WEBVTT - Former GM Thad Levine: Winter Meetings thoughts, Conversations w/Framber’s rep, Passive execs problem 0:00:02.080 --> 0:00:04.560 Bad Lebine joining us right now, great timing as the 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:05.800 winter meetings are approaching. 0:00:05.920 --> 0:00:07.360 So that great to have you on. 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:09.239 And good to see you again. What I want to do, though, 0:00:09.320 --> 0:00:11.719 is because the online world really needs to get hooked 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.080 in from the jump, and I feel like the pressing 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:15.880 question that will really bring people in and we'll get 0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:18.439 to a lot of other things, is what do you 0:00:18.480 --> 0:00:20.840 think the twins are going to do with Byron Buckston? 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:23.560 A guy that you know pretty well as you spent 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:25.159 a lot of time with him. Do you think that 0:00:25.280 --> 0:00:28.000 he will end up getting traded? And do you think 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.440 that Byron will wave a no trade clause to a 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:32.879 number of teams based on where the team's at Right now, 0:00:32.880 --> 0:00:34.720 I'm hitting you with something hard to start because I 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:36.479 want people to know we're bringing it today. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.440 You're playing the aj Perzinski role here. This is the 0:00:41.440 --> 0:00:43.720 first time I've been on the show with no catchers present. 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:48.680 It's quite shocking. I don't know how to respond. It's refreshing, Yeah, yeah, 0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:50.159 it's refreshing for goodness sake. Yeah. 0:00:50.240 --> 0:00:52.360 Much better looking, much better looking too. We don't hide 0:00:52.360 --> 0:00:52.960 behind the mask. 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.760 You know, better beards, that's for sure, fellas Hey, just 0:00:56.920 --> 0:00:59.440 quick appreciation. I haven't got a chance to spend much 0:00:59.480 --> 0:01:03.160 time with you guys. Saw you guys play, Kevin absolutely 0:01:03.200 --> 0:01:07.360 spectacular defender is some of the most highlight reel catches 0:01:07.400 --> 0:01:09.800 I've ever seen in my career. You made. I remember 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.040 so many of them, especially in Toronto. Just an absolute 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:16.200 pleasure to watch you play with your intensity on defense 0:01:16.880 --> 0:01:21.480 and Todd, I would say, in a word, freakish in 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:25.120 terms of your power, your pull side power. I remember 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:27.760 the home run derby you hit and was highlight of 0:01:27.800 --> 0:01:30.600 my career. You doing that in front of the home 0:01:30.640 --> 0:01:34.280 crowd was spectacular. But you know, as we enter a 0:01:34.319 --> 0:01:36.880 free agency and we can talk about that globally, like you, 0:01:36.959 --> 0:01:39.320 two guys would be coveted right now based upon your 0:01:39.360 --> 0:01:41.560 skill set. So pleasure to spend some time with you. 0:01:42.440 --> 0:01:45.840 With regards to Byron, you know, Byron is such a 0:01:45.880 --> 0:01:48.880 unique player. I think keep in mind, guys, that one 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:52.120 of the mentors he had, the captain who preceded him, 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:55.600 was Joe Mauer. Joe Maller played his entire career in Minnesota. 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.640 Joe Maher, who I know definitively because we offered to 0:01:58.760 --> 0:02:01.040 him at the end of his career the chance to 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.360 go play wherever he wanted to. Derek Falvey myself ownership 0:02:04.440 --> 0:02:07.640 was very supportive of that. Joe decided to stay in Minnesota. 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:10.720 You know, he felt a bond to that community. He 0:02:10.840 --> 0:02:13.320 never wanted to turn his back on that fan base. 0:02:13.720 --> 0:02:16.239 And I think Byron is wired in some similar fashions. 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:18.720 You know, last trade deadline, I think he made a 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:20.919 very bold statement to the media in which he said 0:02:21.200 --> 0:02:23.440 definitively he was not going to be treated he was 0:02:23.480 --> 0:02:27.280 going to stay with Minnesota. So while he is desirous 0:02:27.320 --> 0:02:30.080 of winning a championship, I think he primarily would like 0:02:30.160 --> 0:02:34.000 to do that in Minnesota. So I think the question remains, well, 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:37.600 Derek Falvey will now skip for Derek Shelton sit down 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:40.880 with him. Will they convince him that they're going to 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:44.480 be competitive and competitive soon? And if so, I would 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:46.640 expect Byron Buckston will want to be part of that. 