Speaker 1: This is off season Dodger Talk, Winner Meetings Edit yar
Speaker 1: now Everyone's favorite Dodger Insight David Bassett.
Speaker 2: Welcome the Dodger Talk David Massey live from the Sports
Speaker 2: at LA studios with you until eight o'clock tonight here
Speaker 2: on AM five to seventy LA Sports. We do have
Speaker 2: a full board of calls that are winning for you
Speaker 2: to fill up here eight sixty six nine eighty seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy eight sixty six nine eight seven two
Speaker 2: five seventy. Last night our first show since the parade,
Speaker 2: our first show of the Winter Meetings, and Brian Cranston
Speaker 2: uh was our guest for forty minutes. He took up
Speaker 2: the entire show and certainly had a few interesting trade ideas.
Speaker 2: If you want to respond to some of his free
Speaker 2: agent ideas or trade ideas from last night, now's the time.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eight seven two five seventy. Just
Speaker 2: got done recapping Day two of the Winter Meetings on
Speaker 2: Sports and at LA with John Hartungue and Jerry Harriston
Speaker 2: Junior and last night John asked both of us, what's
Speaker 2: your dream as far as the Dodgers signing or trading
Speaker 2: for a player? During the winter meetings, and Jerry Harriston Junior,
Speaker 2: to his credit, said Edwin Diaz. Now when he said
Speaker 2: that last night, I thought it was a dream. I
Speaker 2: didn't believe that could happen. I had not heard that
Speaker 2: the Dodgers were in on Edwin Diaz. But the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: credit to Andrew Friedman and Diaz's representatives at Wasserman, kept
Speaker 2: this very close to the vest because this did not
Speaker 2: just happen overnight. I was told by a very good
Speaker 2: source with the Dodgers that they had been talking to
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz for quite some time and we're able to
Speaker 2: nail down a three year, sixty nine million dollar contract
Speaker 2: in the last forty eight hours. Here it seemed like
Speaker 2: Diaz going into free agency, from what I was told,
Speaker 2: was set on four years, having a four year contract,
Speaker 2: but the Dodgers were able to show him the benefits
Speaker 2: of a shorter term contract but also becoming the highest
Speaker 2: paid reliever by year in baseball history, So that was
Speaker 2: I'm sure attractive to him. Also, the Dodgers took advantage
Speaker 2: of the fact that the Mets kind of disrespected Edwin Das.
Speaker 2: He felt disrespected. Talking to people close to Edwin Das
Speaker 2: he was not happy about the fact that they signed
Speaker 2: Devin Williams and never really communicated with him. From what
Speaker 2: I have learned, the Mets never formally gave Edwin Diaz
Speaker 2: an offer until the last twenty four hours, So it
Speaker 2: was the Dodgers that were courting das tree him like
Speaker 2: he should be treated one of the best relievers available
Speaker 2: on the free agent market, and that was part of
Speaker 2: the attractiveness to the Dodgers. And not to mention back
Speaker 2: to back World Series championships, and also the fact that
Speaker 2: his brother Alexis Diaz was part of the organization last
Speaker 2: year and relayed good things to him. And let's not
Speaker 2: forget the strong ties of Puerto Ricans, especially Puerto Rican
Speaker 2: baseball players, small knit but very strong group. Do you
Speaker 2: know who was who is you know, basically one of
Speaker 2: the most proud Puerto Ricans out there. Yeah, it's three
Speaker 2: times World Series champion KEYK a Hernandez. You're telling me
Speaker 2: that Edwin Diaz decided to leave the Mets and sign
Speaker 2: with the Dodgers without speaking to KEYK a Hernandez, who
Speaker 2: I expect to be back with the Dodgers next year.
Speaker 2: He cares about the Dodgers three time World Series champion,
Speaker 2: a big part of this back to back run. Here,
Speaker 2: you're telling me to believe that Key K a Hernandez
Speaker 2: and Edwin Diaz have not spoken during this process about
Speaker 2: signing with the Dodgers, with it being as close as
Speaker 2: it was, and it came down to the Dodgers and Mets.
Speaker 2: I had heard about a week ago. It was Mets
Speaker 2: Braves and then Mets Blue Jays Braves. Nobody ever mentioned
Speaker 2: the Dodgers. They did a great job of being stealth
Speaker 2: in their pursuit of Edwin Diaz. And I'm sure many
Speaker 2: of you are as excited as many of the players
Speaker 2: that I exchanged texts with today having Edwin Diaz as
Speaker 2: their closer. Eight sixty six nine eight seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. Now, not only did the
Speaker 2: Dodgers sign Edwin Diaz to a three year, sixty nine
Speaker 2: million dollar contract, but they also said, you know what
Speaker 2: qualifying offer be damned. Andrew Freeman was on the MLB
Speaker 2: Network today and acknowledged that there is a cost to
Speaker 2: signing a player with the qualifying offer attached to him,
Speaker 2: and with the Dodgers being well over the luxury tax threshold,
Speaker 2: they not only will pay a luxury tax for being
Speaker 2: over where they're at right now, but along with Diaz
Speaker 2: having a qualifying offer attached to him, the Dodgers are
Speaker 2: going to lose their second and fifth highest draft selections
Speaker 2: in the twenty twenty six draft and will lose a
Speaker 2: million dollars from their international bonus pool. That just shows
Speaker 2: you the commitment of Mark Walter to want to win
Speaker 2: again a three peat and basically the urgency that the
Speaker 2: Dodgers have from Andrew Freeman to Mark Walter. After signing
Speaker 2: show Heo Time, who deferred the majority of his seven
Speaker 2: hundred million dollar contract. He was not deferring that for
Speaker 2: the Dodgers to hold on to draft picks and international
Speaker 2: money poll. He was deferring that for the Dodgers to
Speaker 2: spend every single off season, and that's what they have
Speaker 2: done to build a winner. After the Dodgers won in
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four in New York, Shojo Tani told people
Speaker 2: only nine more I was told after the Dodgers won
Speaker 2: in Toronto. On the field in the middle of the celebration,
Speaker 2: sho Heo Tani was telling his teammates and coaching staff
Speaker 2: and trending staff only eight more to go. This guy
Speaker 2: expects to win or be in the World Series every
Speaker 2: single season, and he demands that from the Dodgers. And
Speaker 2: that's the reason why he signed with the Dodgers, because
Speaker 2: that's the Dodgers' ultimate goal as well. So all of
Speaker 2: this goes into play. When you say, you know what,
Speaker 2: we are over the highest luxury tax threshold, and yeah,
Speaker 2: the Mets attached a qualifying offer to Edwin Diaz. We're
Speaker 2: gonna say, you know what, that doesn't mean anything to us.
