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
Anthony Franco
3:12
I don't think it'll be done next week but I'm cautiously optimistic we'll see progress
Jeremy
3:12
At what point is it acceptable for fans to stop caring about baseball so the owners lose more money?
Anthony Franco
3:13
Tim and I were discussing this a bit yesterday. I think it's perfectly defensible for fans to just tune out of the lockout stuff entirely
3:15
Whether because you're annoyed and want to stick it to the league or just because you're indifferent to how the revenue split turns out. If this weren't my job, I probably would've ignored the back-and-forth and pivoted to the NHL, college baseball and tennis
And then just paid attention to MLB whenever they had a deal worked out and games started again
Rangers13
3:15
The Rangers need a minimum of three SP, and 2 OF plus perhaps a catcher. You are charged with filling these needs for the present and the future, what is your plan?
Anthony Franco
3:17
I don't think they're plugging all those holes this winter. I'd make a push for Seiya Suzuki for sure, and if the A's were to make Sean Murphy available, he'd be an obvious trade target alongside one of their starters
Jeremy
3:17
Would the Brewers trade Hader? WHat would they want
Anthony Franco
3:18
I think they'll listen but expect he opens the season in Milwaukee. I'd guess you're talking about a controllable MLB-ready outfielder and some relief pitching in exchange if they were to pull the trigger on that
Jeremy
3:18
SHould the Jays look at the Soto deal he turned down and be scared?
Anthony Franco
3:19
Bichette's probably never going to be a Soto-level player. That's not a knock on him -- he's awesome -- but Soto's on a generational hitter level
3:20
Vlad might get there, but they've always known that locking him would cost a fortune. If he keeps up his 2021 level, he's trending towards that kind of mega deal, and given his father's status, I doubt he's ever felt much pressure to sign away that possibility for up-front security
goob
3:20
How/why was 172 days ever agreed upon as one year of service time - as opposed to the actual 186 days in a full season?
Anthony Franco
3:21
Ha, this is a good question. I'm guessing the union bristled at the idea of setting it at exactly 186. Imagine how easy it'd be to plays service time games if all you had to do was keep a player down one day
3:22
But why 172 specifically, which feels like a pretty arbitrary number? I don't know, but I'll try to look up an answer before next week if you want to ask again in that chat
baseball101
3:22
The PA gets involved in some negotiations regarding non-40 man roster players. Would it help smaller financial clubs to have the Rule 5 draft adjusted. Instead of a mandatory 7 year minor league contract (first time signers) would a 4 year minor league contact help? That way more players that have shown probable major league ability will be available after 4 years.
Anthony Franco
3:23
A lot of guys are already Rule 5 eligible after four years. That's the case for basically all college draftees
3:24
What I think you're getting at is the number of options. After four years, you have to put the player on the 40-man if you don't want him to be taken in the Rule 5, but you can option him for each of the three following seasons
3:25
I can't see MLB giving in on shrinking the number of option years, though, and I don't know that the players would want that anyways. We also see a fair amount of guys who get DFA'd precisely because they're out of options
Doing that after two years could lean to a lot of lost jobs for younger players
Astros fani
3:26
How does next years crop of free agents compare to this years? Should the Astros be looking to replacing Brantley and Gurriel this year, or will there be quality options next year?
Anthony Franco
3:26
It's not as strong but it's not completely devoid of talent either
3:27
I don't think they have to worry much about replacing those guys this year. I'd play it out for 2022 and then reevaluate whether you want to make a run at A.J. Pollock or somebody next offseason
DP88
3:27
Does KC eat the Santana contract for whatever they can get to clear room for Melendez/Pratto at 1B and DH? Wtill have Dozier floating around too, and he's signed for longer.
Anthony Franco
3:28
I'm guessing Santana sticks on the roster -- even if they eat half the money, I can't see anyone giving them much of value for him -- but expect he'll be a bench bat before long
3:29
Keeping him around is fine, in my opinion. He still works some walks, and they have to pay him either way. Playing him over Pratto is not, unless Pratto gets off to a Jarred Kelenic-type start and has to go back to Triple-A for confidence purposes
Joey
3:29
If you had to guess what the final CBA would look like, what would the arbitration, CBT threshold and penalties, draft, qualifying offer, and minimum salary look like?
Anthony Franco
3:31
Hmm: status quo on arbitration, a $225MM base CBT threshold with the same penalties as before, a three-team draft lottery, no QO, some sort of staggered league minimum starting at $675K
magrupe
3:31
Should the Jays carry 3 catchers - Jansen as starter, McGuire as back-up, and Kirk as DH? Let Kirk build the bat so he can be traded at the deadline when they can bring up Moreno (if he succeeds at AAA). I'd rather him DH than Grichuk.
Anthony Franco
3:32
Yeah I think that's probably what they'll do to start. At some point, they might have to DFA McGuire again though
3:33
Starting pitcher gets hurt in the second inning, Montoyo has to use five relievers to get through the game. They need additional bullpen help the next night, Reese gets DFA'd to open 26-man roster space because he's out of options
Lockout
3:33
I feel like most of the blame is on the owners when the players have some blame as well for the lockout. I also am confused why there is so much confrontation over the potential for a salary cap. Granted, I am a fan of a small market team. Still, it seems that allowing teams to spend more puts small market teams at a significant disadvantage
Anthony Franco
3:34
Yeah the union just isn't going to go for anything that places a defined limit on what teams can spend
I'm skeptical that a salary cap actually would help parity much; it doesn't seem to in the NFL or NBA at least, although you could probably argue it does for the NHL
3:35
But I also think neither side frankly cares that much about parity. Both MLB and the MLBPA have cited "competitive integrity" and "competitive balance" at times publicly, but they're usually buzzwords associated with a proposal that's more favorable to them economically
3:37
I think the union cares about a little bit, hence their proposals to give extra draft picks to small-market teams that make the playoffs, etc. But expanding the luxury tax thresholds while disincentivizing rebuilds and cutting revenue sharing is going to favor big-market teams. I think the MLBPA's fine with that to get players paid more
GBS42
3:37
So, daily MLB-MLBPA meeting starting Monday, "deadline" of Feb. 28 to reach an agreement and not lose any regular-season games.  Given that, how many regular-season games do you think we'll lose?  I'm guessing 10-12.  Anything less, and I expect another big win by owners.
Anthony Franco
3:37
Yeah I'd probably ballpark it around 10-12 as well
Guest
3:38
Pick for top prospect of 2023?
Connecting…