Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

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mikechamp
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Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

Post by mikechamp »

These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Anthony Franco that occurred on March 23. (You can find him on Twitter at @affranco10 if you really want to ask him something.)

This was his 1st chat since the lockout ended. Started off with a lot of Contreras questions, but moved into other subjects eventually. I included 5 bonus Q&As about pinch-hitting, shifts, playoffs, drafts and service time manipulation.

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.jotcast.com/chat/mlbtr-chat ... 12711.html

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Looks like the Guardians backup catcher is out. Chance of a trade with the Cubs for Contreras?

Anthony Franco
I don't think so. Can't see Cleveland devoting like $14MM to their two catchers.
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What moves can Hoyer make to make the cubbies more better?

Anthony Franco
I think they're basically done. I'd want to upgrade over Ortega in CF but don't really see who's available to do that at this point.

Maybe they throw a couple million bucks to bring Chris Archer back? The back of the rotation is still pretty rough.
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Do you see any trades happening before Opening Day? And if so, what names do you think could be involved?

Anthony Franco
Manaea's going, Montas maybe. I still think the Cubs could trade Contreras.
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Given the money spent and moves made so far, are the Yankees really set at SS and C?

Anthony Franco
Shortstop definitely. Seems like they've zeroed in on IKF for months.
Catcher, eh, I think they could still trade for Contreras.
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I’ve heard rumors of a Harrison Bader trade. I don’t think this is likely, but what are your thoughts and what could be the potential return?

Anthony Franco
I think he'd bring back a lot but I have no reason to believe the Cardinals would move him.
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Reds' outfield? An add is a must...Pham? Beatty? Anyone else?

Anthony Franco
They're another team that feels like they could use a center fielder, but there really isn't anyone out there. I guess you could sign Pham and kick Fraley to center, but Pham-Fraley-Naquin has the potential to be pretty rough defensively.
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If the Reds trade Castillo or Mahle, it seems, based on their recent transactions, that they will unload a large contract in order to reduce payroll.{someone like Moose}. Is this the right move, or should they try to maximize their return by not attaching a large contract to their offer?

Anthony Franco
They're not trading either of those guys in the next couple weeks, but it's a weird line to draw in my view.

As currently constructed, they're not a playoff team. They don't feel they have enough payroll flexibility to get significantly better. Not entertaining offers on Castillo and Mahle doesn't make much sense, since you're probably just burning half a year of control in a season where you're not going to compete anyhow.
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Could you point to a resource to better understand the latest trends with the player and team approach to arbitration? Twitter was aflame yesterday over Contreras/Cubs going to an arb hearing. But many players and teams are going over much smaller differences (more than I recall in the past.) Is there a new strategy from one or both sides? Is it really a sign of a problem between a team and player? How distracting and time consuming is it for a player?

Anthony Franco
I'm sure it varies by player and some guys really do get ticked off by going to hearings and listening to team reps bad-mouth them.

But I think generally, that kind of outcry over arb is overstated. They're haggling over a small amount of money, and I think players mostly understand that.
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What do you believe is the worst offensive division in baseball this year?

Anthony Franco
NL Central
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Any chance the Brewers existence is acknowledged?

Anthony Franco
The Brewers are really good.
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Have the Brewers done enough to be serious contenders?

Anthony Franco
Yeah, I don't think they had to do a whole lot to remain the favorites in the division.
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Bader, Zach Thompson, Jake Woodford for either A’s Starter?

Anthony Franco
Can't see why STL would give up Bader in this scenario.
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Any teams out there that would be a good partner on an Anthony Santander trade?

Anthony Franco
I'd like Cleveland if they didn't let him walk for nothing in the first place. San Diego and Cincinnati make some sense, but he might have to get off to a strong start to hold much appeal after a rough season.
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You mentioned you don't see the Phillies as a top 6 team in the NL, which is definitely fair, but who are your top six? (I have the Phillies at exactly 6.)

Anthony Franco
Dodgers, Braves, Brewers, Mets, Giants, Padres probably

If you wanted to put the Phils or Cardinals over one of the NL West teams (not the Dodgers), I could see it, but they'd be just out for me.
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Will the Marlins make a bid for B. Reynolds or C. Mullins?