Speaker 2: And Andrew Friedman was classy about it. He wasn't flipping
Speaker 2: about it. He acknowledged that there is some pain and
Speaker 2: signing a player that has turned down a qualifying offer
Speaker 2: and has those things attached to him. But it just
Speaker 2: shows that the Dodgers believe in their player development, that
Speaker 2: they can draft players in the later rounds and find
Speaker 2: some good ones. And in baseball, you've seen it time
Speaker 2: and time again. First round draft picks, I would say,
Speaker 2: at least half of them don't pan out. And then
Speaker 2: you hear guys that were drafted in the fifth or
Speaker 2: sixth round that turn out to be All stars and
Speaker 2: sometimes Hall of famers. So to me, draft picks and
Speaker 2: where you pick in baseball, it does mean something, but
Speaker 2: it doesn't mean as much as it would in the
Speaker 2: NFL or NBA drafts. So Edwin Diaz is going to
Speaker 2: be a Dodger. It's not official, but it is going
Speaker 2: to be official, and that just means good things for
Speaker 2: the rest of the Dodger bullpen. And we'll get into
Speaker 2: what it means for Tanner, Scott and Blake Trining and
Speaker 2: all those guys. But do we are we really talking
Speaker 2: about that? The Dodgers have Edwin Diaz and Dodger Stadium
Speaker 2: is going to be electric in the ninth inning of games,
Speaker 2: with Timmy trumpet blaring, with Edwin Diaz coming out of
Speaker 2: the bullpen gates. It's going to be the biggest scene
Speaker 2: for relievers since Kennley Jansen came out for three hundred
Speaker 2: and fifty saves to California love or majority of them.
Speaker 2: At Dodgers Stadium. We have three lines open eight six, six, nine, eight, seven, two,
Speaker 2: five seventy. We are going to get to your phone
Speaker 2: calls next and Jack Harris is going to check in
Speaker 2: from the LA Times from Orlando at the winter meetings
Speaker 2: to we had more information on Daz and what else,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers may be cooking up out there. Big night,
Speaker 2: Big night for Dodger Talk. Thanks to Brian Cranston last night.
Speaker 2: Thanks to you for tuning in again tonight, and we'll
Speaker 2: get to your phone calls next right here on AM
Speaker 2: five to seventy LA Sports. Ah, this is giving me chills.
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz is a Dodger. Can you imagine a sellout
Speaker 2: crowd at Dodger Stadium, the led lights flashing blue and white,
Speaker 2: and everybody on their feet. When Timmy Trumpet plays and
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz comes running out of those Dodger State out
Speaker 2: of that Dodger Stadium bullpen, it will be electric. This
Speaker 2: is Dodger Talk. David vass with you until eight o'clock
Speaker 2: tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports. We
Speaker 2: will have another Dodger Talk for you tomorrow night at
Speaker 2: seven o'clock. Andre Ethier is so excited about the Dodger
Speaker 2: signing Edwin Diaz he wants to join the show tomorrow night.
Speaker 2: So we'll hear from Andre Ehier, who actually told me
Speaker 2: he sat next to Edwin Diaz during the most recent
Speaker 2: Major League Baseball Awards show. We'll let you know tomorrow
Speaker 2: night with Andre Ehier and what his pitch may have
Speaker 2: been to Edwin Diaz for the Dodgers. So Ethier will
Speaker 2: join us tomorrow night, and then to close out Winter
Speaker 2: Meetings week, we will have another show for you at
Speaker 2: seven o'clock and tomorrow night we are going to triple
Speaker 2: up on TV and radio Sports Net LA Access Sportsnet.
Speaker 2: Dodgers Winter Meetings coverage continues tomorrow night at six o'clock.
Speaker 2: I'll join John Hartungue and Jerry Harriston Junior and then
Speaker 2: we'll do Dodger Talk live from the SNLA studios at
Speaker 2: seven o'clock. And look, there are so many rumors with
Speaker 2: so many different names. If you just want to throw
Speaker 2: a name out at me, I will tell you what
Speaker 2: I know. But as far as this reliever market goes,
Speaker 2: the Dodgers had interest in Raaling Glacias, but he wanted
Speaker 2: to stay on the East coast. Good luck with the Braves.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers had interest in Devin Williams and they were
Speaker 2: willing to go three years. He wanted to pitch on
Speaker 2: the East coast. Good luck with the Mets, but the
Speaker 2: Dodgers had the last laugh, Mets, you won, Devin Williams
Speaker 2: go ahead, We'll take Edwin Diaz, and Edwin Diaz said
Speaker 2: goodbye to Queen's and said hello to the best coast
Speaker 2: Los Angeles. Let's start with David in paramount. You're on
Speaker 2: Dodger Talk. How you doing, David, Hey, how's it going? David?
Speaker 3: First of all, thank you for taking my call. First,
Speaker 3: I just want to say, uh, Berando Venezuela is a
Speaker 3: Hall of Famer before we get anything. He is a
Speaker 3: Hall of Famer and he deserves to be in the
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame.
Speaker 4: So I just want to get that out there.
Speaker 3: So second though is, yeah.
Speaker 2: You know what I'll say about that, David, David before
Speaker 2: where you go on? You know what I'll say about that.
Speaker 2: To me, yes, he's a Hall of Famer. But you
Speaker 2: know what means more to me caring about Fernando is
Speaker 2: that he was alive to see his number thirty four
Speaker 2: retired at Dodger Stadium. To me, that means more than
Speaker 2: him being elected to the Hall of Fame, because he's
Speaker 2: not here to celebrate it, but he was here to
Speaker 2: celebrate his number being retired at Dodgers Stadium. So to me,
Speaker 2: I cherish that more than some group of owners, players,
Speaker 2: saying whether or not he's a Hall of Famer. To me,
Speaker 2: that means more because he was alive to witness it.
