Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

Anthony Franco

• Hey everyone, hope you've enjoyed your week! Looking forward to another of these, let's get going

Dave Dombrowski

• How much has Kyle Schwarber raised his salary now? Does 4/140 keep him in Philly and away from FA? Does the uncertainty regarding Wheeler push me to make a strong offer to Ranger Suarez? And will there be enough left to resign JTR, the real rock of the pitching staff? Do you think that John Middleton will back a payroll approaching $400M?

Anthony Franco

• Yeah I have to imagine 4/140 would get it done before he hits the market. Still don't see Philly going to 35M annually especially at their luxury tax status, but I do think he's got a shot at five years that could approach that guarantee
• DH who is soon to be 33 is a profile the market hates but Schwarber's pretty clearly in a different tier from the Santander/Teoscar group. You could point to Alonso's quiet market last year as a counterargument, but Schwarber's walk year is so much better than Alonso's 2024
• I don't think the Wheeler injury dramatically changes things on Ranger. Never seemed all that likely to me that they'd re-sign him for nine figures, even after trading Abel. I think they're just more likely to be in on an Adrian Houser type who can serve as a fifth starter or long man once Painter is in the rotation

Slick

• Are the Nationals looking at another five years of rebuilding?  From top to bottom this team appears to be in disarray.

Anthony Franco

• I'm not as pessimistic on a core with Wood, Abrams, Gore, etc. but based on Steve's forthcoming Front Office post this week, I think he's more in your camp
• He's about to drop like 2000 words on this topic

Mariners

• What are your thoughts on the Robles suspension? Fair? Too long? Too short?

Anthony Franco

• Start at 10, drop to seven seems fine. I feel like Contreras should have been at that level as well though, so I guess you could argue it's inconsistent

Chris

• More likely to rebound in 2026: Braves or Orioles?

Anthony Franco

• Tough one. I think I'd take Baltimore. Atlanta's got more high-end talent coming back, especially on the pitching staff, but they're probably going to put a lot on Sale, Schwellenbach and López to stay healthy in a way that concerns me
• The O's have a lot of heavy lifting to do this offseason, especially in the bullpen, but I think they're a little more well equipped to navigate 162 with in-house depth

JeffyM82

• Bo Bichette 2025 total hits over/under Bo Bichette total free agent contract (millions).  Where are you putting your money? Bo Currently has 169 hits with 28 games remaining.

Anthony Franco

• Ha yeah I'll take the hits. I like this one though, reasonable argument either way
• 

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