WEBVTT - 12-10-25 Reds Hot Stove League 0:00:01.400 --> 0:00:04.360 Hey, very delightful, good evening to you, and welcome out 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.520 to the Budweiser reds Hodstove League presented by UDF. We 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:10.240 are live at the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch 0:00:10.320 --> 0:00:12.639 Bar at the Banks, and we've got a pretty big 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:16.480 crowd assembled here to uh hear what Colin Cowgill has 0:00:16.520 --> 0:00:19.439 to say Reds first base coach, based running coach, outfield coach. 0:00:19.680 --> 0:00:20.599 He's on with us today. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:23.479 We're also gonna have Mark Sheldon checking in redsbeatwriter for 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:26.840 MLB dot Com. He will check in from the Winter meetings. 0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:29.560 Emiliopagon will join us a little bit later on with 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.520 Jim Day. I'm Tommy Graw. It's great to be with 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.840 you as we talk Red's Baseball for the next hour. Jimmy, 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:36.760 I know a lot of people want to talk about 0:00:36.800 --> 0:00:38.960 the news of the week, and that was the fact that, 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:43.200 of course everybody in Red's country hoping Kyle Schwarber would 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.080 return home and suit up in a Red uniform this year, 0:00:46.360 --> 0:00:49.040 only for him to re sign with the Phillies. 0:00:49.440 --> 0:00:50.680 Really not surprising for me. 0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:52.879 I mean I said it on the record all along, 0:00:52.920 --> 0:00:56.520 I thought it was going back to Philadelphia. As you know, 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:58.400 let's slide from the big city. 0:00:58.560 --> 0:00:59.720 It's free agency. 0:01:00.680 --> 0:01:03.280 Good for him, it was the last big contract for 0:01:03.360 --> 0:01:06.520 him perhaps, and you gotta move on now, you gotta 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:07.119 beat him right. 0:01:08.080 --> 0:01:10.440 Well, we will talk more about that a little bit 0:01:10.520 --> 0:01:13.000 later on. We'll get Mark Sheldon's thoughts about it as well. 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:16.760 But first, let's welcome in Colin cal Gill CEC. Thanks 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.080 so much for joining us. You just took part in 0:01:19.080 --> 0:01:21.600 a Q and A here at Tom's watch Bar and 0:01:21.640 --> 0:01:25.760 the bet MGM sportsbook. But you know, for you last season, 0:01:25.880 --> 0:01:28.600 I mean, a new manager. We kind of talked about 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.679 that a little bit ago, but a new manager that 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:35.240 the base running certainly something that this team is capable 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:37.080 of doing and doing very well. It seems like they 0:01:37.120 --> 0:01:39.119 got a little bit more efficient last year. 0:01:39.520 --> 0:01:44.720 Definitely more efficient. It was good. Well boy, feedback, Yep, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:46.800 it feels good. Take care of that. 0:01:47.000 --> 0:01:50.280 Yeah, feels good in the ear drums wakes you up 0:01:50.280 --> 0:01:50.720 a little bit. 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:53.920 Yeah, you know, And we did talk about it earlier 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:57.120 and it was challenging, you know, going from one manager 0:01:57.160 --> 0:01:59.680 who has a style of aggression to another manager who 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:04.440 just isn't as aggressive of a mindset, especially on the 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.520 basis and and Tito's one that just doesn't like to 0:02:06.560 --> 0:02:11.119 make outs on bases on the basis and. 0:02:09.560 --> 0:02:11.680 And and I can I can totally agree with that. 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:13.560 It's it's it makes sense to me. 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:16.560 I think the what we were talked about earlier was 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:18.840 was just trying to find the balance of of not 0:02:18.960 --> 0:02:22.280 being overly aggressive where we make costly mistakes, but being 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:25.839 aggressive enough to where, you know, sometimes it might open 0:02:25.919 --> 0:02:28.000 up a hole for us, or it might get us 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.200 a few more fastballs, or it might affect the game 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:34.400 in some way that you know, we could take advantage 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.560 of some of our better athletes, the skills that they 0:02:38.080 --> 0:02:41.320 that they possess, their instincts, all those things. 