Speaker 1: Tis League records bring.
Speaker 2: We will sue you to.
Speaker 3: The Gunner.
Speaker 1: Welcome, Haut, Welcome to the Just Baseball Show. It is
Speaker 1: Thursday July sixteenth. That's Arm Lighton and I am Peter
Speaker 1: Apple and today one burning question for every team in
Speaker 1: the National League post All Star Break. We're also going
Speaker 1: to talk about the Lance mc cullers junior trade from
Speaker 1: the Astros to the Brewers and Chase Burns of the
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Reds just got extended seven years, one hundred and
Speaker 1: five million, and Arm and I are here to break
Speaker 1: it down. And it's all brought to you by bet
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Speaker 1: mgm arm. We got a lot to discuss today. I
Speaker 1: say we get straight into it. What do you say,
Speaker 1: Let's do it because we've been in Philly for a while.
Speaker 1: Had to take a little bit of an off day
Speaker 1: yesterday just because of travel. But we are back with
Speaker 1: a banger episode and just a reminder. Part two will
Speaker 1: be live tomorrow, so we'll do the entire American League tomorrow.
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Speaker 1: Ar Lance mccullus junior got traded. So the trade is
Speaker 1: mccullus junior and Colton Gordon to the Brewers for minor
Speaker 1: league outfielder Jaden Fielder and cash. The Brewers will be
Speaker 1: absorbing the two and a half million dollars remaining on
Speaker 1: mcculler's contract, only.
Speaker 4: Two and a half of the much larger number remaining
Speaker 4: on the contract, which is the interesting part.
Speaker 1: I wrote it wrong, Yeah, break that down for.
Speaker 4: Us, because it's a lot of like there's a relatively
Speaker 4: decent amount of money left on the contract for Lance
Speaker 4: mccohor's junior, and hey, that was a sunken deal, right,
Speaker 4: Like you're not going to be able to offload that money.
Speaker 4: But the fact that with Colton Gordon decent depth arm
Speaker 4: that I left that now, I think the Brewers could
Speaker 4: have an interesting opportunity to try to, like Shane Drohan,
Speaker 4: try to unlock a little bit more out of and
Speaker 4: the fact that like they're only taking on two and
Speaker 4: a half, like the Astros are only really removing two
Speaker 4: and a half million dollars of this deal. I thought
Speaker 4: it was kind of surprising to attach like a decent
Speaker 4: pitching prospect. I know Gordon has him been great, just
Speaker 4: for two and a half million dollars he gets you
Speaker 4: have Jaden Fielder coming back the other way. He's gonna
Speaker 4: be twenty two years old at low A s having
Speaker 4: a nice year, but ultimately like not even really a
Speaker 4: top thirty prospect. Maybe in the Astro system will be
Speaker 4: a top thirty prospect, like at the thirty range, like
Speaker 4: twenty eight to thirty range. But it was interesting the
Speaker 4: astros who always talk about we always talk about every
Speaker 4: dollar matters up against that CBT.
Speaker 3: Seems like they're trying to make, you know.
Speaker 4: Just create a little bit of wiggle room, also open
Speaker 4: up a forty man spot to potentially, you know, go
Speaker 4: make another move.
Speaker 1: What interests me most is why the Brewers would do
Speaker 1: this because Lance mc coll is junior, he's thrown thirty
Speaker 1: nine innings this year to a six eight six ERA.
Speaker 1: In the year before that it was only fifty five
Speaker 1: innings at a six y five one ERA, and all
Speaker 1: the underlying metrics put him at four or five sometimes
Speaker 1: even six when we're looking at expected era phip X
Speaker 1: FIP sierra, and he's been striking out north of a
Speaker 1: batter per inning. But the walks, I mean walking five
Speaker 1: per nine this year, walked over six per nine last year. Now,
Speaker 1: when his three rehab starts in the minor leagues, because
Speaker 1: he is close to returning, he's looked okay, right two
Speaker 1: four five ERA is nice, striking out eleven and eleven innings,
Speaker 1: But of course it's such a small sample and it's
Speaker 1: in the minor league, so it's tough to really know.
Speaker 1: What about mccullar's junior profile. Do you think the Brewers
Speaker 1: saw and said, that's the guy that we want to target.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the big question. I don't know.
Speaker 4: Obviously, he can spin a break and ball and I
Speaker 4: think that's something that you know has always been there
Speaker 4: for him.
Speaker 3: You'll get some of the rehab outings.
Speaker 4: They've been brief, like three rehab appearances, eleven innings. He's
Speaker 4: pitched to a two four five era and it looks
Speaker 4: solid overall. I think maybe they want to weaponize the
Speaker 4: Brewers McCullers and kind of a shorter one to two.
Speaker 3: Winning relief role. And we've seen like.
Speaker 4: They they have different plans for guys that sometimes can
Speaker 4: just work. So I think they're looking at just a
Speaker 4: low cost edition and a guy that maybe they can
Speaker 4: try to unlock something with and and you know, for
Speaker 4: for really nothing.
Speaker 3: And at the same time they also bring in Colton Gordon.
Speaker 4: I think that might be the more interesting part of
Speaker 4: it for them, is that they may see something in
Speaker 4: a lefty in Colton Gordon, who uh, maybe they have
Speaker 4: a little bit more of a plan for who they
Speaker 4: can develop and if they think there's an off chance
Speaker 4: that mccollors can be a decent you know, middle reliever
Speaker 4: with some tweaks. Maybe that's it, but I do wonder
Speaker 4: if it's this is kind of more of a larger
Speaker 4: effort to just go grab Colton Gordon and continue to
Speaker 4: stockpile that they're pitching depth.
Speaker 3: Gordon is throwing to a three six nine e RA
Speaker 3: in the PCL.
Speaker 4: The strikeout numbers aren't great, but the command is really good.
Speaker 4: I only walked fourteen and seventy and two thirds innings,
Speaker 4: So I think it's more about Colton Gordon here, and
Speaker 4: I think that's a guy that they're willing to take
Speaker 4: on two and a half million of you know whatever,
Speaker 4: the five to six million that was left on this
Speaker 4: deal to be able to acquire a Colton Gordon. I
Speaker 4: think is maybe the part of the deal that is
Speaker 4: really motivating the Brewers.
Speaker 1: That makes sense, but I'm sure a lot of baseball
Speaker 1: fans can relate when a pitcher like Lance mccully's junior
Speaker 1: or even Colton Gordon gets traded could be to twenty
Speaker 1: eight different teams. I we'd say, okay, nice, he goes
Speaker 1: to the Brewers, And I'm sure baseball fans like myself
Speaker 1: are thinking what do they know? And McCulloch Junior obviously
Speaker 1: has been a big time name for a while, just
Speaker 1: hasn't been able to stay healthy. Colton Gordon is kind
Speaker 1: of bounced up and down between the miners and the majors,
Speaker 1: and he's filled, you know, a decent role for the Astros,
Speaker 1: whether that be starting games in a pinch, pitching in
Speaker 1: the bullpen.
Speaker 3: What do they know?
Speaker 1: And I know I already asked you that question, and
Speaker 1: I don't think either of us can answer. I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody can answer outside of the Brewers, But I
Speaker 1: am just asking, what the hell do they know here?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's gonna be the fun part.
Speaker 4: I think Gordon is going to be interesting to see
Speaker 4: what kind of arsenal tweaks they can make, because again,
Speaker 4: and especially with lefties of late, and he's not as
Speaker 4: talented as a Kyle Harris or anything like that, but
Speaker 4: you get a six four, two hundred twenty five pound
Speaker 4: lefty here that can throw out of strikes, and I
Speaker 4: think that's a guy that the Brewers are interested in
Speaker 4: being able to maybe make some arsenal tweaks with and
Speaker 4: see what they can get out of him.
Speaker 3: And then, yeah, I mean, maybe there's some.
Speaker 4: Short sort of specific plan with mccollher's. But I do
Speaker 4: think when you look at Gordon's arsenal, where he's got
Speaker 4: all these different offerings that he can attack you with,
Speaker 4: there's usually a little bit more wiggle room to make
Speaker 4: some adjustments there and lean into one pitch more than
Speaker 4: the other.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 4: It's again, I believe we got like five or six
Speaker 4: different pitches that Gordon can attack you with, four seamer
Speaker 4: sweep or two seamer changeup, curveball, a cutter as well.
Speaker 4: Like I'm I'm sure the the Brewers are excited to
Speaker 4: kind of mess around with this template and see what
Speaker 4: they can get. Also another guy that gets, you know,
Speaker 4: above average extension down the mound.
Speaker 1: Well, the Reds certainly feel like they know that they
Speaker 1: have a top ten pitcher in house. Chase Burns was
Speaker 1: just extended seven years one hundred and five million dollars.