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:48.840 He's going to want to deliver a championship as best 0:02:48.840 --> 0:02:51.400 he can to the Minnesota fans. If, however, they say 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.480 that there are a number of years away, he may 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:55.320 start looking elsewhere. But I think he's going to be 0:02:55.520 --> 0:02:58.240 very specific as to where he wants to look. He 0:02:58.320 --> 0:03:00.840 is from Baxley, Georgia. I think the chance to get 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.280 closer to home would be very important to him. Otherwise 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:05.440 I would see him staying in a Minnesota Twins Jersey. 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.600 Yeah. Before we get into the specifics of teams and stuff, 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:11.320 I always, you know, when I have an opportunity to 0:03:11.320 --> 0:03:13.480 talk to someone like you, I kind of like to 0:03:13.600 --> 0:03:15.799 just know kind of what the day to day is 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:19.240 like at the winter meeting for someone in your previous position. 0:03:20.240 --> 0:03:22.160 I attended for the first time last year. I spent 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:23.679 a lot of time on the ground floor kind of 0:03:23.680 --> 0:03:25.880 walking around, but I always like to get a little 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.200 insight now that I'm done playing. Do you go in 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:30.160 with like a checklist in mind? Do you have, like 0:03:30.600 --> 0:03:32.520 you know, free agents that you want to set up 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:35.680 meetings with. As agents call on, you just kind of 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:37.840 take us into kind of the day to day and 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:39.760 I guess the course of the winter meetings how that 0:03:39.840 --> 0:03:40.720 kind of shakes out for you. 0:03:41.520 --> 0:03:43.760 I mean, primarily we want to know if the traveling 0:03:43.800 --> 0:03:46.520 secretary has good snacks in the suite. I mean, that's 0:03:46.600 --> 0:03:48.920 kind of the focus of it. Kevin, I would say 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:51.680 it's changed dramatically over the course of my career. When 0:03:51.680 --> 0:03:54.760 I started I was with the Colorado Rockies. Dan O'Dowd 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:57.280 was the general manager, and the way it started was 0:03:57.360 --> 0:03:59.600 I was literally handed a list of all the phone 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:02.720 numbers the other general managers. I would call all twenty 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.480 nine rooms and try to set up one individual meetings 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.240 where Dan o Daoud and his group could go sit 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:10.280 down with them. And so there was a lot more 0:04:10.480 --> 0:04:14.520 individual engagement with teams. We would actually literally go visit 0:04:14.560 --> 0:04:17.039 with at least twenty, if not all twenty nine other clubs. 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:19.800 You would sit down, you'd have an open conversation about 0:04:20.040 --> 0:04:22.280 what are your needs and surpluses, how do they align 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.719 up with our needs and surpluses, and are there opportunities 0:04:26.000 --> 0:04:28.440 for us to get together to make deals. I think 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:31.920 things have changed now a little bit. At the winter meetings, 0:04:32.040 --> 0:04:35.840 there's far less meeting together. There's a lot more conversations 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:38.160 over the phone by way of text. There's a lot 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:40.479 of stuff done leading up to the meetings, so you 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:42.800 really are very targeted when you get to the meetings. 0:04:42.800 --> 0:04:45.560 Maybe you're only meeting with four or five clubs. It's 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:47.880 the clubs that you see the most likelihood of getting 0:04:47.920 --> 0:04:50.520 a deal done. And then, as you guys know, there's 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:52.560 so many agents, and there's so many members of the 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:56.520 media there that you're constantly meeting with agents, members of 0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:58.880 the media, And as the way the off season goes, 0:04:59.120 --> 0:05:02.080 we usually start looking into free agency and trying to 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.520 spend our owner's money to fill our holes. When that 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.880 seems exorbitant, we go to the trade market, and then 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:10.920 when it seems like the asking price to acquire talent 0:05:11.000 --> 0:05:13.799 is too high, we circle back to the free agent market. 