WEBVTT - 11-19-25 Reds Hot Stove League 0:00:00.640 --> 0:00:03.400 Hey, very delightful, good evening, and welcome in to the 0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:07.760 Budweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF. As always, 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:10.440 we are live at the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:13.040 Watchbar down to the banks with Jim Day. I'm Tommy Throw. 0:00:13.080 --> 0:00:15.160 Great to be with you. A lot to get to today. 0:00:15.640 --> 0:00:19.919 We have the President of Baseball Operations, Nick Crawl, with 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:24.720 us in house today live to talk all things Reds 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:28.160 baseball in this offseason. We'll get to him in a moment. Jim, 0:00:28.240 --> 0:00:31.160 the Red's making a little bit of news yesterday, kind 0:00:31.160 --> 0:00:34.880 of some paperwork moves adding guys the forty man roster 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:37.159 to protect him from the Rule five draft. No real 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:37.879 surprises there. 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:44.400 It didn't seem like no Hector Rodriguez Arroyo, and you 0:00:44.440 --> 0:00:48.320 know those were two guys that obviously other teams would 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:54.000 be interested in. I imagine the Balcazar who established himself 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:57.520 a little more here in the Arizona Fall League. Some 0:00:57.640 --> 0:01:00.560 tough decisions always year in and year out, because you 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:03.000 don't want to someone to just swoop in and take 0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:05.000 one of your top players. Even though those rules are 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:08.759 tough that they have to be on the posting team's roster, etc. 0:01:09.160 --> 0:01:11.840 But no surprise whatever that those guys were added to 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.520 the forty. Maybe one surprise in on the back end 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:17.280 of that was Carson Spiers was designated for as sign right. 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:19.280 We'll talk to Nick about that, because you've got to 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.440 believe there's probably still some thought that he will be 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:25.920 able to remain within the organization. Of course he could 0:01:26.000 --> 0:01:28.399 get picked up. We'll talk about all that as well. 0:01:28.560 --> 0:01:31.280 Edwin Royo, this is a guy that I feel like 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:33.200 has a chance of being the big leagues next year. 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:35.320 We'll start the season at Triple A. I mean, he's 0:01:35.319 --> 0:01:37.959 one of the top prospects in the organization for a reason. 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.520 You certainly can't allow him to get away. So we'll 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.280 talk about all of that as we welcome in the 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:45.959 Reds President of Baseball Operations, Nick Crawl. Nick, thanks so 0:01:46.000 --> 0:01:48.480 much for taking some time to sit with us and 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.640 talk Reds baseball for a little while. Thanks for how's 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:53.400 the off season been going. I know you just came 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.840 from the GM meetings. What's kind of the lay of 0:01:56.840 --> 0:01:59.720 the land would you gather from the GM meetings down 0:01:59.720 --> 0:01:59.960 to bake. 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:02.200 It's just trying to get as much information as you can. 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.120 We met with every club that was there. We talked 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:07.000 to those guys. We talked a lot of those guys 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:10.160 before we got there, but you know, the week before 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:12.639 free agency opened, so we were able to sit down 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:16.040 with every agent for every player and you know, talk 0:02:16.120 --> 0:02:18.840 through where they are, what their expectations are, and then 0:02:18.919 --> 0:02:20.520 see if we can find some matches. 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:23.720 You know, there's players that you obviously have a relationship with. 0:02:23.840 --> 0:02:28.240 Do you do you ever negotiate with a player because 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.799 of the personal connection you may have with someone and 0:02:31.280 --> 0:02:34.280 bypass in a way that the agent you could. I don't. 0:02:34.320 --> 0:02:36.800 I don't feel comfortable doing that. You have an agent 0:02:36.840 --> 0:02:39.000 for a reason. That's what you're supposed to do. That's 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:42.320 you know, you you obviously have hire an agent for 0:02:42.440 --> 0:02:45.560 us to go through the agent. You know, I'll text 0:02:45.639 --> 0:02:48.000 a guy every now and then, but I won't do 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:51.840 a negotiator. We won't negotiate through the player themselves unless 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:53.600 they don't have an agent, and that's the way they 0:02:53.680 --> 0:02:54.200 want to do it. 0:02:55.240 --> 0:02:59.440 This process, once free agency opens and the GM beatings, 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.600 not a whole lot happens. It picks up at the 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:06.399 winter meetings. It's a long process this offseason and free agency. 