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:42.959 So, you know, going from one. 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.399 Manager to another is definitely challenging with their different styles 0:02:46.440 --> 0:02:49.360 and belief systems. But uh, the one thing that you 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:51.040 can count on with Tito is that that that man 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:52.120 wants to win the game. 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:53.840 However that that may look like. 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:55.560 There was times when he'd come down to the end 0:02:55.560 --> 0:02:58.040 of dugout and like, hey man, we gotta go, and 0:02:58.040 --> 0:03:01.000 I'd be like, finally, you know, let's go. But there'd 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:02.760 also be times like, hey man, let's be a little 0:03:02.800 --> 0:03:03.840 bit more conservative here. 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.160 You know, there was a real life example. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.440 We were in Colorado and we're facing a I can't 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:12.480 remember his name, Tyler Kinley I think slowed the plate, 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.320 gave up a lot of stolen bases. I think it 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.160 was Freedom or Frehley was on and Tito was giving 0:03:18.160 --> 0:03:20.040 me the red light. And this was early, early on 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.400 in the season, and I came back out and I 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:23.920 was like, Hey, Tito, what what's up? 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:24.120 Man? 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:25.560 Like why we would have second and third? 0:03:25.560 --> 0:03:27.360 And say, well, they would have just walked Ellie, you know, 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.520 And like now we got bassis loaded with Ellie not 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.600 having a chance to hit in a lesser matchup with 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:35.200 a right handed hitter behind him, Like all right, well 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:36.960 that makes a little bit more sense to me, you know. 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.200 But that's an early moment where we're trying to feel 0:03:39.200 --> 0:03:41.800 each other out, understanding the relationship how he thinks, where 0:03:41.840 --> 0:03:43.440 in the previous it was like, Hey, we're gonna go 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.440 because we're gonna be safe, and then whatever happens after 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.840 that happens. We might have a two pointer on a single, 0:03:48.880 --> 0:03:51.200 But the way he thinks about and looks at the 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:52.960 game and the running game is just a little bit 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:56.200 different and was a learning process. But now I feel 0:03:56.240 --> 0:03:57.600 like I got a pretty decent handle on it. 0:03:58.080 --> 0:04:02.200 The times that he did say go, gave you the 0:04:02.200 --> 0:04:04.720 green light, where those times where the club was going 0:04:04.760 --> 0:04:07.480 through maybe a stretch of offensive struggles. You had a 0:04:07.520 --> 0:04:10.280 ton of games where you scored less than two runs 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:13.920 where maybe you need to manufacture some runs. Where those 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.000 the times and do you think we could see more 0:04:16.040 --> 0:04:16.280 of that? 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:19.600 Maybe? Just it's Tito. I get his. 0:04:19.600 --> 0:04:22.680 Philosophy, but you just pushed the envelope just a little 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:23.120 bit more. 0:04:23.240 --> 0:04:25.799 Yeah, And that's right, and it was time, and it's 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:28.880 it's challenging and in that aspect too, because if you're 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:30.840 down two runs and then you get thrown out with 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:33.680 your only opportunity that with somebody on base, you know, 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.840 like you're kind of you're kind of cutting off. 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:37.560 Your legs there too. 