Speaker 3: I could incur. And I'm glad the Dodgers broke that
Speaker 3: tradition of only Hall of famers that's in the Baseball
Speaker 3: Hall of Fame to have the number retired at Dodge Stadium.
Speaker 3: I'm glad they broke that for him because he is
Speaker 3: a Hall of Famer. But to get to the need
Speaker 3: of be up tonight, yes, I'm glad Edwin he is
Speaker 3: a the Dodger Timmy Trump Its coming out of the bullpen.
Speaker 3: It kind of takes Tennis not out of that position
Speaker 3: from the closer, which he was never really accustomed to.
Speaker 3: He never did it in Miami, he never did it
Speaker 3: in San Diego. He did a little bit of it,
Speaker 3: but the Dodgers kind of made him doing that and
Speaker 3: go into that position of being the full time closer.
Speaker 3: So I'm hoping the setup role sets them up for
Speaker 3: a better twenty twenty six. And I agree what you said,
Speaker 3: you know a glass he is going back to the Braves,
Speaker 3: a team that's on the decline. Devin William going to
Speaker 3: the Mets, the team that's sporadically out of control with
Speaker 3: the rumors that they got going over there. So thank
Speaker 3: you DV for taking my call. Go Dodgers and we
Speaker 3: can't wait for three Pete.
Speaker 2: Love it. David, thank you for the phone call at
Speaker 2: this point in time with the Dodgers being back to
Speaker 2: back World Series champions. If everything is equal, if you're
Speaker 2: trying to pursue a player and that player doesn't choose
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, to me, that says everything about the player
Speaker 2: and you don't want them on the team. If everything's
Speaker 2: being equal, and it says a lot about Edwin Diaz
Speaker 2: leaving a team that he has spent his entire career
Speaker 2: with and jumping from the East Coast to the West
Speaker 2: Coast and joining the back to back World Series champions.
Speaker 2: That says everything to me about Edwin Diaz. Let's go
Speaker 2: out to Long Beach, Courtney. You're on Dodger Talk. How
Speaker 2: you doing Courtney's.
Speaker 1: Time, David, how are you doing? First time caller, longtime listener,
Speaker 1: oh thank you, and longtime champagne in your face watcher.
Speaker 1: So what I gotta say is two things, you know.
Speaker 1: Number one, of course, I'm focused on our Dodgers here,
Speaker 1: right Canner Scott's era last time I checked, and granted
Speaker 1: it's been a while because he was not on a
Speaker 1: lot of the postseason roster. I think he was left
Speaker 1: off of the al most of it, and his era
Speaker 1: last time I checked was probably close to five. It
Speaker 1: was horrible that being said, what are we gonna do
Speaker 1: money wise to eat this guy's contract? Where is he
Speaker 1: gonna go? Do we plan on putting him as a starter.
Speaker 1: Is he gonna be middle of the rotation? What's that
Speaker 1: look like?
Speaker 2: And then well, he's not going He's not going anywhere
Speaker 2: at Courtney. The Dodgers and I kind of from Dave
Speaker 2: Roberts to Andrew Freeman to a lot of guys in
Speaker 2: the front office believe that Tanner Scott cannot have a
Speaker 2: worse year than he had last year, and they expect
Speaker 2: him to bounce back and be closer to the Tanner
Speaker 2: Scott that they thought they signed from the Padres a
Speaker 2: couple of years ago. And I believe him, you know,
Speaker 2: not having the burden of being the closer, being a
Speaker 2: guy that can pitch in the seventh inning, the eighth
Speaker 2: inning against lefties and Edwin Diaz having the lights on
Speaker 2: him will take a lot of pressure off of Tanner
Speaker 2: Scott because I kind of talking to Tanner it kind
Speaker 2: of felt like he let the contract weigh him down,
Speaker 2: and you can't do that as a player. The way
Speaker 2: professional sports is set up, you get paid for what
Speaker 2: you did, not what you're going to do or what
Speaker 2: you're doing right now. That's just the way it's at
Speaker 2: least in baseball it's set up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And then I guess my second question is or
Speaker 1: not question, more of a statement, we should all be
Speaker 1: glad that Steve Cohen is not our owner because this
Speaker 1: man is just making horrendous baseball decisions from the top
Speaker 1: on down. He had, you know, Wan Soda, that's another conversation.
Speaker 1: But why would you let this person go if you
Speaker 1: had any any fight in the in the least.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, they were expecting that they could sign
Speaker 2: Devin Williams and sign Edwin Diaz, but you got to
Speaker 2: keep the lines of communication open with your star closer.
Speaker 2: You can't treat him like some guy that is is
Speaker 2: not part of your organization. And from what I understand
Speaker 2: Edwin Diaz did feel slighted by the Mets and just
Speaker 2: how they did not really put the full court press
Speaker 2: to keep him up until the last twenty four to
Speaker 2: forty eight hours thanks to the phone call. Courtney called
Speaker 2: back anytime. Eight six, six, nine eighty seven two five
Speaker 2: seventy is the phone number. David Vasse with you until
Speaker 2: eight o'clock tonight here on AM five to seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 2: The big news of the day, the Dodgers reportedly have
Speaker 2: agreed to a contract with Edwin Diaz for three years
Speaker 2: and sixty nine million dollars. Not only are they going
Speaker 2: to pay Edwin Diaz, they're going to pay a luxury tax,
Speaker 2: and they also are going to lose their first and
Speaker 2: fifth highest draft picks along with being penalized losing a
Speaker 2: million dollars in international pool money for being a team
Speaker 2: that is over the furthest luxury tax and signing a
Speaker 2: player that had a qualifying offer attached to him. But
Speaker 2: obviously that means something. But it doesn't mean as much
Speaker 2: to the Dodgers as it would let's say the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Speaker 2: The Dodgers are in it to win it now. They
Speaker 2: are not satisfied with winning back to back championships. They
Speaker 2: want to join the Yankees from twenty five years ago.
Speaker 2: Not only being repeat champions, but he champions. You heard
Speaker 2: Mark Walter at the parade. That wasn't just lip service.
