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Speaker 1: Now the reds Hot Stove League.
Speaker 3: And Hello and Happy New Year.
Speaker 4: This is the Budweiser reds Hot Stove League, presented by
Speaker 4: UDF Live at the BEDMGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watchbar at
Speaker 4: the Banks your regular hosts, Tommy Thrall and Jim Day
Speaker 4: are off for the next two shows. Filling in, I'm
Speaker 4: Mark Sheldon, the senior beat reporter that covers the Reds
Speaker 4: for MLB dot com, and I'm joined by Mike Petralia,
Speaker 4: who covers the Reds, Bengals and Bearcats for cnscinc dot com,
Speaker 4: so be sure to also check him out over there.
Speaker 4: We've got some great guests lined up for tonight's show.
Speaker 4: We're starting off with Rick Wallace from the Reds Hall
Speaker 4: of Fame, followed by MLB dot com national reporter Mark Fineshand,
Speaker 4: who will fill us in on the hot stove action
Speaker 4: with the Reds and around the league. That will cover
Speaker 4: our first half hour. In the second half hour, we
Speaker 4: will talk with new Reds outfield JJ Bleday. He signed
Speaker 4: a one year, one point four million dollar contract on
Speaker 4: December twenty seventh. Mike, can you believe that we're about
Speaker 4: a month away from Reds pictures and catchers reporting to camp?
Speaker 4: Can you believe spring training is almost upon us?
Speaker 5: It's incredible, Mark, and I certainly think there's an era
Speaker 5: of expectation for a Reds country this year, given how
Speaker 5: last year ended. Even though it was disappointing at Dodger Stadium,
Speaker 5: losing those two games to the eventual repeat World Series champions.
Speaker 5: I think a lot of people have expectations that Terry
Speaker 5: Francona in year number two, is going to have a
Speaker 5: much better grasp on what he has on this roster
Speaker 5: and the roles they're going to play, going into spring training,
Speaker 5: going into pictures and catchers reporting, and of course going
Speaker 5: into the regular season. That's what I'm curious to say.
Speaker 5: I'm curious to see how this roster makeup is going
Speaker 5: to be handled differently by Terry Francona and his coaching
Speaker 5: staff and how the players respond well.
Speaker 4: Speaking of the roster taking shape, but there's still some
Speaker 4: work to be done to build off of an eighty
Speaker 4: three one season, isn't there?
Speaker 6: There is?
Speaker 5: And obviously there was some disappointment that the Reds couldn't
Speaker 5: seal the deal on Kyle Schworber and bring him back home.
Speaker 5: But the Reds know that in professional sports, and obviously
Speaker 5: in Major League Baseball, the world keeps spinning and you
Speaker 5: have to keep up. And that's what JJ Bleday was
Speaker 5: all about, That's what Dane Myers was all about. Okay,
Speaker 5: we didn't get the player perhaps we wanted in free agency.
Speaker 5: Let's see what we can do to compensate for that.
Speaker 5: And maybe it's not the star player, but maybe it's
Speaker 5: more depth, maybe it's better defense. Certainly, I think JJ
Speaker 5: Bleday and Dane Myers can bring that to the outfield.
Speaker 5: So that's what I think Nick Crawl and his staff
Speaker 5: have really been charged with is trying to provide as
Speaker 5: much depth on the roster as the budget will allow.
Speaker 5: And I think, you know, so far, I like what
Speaker 5: they've done in the bullpen, the pieces they've added there.
Speaker 5: And we still have a month to go before Pictures
Speaker 5: and Captures report.
Speaker 4: Definitely, and we will dive into more about the roster
Speaker 4: and potential moves in our next segment. But first we
Speaker 4: have Rick Walls, who has been the executive director of
Speaker 4: the Reds Hall of Fame since two thousand and seven.
Speaker 4: And now, Rick, I'd have to imagine that one of
Speaker 4: the best tasks of your job is to notify someone
Speaker 4: when they are elected to the Reds Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4: What was it like to make those phone calls informing
Speaker 4: Brandon Phillips, Aaron Harang, Reggie Sanders, and Loupanella about their
Speaker 4: new statuses.
Speaker 7: Yeah, that's one of the great benefits or perks of
Speaker 7: the job is making that phone call, you know, talking
Speaker 7: to Brandon.
Speaker 8: You know, you get a sense of how appreciative they
Speaker 8: are of this.
Speaker 7: You know, making that phone call, you're trying to be
Speaker 7: secretive and why you're calling them at this point, and
Speaker 7: you think they might know. Brandon knwe was on the ballot.
Speaker 7: Aaron Harang knew he was on the ballot. So why
Speaker 7: am I calling from the Hall of Fame and setting
Speaker 7: this up? And I'm organizing with our board president Howard Kaplan,
Speaker 7: who who made these calls with us. And it was
Speaker 7: just such a joy to be able to talk to them,
Speaker 7: kind of hear their emotion and just explain to what
Speaker 7: this means to them. And I think the longer they
Speaker 7: go through this process, they've all been to ceremonies in
Speaker 7: the past, they see how we treat Red's history. They
Speaker 7: know the Hall of Fame and the Reds do it
Speaker 7: better than anyone else. So it's going to be not
Speaker 7: just the honor they receive April twenty fourth through twenty six,
Speaker 7: but really the way we treat them the rest of
Speaker 7: their lives and beyond that we're about preserving that legacy,
Speaker 7: the Red's history, and that's what the museum is all about.
Speaker 5: And Rick, I think it's fascinating that in Aaron Harang,
Speaker 5: Brandon Phillips, Reggie Sanders and Loupanella, you have four distinct
Speaker 5: personalities and it must be something that I'm sure you
Speaker 5: take into consideration when you make for initial contact with them.
