JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Anthony Franco

1:59

Hey everyone, hope you're all well! Let's get right into it

Billy Bravo

1:59

It is shameful that the Giants season ended on such a Highly questionable strike call

Anthony Franco

1:59

Might as well start with the timely news

2:00

It was an objectively terrible call and an awful ending to an otherwise great game, series, and season-long battle between those two clubs

2:01

I'd be livid if I were a Giants' fan. Not necessarily because it affected the outcome -- it's unlikely Flores comes back from a 1-2 count against Scherzer either -- but because they were deprived of the opportunity to play it out

Hits Like Rays

2:01

With the Rays having so much success this year shuttling huge amounts of players back-and-forth between the minors and majors many times, and this was obviously their plan all along, do you think we will see a big change in the new CBA to address it?

Anthony Franco

2:02

We should, and I could see this being something the PA pushes for

2:03

The loophole is that optional assignments are determined as years as opposed to number of demotions. Guys can (generally) only be optioned for three seasons before they have to be kept on the active roster or exposed, but there's no limit on how many times within a season they can be optioned

2:05

So teams take that to the extreme and option certain players -- typically relievers -- constantly. The Rays are among the most egregious exploiters of this, but everybody does it to varying degrees. There's no reason Albert Abreu or Louis Head should be sent up-and-down fifteen times over the course of a season

2:06

As for potential solutions -- could calculate based on number of demotions versus years, increase the amount of time an optioned player has to stay in the minors (thereby disincentivizing optioning them in the first place), requiring big league pay for longer than an optioned is actually on the active roster

George Hunt

2:06

Will the jays trade for Ram

Guest

2:06

Kirk, Groshans, Biggio for Jose Ramirez? Jays can get by with Jansen/McGuire until Moreno is ready, and 3B was their weakest position last year. Groshans expendable because of Orelvis right?

Anthony Franco

2:07

A couple José Ramírez - Jays questions. I don't think Guest's proposal has the headliner Cleveland would want, although it's possible they like Biggio more than I do

2:09

More broadly speaking, I'm sure the Jays will be in that market again this winter if Cleveland makes him available (which I think they should). But that'll be true of half the league, since Ramírez is a great player who'll be massively underpaid for the next two seasons

rich

2:09

Will hicks patrol center field for the Yanks next year? If nor, who?

Anthony Franco

2:10

I think they'll give Hicks another opportunity, yeah. You're not moving him without eating a bunch of the contract, but he's probably still a good player when healthy

2:11

I'd guess they give Hicks the regular job but add a quality fourth outfield type -- Marisnick, Pillar if he doesn't exercise his player option with the Mets -- as a hedge

Stormy

2:11

Did you read the Jim Bowman article in the athletic about 5 ways to fix the Yankees and if so what did you think of the three trade proposals. If not #1 was Voit, Torres and German for Olson #2 Frazier and Andujar for Lopez from Miami and #3 Contreras for Sanchez, Garcia and Yoendrys Gomez. Number 1 I think is too much but it would clean up the Yankee infield and make it much stronger. Number 2 I am not really familiar with Lopez ( I know he was injured) but the Yankees are giving up nothing and #3 I think the Cubs could do better.

Anthony Franco

2:12

Yeah I don't like any of them really, but I'll address them one by one

2:13

1) If the A's are moving Olson, it's because they're trying to cut payroll. The projected combined arbitration salaries of Germán, Torres and Voit is a little higher than Olson's, so those aren't the kinds of players they'd target. And to your other point, I don't know that the Yankees want to thin out three positions anyways

2:15

2 is just not enough for Pablo López. He's good -- 3.26 ERA/3.21 FIP over the last two years -- and neither Frazier not Andújar holds much trade value at this point. Miami would reject that one pretty easily, IMO

2:16

The third one is actually too much for the Yankees to give up, in my opinion. Contreras hits free agency after next season. So you're talking about two really talented young pitchers to upgrade from Sánchez to Contreras for potentially only one year? I wouldn't do that

HPS

2:16

Without a play-off team to root for, I am focused on the hot-stove league and the CBA overhang. 1/ Are negotiations ongoing or won’t they start until after World series? 2/ We all know the worst case, a lock-out. What is the best case, given that there are a lot of issues to discuss and agree upon? 3/ I have seen a lot of opinions that the players didn’t do well in the current CBA—how might that affect the pace and outcome of negotiations?

