Jay Jaffe: Good afternoon, folks, and welcome to my Friday chat. This is my first one since the end of the World Series, but also my last one for calendar 2021, a situation that owes mainly to the volume of coverage on my Hall of Fame beat.

Jay Jaffe: Anyway, we’re in the midst of a lockout, which sucks, but we have plenty to discuss today. Before we do, I’ll call attention to today’s entry in my HOF profile series, Bobby Abreu, who makes for a nice palate-cleanser after my Bonds/Clemens/Sosa/Schilling clearinghouse post and then my update on the Omar Vizquel situation(s). https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jaws-and-the-2022-hall-of-fame-ballot-bobb…

Jay Jaffe: Also landing today is the podcast spot I did with David Laurila in which we discussed our Hall of Fame ballot coping strategies https://blogs.fangraphs.com/fangraphs-audio-jay-jaffe-and-david-lauril…

Jay Jaffe: Anywhoo, there are a good number of questions in the queue, so on with the show…

Justin B: Hi Jay, I have been loving all the extra HOF coverage this year. Thanks for your diligent work! My question is about anonymous HOF voters. I read a suggestion a couple years ago that some might work for newspapers that don’t allow their writers to vote, but who want to anyway. Do you have any sense whether there are many such voters, or do you think most anonymous voters simply want to avoid ballot criticism?

Jay Jaffe: I think it has more to do with the latter, not wanting the criticism. If anything, in the last couple of years I’ve heard from some voters that they wish their outlets wouldn’t let them vote, and/or express relief that they’re not allowed to. I doubt there are many actively subverting their employers

Dan Szymborski: And it’s chat time!

Alex: Should the Giants trade for Juan Soto?

Dan Szymborski: Well, yeah, but in the sense that everybody should want to.

Dan Szymborski: Good luck, though!

Joe: What is the outlook on Gleyber Torres going forward? The power can’t be completely gone, can it?

Dan Szymborski: He’s too young and talented to give up on, but the last 1.37 seasons should make you extremely worried

Eric A Longenhagen: Good morning from Tempe, AZ

Eric A Longenhagen: some quick plugs…

Eric A Longenhagen: the next three draft class rankings have been updated and expanded: 2022 Draft Prospects | THE BOARD | FanGraphs

Eric A Longenhagen: International Players list will be updated Monday, then team lists start Wednesday (Angels)

JC: Is Jeremy Peña ready to start for the Astros opening day?

Eric A Longenhagen: Yes, quality of contact in DR right now is not as good as last but still think there’s enough SLG there to make him a 50 SS. Gonna be a great defender right away, hit a few extra pull-shots into the Crawford Boxes because of how his swing works.