Speaker 5: How are they going to respond? And must be one
Speaker 5: of the joys of your job knowing that each one
Speaker 5: of these players and manager have an opportunity to enter
Speaker 5: into a very highly regarded place in the organization.
Speaker 8: I love that you're still right on I mean the
Speaker 8: different personalities.
Speaker 7: I mean when I call Loopenel and I've talked to
Speaker 7: Loo many times over the years, he's been back. Same
Speaker 7: with you know, with Aaron Harang, who is a fantasy
Speaker 7: camp coach for us even this year next week, so
Speaker 7: we've seen him a lot. And then of course Reggie
Speaker 7: Sanders has also been a camp coach, and I've seen
Speaker 7: them on social media. I see how they interact with
Speaker 7: the fans. I know how it's going to go down,
Speaker 7: and it was exactly like I thought it was. They
Speaker 7: were so happy about it and that's just a testament
Speaker 7: to you know, their attachment to the Reds and the
Speaker 7: organization and the history and understanding that lou Pannelli said
Speaker 7: is the best Christmas present I could ever have. And
Speaker 7: his wife was crying and it was just a really
Speaker 7: neat moment. And that's kind of what you expect when
Speaker 7: you hear you're being inducted into a Hall of Fame, you.
Speaker 4: Know, Rick, during that the Hall of Fame weekend, like
Speaker 4: you said, April twenty fourth or the twenty six, what
Speaker 4: can fans expect to see when they come to the
Speaker 4: ballpark during that weekend.
Speaker 8: Well, that's a super strong class. As we talked about.
Speaker 7: We've got a manager, outfielder, an infielder, and a pitcher, right,
Speaker 7: so these are people that everyone's really aware of. But
Speaker 7: we also bring back all the former Hall of famers,
Speaker 7: so if you were wearing a Red jacket, you'll remember.
Speaker 7: You and a guest are invited back to great activities
Speaker 7: at the Hall.
Speaker 8: Special receptions.
Speaker 7: But what the fans get to do is, you know,
Speaker 7: they definitely want to be at the ballpark and around
Speaker 7: the Hall of Fame to meet these guys. They will
Speaker 7: be available for me and greets and photo ops. Saturday,
Speaker 7: the twenty fifth is when the induction takes place on
Speaker 7: the field. You go want to get here early, get
Speaker 7: your seat and be part of that. Sunday our induction gala,
Speaker 7: which is about a fourteen hundred person event. It probably
Speaker 7: will sell out this time at the Convention Center, which
Speaker 7: is really one of our big events, the fundraiser for
Speaker 7: the museum, but it gives everyone a chance to gather
Speaker 7: and celebrate history. The current team goes to that, all
Speaker 7: the former players, all the fans, and this is a
Speaker 7: great chance to just celebrate Red history.
Speaker 5: You know, Rick, One of the things that I'm biased,
Speaker 5: but I believe that that Hall of Fame right across
Speaker 5: the street is one of the singularly best hall of
Speaker 5: fames in all of team sports. I really do believe that.
Speaker 5: I've been around the you know, the country, you know,
Speaker 5: covered the Red Sox, and they certainly do their thing
Speaker 5: with Fenway Park. But what makes even as it's been
Speaker 5: around years and years, what makes the Hall of Fame
Speaker 5: here in Cincinnati so unique.
Speaker 7: I think it's the fans. I think it's we treat
Speaker 7: it as a palace for the fans. We understand how
Speaker 7: it connects with the community. We think baseball is synonymous
Speaker 7: with the history here in town and with the word
Speaker 7: Cincinnati and from once a Red, always a Red, always
Speaker 7: keeping that mantra in mind, and when we deal with
Speaker 7: former players, that's what kind of gives you the foundation
Speaker 7: and the fans and the appreciation for the history and
Speaker 7: those players and wanting to stay engaged with that. If
Speaker 7: we keep that as our foundation and collect and preserve
Speaker 7: and promote Red's history and think about generations from now
Speaker 7: how they'll look back on it, we'll be way ahead
Speaker 7: of everybody. And that's what the museum strives to do. Collect, preserve,
Speaker 7: and think about the future.
Speaker 4: And you have another big thing coming up this week
Speaker 4: on Saturday, Red's Fantasy Camp begins and you mentioned Aaron
Speaker 4: Harangues among the coaches that'll be there. You have twenty
Speaker 4: five former players turning out. What can you tell us
Speaker 4: about Fantasy Camp.
Speaker 7: Well, if you haven't been to Fantasy Camp, you need
Speaker 7: to put it on your bucket list. I really want
Speaker 7: to got to go. You know, we all have one
Speaker 7: hundred and forty four spots. It sells out within hours
Speaker 7: usually when we open it. It's a week long Baseball
Speaker 7: in Goode Arizona at the first class Red Spring Training Complex.
Speaker 7: You get to be a pro week and we always
Speaker 7: tell people go on out there, have a great time.
Speaker 7: You get the uniform, you get to interact with all
Speaker 7: these coaches you just mentioned, I mean Aaron Harang, some
Speaker 7: new coaches this year that we brought out in Johnny Gohmes,
Speaker 7: Jason LaRue and Paul Yannish. But there's Hall of famers
Speaker 7: like Jim Maloney that out there out there also, Billy
Speaker 7: Hatcher is always there, Tom Hume, Ted Power, Joe Oliver,
Speaker 7: Eddie Talbins, run RUMs, names that all Reds fans know.
