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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

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Anthony Franco

2:00

Hey everyone, hope your weeks went well! Looking forward to another chat with you all

Darrell

2:00

The Rays will likely win the East, but the recent struggles of their pitching staff do not bode well for the postseason. Neither Shane Baz nor Tommy Romero have been on the 40-man roster, so even with a callup now, they are not eligible for the playoffs. Thoughts on what a playoff rotation would look like, and how would the bullpen line up? Or will they simply have to outslug the opposition?

Anthony Franco

2:01

So as a clarification, players only need to be in the organization by September 1 -- not on the 40-man roster -- to be eligible for the postseason

2:02

I know the rule technically says on the 40-man, but there's an exception that players not on the 40-man but in the org are eligible if they're replacing somebody on the IL, and every team has guys on the IL

2:03

That's why if you go back and look at our archives for August 31, you see a bunch of late-night minor league deals -- Keon Broxton to Milwaukee, Drew Butera to Houston, Carl Edwards to the White Sox. Teams are getting those guys in the system before September and they can figure out a way to get them onto the playoff roster

2:05

But anyways, to the actual question. I think Baz actually will be on the playoff roster, just like they did with McClanahan last year. They're less beholden to a traditional rotation than anyone in baseball, though, so I think McClanahan might be their only "starter" in a playoff series and they'll basically bullpen everything else

2:07

They've got plenty of depth back there. Kittredge, Rasmussen, Anderson, Patino, McHugh, Fairbanks, Yarbrough, Robertson should all get key innings at some point. It worked last year and I while they don't have Snell or Morton anymore, I think they'll be fine

Kevin

2:07

Now that the Giants have clinched a playoff position.
Do you see them holding off the Dodgers and winning the NL West?

Anthony Franco

2:07

Yeah, but I'm not super confident in it. Like 55/45 Giants? It's the most interesting storyline of the season's final couple weeks for me

Shawn

2:07

Have we heard anything about roster sizes in the upcoming CBA? What is (or should be) the position of each side?

Anthony Franco

2:08

I haven't heard anything specifically, but my guess is they'll stay the same. They bumped it up from 25 to 26 a couple years ago, and I don't think see a real need to move off that. 26 with a 13-man limit on the pitching staff feels likeliest to me, at least for the next five years

Jeff

2:09

What happens if the red Sox blue Jay's and Yankees are all tied at end of season?

Anthony Franco

2:09

Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com just broke down this exact scenario on Wednesday

https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-2021-postseason-tiebreaker-scenarios

2:10

AL Central looks like it could be very competitive next year. White Sox are strong, Cleveland's pitching could be great if they can stay healthy, Minnesota will likely take definitive steps to get back in the mix and Detroit and KC are on the upswing. Your thoughts?

Anthony Franco

2:11

I think it'll be better but still not very good. I'm kinda down on Cleveland personally. There's talent there but not a ton of certainty or depth, and I wonder if they'll seriously entertain a Bieber or Ramírez trade this offseason if ownership isn't willing to add at least one definitive upgrade in free agency

2:12

Minnesota should be better but they need to revamp the entire rotation. Detroit and K.C. still have work to do, although I expect Detroit in particular to be pretty active this winter

2:13

So I agree there are definitely things to like about everyone, but if you were asking me to predict next year's division cumulative winning percentages, I'd probably still have it fifth? AL East, NL West, AL West, NL East, AL Central, NL Central would be my off-the-cuff ordering

Ray

2:13

1) Corey Seager, what are the chances that the Dodgers sign him after the season? Especially with the acquisition of Trea Turner, wouldn't make more sense to let Corey go, get the draft pick associated with his signing and then sign Trea Turner?

2) Cody Bellinger, what are the chances of him being back in LA, especially after the last two horrible seasons? He made 16.7 million this season and I don't think the Dodgers are in the mood to pay him more and he wont take less. A Trade is possible?

