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
Chris
2:20
With Nimmo now announcing his intention to play CF and looking for the big contract under Boras, could you see the Mets trading him for pitching at the height of his value?
Anthony Franco
2:21
Eh, I don't know that Nimmo's wishes really matter here. He may want to play center field, but if Showalter pencils him into the lineup in right and Marte plays center, he's not going to refuse to play
I think they'll keep him, play him in the corner even if he's not thrilled about it, and let him walk next winter for whatever kind of draft compensation they'd get in the next CBA
Kevin J.
2:22
Do you see lots of Trades coming when baseball resumes and who’s the biggest rumored names dropping.
Anthony Franco
2:22
We did the full trade value series over the last couple weeks that I'd encourage you to check out
2:23
I expect it'll be pretty crazy, yeah, and I think it could linger into more April/May deals than we're accustomed to seeing in a typical year
Guest
2:23
Who do you think is going to be the Marlins Opening Day CF? Help me to put some package for Reynolds or Mullins
Anthony Franco
2:24
I can't really see either Reynolds or Mullins moving. It'd take such a massive offer, and the Pirates in particular have rebuffed a lot of Reynolds interest in the past
2:26
Maybe one of those teams really loves Eury Pérez and Max Meyer or something, but I think you're talking two of the really highly-regarded arms as a starting point to get three-plus cheap years of a star outfielder
Dave Mc
2:26
Orioles beat writers seem to think John Means is staying. Lots of national writers seem to think he is trade bait. What say you?
Anthony Franco
2:26
I'm in the latter camp. Maybe he's not moved before the season, but I'd be surprised if he's still an Orioles at the end of 2022
Your Name
2:27
Given the lack of transactions, I'll ask if any of the minor league signings have stood out to you as being good bets for the teams?  Any players that you were surprised signed a minor league deal?
Anthony Franco
2:27
Hmm, Shed Long to Baltimore I guess?
2:28
I liked him a lot as a prospect, thought he was going to be a good power-hitting second baseman. It hasn't worked, but he's been hurt the last two years which certainly couldn't have helped his numbers
2:29
I wouldn't say I'm surprised he settled for a minor league deal, since he's a career .216/.284/.376 hitter who's not very good at second base. But I expect him to make the team and wouldn't be surprised if he bounces back enough to stick around for another year or two via arbitration
Slow Bro
2:30
Ridiculous scenario but could a fringe MLB player play in the independent league if the lockout drags on?
Anthony Franco
2:31
Depends on your definition of fringe big leaguer. I think there'll probably be a couple more guys that land in indy ball but more the "spent last year at Triple-A and has five MLB innings over the last two years" types than, idk, Hanser Alberto
DH
2:31
With the DH coming to the NL the Mets should keep Davis and McNeil.  Could Dom Smith actually get any quality pitching in a trade?
Anthony Franco
2:33
I'm kind of down on Smith and think he's less appealing than the other two guys you mentioned. He was legitimately awesome in 2020. But his 2019 results were better than the batted ball metrics would suggest, he was bad last year and doesn't have much defensive value
2:34
I'm the low guy on him at MLBTR though. Steve and Tim both think he's more appealing, since his 2020 was great and he was a really well-regarded offensive player as a prospect
Bill Monboquette
2:34
What moves do the Pirates have left (either in adding or subtracting players)?
Anthony Franco
2:35
I don't think they're doing a whole lot. Trade Chris Stratton, maybe sign Richard Rodríguez and an infielder or two to a minor league deal and head into the season
neil
2:36
I don't think the following 5 statements are objectionable: (1) The instituted the lock out to spur negotiations and then sat on their hands for six weeks.  (2) the owners control whether to keep the lockout in place.  (3) The owners want a salary cap in all but name.  (4) The loss of revenue coming from missing games will, initially at least, hurt more junior players the hardest. (5) The players will not agree to salary cap unless they are facing **extreme negative pressure**, i.e., there's no carrot to get them to accept the owners' salary cap; it would have to be a stick. Ergo--the owners' *intention* is to cancel games in order to break the union and force a salary cap.
Anthony Franco
2:37
I think Statement 5 is wrong. The union won't agree to a salary cap, period.
And eventually, the league is going to want games back underway. In my view, MLB thinks it values regular season play in April less than the players do
2:38
Players' game checks are the same in April and September, but the owners' gate revenues are down in April (it's early in the season and still cold in a lot of places)
2:39
So they locked thinking they were in a better position to wait players out through the offseason and maybe the first few weeks of the regular season
2:40
But they're not going to get a salary cap, so they're trying to implement spending disincentives where they can. They eventually do need games back though, and they value the playoffs a lot more than the union does
Which is why I think the MLBPA was right to threaten them with a refusal to expand the playoffs this year if the regular season is shortened
Jeremy
2:40
Rumours about the jays looking into the Reds arms... Think a Gray/Casitllo trade would work? what would go the other wya
Anthony Franco
2:40
I'd be surprised if Cincinnati packaged both guys together
2:41
It feels like more of a "trim money where we can but still try to make a run at it" situation than an outright rebuild. They'll probably only trade one of their three top starters
Jeremy
2:41
With the universal DH probably becoming a thing, has freemans market expanded?
Anthony Franco
2:42
I doubt it makes a huge difference in his case. There were only a few teams that would spend at the level it'd take to get him anyways
Adding the universal DH isn't going to bring the D-Backs, Rockies, Pirates, Reds, etc. into the mix
2:43
Maybe it helps with the Dodgers or Padres, but those teams would've probably found ways to make a Freeman signing work if they wanted him badly enough anyways
G
2:43
Who says no: Mariners get Deivi Garci Yankees get Taylor Trammel?
Anthony Franco
2:44
That's an interesting challenge trade. Given how bad García's numbers were at Triple-A last year, I'd probably rather have Trammell
But if the Mariners see something in García's pitch mix or mechanics they think they can tweak to get him back on track, I could see the case for them doing this
Connecting…