Speaker 7: But you get to go out. Ages thirty to eighty
Speaker 7: five are at this camp and it's such a special experience.
Speaker 7: Guys have been going to camp for twenty thirty years
Speaker 7: because they love it so much.
Speaker 8: You're building a great camaraderie there.
Speaker 7: It's a fundraiser for the museum, but just a great
Speaker 7: chance to kind of celebrate Red's history in a different way.
Speaker 5: I just think it's amazing that you have so many
Speaker 5: former players involved in the Fantasy camp, and I think
Speaker 5: that's a testament to how they respect what you're trying
Speaker 5: to pull off and how much joy they are trying,
Speaker 5: you guys are trying to bring to fans.
Speaker 7: I think with a player, there's a time in their
Speaker 7: history when they realize that, you know, they miss the game.
Speaker 7: I think leaving the game for a few years you
Speaker 7: let people kind of set for about five years and
Speaker 7: they realize, I still want to be connected to the game.
Speaker 7: And if you're a Red. And some of the players
Speaker 7: I mentioned that their coaches out there weren't a Red
Speaker 7: their entire career, but we like to think of them
Speaker 7: only as a Red, so they'll come out and show up.
Speaker 7: For instance, Reggie Sanders is a works for the Royals
Speaker 7: right now. He does two weeks of Fantasy Camp out there,
Speaker 7: but he still thinks of himself as a Red, you know.
Speaker 7: So we have that great event out there, and I'm
Speaker 7: just looking forward to going out there on Saturday for
Speaker 7: about six days. I'll come back for Reds Fest and
Speaker 7: a lot of our alumni will be there as well.
Speaker 3: Rick.
Speaker 4: We really appreciate you stopping over here. Thank you so
Speaker 4: much for coming in and telling us about Fantasy Camp
Speaker 4: and the Reds Hall of Fame and people can come out.
Speaker 7: You got a Redsmuseum dot org for all the info
Speaker 7: of everything we've talked about.
Speaker 3: All right, well, thank you very much to Rick Walls.
Speaker 4: We're gonna step aside for a little bit, and then
Speaker 4: when we come back, we're gonna talk to Mark Fineshand,
Speaker 4: a good friend of ours from MLB dot Com. And
Speaker 4: for now, you're listening to the Budweiser Red's Hot Stove
Speaker 4: League presented by UDF on the Reds Radio Network. Reds Fans,
Speaker 4: Now is the time to get your twenty twenty six
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Speaker 4: Hot Stove League presented by UDF, live at the BEDMGM
Speaker 4: Sportsbook inside Tom's Watchbar at the Banks Mark Sheldon along
Speaker 4: with Mike Petralia. We're filling in for Tommy and Jim.
Speaker 4: As promised. Our next guest is someone who is plugged
Speaker 4: into the business of baseball, not just here, but around
Speaker 4: Major League Baseball. He is the national reporter for MLB
Speaker 4: dot Com and a feature news insider that often appears
Speaker 4: on MLB Network. Please Welcome via the phone from New
Speaker 4: Jersey my longtime friend and colleague Mark Finestand Mark, how
Speaker 4: you doing the night?
Speaker 9: Bags?
Speaker 10: And Sheldon two of my favorite boys, doing great?
Speaker 3: Hey, Mark.
Speaker 4: You know, as we've talked often during this offseason, the
Speaker 4: Reds have solidified their bullpen, They've added to the outfield
Speaker 4: so far this offseason, but it clearly feels like there's
Speaker 4: unfinished business because they don't have the off's a boost
Speaker 4: they still need. What do you think they can still
Speaker 4: do with the time left in the offseason.
Speaker 10: Well, you know, there are still some big bats out
Speaker 10: there that we've all been talking about for weeks and months,
Speaker 10: and you know, Bashett and Tucker and Bellinger. I don't
Speaker 10: see the Reds getting involved in those three players. You know,
Speaker 10: they took the big swing at Schwarburb and I think
Speaker 10: he was a unique situation just given his hometown roots,
Speaker 10: et cetera. But a guy that I think could fit
Speaker 10: in there nicely would be Hadeo Suarez.
Speaker 2: I always been there before.
Speaker 10: Forty nine home runs last year, big power bat isn't
Speaker 10: going to cost what some of those other big bats
Speaker 10: are going to cost. And you know, bangs to the
Speaker 10: buckwise in terms of adding power to a lineup. I
Speaker 10: think he's probably the best, the best option out there
Speaker 10: right now.
Speaker 5: Park It's tracks And by the way, it's great to
Speaker 5: be reunited with you after all of those years covering
Speaker 5: the Red Sox and Yankees that we did back in
Speaker 5: the early two thousands. So this is a trait for
Speaker 5: me personally. I wanted to ask you. Obviously, for agency
Speaker 5: is one way to add talent, but trades are another.
Speaker 5: And I'm wondering what you're hearing out there about the
Speaker 5: Reds being involved in talks with other teams to acquire
Speaker 5: a bat and perhaps this is also a way to like,
Speaker 5: you know, move some contracts that the Reds maybe don't
Speaker 5: want to keep on the payroll.
Speaker 6: I'm just curious what you're hearing in that regard.
Speaker 10: You know, most of the trade talk that's been out
Speaker 10: there this winter, for the most part, has been for pitching.
Speaker 10: You know, we saw Edward Cabrera move to the clubs today,
Speaker 10: Kensey Gore, Ornnie Baralta, there are plenty of Sandy ol
Speaker 10: Contra is probably not going to get moved, but his
Speaker 10: name has been.
Speaker 2: Out there a lot.