Speaker 2: His actions speak louder than words. He wants to keep
Speaker 2: this thing going. O'tani has set the tone by deferring
Speaker 2: as much money as he did when he signed here
Speaker 2: for the Dodgers. The expectation from him is for the
Speaker 2: Dodgers to continue to go out there and sign players
Speaker 2: and not rebuild, but reload every off season. And the
Speaker 2: Dodgers had a couple of things in mind going into
Speaker 2: this sason, finding a high leverage reliever. Yes, they had
Speaker 2: interest in Ray sale Iglesias for a short term contract.
Speaker 2: I believe they had some interest in Robert Suarez from
Speaker 2: the Padres in a one or two year deal, But
Speaker 2: with Edwin Diaz still being out there and him wanting
Speaker 2: to be a Dodger, he was probably the only reliever
Speaker 2: currently on the market that the Dodgers would have given
Speaker 2: a three year contract too. Eight six six nine eight
Speaker 2: seven two five seventy is the phone number. We have
Speaker 2: two lines open if you have heard any rumors connecting
Speaker 2: the Dodgers to a certain player or players. There are
Speaker 2: so many things out there, and the Dodgers have so
Speaker 2: many ways to pivot to improve this team. Whether it's
Speaker 2: signing a guy like Bo Bisheed or trading for a
Speaker 2: player like Brendan Donovan, or signing Harrison Bader. There are
Speaker 2: so many different ways the Dodgers can move the pieces,
Speaker 2: and you know they're not done. But I believe that
Speaker 2: the next move for the Dodgers is probably a trade.
Speaker 2: And the Dodgers and Cardinals to me, seem like a
Speaker 2: perfect trade partner with each other. For Brendan Donovan, who
Speaker 2: was an All Star last year, Dave Roberts managed him
Speaker 2: for the National League All Star Team, so he has
Speaker 2: some idea about what this guy is about. He could
Speaker 2: play second, he could play third, he could play left field,
Speaker 2: and we know the Dodgers love versatility. The Cardinals are
Speaker 2: looking for young, controllable players and specifically pitchers because they
Speaker 2: are rebuilding. And heinm Bloom, who was the Red Sox
Speaker 2: GM that trade and Mookie Betts to the Dodgers obviously
Speaker 2: has a relationship with Andrew Friedman, and it just seems
Speaker 2: like they're a really good trade partner match. Let's go
Speaker 2: out to Las Vegas since City, Sergio, you're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 2: How you doing.
Speaker 5: Hey, David, thank you for taking in my call.
Speaker 4: Uh.
Speaker 5: It's another exciting day being a Dodger fan. But it
Speaker 5: just goes to show you we got as Dodger fans,
Speaker 5: we got to be grateful for Mark Walter and the
Speaker 5: Googenheim Group. And it all started with the show. Hey,
Speaker 5: that was a I mean, the greatest ballplayer on the planet,
Speaker 5: but that was an.
Speaker 6: Amazing businesses business decision to sign him, David, And this
Speaker 6: is all, you know, it's all rolling out with Andrew
Speaker 6: Freeman in the front office, and like you just said,
Speaker 6: you know they can they can sign players.
Speaker 5: They can you know, they can use their prospects uh
Speaker 5: to go out and get people and then or also
Speaker 5: work from their major league roster. Edwin Diaz fantastic signing.
Speaker 5: I guess we get that. We give you assist to
Speaker 5: mister Clutch underneath here and maybe even Alexis Das maybe
Speaker 5: his brother said, Hey, I enjoyed the short time that
Speaker 5: I was there. You know, talk to the Dodgers would
Speaker 5: be a great experience, and maybe that helped out. Like
Speaker 5: my question though, DV is now you brought up Henner Scott.
Speaker 5: I was talking to some friends earlier thinking like would
Speaker 5: the Dodgers eat some of that contract and trade him
Speaker 5: in a package. But you bought up a good point
Speaker 5: there with the previous caller. But what do we do
Speaker 5: Veski d Bryer or blessed the banda? What do we
Speaker 5: do with the surplus? And then you just mentioned the
Speaker 5: Donovan possibility? Is that what you're what your thought is
Speaker 5: the next move possibly as a trade?
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a That's what I feel like. The Dodgers,
Speaker 2: who are they gonna sign? I mean you could. It
Speaker 2: feels like Harrison Bater is going to be on the
Speaker 2: market for a while. If that's a guy that you know,
Speaker 2: if you can't make a trade to improve your outfield,
Speaker 2: then you can go out and sign him. And the
Speaker 2: Dodgers had some interest in him when the trade deadline
Speaker 2: came around last year with the Twins. But you know,
Speaker 2: I just feel like Brendan Donovan makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 2: I know people keep talking about Lars Nowpar like he's
Speaker 2: Ken Griffy junior, but he's not. I've talked to pictures
Speaker 2: that have faced him. He's not a guy that they fear.
Speaker 2: He's a good outfielder, But to me, Brendan Donovan is
Speaker 2: a guy and look, I'm I'm a big Bo Baschett fan.
Speaker 2: I believe Bob Boschett can really fit with this Dodger
Speaker 2: team and be great with the Dodgers. But is that
Speaker 2: too much? I don't believe it is too much. But
Speaker 2: the question and the balance for Andrew Friedman is not
Speaker 2: how Bo Bischett fits in twenty twenty seven and beyond.
Speaker 2: But is it the right timing to sign him now?
Speaker 2: Would that disrupt or make you know, other players uncomfortable
Speaker 2: that you know, this guy's gonna take my job? And
Speaker 2: that's how does he fit? How does he fit with
Speaker 2: Tom Yedman, with Kim, with all these guys, Where do
Speaker 2: you play him this year? All of those themes come
Speaker 2: into play, even though he would be a great heir
Speaker 2: to Maximunsey at third base, down the line.
Speaker 5: Yeah, So do you think that the possibility of Tucker
Speaker 5: and a reunion with Belly is completely out of the question.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't say out of the question, but I would
Speaker 2: say doubtful. Sergio, I would say doubtful.
Speaker 5: Okay, Well, as long as we get some sort of
Speaker 5: combination with Donovan, get an outfielder, just solidify one more
Speaker 5: spot with flexibility and the versatility, as you said, it's tremendous.