0:03:06.440 --> 0:03:08.520 Do you wish it was shorter, there were some type 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.799 of deadline that was involved that would get action going 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:12.560 a little faster. 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:14.720 Yeah, I mean it, it'd be great if it was 0:03:14.720 --> 0:03:17.920 a condensed and yeah, you know, I was talking to 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:20.720 somebody the other day, I guess the NFL has six 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.560 weeks off that where nothing really happens in the summer, 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:27.640 so a lot of facilities shut down, and you know, 0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:30.320 you kind of take some downtime, and you know, obviously 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.040 you like that, but that's not how we work. 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:32.480 Yeah. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:34.760 Well, I mean at the trade deadline, a lot of 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:36.840 deals are done because there's a deadline. So do you 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:39.760 think that would up the action if there were at 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:41.760 least one, maybe two deadlines involved. 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:42.320 I don't know. 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.400 I mean probably like everybody waits till a deadline when 0:03:45.400 --> 0:03:49.040 they have to submit things. Yeah, you know, when somebody's 0:03:49.080 --> 0:03:51.440 looking for a payment on something, you wait till the 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:52.440 deadline to give it to them. 0:03:52.480 --> 0:03:54.440 Right, Well, we will look forward to that. Once you 0:03:54.440 --> 0:03:58.440 were commissioner of Major League Baseball, So let's talk about 0:03:58.720 --> 0:04:02.800 this team. Obviously, the Winter Meetings are right on the horizon. 0:04:02.880 --> 0:04:05.480 Following up the GM meetings, were you able to get 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:09.680 kind of an idea of how teams value their players, 0:04:09.680 --> 0:04:12.680 whether it's prospects or guys in the big league team. 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:15.440 As far as how you kind of maneuver the offseason 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:17.800 and the moves you guys may have coming up. 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:20.440 Yeah, I mean you're you're figuring out what their needs 0:04:20.440 --> 0:04:22.920 are and what they have surplus of, and they're doing 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:25.240 the same for us. So that's what a lot of 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.160 the last couple of weeks have been, and you know 0:04:27.200 --> 0:04:28.840 a lot of teams are still trying to figure it out. 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:30.719 You know, you got a lot of moves made yesterday, 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.400 whether it's adding guys the roster, handful of guys got 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.640 designated for assignment. You know, you saw players got designated 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:39.320 for assignent that might have got claimed on waivers two 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:42.880 weeks ago because they get non tendered on Friday, which 0:04:43.240 --> 0:04:46.080 is another deadline. So you're gonna see players non tendered 0:04:46.120 --> 0:04:49.120 Friday that are you know, you might have a handful 0:04:49.120 --> 0:04:51.719 of guys more that are free agents. So just trying 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:53.640 to figure out what that market is and what the 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:55.560 markets are and where to go. 