Speaker 1: It's the largest ever for a pitcher without four years
Speaker 1: of service, and it ties Homer Bailey for the largest
Speaker 1: contract given out to a Reds pitcher, tied for the
Speaker 1: third largest in team history, behind Vado and Griffy. There
Speaker 1: are no clock club options in it, and it runs
Speaker 1: through twenty thirty three, and this is, you know, right
Speaker 1: after Burns was just named an All Star after posting
Speaker 1: a two five four ERA so far this season in
Speaker 1: one hundred and two innings with one hundred and eighteen
Speaker 1: strikeouts and ranks top ten and f war per fangrafts war.
Speaker 1: So what are your thoughts on the extension. I was
Speaker 1: a little bit surprised, considering the Reds are clearly not
Speaker 1: a team to normally do this. Right. They did give
Speaker 1: Green that six year, fifty three million dollar deal, but
Speaker 1: it's not a front office known for spending big time money.
Speaker 1: But here it is seven years, nine figure deal to
Speaker 1: Chase Burns.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean it's it's awesome. I think it's good
Speaker 4: for baseball anytime this happens. I mean I was just
Speaker 4: at the Baseball Writers Association brunch, and you know, we
Speaker 4: heard from Bruce Meyer, the the MLBPA director, and then
Speaker 4: we also heard from from Rob Manford, and you know,
Speaker 4: two different perspectives on these types of things.
Speaker 3: I think Meyer saying that this is happening more and more,
Speaker 3: and I do agree with that.
Speaker 4: Rob Manfred implying that players like Chase Burns typically have
Speaker 4: limited options, citing New.
Speaker 3: York in LA as the typical option.
Speaker 4: So anytime this happens, I just think it's good for
Speaker 4: baseball in general and for a guy like Chase Burns,
Speaker 4: Like he gives up two years of free agency, but
Speaker 4: he's still going to be able to go hit free
Speaker 4: agency and get his bag as well. You buy out
Speaker 4: the arbitration at this point, like agents and the teams
Speaker 4: like they can model it.
Speaker 3: They got a pretty good idea of what.
Speaker 4: Chase Burns is going to cost through arbitration, even if
Speaker 4: he's a little bit better than expected, a little bit
Speaker 4: a little bit worse, So you model that out. Maybe
Speaker 4: you got to pay a little bit extra through those
Speaker 4: our years to be able to convince him to give
Speaker 4: up to free agent years. But at the same time,
Speaker 4: like I think it's a no brainer for both sides
Speaker 4: because Chase Burns is still gonna be able to hit
Speaker 4: free agency I think, just on the right side of
Speaker 4: thirty or right around thirty years old. And he also
Speaker 4: guarantees himself one hundred million dollars. The Reds, who have
Speaker 4: been really frustrating disappointing this year, lock in a piece
Speaker 4: here to continue to build towards next year and beyond
Speaker 4: and say Hey, like, we still have a really good core.
Speaker 4: We still have Ledo Cruz for several more years. That
Speaker 4: might be an extension that's hard to pull off, and
Speaker 4: that would probably skew back towards Manfred's argument, right, But hey,
Speaker 4: we have solid pieces, solid players, south Stort's playing well,
Speaker 4: Abbot's really bounce back.
Speaker 3: We have all these young pieces. It's just not all
Speaker 3: coming together.
Speaker 4: Here's another statement, and I think another reason to you know,
Speaker 4: get these fans to in a disappointing year, be able
Speaker 4: to believe that, hey, this Red front office and ownership
Speaker 4: is still trying to find ways to win and invest
Speaker 4: a little bit more into this team.
Speaker 1: We've seen a lot of pre ARB extensions with hitters,
Speaker 1: but we rarely see them with pictures. And I want
Speaker 1: to bring up this question from our YouTube live chat
Speaker 1: from Big E nine to seven two seven. I wonder
Speaker 1: if we will see more teams making this deal with
Speaker 1: their young pitchers. An example, could the Pirates lock up
Speaker 1: Brax and Ashcraft to this contract next. Do you think
Speaker 1: we're going to see a run potentially on these young
Speaker 1: starters getting extended or do you think this is more
Speaker 1: of a one off type of scenario.
Speaker 4: I mean I think teams are that's a more interesting
Speaker 4: situation because I think with pictures there's always the risk
Speaker 4: of extending those guys and just being stuck if they
Speaker 4: get injured. I mean, look, we just talked about Lance
Speaker 4: mc colors, right, and like that that contract obviously tied
Speaker 4: the Astros up a little bit, to the point that
Speaker 4: they're attaching another arm on their forty man roster to
Speaker 4: clear up a couple million dollars so that they can
Speaker 4: have a little bit more wiggle room, you know, at
Speaker 4: the trade deadline, which I also think, by the way,
Speaker 4: with the Astros very much implies that they're going to
Speaker 4: be buying. But I think we'll see it here and there,
Speaker 4: especially for the teams that are nervous about being able
Speaker 4: to retain talent but also won't be able to go
Speaker 4: out and sign a Terek Schooble, right, Like the Reds
Speaker 4: are never going to be in the hunt for a
Speaker 4: Terrek Scooble or oftentimes just any of those top top
Speaker 4: flight arms and free agency a Dylan Ce's like, they're
Speaker 4: not going to get it into the two hundred and
Speaker 4: fifty plus million dollar bidding for a free agent most
Speaker 4: of the time. So this is the way to be
Speaker 4: able to keep and secure, you know, an elite arm especially,
Speaker 4: And I think it's a little bit different with the
Speaker 4: Reds because very few top flight pitchers are going to
Speaker 4: want to sign in Cincinnati. Very few are going to
Speaker 4: want to go play in Great American Ballpark. We've already
Speaker 4: seen that. So if you have a guy there that's
Speaker 4: proven that he can throw there and proves that he
Speaker 4: doesn't care about throwing there, I think that's the guy
Speaker 4: that you've got to go outside of what you're typically
Speaker 4: used to doing and make sure you keep him. Because
Speaker 4: this is an uncharacteristic deal for the Reds. It's one
Speaker 4: of the biggest contracts they've ever given it out, and
Speaker 4: I don't think it's a coincidence that it's a pitcher
Speaker 4: who can throw in Great American and is fine, you know,
Speaker 4: consistently pitching in Great Americans. So I think it's a
Speaker 4: little bit more of a deviation from other what we'll
Speaker 4: see from other teams.
Speaker 1: I think you're totally right on that, and it kind
Speaker 1: of answers our next question. But this came to us
Speaker 1: in the discord, and you know, in our discord, which
Speaker 1: you can find a link to join in the episode description,
Speaker 1: whenever anything happens in Major League Baseball, we go to
Speaker 1: the best basebook group chat in the world to talk
Speaker 1: about it. And at Big Red Analytics brought this up
Speaker 1: and he thinks that because of it, we might see
Speaker 1: a salary floor. And let me just bring it up
Speaker 1: to you real quick. So he says, salary cap and
Speaker 1: floor almost a guarantee. No chance Red's owners make this
Speaker 1: move unless they think there's a floor. I assume you disagree.
Speaker 1: I assume that just it's hard to find pictures this
Speaker 1: good to pitch in great American bullpark.
Speaker 3: I think it's one hundred percent.
Speaker 4: Well, yeah, that it's just difficult to find an arm
Speaker 4: that's to stay there. And like, this is a rare
Speaker 4: opportunity to be able to retain a guy like that.
Speaker 4: You were gonna pay all through his arbiers anyway, So
Speaker 4: it's like it's not like you were going from zero
Speaker 4: to one hundred and five million. You're going from like
Speaker 4: forty to fifty to now or maybe like thirty. I
Speaker 4: I haven't modeled out the arbiers, but from a decent
Speaker 4: chunk of change to a little bit more by buying
Speaker 4: out two years, those two years that.
Speaker 3: You bought out would have been what.
Speaker 4: You were trying to get, you know, mid level arms,
Speaker 4: like they would have been in the market for like
Speaker 4: better than mid level, but like a Michael King like
Speaker 4: look about Michael King costs in the free agent ranks,
Speaker 4: a qualifying offer is twenty two million dollars, So like that,
Speaker 4: that's why the Reds did this, is you're just buying
Speaker 4: out two years of free agency, maybe paying a little
Speaker 4: bit extra through the arbiers to be able to do that,
Speaker 4: But it's not like a full fledge like oh, instead
Speaker 4: of spending zero dollars or spending one hundred and five,
Speaker 4: they were gonna pay him through those ar beers. Anyways,
Speaker 4: those arbers were gonna get very expensive because of how
Speaker 4: good Burns has been right away, and you would have
Speaker 4: offered him the qualifying offer, he would have turned it down,
Speaker 4: but if he had accepted it, you would be jumping
Speaker 4: up and down for twenty two million dollars.
Speaker 3: So no, it has nothing to do with that.
Speaker 4: I think that's something that especially from hearing from both
Speaker 4: sides this past week at all start week, like, I
Speaker 4: think fans are putting a little bit too much into
Speaker 4: what each of these teams are doing.
Speaker 3: And like what that might mean about the CBA.