Anthony Franco

2:18

1) Yes, there have been some selective leaks about what they've been discussing going back a few months. This thread (https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/collective-bargaining-agreement) holds a summary of our articles on those talks

2:19

2) I don't think it's out of the question they get something done not long after the current deal expires on December 1 and we get an almost normal offseason and Spring Training starts on time. There's animosity, yes, but there's also significant mutual interest in not having a work stoppage

2:20

3) I think the players took something of a short-sighed approach on a lot of economic issues (not pushing the CBT threshold up a whole lot, not revamping arbitration or meaningfully moving the league minimum salary) last time. I don't expect them to acquiesce on that stuff as much this time around

2:20

I understand being loyal to a fan base, but how can Oakland (8,767 average attendance) and Tampa Bay (9,513), both with consistently very competitive teams, justify staying in those cities. The players, management and ownership deserve much better support, which I'm sure Las Vegas, Charlotte or Nashville would provide.

Anthony Franco

2:21

I'm not a Bay Area or Tampa native, and I've only ever been to each area once in my lifetime. But my understanding is that there are pretty significant location/traffic issues with both stadiums -- particularly the Rays -- that limit accessibility to the park

2:23

Not saying it makes business sense for either franchise to stay where they are -- I'm not really equipped to answer that from a straight dollars and cents perspective -- but I think issues with both teams' current ballparks also serve to depress their attendance figures, and those should come up were they to build new stadiums in better locations within those metro areas

Blue Jay Way

2:23

The Twins sound as if Max Kepler is probably gone via trade this off season. Possibly Sano and Byron Buxton. Buxton does everything right. He fields, he hits, and for power, and he throws well and accurate. Why would you trade him, and to whom? If they do trade him what kind of a theoretical package could we bring back?

Anthony Franco

2:24

I'm not sure it's a foregone conclusion they move any of the guys you mentioned. I'm sure they'd love to dump Sanó's contracts on somebody but it'd be hard to find a taker. A Kepler trade feels like a sell-low

2:25

The idea of a Buxton trade is just about club control. He's slated to hit free agency after next season, and they talked extension but didn't get a deal done this summer. Could always revisit, but if they don't want to go beyond a certain number, then a trade makes some amount of sense as opposed to losing him for just a draft choice next offseason

2:27

Phillies, Yankees, Giants jump out as really obvious suitors if they make him available. As for what they could get, it's tough. He's so unbelievably good when healthy, but he's gone over 500 plate appearances in a season just one time

2:28

It makes him really hard to value, although I still think they could land an Heliot Ramos or Mick Abel type of prospect (back half of a top 100 type) for one season of Buxton. It's "best player in baseball" kind of upside if he stays healthy all year, as you mentioned

2:29

None of that is to say they have to trade him, to be clear. The Twins could very well sign a couple starters, bring back their whole offense, and try to win the AL Central next year. That's an unlikely outcome but not impossible. They're not as bad as they looked this season

Blue Jay Way

2:29

Toronto looks and acts like a team just on the edge of winning big in the upcoming seasons. The core is in place but if they lose starts like Ray and bullpen guys like Mayza. Semien is gone, probably which, to me is the guy to really hang on to. Thoughts?

Anthony Franco

2:30

Yeah I agree. They have so much internal talent, but it's a gauntlet of a division and they'll probably get worse next year because at least of one of Ray or Semien looks likely to leave

2:31

It's a tough spot for a team as good as they are, but I'm with you. I'd prioritize re-upping Semien this winter and hope for better luck with the bullpen next season. They signed Kirby Yates last winter and got nothing after he underwent TJS in Spring Training

2:32

With how close they came to the playoffs, a healthy Yates instead of Rafael Dolis working high-leverage innings might've made the difference, and we could be talking about the Jays instead of the Red Sox being in the ALCS right now. They're close

2:32

Could you see the Yankees signing Chris Taylor this off-season? Could start in center and sign a stopgap SS like Simmons or Galvis and share time there and around the infield if Hicks is healthy

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