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.960 I know, you were always working within a budget. Everyone 0:05:00.120 --> 0:05:03.279 business works within a budget, and you talk to the 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:06.160 writers a little bit about this, but clarifying for this 0:05:06.320 --> 0:05:10.080 audience with some of the money that came off the 0:05:10.080 --> 0:05:13.920 books from last year. And I know there's arbitration involved 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:16.640 in players up their salaries and almost balances out. How 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:19.160 much financial flexibility do you have as we sit. 0:05:19.120 --> 0:05:20.840 Here, we'll be right around those same amount we had 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:25.760 last year, just budget wise. You know, it's it'll obviously 0:05:25.760 --> 0:05:28.279 depend on what the arbitration raises are. And you know, 0:05:28.320 --> 0:05:30.120 guys going through arbitration are going to get a little 0:05:30.120 --> 0:05:32.320 bit more salary, and we've got a handful of those guys. 0:05:32.680 --> 0:05:35.359 So I think it's just we're still working to determine 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.240 what we can and can't do within the budget that 0:05:39.560 --> 0:05:42.560 we have based on some of those asks. 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.640 With that being said, do you imagine that the ways 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:49.000 you'll be able to improve this team will be dipping 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.920 into the free agent market at all? Or is it 0:05:51.960 --> 0:05:55.240 more going to be based on trades dealing from areas 0:05:55.279 --> 0:05:57.200 where you may have a little bit of a surplus. 0:05:57.240 --> 0:06:00.239 It's really hard to answer, and without skirting the question, 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:04.320 it's you know, sometimes two years ago we spent some 0:06:04.320 --> 0:06:07.800 money in free agency, whereas this year or last year, 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.839 we had a handful of guys that we made trades with. 0:06:11.440 --> 0:06:14.760 Whether it was singer or Travino, and then we signed 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.960 some other guys like Hayes and Barlow who were in 0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:20.400 the free agent market. So I think we're looking at 0:06:20.440 --> 0:06:23.360 both well, we are looking at both markets and trying 0:06:23.400 --> 0:06:25.839 to figure out where the best use of our money is, 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:29.679 where the best use of or return is. And then obviously, 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.159 if we have to make trades, what are the players 0:06:32.160 --> 0:06:34.400 that player prospects or major league players that we have 0:06:34.400 --> 0:06:36.880 to give up to make the club better. 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:39.520 I know, obviously you we'd love to add a power 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:40.719 bat to the middle of the lineup. 0:06:40.720 --> 0:06:41.279 Who wouldn't. 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:44.720 That's you know, every team is normally looking for that 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.359 at all times. But you have some spots opened in 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:51.320 the bullpen. I imagine that that might be step number one. 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:52.960 How are you going to be able to fill those 0:06:53.000 --> 0:06:55.080 spots within your budget? 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.680 Well, I mean it's first off, everybody would like a 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:00.640 middle of the order power bat, and if you have one, 0:07:00.680 --> 0:07:03.320 you'd like to write like that. That's that's an obvious statement. 0:07:04.440 --> 0:07:07.520 The bullpen is something where we were really have been 0:07:07.800 --> 0:07:09.560 have had a really good bullpen over the last couple 0:07:09.600 --> 0:07:13.200 of years. It's we've gotten some guys via trade, We've 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:17.840 gotten some guys in sam Maul. We've gotten some guys 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.520 like Tony Santian that have come through the draft. Graham 0:07:20.520 --> 0:07:23.360 Ashcraft moved to you know, from the draft out there. 0:07:23.520 --> 0:07:27.480 We got some guys in Pagan and Barlow from last 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:30.240 year that that we're from free agency. We're gonna have 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:32.200 to look at all avenues that we can and figure 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.120 out how to fill those spots. You know, some might 0:07:34.160 --> 0:07:37.720 come from trade and some might come from a free agency, 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:39.800 and some might come from within. You know, we had 0:07:40.080 --> 0:07:42.160 a handful of guys come up and down last year. 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:46.200 Connor Phillips ended the year pitching really well as he 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:49.120 came up and ended the season with the club. Max 0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.080 went into the season with the club. He wasn't on 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.600 the postseason roster, but he had some up and down 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:59.040 spots that he's learning to get in there. Luis May 0:07:59.200 --> 0:08:02.200 same thing. He came up and down, had some really 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.720 good games and struggle at times. You know, if we 0:08:04.720 --> 0:08:07.320 can get those guys more consistency, then they have a 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:10.920 