Speaker 4: No one knows what's going to happen with the CBA
Speaker 4: yet both sides like it is still so early in
Speaker 4: the entire process. I don't think it guarantees anything, and
Speaker 4: I don't think teams are making decisions based on that
Speaker 4: as much as as people want to think that they are.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree with you. I don't think anything has
Speaker 1: been decided yet. So for these decisions to come down
Speaker 1: the pipeline when even these teams and even on the
Speaker 1: owner side too, they don't know exactly what's going to
Speaker 1: happen yet. There hasn't been a ton of discussions. There's
Speaker 1: been the league bringing up proposal, the MLBPA immediately saying
Speaker 1: we will not accept that proposal. Then the MLBPA comes
Speaker 1: around and send something over and the owners go absolutely not.
Speaker 1: So nothing has really happened yet. So to think that
Speaker 1: these teams are making decisions because of a guess, I
Speaker 1: just don't see that happening. Now. I think it's time
Speaker 1: to transition over to one burning question for every team
Speaker 1: in the National League post All Star Break going forward
Speaker 1: for the rest of the season. But real quick, I
Speaker 1: want to shout out our friends at Lidds. We just
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Speaker 1: Remember to text baseball to to nine zero one seven
Speaker 1: to get fifteen percent off a LIDZ. All right, Arm,
Speaker 1: let's start at the top. One burning question. We'll start
Speaker 1: with the Dodgers. So I have one and you have
Speaker 1: one and we can kind of go back and forth
Speaker 1: for who goes first. All started off my burning question
Speaker 1: for the Dodgers. Can Kyle Tucker turn it around in
Speaker 1: the second half? And because I look at the Dodgers
Speaker 1: right now and I say, yeah, they could probably win
Speaker 1: the World Series right odds on favorite. But if Kyle
Speaker 1: Tucker is the Kyle Tucker we know he can be.
Speaker 1: I mean, they could sweep anybody. It won't even be closed,
Speaker 1: right because if they aren't firing on all cylinders, Like
Speaker 1: I don't think they were necessarily in the World Series
Speaker 1: when the Blue Jays took them to seven. But if
Speaker 1: you're telling me we can get peak astros Kyle Tucker
Speaker 1: here in the second half, I just don't know how
Speaker 1: they lose. But so far in the first half, I mean,
Speaker 1: the numbers are incredibly disappointing for a guy making sixty
Speaker 1: million dollars a year, over a million a week, he's
Speaker 1: hitting two forty four, three forty one, three seventy five
Speaker 1: for a seven to sixteen OPS with only seven homers
Speaker 1: and six deals. And what's I know, the bat hasn't
Speaker 1: been great, But what worries me as well is the defense.
Speaker 1: I Mean, what makes Kyle Tucker a sixty million dollar
Speaker 1: player is not only can he be a bat that's
Speaker 1: forty percent above league average while being a thirty thirty
Speaker 1: threat with elite play discipline, but he's a good base runner.
Speaker 1: He was a really good defender. But ever since he
Speaker 1: left Houston, like even with the Cups, he was negative
Speaker 1: one defensive run saved, negative two outs above average, and
Speaker 1: now this year with the Dodgers, it's negative three defensive
Speaker 1: run saved and negative five outs above average, and his
Speaker 1: average eggs of velocity is below ninety for the first
Speaker 1: time in his career. So again burning questions for the Dodgers.
Speaker 1: There aren't many now, but this is an area where
Speaker 1: we could see Kyle Tucker return to form. We might
Speaker 1: as well stop the podcast for the rest of the
Speaker 1: season because it's over. Yeah.
Speaker 4: I mean, that's the one area too where you'll get
Speaker 4: the Dodgers and you're just like, what's going on over there.
Speaker 4: I think that's very specific too, because I think when
Speaker 4: when you had the inconsistency of what Kyle Tucker did
Speaker 4: last year at the end of the day with the
Speaker 4: frustrations and I know Cubs fans weren't thrilled with Tucker
Speaker 4: in a Cub's uniform.
Speaker 3: He walked as much as he struck out.
Speaker 4: He was a four and a half, a f four player,
Speaker 4: twenty two homers, twenty five packs. So you follow that
Speaker 4: up with the Dodgers paying him the ridiculous AAV deal
Speaker 4: that they're paying him, and he say, all right, he's
Speaker 4: gonna be fine this year, right, like the Dodgers see
Speaker 4: something positive. Ultimately, as ugly as it got through that
Speaker 4: year with the Cubs, he was banged up. He still
Speaker 4: gave you a four win season. He still showed you
Speaker 4: enough shades to Kyle Tucker. So to follow it up
Speaker 4: with a worse year in a better hitting environ both
Speaker 4: lineup wise and field wise, uh yeah, that's definitely just
Speaker 4: a head scratcher. And I'm still trying to figure out
Speaker 4: what exactly is going on there. And you really hope
Speaker 4: it gets better soon because I know other people don't
Speaker 4: want to see that, but like I just I like
Speaker 4: seeing Kyle Tucker play at high level. As you know,
Speaker 4: he's always been one of my favorite players to watch.
Speaker 4: But right now, it's just it's sluggish. It just looks sluggish.
Speaker 1: And speaking about sluggish, look at his slugging percentage just
Speaker 1: you know, in the last handful of games or so,
Speaker 1: because lately, right he's hitting two eighty six in the
Speaker 1: month of July. I know it's you know, only really
Speaker 1: two weeks of action, but it's a lot of singles
Speaker 1: and he's walking, but he's slugging three forty three. It's
Speaker 1: just there seems to be no juice. And it's not
Speaker 1: even just the eggs of alat cities or the slugging percentage.
Speaker 1: It's you know, the base running, it's everything that makes
Speaker 1: Kyle Tucker powerful just hasn't been there, which is just
Speaker 1: shocking to me. Yep and mine.
Speaker 4: You know, I wanted to go to the Schooble route, like, no,
Speaker 4: well they go get Schoogle, But you know, I think
Speaker 4: that's already like a pretty common place question.
Speaker 3: I think the other aspect when he'll get this rosters,
Speaker 3: can Will Smith.
Speaker 4: Get healthy, because it's beyond what you get from Will
Speaker 4: Smith offensively. Obviously Shoho Tani prefers to throw to wil Smith. Now,
Speaker 4: I think the Dalton rushing stuff is over blow, and
Speaker 4: I think rushing is is going to be and it
Speaker 4: is already a.
Speaker 3: Really good major league baseball player.
Speaker 4: So you know, he was a top ten prospect for
Speaker 4: me pre debut, and I think he's gonna have a long.
Speaker 3: And successful career.
Speaker 4: But as it pertains to this year specifically, I still
Speaker 4: think there's a sizeable gap in terms of what you're
Speaker 4: going to get day in and day out, working with
Speaker 4: the pitching staff, working with a pitching staff full of
Speaker 4: vets that have thrown to Will Smith a ton versus
Speaker 4: you know, a rookie catcher that's still learning how to
Speaker 4: you know, regulate his emotions, carry himself in a way
Speaker 4: that is a little bit more even keeled for a
Speaker 4: team that's trying to win their third straight championship.
Speaker 3: Like, if you're trying to win three straight championships, even
Speaker 3: keeled is the name of the game.
Speaker 4: And I know Rushing is already making that progress, is
Speaker 4: very self aware he's gonna have it a really, really
Speaker 4: good career. But for this year to try to three
Speaker 4: peete and the pressure that comes with that, and the
Speaker 4: pressure that's only gonna mount, you need your catcher back there.
Speaker 4: You need Will Smith and he's been out since the
Speaker 4: beginning of June, and I just think there might be
Speaker 4: a little bit more going on there than you know,
Speaker 4: whatever the reports are, just like neck inflammation, whatever that means.
Speaker 4: So Smith, Like, of course you need his bat, but
Speaker 4: I just think that guy being the steward of your
Speaker 4: pitching staff as well is vital to this team being
Speaker 4: able to make their you know, their run for a
Speaker 4: third straight.
Speaker 1: Title, no doubt about it. And I'm curious too if
Speaker 1: the Dodgers feel like Will Smith is going to be
Speaker 1: back sooner rather than later and he'll be perfectly healthy.
Speaker 1: Could Dalton Rushing be on the move right. We've talked
Speaker 1: about the Dodgers making huge splashes at this deadline, and
Speaker 1: Dalton Rushing is a piece where you know, maybe you
Speaker 1: could convince a team that's not even necessarily selling to
Speaker 1: give one of their best pieces in order to get
Speaker 1: a major league talent. Kind of one of those big
Speaker 1: league swaps where again maybe it's not on the it's
Speaker 1: not on our brain of a team that could sell,
Speaker 1: but they send a pitcher over to the Dodgers, and
Speaker 1: the Dodgers give them a catcher, and both teams stay
Speaker 1: really competitive and just address needs. So I think beyond
Speaker 1: just Will Smith coming back, what that then means for
Speaker 1: Adalton Rushing and two more quick ones that I had.