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:17.880 And so it's a constant conversation balancing between talking to agents, 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:20.800 talking to other teams executives to try to find out 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.360 where's the best deal that we can make, to try 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.360 to make the biggest impact on an organization. 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.240 Yeah, I think you hit that well, man. Those things 0:05:29.279 --> 0:05:31.080 I always thought, like when I played, I would tell 0:05:31.080 --> 0:05:33.280 my agent I was a free agent, like, just give 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:35.480 them a price. We already know what price we're at. 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:37.520 Just tell tell the team I want to go to, 0:05:37.600 --> 0:05:39.800 or a team that's interest in me. It's going to be 0:05:39.839 --> 0:05:41.640 sell and sown. Let's get this ball move. And I'm 0:05:41.680 --> 0:05:43.840 sick of it. I got the holidays coming up here. 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:45.919 But that's just just not how it goes, and I 0:05:46.000 --> 0:05:48.360 kind of wish it did, because I feel like more 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.520 guys that either get picked up or you know, there'll 0:05:50.560 --> 0:05:52.640 be a little there'll be a little more stuff going 0:05:52.680 --> 0:05:54.440 in motion. But that's just. 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.320 I think you're talking about two different approaches to an agent. 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:02.400 Once you know one you're talking to who's clearly trying 0:06:02.400 --> 0:06:04.520 to get the most money he can for the player, 0:06:04.640 --> 0:06:07.719 and totally respect that. That's one style of negotiation. The 0:06:07.800 --> 0:06:09.719 other one is what you're talking about, which is where 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.880 you're really contemplating what is the quality of life that 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:15.640 that player wants to pursue. And sometimes that's playing in 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.320 a specific market, Maybe it's an opportunity to play a 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:21.680 specific position. Maybe a guy's hunting the longest term deal 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:24.240 rather than the most money per year, and other guys 0:06:24.279 --> 0:06:26.039 want the most money in the shorter term because they 0:06:26.080 --> 0:06:28.280 want to get back to free agency. But when you're 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.120 talking to an agent, you get a clear picture right 0:06:31.120 --> 0:06:33.360 out of the choot as to what type of negotiation 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:37.120 you're undertaking. But I honestly always felt, from an executive standpoint, 0:06:37.760 --> 0:06:39.880 the more transparency, the more likely we were to get 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:42.480 a deal done. I never took advantage of somebody if 0:06:42.520 --> 0:06:45.279 they were more willing to reveal that that player maybe 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:47.359 really wanted to sign with you. You know, I think a 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.400 measure of a person sometimes is how do you handle leverage? 0:06:50.560 --> 0:06:52.200 And so when an agent came to us and said, 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.479 you know, hey, listen, my guy really would like to 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.080 either stay with you as an existing player or come 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.560 to you as a free agent. I never viewed that 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.680 as a compromise on their part. That was just a reveal, 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.279 and I appreciated their honesty. You still want to treat 0:07:05.320 --> 0:07:08.840 the player extremely fairly in that situation, because the relationship 0:07:08.920 --> 0:07:11.239 is with the player moving forward, and if he doesn't 0:07:11.280 --> 0:07:13.160 realize in the moment that you took advantage of him, 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:16.120 he certainly will over time. He will be disinclined to 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:17.960 ever re sign with you, and his agent will be 0:07:17.960 --> 0:07:20.280 disinclined to do business with you in the future. So 0:07:20.320 --> 0:07:23.200 I think the integrity of the agent starts that conversation 0:07:23.280 --> 0:07:25.520 when he reveals that the player maybe wants to return 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.400 to the team or join that team. The integrity then 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:31.560 shifts to the general manager in that instance to handle 0:07:31.600 --> 0:07:35.040 that situation responsibly and still treat the player very fairly 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:35.760 in the process. 0:07:36.640 --> 0:07:39.400 Yeah, on topic with that, because baseball is the only 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.680 sport where kind of free agency drags out over the 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:45.720 entire offseason. Give me your perfect scenario, things that could 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:48.720 be implemented. Obviously things have to be collectively bargain. But 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:52.280 how do we get free agency moving quicker? How is 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.880 it putting a deadline on you free agents or trades 0:07:56.280 --> 0:07:58.680 or certain things. How do you see us as an 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:02.760 industry making big baseball free agency exciting and quick? And 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:04.880 then obviously you know there's gonna be some guys who linger, 0:08:04.920 --> 0:08:07.000 but let's get the majority of these guys signed so 0:08:07.080 --> 0:08:09.840 fans could get excited about these new players. Players can 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:13.200 get acclimated, they can meet their teammates. As a player, 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.160 I always felt like, you know, my first couple of 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:18.600 years when I was with Toronto, I always worked out 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.640 with this mindset that I was improving to help my team. 0:08:21.920 --> 0:08:23.760 It got harder for me when I was always a 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:25.280 free agent. I was out there, I'm like, what am 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:27.000 I training for? Like, obviously I want to be the 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:31.120 best version myself, but I like this collective approach that like, man, 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:32.680 I want to call one of my teammates and be like, hey, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:34.160 did you get in the gym today? Did you hit? 0:08:34.200 --> 0:08:36.400 Did you do this? It sucked, you know when you 0:08:36.400 --> 0:08:38.520 had to wait till, you know, middle of February to. 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.360 Sign Well and Kevin, I'll add a few things to 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.080 your comments, which I think are spot on. Is you know, 0:08:44.120 --> 0:08:46.240 when we're signing a guy like you or signing a 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:48.760 guy like Todd, part of it is because of the leadership, 0:08:48.800 --> 0:08:52.280 the experience you have, the championship pedigree. So if you 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.960 are coming on board February, you know, week before spring training, 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.600 you're not able to really spread your knowledge and your 0:08:58.600 --> 0:09:01.840 wisdom to as guys and have as big of an impact. 0:09:02.160 --> 0:09:04.559 And also, my guess is you guys find that very 0:09:04.600 --> 0:09:08.040 fulfilling to help mentor guys. And if we're saying you 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:09.880 can only start that process when you meet them in 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:13.400 spring training, we're missing an opportunity. Another thing I would 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.080 just add to the conversation is the fact that every 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.160 club is investing so much in their spring training facilities. 0:09:19.559 --> 0:09:21.200 I think a lot of you guys now are coming 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:23.520 down well in advance to spring training to work out 0:09:23.520 --> 0:09:26.360 there because the facilities are just so great, And so 0:09:26.679 --> 0:09:29.040 we're depriving you of the ability to get down there 0:09:29.160 --> 0:09:31.080 and also get to know some of your teammates, some 0:09:31.120 --> 0:09:33.160 of your coaches, some of the resources that will be 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:36.520 around you. You're getting to know that as spring training 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:38.760 begins or dare I say now a lot of guys 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:41.480 who are signing well into spring training. It's just such 0:09:41.520 --> 0:09:45.720 a disadvantage. So I think there's a real dangerous situation 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:48.920 going on in baseball right now, which is gms are 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:51.199 trying to get the best deals they can, so tour 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.839 agents agents believe if they wait longer, it'll be more 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.000 deadline driven teams will have to capitulate and give more money. 0:09:58.200 --> 0:10:00.280 But then there's a tipping point in that you get 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:02.559 past a certain date, the player and agent become a 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.640 little bit compromised, and gms now are taking advantage of 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.400 that and signing guys to you know, kind of deflated 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:13.360 deals late into February, sometimes March, when guys are really 0:10:13.400 --> 0:10:15.600 needing to get back into camp and get back out 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:17.959 on the field, and so they're in a compromise position. 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:21.000 I think it's a terrible way to start a relationship. Furthermore, 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:24.559 we're seeing from a performance standpoint, those players are missing 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:26.720 out on spring training. There's something to do with the 0:10:26.840 --> 0:10:29.320 at bats. You guys get that, the reps, you guys 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:31.760 that get on the mound just to get into shape. 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:34.760 Those guys aren't having great aprils, some of them spilling 0:10:34.800 --> 0:10:37.480 into May, and so I think we're losing across the 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:41.000 boards as an industry on all the fronts you mentioned, Kevin, 0:10:41.040 --> 0:10:43.319 and then additionally a few that I just brought up. 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:45.720 So as a result, I love the thought of having 0:10:45.760 --> 0:10:48.959 some sort of deadline. Todd kind of referenced it. I 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:51.160 think we should get back to the point where when 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:54.720 you guys go and spend the holidays with your families 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.640 and friends, you can tell them where you're going to 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:58.679 play the next year, and where your kids may be 0:10:58.760 --> 0:11:00.840 going to school, and where you're looking for housing. So 0:11:01.200 --> 0:11:03.880 if we could somehow figure out a way, maybe it's 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.920 not a hard and fast deadline too soon after the season, 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.079 but surely by the end of December, we should all 0:11:09.120 --> 0:11:11.560 have a pretty good understanding of how good a fit 0:11:11.640 --> 0:11:13.480 of players for a team and a team is for 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:16.360 that player. If we can accelerate decisions to be made 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:19.120 in the calendar year such that you then can spend 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:22.120 all of January February preparing with the team you're going 0:11:22.200 --> 0:11:25.359 to play for, ideally interacting with some of those teammates, 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.120 sharing your wisdom, sharing your expertise. I think we all 0:11:29.160 --> 0:11:29.720 win from that. 0:11:31.400 --> 0:11:35.480 How about making a deadline at the Winter Meetings? Wouldn't 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:38.200 that be helpful for a lot of guys to you know, 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:40.560 get these free agents going a little. 0:11:40.320 --> 0:11:43.960 Bit well todd. That would reinvigorate the Winter Meetings, which 0:11:44.160 --> 0:11:45.760 right now, you know, we don't see a ton of 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.120 signings there. Would It would be the off season spectacle 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:51.680 that Major League Baseball wishes it was. You know, we 0:11:51.760 --> 0:11:55.559 have media all over the place there trying to break news, 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.160 but they're really hunting for stories and they really are 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:00.800 breaking a lot more rumors than they are signed. If 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.400 we actually had a need to sign and agreed to 0:12:03.480 --> 0:12:06.040 terms with players, there, what an event that would be 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.000 for Major League Baseball? We put in on it, on 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:10.800 it on the map. Where's right now? It's just kind 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:14.000 of a slow bleed to get through free agency, and 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:16.720 I don't think it captures the fans interest like MLB 0:12:16.800 --> 0:12:17.440 would want it to. 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.920 My next question, hold on, hold up real quick, because 0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:25.840 I want to jump in. Are you guys I'm just 0:12:25.880 --> 0:12:29.199 making sure here from the player perspective, are you guys 0:12:29.200 --> 0:12:32.040 good with like KP You're good? Everyone like you? You have 0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:36.360 to sign December eighth, I noise get taken care of, 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:37.679 and then you just get to take it or leave 0:12:37.720 --> 0:12:40.320 it off, or versus doing a trade deadline at the 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:42.560 winter meetings so that it can't be used as leverage 0:12:42.600 --> 0:12:44.160 and we can get the trade action done and then 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:45.040 go to the signings. 