chance to legitimately win spots in the bullpen and they 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:12.640 have you know, a couple of those guys have a 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:15.440 chance to be back legitimate back end guys for a 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:18.440 long time. So it's trying to balance out whether we're 0:08:18.440 --> 0:08:20.720 going to add a handful of guys to replace the 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.120 guys we lost, or that we need to make sure 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:27.160 we give chances for the guys we have to win spots, 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:30.600 but then also supplement those guys with players that can 0:08:30.640 --> 0:08:32.480 take they take on experience roles. 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.480 We're visiting with Red's President of Baseball Operations, Nick Krawl. 0:08:35.520 --> 0:08:37.920 Plenty more to get to with Nick. It's the Budweiser 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:40.720 Red's Hot Stove League presented by UDF. Live the bet 0:08:40.880 --> 0:08:43.319 MGYM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch Bar at the Banks on 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:57.240 the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back in with the Butdwise 0:08:57.240 --> 0:08:59.839 the Red's Hot Stove League presented by UDF. We are 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.600 I have the bet MGAM Sportsbook inside Tom's watch Bar 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:04.640 at the Banks. Few folks here hanging out with us. 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:06.840 Larry herms made the trip over from across the road. 0:09:08.280 --> 0:09:10.520 Big show. No, it's a big show and Hermsey's here. 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:13.559 Only eighteen more of these bad boys to go. It's 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.800 week three of the Hot Stove season. We are visiting 0:09:16.840 --> 0:09:21.480 with Red's President Baseball Operations, Nick Crawl. And Nick. You 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:25.240 know the headlines that have kind of dominated it. We 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:27.320 were talking about trades and trying to get this team 0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.719 better by trade. We even talked about it on this 0:09:29.800 --> 0:09:32.840 show Week one. Look, if there's an area where you 0:09:32.880 --> 0:09:34.600 kind of have a little bit of a surplus right now, 0:09:34.679 --> 0:09:37.760 it seemed to be starting pitching now. Surplus is kind 0:09:37.760 --> 0:09:40.320 of a tricky word because we all know guys are 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:44.080 somebody's going to get hurt. Very rarely do you go 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.760 into spring training and the five guys you have planned 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:49.400 to start the season in the rotation end up starting 0:09:49.440 --> 0:09:52.319 the season in the rotation. It happened last year. Obviously, 0:09:52.400 --> 0:09:54.679 one of the big marquee names, a guy like Hunter Green. 0:09:55.120 --> 0:09:57.080 He didn't pitch for two months last year while he 0:09:57.160 --> 0:10:01.480 was hurt. Some has been made of the severity of 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.840 that injury, and then also is he a trade candidate. 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:10.040 So when you hear all the stuff that's surrounding Hunter Green, 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:11.960 what's kind of your reaction to all of that? 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:13.600 Well, I mean, I think first when you look at 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:17.040 the rotation, it's really it is really hard to say, oh, well, 0:10:17.080 --> 0:10:19.280 we're just going to trade because we have surplus, because 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.760 I don't think anybody has surplus, right if you have 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:25.280 if you have eight guys, nine guys that are coming 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:31.160 in to win a spot in the rotation. You've got Green, Abbott, Lodolo, 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:36.520 and Singer Singer and who have pitched all year in 0:10:36.520 --> 0:10:39.160 the big leagues. Right. You got Burns who came up 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:42.240 in the middle of the year, and those five guys 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:43.440 ended the season healthy. 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:44.040 Right. 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:47.400 Of those five guys, the only guy that actually made 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.960 it through the full season without without being injured was Singer, 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:54.920 And I think everybody has their own Hey, I missed 0:10:54.920 --> 0:10:56.280 time for this, or miss time for this. 0:10:56.960 --> 0:10:57.640 Guys get hurt. 