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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

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Anthony Franco

2:35

He's a top five executive in MLB, in my opinion. But they're also running things extremely well in Milwaukee right now and it's not even clear he'd want to leave that to go back to an organization that has been so dysfunctional over the past few years

J J

2:35

If the Yankees go all out for a top FA SS this year, does that hurt their chances of resigning Judge next year.

Anthony Franco

2:36

I don't think it makes a huge difference either way. They dipped under the tax this year, the thresholds will probably go up in the next CBA despite MLB's best efforts to the contrary, and the Yankees will spend money

If Judge has another great season next year, I imagine they'll push really hard to bring him back, even if they also sign Corey Seager this winter or whatever

Bob

2:37

Rosenthal has done it, so can the rest of the national baseball media apologize and admit error for trashing the Cardinals' deadline moves?

Anthony Franco

2:38

Ha, I'm not sure it's really necessary. Happ and Lester have been better than I expected, I guess, but they both have an ERA above 4.00. It's not like they've been world beaters

2:39

Their recent run is a lot more about the guys they've already had. So I'd give the front office more credit for building a perennially solid roster every season than specifically for picking up two back-end starters this summer

Bob

2:39

Is Tyler ONeil going to get some MVP votes?

Anthony Franco

2:40

I doubt he'll get much support, but maybe he grabs a stray down ballot vote or two. I wouldn't have him on a ballot, but that's not to say he hasn't been really good

Hits Like Rays

2:40

Mike Zunino just played in his 100th game of the year, which means the Rays' 2022 option on him is now $7 million. What are the chances they pick it up?

Anthony Franco

2:41

I think they'll pick it up, even despite their generally low spending. There's a $1MM buyout, so it's a $6MM decision, and he'd easily top that on the open market

2:42

Plus, they clearly love Zunino. They brought him back for $3MM last offseason even though he was terrible last year. Credit to them for sticking with him

2:42

Who will be the Yankees opening day shortstop next season?

Anthony Franco

2:42

I'll guess Seager

Ross Atkins

2:43

What's the handle on Randall still being my 4th outfielder on opening day 2022. If I eat some (most) of the money remaining could I get anything useful back?

Anthony Franco

2:44

Maybe a high minors middle reliever or something, but not much. Grichuk's a good fourth outfielder (contract aside), but I can't see many contending teams that'd consider him an upgrade over their incumbent center fielder, even if the Jays were willing to pay down the bulk of the deal

ChadsizeChad

2:44

How possibly can MLB " document " these 2 incredible years we are seeing from Ohtani AND Vlad Jr?! MVP will not be enough........

Anthony Franco

2:45

Ha, well they'll probably have to "settle" for 1-2 in MVP balloting in some order. Fortunately, neither Ohtani or Vlad feels like they're going away any time soon. We'll have plenty more to appreciate with both of those guys

Future Sad A's Fan

2:46

Will the A's shop Sean Murphy and/or Ramon Laureano this winter? With 4 years of team control they'd bring back a ton of trade value.

Anthony Franco

2:47

I can't see them moving Murphy right now. He won't be arb-eligible next year, they'll still try to thread that needle and compete, and the guys with the bigger bar prices (Olson, Chapman, Manaea, Bassitt) look likelier to be the focus because of payroll constraints

2:49

Laureano's a tough call, because it's still not entirely clear how many years of control they have. I broke this down in full in the post on his suspension, but it looks like the ban might leave him like a day or two shy of the threshold to reach free agency after 2024 and give them a fourth year of control

But if it's by literally a day, then trading him this winter becomes really hard

2:50

Say hypothetically he'd be a free agent after 2025 if he stayed on the A's because they have two off days in the schedule next April that won't count as service days because he's still suspended. But a team that considers acquiring him only has one off day that month

2:51

Then a trade that ends his suspension one day sooner -- because the suspension is based on games played, while service time is based on days on the calendar -- could result in him only having three years of control Team X traded him

2:53

Which would completely change his trade value team to team. It's not entirely clear that's the case, but it might be and if it is, I think it makes a trade almost impossible because different teams would quite literally have way different value on him as a player

RAGBRAI

2:53

Who is you second WC pick in the NL? WS prediction?

Anthony Franco

2:53

Reds, I guess?

RAGBRAI

2:53

What does the Bewets off-season look like? OF or IF help a more pressing need? They won’t trade Hader will they?

Anthony Franco

2:54

I think they'll listen on Hader but don't expect him to move ultimately. Outfield looks like the biggest need if Avi leaves. Not sure they want to rely on both Cain and JBJ every day with the years they've had

Adam

2:54

Q: How do the Yankees best address their needs in the offseason? I would assume infield is the most pressing, followed by bullpen reinforcements and pitching depth. Regarding infield, the deep free agent market and DJLM positional flexibility provide some options. What kind of trade value do Urshela, Voit, Frazier have? Could one of them be a foundation to build upon for a guy like Marquez? Or Gleybar+ to Miami for some SP/RP depth (say Elieser & Bender)? What about a sneaky CI acquisition (e.g., Bryant) - can Urshela play SS?

Q: What would be the most fun trade you can think of happening this offseason? Not necessarily a likely one, but a fun one that would make both teams more interesting.

Q: Will there be vaccine mandates for MLB organizations and players?

Anthony Franco

2:55

Sort of addressed this earlier, but I do expect them to sign one of the big shortstops and shop Gleyber this winter

2:56

But no, none of those guys (Gleyber, Urshela, Voit, Frazier) is the kind that would center a deal for a top-of-the-rotation starter. They've all got value, to be sure, but not that sort of headlining capability with how they've played this season

2:58

I'd guess no on vaccine mandates for players but really have no idea. Most fun trade that won't actually happen: the Mariners trading Julio Rodríguez for a young top-of-the-rotation starter like Trevor Rogers

Chris

2:58

What sort of contract might Kyle Schwarber be looking at this winter?

Anthony Franco

3:00

I haven't though about Schwarber as much as I should. I'll probably take a more thorough look into this, so thanks, but my off-the-cuff answer if that the Ozuna deal (4/$65MM) is probably the absolute ceiling and I'd expect somewhere in like the 3/$40MM range?

Alright everybody, I've gotta run to take over the main feed from Steve. Thanks for all the questions today, had some really good ones.

3:01

You can reach out during the week on Twitter at @affranco10 with stuff as well. Thanks again for supporting the site and have a great weekend!

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