MLBTR Chats

Anthony Franco

• Initially linked to the moderator part of the chat, sorry about that. I'll be back at the top of the hour but you should be able to submit advance questions now
• Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week! Let's get rolling

Cedanne Rafaela

• What’s a realistic projection for my future value?  If I can figure out the hit tool, man watch out.  Maybe this isn’t the guy to demote to get Roman to the big leagues after all.

Anthony Franco

• Yeah it looks like it's falling into place a little bit. He's always going to be a super aggressive hitter, which is probably going to lead to streakiness, but he's got pretty good pop for his size and the contact skills have gotten better with each seasons
• Obviously the glove in center field is already elite. I think the OBP is going to stay low enough that he'll probably be around a league average hitter by OPS+ or wRC+ but he could be a 20-20 guy who ranks among the top 3-5 defensive outfielders in the game

AA

• Do the Braves become sellers at the trade deadline?

Jeddy

• It’s meatball trade idea season. The Braves are 7 games below .500 and 11 games out of the division. They should definitely trade Chris Sale to the Cubs ASAP right?

Sam

• Is this rock bottom for the Braves? How many more ways can a team find to lose a game? AA knew the bullpen was a weakness going into the season but did nothing to address it.

Anthony Franco

• Understandably frustrated Braves fans. Have to imagine they'll hang on right until the deadline before deciding to sell (sorry Jed), but yeah, sure seems like it's trending in that direction
• Feel worse about their outlook now than I did when they were 0-7. They clawed their way out of the initial hole and then dug it again with some brutal losses. They've stuck with Iglesias as the closer for too long, and Strider hasn't looked sharp coming off the surgery
• Anthopoulos spoke with The Athletic earlier this week and pushed back against the idea of selling. He referenced 2021 and pointed out that their run differential is better than their record (though still not great). Given their previous success and the amount of money they've poured into the payroll, they'll cling to hope as long as they can, but time's running out
• Still lean towards them holding Sale specifically because of the affordable option for '26 but they'll have to at least see if someone's willing to blow them away if there's little to no hope for one of the two remaining playoff runs

Tigerfan

• Who should the tigers target at the deadline? I was thinking Eugenio Suarez and/or David bednar

Anthony Franco

• Both make sense to me. Well-rounded roster so they don't have many obvious holes but third base is relatively weak and Bednar would improve any bullpen with the way he's pitched of late
• You could argue for upgrading on Sweeney at shortstop but there aren't any obvious fits there. Bichette would be the big one but the Jays are playing well enough that he's probably not moving

RAGBRAI

• Has Bednar reclaimed the closer role? Will he hold it ROS?

Anthony Franco

• Fully expect him to hold it for as long as he's still in Pittsburgh but they have to move him this summer and then it's up in the air based on wherever he lands

Mike Rizzo Fan Club

• Hi thanks for the chat!  What do you think about Dylan Cease this year?  I see there's room to improve based on his stats and BABIP and FIP, but do you think there's an underlying cause (perhaps an injury?).  Do you see any drop in fundamental skills?  Thanks for your opinion.

Anthony Franco

• Nah, I think he's the same guy he's been. Most of the damage came in one start in early April in Sacramento, which is a tough place to pitch. He allowed nine runs in that one and has allowed three or fewer in each of his other 12 outings
• He's been a little inefficient over his past few outings. Obviously you want more than five innings from a top-end guy, which he hasn't provided over his past three starts. He went at least 6 2/3 in each of the prior three, though, and the stuff and whiff rates are still excellent

Black Hole at 2B

• Who will be the Yankees starting 2Bman after the deadline? I was going to suggest Lewyn Sosa but he's hurt now.
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Steve Adams

• Good afternoon! I'll get this started at 2:30pm CT, but feel free to send in some questions ahead of time if you prefer!
• Greetings all! Let's get underway a bit early

Mrs Murphy

• Is it time to wave the white flag in Atlanta? This offense is just a lost used to be.What’s next for them?

Steve Adams

• Quite a few questions like this from Braves fans, and understandably so, given the poor performance of late, but I generally don't think it's too late for almost any team in MLB, with the obvious exceptions (Rox, Marlins, White Sox, probably the O's and A's).

  Atlanta is 5.5 back in the Wild Card chase and "only" four games under .500, which is pretty remarkable when you consider the early struggles and all the time they've had without Strider and Acuña.

  Heck, the 2021 Braves were three under .500 at the deadline, and they went on to win the World Series. The Mets and Astros were 10 under .500 this time last year. The 2019 Nats and 2022 Phils were buried even further.

• I was underwhelmed by the Braves' offseason, and losing Profar to a PED suspension is brutal, but it's still a talented core with plenty of winnable series on the near horizon. They get the Rockies, A's, Angels, Orioles, Marlins and a currently struggling D-backs club all before the All-Star break.

baseball gods laugh and laugh

• Hi Anthony, have there been way more transactions than usual for late May? Seems so to me.

Anthony Franco

• All minor stuff but yeah, I think so. This week in particular has been really busy with a bunch of small moves
• Granted, Casey Lawrence and Cooper Hummel account for 80% of them

baseball gods laugh and laugh

• What would it take for the Mets to get Brent Suter from the Reds?

Anthony Franco

• Reds are still hanging around so this won't happen in the next couple weeks but yeah, he seems like a perfectly viable Mets target who'd only require a fringe top 30-35 guy in the system

Belli bombs for life

• Yesterday in your Yankees outfielders article, you said Bellinger is virtually guaranteed to opt out after this year. Why? His production is right around where it was for his last season in Chicago. His defensive ratings have gone up, to be fair. But do you think he'll match/exceed the $28.5M he's making next year on a multi-year deal? Why not risk staying in the ballpark made for his swing and enjoy the high AAV for one more year?