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:01.120 In the rotation. Three of the other guys are Brandon Williamson, 0:11:01.240 --> 0:11:04.280 Julian Agie Are and Rehet Louder missed all season last 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:07.120 year with various injuries. So you know, you have to 0:11:07.160 --> 0:11:09.280 have depth in the starting rotation. You just have to. 0:11:09.360 --> 0:11:14.000 I mean getting Lttel last year allowed us to push 0:11:14.080 --> 0:11:16.679 Martinez to the bullpen, and that happened for about a 0:11:16.920 --> 0:11:18.920 week and then he went right back in the starting 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:22.560 rotation when we had some injuries until he could go 0:11:22.600 --> 0:11:26.120 back in the bullpen. So you really need a group 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.520 of guys, whether it's it's guys that can go to 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:30.439 the bullpen or guys that can go to Triple A 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.679 that are going to be your death starters because you're 0:11:32.720 --> 0:11:35.120 going to need them all year. Chase Petty made starts 0:11:35.240 --> 0:11:38.440 last year, Wade Miley made a couple of starts last year. 0:11:39.400 --> 0:11:42.760 Burns made a handful of starts last year. So it's 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:47.640 the average team uses roughly fifteen starters a year. That's 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.400 a ton, and so making sure that you have enough 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.800 starts for you know, whether it's in Triple A or 0:11:53.800 --> 0:11:55.320 the big leagues is going to be really important. So 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:59.400 saying you have surplus is a really it's a little 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:01.839 soft there. It's not an easy thing to say, oh, yeah, 0:12:01.880 --> 0:12:04.760 I have surplus because it doesn't usually work out that 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:09.360 way with trading players though. Look, Hunter's a guy that 0:12:09.400 --> 0:12:11.840 when he when he is healthy, he is a top 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.079 of the rotation starter. Nicolodolo has a chance to be 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.000 a top of the rotation starter. Andre Rabbit was an 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.840 All Star last year because he dominated in the first half. 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:23.840 So we've got a handful of guys that are established 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:25.760 guys in the big leagues that are those top of 0:12:25.760 --> 0:12:28.240 the rotation starters. It's really it is really hard for 0:12:28.320 --> 0:12:31.880 us to get those guys to come to our ballpark 0:12:32.320 --> 0:12:34.839 on the free agent market. We have a hitters ballpark, right, 0:12:35.080 --> 0:12:38.120 so we draft, we developed these guys. You know, when 0:12:38.160 --> 0:12:40.560 guy gets injured, though, it's it is also really hard 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:42.720 to say, oh, well that guy, that guy isn't hurt. 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.040 That guy, this guy, this guy is not hurting, this 0:12:45.040 --> 0:12:46.520 guy is hurt because that's not right. 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:46.920 Right. 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:51.240 I had shoulder surgery six weeks ago, and I can 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:53.480 tell you there are days when I am really hurting, 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:54.839 and I can tell you that the same guy the 0:12:54.920 --> 0:12:57.880 head shoulders might not feel the same pain. You can't 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:00.120 say that, you know, hey, that this is the this 0:13:00.120 --> 0:13:02.240 works here, and this works here. I think that you 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:03.839 know that that's a that's a tough thing to say. 0:13:03.880 --> 0:13:05.719 I think that you know, guys pitched through a lot 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:08.320 of different things hunter, you know, grinding through the end 0:13:08.320 --> 0:13:10.560 of the year, and you know, it's it's a it's 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:12.360 really hard to give up a guy that is a 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.920 top of the rotation starter. You know, Hey, look, I'm 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.600 not ever going to say never, but it's a really 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:19.640 tough thing to actually do. 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:22.800 When do you prow your first bullpen coming back from 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:23.800 shoulders certainly not a. 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:28.440 Chance when you when you talk about trade, if you 0:13:28.559 --> 0:13:31.160 if you do go the trade route. Is it at 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:36.840 least safe to say that at this point, where the 0:13:36.960 --> 0:13:39.760 organization is, or where this group of players is, that 0:13:39.840 --> 0:13:43.000 you will not be trading for prospects you would want 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.680 major league ready or at least on the cusp of 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:47.040 major league ready players. 