Speaker 1: I'm really curious what's going to happen with Shoe Hao
Speaker 1: Toanni's knee because he got an injection right he didn't
Speaker 1: play in the All Star Game, and it was something
Speaker 1: that he was kind of dealing with, and the Dodgers
Speaker 1: scratched him from his start that was supposed to be
Speaker 1: before the All Star Game. Do they start to slowly
Speaker 1: shut him down as we get closer to October and
Speaker 1: they get back guys like Blake Snell and Tyler Glass
Speaker 1: now into the rotation, or is show heo TONI totally
Speaker 1: fine and he rattles off a season with an ERA
Speaker 1: below two and he's in the Cy Young race. That's
Speaker 1: again a burning question. I don't have the answer to that.
Speaker 1: And my last one is just what version of Mookie
Speaker 1: Betts do they get? Because in June Mookie Bets had
Speaker 1: his best month of the season, and then he turned
Speaker 1: round in the two weeks leading up to the break
Speaker 1: and put up a four to eighty two OPS. And
Speaker 1: for anyone who's watched more than one game of Dodger
Speaker 1: baseball in their life, they know that when you get good,
Speaker 1: the good version of Mookie Bets, the Dodgers are an
Speaker 1: unstoppable force. When Mooki is not hitting, or not defending,
Speaker 1: or just not playing well, the Dodgers are vulnerable. And
Speaker 1: there are plenty of great teams in the National League,
Speaker 1: which is again why I brought up Kyle Tucker. Nobody
Speaker 1: in the ALE can hang with him. Mookiy Bets could
Speaker 1: stink and Kyle Tucker could stink, and I still think
Speaker 1: they gentlemen sweep anybody in the American League. But it's
Speaker 1: about getting to the World Series. And to get to
Speaker 1: the World Series. I think the Dodgers are going to
Speaker 1: have to be firing on all cylinders in order to
Speaker 1: beat the Brewers, in order to beat the Phillies, in
Speaker 1: order to beat the Braves. Right as the dimback sneak in,
Speaker 1: Dimonback's already beating the hell out of them in the
Speaker 1: regular season and are not afraid of them. So again,
Speaker 1: this is the one team where I don't think any
Speaker 1: of the questions are actually burning, but I will say
Speaker 1: they have a lot of them, though I think that's
Speaker 1: fair to say.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I say, what happens, they have a bunch of
Speaker 4: high expectation players exactly.
Speaker 1: Let's go over to the Diamondbacks. And since I went
Speaker 1: first for the Dodgers, you're up. What's your burning question
Speaker 1: for the for Arizona?
Speaker 3: Has Mike hasn't seen enough with this team? You know?
Speaker 4: I and by enough, just is this enough for him
Speaker 4: to go out and buy and continue to try to
Speaker 4: bolster this team Because a big part of the equation
Speaker 4: for me being bullish on the Diamondbacks, you know, months ago,
Speaker 4: was the returns of the presumed returns of Corbyn Burns
Speaker 4: and AJ Puck and Justin Martinez and Martinez is trending
Speaker 4: to get back sooner rather than later, and oh my gosh,
Speaker 4: it's not going to help this team in their bullpen.
Speaker 4: But you know they have more more questions than that.
Speaker 4: Even though Lord of Scurriel was they're going to get
Speaker 4: him back. Like, there's just a lot of different options
Speaker 4: that can continue to make this team better.
Speaker 3: And especially when you saw e Rod.
Speaker 4: Throwing the ball well out of the gate and some
Speaker 4: of the other things that were going well, there was
Speaker 4: a lot of reasons to be optimistic if they could
Speaker 4: just weather the storm until July.
Speaker 3: But then Corbyn Burns is a setback.
Speaker 4: AJ Puck has a setback, and all of a sudden
Speaker 4: you're like, oh, where the reinforcements. Lord of Courriel couldn't
Speaker 4: be worse since returning from injury, and it's been tough.
Speaker 4: I do think though, with the way the team is
Speaker 4: hung around, they sweep the Dodgers going into the break,
Speaker 4: they're two games over. Mike Haysen, we talk about Preller
Speaker 4: being a madman, no one, no one's on Prewer's level,
Speaker 4: but on the spectrum of like conservative and aggressive GMS,
Speaker 4: Haysn skews well into the aggressive side of things right,
Speaker 4: Like he is well over there, probably in the ninetieth
Speaker 4: percentile of like he's ready to go, And I'm just
Speaker 4: curious if the flaws in this team will be hanging
Speaker 4: over his head too much, or if he's gonna feel like, hey,
Speaker 4: we've hung around despite this, We're gonna get some of
Speaker 4: our guys back. Burns might still come back, you know,
Speaker 4: in September, Let's go for it.
Speaker 1: My burning question is actually along those same lines, because
Speaker 1: I've I feel like if they had a couple of
Speaker 1: bats to step up from five to nine, it'll make
Speaker 1: Mike Hayson's job a little bit easier because we expect,
Speaker 1: you know, the catel Martes to bounce back. Corbyn Carrol
Speaker 1: has already been awesome. Gabby Moreno is having a really
Speaker 1: good season, right, But then you look five through nine,
Speaker 1: and of course I forgot about Heraldo Perdomo, who's still
Speaker 1: providing value defensively and you know on the bases. He's
Speaker 1: just got to get that ops up a little bit.
Speaker 1: But I think we have faith that he's going to
Speaker 1: do so I don't have any burning questions about the
Speaker 1: top four. It's the Ildemorrow Vargases of the world. The
Speaker 1: Nolan Arnado's the Lord is Gurriel Juniors. I mean these
Speaker 1: are not I mean Vargas, you know, kind of caught fire.
Speaker 1: But Lord of Curiel Junior is not a forty nine
Speaker 1: percent below league average offensive player by WRC plus Nolan Aaronado.
Speaker 1: I know he's at the tail end of his career,
Speaker 1: but he's not this bad. Ryan walshmid is a prospect
Speaker 1: that you love. I love. I drafted him in the
Speaker 1: rookie draft at the beginning of the season. He's better
Speaker 1: than being twenty percent below league average. And I think
Speaker 1: if one of those guys or two hopefully or three,
Speaker 1: why not because they got him, can step up until
Speaker 1: the August third trade deadline, help them win some more games.
Speaker 1: It'll make Mike Haysen's job a little bit easier because
Speaker 1: I'm not going to ask in the Diamondbacks rotation who's
Speaker 1: going to step up. They've lost so many pieces, like
Speaker 1: you lost Ryan Nelson, you lost Michael Soroka. Gallon just
Speaker 1: hit the il. Corbyn Burns hasn't returned, so that's more
Speaker 1: of just I hope someone does. Injuries are They're not
Speaker 1: having so many injuries in the bottom half of their lineup.
Speaker 1: These are the guys they brought in and they should
Speaker 1: be better. So my burning question for the Diamondbacks is
Speaker 1: who from five to nine in the lineup is going
Speaker 1: to step up and help the front four? Yeah?
Speaker 4: Yeah, And I think you know you're hoping when they
Speaker 4: brought in cap wlare that as he just kind of
Speaker 4: shakes the rust off. If he's in a ninety five
Speaker 4: WRC plus for them, I think they're happy with that.
Speaker 4: They just need the bottom half for the lineup to
Speaker 4: not just be a crater. And I think Walschmid is
Speaker 4: the big variable day that I'm looking at because his
Speaker 4: first one hundred and thirty Big League play appearances they
Speaker 4: send him back down the trip away. Now he's back
Speaker 4: up demolished Triple A of course, and if he can
Speaker 4: settle in and be a solid piece for them, I
Speaker 4: think that really helps length in this lineup one hundred percent.
Speaker 1: Let's move over to the San Diego Padres and I'll
Speaker 1: go first this time around. Can Jackson Merrill turn it
Speaker 1: around in the second half, because I think when you
Speaker 1: look at the Padres offense, you know people immediately go, well,
Speaker 1: what went wrong? And the big name is Fernando tacI Junior, right,
Speaker 1: we saw the home run downturn, but at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, he's been two percent abovely gaverage. It's
Speaker 1: not like he's been a hole. He just hasn't provided
Speaker 1: much power. And Manny Machado, his name has certainly been
Speaker 1: floated around there for one of the most disappointing players
Speaker 1: in Major League Baseball. But by WRC plus, he's been
Speaker 1: a better hitter than Jackson Merrill has this season. And
Speaker 1: this one's just shocking to me. Now, he has some
Speaker 1: decent counting numbers. He's got ten homers, he's got nineteen steals,
Speaker 1: the Man's Batten two nineteen arm obpad two seventy eight
Speaker 1: slug at three point fifty, he's been twenty four percent
Speaker 1: worse than a league average hitter by WRC plus, sitting
Speaker 1: at just seventy six. The strikeout rate has jumped all
Speaker 1: the way to twenty five percent. Now, I know he's
Speaker 1: still twenty three years old, and I know you and
Speaker 1: I there is no he could literally hit zero this year,
Speaker 1: and you and I are not giving up on him.
Speaker 1: But for the Padres to turn it around, especially offensively,
Speaker 1: like Jackson Merrill, has to be better, he simply does
Speaker 1: so that's my burning question for the Padres.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, Meryl, it's it's one of the more
Speaker 4: shocking struggles we've seen. You know, I know that he
Speaker 4: had this the frustrations last year and struggle last year,
Speaker 4: but you had a concussion and other injuries to justify it. Like,
Speaker 4: I don't know what's going on now, and it's it's puzzling,
Speaker 4: and you know, we saw it kind of be contagious
Speaker 4: through this team, but now you've seen Machado really pick up.