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.440 So it's it's definitely we need to be right when 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:42.839 we make the decision to go, and that needs to 0:04:42.880 --> 0:04:44.800 be right, and that needs to be moving the needle 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:45.240 for us. 0:04:45.160 --> 0:04:47.120 To win that game or score that run. 0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:50.840 So I think moving forward with him, yes, I think 0:04:50.880 --> 0:04:52.640 to answer your question, yes, I think we will be 0:04:52.680 --> 0:04:57.280 more aggressive, especially having one year under his you know, 0:04:57.360 --> 0:04:59.920 his regime, the way he thinks and feels our players 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.000 understand the way he thinks and feels. Because there was 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:04.120 a bit of a lull kind of the middle of 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:06.640 the season where we were very very passive. I would 0:05:06.680 --> 0:05:09.120 I would, I would say, uh, and then we kind 0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:11.120 of picked it back up towards the latter part of 0:05:11.160 --> 0:05:15.000 the season. So having known knowing what Tito wants, knowing 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:17.840 our players knowing what Tito wants, I think you can 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.320 probably see us, you know, being a bit more aggressive 0:05:20.600 --> 0:05:23.000 and when the offense is struggling the way it does, Yes, 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.680 like we're gonna need to to make something happen. Hit 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:27.080 and run a little bit more st doe attle bit 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:29.680 more bases, you know, score some more runs. 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:30.480 Juse the offense. 0:05:30.560 --> 0:05:33.800 We obviously all know that Ellie is an elite base runner. 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.960 He's electric, especially when he's healthy. Who's somebody that kind 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:38.960 of flies under the radar a little bit as far 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:41.960 as base running goes, and their ability to maybe surprise 0:05:42.000 --> 0:05:43.440 you with a stolen bag here and there. 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:45.919 Yeah, well, I think we saw like a glimpse of 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:48.520 sal Stewart, you know, towards the end of it, with 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:50.240 a little bit you know of of his uh, but 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:52.760 he's just you know, he's he's exciting. Uh, he's an 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:55.520 excitable person. We're gonna have to tame that a little bit. 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.920 But but he's really instinctive. He's a guy that sees 0:05:58.960 --> 0:06:03.240 something in a picture and takes advantage of that. Spencer 0:06:03.279 --> 0:06:06.719 Steer is one of the better bolt steel players in 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:09.039 the league. He's not the fastest guy, but he is 0:06:09.080 --> 0:06:10.760 just an opportunistic base runner. 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:12.280 And then Noelvie. 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:14.480 You look at a guy like Noelvie who is a 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.640 big human being. He's probably two hundred and thirty pounds, 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:20.919 but he runs really, really well, and he's also a 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:23.680 really really smart based runner. He has some techniques that 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.720 he likes to use, and he's sneaky. So I think, 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:29.520 you know, with him, as long as he stays in shape, 0:06:29.560 --> 0:06:32.719 stays healthy. Spencer two, I think we got some guys 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:34.920 that are gonna, you know, get back to running bases 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:36.720 the way where we know we can run bases. 0:06:36.839 --> 0:06:39.760 How much of a challenge was it for you in 0:06:39.800 --> 0:06:43.000 that Ellie at times with his injury, and there was 0:06:43.040 --> 0:06:44.960 a lot of you know, he was injured more than 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.240 was led on that he was a ferrari that wasn't 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:50.640 working on all cylinders at times, where you had to 0:06:50.680 --> 0:06:53.200 hold him back because I know he goes to first 0:06:53.240 --> 0:06:55.120 base and the first thing he says to you is Poppy, 0:06:55.160 --> 0:06:55.920 I'm going to score. 0:06:56.480 --> 0:06:57.880 So you had to hold him back. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:06:59.159 How much of a challenge was that? 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:01.240 Yeah, you know what, most of the time I just 0:07:01.279 --> 0:07:03.839 felt bad for him, because, like, he wants to go, 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:04.839 and I'm like, hey, man, like, we. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:08.680 Can't risk you. You're probably gonna be safe. But if you. 0:07:08.640 --> 0:07:11.200 Set yourself back to three more days and we lose 0:07:11.240 --> 0:07:15.239 you for any day, our chances of winning that game 0:07:15.280 --> 0:07:17.960 that day are very, very are a hell of a 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:20.640 lot smaller, you know, because he's such an impactful player. 