Nick

3:01

If a player is still injured when his contract expires is he still paid? Either by the team or via Workman's comp? If the former does he accrue MLB benefits?

Anthony Franco

3:02

I'm not super familiar with the workers' comp plan, but I'll look into over the next few days if you want to pose this question again next week

For now, I'll leave you this link from a Nathaniel Grow piece at FanGraphs a few years ago

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/major-league-baseball-and-workers-comp/

3:03

Alright everyone, have to take over the main feed from Steve

Have a good weekend! Thanks as always for subscribing and for hopping in the chat, and I appreciate the great questions this week!

You can find me on Twitter @affranco10

Connecting…

Message History

On Off

Your current subscriptions

None

E-mail Address	Chat Owner	Status	Remove

Enter your email address to be notified when Steve Adams hosts a chat