WEBVTT - Chris Archer (9-13-26) 

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<v Speaker 1>And now, an exclusive interview with David Basset for Dodger Talk. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>when you're in Florida, you gotta find a Florida guy.

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<v Speaker 1>And we found our guy. A proud guy that lives

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<v Speaker 1>in Tampa, pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays, and now

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<v Speaker 1>has graduated to being part of Andrew Friedman's cabinet in

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<v Speaker 1>the front office. And that is the one and only

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<v Speaker 1>Chris Archer. Great to see you, and great to see

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<v Speaker 1>that smile, that Florida glow out here at marlins park.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh vasay you're hilarious but it's always a pleasure to

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<v Speaker 2>be on and it's a pleasure to be a part

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<v Speaker 2>of that cabinet you spoke of.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah i mean i love seeing you here on the

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<v Speaker 1>field with the players because they have so much respect

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<v Speaker 1>for you what does that mean that you've earned that

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<v Speaker 1>respect it's not been given you've earned that respect from

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<v Speaker 1>guys that you never even played with.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah i think as a staffer um People really pay

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<v Speaker 2>attention to how invested you are, how much you pour

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<v Speaker 2>into it, being able to read a room and not

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<v Speaker 2>always share input, but be prepared when someone asks you

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<v Speaker 2>for something. And I've tried to do my best at

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<v Speaker 2>being available, being around, showing that I'm willing to roll

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<v Speaker 2>up my sleeves and put the work in. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>to have the respect from people in this group, it

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<v Speaker 2>means a lot to me.

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<v Speaker 1>Being a former player, when you're playing, you're only thinking

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<v Speaker 1>about the day-to-day, how you're going to win the next day.

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<v Speaker 1>In this position, being a bigger picture type of organizational piece,

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<v Speaker 1>what have you learned the most about this side of it?

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<v Speaker 2>I think patience is probably one of the biggest things

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<v Speaker 2>that you can possess and the willingness to listen. I

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<v Speaker 2>think when you are a player, you want to... you

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<v Speaker 2>want to see things happen fast. Um, especially when you're

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<v Speaker 2>in the big leagues, you, you have a tough start.

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<v Speaker 2>You want to make the change immediately for the next start. Um,

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<v Speaker 2>and I feel like you also want to express your

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<v Speaker 2>opinion more frequently. Um, so being on the staff now, um,

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<v Speaker 2>and being in player development and seeing guys from the Dominican,

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<v Speaker 2>even to the African Academy, we have to build systems

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<v Speaker 2>that allow us to see incremental growth, um, over a

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<v Speaker 2>long period of time rather than the immediate satisfaction of

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<v Speaker 2>success that we're all looking for when we're here at

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<v Speaker 2>the big league level.

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<v Speaker 1>When you're evaluating players, there's that balance of the eye

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<v Speaker 1>test and the analytics. How do you balance that when

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<v Speaker 1>you're putting your eyes on somebody?

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<v Speaker 2>It's something that I'm still learning. Um, I, I spend

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of time with our analytic group, whether it

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<v Speaker 2>be in LA or Arizona with the pitching, pitching staff,

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<v Speaker 2>pitching group down there. Um, But I think it has

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<v Speaker 2>to be a healthy blend. I don't want to put

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<v Speaker 2>a percentage on it, but it has to be a

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<v Speaker 2>healthy blend, and it's something I've taken a lot of

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<v Speaker 2>responsibility in learning because it is such a big part

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<v Speaker 2>of the game now.

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<v Speaker 1>Chris, your former manager, Joe Maddon, who was with Andrew

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<v Speaker 1>Friedman in Tampa Bay, said recently that Andrew is one

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<v Speaker 1>of the best scouts, eye-test scouts out there. Have you

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<v Speaker 1>seen that from him as well? Is that something that

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<v Speaker 1>People don't really know about him. They just kind of

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<v Speaker 1>put him in the bucket of looking at the analytics.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think Andrew has spent a lot of time

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<v Speaker 2>watching young players, seeing how their bodies move, checking in

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<v Speaker 2>on their makeup, understanding what works and what doesn't work

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<v Speaker 2>at the highest level. And, yeah, he's a great evaluator.

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<v Speaker 2>I mean, between Tampa and the Dodgers... the player acquisition

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<v Speaker 2>has been elite. So the player development's been elite, the

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<v Speaker 2>player acquisition's been elite, and then winning on the margins

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<v Speaker 2>has been elite as well. So it's been really fun

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<v Speaker 2>to watch his growth. I've known him for 15 or

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<v Speaker 2>so years now. And again, I'm happy to be a

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<v Speaker 2>part of a group that he's in charge of.

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<v Speaker 1>A valued evaluator himself, Chris Archer is our guest, part

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<v Speaker 1>of Andrew Friedman's Baseball Operations Department. You've been in the

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<v Speaker 1>minor leagues a lot. We're looking at Josue DePaula. What

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<v Speaker 1>can you tell us about what you saw from this

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<v Speaker 1>young man at AA Tulsa to give him this opportunity?

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<v Speaker 2>He loves to play the game, and he can really

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<v Speaker 2>slow the game down, especially in the box. And he

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<v Speaker 2>has a great understanding of the strike zone. And he's

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<v Speaker 2>still very young, and he's grown into his body, but

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<v Speaker 2>he's showing a lot of power this year. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>kind of like a perfect blend of what you want

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<v Speaker 2>at the plate for a young hitter.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you believe he understands that defense does matter? I

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<v Speaker 1>know he's the DH, but do you feel like this

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<v Speaker 1>year has been a big step forward in that respect? Oh, yeah.

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<v Speaker 2>Look, like, no player is going to be 20 years

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<v Speaker 2>old and be a complete package from a skill set.

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<v Speaker 2>But we do admire how much work and energy and

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<v Speaker 2>effort he's put into the defensive side of the ball.

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<v Speaker 1>So.

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<v Speaker 2>To answer your question, yes, he knows the importance, and

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<v Speaker 2>he's making strides. He's making those incremental strides on a

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<v Speaker 2>daily basis.

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<v Speaker 1>And what you saw last night sounds like what you

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<v Speaker 1>were describing. The game didn't get too fast on him,

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<v Speaker 1>even at this level.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean, he had great at-bats yesterday. He did

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<v Speaker 2>show his speed. Yeah, he put up a few great at-bats.

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<v Speaker 2>Did they result in a hit? No, not yet, but

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<v Speaker 2>you can kind of see it coming. He stayed inside

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<v Speaker 2>the strike zone with the swings and didn't swing at balls.

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<v Speaker 1>Chris, thanks a lot for the time. Always great to

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<v Speaker 1>see you, especially in the state of Florida where there's

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<v Speaker 1>that special smell in the air and you've got that

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<v Speaker 1>special glow and that great smile that will light up

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<v Speaker 1>from Miami to Orlando. Thanks a lot for the time, and, man,

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<v Speaker 1>the Dodgers are lucky to have you to be part

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<v Speaker 1>of this organization.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you very much. You're too kind, and it's always

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<v Speaker 2>a pleasure to be on with you. I'll show you L.A.

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<v Speaker 1>Next time you're out there during the offseason.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, Agoura Hills, Calabasas area?

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<v Speaker 1>Wherever you want.

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<v Speaker 2>All right, sounds good.