Anthony Franco
Seems like they've been trying for a while on Reynolds but the Pirates aren't biting.
I expect that'd also be the case for Mullins.
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Do you see any trades happening before Opening Day? And if so, what names do you think could be involved?

Anthony Franco
Manaea's going, Montas maybe. I still think the Cubs could trade Contreras.
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Do you see any trades happening before Opening Day? And if so, what names do you think could be involved?

Anthony Franco
Manaea's going, Montas maybe. I still think the Cubs could trade Contreras.
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Is pinch hitting dead?

Anthony Franco
Designated pinch-hitting, probably. It was trending away from that anyways, and pitcher-hitting feels like the final nail in the coffin.

But you'll still get platoon situations, and the frequency of pitching changes now means there'll be tons of opportunities for pinch hitting for players at the same position but with different skillsets.
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Am I the only one that doesn't like the idea of banning shifts?? My whole life in convos and interviews, you hear everyone saying baseball is a game of adjustments. These hitters are supposed to be the best in the world with bats in their hands. Make the adjustment!!! They don't want to put in the time or effort to be able to hit the other way then that's on them. Shifts have been happening for 100 years or more. Ted Williams said he didn't care about shifts. He'd hit it thru them or over them. What say you???

Anthony Franco
I'm not morally wedded to the shift, but I think banning it will have the opposite effect the league thinks it will.

The guys who get shifted the most are the Joey Gallo types, who also tend to have the highest strikeout rates. The league seems to think that banning the shift will get guys to prioritize contact and hit more balls up the middle.

I think what'll actually happen is the late-career Ryan Howard type just sticks around longer because he gets rewarded for rolling over grounders between the first and second baseman.
We'll see.
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Do you think winning the division is still advantageous under this format?

Anthony Franco
Getting the bye is huge.

I don't think there's a real difference between finishing third and fifth (aside from a little more playoff revenue) but there's a real motivation to be a top two team in your league.
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What are the odds that they just combine the international and amateur drafts? Seems like two drafts gives a double-bonus to teams that suck.

Anthony Franco
That's not happening. Too hard to compare a 21-year-old out of Mississippi State with a 16-year-old from Venezuela.
Not even just as players, although that's obviously also true. But something like the domestic draft being soft-slotted -- so teams can go overslot on high schoolers and compensate by going under on college guys -- while the international draft has to be hard-slotted.

Because a kid coming from Latin America doesn't have a full scholarship to a Division I school as leverage in negotiating with teams, so teams could offer them a fraction of the slot value otherwise.
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incentive for teams to hold down prospects (until way after opening day) has not changed at all?

Anthony Franco
It's budged a little in that you can get some bonus picks for guys who break camp and turn out great.
But I don't think it's enough to really affect team behavior, and the idea of granting a "bonus year" of service to guys who win Rookie of the Year might actually work against it.

Because if you're rebuilding and have an elite prospect, you kind of have an incentive to keep that guy down until like July or August so he can't win that award.
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Magneto2.0
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Re: Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

Post by Magneto2.0 »

Why in the world would the Cardinals trade Bader for Sean Manaea???

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heyzeus
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Re: Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

Post by heyzeus »

Magneto2.0 wrote:
March 24 22, 11:02 am
Why in the world would the Cardinals trade Bader for Sean Manaea???
Yeah, I'm sure the A's would rather have Noots plus another prospect or two.

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MinorLeagueGuy
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Re: Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

Post by MinorLeagueGuy »

Magneto2.0 wrote:
March 24 22, 11:02 am
Why in the world would the Cardinals trade Bader for Sean Manaea???
There is a specific scenario where both teams like Bader in a package for Manaea. It involves Ramon Laureano.

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Big Amoco Sign
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Re: Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

Post by Big Amoco Sign »

heyzeus wrote:
March 24 22, 12:19 pm
Magneto2.0 wrote:
March 24 22, 11:02 am
Why in the world would the Cardinals trade Bader for Sean Manaea???
Yeah, I'm sure the A's would rather have Noots plus another prospect or two.
Bader's value will never be higher IMO

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