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:22.840 So not only is our shortstop, you know, he's our 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.559 best offensive player. He's our most dynamic players. So trying 0:07:25.600 --> 0:07:29.000 to keep him healthy and also satisfy his need to 0:07:29.680 --> 0:07:32.960 you know, be aggressive and use his legs was super challenging. 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:36.480 But hopefully all this is behind him, you know, and 0:07:36.520 --> 0:07:38.480 we can get back to watching Ellie run the way 0:07:38.480 --> 0:07:39.560 he's capable of running. 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.960 It's obviously fun to talk base running because of how 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:45.360 athletic this team is, and there are some dynamic guys 0:07:45.360 --> 0:07:49.000 like we've talked about, But the other thing that is 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:51.280 A big part of what you do is working with 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:55.480 the outfielders. We saw a guy like Noelvie Marte make 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.960 huge shrides in very short order. What was the key 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:02.800 to kind of get him comfortable with and then becoming 0:08:03.240 --> 0:08:07.160 not just a respectable outfielder in right field, but a 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.600 pretty darn good right fielder. We saw him rob the 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:11.880 home run that may have saved the season and helped 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:13.680 this team get to the postseason late in the year. 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:14.400 Yeah, it was. 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:17.120 It was so fun to watch him, you know, just 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.360 the relief he felt moving from the infield to the outfield. 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:22.239 He just he was just dragging that around. 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:26.720 He was dragging his his his miscues on defense into 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:29.600 the box, and you know, it's hard to battle yourself 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:32.120 and the pitcher at the same time offensively, So just 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:35.079 to watch him be able to just play free, have fun. 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.840 There was always a smile on his face. But the 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:40.920 way he got better was because he just worked at 0:08:40.960 --> 0:08:43.319 it every day. We worked every day. I stood behind 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:46.679 him in BP. I helped him with his his pre pitch, 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:48.360 his first step, and then just kind of like let 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.640 him make mistakes out there, like hey, man, go catch 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:52.880 the ball or don't catch the ball. But if you 0:08:52.920 --> 0:08:55.240 don't catch the ball, learn from it. You know what happened. 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:57.720 And there beat there was plays in the season which 0:08:57.720 --> 0:09:00.240 he didn't miss very many, but there was a couple 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:02.000 of where his routes weren't great. But I would take 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:05.080 the iPad to him and I'd show him and and uh. 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:06.600 And he'd get the hang of it. And then and 0:09:06.800 --> 0:09:08.360 the very next play he'd clean it up. 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:12.040 So he's that good at at at making changes and 0:09:12.080 --> 0:09:14.640 adjusting and and he's just a great baseball player. 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:15.199 So the more he. 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:17.400 Works, and if he continues to work, he's going to 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:18.880 continue to be a pretty good outfielder. 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.880 That robbing of the home run is directly correlated to 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:24.600 the drill that you have with the pitching machine. I'm serious, 0:09:24.600 --> 0:09:25.719 and I'm blowing smoke here. 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:27.600 You guys work on that. 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:30.319 So congratulations on that play. 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:32.040 Come in to Prision congratulation. 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:37.240 Seriously, Hey, you know I've seen defense go by the wayside, 0:09:37.400 --> 0:09:38.640 uh somewhat in this game. 