Speaker 10: Obviously, the biggest fish out there. If you were to
Speaker 10: be traded Derek Scouble, But I haven't heard all that
Speaker 10: much about big bats that are that are out there
Speaker 10: to be had, So I'm not saying there aren't any,
Speaker 10: but none are coming to the.
Speaker 2: Top of mind at the moment.
Speaker 10: That would really fit the bill, you know, for the
Speaker 10: Reds and trying to boost their lineup.
Speaker 4: So it sounds like the Reds are pretty much rolling
Speaker 4: out the same lineup with the exception of Austin Hayes.
Speaker 3: Being out JJ Blane being in.
Speaker 4: Mark If this is what the Reds look like going
Speaker 4: into twenty twenty six more or less, do you feel
Speaker 4: like does the industry feel like they can still contend
Speaker 4: in the National League Central or for a National League
Speaker 4: Wild card?
Speaker 2: Well?
Speaker 10: I picked them to be in the playoffs last year,
Speaker 10: and I really liked their club. I think if you
Speaker 10: get a little more from a couple of the guys
Speaker 10: who are there, you know, if Ellie takes a step
Speaker 10: forward and comes to players that everybody believes he can be,
Speaker 10: you know, they get full healthy seasons from other other guys,
Speaker 10: and those guys sort of take a step.
Speaker 2: Forward as well.
Speaker 10: I think they have enough talent to compete. I mean,
Speaker 10: the pitcher staff is very good, but gone was a
Speaker 10: great return in the full pen. So I think, you know,
Speaker 10: the NL Central is not exactly overloaded with We're not
Speaker 10: talking about the Al East here with the Blue Jays
Speaker 10: and Red Sox and Yankee and Orioles raised. So you know,
Speaker 10: I think if the Brewers trade Peralta, that certainly, you know,
Speaker 10: gives a hit for them. You know, the Cubs they
Speaker 10: added Cabrera, they haven't added a bat to replace Tucker.
Speaker 10: I don't know that they're going to. I know they're
Speaker 10: still in on Brigman to some extent, But I think
Speaker 10: this is a winnable division. I don't think this is
Speaker 10: going to be a division that necessarily has a you know,
Speaker 10: ninety five ninety eight win team.
Speaker 2: So I do like.
Speaker 10: What the Reds you.
Speaker 2: Know, have going for them as a whole.
Speaker 10: And I'm a big believer in Tito and that was
Speaker 10: one of the reasons why I picked on to make
Speaker 10: the playoff last year. I think he has that team
Speaker 10: believing in itself and if you guys can, like I said,
Speaker 10: take a bit of a step forward, I think this
Speaker 10: is a team that could contend in a relatively you know,
Speaker 10: quiet division.
Speaker 5: And that leads into My next question Mark, and that
Speaker 5: is year number two of Terry Francona in Cincinnati. He
Speaker 5: got the team to the playoffs in year number one.
Speaker 5: What does year number two look like? And do you
Speaker 5: think he makes a difference in terms of his familiarity
Speaker 5: with the.
Speaker 3: Roster this year?
Speaker 2: Oh, I'm sure.
Speaker 10: I mean the fact that he you know, knows the
Speaker 10: guys coming into this year, he'll have a better sense
Speaker 10: of what he has on that roster and how he
Speaker 10: can utilize He's player. You know, I think Sheldon will
Speaker 10: be the first one to back me.
Speaker 2: Up on this.
Speaker 10: There was a different feeling in Reds camp last year,
Speaker 10: and I know that's always one of those, you know,
Speaker 10: very popular spring training.
Speaker 2: Stories of Oats.
Speaker 10: He does bringing a new attitude, but just talking, I
Speaker 10: was in Reds camp a couple of days covering from
Speaker 10: Mark last year and just talking to guys who were
Speaker 10: had been there for a bit, and they just you
Speaker 10: could just sense a different confidence in that room of
Speaker 10: I think the one line somebody said to me was,
Speaker 10: you know, we all know what it takes to win,
Speaker 10: but t is actually giving us the blueprint of how
Speaker 10: to get there. And I think, you know the fact
Speaker 10: that they did take a step forward and have some
Speaker 10: success last year. I think that's only going to make
Speaker 10: them hungrier and that experience.
Speaker 2: Is going to help them in trying to get back
Speaker 2: there this year.
Speaker 4: Mark, we have about a minute left, but real quick
Speaker 4: on the lookoutside of Cincinnati and just nationally, with these
Speaker 4: free agents, you have Tucker, you have Bishett, Bregman, Bellinger.
Speaker 4: Who do you think the next domino to fall is?
Speaker 10: I would think Bregman is probably the favorite in that group,
Speaker 10: Tucker and Bellinger. Bellinger seems to be in a situation
Speaker 10: where he and the Yankees sort of want to reunite,
Speaker 10: but there's still a gap between them, and I think
Speaker 10: he's gonna wait until Tucker signs, because you know the
Speaker 10: teams that don't get Tucker. Let's say he goes to
Speaker 10: the Blue Jays, which is where you know, all signs
Speaker 10: are pointing that he's gonna wind up there, but it's
Speaker 10: certainly not a good deal.
Speaker 2: Then all of a sudden, the Met the Yankees.
Speaker 10: Could be at a biding war for Bellinger. So we
Speaker 10: saw that last year with Soto and the Met to
Speaker 10: merge victorious in that fitting war. Gregman's market isn't quite
Speaker 10: as big the red Box want him back Buster Only.
Speaker 10: Our friend at ESPN reported this week that they were
Speaker 10: prepared and willing to make him a pretty big offer.
Speaker 10: I think that the natural reunion in the making to
Speaker 10: bring Gregman.