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.680 I think there's a I think it's got to be 0:12:47.679 --> 0:12:49.599 incentive driven. I don't think it's like a cutoff, like 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:53.079 you can't sign, but maybe incentivized teams for signing players, 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:56.160 Like maybe ninety percent of the deal counts against the 0:12:56.200 --> 0:13:00.120 CBT and you get a ten percent discount on you know, luxury, 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:03.840 something along those lines. To incentivize teams where you know, 0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:06.600 if we're fighting over just you know, a year. I 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:08.120 know year is a lot or you know, a couple 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:09.920 million bucks, which sounds like a lot, but to a 0:13:09.960 --> 0:13:12.040 team it's not that much. But like, let's get the 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.920 ball roving. Incentivized teams. Maybe it's a draft pick compensation 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:18.559 if you sign a guy for X amount of years 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.920 for certain amount of dollars, whatever it may be. You know, 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.280 they're smarter people out there than me. But I think 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:26.800 you incentivized teams and agents and players to sign by 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:29.560 a certain date. So all those things that we talked about, 0:13:29.840 --> 0:13:31.880 being able to get in and meet your teammates and 0:13:32.000 --> 0:13:33.360 you know, get your family settled. 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:33.880 You know. 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:35.920 As a player who signed late, it was tough, you know, 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:38.760 And I think about my my most recent experience with 0:13:38.800 --> 0:13:40.520 the Rangers. You know, part of the reason I got 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:43.280 brought in was to be kind of a veteran guy, 0:13:43.360 --> 0:13:45.480 a leader, guy who's been there help out some of 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.720 these younger guys. And the first time I'm meeting them, 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.080 it's three or four days into spring training. I didn't 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.199 have a lot of time. And obviously my time was 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:54.000 short there. I got released, you know, a couple months 0:13:54.040 --> 0:13:55.840 into the season. But it felt like if I had 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:58.240 an entire offseason living here in Dallas, I could have 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:01.360 commuted down to arling in and you know, saw the 0:14:01.360 --> 0:14:03.360 guys and worked out and got to know the staff 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:05.480 a little bit better. You know, maybe things would have 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.480 turned out a little bit different. But you know, I 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.160 don't think you could just put a deadline on, like 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.679 if you don't sign your you're kicked out of baseball. 0:14:11.720 --> 0:14:13.480 I think it has to be incentive driven. 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:16.960 How about this as an idea, guys, how about if 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.680 you don't sign by specific date, the most you can 0:14:19.720 --> 0:14:22.240 sign for is like eighty percent of the qualifying offer, 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:24.040 and it could be over two three years if you 0:14:24.040 --> 0:14:25.440 want to, or it could be all in one year. 0:14:25.800 --> 0:14:30.239 But like that's that's kind of now the cap for play. 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:34.080 If you want the Yeah, But I just I think 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:37.040 it's such an unrealistic ask when you're saying that, I 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:39.920 mean that just gives you're coming from a long time 0:14:40.000 --> 0:14:43.400 executive side, that where that's a way for that side 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.720 to squeeze guys, Like for me, why not do the 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:50.160 incentive side which incentivizes team to actually be active versus 0:14:50.200 --> 0:14:51.680 them saying take it or leave it. 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.200 If you wait until tomorrow, you're only going eighty percent 0:14:54.240 --> 0:14:57.160 of the qualifying offer. I just think that's a trash 0:14:57.200 --> 0:14:59.040 way to operate in a negotiation. 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:02.680 I'm just assuming that the guys who are positioned to 0:15:02.680 --> 0:15:05.520 make one hundred plus million dollars, you know, enter trying 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.160 to ecot one hundred and ten or signed for ninety 0:15:08.240 --> 0:15:11.360 Like I think executives would have to come to the 0:15:11.400 --> 0:15:14.800 table much more sincerely earlier in that process is what 0:15:14.880 --> 0:15:17.080 I would hope as well. 