Speaker 4: As you mentioned, Tatista has at least started to pick
Speaker 4: it up. Maryl was the one. He's not shown the
Speaker 4: signs of life yet at all. And like, even if
Speaker 4: he was just showing signs of life to be close
Speaker 4: to a league average hitter or just even having an
Speaker 4: upward trajectory over the last month, I think.
Speaker 3: I'd be less concerned. But right now I'm pretty darn concerned.
Speaker 4: And and it just is a I don't know, it's
Speaker 4: a weird spot for him to be in because I
Speaker 4: think he's such a glue guy for this team, especially
Speaker 4: with some of the older pieces that they have to
Speaker 4: be able to impact the game in so many different ways.
Speaker 3: And mine is more just just kind of broad because
Speaker 3: I think it's still.
Speaker 4: Kind of inevitable that this team is going to buy,
Speaker 4: so long as they don't just legitimately drop eight to
Speaker 4: the next ten.
Speaker 3: Or something like that.
Speaker 4: Like I think if they're within three to five games
Speaker 4: of five hundred, I think they're still going to go
Speaker 4: for it.
Speaker 3: How do they buy this year?
Speaker 4: I know we feel I feel like we say this
Speaker 4: every year, but last year, they you know, went out
Speaker 4: and with the Mason Miller deal, like they went out
Speaker 4: and traded one of the best prospects in Major League Baseball.
Speaker 4: Now there wasn't a lot behind that, but then he
Speaker 4: just went probably went quantity over like for all the
Speaker 4: deals and basically traded all of their quantity. You know,
Speaker 4: people are gonna say, oh, we say this every year,
Speaker 4: how is probably gonna do it?
Speaker 3: He literally traded everything everything. So there are some pieces here.
Speaker 4: And I think for Rentals, yeah, Prower can make trades happen,
Speaker 4: but Preller as aggressive as he likes to be, and
Speaker 4: we have seen.
Speaker 3: Him go nuts for Rental, Tanner, Scott and things like that.
Speaker 3: But that team was really good.
Speaker 4: Like that Danner's got had the chance to like actually
Speaker 4: pushed that team into another Acheloon.
Speaker 1: Just that team almost beat the Dodgers in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: who then beat the shit out of the Yankees in five.
Speaker 1: Like the Prodgers were ahead in that series. It's totally
Speaker 1: understandable to go all in at the twenty twenty four deadline. Absolutely,
Speaker 1: and then in twenty twenty five, this is a playoff team.
Speaker 1: They got there, it's just they lost in the playoffs
Speaker 1: and should happen that.
Speaker 4: And that buying was a little bit more control based,
Speaker 4: like you had Ramon Loreano with o Hearne was a rental,
Speaker 4: but it came with Loreana with control. Mason Miller was
Speaker 4: a bunch of control. And I think with that, I
Speaker 4: don't know if we see Preller go mad Man for
Speaker 4: rentals like because then I think that's also all that
Speaker 4: they can do. So this is where I'm most fascinated,
Speaker 4: like how does Preller make this happen?
Speaker 3: And the immediate answer could be Ethan Salas.
Speaker 4: They could go, but I don't think you trade that guy,
Speaker 4: and I don't even think Preller trades that guy. And
Speaker 4: I don't think that one hundred at bats of Louis
Speaker 4: Campusano swinging at a really high level is gonna be
Speaker 4: enough for him to do that either. I think school Craft,
Speaker 4: a couple other guys maybe they can make it happen.
Speaker 4: I'm just really curious to see this. This is the
Speaker 4: most hand tied aj Preller has ever been going into
Speaker 4: a deadline, and it might be the worst team he's
Speaker 4: had going into the deadline.
Speaker 3: So I'm just I just can't wait to see what
Speaker 3: he does.
Speaker 1: That's why I'm just not sold that day. By I'm
Speaker 1: really not, I mean, out of the break, they have
Speaker 1: a pretty relatively easy schedule until the deadline. Right they
Speaker 1: face the Royals, that's their first series out of the break,
Speaker 1: they theoretically should take care of business, but it's not
Speaker 1: like the Putters are that good, so who's to say
Speaker 1: that they do. Then they're going to go face teams
Speaker 1: like the Braves and the Marlins, which are going to
Speaker 1: be tough. But then you got like the Rockies and
Speaker 1: the Giants. So I think if they struggle in this stretch,
Speaker 1: I would be surprised if Pereller buys because if you're
Speaker 1: telling me like this team is not catching a second
Speaker 1: wind and they're not handling Rockies, Giants and Royals, that
Speaker 1: doesn't seem like a team that you want to add
Speaker 1: on to and trade from. This farm system that you
Speaker 1: said to yourself is now quite barren because Preller sold
Speaker 1: off a lot. What makes Preller such an incredible GM
Speaker 1: is that he's able to replenish the system. And I'm
Speaker 1: sure now that they have a couple of key names,
Speaker 1: but at what point is enough enough?
Speaker 4: Well, and that's where I think maybe they go to
Speaker 4: the bullpen and say, okay, well, if we trade you,
Speaker 4: you know they're gonna get Jeremiah strawa back relatively soon.
Speaker 4: So yeah, if we send you more a hone and
Speaker 4: I know, I know that's your your your best lefty.
Speaker 4: But if we send you more a hoone and and
Speaker 4: a prospect or something like that for a team that
Speaker 4: is is competitive as well, and we do the big
Speaker 4: leaguer for big leaguer thing that could make some sense.
Speaker 1: Be could teams.
Speaker 4: You know, if David Morgan is healthy in the next
Speaker 4: couple weeks, Morgan in a prospect like I think I
Speaker 4: could see Prower getting creative and leverage the bowl, leveraging
Speaker 4: the bullpen arms that they have too. So I just
Speaker 4: can't wait to see what he does.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no doubt about it. Let's go over to the
Speaker 1: San Francisco Giants and you're up first your one and
Speaker 1: burning question for.
Speaker 4: A team that's already out of it, it's just can
Speaker 4: they offload one of these big contracts?
Speaker 1: Yeah? That was that was mine too, I said, I
Speaker 1: just real quick, I said, can they commit to a
Speaker 1: full teardown?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 4: And I think they wheel up to Logan Web and
Speaker 4: like can they Can they be convinced on Logan Web?
Speaker 4: I don't know, but I'm just curious about the financial side,
Speaker 4: because look, you're not gonna be able to move the
Speaker 4: Devers deal and if you somehow do incredible And.
Speaker 3: That's this part of the big question.
Speaker 1: Hey, can we give dev some credit? Though he's he's
Speaker 1: really turned it up lately, got his WRC plus up
Speaker 1: to one eighteen. Like, you know, he's a ton of
Speaker 1: national media on his you know, really rough start to
Speaker 1: the season, but ever since then, he's been a really,
Speaker 1: really good bat. Of course, he's still crazy expensive and
Speaker 1: he can't defend, but the bat has returned.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think he's gonna hit for a long time.
Speaker 4: I do, Like, I think he's gonna be a good bat,
Speaker 4: but I just don't as.
Speaker 3: We both know, like, no one's going to be lining
Speaker 3: up to take that deal on. So you're you're you're
Speaker 3: kind of strapped with that.
Speaker 4: You know they're gonna move Awrise, it seems like, and
Speaker 4: there's been reports I think John Hayman had reported too.
Speaker 3: Like they aren't necessarily eager to move Jong Houli.
Speaker 4: So like if they're not able to move Chapman, they're
Speaker 4: not able to move devs. Like do they just say, hey,
Speaker 4: maybe maybe this is some money that we clear off.
Speaker 3: I just look at a Damis.
Speaker 4: And I look at Matt Chapman, and I just say, like,
Speaker 4: can you somehow figure it out? Could you swap not
Speaker 4: a bad contract, but take on some maybe slightly underwater money?
Speaker 3: Like how how creative can Buster Posey get here?
Speaker 4: And we've seen Buster Posey just add and sign and
Speaker 4: you know, do kind of.
Speaker 3: The easy MLB the show type of things. Let's see
Speaker 3: Buster Posey.
Speaker 4: Try to get himself out of a situation that you know,
Speaker 4: is created by some of the moves not going the
Speaker 4: way that he wanted them to. And that happens, and
Speaker 4: that happens to a lot of gms, but and executives,
Speaker 4: but the good executives and the unemployed executives. The difference
Speaker 4: between those twos, they maneuver their way out of these situations.
Speaker 3: So I'm hungry to see.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. And that's why I chose my words
Speaker 1: carefully when I wrote down, do they commit to a
Speaker 1: full teardown? Because I think they'll do a pretty good
Speaker 1: job at selling off these, you know, contracts that are
Speaker 1: going to end at the end of the year, these
Speaker 1: expiring deals. But will they be able to move bad
Speaker 1: contracts or will they be able to move pretty good contracts?