Speaker 5: Let's get another outfielder and let's roll three pet baby.
Speaker 2: Thanks David, all right, Sergio, thank you for the phone call.
Speaker 2: Eight six six nine eighty seven two five seventy is
Speaker 2: the phone number. We're going to take a time out
Speaker 2: here on Dodger Talk. When we continue, we'll check in
Speaker 2: with Jack Harris, who is in Orlando at the Winter Meetings.
Speaker 2: Jack does a great job for the LA Times. We'll
Speaker 2: check in with him next. Get the latest from Orlando,
Speaker 2: as it's ten thirty on the East Coast right now,
Speaker 2: and the Dodgers making, as John Hartungue likes to say,
Speaker 2: a big splash. They signed Edwin Diaz to a three year,
Speaker 2: sixty nine million dollar contract. All the latest on Dodger
Speaker 2: Talk next on a five to seventy LA Sports five
Speaker 2: seventy LA Sports. We we'll get back to your phone
Speaker 2: calls in just a moment, but we are join right
Speaker 2: now by the best beat writer on the Dodgers beat
Speaker 2: these days. He doesn't for the La Times. You could
Speaker 2: follow him by Jack Harris on X. He is in
Speaker 2: Orlando at the Winter Meetings in the lobby, working the
Speaker 2: lobby and that is the one and only Jack Harris. Jack,
Speaker 2: thanks a lot for the time, and I guess the
Speaker 2: Dodgers gave you something to write about today.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so much for thinking this was going to be
Speaker 4: a boring winner, or that they weren't going to make
Speaker 4: a big contract for a reliever. Those were all the
Speaker 4: things that they were signaling, you know, earlier this offseason
Speaker 4: about what they were going to try to do. Even
Speaker 4: yesterday when Dave Roberts spoke to the reporters here, he said,
Speaker 4: you know, I don't think we necessarily need a big splash.
Speaker 4: That said, obviously the bullpen was the place they needed
Speaker 4: to upgrade the most. They really needed somebody they could
Speaker 4: trust in the ninth inning, and there had been some
Speaker 4: signs over the last couple of weeks that they were
Speaker 4: maybe willing to be more aggressive for a reliever than
Speaker 4: they had on you know, they had a lot of
Speaker 4: interest in Devin Williams, even as his bidding got up
Speaker 4: and to multi level or multi year kind of deals.
Speaker 4: They were interested in Robert Suarez and then Edwin Diaz.
Speaker 4: You know, kind of his market developed in the way
Speaker 4: that the Dodgers like to be around, which is on
Speaker 4: a somewhat shorter deal. You know, three years is so
Speaker 4: lot for a reliever, especially in his thirties, but only
Speaker 4: three years. You know, they were happy to give him
Speaker 4: a record aav of twenty three million a year, and
Speaker 4: they get a guy who, over the last decade now
Speaker 4: has more strikeouts than any other relief pitcher, has the
Speaker 4: second most saves, behind only Kenley Janssen. And really, since
Speaker 4: Kenley gives them a solidified option in the ninth innings,
Speaker 4: they try to go for a third World Series next year.
Speaker 2: Jack, the way it kind of feels when you're at
Speaker 2: the Winter meetings before these type of signings really break,
Speaker 2: did you get any sense that this was going to
Speaker 2: happen today? Did you start to hear a buzz in
Speaker 2: the lobby out there in Orlando?
Speaker 4: I mean, I think the only thing that had changed
Speaker 4: to a day was this sense that, you know, the
Speaker 4: Mets life with a lot of the players they've been involved,
Speaker 4: and you've seen this with Pete Alonzo too, you saw
Speaker 4: it with Kyle Schwarber, like they're they're being somewhat conservative
Speaker 4: with their offers, and if they weren't going to go
Speaker 4: to a four or five year deal for edwind as
Speaker 4: then it was gonna make it much more realistic than
Speaker 4: another team like the Dodgers could probably get him on
Speaker 4: a three year deal, even if it was for a
Speaker 4: lot of aav But you know, still, I think even
Speaker 4: even as of yesterday, you know, the thinking was that
Speaker 4: that someone like him was just going to be a
Speaker 4: little more costly and a volatile relief role than what
Speaker 4: the Dodgers were gonna want to pay. You know, they
Speaker 4: did have maybe not regrets, but you know, after the
Speaker 4: way last offseason played out, giving Tanner Scott as much
Speaker 4: money as they did, even bringing back Blake trying to
Speaker 4: on a multi year deal, and seeing how those guys struggled,
Speaker 4: it was a reminder that, you know, giving a lot
Speaker 4: of money and a lot of years to relief pitchers
Speaker 4: can be a dicey thing. But if there's somebody that
Speaker 4: has the kind of track record that you could trust,
Speaker 4: it is Edwin Diaz. Again, he's been really consistent for
Speaker 4: a really long time now and showed this past year that,
Speaker 4: you know, even after that knee injury that knocked him
Speaker 4: out a couple of years ago, he's still right up
Speaker 4: there as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.
Speaker 4: So It was definitely a surprise, but I think, you know,
Speaker 4: when you look back at it in hindsight, with some
Speaker 4: of the stuff that Dodgers had done, with their interest
Speaker 4: in other pictures and the way that his market developed,
Speaker 4: it does kind of make sense that if they were
Speaker 4: going to make a big move, it would kind of
Speaker 4: happen in this way.
Speaker 2: Do you believe he was at the top of their
Speaker 2: list or do you believe that he was one of
Speaker 2: a handful of guys they were interested in. Do you
Speaker 2: do you feel like this materialized in the last week
Speaker 2: or so. How do you see the priority Edwin Diaz
Speaker 2: was when they set out this offseason?
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I mean they were interested in other guys, right,
Speaker 4: like they were interested in Ryce ell Iglesias on probably
Speaker 4: a one year deal before he went back to the Braids.