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:19.280 Do you think that the incentive side is a good 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:22.920 idea and that side ever go for it, okay, And 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.880 what about the trade deadline? What about it? See to me, 0:15:26.080 --> 0:15:27.880 I think because I'm always trying to think that, I'm 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:30.480 not trying to play like a player agent here. I'm 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:32.800 just trying to defend the other side a little bit. 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:34.880 My thing is I always try to think of what 0:15:35.200 --> 0:15:38.920 actually would get done in a negotiation, because anything that 0:15:38.960 --> 0:15:42.160 happens has to get agreed to from player and ownership side. 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:44.240 For me, the thing that I actually think is realistic 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:47.520 is the trade deadline. Right so on the player side, 0:15:47.520 --> 0:15:49.040 you're going to be happy with that. Players don't want 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.720 to get traded in freaking February when they already think 0:15:51.720 --> 0:15:54.240 they're gone somewhere and then they get moved. Wipe the 0:15:54.280 --> 0:15:56.280 trades off the board. Let the first month or so 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:59.360 of the offseason focus on what trades can happen, and 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:03.280 then it's done. Now you can still do signings before that, 0:16:03.600 --> 0:16:06.840 but you can only sign players to advance yourself as 0:16:06.840 --> 0:16:09.160 a team for an x amount of time period. Of course, 0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:11.040 you're going to open up trades again, but we don't 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:13.280 get that many trades at the beginning of the season anyway. 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.360 So like, let's let's set this dead period where you 0:16:15.400 --> 0:16:17.600 can't trade players on a forty man roster. 0:16:19.000 --> 0:16:22.840 Yeah, I mean, I think it's a very sound concept. 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:24.880 You know, As I said earlier, part of the reason 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.600 we wait on free agency is because we have an alternative, 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.280 which is going to the trade market. And part of 0:16:29.280 --> 0:16:31.080 the reason we wait on the trade market is because 0:16:31.080 --> 0:16:33.680 we have an alternative, which is free agency. So if 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.560 you have tight windows in which you can only operate 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.920 in one space, you're going to have to accelerate conversations 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:41.040 in each of those spaces. 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:46.160 It's a good it's a good one. Yeah, I said 0:16:46.200 --> 0:16:48.360 free agent. I meant to say trade deadline. I know 0:16:48.440 --> 0:16:51.280 that's what I came off. But this is very interesting. 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:54.440 This is this should be the language and the banter 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:58.400 back and forth with you know, the collective bargaining and 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.400 everything else like these should be the tall and I 0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:02.640 hope that's what they're talking about, But there's other little 0:17:02.680 --> 0:17:03.800 things that they go through with. 0:17:04.720 --> 0:17:06.960 While we're at it. One more thad, can we trade 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.320 draft picks too? Every other league gets to do that. 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:11.520 I'm just coming from the fan perspective. All I care 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:12.840 about that is activity. 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.000 I've been saying it for a long time that I 0:17:15.040 --> 0:17:18.920 think it would help advance trades, you know, like and 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:20.840 it's to my point too, Like I wanted to ask 0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:23.720 you about this too, and you know the trade that 0:17:23.760 --> 0:17:26.399 happened yesterday between the Red Sox and the Pirates. But 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.960 we were just talking about teams covet prospects so much 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:32.280 that at some point you have an abundance of them 0:17:32.280 --> 0:17:34.879 and you don't have enough room for them to you know, 0:17:34.960 --> 0:17:36.720 fill out your major league roster. At some point you 0:17:36.760 --> 0:17:39.080 got to trade them, Like what is what's the what 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:41.800 is it the fear of that this prospect becomes this 0:17:41.920 --> 0:17:45.400 player that you drafted, developed and you hoped. But at 0:17:45.440 --> 0:17:48.560 some point I'd love to see teams like use their 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.960 prospects and their draft picks to improve their major league 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:54.840 roster because ultimately that's what, you know, makes everything work. 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.520 If you have a productive major league team, everything else 0:17:57.560 --> 0:17:58.359