Speaker 1: Like is this a full teardown? Is Web gone? Is
Speaker 1: jung Huli gone? Right? Because if they're unable to move
Speaker 1: the Chapman's the damas the Devers contracts, which appear to
Speaker 1: be pretty much underwater at this point, I guess outside
Speaker 1: of Matt Chapman, I still feel like that's a fine deal,
Speaker 1: but the other two not so much. If they aren't
Speaker 1: able to move but they really need to move money
Speaker 1: off the books, are they then forced to trade a
Speaker 1: Web and a Jung hou Lee. That's why I want
Speaker 1: a step further, and I feel like that's the burning question,
Speaker 1: and it might just be a plane no right. If
Speaker 1: they're not able to move the bad contracts. They don't
Speaker 1: want to move the webs or the junghu Lei's of
Speaker 1: the world. But I am certainly curious because I could
Speaker 1: see it happening one dick.
Speaker 4: Are they willing to pay it down Toeah? It happened
Speaker 4: like Chapman, Like you got to pay that guy twenty
Speaker 4: five a year until he's thirty seven. He has a
Speaker 4: full no trade cost too. So this is this is
Speaker 4: a big test for Buster. I want to see how
Speaker 4: he works his way through it.
Speaker 1: We will see. Let's go over to the Colorado Rockies.
Speaker 1: Mine is more of a fun one. I'm curious what
Speaker 1: you brought up. But can Hunter Goodman become the eighth
Speaker 1: catcher ever to hit forty plus home runs? And I
Speaker 1: think that right when you look at Goodman's year and
Speaker 1: you see twenty seven home runs by the break, it's awesome,
Speaker 1: but almost like cal Raley hurt this narrative last year
Speaker 1: by hitting sixty with how rare it is for a
Speaker 1: catcher to hit forty plus home runs like this is
Speaker 1: a feat that the Mike Piazzas of the world, the
Speaker 1: Roy Campanella's of course cal Raley, I mean cal Rawley
Speaker 1: was the first player to hit forty homers since Salvi
Speaker 1: did it back in twenty twenty one to forty eight,
Speaker 1: and forty eight was the previous record. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: right there. Like you see the list Johnny Bench in
Speaker 1: nineteen seventy, Hobby Lopez in twenty twenty three already mentioned
Speaker 1: Roy Campanella, Todd Hunley forty one in nineteen ninety six,
Speaker 1: Johnny Bench did it again, Mike Piazza did it twice.
Speaker 1: That's it and he is on pace to do so.
Speaker 1: You look at the Fangrafts projections, the highest for the
Speaker 1: rest of the season is sixteen, the lowest is twelve,
Speaker 1: and they're generally a bit more conservative. I think this
Speaker 1: is an awesome story.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, it is.
Speaker 4: It is, and I think there's the fact that there's
Speaker 4: something worth following there, like can a Rockies player have
Speaker 4: a historic season? Is yeah, in itself just exciting and
Speaker 4: hopefully brings keeps fans coming out to the ballpark, which.
Speaker 3: They do a great job of there at Cores.
Speaker 4: But at the same time, like you've seen a little
Speaker 4: bit of a dip in frustration and understandably so, I
Speaker 4: can't believe that they've stuck it out as long as
Speaker 4: they have, and I think it's just because the vibes
Speaker 4: are so high and it's in a great location. But
Speaker 4: there's reasons to go to the ballpark now with the Rockies,
Speaker 4: and I think Hunter Goodman's a big part of that.
Speaker 3: The other part of it is just that this team
Speaker 3: is like actually functioning, and I talk about that a lot.
Speaker 4: I think I bring it up all the time on here,
Speaker 4: But my question is just what does a functional Rockies
Speaker 4: front office look like with assets to cash in on.
Speaker 4: In the past, we've literally seen the Rockies not trade
Speaker 4: rentals and let them walk in free agency for no
Speaker 4: reason other than maybe.
Speaker 3: We could get them back.
Speaker 2: You can also get it back if you trade him,
Speaker 2: you can still sign them and he's equally a free
Speaker 2: agent if you trade him before or if you just
Speaker 2: let them walk like you're not gonna qo brent Souter, Do.
Speaker 1: You think they know that? Like you're joking rod As
Speaker 1: if they know that, I don't know if they know that.
Speaker 1: They know that now, Yeah they do now, but I'm saying.
Speaker 3: Did Deepadesta knows that now?
Speaker 4: So back then they did it like they literally didn't
Speaker 4: pick up the phone. So I just want to see
Speaker 4: what they do now, because I think this is a
Speaker 4: front office that actually operate and actually is a little
Speaker 4: bit more innovative and actually is is actively trying to
Speaker 4: improve this team. And also you have Charlie Condon, who
Speaker 4: we just talked to, you know on the call up
Speaker 4: a bunch of fun interviews from the Futurist Game.
Speaker 3: By the way, check that out on the call up,
Speaker 3: like twenty.
Speaker 4: Top prospects that we talked to two different episodes going
Speaker 4: out today and tomorrow. But Condon's did ten home runs
Speaker 4: in twenty games in Triple A six and five games,
Speaker 4: like he's ready to go at the big league level.
Speaker 3: You got to care up some space.
Speaker 4: They've got rentals, they've got pieces, they've got bullpen arms,
Speaker 4: they've got pieces. In a market where no one's selling,
Speaker 4: a lot of teams are going to be interested, Like Maniac,
Speaker 4: a lot of teams want a left handed hitting outfielder,
Speaker 4: a lot of teams need a hard throwing bullpen arms.
Speaker 4: I think there's plenty of different ways where this team
Speaker 4: can get creative and really recoup a punt as one
Speaker 4: of the few sellers in this market. So I want
Speaker 4: to see what a competent Rockies front office can do
Speaker 4: being one of the teams with the most assets to
Speaker 4: part with.
Speaker 1: I do hope they don't go full board, though, and
Speaker 1: trade a guy like Hunter Goodman. Selfishly, yeah, I don't
Speaker 1: think they trade Goodman. Yeah. Selfishly. As a Yankee fan,
Speaker 1: I would love to see him in pinstripes. But I
Speaker 1: just I think it's better for the Rockies long term.
Speaker 1: I mean, you have a guy who hit thirty one
Speaker 1: home runs last year, really broke onto the scene and
Speaker 1: is saying, hold my beer, let me do it again,
Speaker 1: and do it better this time, twenty six years old,
Speaker 1: years of control, cheap. There is no reason to trade him.
Speaker 1: I just hope they don't use this opportunity to just
Speaker 1: wipe the sleep clean and trade everyone. I think you
Speaker 1: should keep Hunter Goodman, and I think they will do that.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to put it out there that I
Speaker 1: hope they don't for the sake of the Rockies and
Speaker 1: for the sake of the fans. Right, moving into the
Speaker 1: second half of the MLB season, all right, we're going
Speaker 1: to move over to the National League Central. One burning
Speaker 1: question for every team in the National League. We move
Speaker 1: over to the National League Central with the Brewers, the Cubs,
Speaker 1: the Cardinals, the Pirates and the Reds. We're going to
Speaker 1: start up top at the division with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Speaker 1: I went first for the Rockies Arms, so you're up first.
Speaker 1: Your one burning question for the Brewers.
Speaker 3: I'm going to keep my.
Speaker 4: Theme going of just more team wide front office type
Speaker 4: of questions, and is this the one year they actually
Speaker 4: swing for the fences, because if the Brewers don't do
Speaker 4: it this year, I'm just going to embrace that they're
Speaker 4: never ever, ever ever ever going to do it. And
Speaker 4: I'm already kind of embraced that they're never going to
Speaker 4: do it, but now I will fully embrace that they
Speaker 4: will never.
Speaker 3: Ever ever ever ever ever ever buy because I just
Speaker 3: don't know if you don't do it this year. This
Speaker 3: is such a good team.
Speaker 4: You have so much talent in your farm system. It's
Speaker 4: actually it's actually gross.
Speaker 3: Like it is. It is greed. It is greed.
Speaker 4: How much talent that the brig is greedy farm system
Speaker 4: they don't have room for all of these guys that
Speaker 4: the Biloxi Shuckers are are better than entire farm systems.
Speaker 3: I'm not kidding.
Speaker 4: By like, by talent, I would take that team over
Speaker 4: some other entire farm systems. In Major League Baseball, and
Speaker 4: I mean you just your recently extended prospects.
Speaker 3: Aolie Laura is up there playing a few times a week.
Speaker 4: Like you've got Cooper Pratt up there as well, Like
Speaker 4: you also have some of the guys alread up at
Speaker 4: the big league level, and you still have a trillion prospects.
Speaker 4: Go for something crazy, do something nuts for once, please,
Speaker 4: like you don't even have to feel it. I'm not
Speaker 4: saying you have to, like fully just just like unplug
Speaker 4: the model, but defy it a little bit. Do something
Speaker 4: that shakes up the league for one ever ever, because yes,
Speaker 4: you don't want to, you know, compromise sustainable winning to
Speaker 4: push all your chips in in one season. That's why
Speaker 4: the Brewers are what they are, like, that's why they
Speaker 4: have all of this is because they have been steadfast.