Speaker 2: Back to Boston.
Speaker 10: The Cubs are still in on him, the Tigers are sort.
Speaker 2: Of marginallying on him. But unless he's willing to do
Speaker 2: what he did.
Speaker 10: Last year, which stick a shorter term deal for a
Speaker 10: higher av Boston seems like the natural fit. And it
Speaker 10: wouldn't surprise me if you know, if that deal gets
Speaker 10: done in the next you know, called seven days or so.
Speaker 3: That's fantastic information. Mark.
Speaker 4: I really appreciate you, and Mike appreciates you calling in
Speaker 4: and talking to us for a little bit. Thank you
Speaker 4: again very much, and I'll see you sooner and down
Speaker 4: the road and we'll talk again.
Speaker 2: Good talking to you, Fella's take care.
Speaker 6: Thanks Mark.
Speaker 3: Thanks Mark. Wow, that was pretty good stuff right there right.
Speaker 6: I love talking to Mark.
Speaker 4: Well, before we go to break, I just wanted to
Speaker 4: a lurt those listening on Flagships seven hundred WLW because
Speaker 4: of Savior Basketball. The second half of our show is
Speaker 4: moving over to thirteen sixty, so please join us over there.
Speaker 3: The rest of us. The rest of.
Speaker 4: You can stay right where you are and we'll have
Speaker 4: Red's outfielder JJ Bloda joining us next on the Budweiser
Speaker 4: Red's Hot Stovely presented by UDF on the Reds Radio Network.
Speaker 4: Get access to all thirteen Tuesday Reds home games this
Speaker 4: season with the three two one Tuesday Ballpark Pass for
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Speaker 4: now at Reds dot com slash Pass and welcome back
Speaker 4: to the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF
Speaker 4: Live at the BEDMGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar at
Speaker 4: the Banks. We are your substitute hosts Mark Sheldon and
Speaker 4: Mike Petralia in for Tommy and Jim. Our next guest
Speaker 4: was signed to a one year contract by the Reds
Speaker 4: late last month, and he was so excited about the
Speaker 4: move that he already had a Reds cap on during
Speaker 4: his zoom meeting with all the reporters. That's pretty cool,
Speaker 4: well prepared, well prepared. His name is JJ Blade. He
Speaker 4: is joining us on the phone with everything settled in
Speaker 4: now for a couple of weeks. JJ, how how are
Speaker 4: you feeling about your new deal with the Reds.
Speaker 11: I'm feeling great, guys. I'm really looking forward to it.
Speaker 9: I'm excited, and you know, I'm just kind of ready
Speaker 9: to get things going.
Speaker 5: What has been your biggest priorities, JJ, in terms of
Speaker 5: getting ready in the off season.
Speaker 9: Yeah, I think just you know, making sure my body
Speaker 9: is prepared for another you know, long baseball season. Making
Speaker 9: sure I'm I'm staying mobile, I'm keeping my quickness, I'm
Speaker 9: keeping weight, and I kind of getting to that that
Speaker 9: place where you know you're going to be comfortable throughout
Speaker 9: the whole course of the season. And then outside of that,
Speaker 9: it's just improving your game. You know, It's it's settling
Speaker 9: in what you want to work on mechanically at the play,
Speaker 9: and then you know, defensively, uh, you know, making sure
Speaker 9: you get enough reps going on the spring training.
Speaker 5: I think one thing that stuck out to me in
Speaker 5: your zoom call with reporters right after you signed in
Speaker 5: Cincinnati was the fact that you acknowledged. You know, last
Speaker 5: year was kind of a rough year for you, an
Speaker 5: off year, but you look to bounce back. And what
Speaker 5: you referenced is what you just spoke about becoming more athletic.
Speaker 5: Focusing on becoming more athletic. What does that look like,
Speaker 5: not only in your offseason preparations, but what do you
Speaker 5: envision it looking like in twenty twenty six at Great
Speaker 5: American Ballpark?
Speaker 9: Yeah, I just see myself being an athlete and competing,
Speaker 9: you know, like just being fluid and just you know,
Speaker 9: being a bastard in the box as best I can.
Speaker 9: And that's you know, just fight fighting to see new
Speaker 9: pitch it or more pitches, and putting yourself an.
Speaker 11: Account to do damage and just you know.
Speaker 9: Going balls out like you know, going after balls, taking
Speaker 9: the extra base and just playing the game hard, you know,
Speaker 9: as hard as I've ever I've ever played JJ.
Speaker 4: As you full well know, you hit your first home
Speaker 4: run at Great American Ballpark back in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 4: You're nine for thirty one over here with five extra
Speaker 4: base hits. Why or and maybe how does this particular
Speaker 4: ballpark play into your strength? Yeah?
Speaker 11: I don't know if I mean, it's just kind of
Speaker 11: a byproduct.
Speaker 9: You know, it's just you know, I just I've just
Speaker 9: played well there, you know, every every time I've played
Speaker 9: or you know, I've played two series there and uh
Speaker 9: one with Miami, one with.
Speaker 11: Bas and I mean it just sort of happened, you know.
Speaker 9: I mean it's just, uh, I like the area, I
Speaker 9: like the stadium, and it's just a good recipe for
Speaker 9: things to happen when when everything falls in line.
Speaker 6: What have your conversations been like with Tito?
Speaker 2: Uh?
Speaker 11: Very you know, just this real casual. You know, he
Speaker 11: just congratulated me and looking forward to getting to beat.
Speaker 9: Me, and you know, just kind of talking about uh
Speaker 9: my roots throwing up here in western Pennsylvania and just
Speaker 9: kind of telling me he's from that area, and just
Speaker 9: you know, we're just kind of joking around.