Speaker 4: You know, they were in the running for a long
Speaker 4: time with Devin Williams, like I said, even as it
Speaker 4: was becoming clear he was the need a multi year
Speaker 4: kind of all offer. So I'm obviously you know the Dodgers,
Speaker 4: Andrew Friedman's saying, if there's a top player that's out there,
Speaker 4: they want to be in position to try and go
Speaker 4: and get them. So I'm sure that Edwin d As
Speaker 4: is somebody who they knew coming into this winter. I mean,
Speaker 4: you know, you look back in hindsight now like it
Speaker 4: probably helped a little bit that they had his brother
Speaker 4: on the team last year, who you know, was pretty
Speaker 4: complimentary of his time there. So obviously this is someone
Speaker 4: that fit a need really well, and I'm sure was
Speaker 4: on their target list. But I don't think probably until
Speaker 4: you know, this week or the last couple of weeks,
Speaker 4: that just it was going to They were going to
Speaker 4: have to wait and see how his market developed and
Speaker 4: if he was going to get a four or a
Speaker 4: five year deal, It's probably less likely they would have
Speaker 4: done something like this, but three years, you know, with
Speaker 4: with how much of a need that was. And again,
Speaker 4: the I think the track record in the consistency with
Speaker 4: him is a big part of this. Yeah, it's it's
Speaker 4: kind of why it all aligned here on the way
Speaker 4: it did.
Speaker 2: Jack Harris is in Orlando at the winter meetings. The
Speaker 2: Dodgers have agreed on a contract with closer Edwin Diaz,
Speaker 2: and this isn't where the Dodgers are done. Jack. There's
Speaker 2: been a lot of talk that Teoscar Hernandez is available
Speaker 2: in trades. Have you heard any more about that out
Speaker 2: there in Orlando?
Speaker 4: On the record yesterday, Dave Roberts and Brandon Gomes were
Speaker 4: both tried to downplay that. You know, Brandon Gome said
Speaker 4: he thought it was unlikely that the team would trade him.
Speaker 4: He doesn't really anticipate that. But again, you know, they
Speaker 4: said similar things about Gavin Luck's last offseason. So yeah,
Speaker 4: I think with somebody like him, there would probably need
Speaker 4: to be the right string of moves for something like
Speaker 4: that to happen, because look, they do like they need
Speaker 4: an outfielder right now. If you're gonna get rid of him,
Speaker 4: then that need only becomes more. And for as shaky
Speaker 4: as his defense was in right field last year, he
Speaker 4: still had some really important moments in the postseason. He's
Speaker 4: sell an important voice in that clubhouse. So I don't
Speaker 4: think the Dodgers are are I don't think it's something
Speaker 4: where they're actively trying to offload him. But if they
Speaker 4: wind up in a situation where and maybe the said
Speaker 4: WANDAZ thing plays into it, you know, where maybe they
Speaker 4: could go out and make another big signing or taking
Speaker 4: on more money and need to maybe kind of restructure
Speaker 4: what their payroll looks like a little bit. You know,
Speaker 4: that's one guy you could consider, because there aren't a
Speaker 4: lot of great right handed outfield bats on the trade market.
Speaker 4: You could probably get something back for him. But you know,
Speaker 4: I think in general, for the rest of the team,
Speaker 4: now you know it's going to center around still trying
Speaker 4: to find an outfielder. I still think the trademarket there
Speaker 4: probably makes a little bit more sense, even if you
Speaker 4: know they remain interested in Cody Bellinger and Harrison Bader
Speaker 4: and some other guys like that, so they're not done.
Speaker 4: But again, I think the fact you saw them be
Speaker 4: willing to spend this much money today on the closer
Speaker 4: spot takes care of a really big need and probably
Speaker 4: puts them in that position now where they can be
Speaker 4: even more selective as they go through the rest of
Speaker 4: the winner, knowing that the biggest they needed to get
Speaker 4: done this winter they have.
Speaker 2: All Right, So you talk about the trademarket to improve
Speaker 2: their outfield, the Cardinals and Dodgers seem to be a
Speaker 2: pretty good trade partner. What are the chances anything change
Speaker 2: the way people are talking about the Cardinals shopping Brendan
Speaker 2: Donovan and Lars nootbar.
Speaker 4: I mean, nothing's changed, they are shopping them. You know,
Speaker 4: the Cardinals are one of the few teams that have
Speaker 4: made it pretty clear they're trying to offload players. They're
Speaker 4: not really trying to contend next season. You know, they're
Speaker 4: going into a reset mode. I think the question for
Speaker 4: the Dodgers is going to be whether it's with the
Speaker 4: Cardinals or the Red Sox or maybe even the Astros
Speaker 4: who have, you know, some outfield surplus and are looking
Speaker 4: for pitching. How comfortable are the Dodgers dealing away maybe
Speaker 4: some of those young arms that are going to be
Speaker 4: needed to provide important depth this year. You know, coming
Speaker 4: off the kind of postseason the Dodgers just had, you
Speaker 4: know that you're probably not going to be getting thirty
Speaker 4: plus starts out of Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto again
Speaker 4: or Roki Sasaki. You're certainly not shohe Otani, who Dave
Speaker 4: Roberts said already is probably gonna get something more like
Speaker 4: seven or eight days off between his starts next season. So,
Speaker 4: you know, the Dodgers have the pieces to get a
Speaker 4: trade done. They still have you know, what is a
Speaker 4: top three maybe the best farm system in baseball by
Speaker 4: a lot of metrics, and they have that valuable asset
Speaker 4: of young pitching. The question is going to be, can
Speaker 4: they find a move that they feel like improves their
Speaker 4: lineup enough that makes it worth subtracting from some of
Speaker 4: that young pitching depth. That could be really important as
Speaker 4: they try to get through this next year.
Speaker 2: In Jack Harris's opinion, who fits the best with the
Speaker 2: Dodgers out of these three players Brendan Donovan, Lars Noubar
Speaker 2: or Jaron Duran.
Speaker 4: I mean, I think out of those three, Brendan Donovan
Speaker 4: just because of the positional versatility. Obviously, the Dodgers love
Speaker 4: those kinds of players. I think, especially as you look
Speaker 4: at next year's team, you know Tom Edmond's going to
Speaker 4: be a little bit of a question mark coming back
Speaker 4: from this ankle, at least early in the year. At
Speaker 4: second base, Max Munsey has not been able to stay
Speaker 4: healthy for the last couple of years. At third base,
Speaker 4: you still don't know exactly what you're going to do
Speaker 4: in the outfield. So if you can get somebody that
Speaker 4: can give you a little extra coverage at a lot
Speaker 4: of different spots like that, it helps. And it's the
Speaker 4: kind of it's the way the Dodgers have liked to
Speaker 4: build the rosters in the past. He's a guy that
Speaker 4: profiles that way while still getting you some production with
Speaker 4: the bats. So of those three and I think of really,
Speaker 4: out of a lot of the names on the trade market,
Speaker 4: it's somebody like that who you know, if they can
Speaker 4: find someone who can also fill in in different spots
Speaker 4: on the infield, that's probably going to be their preference.
