JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Anthony Franco

2:00

Hey everyone, hope you all had a good week!

We'll get started in one minute

2:01

CT3

Anthony Franco

2:02

I expect Taylor to reject the qualifying offer and sign a multi-year deal somewhere

Cleveland 4 Life

2:02

Mark Canha to Cleveland? He’s not a big time upgrade over any of our guys. All he does well is walk. If I’m cleveland, I’m going for Schwarber or Castellanos and they have the money this offseason to do so. Maybe even a Corey Kluber type starter too

Anthony Franco

2:03

The books are open, true. But dropping nine figures on Castellanos just isn't how this ownership group and front office have really operated

Schwarber's more feasible, although I think he'll end up out of their price range too

2:05

We also just like Canha as a player more than you seem to. Drawing walks might be his only elite skill, but it's a super valuable one. And it's not like he's bad at everything else. Strikeout rate is typically a couple points lower than average, he's got some power, plays a fine corner outfield

Canha's not as impactful as Castellanos or Schwarber, and he's already pretty old, but I think he'd be a clear upgrade over Harold Ramírez and Josh Naylor

Cards

2:05

Who is the biggest FA we sign? What does a Flahery extension look like?

Anthony Franco

2:06

Could see Stroman there as the ceiling for the type of that player they'd sign. I think it's more likely they end up with one of the mid-tier starters like DeSclafani or Wood

2:08

On Flaherty, I haven't given it a ton of thought since it doesn't seem especially likely he'll sign one. Not a ton of great comps in that service bucket, but I think he'd have to top the Senzatela deal pretty handily

2:09

He's been outspoken about the game's financial structure in the past, didn't sign some early contract renewals out of principle. I can't see him giving a discount at this point in his career

Henry

2:10

Why do you think Jansen is a good fit for the jays when they already have Ramano?

Anthony Franco

2:10

I gave the Jays Raisel Iglesias; Steve and Tim put them on Jansen. But the point still stands

2:11

They have payroll space this winter, and the bullpen was the main reason they missed the playoffs this year. Romano's awesome, but signing a closer frees Montoyo up to use him situationally in higher-leverage spots in the middle innings

2:12

I wouldn't consider the bullpen as acute a need if I had faith Julian Merryweather would stay healthy, but nothing in his past suggests that's especially likely

Guest

2:12

I feel like the cardinals are most likely landing spot for Stroman, ground ball pitcher, durable, no walks. Seems right up their alley

Anthony Franco

2:13

I think he's a good fit, for the reasons you mentioned. Just depends on whether they're willing to meet what should be a pretty big asking price

sayonarachops

2:13

Are the Blue Jays going to have to choose between Ray and a possible Berrios extension? Can they do both without hampering their ability to extend Bichette and/or Vlad?

Anthony Franco

2:15

It could be feasible, but I think it's unlikely. Signing Berríos and Ray probably puts their 2023 commitments in the $110-120MM range

2:16

Ryu and Grichuk come off after that, but you're still talking $75+MM in 2024 before discussing anything with Vlad, Bo or Teoscar. That's almost half of their typical spending range already, not sure they'd want to lock up so much payroll this far in advance

Freddie Freeman

2:16

Why would you think I would join the Red Sox? We have a championship to defend and I’m on record saying I want to stay in Atlanta.

Anthony Franco

2:17

I went into the Freeman/Red Sox pick in more detail in yesterday's general chat

2:18

But it's mostly a gut feel play on the field over Atlanta because the Braves' payroll is already basically at last year's level with other needs in the rotation and the outfield

And I think if Freeman were going to sign for like 5/130, that'd have already gotten done months ago

2:19

I'm definitely not saying it's impossible he re-signs, but I think it's a tougher fit than people think unless Liberty Media's willing to really expand payroll in the wake of the World Series win

Twins fan

2:19

What realistic free agents do you think Minnesota will sign?

Anthony Franco

2:19

A couple starting pitchers. I think Eduardo Rodriguez is both the type of pitcher they're targeting and someone who'll come in near the top of their allotted price range

2:20

As far as lower-tier options, maybe Corey Kluber reunites with all the former Cleveland executives in Minnesota?

Mark

2:20

Will the Mariners payroll exceed 100 million after this off-season?

Anthony Franco

2:21

I'd be surprised if it didn't. They entered this past season at $73M and Dipoto has really hyped up their flexibility this winter

2:22

It's also just time to push some chips in. The young core's at the big league level or close. Make a couple important external additions and try to win the West

Gosoxkid

2:22

Under the radar Red Sox Targets? ...Chris Taylor?

Anthony Franco

2:23

Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom kind of downplayed the necessity of adding second base help, saying they feel comfortable with Christian Arroyo there

Maybe that's just posturing, and I'm sure they'll kick the tires of Semien and Taylor. But I think both guys have cleaner fits elsewhere ultimately

Sung-Bum Na

2:23

Could you see the Royals signing Seiya Suzuki or myself and avoiding the FA market altogether for their hole in RF?

Anthony Franco

2:24

If Suzuki lands the kind of contract we project (5/55M plus a $10M posting fee), I think that'd be too rich for the Royals

2:25

Top execs Dayton Moore and J.J. Piccolo have really harped on the desire to add to the bullpen this winter, and I think they'll ultimately make a bigger move there

I gave them Jansen, believe they were Steve's pick for Graveman

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