Anthony Franco

2:14

Agree on both points. I want to take a deeper look at Bellinger's struggles for a full post at some point, but he's been truly awful and I think they have to at least consider moving on

2:16

I don't think the Turner trade makes it a lock Seager departs. They're not afraid to sign great players and shoehorn them in around the diamond to build a superteam, obviously. But I do see it as least Seager insurance, and I think it's more likely than not he goes elsewhere

2:16

I find it amazing how so few teams do a great job at developing players. I look at the Dodgers, Astros, and Rays as really the best at it. What do these organizations do so much differently then other organizations? As an example, the Astros have lost Keuchel, Cole, Verlander, & Springer the last number of years and are on the verge of winning another division title due to the development of young pitching and solid play from unheralded CF prospects and another real shot at the WS. The Rays constantly trade players when they get to costly, yet continue to bring up young stud after young stud. And yes the Dodgers spend like no other right now in MLB, but they have so much young talent on that roster but also allows them to trade for big names to help them win now. Love to hear your thoughts.

Anthony Franco

2:17

It's a fascinating question, and obviously those teams aren't talking about their player development processes on the record because it's such a huge competitive advantage.

2:20

I think there's a few things those teams are great at. Player evaluation, and the Rays in particular seem to get tabbed as an "analytics-only" team when they have an extremely robust scouting staff as well, by all accounts

2:21

Getting talented players into the system is the first thing, and I'd imagine development is mostly about having a cohesive message. Employing minor league coaches and player development people who have a strong understanding of, say, pitch data and how to optimize guys' repertoires

2:22

And then it's about communicating data to players. Explaining why they're recommending certain changes, backing it up with data/results to get players to buy in to certain approach or mechanical adjustments

2:23

It's nebulous stuff but it's super important, and there are definitely organizations that are just better at it year in and year out, like the ones you named

HPS

2:23

My understanding is that the Nats hitting has about the same since the trade deadline as it was before—despite losing Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber. Does that allow the team to focus on bullpen and starting pitchers or do we still need to look for some mashers…and at what positions?

Anthony Franco

2:25

Both pitching and position player side. I did a full breakdown of the Nats' path back to contention for subscribers a couple weeks ago. I think they need to be aggressive this winter. Go get two starting pitchers -- I think they'd be a really great fit to trade for Tyler Glasnow with an eye towards 2023 -- but they also need answers at shortstop and in a corner outfield spot, at least

2:27

Alcides Escobar and Yadier Hernández aren't long-term options for a contender. I'm on board with giving plenty of room to Ruíz, García, Kieboom and Thomas next year, since I don't think they're a plausible contender by 2022

See if two of those guys are good, get a shortstop and starting pitcher this winter, and you have a clearer picture of what you need to compete by '23

Darrell

2:27

The Blue Jays have a math problem at catcher. Four players at one position doesn't add up. They can solve part of it by stashing Moreno at AAA for another half year but who else will stay/go? They already whiffed once on the Riley Adams deal and can't afford to that again

Anthony Franco

2:28

Speaking of things I wrote about for subscribers recently, I covered the Jays' catchers in depth last week. So I'd recommend that if you haven't had a chance to read through it yet

But the short version is if I were another club, I'd be really active about trying to land Alejandro Kirk this winter

2:28

I should be targeting bullpen help for this off-season and just resign Duvall and solar, right?

Anthony Franco

2:29

Well, extending Freddie should be the top priority

2:31

But if we assume that gets done, then yeah the bullpen stands out. I'm not sure they need to re-sign both Duvall and Soler, since they're similar players and then you're pushing Acuna into center field everyday in a season where he's coming off an ACL tear. I'd rather just re-sign one of those guys, probably Duvall, and focus on relief help

Todd

2:31

I believe that the Mets should entice Mr Stearns to give up the brats and come back to NY for some Nathan’s dogs. What say you?

Anthony Franco

2:32

Stearns is under contract next season with Milwaukee is already their president of baseball operations. The Brewers could just refuse to make him available for an interview this offseason, even assuming Stearns would like to do so

2:34

But if Milwaukee ownership did let him sit down with the Mets -- either as a "thank you" for the job he's done the last few seasons or because they're afraid that if they refuse to allow him to interview this offseason, it'll piss him off and he won't have interest in re-signing after 2022 -- then yeah, he'd be a great candidate for the Mets

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