Speaker 4: They have accumulated talent, they have never pushed the chips forward,
Speaker 4: and they have built the layers of talent that they have.
Speaker 4: I'm not saying you need to go absolutely nuts and
Speaker 4: just unravel that, but I do think you could trade
Speaker 4: a couple of top one hundred type of prospects. You
Speaker 4: could trade a couple a couple pieces here and go
Speaker 4: get one of the top players available, you know, in
Speaker 4: the market.
Speaker 3: I don't see why you can't do that.
Speaker 1: Use two words never and ever a lot in that
Speaker 1: statement that you just made. On a scale of one
Speaker 1: to ten evers, what are they at now? And if
Speaker 1: they don't do anything of this trade deadline in terms
Speaker 1: of big time buying, how many evers does that move
Speaker 1: up to.
Speaker 4: I think they're at about they're at an eight of
Speaker 4: never ever and if they don't do it, it's ten
Speaker 4: doors shut.
Speaker 3: I'm never gonna bring it up on the show again.
Speaker 3: I promise you.
Speaker 1: We're moving past nine. So let's say they make small moves.
Speaker 1: Does it move up to nine or does it move
Speaker 1: down to seven?
Speaker 3: It's just the same. Yeah.
Speaker 4: If anything, if they just don't make any big move
Speaker 4: this year, it's it's just gonna stay. If anything, it
Speaker 4: will go yeah, up to nine, because I just I
Speaker 4: think this is the year to do it. Really, this
Speaker 4: is such a good freaking team.
Speaker 3: The Cubs are vulnerable, yes, of course you and.
Speaker 4: If you if you look at the Dodgers and say, well,
Speaker 4: we can't do it because because of them, like then yeah,
Speaker 4: some of the things that the league is saying is
Speaker 4: probably a problem then.
Speaker 3: Because you're two games worse in the regular season.
Speaker 4: You have one of the most dominant you have probably
Speaker 4: the most dominant pitcher in the league right now in
Speaker 4: Jacob Mazerowski, and you've got plenty of talent behind them,
Speaker 4: always a good bullpen like you can win any given series.
Speaker 3: Assuming Kyle Harrison comes back and is okay. I just
Speaker 3: I wouldn't.
Speaker 4: I wouldn't understand not making a decently aggressive move. I
Speaker 4: don't even think it needs to be the craziest move ever.
Speaker 4: I'm not saying, you know, trade Leo Devrees.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not Tonguy's.
Speaker 4: I'm not saying trade Hazers today, and I'm not saying
Speaker 4: trade payin you. None of those blue chip guys Jet
Speaker 4: Williams can go. You just got him for you know,
Speaker 4: Freddy Feralta. Those guys can go. And I don't think
Speaker 4: you feel it.
Speaker 1: I think your question bleeds into mind and you said
Speaker 1: something about Kyle Harrison like he should bounce back. That's
Speaker 1: my one burning question is who steps up as the
Speaker 1: number two pitcher with Harrison injured, Because I don't think
Speaker 1: it's a foregone conclusion that Kyle Harrison, once he returns
Speaker 1: from this strained left forearm. His throwing arm comes back
Speaker 1: looking like the picture that we've seen early on right
Speaker 1: to end. In his last two starts in July, it
Speaker 1: was three innings, four innings, did not look good. Stuff
Speaker 1: didn't look good, and then he's the IL or maybe
Speaker 1: he hit the IL beforehand, or regardless, wasn't a great
Speaker 1: situation there. And you got a twenty four year old
Speaker 1: pitcher who's never thrown more than one hundred and twenty
Speaker 1: four innings in his big league career so far. To
Speaker 1: think that this guy just comes back and bounces back
Speaker 1: to the basically ace that he was, I just don't
Speaker 1: think it's likely. So then I say, well, Brandon Woodriff
Speaker 1: is likely not going to be there to save you either,
Speaker 1: because in his last start, before he hit the IL,
Speaker 1: he was sitting eighty six. So I think to myself,
Speaker 1: who's coming in as the game two starter behind Jacob Azarowski,
Speaker 1: and I like some of the arms they still have left.
Speaker 1: Logan Henderson is just whenever he gets the call to
Speaker 1: come up, five innings, one run, there you go, here
Speaker 1: you go? Is that number two? Though? You got Brandon Sproude,
Speaker 1: who looks all right, but you know they lost Quinn
Speaker 1: Priester for a lot of the season. I am curious
Speaker 1: who's going to step up there. Maybe it's Kyle Harrison.
Speaker 1: I just wanted to note that it is not a
Speaker 1: foregone conclusion that he bounces back with the innings that
Speaker 1: he's got to throw coming back from a four arm
Speaker 1: injury when he didn't look good to end the first half. Again,
Speaker 1: we don't know. So my burning question is who steps
Speaker 1: up as that number two? And is it a trade,
Speaker 1: like you said, And that might be where you go, Yeah,
Speaker 1: go get a guy outside of the org to help
Speaker 1: you do that.
Speaker 4: I could see the other side and this is probably
Speaker 4: what the Brewers will do, is well, Harrison's hurt. You know,
Speaker 4: our chances went down from x percentage to y percentage.
Speaker 3: We just can't do it, you know.
Speaker 4: And I think skepticism is embedded in the very data
Speaker 4: driven front offices. And it makes sense because technically speaking,
Speaker 4: every single time you start a season off, the odds
Speaker 4: are stacked against you, no matter how good you are.
Speaker 3: But you know, I would just like to see them again.
Speaker 4: Doesn't need to be anything crazy, but just make a
Speaker 4: more impactful move than what we're used to.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. Let's go over to the Chicago Cubs
Speaker 1: and mine is player focused. Is Nico Horner gonna bounce
Speaker 1: back in the second half. Nico Horner has been a
Speaker 1: problem this season offensively. He's hitting two thirty three Nico
Speaker 1: what six thirty one ops, four homers, thirty eight RBIs
Speaker 1: well below average and we're talking about WRC plus. Now
Speaker 1: we still got his fourteen steals. He's still playing elite defense,
Speaker 1: which is great. But for the Cubs to really compete
Speaker 1: in the National League, they need Nico Horner to step
Speaker 1: up and against righties this year arm five eighty ops.
Speaker 1: He's hitting two eleven. In July, he ended this two
Speaker 1: week stretch going five for thirty six for a three
Speaker 1: seventy three OPS. Now, the Cubs they need this offense
Speaker 1: to click on all cylinders if they really want to
Speaker 1: compete in October. I think that they'll make it right.
Speaker 1: I think that this is a playoff team. Fangrafts would agree,
Speaker 1: giving them an eighty percent shot. The Cubs have been
Speaker 1: a playoff team. They want to go far in the
Speaker 1: playoffs and it can't just be PCA and friends. I'm
Speaker 1: also looking at you. Alex Bregman needs to be better
Speaker 1: in the second half, But Nico Horner's production is so
Speaker 1: important to the fabric of the Cubs. Right, Bregman is new, Right,
Speaker 1: Nico has been their guy. And when Nico's at his
Speaker 1: best in pcight is at his best, this Cub's offense
Speaker 1: can look unstoppable. But when PCA is at his best
Speaker 1: without Nico and Nico's at his worst, they just won't
Speaker 1: be able to compete against the Dodgers of the worlds
Speaker 1: or even the Braves of the world, or I think
Speaker 1: the Brewers of the world. So Nico has to step
Speaker 1: up if the Cubs want to do anything, because the
Speaker 1: Cubs and Jed Hoyer can go out and go get
Speaker 1: a starter or two. But if Nico is still this bad,
Speaker 1: it's hard to buy in on the cubs chances in October.
Speaker 4: Well, Bregman's getting a lot of hate, and I know
Speaker 4: he's getting paid big time, but he's been twenty percent
Speaker 4: better than Nico Horner offensively, exactly. And it's not like
Speaker 4: Nico Horner's playing for free.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 4: I know it's a lot less in terms of av
Speaker 4: but they they're not a lot less.
Speaker 3: It's decently less. They extended him. He's gonna be paid
Speaker 3: for a long time.
Speaker 4: They made a major financial commitment to him, so I
Speaker 4: think horners should be kind of held to the same
Speaker 4: standard or close to it, especially if he's a guy
Speaker 4: that again has been there for a while comfortable.
Speaker 3: It's just been a down year for me. It's who's
Speaker 3: your ace?
Speaker 4: Who's the guy that when he takes the ball for you,
Speaker 4: the Cubs have a better chance of winning than the
Speaker 4: other four days And I just don't know who that is,
Speaker 4: and I think they really need that. Matthew Boyd would
Speaker 4: probably be my answer right now. I know Shoda, depending
Speaker 4: on what day it is, looks like you could be
Speaker 4: him and then sometimes not. But that's like what comes
Speaker 4: with the territory with SHOWDA anyways, which is why he's
Speaker 4: not your your number one starter. And they don't have
Speaker 4: an ace by the definition, But like who is theirs?