Speaker 2: Okay, last question for you, Jack Harris, who is in
Speaker 2: Orlando at the Winter meetings, bo Bishett to me, out
Speaker 2: of all the free agency fits the Dodgers the best.
Speaker 2: Have you heard any buzz out there that the Dodgers
Speaker 2: and Bishett have had any sort of contact. There was
Speaker 2: a report that Bishett had a zoom meeting with the
Speaker 2: Red Side. Anything like that transpired between Bishett's camp and
Speaker 2: the Dodgers, not.
Speaker 4: That I have heard, and not that's been reported. He
Speaker 4: is an interesting guy because, you know, getting back to
Speaker 4: the positional versatility that the Dodgers have, they could fit
Speaker 4: somebody like that, especially if they wanted to go out
Speaker 4: and make a big addition to their lineup on the
Speaker 4: free agent market. Now, I think there's a couple guys
Speaker 4: that fit in that boat, you know. I think Cody
Speaker 4: Bellinger is somebody that, in a different way also kind
Speaker 4: of fits in that the Dodgers have expressed some interest in.
Speaker 4: And I think also with the chet's market, it's still
Speaker 4: a little slow developing right now, as you know, the
Speaker 4: Blue Jays figure out how aggressively they're going to go
Speaker 4: after Kyle Tucker and then what happens if he can't
Speaker 4: go back to Toronto. So I wouldn't roll that out
Speaker 4: as a possibility, especially again, like with Edwin Diaz, if
Speaker 4: Bobashett can be had for instead of eight years, like
Speaker 4: five or six years, or just been a different kind
Speaker 4: of structure that gives the Dodgers a little bit more
Speaker 4: long term financial flexibility, I wouldn't. I would say never
Speaker 4: say never there. But for now, you know, the team
Speaker 4: still is pretty content, I think, especially with the lineup
Speaker 4: and the position group it has. I don't think they're
Speaker 4: going to go crazy overspending to really remake that group necessarily.
Speaker 4: But again, he's a top player. He's somebody that you know,
Speaker 4: obviously you saw it close last year how dynamic he
Speaker 4: can be, even when he's playing at seventy percent in
Speaker 4: the World Series. And like the Dodgers say, when there's
Speaker 4: top players out there, they want to try to put
Speaker 4: themselves in position for it. But anything concrete yet, No,
Speaker 4: that has not been a storyline here this week.
Speaker 2: All right, Jack, thanks a lot for checking in, appreciate
Speaker 2: it and can't wait to see you when you get
Speaker 2: back to LA.
Speaker 7: Thanks.
Speaker 5: See.
Speaker 2: Okay, I guess Jack's not as excited to see me
Speaker 2: as I was to see him. All right, Jack, we'll
Speaker 2: just wave to each other from Afar at the next
Speaker 2: press conference there he goes Jack Harris, the best beat
Speaker 2: rider on the Dodger beat right now Latimes dot com,
Speaker 2: La Times if you get it delivered, if you're that
Speaker 2: small group of people that still get the newspaper delivered,
Speaker 2: and you can follow Jack Harris on Twitter at by
Speaker 2: Jack Harris. So he said some interesting things. There is
Speaker 2: some things that make a lot of sense. And I
Speaker 2: know there's a lot of rumors out there that the
Speaker 2: Dodgers and Tigers are getting close to a Trek school
Speaker 2: bl I don't want to rip the guy that's tweeting that,
Speaker 2: but I find it hard to believe the Tigers are
Speaker 2: going to trade Tarrek Schooble, and I don't see Scott
Speaker 2: Boris negotiating an extension with the Tigers or any other
Speaker 2: team out there as far as Kyle Tucker goes. Look,
Speaker 2: if Kyle Tucker's market gets to a point where he
Speaker 2: may take a four year contract instead of what he's
Speaker 2: looking for, a six or seven year contract, that's gotta
Speaker 2: be somewhat of a red flag to everybody involved, because
Speaker 2: it feels it's like the Kyle Tucker love affair is
Speaker 2: diminishing by the day, and it feels like Toronto is
Speaker 2: the best place for him, the best fit for him.
Speaker 2: I'm not in on Kyle Tucker. I think he's a
Speaker 2: very talented player, but you know, I'm not going to
Speaker 2: get into everything I've heard around the game and the
Speaker 2: industry from guys that have played against him, that have
Speaker 2: played with him. He's not a bad teammate, but I
Speaker 2: you know, I think at times there's been some question
Speaker 2: about his love for the game, and we'll see what happens.
Speaker 2: I feel like part of that's playing into some of
Speaker 2: the stuff that's going on with his market. But look,
Speaker 2: he may very well still get five or six or
Speaker 2: seven years and close to three fifty I could see
Speaker 2: that happening in Toronto. Eight six six nine eight seven
Speaker 2: two five seventy is the phone number. Let's go out
Speaker 2: to Lewin Phoenix. You're on Dodger Talk.
Speaker 8: How you doing, Hey, Dave, i'nlike Jack Harris, I'm excited
Speaker 8: to talk to you. Man, good to talk to you again.
Speaker 2: You're more excited than Jack was to see me. I
Speaker 2: was like, Hey, Jack, can't wait to see you. Get it, Lou,
Speaker 2: you got it?
Speaker 3: I do.
Speaker 8: Hey. You know last year, Dave, in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 8: you you allowed us to share the Freddie Freeman walk
Speaker 8: off story?
Speaker 1: Where were you?
Speaker 8: And I shared my story? And I don't know. Obviously
Speaker 8: it's your show. I'd love to share my Game seven
Speaker 8: World Series of twenty twenty five. I promise I'll air
Speaker 8: on the side of briefness, if that's okay.
