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Trade Rumors Front Office Chat With Anthony Franco
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Anthony Franco
12:00
Hey everyone, we'll get this rolling in like two minutes
12:03
Alright, sorry about that
Let's get into it
Dylan
12:03
Gore has look great so far. Rookie of the year candidate?
Anthony Franco
12:05
Still kind of a longshot for me. The swinging strike rate is below-average, and there's always the potential for the control to go kind of haywire again
12:06
That's not to diminish what he's done so far. I think he's earned a rotation spot so long as he's pitching well, and he looks to be rewarding their faith for sticking with him through the rough 2020-21 seasons
12:07
But I'd have him firmly behind Suzuki and more still on par with Lodolo or maybe even Nolan Gorman in the Rookie of the Year race
Giantsphan
12:07
Hi Anthony,  as a Giants’ fan, I was pretty dissatisfied with the effort the Giants brass made (or didn’t make) to bolster their lineup this past offseason.  Our “big” acquisition was Joc Peterson and while Joc has been surprisingly good thus far in the season, we simply have little offensive prowess.  It was not surprising at all that we just got trounced by the Dodgers.  I am fearful the rest of the season is going to be rough….what do you think the state of the Giants lineup is at present?  Do you think we can stay competitive with the present makeup of the club?  If not, what do you think they should try to do???  Thanks!
Anthony Franco
12:08
I think they're legit. The offensive moves this winter were kind of lackluster, I agree, but Rodón looks like a massive coup. I generally love most of what they did with the rotation
12:09
The lineup is clearly worse than the Dodgers' but they've also been hit by COVID absences for Yaz and Belt, injuries to Longo and La Stella
Do I think they're going to win the NL West again? No. But I'd be very surprised if they missed the playoffs entirely
Dylan
12:10
Snell for Jo Adell straight up?
Anthony Franco
12:10
I don't think the Angels would do this yet
Jeremy
12:10
Whats up with the Jays terrible offence?
Anthony Franco
12:11
Basically everyone's offense stinks right now. The Jays are 12th with a 105 team wRC+ still
13th, sorry
12:12
They'll be fine. Teoscar and Jansen getting injured hurts. Bichette's off to a slow start but I'm not at all worried there
Will
12:12
Hey Anthony, thanks for doing this.  Do you have any logical explanation why the BoSox opted for Franchy Cordero in lieu of Tristan Casas in the latest call-up?
Anthony Franco
12:13
Franchy plays the outfield and is off to a good start in Worcester, so I'm fine bringing him up. Why is Dalbec still playing first base instead of Casas? I have no idea
Bob T.
12:13
When will MLB stop messing with the ball? First there are too many HR and now there are too few. There needs to be some consistency. They should stop using the humidors and go back to making the ball the way it was when neither the pitcher or hitter had a distinct advantage. Your thoughts?
Anthony Franco
12:15
Yeah, MLB just doesn't seem to have as soft a touch with the ball as they think they do. I get wanting to deaden the ball. Pitchers were complaining about it all the time, they thought that maybe the ball was the reason offensive players are so homer-dependent right now
12:16
But if you overcook it, as it seems they have, then you're ending up in a complete no-offense era because guys can't just go back to striking out 15% of the time
The weather getting warmer will help, and April's going to be the worst month we get. But it's concerning for sure
Joe
12:16
White Sox just took two from the Cubs.  Got any crazy-but-realistic Cubs/Sox trade possibilities for 2022?
Anthony Franco
12:17
Hmm, this probably involves a starting pitching trade right? Kyle Hendricks crosstown deal?
baby shark do-do-do
12:17
wtf is wrong with Dylan Carlson? Cards fans were hoping this would be the year he emerged as a top shelf OFer, but so far ... His hard hit rate is in the bottom *one* percent. How terrified should Cards fans be?
Anthony Franco
12:18
Man, I hadn't even realized the exit velos were that bad. Yikes. He's still making a decent amount of contact but I really don't know what's going on there
12:20
Even last year, Carlson didn't hit the ball as hard as I'd thought he would. I'm worried. Not completely out on him yet -- I thought this would actually be a breakout season -- but he might need some kind of mechanical alteration
Michael
12:20
As a Braves fan, I am concerned when I here Morton saying that batters are not chasing pitches out of the zone, which means he has to attack the strike zone and ends up getting hammered.  At 38, is this a sign that he might be coming to the end?
Anthony Franco
12:21
It's a candid but true self-assessment. I wonder if he's just tipping something. The stuff looks mostly the same, so maybe there's a deception issue there that's keying hitters in to make their takes easier?
12:22
Maybe he's just missing further out of the strike zone so the takes are easy? I should look into this deeper, see if there's enough for an article here
SteveM
12:22
How much of a surprise has it been for The Jays closer Jordan Romano been? Since becoming the closer when the Jays returned to Rogers he has been literally lights out (sans the Houston game). Was he always projected to be this good?
Anthony Franco
12:24
I guess it depends on when you were setting expectations. He was a tenth-round, $25K sign who never appeared among BA's top 20 Jays prospects
So in that sense, no, he should never have been this good
12:25
But within a month or two of 2021, he looked like he was just elite. So I'm not really surprised anymore, but he's definitely a scouting and player development success story
EddieB
12:25
I find it odd that when a pitch lands in the dirt, the catcher tosses the ball immediately.  Yet oftentimes, there is a ground ball, that touches grass and dirt, and at times a fly ball that hits the wall, and the pitcher will keep that ball for the next pitch.  Very odd indeed.  What is the benefit of a "clean" baseball...and who does it help the most? Pitcher? Hitter?
Anthony Franco
12:26
I think it's supposed to be a grip thing for the pitcher, but yeah, there's probably some tradition element that catchers throw balls away out of habit even if they don't need to
Nomaaaaaar
12:27
This closer by committee for the Red Sox is not working. Whitlock seems to be moving towards being a starter/long opener. But neither Barnes, Robles, nor Diekman are showing they are consistent enough to close. Who can the Sox get?
Anthony Franco
12:28
I don't think there's help coming any time soon. David Bednar and Joe Barlow could be long-shot but maybe attainable relief trade candidates, I think Lou Trivino's going to get moved
Melancon and Ian Kennedy if the D-Backs fall out
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