Speaker 11: Along those lines.
Speaker 4: You know, last year we talked about you had the plate,
Speaker 4: but also you know, you didn't have your best year
Speaker 4: defensively either. You've been generally over your your career been
Speaker 4: a strong defensive outfielder. What do you think changed in
Speaker 4: that area and what on that side of your game
Speaker 4: are you work looking on to bring it back to
Speaker 4: where it was in twenty twenty six.
Speaker 9: You know, I don't want to like point fingers and
Speaker 9: have excuses.
Speaker 11: I mean it was tough.
Speaker 9: It was tough playing in the ballpark you've never played
Speaker 9: in before, especially in minor league stadium and and you know,
Speaker 9: now just looking back, you know, I just I just
Speaker 9: got to do more.
Speaker 11: I gotta I gotta do more.
Speaker 9: Speed wise, I got to do more, you know, fly balls,
Speaker 9: take my shagging more seriously. And that's kind of been
Speaker 9: the main emphasis this offseason is is get outside, have
Speaker 9: someone hit me fun gos, you know, two three times
Speaker 9: a week right now before going in spring training, and
Speaker 9: really just working on that first step.
Speaker 11: I feel like my first step last year wasn't very good.
Speaker 9: I wasn't taking good routes at the ball, and you know,
Speaker 9: as a result, kind of lost a little bit of
Speaker 9: confidence out there. So it's just regaining that back and
Speaker 9: just getting after it and going, you know, just trying
Speaker 9: to literally catch everything.
Speaker 11: Hit my way right now.
Speaker 5: One thing that stuck out to me JJ about this
Speaker 5: Red's clubhouse in twenty twenty five, I think one of
Speaker 5: the big reasons they were able to eventually make the
Speaker 5: playoffs is they had a very tight clubhouse. They very
Speaker 5: had each other's backs.
Speaker 6: There was no.
Speaker 5: Backbiting, you know, back and forth. And I'm curious if
Speaker 5: you've heard the same thing about this clubhouse, how together
Speaker 5: they are, the young leadership that's in there, namely guys
Speaker 5: like Tyler Stevenson for one and Gavin Lux for another.
Speaker 5: How have you gotten to know them in your time
Speaker 5: so far in the last month, you know.
Speaker 9: Honestly haven't delved too much into that. But like just
Speaker 9: from watching Afar, you know, playing in the past few years,
Speaker 9: you could just tell there's no drama, Like it's not
Speaker 9: a drama team. The egos, you know, there's no huge egos.
Speaker 9: Everyone's in line. Everyone seems like they get along with
Speaker 9: one another. And I think just you know, that's just
Speaker 9: you know, courtesy of the organization as a whole, and
Speaker 9: then just the staff and then the with sure players
Speaker 9: that are in the that are in the clubhouse, and
Speaker 9: you know, I think just right now, it's it's having
Speaker 9: guys like a million Pagan reaching out.
Speaker 11: It's Spencer Steer who I played.
Speaker 9: With in the Cape Cod League and just communicating with
Speaker 9: them and just having some type of dialogue to make
Speaker 9: myself comfortable.
Speaker 11: And they just do a good job at communicating that.
Speaker 9: So I'm just I just think that's how they do
Speaker 9: a good job and that's why they win.
Speaker 3: JJ.
Speaker 4: We have a few other things we want to get
Speaker 4: to you with you, but we have to take a
Speaker 4: quick break. We'd love to talk to you on the
Speaker 4: other side if you don't mind, so we will be
Speaker 4: back with more with JJ Bladay. This is the Budweiser
Speaker 4: Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF on the Reds
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Speaker 4: to the Budweiser Red's Hot Stove League presented by UDF
Speaker 4: live at the bed MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar
Speaker 4: at the Banks with Mike Petralia. I'm Mark Sheldon, and
Speaker 4: we are back with another segment with new Reds outfielder
Speaker 4: JJ Blade.
Speaker 3: JJ.
Speaker 4: A while back, you were in Cincinnati playing for Midland,
Speaker 4: a famed travel team around here before heading off to
Speaker 4: college at Vanderbilt. You live just across the river, I
Speaker 4: think at Newport, Kentucky. What was that like for you
Speaker 4: to be in this area.
Speaker 11: It was a blast, man, it was.
Speaker 10: It was.
Speaker 11: It was in a really good spot.
Speaker 9: We did get to go to many Reds games because
Speaker 9: we were playing ourselves, but you know, we could watch
Speaker 9: it from afar hear the fireworks. Remember going to a
Speaker 9: lot of good restaurants, one of them being the Precinct.
Speaker 11: Which is owned by Jeff Ruby.
Speaker 9: I believe yes, and uh so, our ostat would always
Speaker 9: take us out there, you know, every couple of weeks,
Speaker 9: and it's the blast.
Speaker 11: It was kind of getting you ready for college and
Speaker 11: definitely was was a fun experience.
Speaker 6: JJ.
Speaker 5: I'm curious about Midland and it is, like Mark was
Speaker 5: just saying, it's a famed travel league, a travel team
Speaker 5: and travel organization. It really has gotten a lot of
Speaker 5: young players ready for that next level of baseball. I'm
Speaker 5: curious what you knew about that organization about Midland prior
Speaker 5: to it and what it was like playing there.
Speaker 11: Yeah, it was always like a rival. We'd always see
Speaker 11: them at tournaments.
Speaker 9: And I played for another team called Indiana Prospects, which
Speaker 9: was a little bit of a younger age group, and.