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:41.800 You're known for your enthusiasm. 0:09:42.000 --> 0:09:44.959 You're you're more like a football coach and the baseball 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:47.720 coach I've ever seen when guys get down to first base, 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.120 you headbutt them. Now, has there ever been a time 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:52.559 where a guy had butted you so hard that it 0:09:52.920 --> 0:09:56.120 like you saw stars a little bit, or vice versa, 0:09:56.320 --> 0:09:57.240 or you did it too. 0:09:57.160 --> 0:09:58.880 Hard to get into concussion protocol. 0:09:59.040 --> 0:10:03.679 I'm telling you, Uh, Freedol will absolutely send it on 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:07.560 some head butts. I could see that, and and I 0:10:07.600 --> 0:10:10.640 will absolutely send it back to Freedel. So it's morally 0:10:10.720 --> 0:10:12.200 just you know, because you know we're kind of the 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.679 same size, we're very similar, uh, you know, little pit bulls. 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:17.160 And Jack Russell's whatever you want to call us. 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:20.400 But when he gets a bunt down for a not 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:25.320 I am more fired up for that event than I 0:10:25.360 --> 0:10:27.280 am a lot of other things. And if he forgets 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:29.280 the head butt me, I will take his head and 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:32.880 I will smash it against my head just to make 0:10:32.960 --> 0:10:36.000 sure that he doesn't under didn't misunderstand how fired up 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.000 I am because he works really hard at bunting and 0:10:38.000 --> 0:10:40.240 when he gets it done, it's a big it's normally 0:10:40.240 --> 0:10:42.320 a big moment for us, and uh, and that fires 0:10:42.320 --> 0:10:42.600 me up. 0:10:43.640 --> 0:10:46.360 You boys, right, that's that's right. 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.000 Well, thanks so much for the time. Really appreciate it. 0:10:49.000 --> 0:10:49.640 Thanks for coming down. 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:52.280 Always fun to chat baseball with you and enjoy the 0:10:52.320 --> 0:10:52.800 rest of the winter. 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:53.400 Yeah, you got it. 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.080 My pleasure guys is Colin cal Gill joining us on 0:10:57.120 --> 0:11:00.160 the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League. We are live, Hey, 0:11:00.240 --> 0:11:02.760 but the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's watch Bar at 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.880 the Banks. We're back with Mark Sheldon. Next on the 0:11:04.880 --> 0:15:11.200 Reds Radio Network. Beckets the Budweiser Reds Hot Stove Leak 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:12.960 presented by UDF. 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:13.840 We are live the. 0:15:13.800 --> 0:15:17.600 Bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's watch Bar at the Banks. Meanwhile, 0:15:18.000 --> 0:15:20.920 Mark Sheldon is staying nice and warm. I'm sure he's 0:15:20.920 --> 0:15:23.560 got a good tan working. He is down in the 0:15:23.600 --> 0:15:27.320 Sunshine State. I bet it ain't raining down there, Marky, Mark, 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:27.960 what's going on? 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:29.760 How are you doing? 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:30.240 Pretty good? 0:15:30.280 --> 0:15:32.360 I can tell you that I don't have any tan 0:15:32.520 --> 0:15:35.200 because I barely left the hotel all week and the 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.560 hotel was freezing inside with all the air conditioned plumping in. 0:15:38.600 --> 0:15:42.040 But I'm at the airport and I'm ready to come 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:44.800 home in the slop that we're gonna get in Cincinnati soon. 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:46.800 Yeah, you're bringing some snow with you, which is really nice. 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:46.960 Well. 0:15:47.000 --> 0:15:50.200 Mark has been down in Orlando, not for vacation, not 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:54.080 just checking out the area Disney hotels, but he is 0:15:54.120 --> 0:15:56.400 down there for the winter meetings. He's on his way 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.640 home now, hanging out at the lovely Orlando Airport. Well 0:15:59.640 --> 0:16:02.640 Mark Danks for joining us. But you know, obviously there 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:05.000 was a lot of excitement on whether or not the 0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:08.040 Reds were going to land Kyle Schwarber. They didn't. What 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:10.840 have you learned and and how how much have you 0:16:10.880 --> 0:16:13.480 realized about how close the Reds really were on that deal? 