Front Office Subscriber Chat Transcript

Anthony Franco

• Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the week!
• Going to stay around an hour today, it's been a long week. Let's get going

Angels

• What do you think was the most jarring trade of the year or deadline?

Anthony Franco

• Jarring as in "wow, didn't see that coming" was Devers. Has to be Correa for the deadline
• In terms of a move I just don't understand, it's the Red Sox making the Dustin May trade. They must've really soured on James Tibbs in a span of like six weeks

BeLieber

• What did you think of the risk??

Anthony Franco

• In isolation, Stephen is more than I would've wanted to give up (or expected to get, in Cleveland's case) for Bieber
• That said, the Jays' biggest need IMO was a playoff-caliber starting pitcher. Ultimately, there weren't that many of those guys moved. Everyone else balked at the price on Ryan, Cease, Alcantara, Cabrera, Keller, etc. too
• Bieber has that within the range of outcomes in a way that very few starting pitchers who got traded did. So while my initial reaction to it was "man, I think the Guardians beat the Jays in another trade," I've come more around on it as being defensible for Toronto in light of what didn't happen in the ensuing eight hours

M

• Who do you think did the best at the deadline? Who made out the worst?

Arthur Dent

• Which team(s) did the best job of addressing their needs with deadline deals?

Anthony Franco

• I think the Padres did the best job of checking off every box that they needed. Obviously that's easier to do when you trade away more young talent than any other team. Similar logic with Philly to a lesser extent. Needed an elite late-game arm, paid heavily but got him
• On value alone, I think Texas and Seattle came out pretty well. Rangers did give up a decent amount for Kelly but he was one of the better starters available and they had pretty limited budgetary room. Would be a fair criticism that their biggest need was offense and they didn't address that though
• On the other end, this was a pretty big letdown for Detroit. They got a couple back-end starters, neither of whom is as good as Reese Olson (who they lost to injury). They needed to upgrade the back of the bullpen but instead opted for a bulk approach where they're swapping out three or four mediocre relievers for marginal at best upgrades

BeBopCola

• Do you think the brewers should’ve done a little more to acquire a bat at the deadline?

Anthony Franco

• I'm surprised they didn't get a better utility piece, at least, but I get why they didn't want to disrupt the lineup when it's going this well
• Pretty quiet overall but I'm a fan of the late Shelby Miller dart throw for a couple million dollars

M

• Were you surprised at the small return for anyone? Or thought someone had a significant overpay?

Anthony Franco

• Given how definitively Suárez had pulled away as the best rental bat, I thought Arizona would do better than they did. Not necessarily a top 100 caliber prospect but they're putting a lot into Locklear being a plug and play average or better regular at first base
• Mentioned May already. Not even a huge James Tibbs fan really but I don't see a ton of appeal with May so that felt rich. Mets went a little heavy to get Tyler Rogers
• Really liked the Royals' end of the Fermin trade. Ryan Bergert's a potential #3/4 starter who is MLB ready and they got six years of him for a low-end #1 catcher
• 

  Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

  BENEFITS

  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker