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Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory Foul Territory Networks Cubs podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: Sahadev Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your

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Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic Patrick, I'm feeling

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Speaker 1: rejuvenated and rested after a week in Vegas because it

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Speaker 1: is Friday morning and I've been home now for about

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Speaker 1: twelve ish hours and a little over that, I guess,

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Speaker 1: and I went to bed at a reasonable hour, which

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Speaker 1: is not the case at the GM meetings, especially when

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Speaker 1: they're in Vegas.

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Speaker 2: For those who we don't know.

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Speaker 1: GM meetings in the winter meetings, it's great for what

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Speaker 1: Patrick and I do. There's a lot of people to

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Speaker 1: run into and get information from and chat with. We

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Speaker 1: see other writers who are friendly with So the mornings

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Speaker 1: are spent like walking around a lobby and hoping to

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Speaker 1: run into someone. And you have some meetings that are

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Speaker 1: like kind of intently set up, like whether it's talking

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Speaker 1: to Jed or Carter or a l you know the

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Speaker 1: n l AL. They have big gatherings for everyone. And

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Speaker 1: then the evenings are doing a lot of the same

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Speaker 1: that you do in the in the morning, but then

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Speaker 1: you have a drink in your hand.

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Speaker 2: That then you repeat that from Monday through Wednesday night.

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Speaker 1: And the sleep is you know, four or five six hours,

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Speaker 1: if you're lucky you get to six.

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Speaker 2: It's it's not a lot of sleep. It's not a

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Speaker 2: lot of rest. Uh. But we got a lot of information, absolutely.

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Speaker 3: And that was actually a good description because I've tried

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Speaker 3: to explain like what these meetings are like to people

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Speaker 3: who have normal jobs, and it really is kind of absurd,

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Speaker 3: of like drop your bag off in the media room,

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Speaker 3: grab your notepad, your recorder and a pen, and they's

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Speaker 3: just wonder just keep walking until you bump into someone.

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Speaker 3: Sometimes you're looking for people. Sometimes you do send the

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Speaker 3: text and uh you're able to meet up in a

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Speaker 3: more formal, uh you know, arranged manner other than just

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Speaker 3: the pop ins or the bump ins. Uh. And yeah,

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Speaker 3: Vegas is not my favorite place for the GM meetings.

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Speaker 3: I like when we I like when we go to

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Speaker 3: you know, Scottsdale or Carlsbad in southern California and you

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Speaker 3: get the nice sunshine and a chance to do your

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Speaker 3: wandering outside and there's fewer entrances and exits for uh,

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Speaker 3: these executives and agents, whereas Vegas just a lot of

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Speaker 3: a lot of indoor time, very little natural light. I

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Speaker 3: think even in like even in like my hotel room,

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Speaker 3: it felt like the the windows were tinted like pink

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Speaker 3: and purple, like you're just kind of ready to leave

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Speaker 3: but by Thursday. But uh, like you said last show,

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Speaker 3: like in order to cover Major League Baseball's hot stove,

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Speaker 3: you kind of have to be there. It gives you

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Speaker 3: a great kind of roadmap for what might be coming ahead.

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Speaker 3: And it's not just the individual team you cover. They're

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Speaker 3: kind of league wide things going on, certain trends or

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Speaker 3: like names, personalities that are you know, starting to pop,

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Speaker 3: and Cubs are going to be on a lot of them.

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Speaker 3: I think we should get out of the business of

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Speaker 3: sort of setting expectations for fans because looking at social media,

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Speaker 3: which is my fault, it seems like people are certain

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Speaker 3: people are kind of riding the waves on like this

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Speaker 3: name or that name, or this quote you know from

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Speaker 3: Jed or this quote from Carter. But this was definitely

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Speaker 3: not one of those which we've covered before of the

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Speaker 3: Cubs kind of being handcuffed to be like what are

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Speaker 3: we doing here? Like they were a meeting with you know,

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Speaker 3: all the all the big big agencies. They're not ruling,

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Speaker 3: they're kind of ruling a couple of things out. We'll

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Speaker 3: get into that later, but for the most part, very

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Speaker 3: open minded. I expect it to be very active and

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Speaker 3: then it's kind of up to you. You can use

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Speaker 3: your own imagination. We can't forget like how this franchise operates,

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Speaker 3: generally speaking in a very conservative manner on the business

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Speaker 3: and baseball side.

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Speaker 1: No, sorry, Patrick, you're kind of you you'd slowed down there.

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Speaker 2: I'm not sure if you're connected for me. I lost

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Speaker 2: you so I didn't hear the end of what you said.

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Speaker 2: But no worries the uh.

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Speaker 1: I think what's interesting is we can't rule out Boris

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Speaker 1: clients for once, you know, like how often do we

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Speaker 1: feel like you know, obviously they got the deal done

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Speaker 1: with Cody Bellinger that was a unique circumstance. But there's

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Speaker 1: talk of am I. Tatsuya am I, the the Japanese

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Speaker 1: pitcher who really dominated in Japan last season this past season,

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Speaker 1: and it's kind of been two years of really impressive

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Speaker 1: performance from him. We'll see what kind of contract he

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Speaker 1: gets if it gets into this. You know, Yamamoto is

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Speaker 1: obviously a special case. I don't think we need to

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Speaker 1: compare him directly to yeah, we'll let it.

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Speaker 2: Well, let's got Boris to those comparisons.

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure if the scouts I've talked to would

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Speaker 1: do the same.

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Speaker 2: That's fine, That doesn't mean he's not good.

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Speaker 1: It just all depends on what the what the price

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Speaker 1: range is here, if it gets to like these crazy levels,

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Speaker 1: if it starts pushing deeper into nine figures, like maybe

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Speaker 1: if it touches nine figures, the Cubs are interested.

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Speaker 2: I don't know for sure on.

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Speaker 1: That, but I'd be surprised if it if it can

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Speaker 1: continues to climb much past that, you know, if the

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Speaker 1: Cubs are aggressive there. But we keep hearing Dylan sees

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Speaker 1: his name, and you know, I think when when the

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Speaker 1: off season kind of you know was approaching, I think

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Speaker 1: you and I were like, uh, yeah, he's perfect fit,

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Speaker 1: but will the Cubs be doing that?

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Speaker 2: Are the Cubs?

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Speaker 1: You know, we we were hesitant to really feel strongly

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Speaker 1: about it. I think we got that kind of you know,

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Speaker 1: people were telling us from all different directions that you know,

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Speaker 1: don't rule that out. He makes a lot of sense

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Speaker 1: in a lot of different ways for this team.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean that's a great point. The Cubs have

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Speaker 3: obviously done business with Scott Boriss over the years. I mean,

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Speaker 3: Matthew Boyd is a Scott Boris client. But you know,

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Speaker 3: our reporting leads us to believe that the Cubs are

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Speaker 3: kind of aiming higher than that mid range here. And

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Speaker 3: nothing against Matthew Boyd, who was an All Star this year,

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Speaker 3: one of the best pitchers in the National League for

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Speaker 3: a long stretch this year, but he got what two

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Speaker 3: years and just under thirty million. Like, the Cubs are

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Speaker 3: open to kind of bigger ideas here. And this goes

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Speaker 3: back to what you asked Jed Hoyer in Las Vegas, like,

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Speaker 3: what's the calculus unqualifying offers? Are you? They're not ruling

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Speaker 3: that out. They're talking with Scott Boris, who also represents

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Speaker 3: Ranger Suarez and Zach Gallen this offseason. There are several

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Speaker 3: names that could make sense here. We got into it

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Speaker 3: in the athletic and side up going on one a

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Speaker 3: different Sandy Pidre.

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Speaker 1: Right, I'm sorry Patrick yet again, Like right at the

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Speaker 1: end there, you you like I heard everything until the end.

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Speaker 3: I literally teed you up there, like Michael King, what

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Speaker 3: do you get?

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Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Michael King very interesting. Obviously, Uh converted to

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Speaker 1: starting pitching recently a couple of years ago with the Yankees.

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Speaker 1: Really solid stuff when he's uh, when he's healthy. Look,

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Speaker 1: the Cubs know he he had a shoulder and ray.

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Speaker 1: Everyone knows that, but they I think they're pretty high

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Speaker 1: on him. It sounds like there are some people within

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Speaker 1: the organization that like what he could do. You know,

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Speaker 1: I think you can look at what's what they've done

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Speaker 1: with certain pictures to keep them healthy. Injuries are inevitable

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Speaker 1: with with pictures, so you can't just say like they're

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Speaker 1: they're masters at keeping guys healthy. They obviously had some

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Speaker 1: injury issues this year, justin Steele with the elbow, and

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Speaker 1: and some lower body stuff obviously with Tyne and and

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Speaker 1: and showed him Monaga. But I mean, looking back on it,

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Speaker 1: the Cubs do have pretty good history of late of

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Speaker 1: avoiding arm injuries. I'm gonna you know, jinx the Cubs

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Speaker 1: by saying that, like, if there was an executive sitting

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Speaker 1: here right now, he'd be yelling at me.

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Speaker 2: For suggesting such a thing.

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Speaker 1: But I think even the Soroka Look, the Siropa traid

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Speaker 1: did not work out. Michael Soroka did not perform as

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Speaker 1: as they had hoped with them. His velocity was down

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Speaker 1: when they got him, and then he was instantly hurt.

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Speaker 1: I think they felt like they found they they identified

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Speaker 1: exactly like what he looked like when he was at

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Speaker 1: his best, and they found the right program to get

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Speaker 1: him back to that spot as far as stuff, and

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Speaker 1: his velocity came back when he came when he returned

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Speaker 1: to the mound for the Cubs, his velocity jumped two

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Speaker 1: three ticks from what it was when he when he was,

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Speaker 1: you know, ending his time with Washington, and in that

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Speaker 1: first outing with the Cubs, the results weren't there. So

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Speaker 1: you don't want to say this is a one to

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Speaker 1: one comparison, but I think they look at shoulder injuries

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Speaker 1: they can I think they feel like they have some

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Speaker 1: I guess identifiers, like things that they can see in

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Speaker 1: a delivery, in mechanics, something that's happening, and they they

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Speaker 1: understand it.

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Speaker 2: They feel like they have a good understanding of how

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Speaker 2: to work.

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Speaker 1: With the guys to get them to specific uh you know,

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Speaker 1: like get specific results out of them and keep them healthy.

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Speaker 2: Uh.

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Speaker 1: I think that's I think he's a really interesting name

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Speaker 1: because when when he's healthy you've seen what like he's

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Speaker 1: a he's a two, maybe.

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Speaker 2: A borderline one, like I think he was.

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Speaker 1: I think there was a point where he was getting,

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Speaker 1: you know, like cy Young consideration when he was healthy

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Speaker 1: and and and at his best. And you know, if

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Speaker 1: you can keep them there, that's worth giving up a

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Speaker 1: pick for for a couple of years. What well, I

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Speaker 1: don't know what a deal for Michael King looks like,

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Speaker 1: but you know, after Dylan c said, he's a pretty

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Speaker 1: good name to go after.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And there are so many names out there that

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Speaker 3: they have to be heavily involved in the pitching market,

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Speaker 3: and that is part of whys, as we wrote, the

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Speaker 3: Kyle Tucker buzz is just not really there surrounding the Cubs.

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Speaker 3: There are many reasons why, but one of them is

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Speaker 3: the supply on the market, whether it's free agency, possible trades,

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Speaker 3: like there's just a lot of ways for the Cubs

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Speaker 3: to get better on the pitching side and on the

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Speaker 3: position player side. After Tucker. Realistically, knowing how this team operates,

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Speaker 3: there's not like a ton of levers to pull there,

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Speaker 3: and that's kind of how they look at it. We

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Speaker 3: could disagree, you say, obviously, if they spent like the

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Speaker 3: Mets or the Dodgers, the Phillies, then yeah, go get

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Speaker 3: you would have signed Alex Bregman in spring training, right.

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Speaker 2: So.

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Speaker 3: I don't know if I think everyone expects Kyle Schwarber

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Speaker 3: to go back to the Phillies. And you know, it's

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Speaker 3: hard to kind of fit a d H long term,

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Speaker 3: like just not how the Cubs kind of roll.

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Speaker 1: Just be the names, right, It's Schwarbur and then like

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Speaker 1: Pete Alonzo Willingness to maybe be d H. Like those

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Speaker 1: are the names you'd say, but like do they want

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Speaker 1: to invest the type of money that it would take

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Speaker 1: to get pictures hitters like that? Like they have no

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Speaker 1: defensive versatility. That's not that's not the Cubs.

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Speaker 2: M oh.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, And that's why this is what we wrote. What

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Speaker 3: we're gonna keep talking about. We're gonna keep reporting on

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Speaker 3: is just pitching, pitching and more pitching.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely, We'll take a break in and come back and

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Speaker 1: talk more pitching.

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Speaker 4: Krats pop quiz what has thirty five grams of protein,

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Speaker 4: six grams of fiber, twenty seven essential vitamins and minerals.

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Speaker 1: As exciting as it may be for them for the

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Speaker 1: Cubs to maybe be shopping at the very top of

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Speaker 1: the pitching market perhaps or at least interested and in

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Speaker 1: the rumors, legitimately they're not.

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Speaker 2: They're not gonna go out and.

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Speaker 1: Sign Edwin Diaz to the monster deal that he's gonna get.

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Speaker 1: I think Ken Rosenthal, our colleague at The Athletic had

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Speaker 1: an article about him. It sounds like there's a lot

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Speaker 1: of teams that could be interested in Edwin Diaz, which

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Speaker 1: just tells me all the more reason why the Cubs.

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Speaker 1: That's just not how they do business when it comes

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Speaker 1: to relievers. Look, there's a Devin Williams Craig Council connection.

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Speaker 1: I think it does make sense. I think you and

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Speaker 1: I both felt like that that makes sense in some way.

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Speaker 1: But then you start talking about the money. He's gonna

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Speaker 1: have a good market unless that craters. I just don't

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Speaker 1: see that happening either. Like those they are the types

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Speaker 1: of guys that would get people excited.

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Speaker 2: In the reliever market, but it comes to put together good.

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Speaker 1: Bullpens without without getting anyone excited over the years. So

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Speaker 1: it's it's certainly possible that they could do that, but

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Speaker 1: I do feel like they need to go get someone

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Speaker 1: that you feel some sense of stability with and I

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Speaker 1: and one thing that we came away from after talking

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Speaker 1: to Jen and Carter this week was there they're not

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Speaker 1: going to be afraid to They may not, you know,

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Speaker 1: they're not going to give out any crazy deals, but

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Speaker 1: multi year deals maybe we see honestly as I think

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Speaker 1: about this, Patrick, I don't even remember the last time

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Speaker 1: they gave out a multi year deal, like actually signed

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Speaker 1: one for reliever. It probably it's probably not as long

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Speaker 1: ago as I think, but it just feels like it's

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Speaker 1: very rare.

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Speaker 3: Off the top of my head, I think Steve seeshek

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Speaker 3: might have gotten two year deal that was obviously several

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Speaker 3: year A couple of managers, Magic Kimberl For sure, that's

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Speaker 3: a good call. I mean in terms of, you know,

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Speaker 3: the overall number, I don't think they've come close to that, right,

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Speaker 3: So you you look at this like they got an

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Speaker 3: opportunity to or they can offer an opportunity to close,

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Speaker 3: which is big if you're willing to go beyond one year.

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Speaker 3: You have a manager has a very good reputation for

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Speaker 3: preserving pictures, energy and trying to conserve their health. What's

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Speaker 3: been a picture's ballpark over the last couple of years.

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Speaker 3: And yeah, I mean our us reading between the lines

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Speaker 3: here is like not an Edwin DS contract. Probably not

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Speaker 3: another uh Tanner Scott type offer out there that did

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Speaker 3: not work out for the Dodgers at least in year one,

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Speaker 3: although they still won the World Series. So what do

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Speaker 3: they care, but if you're willing, you know, to go

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Speaker 3: two years, and I don't know if three years, three

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Speaker 3: years might be kind of the it might.

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Speaker 2: Be stretching a limit bit.

