JotCast | Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco

Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco

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Anthony Franco

3:07

He's got to price in a bit of a discount for signing a couple years early but not exorbitantly so, since he's already deep enough into his career to be making decent money. I think Ramírez is probably a better player than Semien, and $200MM+ feels attainable if he gets to the open market after another two great seasons

Philly A's

3:08

I was hoping for a salary floor in the new CBA so the A's would sign some of their assets this year, but would they really want to play for a cheap owner and a stadium fiasco that doesn't seem to end??

Anthony Franco

3:08

Varies from player to player, but I'm guessing most guys are going to be willing to sign for market value even in spite of the things you mentioned

All MLBTR Armchair GMs

3:09

So who says no, Olson/Manea/Bassit/Chapman for my teams (insert Mets, Braves, Dodgers Giants, Phillies, etc) AAA minor league 18 year old left fielder, a current mlb player who is a bust and has $89M left on his contract, free soda (I saw the Brad Pitt movie) and a janitor?

One of your writers said it brilliantly in a recent chat, The A's owners may be cheap, but Beane/Frost know what they can get.... Go A's (in 2024, unless there is a salary floor in the new cba!!!)

Anthony Franco

3:09

As this person suggests, they also do have a consistently very good front office that churns out competitive teams in spite of their budgetary limitations

Dude

3:10

Which side do you think will have to compromise more, from their initial positions, to get the CBA done, the players or the owners? I was surprised reading Tim’s mailbag the other day that he said the players were in a financially stronger position than the owners. I believe he said that the players could wait it out longer than the owners as a result. Do you agree, and if so why? It seems to me that losing service time, any salary and loss of time in a finite window of players’ careers puts a lot of pressure on the players. Lastly, how long do you think the unions’ war chest will last? A month, two???? Thank you!!

Anthony Franco

3:11

I'm guessing the war chest is deeper than a month or two, although the union obviously has incentive to overstate their unity and ability to wait things out

3:12

I'm more of the opinion that there's equal incentive for both sides to get something done financially, but I do think the players have the edge in willingness to wait things out because they're generally so irritated with the status quo

MLBTR Fan

3:13

Why did you close the comments on the NYT purchase of The Athletic?

Anthony Franco

3:13

Because of what it devolved into

Dude

3:13

Thanks for the chat A.F.

Anthony Franco

3:13

Appreciate you all hanging out every week!