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:49.040 Yeah. I ideally you want to add to your club, 0:13:49.120 --> 0:13:51.600 right and maybe there's a deal where you trade this 0:13:51.720 --> 0:13:54.680 player for prospects and then trade prospects for another player 0:13:54.840 --> 0:13:58.160 and it works out. Where it doesn't, it's not perfect fit, 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:00.839 but it's it's a fit because of how you did 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:03.280 it right. So I don't want to say that we 0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:06.680 wouldn't ever trade for prospects, but there is there a 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:07.600 means to an end. 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:10.440 When you're trying to put a deal together. How important 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.600 is the understanding of not just a team's needs but 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:18.160 what they value? I mean, is the most coveted thing 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:23.040 right now on the trade market, established big league position players, 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.400 established big league pitching, or are prospects still among the 0:14:26.400 --> 0:14:29.240 most coveted? And does that change team to team? 0:14:29.680 --> 0:14:31.760 I think it changes team to team. It depends on 0:14:31.800 --> 0:14:34.000 where you are and what you're trying to do. Some 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.800 teams they don't want any part of prospects. Some teams 0:14:36.880 --> 0:14:40.040 they only want prospects. Some teams will only trade prospects, 0:14:40.040 --> 0:14:42.640 and some teams will only trade big league players. So 0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:44.680 I think it just depends on what you're looking at 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:46.840 and where you are in your cycle. 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:52.160 Ellie da La Cruz. The defensive problems have been well 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:56.200 documented the last couple of years, and he had a 0:14:56.360 --> 0:14:59.800 let's just say, a more down year overall defensively, even 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:04.040 at the plate, certainly with the power numbers. Not sure 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:06.720 how much defense is getting into his head. 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:07.200 I don't know. 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:10.320 I can't ever read the player on that or get 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:13.440 into player's mind. But have you entertained the idea of 0:15:13.520 --> 0:15:15.240 him playing other positions at all. 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:17.240 At this point? No, So if you look at his 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.080 year last year, and I think a lot of people 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:21.000 don't know this. At the end of the year, like 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.200 towards the end of July, he was dealing with a 0:15:25.280 --> 0:15:30.040 partial torn quad and he has been rehabbing. He's at 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:32.720 the ballpark, he was at the ballpark today. He's been 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:37.760 rehabbing over the last this whole off season. To his credit, 0:15:37.800 --> 0:15:39.800 he played every day. He tried to grind through it. 0:15:39.840 --> 0:15:41.680 He tried to play through it. If you look at 0:15:41.680 --> 0:15:46.320 his defensive numbers. He made twelve airs through roughly towards 0:15:46.320 --> 0:15:48.000 the end of July when he got hurt, and then 0:15:48.040 --> 0:15:50.760 he made fourteen from the end of July on. He's 0:15:51.160 --> 0:15:53.720 trying to play through it. He wasn't able to do 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:56.520 it as successful as possible. I think he had a 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:59.240 stretch of games where he had nineteen homers and he 0:15:59.280 --> 0:16:02.600 didn't hit one until some point in September. That's gonna 0:16:02.600 --> 0:16:05.520 affect him. That's gonna affect everything he does. But to 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:08.720 his credit, he was trying to play every single day 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.240 through it. He tried to grind through it, and to 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:15.000 the detriment of himself, he didn't play up to where 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.520 he was. But a large part of that is because 0:16:17.800 --> 0:16:20.080 he's trying to play through the injury. So I do 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.520 think that you look at where he was up until 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:25.800 that point where he got hurt, and he was definitely 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:30.760 better defensively. It's just he he didn't finish the way 0:16:30.760 --> 0:16:31.280 he started. 