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Speaker 3: But you know, if you put some dollar, I don't

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Speaker 3: know if you put some If you put some put

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Speaker 3: the high aav on there. The way they've done with

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Speaker 3: certain pitchers and position players, I think they can. I

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Speaker 3: can make some pretty compelling offers.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: I mean one name that we heard, you know, while

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Speaker 1: walking around the lobby a few times, I believe, was

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Speaker 1: Pete Fairbanks.

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Speaker 2: He can close.

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Speaker 1: We both did read that interesting article that there was

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Speaker 1: a note about him and Ken's article about cold weather,

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Speaker 1: and he has he has some issues, some circulation issues.

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Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly how it was phrased. But his fingertips,

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Speaker 1: his fingers go a little numb when it gets cold,

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Speaker 1: and he loses feel. That's not ideal for Chicago. But

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Speaker 1: you know, I'm unclear on how much that really impacts

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Speaker 1: him and how much it really changes the way he pitches.

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Speaker 1: I don't know if that impacts the way the Cubs

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Speaker 1: look at him, but we have heard that that's someone

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Speaker 1: that makes sense for them, and he has closing experience,

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Speaker 1: and that's exactly the type. Maybe you don't go the

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Speaker 1: very top, tippy top tier of relievers, but like they did,

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Speaker 1: and you know, I hesitate to bring him up, but

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Speaker 1: I want to. Oh jeez, I almost called him Ryan Helsley,

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Speaker 1: Ryan Presley, but Ryan Presley was the experienced closer that

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Speaker 1: they got to start last season.

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Speaker 2: Look, it didn't work out.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't It wasn't as bad as Hector and neris,

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Speaker 1: but it was it didn't work out. And that's two

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Speaker 1: years in a row that they've gone with the veteran

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Speaker 1: that didn't work out.

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Speaker 2: I think Pete Fairbanks is different.

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Speaker 1: He's had success very recently and he still it seems

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Speaker 1: like he still has plenty left in the tank.

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Speaker 2: If they can get someone like that, I think it's important.

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Speaker 2: Fairbanks is just one name, but.

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Speaker 1: They like you get one like that and then four

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Speaker 1: or five, like the Brad Keller swings the Caleb Theolbar,

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Speaker 1: Theelbar was a guaranteed deal Keller and a non roster invite.

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Speaker 1: Like you get like four or five of these guys

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Speaker 1: and two or three hit. Uh, that's a home run,

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Speaker 1: you know, Like the last off season was a home

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Speaker 1: run for them. Like they they signed up, and there's

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Speaker 1: probably guys that we've already forgotten about. There's Presley, but

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Speaker 1: there's probably a few others that they brought in and

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Speaker 1: they hit on on Keller theol Bar and and they

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Speaker 1: end up getting comerands are like those are like great jobs.

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Speaker 1: By them figuring those guys, identifying those guys and then

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Speaker 1: it working out is a little bit of luck. So

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Speaker 1: you need the luck to go in your favor. You

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Speaker 1: need the guys to stay healthy and all that stuff.

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Speaker 1: But you don't have to just spend a ton of

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Speaker 1: money here. But I do think it's important to bring

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Speaker 1: in a veteran that you can kind of trust.

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Speaker 3: I think we're also already expecting some spillover from the

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Speaker 3: rotation now showed it in Monaga. Our understanding is as

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Speaker 3: probably leaning towards declining the qualifying offer that he obviously

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Speaker 3: went into this thinking he could beat two years thirty

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Speaker 3: point five million. I think kind of the endless appetite

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Speaker 3: for more pitching probably helps. There are a bunch of

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Speaker 3: teams that were on him when he was leaving Japan.

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Speaker 3: He has a really impressive body of work that he

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Speaker 3: can pitch teams on now even if the end of

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Speaker 3: this past season was a little disappointing for him. So

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Speaker 3: I think, you know, the Cubs felt short in October

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Speaker 3: when when they looked at their pitching staff, particularly their rotation.

