Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

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mikechamp
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Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

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These comments came from a chat with MLB Trade Rumors' Anthony Franco that occurred on November 30. (You can find him on Twitter at @affranco10 if you really want to ask him something.)

More questions than last week, with 3 bonus Q&As this time: the first and third about potential catcher targets for the Cards, and the second about the wisdom of free agent contracts.

The link to the entire chat can be found here: https://www.jotcast.com/chat/chat-with- ... 14490.html

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Do you think the Astros should go after a outfielder or a catcher? I know they can't get both.

Anthony Franco
I think they will add a player at both positions, although you're right they're probably not going to make huge splashes at both.
I like Maldonado enough I'd pivot away from Contreras, attack the middle tier of the free agent corner outfield market, and then add a depth catcher.
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The Rangers have had teams show interest in Ezekiel Duran and Josh Smith. Is there a trade out there for either both for SP or OF help and if so what teams would match up well with the Rangers on paper?

Anthony Franco
Miami and Milwaukee stand out as teams that could leverage their rotation depth for infield help (particularly if the Brewers trade Kolten Wong first). Arizona kind of fits from an outfield perspective, but neither Durán or Smith is going to headline a deal that gets one of their outfielders. As secondary pieces, it's viable.
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What type of contract will it take for the Brewers to bring in Trey Mancini to fill corner outfield/1st base/DH roles with Yelich and Tellez?

Anthony Franco
We went back and forth on whether Mancini would get two years while putting together the top 50. I still lean yes at like 2/16 but wouldn't be all that surprised if he ends up at 1/10.
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If the Dodgers sign a front line starter, what kind of trade return could they get for Bobby Miller or Ryan Pepiot? Could they get Adames out of Milwaukee?

Anthony Franco
In a vacuum, I think Bobby Miller's the kind of guy who'd lead a package for Adames, yeah. Pepiot's a bit below that. I'm skeptical Milwaukee actually entertains an Adames trade this offseason though.
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Thanks for the chat. Cardinal fan here. Cards and Blue Jays have matched up well in the past. Do you anticipate one of their catchers moving our way? Kirk for Nootbar plus fringey top 100 MLB prospect or a top 30 Cardinal prospect?

Anthony Franco
Kirk's more valuable than that.
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I am surprised that Ben Cherington (Pirates) has not addressed the catching situation at the big league level. Last year was a mess in the offseason and he used 8 catchers during the season. I know we have some prospects but they are at least a year away. An experienced catcher is vital to pitcher development.  What do you see happening?

Anthony Franco
They'll add a catcher for sure. It'll be a Roberto Pérez type probably. Not necessarily him again, but Zunino or Barnhart would work. It's still early.
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Should Brewers fans be worried about a rebuild? I’m not sure what the heck is going on but rumors of Adames/Burnes/Woody being shopped around is very unsettling.

Anthony Franco
Nah they're not rebuilding. This is just what Milwaukee does. It's similar to the Cleveland and Tampa Bay models. They avoid full rebuilds while maintaining mid-tier payrolls by trading good players with a year or two of remaining arbitration control.

I don't think they'll move any of those guys this winter. Hader, Renfroe and Wong (who I expect to go) probably keep the payroll manageable. But by next offseason, at least one of them will have been dealt. Milwaukee never fully commits to a rebuild or to truly going all-in.
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What kind of a return will it cost to acquire Kolten Wong?

Anthony Franco
Probably not much more than the Renfroe package. Wong at $10MM is fine value, but it's not a huge surplus.
White Sox make sense there, sure.
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Cubs a contender this year?

Anthony Franco
Hard for me to see the path to contention in 2023. They'll improve but there are so many gaps on the current roster. They need a center fielder, a first baseman (although Mervis could factor in at some point), catching help, rotation depth and maybe another middle infielder to pair with Hoerner.
Building back towards .500 while laying the foundation for 2024 as a real contention window again would be a successful season in my view.
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What are your thoughts on the Mariners being linked to trade targets such as Kolten Wong and Taylor Walls/Vidal Brujan? Do you really think they prefer those guys to one of the big 4 or is that just due diligence?

Anthony Franco
I'm sure they don't prefer them to the big four FA's but it's a question of acquisition cost. I don't think Walls or Bruján are everyday guys on a contender -- not convinced they're better than Toro -- but a Wong or Luis Guilorme stopgap type feels plausible.
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Will the Jays trade a catcher this off season... and if so, which one?

Anthony Franco
Sure seems like it. Jeff Passan wrote again this morning that's on their to-do list.
Feels like Jansen's the guy who goes. The others are just so valuable it'd be tough to give them up.
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In your opinion, is acquiring a player via free agency truly worth it? It seems silly to pay high value for someone who is on the tail end of their prime and then get locked up with a contract while getting diminished return. Wouldn't it be wiser to have a strong developing team where you get good prospects coming up and trade (using some of those prospects) to get players in their prime?

Anthony Franco
It's not an either/or thing. No one is going to construct a team entirely through free agency, but "just draft and develop an excellent 26-man roster" isn't practicable either.

Teams obviously share your concern about committing too deep past a player's prime, which is why we've seen them go increasingly away from deals that push deep into players' 30's while juicing up the per-year salaries to maintain long-term flexibility.
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I see the A's trading Murphy to the highest bidder, but it seems all their moves (Olson, Chapman, etc) have brought back not a ton of super inspiring players. What gives?

Anthony Franco
The A's tend to deviate from public prospect rankings a fair amount in their trades. They seem to particularly place a premium on performance in the upper minors (more so than other orgs and outlets) on the pro scouting side.

Getting Semien and Bassitt in the Samardzija trade turned out incredibly well for them. They landed Laureano from the Astros for almost nothing. They've had their hits.

Last offseason's looked really bad in year one. I liked them more than most at the time but thought Pache and particularly Kevin Smith would perform better than they did. I still think the Chapman one will turn out alright thanks to Gunnar Hoglund, but the others are tougher sells at this point. Really need Langeliers to play well.
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Re: Anthony Franco's NL Central comments

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