Speaker 11: I just remember Midland always having a good like seventeen
Speaker 11: eighteen year old team, and I knew.
Speaker 9: I didn't want to take classes in the summertime. I
Speaker 9: wanted to play some more baseball to get ready for
Speaker 9: my freshman year of college.
Speaker 11: And I just think that's what it is. It's just
Speaker 11: a good discipline.
Speaker 9: You know, they take care of the details, good coaching,
Speaker 9: and just high competitive tournaments and games. You know, you're
Speaker 9: facing some really good players in the high school class
Speaker 9: and it's just.
Speaker 11: A fun tournament.
Speaker 9: And then you get to go to try to go
Speaker 9: to Farmington to win it, which is like, you know,
Speaker 9: the World Series of an eighteen year old team.
Speaker 4: Of course, you went on to play for Vanderbilt, where
Speaker 4: you you ended up being the SEC Player of the
Speaker 4: Year in twenty nineteen. Your coach Tim Corben called you
Speaker 4: an old soul and a low maintenance guy with quiet confidence.
Speaker 4: Do you still feel that that is true even as
Speaker 4: you've matured a few years.
Speaker 9: Oh yeah, yeah, I don't see, like I'm oh my god,
Speaker 9: it's gonna have many issues.
Speaker 10: You know.
Speaker 11: I'm kind of a guy that likes to, you know, listen,
Speaker 11: you know, and then and then speak.
Speaker 9: So I like to just kind of see how things
Speaker 9: are are run and and going and then kind of
Speaker 9: go from there.
Speaker 5: Also, we have heard that you are talented in playing
Speaker 5: the piano. I'm curious, are you Billy, Joel?
Speaker 6: Are you out?
Speaker 3: And John?
Speaker 6: What's your style? You know?
Speaker 9: I was actually just playing like ten minutes before this,
Speaker 9: before I got you guys. Yeah, just we got one
Speaker 9: right before the holidays. We got one from my wife's
Speaker 9: family member, so.
Speaker 11: It needs a tune in. But I'm more of an
Speaker 11: old school like cloud cool, Mozart, Beto.
Speaker 3: You don't get a lot of that in the clubhouse, no,
Speaker 3: you know, if guys.
Speaker 11: From the Dominican Pro I don't even know who.
Speaker 3: They are, you should teach them. It's good music.
Speaker 11: Yeah, it is good music. I mean everyone should know that,
Speaker 11: right right. Everyone probably does know some tunes.
Speaker 3: Right absolutely.
Speaker 4: And as you mentioned your teammates, you're gonna get to
Speaker 4: meet a whole bunch of them next week. I understand
Speaker 4: you are confirmed to attend Reds Fest, which is returning
Speaker 4: to the Convention Center here in town after a two
Speaker 4: year hiatus. What are you looking forward to about meeting
Speaker 4: your teammates and manager. You've talked to a few guys.
Speaker 4: You mentioned Pegan, you mentioned Tito Francona. What are you
Speaker 4: looking forward to about getting together with these guys in
Speaker 4: about you know, ten days or so, you know, just.
Speaker 9: Putting the name to the faces, just kind of hanging out,
Speaker 9: having some some basic conversation and you know see how
Speaker 9: talk talk some baseball, you know, talk talk city, you know, food,
Speaker 9: places to live and then you know, just kind of
Speaker 9: get together.
Speaker 11: To to see the fans. So nothing too crazy, just
Speaker 11: just got very nice.
Speaker 4: Oh what do you think about your about trying out
Speaker 4: for an everyday role. You still obviously have to come
Speaker 4: to camp. You got to earn You're gonna have a
Speaker 4: spot on the team, but you want to earn a
Speaker 4: regular role. I imagine what what do you feel about
Speaker 4: the competition that you have coming up?
Speaker 11: Yeah, I think there's you know, good competition on this squad.
Speaker 11: And you know, I do see myself playing.
Speaker 9: Left field, and I'm I feel like I'm a corner
Speaker 9: guy long term, you know, as much as uh, you know,
Speaker 9: I played center in twenty four and I played center
Speaker 9: last year, I still see myself more as a corner
Speaker 9: corner position. And you know, I'm just gonna, like you said,
Speaker 9: I mean, just just come in and working hard to
Speaker 9: earn a spot and earn the job and and just
Speaker 9: do my best to stay focused and trust that process.
Speaker 6: Jay, Jay, what is it that you're looking forward to
Speaker 6: playing in Cincinnati the most?
Speaker 9: I think just the chance to play playoff baseball. I think,
Speaker 9: you know, I saw it from afar with them, and
Speaker 9: I just think it's a tremendous experience to be able
Speaker 9: to get to and I have yet to have that
Speaker 9: in my career. And it just seems like the jel
Speaker 9: of those guys have.
Speaker 11: The city.
Speaker 9: I mean, the city just loves sports, you know, I mean,
Speaker 9: and I grew up in Pittsburgh, so it's a very
Speaker 9: similar town and similar atmosphere, and I'm just looking forward
Speaker 9: to be a part of that and to really go
Speaker 9: out there and compete, you know, all nine innings, to
Speaker 9: go out and win for that city.
Speaker 5: Just a side note real quick, you have something in common.
Speaker 5: Joe Burrow played the piano to heal from his wrist injury.
Speaker 5: So maybe you can get together with Joe and go
Speaker 5: over your piano playing skills.
Speaker 11: Yeah, Yeah, that'd be sweet. I'd be all for that.
Speaker 3: Sounds good.
Speaker 4: Hey, JJ, we really appreciate you checking in with us
Speaker 4: here tonight during the off season, and we all look
Speaker 4: forward to meeting you at Redsfest in a few days.