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:17.760 You know, Schwarber said today on his zoom with the 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.400 Phillies writers that he thought the Red's offer was impressive. 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:24.000 He thought the Reds efforts to get him were legit, 0:16:24.360 --> 0:16:26.400 and he I think the term he used, they weren't 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:29.680 pulling his chain. Him and his wife were at Great 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:33.480 American Ballpark the Monday before Thanksgiving and they listened to 0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:36.360 what everyone had to say from the front office, which 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:39.680 included Nick Krawl and Brad Metter and Bob Castellini and 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:46.400 Tito Francona and Chris Valaika and Jeff Garpe. You know, 0:16:46.440 --> 0:16:49.080 they went left and they came away okay with that, 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:53.560 but that ultimately when the offer came, they they were 0:16:53.600 --> 0:16:57.400 better offers and and honestly, the Reds were a long 0:16:57.440 --> 0:16:59.960 shot in a lot of ways. But because the phil 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:01.840 were always going to be the leader in the clubhouse, 0:17:01.840 --> 0:17:04.760 they they wanted him back. I think he wanted to 0:17:04.800 --> 0:17:08.280 go there first priority, and the Phillies produced the money 0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:09.040 to make that happen. 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:11.720 Where do you think the Reds go from here? Where 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:16.119 are some rumblings that you're you've heard this week? You know, 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:18.199 there are a thousand rumors out there. You don't know what 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:22.359 to believe, You're gut feeling where they go. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.000 It's you know, that's a tough one. It's it's wide 0:17:25.040 --> 0:17:29.080 open now at this point, Jim, because you know, it's 0:17:29.080 --> 0:17:31.280 not like they're you know, pet A Lonzo's off the 0:17:31.320 --> 0:17:33.080 board now, of course, but I'm not sure they were 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:35.600 ever They were never in play for him. But there's 0:17:36.080 --> 0:17:38.680 obviously there's the biggest probably free agent for them that's 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:42.200 left is Boba Shet, but they're not connected to him yet. 0:17:42.320 --> 0:17:44.560 I would wonder if they would think about going to him. 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:48.680 Nick Krawl has said that they are willing to look 0:17:48.680 --> 0:17:51.440 at guys that maybe their position is filled on the team, 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:53.879 and then maybe requiring to move a guy to a 0:17:53.880 --> 0:17:56.200 different position because they have a lot of flexible players, 0:17:56.240 --> 0:17:59.840 and that kind of makes sense with Brandon lou coming 0:17:59.920 --> 0:18:02.240 up as a trade candidate maybe from the Raise because 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:04.159 he's a second baseman, and that would mean someone like 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.480 Matt McClain would have to move maybe to center field. 0:18:06.520 --> 0:18:09.280 So there's there's different hoops, you know, things they can 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:12.720 do it. It's just not as easy to pinpoint as Yeah, 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.080 they were after Kyle Schwarber. Now it's like they have 0:18:15.119 --> 0:18:16.880 a lot of different, you know, irons in the fire. 0:18:16.960 --> 0:18:19.160 They've been talking at free agents, they've been talking to 0:18:19.160 --> 0:18:23.040 the trade partner's, potential trade partners, and we'll have to 0:18:23.080 --> 0:18:23.919 see what happens. 0:18:24.080 --> 0:18:26.680 One hundred and twenty five million dollars is what they 0:18:26.720 --> 0:18:29.639 were willing to pay over five years for Kyle Schwarber. 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:32.359 That seems to be a pretty good price tag for 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.480 a team that's budget seems to be fairly limited. Would 0:18:35.520 --> 0:18:38.400 that give you an indication that they're willing to spend 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.360 if it's the right player moving forward? 