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.240 We saw a lot of improvement last minute or so 0:16:35.320 --> 0:16:37.920 that we have in Spencer stear at first base. Now 0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:39.880 South Stewart's up here at the big league level, really 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:42.200 the only defensive spot he can play his first base. 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:45.080 How realistic is it to expect him to have that 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.480 kind of progress like Spencer Steer had over there. 0:16:47.600 --> 0:16:48.960 Well, you know, I talked to his agent a few 0:16:49.000 --> 0:16:52.120 days ago. He's in better shape, He's worked. That's his 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.800 goal this offseason is to come to camp in good 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.800 baseball shape and just whether it's lose weight, get faster, 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:02.200 get more agile in the field. You know, he played 0:17:02.240 --> 0:17:04.600 third in the big leagues last year. You know, but 0:17:04.680 --> 0:17:07.000 obviously we've got a Gold Glove defensive player at third, 0:17:07.359 --> 0:17:10.119 so you know, we want to be better both offensively 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:12.840 and defensively. I said that, you know, part of getting 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:16.280 better defensively was getting to Brian Hayes and you know, 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.919 being able to turn a below average overall group at 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.640 third base defensively to the guy who won the Gold 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:26.360 Glove last year. We struggled at first base some and 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:28.760 Spencer Steer did a great job of going into the 0:17:28.760 --> 0:17:32.160 off season and getting better. And he worked his butt 0:17:32.200 --> 0:17:34.040 off during the season. You know, he had he had 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.200 some he had some injury stuff that he was dealing 0:17:36.240 --> 0:17:38.840 with as he went through spring training, couldn't play the 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:42.960 field for the first month, and then he just took 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:45.200 the first base and became a good first base where 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.720 he was a defensive Uh there was goal Glo finals. 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:51.479 So you know, we've we've definitely gotten better overall in 0:17:51.520 --> 0:17:54.400 that group. It's just how can you get better? South 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:56.560 Stewart's twenty one years old. There's a lot of baseball 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:56.959 with that end. 0:17:57.200 --> 0:17:59.840 Nick, really appreciate the time. Thanks so much. Could ask 0:17:59.880 --> 0:18:02.440 you a thousand more questions, but you probably have other 0:18:02.480 --> 0:18:04.399 things you want to do tonight, so let you get 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:04.720 out of here. 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:05.120 Thanks. 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.679 It's President of Baseball Operations, Nick Krawl. We're back with 0:18:09.720 --> 0:18:12.360 more of the Buttweiser Red's Hot Stove League presented by UDF. 0:18:12.400 --> 0:18:31.960 Next on the Reds Radio Network. Welcome back in It 0:18:32.040 --> 0:18:36.480 is the Buttweiser Reds Hot Stove League presented by UDF. 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.400 We are live the bet MGM Sportsbook inside Tom's Watch 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.800 Bar at the Banks. Big Things. Again to Nick Krawl 0:18:41.840 --> 0:18:44.320 for stopping by and chatting with us. And you know, 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:47.000 it was kind of interesting. We were talking about the 0:18:47.680 --> 0:18:49.680 pitching and you and I were talking about a week 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:53.240 one how that's kind of a quote unquote surplus. But 0:18:54.320 --> 0:18:57.440 it's hard to have a surplus of top end rotation 0:18:57.600 --> 0:19:07.080 starter like ace starters, right, and yah, I mean surplus. 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:07.000 Is the wrong word. Right, you want to trade from 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:09.240 a position of strength, that's probably a better way. It 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.960 is their position of strength and what's going to bring 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:16.359 you the best return of frontline starting pitcher. 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:16.680 Right. 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.720 So I don't want to say surplus. You never have enough. 0:19:20.280 --> 0:19:22.160 I do believe you never have enough pitcher. 0:19:22.200 --> 0:19:23.280 There's one hundred percent. 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:29.920 Especially nowadays. But it's a position of strength. So where 0:19:29.960 --> 0:19:33.440