Speaker 2: So you're putting yourself in the same category as Brian
Speaker 2: Cranston because that last night you're saying Lewin Phoenix is
Speaker 2: on the level of Brian Cranston that we all want
Speaker 2: to know where Lewin Phoenix was. I'm just kidding, Lou.
Speaker 2: Of course, I want to hear where you were. I
Speaker 2: want to hear where everybody was. I love hearing these stories.
Speaker 8: I figured you would want to keep it going. Yeah,
Speaker 8: So anyway, I had bought tickets to see the Eagles
Speaker 8: at the Sphere in Vegas to celebrate my daughter's graduation.
Speaker 8: So unfortunately, of course it was at the time of
Speaker 8: Game seven, so, you know, being a passionate Dodger fan,
Speaker 8: my daughter and I we were at the Eagles concert
Speaker 8: in the Sphere and it was a concert where you
Speaker 8: could literally have to sit down and not say a word.
Speaker 8: Well that's kind of hard when Game seven's going on
Speaker 8: with all of the you know, all of the drama
Speaker 8: going on. So literally we left the concert because the
Speaker 8: ushers escorted this out because we were being too loud.
Speaker 8: We went into the anals of the of the Sphere
Speaker 8: and we had gathered some folks who were just as
Speaker 8: zealous as us. We all know what happened, but that's
Speaker 8: where I was for Game seven, watching the Eagles band
Speaker 8: perform Game seven with my daughter. You know, it's just
Speaker 8: been a great ride and I'd love to hear other
Speaker 8: stories throughout the season if you allow them to share.
Speaker 8: Thanks for everything you do.
Speaker 2: DV all right, Lou, thank you for the phone call. Yeah,
Speaker 2: I mean, at this point, I would love to hear where.
Speaker 2: I've asked people when they tell me all the Dodgers,
Speaker 2: they go on and on about the Dodgers. I just
Speaker 2: simply ask where were you for Game seven? And that
Speaker 2: usually generates a great story. You heard where Brian Cranston
Speaker 2: was all the way in London, England, in the middle
Speaker 2: of the night watching that. And now Lewin Phoenix has
Speaker 2: given us where he was the spear in Las Vegas
Speaker 2: watching the Eagles without my guy Glenn Frye, who passed away.
Speaker 2: But I heard, actually the Eagles still have their fastball.
Speaker 2: My guy Bernie Selmanson, the Prince of Tabs, saw the Eagles,
Speaker 2: and he was telling me the other night when we
Speaker 2: were having dinner at Javier's in Pasadena, shout out to
Speaker 2: my guy Javier Senior and Junior. They opened up Javier's
Speaker 2: in Pasadena. I was there for the first night last
Speaker 2: Friday night, and it is amazing. You have to try
Speaker 2: Javier's in Pasadena. It's one of the most beautiful restaurants
Speaker 2: that Pasadena has ever seen. Anyway, let's go out to
Speaker 2: Laguna Neguel. Ralph, You're on Dodger Talk. How you doing.
Speaker 7: Ralph, Yes, sir, thank you, Ver David. Can you tell
Speaker 7: me what the status of three Dodger players? Will the
Speaker 7: Dodgers invite Graderol to spring training? What about kicking Hernan
Speaker 7: his operation on his left elbow with that effect is signing?
Speaker 3: Now?
Speaker 7: What's the status with Evan Phillips? Is he still on
Speaker 7: the Dodgers? He's come to spring training?
Speaker 2: Okay, Ralph, Well, let's work backwards. Evan Phillips is still
Speaker 2: coming back from Tommy John surgery and the Dodgers non
Speaker 2: tendered him, but the door is not completely closed on
Speaker 2: him coming back. He can't come back to pitch for
Speaker 2: any team until you know, midway through the season. And
Speaker 2: I feel like that was more roster maneuvering, not tendering
Speaker 2: him because he wants to be a Dodger and the
Speaker 2: Dodgers really like Evan Phillips as far as keyk Hernandez goes.
Speaker 2: He's technically a free agent, but I expect him to
Speaker 2: be back and Bruce Star Graderol. We'll see how he
Speaker 2: looks in spring training. You know, he was hoping to
Speaker 2: come back at the end of last year, but his
Speaker 2: shoulder did not cooperate. From what I've seen on Instagram.
Speaker 2: He's lost a lot of weight. We'll see if that translates.
Speaker 2: But we'll see Bruce star Grattarol when pitchers and catchers
Speaker 2: report around Valentine's Day Camelback Ranch.
Speaker 7: What about Tika Hernandez's operation on his left el? But
Speaker 7: what's the status day?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what. I'm gonna see key K Hernandez
Speaker 2: this weekend and I'm gonna try to interview him Ralph,
Speaker 2: and hopefully on one of our shows next week we
Speaker 2: could share that conversation. But I don't see Key K
Speaker 2: playing until probably June this year. All right, Ralph, thank
Speaker 2: you for the phone call. That'll do it for us
Speaker 2: tonight on Dodger Talk. If I did not get to
Speaker 2: your calls tonight, call back tomorrow. We're on at seven
Speaker 2: o'clock and we'll see whether or not the Trek Schooble
Speaker 2: rumors heat up even more. Everybody is waiting to see
Speaker 2: whether or not Tarek Scooble is traded to the Dodgers
Speaker 2: or any other team out there. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2: I'm very skeptical, but hey, if it happens, you'll hear
Speaker 2: it first right here on AM five. To seventy LA Sports.
Speaker 2: Thanks to Jack Harris for his help out in Orlando.
Speaker 2: Thanks to the crew here at sports net LA for
Speaker 2: allowing me to post up and host Dodger Talk from
Speaker 2: the sports net LA headquarters. We'll do it again tomorrow
Speaker 2: night on sports Net LA at six o'clock and again
Speaker 2: right here on AM five seventy at seven o'clock. Thanks
Speaker 2: to Ronnie Foscio for all his help. And in case
Speaker 2: you missed any of the show or our interview with
Speaker 2: Brian Cranston last night, you can find it on the
Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app and make Dodger Talk your number one pre set.
Speaker 2: Coming up next Fox Sports Radio. We'll talk to you
Speaker 2: tomorrow night at seven o'clock. SIA