Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to the second edition of my chat in my new (old?) timeslot. I’ve got a piece up today about Gavin Lux’s season-ending knee injury (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/gavin-luxs-knee-injury-further-compromises…), and yesterday checked in on Joey Votto as he work his way back from shoulder surgery (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/joey-votto-tries-to-bounce-back/).

Broken Bat: Looks to me the Dodgers must procure a shortstop to support the aging Rojas who all of a sudden the light is shining on. I don’t think they one ready in MILB. So… what team do they toss one of their pitching prospects to get one from? Would they dare pay Baez? I think Tigers would be content to get out of that contract for a decent tier 3 SP. What about trading with Reds? The ex Pirate Frazier? Might be available cheap. Thoughts on what they do?

Jay Jaffe: I don’t think the Dodgers see anything as “must” at least in the near term. They have reason to hope that after undergoing wrist surgery, Miguel Rojas can provide something closer to a league-average bat with plus defense filling in for Lux, and that they have enough depth to allow Chris Taylor to play there as well. There’s no way on God’s green earth they’re taking on Javier Baez’s contract or giving up a starting pitcher prospect for him, and I doubt they see Isiah Kiner-Falefa as an option, either. Not sue who you see on the Reds as an option, but ex-Pirate Adam Frazier (now an Oriole) isn’t a shortstop, totaling just 26 innings at the position in the majors.

One guy worth keeping an eye on is the Cardinals’ Paul DeJong,  who after being displaced by Tommy Edman worked to rebuild his swing after being sent down last year, though the dividends certainly weren’t apparent at the major league level. If he’s recovered his form, he could be of interest.

Oaktown Blues: Is a Cristian Pache DFA in the cards this spring or will the A’s give him one more shot?

Jay Jaffe: he’s out of options but as the A’s are playing for crickets, I imagine they’ll give him every chance to hold onto a roster spot unless they have a crunch that they need to alleviate.

Still not sure I can name six A’s even after looking at their depth chart.

TheVoiceInYourHead: Why are people so stubborn about Rojas taking over for Lux?

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks! Welcome to my first chat of February and my first in my new (and maybe very old, I’d have to check) time slot. I’m back in circulation after a bout of COVID (boo) among other things. Yesterday I did a piece on the contentious arbitration hearing of Corbin Burnes and what some fair contract offers for him might look like based on ZiPS (https://blogs.fangraphs.com/milwaukee-burnes-a-bridge/). Next up is a piece on Manny Machado’s plans to opt out. Anyway, on with the show…

Wireless Joe Jackson: How is it that Helton is going to walk into the HoF but Olerud got one-and-done’d with 4 votes?  I am OUTRAGED!  Or at least as outraged as possible regarding a HoF thing.

Jay Jaffe: It’s a bummer that Olerud went one-and-done on the 2011 ballot, but it’s not that hard to understand why. He came along as a candidate at a time when the electorate was rather stingy and largely paying no mind to advanced statistics. His raw totals of both hits (2,239) and home runs (255) did not read as Hall of Fame-caliber totals. A look at JAWS shows that he’s 24th at the position, just above contemporaries Jason Giambi and Will Clark (both one-and-done as well) but below Keith Hernandez. He’s 3.6 WAR behind Helton in career WAR and 7.6 WAR behind him in peak WAR — more than a win per year at his very best — and the 5.6-point gap between Helton (54.2, 0.8 above the Hall standard) and Olerud (48.6, 4.8 points below) is a big one where dreams of Cooperstown vanish into thin air.

Fan: Hello Jay, what are the chances Kenny Lofton gets voted in by the Veteran’s committee any time soon?

Jay Jaffe: very very low. It’s harder to get on to a ballot with the committee change and so long as this is hanging over his head it’s tough to see another candidate being bumped off the ballot to make room for him and thus drawing negative publicity to the process. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-08-22/kenny-lofton-accus…

Guest: Merrifield starting at 2B in Toronto? Roster Resource has him starting over Espinal.

Dan Szymborski: SzymChat is *back* now that I’m firmly in the domain of the living.

Greg: As a Braves fan with very little to complain about, I’ve thought of something that is driving me nuts. Why is Ozzie Albies continuing to switch hit? He’s bad left handed and much better right handed. Are players stubborn about this? Do front offices not suggest this? I feel like I’m missing something obvious because it seems like such a no brainer.

Dan Szymborski: Players tend to be stubborn about dropping pinch-hitting.

Dan Szymborski: And with Albies, he isn’t *so* bad left-handed that the issue is likely to be forced.

Dan Szymborski: I mean, he’s still at around a .750 OPS left-handed

Keefths: Dan !!! Can you please please please tell us when Prospect Week is ?!??!
We don’t know how much longer we can last without it !!

Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon and happy Friday, folks! Welcome to my first chat since the Hall of Fame results were announced. My reaction piece is here: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/rolen-into-cooperstown-bbwaa-voters-avoid-…

Jay Jaffe: and my candidate-by-candidate rundown here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-candidate-by-candidate-look-at-the-2023-…

Jay Jaffe: I spoke to the Ballot Tracker’s mastermind, Ryan Thibodaux, for the first time in our collective history for today’s FanGraphs Audio here https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-audio-ryan-thibodaux-chats-ballo…

Jay Jaffe: I’ll have my five-year HOF election outlook piece on Monday, and another FGA spot for next Friday as well.

Tacoby Bellsbury: Who gets inducted first: Jeff Kent or Chase Utley?

Jay Jaffe: My guess is Kent, even though he has to cool his heels for the next three years. Utley’s facing quite a crowd on the next two ballots, and while I’ll find room for him, I don’t know that everybody who wants to vote for him necessarily will get to right off the bat.