You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco
powered byJotCast
Prev Page View Full Chat Next Page
mark
2:24
Rob Manfred's comments made me really hopeful for Saturday. Is it an important meeting where we could see serious progress?
Anthony Franco
2:24
Ugh, idk man. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a glimmer of hope. At some point, MLB will make an offer that moves things forward, and it'll probably come after comments like the ones Manfred made yesterday
But..
2:25
We've heard this sort of thing from the commissioner before. He's consistently put forth the idea that what they've offered so far involve meaningful concessions to the players, something the union (understandably, in my view) disputes
2:26
And he's been pushing the idea that losing games would be a disaster for months, even as they've waited things out and proposed mediation that would've probably just stalled the process further
2:27
So I'm skeptical this'll be any different, but I share your desire for hope and would love to be proven wrong. Tomorrow will be a huge day, in one direction or another
Brian Cashman
2:27
I could use some more starting pitching. What about Matthew Boyd? Seems similar to the somewhat reclamation project whose injury prone and kind of like a Corey kluber type who I took a chance on last year. he's high upside and throws the change-up a lot which the yanks love. His only problem is that he won't be available for the beginning of the year. Could the yanks roll the dice on him or would they more likely stay away?
Anthony Franco
2:28
Agree that feels similar to the dice rolls they took last year, although those (Kluber/Taillon, in particular) didn't really pan out the way they probably hoped
The other thing with Boyd is he's been really home run prone, which could be a Heaney-esque problem in that park/division
2:29
So, while it's kind of a mediocre hedge answer (sorry), I see the logic for the Yankees and wouldn't be stunned if it happened, but I think there are better fits elsewhere
Dallas
2:29
If I want to go to opening day this year, what date should I buy tickets for?
Anthony Franco
2:29
I'd set the O/U at like April 10 now
Anita
2:29
Jose Ramirez would be the best fit but cost lots while Matt Chapman (righty bat with great defence) would cost less.  Which would be a better option taking into account the trade cost and which is more likely.  If not them, what other options would be available.
Anthony Franco
2:30
We all kind of doubt Cleveland would make Ramirez available this winter. We just heard nothing about it before the lockout, and it'd be a tough marketing sell during a year with a name change
2:31
Chapman's the big prize via trade. Jeff McNeil or J.D. Davis fit for infield needy teams (I think this question's about Toronto) if you're not spending on Bryant or Story
neil
2:32
My understanding is that MiLBers who are on the 40-man cannot play in the MiLB season, is that correct? So the lockout is keeping top prospects from getting the development they need too?
Anthony Franco
2:32
Yeah that's true. Particularly unfortunate situation for a team like the Guardians, who turned over about a quarter of their roster before Rule 5 protection day
Don Mossi
2:32
Bieber, Plesac, Quantrill…can you rank these three from most likely to be extended, to least likely?
Anthony Franco
2:32
Quantrill, Bieber, Plesac would be my guess
Dodgers fan
2:33
If the NL uses the dh does that open up a spot for freeman and rotate the dh spot
Anthony Franco
2:33
Yeah, Dodgers could make that work. Guessing Muncy gets the majority of DH at-bats in that scenario, but they'd rotate multiple guys through as you mentioned
Guest
2:33
If the Carter Kieboom experiment fails, what are the Nationals’ backup options?
Anthony Franco
2:34
For this year, probably Lucius Fox or Luis García. But long-term, I'm guessing they'd have to go out and acquire an infielder
Dave Roberts
2:34
do you think kershaw and Jansen will be back
Anthony Franco
2:35
Kershaw feels likelier than Kenley to me, but that's nothing more than a guess. Basically haven't gotten any reports on either one (besides the Rangers and Dodgers repeatedly expressing their love for Kershaw) all winter
steve
2:35
Even for a bargain price, why would D Dombrowski even consider signing another defensively challenged position player?
Anthony Franco
2:36
The Phillies have a bunch of holes on the roster. Upgrading the defense would be nice, I agree, but "we need plus defenders because the rest of our defense stinks" is too rigid of thinking in my view
2:38
They could arguably use upgrades at each of shortstop, third base, left field and center field. It's going to be hard enough to fill all those gaps. Taking, idk, Kyle Schwarber off the table entirely because he's a mediocre left fielder seems pretty limiting
Guest
2:38
I feel like the Yankees are going to go the stopgap route and if they do, how many innings could Gio Urshela log at the position? He'd certainly be a whole lot better in offense and wasn't so bad on defense in his small sample size last year
Anthony Franco
2:38
I'm guessing they'd prefer to have Urshela log the bulk of his innings at third. Maybe like 200 at short if they acquire someone like Ahmed or IKF?
2:39
If the front office felt Urshela were a capable defender at short, I doubt Cashman would have flat out said "we need to upgrade at shortstop" at the start of the offseason
Billy Beane
2:39
Do all the GMs already have their trades ready and lined up to go as soon as the stoppage is over? Is there a chance we simply see a lot more in season trades instead this season?
Anthony Franco
2:40
They can't have everything prepped, unless there's been a lot more circumventing the lockout ban on communications than I expect
So yeah, I could see a trickle-down effect where we see a few more April and May deals than normal because there just wasn't enough time on the calendar
Joey
2:40
If you had to make a perdition right now on where Matt Olson will end up and what his exact return would be like what would you guess?
Anthony Franco
2:41
I'd guess Brewers for Aaron Ashby and someone like Tyler Black
Dallas
2:41
Do you think there is any logic behind the idea the owners want to push an agreement as close as possible to spring training to drive down free agent cost? The players probably think that
Anthony Franco
2:42
I think it's less about free agency and more about the possibility of squeezing out game checks
2:43
Both sides are incentivized to overstate (at least privately) their willingness to have regular season games get canceled. That's when they both start losing significant money and that pressure builds quickly
neil
2:43
How much can elite defense help a team? For example, the Cardinals had an amazing rebound late last year.  Could they have done that w/o their defense, or was their recovery more attributable to the offense going ape and trading for pitchers who know where the strike zone is?
Connecting…