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Speaker 3: So they're going to go out and sign multiples. It

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Speaker 3: sounds like the take it slow with Justin Steel, but

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Speaker 3: then he should be ready in the front portion, going

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Speaker 3: to be healthy. But when you add in you know,

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Speaker 3: Javier Assad, you know whoever they sign, Matthew Boyd, Jamison Tywn,

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Speaker 3: Kate Horton like that, I'd be knocking on wood here right,

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Speaker 3: Like that's kind of what Cubs executives do whenever we

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Speaker 3: talk like that. But you got to think some of

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Speaker 3: the Colin Ray might wind up in a bullpen. How

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Speaker 3: How are Craig council pieces pieces together, the out getters

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Speaker 3: that you take all these things together, mate, it's not

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Speaker 3: as daunting as it seems. When you lose, you know,

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Speaker 3: four of your top five relievers from the playoffs, and

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Speaker 3: I mean Jen and Carter essentially said what we thought

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Speaker 3: they would say, of like this is an opportunity, Like

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Speaker 3: they're I think they're more excited about going out and

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Speaker 3: finding new pieces rather than sort of paying old guys

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Speaker 3: for what they've done in the past.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: The one area that I do think where they're probably

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Speaker 1: you know, a little disappointed with what they have is

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Speaker 1: is the young guys for the bullpen that they don't

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Speaker 1: have Like this. I mean, think about what was it

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Speaker 1: two off seasons ago when Jed said the dream was

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Speaker 1: to have a homegrown bullpen. He doesn't really have that,

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Speaker 1: and he doesn't have like the name he you know,

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Speaker 1: Daniel Palencia. Great, great story. We'll see if Porter Hodge

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Speaker 1: can bounce back. Uh, we'll see if Daniel Polentcy can

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Speaker 1: repeat his season, because that's hard to do.

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Speaker 2: Uh. But other names, like you know, Luke Little hasn't

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Speaker 2: lived up to the hype and uh and that's.

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Speaker 1: Very normal, like relief prospects are aren't, you know, like

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Speaker 1: that's not a common thing.

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Speaker 2: So it's it's.

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Speaker 1: Hard to for everything to come together. Uh, Plentia, it

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Speaker 1: took years for everything to come together. Uh.

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Speaker 2: There are there are other young pitchers who's.

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Speaker 1: You know, like they have stuff, and it's like, well,

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Speaker 1: why why don't they get the results? Uh? And and

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Speaker 1: it's you know, they they don't have the stable of

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Speaker 1: young pitching that they I think they'd like to have. Uh,

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Speaker 1: and that's something I think they'll work on in the

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Speaker 1: in the winter and then uh maybe even uh in

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Speaker 1: the season. Is is kind of making sure that there

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Speaker 1: they have their processes right and and and start developing

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Speaker 1: more pitching. But uh, that's just all the more reason

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Speaker 1: why they have to lean on the things they got

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Speaker 1: right last winter.

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Speaker 2: Uh.

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Speaker 1: There's confidence there, but I think there's also concern when

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Speaker 1: it's like you have to you know, Jed even kind

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Speaker 1: of said it, like, you know, you want, you'd love

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Speaker 1: to have certainty, but you're working with the unit that

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Speaker 1: where like the uncertainty is almost like built in. It's

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Speaker 1: like it's really hard to find those super consistent guys

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Speaker 1: Uh that year in and year out. They they're they're

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Speaker 1: they're rare and and you pay a lot of money

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Speaker 1: for them.

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Speaker 2: And the Cubs don't do that. The Cubs aren't the

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Speaker 2: type to do that. Uh.

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Speaker 1: Patrick, you look like you're freezing up on me, So

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna I'm gonna wrap it up unless you got

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Speaker 1: something to say. Uh, all right, everyone, thanks so much

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Speaker 1: for listening.

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Speaker 2: This is Northside.

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Speaker 3: I can't blame it. I can't blame the wireless on

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Speaker 3: the hotel.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just leftover struggles from Vegas. The internet has

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Speaker 1: hungover as well. All right, thanks for listening everyone. This

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Speaker 1: is Nard Side Territory. Make sure to rate, review and subscribe.

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Speaker 1: Subscribe to the YouTube channel, and subscribe to The Athletic

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Speaker 1: where Patrick and are on top of all things cubs.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to everyone.

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Speaker 2: Take care,