JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat

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Anthony Franco

2:40

From an on-field perspective, I'm ambivalent on both the DH and seven-inning doubleheaders. But I hate the extra inning runner and wish they'd fire that into the sun

2:41

As far as economics, I'm mostly content to let the sides affected by that stuff sort it out. I don't really feel passionately about any of it, but I think it'd be ideal to double the league minimum salary at least

2:43

A lot of stuff we've seen -- non-tenders of good not great arb-eligible players, shrinking of the demand for the middle class in free agency, constant optioning and recalling of guys at the back of a roster -- would be less desirable if everyone you called up from Triple-A were making $1MM+

Lon

2:43

FYI…the Puig case was settled, out of court, in October…

Anthony Franco

2:43

Ah ok, I hadn't seen this. Thanks

Lew Ford

2:43

Who do the twins trade to get mid rotation help for this year and Next (at least) ?

Anthony Franco

2:45

Jeffers stands out as an obvious trade candidate (or Garver, if they want to give Jeffers full runtime). I wonder how open they'd be to moving Larnach, although I've run that idea by Steve since he follows the Twins closely. He pointed out (correctly) that this front office hasn't been inclined to trade their top prospects

Good pull on Lew Ford btw. Been a while since I've seen that name

2:46

(I'm assuming you're not the actual Lew Ford. Apologies if you are)

Correa

2:46

Where will I end up?

Anthony Franco

2:47

Well my Tigers pick blew up, and the Yankees, Angels and Phillies don't seem inclined to spend huge at shortstop. I wonder how plausible Boston becomes as an out-of-the-box fit at this point

Joe

2:47

Given who's already off the table, what would a reasonable White Sox haul as of opening day be at this point?

Anthony Franco

2:48

I'm not sure how much they have to spend. But if Reinsdorf's willing to splurge on the right guy, I love Trevor Story as a second baseman there

Giantsphan

2:48

Hi Anthony. Thanks for the chat! I think I understand how the MLBPA works (Tony C, the negotiators, the 8-player advisory panel). How do the owners come to consensus? Who speaks for their collective voice…Manfred? I get he is their “guy” but is he the one negotiating on the owners’ behalf? That said, where do you think the sweet spot is between owners/players regarding service time and getting $ in players’ pockets earlier in their career? Thank you!

Anthony Franco

2:49

Yeah, it's basically Manfred. And to a lesser extent, Dan Halem, MLB's Deputy Commissioner

2:50

Commissioners in all leagues have done a good job propagating the myths that they're neutral arbiters looking out for the good of the sport, as opposed to primarily being representatives of the league's owners, hired by the league's owners

You do raise an interesting point on the divide between owners though. You don't here a lot about the collective action problems they face, but they're not all ideologically aligned either

2:51

They all want the sport to be profitable and to keep as much of their share of revenue as possible, of course. But on things like revenue sharing or the luxury tax, they'll have competing interests

2:52

I'm sure owners like Stu Sternberg and Bob Nutting, who won't ever threaten the luxury tax, would love to see the thresholds reduced and the penalties for exceeding them higher. Steve Cohen? Not so much, since he's going to blow by wherever they set it

Steve T

2:52

Joc Pedersen at St Louis as DH? He can also spell OF corners. Or do they go with a more typical DH/1B? And if so who would be an external option? They really don't have that in house and ready.

Anthony Franco

2:52

I like Joc as a fit, sure. Brad Miller's coming off a pretty nice season if they're open to a reunion there

Anita

2:52

Too much cost for Jays to go after Ramirez, which of the below trades is more likely or a better match (Still need 3rd with the last 2)

Bassitt / Trivino / Chapman / Kemp (A’s) for Kirk / Groshans / Biggio / Smith

Marte / Kelly (Diamondbacks) for Kirk / Biggio / Smith / Groshans / Kloffenstein

Sonny Gray / Winker / Antone (Reds) for Kirk / Gurriel / Kay / Groshans

Anthony Franco

2:53

To be honest, I think all three of these are too light from the Jays' perspective

2:54

It's really hard to convince teams to package two or three of their most valuable players together in one deal. I can't see any of them going for that for a return headlined by Alejandro Kirk, who's a very good but not elite young talent

2:54

Anyone getting into the HOF this year? Would anyone controversial get your vote?

Anthony Franco

2:54

I feel like only David Ortiz actually gets in

2:55

I'd vote for significantly more. I'd put in everybody with great numbers but PED concerns. I think we're deluding ourselves if we say that some players who used PED's aren't already in, and the commissioner who oversaw the era is also in

2:56

I'd also vote for Schilling, since I have no difficulty separating his on-field resume (which is easily HOF-worthy in my opinion) from his personality

Astros fan

2:56

What’s going on with Verlander? Any word on why his contact has not been finalized?

Anthony Franco

2:57

Nope, not a clue. It's weird, although I have no reason to think there's anything threatening the process

Could be something as innocuous as him being out of town for the holiday and unable to make it back to put pen to paper. I wouldn't sweat it yet

Hits Like Rays

2:57

Does the Joey Wendle trade mean that the Rays plan to use Yandy Diaz as their everyday 3B? How does he grade out defensively there?

Anthony Franco

2:58

They don't really operate that way. I'm sure they'll bounce a few people through there. Walls or Brujan can mix in

2:59

Díaz will get some action too, but he doesn't rate particularly well defensively. I think they'd prefer to keep him at first/DH when possible

Wouldn't rule them out from signing like Jonathan Villar either

Mets Manager?

2:59

Are they able to make a hire during a lockout?

Anthony Franco

3:00

I believe so. Yankees promoted a couple guys up to the MLB coaching staff this morning

sgrossman

3:00

I have a fantasy: Nats sign Freddie Freeman, simultaneously sticking it to Atlanta, showing Soto they are committed to winning, and adding an A+++ clubhouse presence to a team playing lots of youngster. He and Bell can share 1B/DH, with Bell taking an occasional turn in left field. Is there any hope for this outcome?

Anthony Franco

3:00

That one seems like a real long shot haha

Tex

3:00

What changed with the 7 NL owners who said the DH was not coming in their lifetimes?

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