0:18:41.920 --> 0:18:42.320 Yes to no. 0:18:42.440 --> 0:18:45.360 I mean Nick Caral's been pretty transparent about the part 0:18:45.440 --> 0:18:47.160 with the what the payroll is going to be. Similar 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:51.480 to last year they gave Emilio Pegan, you know, ten 0:18:51.480 --> 0:18:53.960 million a year for the next two years. They didn't 0:18:53.960 --> 0:18:55.560 have a whole lot left, and I think what they're 0:18:55.600 --> 0:18:58.040 trying to do is that whether it's with trying what 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:00.280 they tried to do with Schwarber or what they might 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.240 do with another free agent, is can they find a 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.679 way to get creative in year one? They know their budget, 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.280 maybe if they can get a guide to the first 0:19:08.320 --> 0:19:10.239 of money. I think deferrals is a big part of 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:13.320 what they might try to do, and then then they 0:19:13.320 --> 0:19:15.240 can see where they are for the twenty twenty seven 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:18.639 budget and twenty twenty eight, et cetera. So if they 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.159 can find the right guy and tofer some money and 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:23.080 have that player be willing to do that, or maybe 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:25.560 they try some opt outs or other creative ways to 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:27.880 make it work, they will. But I don't think they're 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:30.080 going to expand based on what he said today, I 0:19:30.119 --> 0:19:32.040 don't think they're going to expand the budget, nor were 0:19:32.040 --> 0:19:34.960 they trying to expand the budget to get shorter. 0:19:35.600 --> 0:19:38.000 If they can't dip into the free agent market. And 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:39.399 as you said, the two. 0:19:39.280 --> 0:19:43.320 Big sluggers are off off the board, so trade would 0:19:43.359 --> 0:19:48.000 be the next avenue. Now they've are build within franchise, 0:19:48.440 --> 0:19:52.639 they've been reluctant to trade prospects coming up with a 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.840 trade major league player for major league player is less 0:19:56.840 --> 0:20:00.720 frequent nowadays. Do you see them dipping in the trade 0:20:00.760 --> 0:20:02.560 market to try to come up with the bat Do 0:20:02.600 --> 0:20:05.000 you think that they would deplete the farm system to 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:05.280 do so. 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:08.880 I mean, it sounds like the way things were going 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:10.640 at the Winter Meetings, and you've seen it a couple 0:20:10.680 --> 0:20:12.480 of times with trades before the Winter Meetings. 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:13.440 It seems like there's been. 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:17.560 More major league for major league player trades this time around, 0:20:17.560 --> 0:20:20.440 which is a change from the past. Like you said, 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:22.320 it was more rare for a while, But it seems 0:20:22.359 --> 0:20:25.000 like teams aren't hunting for prospects the way they were 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:27.720 hunting for them in past years. There's there are fewer 0:20:27.760 --> 0:20:28.639 rebuilding teams. 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:30.280 You know. 0:20:30.320 --> 0:20:33.640 The one place I keep mentioning, much to people's chagrin, 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.479 is dipping into starting pitching. 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:36.639 You know, they have a lot of depth. 0:20:37.240 --> 0:20:39.800 But at the same time, both Nick cral and Brad 0:20:39.840 --> 0:20:41.680 Metter have been pretty open about the fact that they 0:20:41.720 --> 0:20:44.159 really don't want to trade someone like Hunter Green or 0:20:44.320 --> 0:20:47.119 Brady Singer or any of their starters because they, you 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:49.840 know what, the that was deep and talented as it is, 0:20:50.160 --> 0:20:52.159 a lot of those guys have histories of going on 0:20:52.200 --> 0:20:54.200 the injured list, and they have three guys that missed 0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:57.240 all of last season, so I would think their starting 0:20:57.280 --> 0:20:59.320 pitchers would be the ones that would attract the offers. 0:20:59.320 --> 0:21:01.600 I don't know if they have position players that would 0:21:02.040 --> 0:21:06.600 grab what they need, you know, elsewhere. Obviously, if they 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:08.120 have a good hitter on their team, they're gonna want 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:10.040 to hang on to him because they need him in 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:12.040 the lineup too. They don't want to deplete one spot 0:21:12.080 --> 0:21:12.480 for another. 0:21:13.320 --> 0:21:17.080 Well Mark, it's certainly going to be interesting real quickly 0:21:17.680 --> 0:21:20.160 talking about trades before we let you go? Is could 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:24.080 tell Marte a viable option you think on the trade market. 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:26.680