Speaker 4: So thank you very much for coming on.
Speaker 11: Likewise, yes, thanks for having me.
Speaker 6: Thanks you, Jay.
Speaker 4: That was JJ Blade, the new Red's outfielder. We're gonna
Speaker 4: wrap it up and we're gonna finish Tiaboa on this show.
Speaker 4: So this is the Budweiser Red's Hot Stove League presented
Speaker 4: by UDF on the Reds Radio Network. Okay, this is
Speaker 4: the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF. We're
Speaker 4: live at the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watchbar at
Speaker 4: the Banks, and we're gonna wrap this up. Like I
Speaker 4: said earlier, Mike, we got about a month ago and
Speaker 4: then spring training kicks off, and what do you think
Speaker 4: the biggest roster battle we should be watching.
Speaker 6: Is number five starter? Oh easy?
Speaker 5: Yeah, I think there are so many options available to
Speaker 5: Terry Francona, after Hunter Green, Niclodolo, Andrew Rabbit and Brady Singer,
Speaker 5: those four pretty much I think locked in.
Speaker 6: Then you have Rhet Louder.
Speaker 5: People forget how solid he was to finish out the
Speaker 5: twenty twenty three He had a one to finish that year.
Speaker 5: That last month of the year. The last month and
Speaker 5: a half was spectacular. Then you have Chase burn who
Speaker 5: was the sensation that came up this year. I think
Speaker 5: those two could battle it out. Don't forget Brandon Williamson.
Speaker 5: He is a lefty who has a lot of major
Speaker 5: league experience, I believe five years or four years of
Speaker 5: major league experience. If he is fully recovered from Tommy
Speaker 5: John he comes back, He's a lefty at the back
Speaker 5: end of the rotation, or he could wind up in
Speaker 5: the bullpen. And then you have Julian Aggie are a
Speaker 5: right hander. So I think those four names are spots
Speaker 5: to keep or names to keep an eye on in
Speaker 5: spring training.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 4: The Reds have a very deep rotation, but the front
Speaker 4: office has been pretty adamant they don't want to part
Speaker 4: with any of these guys because the you know, Aggie, are, Williamson,
Speaker 4: and Louder all miss time the entire season last year.
Speaker 4: The rest of the rotation also missed some time on
Speaker 4: the IL except for Brady Singer. He was the only
Speaker 4: guy to go from start to finish without any iel time.
Speaker 4: So they want to protect these guys and they're going
Speaker 4: to probably need all of them at some point. Because
Speaker 4: attrition in starting pitching is the thing now in Major
Speaker 4: League Baseball.
Speaker 6: No question.
Speaker 5: And you're talking about cost control. Last year at this
Speaker 5: time they had to go out and acquire Brady Singer, right,
Speaker 5: But this year you're in a position where you really
Speaker 5: didn't have to spend a lot of money to add
Speaker 5: anything to the rotation or to the bullpen. You did,
Speaker 5: obviously add Caleb Ferguson. I get that, but that was
Speaker 5: really the only significant move that the Reds made in
Speaker 5: terms of going outside the organization.
Speaker 4: That and bringing back Emilio Pegan, Yeah, a closer. That
Speaker 4: was a huge move that kind of set the things
Speaker 4: in motion to get the bullpen back.
Speaker 6: I love the move by the Yah.
Speaker 3: It's a big move for them. It is good for
Speaker 3: the clubhouse.
Speaker 4: You got it Pegan, you have setting up, you have
Speaker 4: Tony Santion, you have Graham Ashcraft.
Speaker 3: Now you have Caleb Ferguson.
Speaker 4: You got a guy like Connor Phillips who was very
Speaker 4: impressive in the last month of the season, and he's
Speaker 4: gonna have a shot at making a you know, making
Speaker 4: some moves in the bullpen. I mentioned Grant Ashcraft, So
Speaker 4: there's some there's some guys that could make this a
Speaker 4: very deep bullpen.
Speaker 6: No question about that.
Speaker 5: And other things that I'm looking forward to are how
Speaker 5: does Ellie Dala Cruz handle playing defense at shortstop after
Speaker 5: a very very rough year defensively last year. What are
Speaker 5: the improvements he is going to make this year? Matt McClain,
Speaker 5: nobody is very few people have talked about how good
Speaker 5: he was offensively before he got hurt and what he
Speaker 5: could be this year if he bounces back offensively, and
Speaker 5: I think it goes without saying the Reds are really
Speaker 5: counting on him doing that. Throw that in with Sal
Speaker 5: Stewart and I think you've got the potential of a
Speaker 5: much deeper lineup than you thought at the end of
Speaker 5: last year.
Speaker 4: And it could be better defensively too, because you don't
Speaker 4: forget key Brian Hazy's not a great offensive players, kind
Speaker 4: of you know, on the low end on the offense,
Speaker 4: but he is now a two time goal Glove winner.
Speaker 3: He makes it solid three.
Speaker 6: Games down the stretch with defensive plays.
Speaker 3: So there's a lot to like there. Well, we just
Speaker 3: had a lot to do tonight. We got it all done.
Speaker 4: I want to thank JJ Blade, Mark Pines and Rick
Speaker 4: Wall Betralia plus Drew wester Heidie back at the studio,
Speaker 4: and our engineer Dave Abbott. I'm Mark Sheldon from MLB
Speaker 4: dot com. Thank you so much for joining us to
Speaker 4: talk to you next time. This was the Budweiser Reds
Speaker 4: Hotstove League, presented by UDF on the Reds Radio network.