Speaker 4: I don't know, And I feel like they need that
Speaker 4: guy that when he takes the ball, that lineup knows, hey,
Speaker 4: this is this is our day, Like we definitely have
Speaker 4: our advantage today And I just feel like every single day,
Speaker 4: all five even when they're healthy, like I know Edward
Speaker 4: Cabrera like is coming back and we'll see how long
Speaker 4: he's out from the strained hamstring. But since he got
Speaker 4: carted off with that, it's been a sod plugging in
Speaker 4: and he's been solid for him. You know, they went
Speaker 4: out and acquired Peterson, Like, who do you trust? And
Speaker 4: who's the guy that's going to be the dude for you?
Speaker 4: The equalizer? You're on a three game skid. Who do
Speaker 4: you want to take the ball right now? It's just like, Ah,
Speaker 4: we really need the offense to just go crazy and
Speaker 4: get us this win. And I think it's a really
Speaker 4: hard way to go into the second half and play
Speaker 4: through and forget the playoffs. I think they're going to
Speaker 4: make it, but like, if you don't have that guy
Speaker 4: in the playoffs, what are you gonna do?
Speaker 1: Do you think the Cubs are going to be the
Speaker 1: most aggressive team at this trade deadline?
Speaker 4: No, because they're never that aggressive. It's similar like I
Speaker 4: think they're gonna make moves, but I can never see
Speaker 4: them being the most aggressive. Jed Hoyer is just so calculated.
Speaker 4: It felt like Casey for Cabrera was kind of out
Speaker 4: of character.
Speaker 3: And even that, like there was a trade that everybody
Speaker 3: was waiting for them to do. Yeah, and just kind
Speaker 3: of putting on the table for it felt like a
Speaker 3: year plus.
Speaker 1: Remember at the last deadline they needed starters and they
Speaker 1: decided let's just go get Michael Soroka. Yep, and that
Speaker 1: wasn't enough. So we'll see, let's go over to the
Speaker 1: Saint Louis Cardinals. What's your burning question?
Speaker 4: But the Saint Louis Cardinals, I'm gonna copy paste the
Speaker 4: Diamondbacks question because has I'm Bloom seen enough? Is he
Speaker 4: seen enough to say, let's keep this team together forget
Speaker 4: sustainable win and winning like bolstering the farm system. This
Speaker 4: was supposed to be a bridge year blah blah blah
Speaker 4: blah blah, and let's go for it like and building
Speaker 4: off of that. What does go for it mean? Does
Speaker 4: go for it mean we just don't cash in on
Speaker 4: Dustin May and Riley O'Brien, or does go for it
Speaker 4: mean we add?
Speaker 3: I struggle to imagine that they add.
Speaker 4: But as we record this, as we get ready for
Speaker 4: games tomorrow, Cardinals are one game out of the wild
Speaker 4: one game out of the wild card, Like, it's wide open,
Speaker 4: and That's where I'm fascinated. Heim Bloom, very careful, very
Speaker 4: much likes to bolster the farm system, and in instances
Speaker 4: of trying to buy in the past or be aggressively,
Speaker 4: we've seen some if he you know decisions. When he
Speaker 4: was with the Red Sox, I think his hands were tied,
Speaker 4: But now in a way they're kind of tied because
Speaker 4: he can't really really swing for the fences.
Speaker 3: But could he make some.
Speaker 4: Savvy additions, like how does he go about this deadline?
Speaker 4: And at the very least, has he seen anough to
Speaker 4: not subtract some of the rentals and some of the
Speaker 4: pieces that they have that would probably be popular trade
Speaker 4: deadline candidates.
Speaker 1: My question is along the same lines, but it's more
Speaker 1: about what happens before the deadline, because I think it's
Speaker 1: easy to forget that last year the Cardinals were fifty
Speaker 1: one to forty six of the deadline or excuse me,
Speaker 1: after the All Star break, and then they went one
Speaker 1: in five and they sold. Does this Cardinals team which
Speaker 1: does look better than last year's team. Their first series
Speaker 1: is against the d Backs in Arizona, winnable series, then
Speaker 1: against the Angels, very winnable series, then against the Dambecks
Speaker 1: again it's a makeup game at home, winnable game, and
Speaker 1: then they face the Reds at home, and then of
Speaker 1: course they have a series against the Cups. But can
Speaker 1: they rattle off a hot streak be a wild card
Speaker 1: team and him Bloom goes, I think I got to
Speaker 1: unplug the model, and I think we got to go
Speaker 1: for it a little bit, not saying anything crazy like
Speaker 1: you said, but at least go for it and not sell. Right.
Speaker 1: But if they stumble against some below average teams or
Speaker 1: even average teams, and I'm Bloom goes, oh shit, now
Speaker 1: we're at five hundred. Let's say by the time they
Speaker 1: face the Cubs at the end of July, they probably sell,
Speaker 1: and they might sell big. So my question is how
Speaker 1: do they respond post All Star Break because they were
Speaker 1: at a similar record last year. Do they stumble like
Speaker 1: they did last year or do they do the complete
Speaker 1: opposite and win seven of nine games and now they're
Speaker 1: a prohibitive wild card favorite. Then what do they do?
Speaker 1: So I think actually these next four series are as
Speaker 1: important for any team as there is in this entire
Speaker 1: episode in the National League. What do the Cardinals do
Speaker 1: against those either average or below average teams?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Cardinals Diamondback's two teams that in that series can
Speaker 4: prove a lot one way, and I'm sure that's why
Speaker 4: It'll just go two to one one way or the other,
Speaker 4: and it'll be close games and no one will have
Speaker 4: any definitive idea there. But I think two teams that
Speaker 4: very much can determine their direction in the next two weeks.
Speaker 1: Let's go over to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and mine is
Speaker 1: pretty simple. Does Paul Skins regain fastball spin rate? Because
Speaker 1: we've seen drops and spin rate that can often be
Speaker 1: associated with potential injuries. So is this just a blip
Speaker 1: and he comes back throwing fuel and being the Paul
Speaker 1: Skins that we know who just recently had an ERA
Speaker 1: above three, or is this going to be a tough
Speaker 1: season for Paul Skiings and he either continues to perform
Speaker 1: poorly based on his own standards, or the worst case scenario,
Speaker 1: he gets injured. I think that's huge for the Pirates.
Speaker 1: I think the Pirates have about twelve burning questions. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like I think we could do an entire episode on them.
Speaker 1: But that's the one at top of mind for me.
Speaker 1: Your horse at the top, because we talk about guys
Speaker 1: like Mitch Heller needs to be better. He does, but like,
Speaker 1: how much better. Is he going to get Jared Jones
Speaker 1: needs to be better. He did just rattle off a
Speaker 1: six inning perfect game, right, Bubba Chandler needs to be better.
Speaker 1: He's just so inconsistent that it's hard to know if
Speaker 1: he will be. Ashcraft has already been great, There's no
Speaker 1: real questions about him. But Paul Skeins can absolutely turn
Speaker 1: it around and be the best pitcher in the National
Speaker 1: League in the second half. Again, this comes to us
Speaker 1: from Code five. Paul Skins in twenty twenty six average
Speaker 1: four seamer spin rate on April first, twenty three hundred
Speaker 1: dor pms on July first dip below two thousand, and
Speaker 1: you see a gradual decline start overstart. So that is
Speaker 1: my biggest question. Can Paul Skins return to form?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 4: I think mine is actually what you briefly touched on
Speaker 4: there is is can Jared Jones be that clear cut
Speaker 4: three for them? Because what we saw from Jared Jones
Speaker 4: in that final start was also following up an abbreviated outing,
Speaker 4: but a really sharp one against the Phillies in Citizens Bank,
Speaker 4: where he struck out six allowed one run over four innings.
Speaker 4: Then he followed with the six perfect eight strikeouts Jared
Speaker 4: Jones one of the more talented arms in the league. Like,
Speaker 4: it's a fastball slider combination that is disgusting, and since
Speaker 4: he's returned, has had a better feel for the change
Speaker 4: up in the curveball than when we saw him first
Speaker 4: break into the big leags. But the fastball slider combination
Speaker 4: was good enough where he could just overwhelm with that.
Speaker 4: I think that Jared Jones has the pieces and the
Speaker 4: talent to be, you know, the top thirty arm in
Speaker 4: this game if it all clicks. So when you have
Speaker 4: a guy like that in this rotation where we already
Speaker 4: know Brax n Ashcraft is great and Skeens is a
Speaker 4: big question too, like in terms.
Speaker 3: Of just can he get back to what he was?
Speaker 4: But to me, I'm like, I'm just gonna I'll die
Speaker 4: on the hill of like if Skeens, if it doesn't
Speaker 4: work with him, the.
Speaker 3: Season's over, Like it is what it is.
Speaker 4: But I'm going to always have the optimism that Skeens
Speaker 4: is going to get himself right and if he doesn't,
Speaker 4: it's because of an injury most likely. So if Jared
Speaker 4: Jones can pitch to his abilities, and I think just
Speaker 4: getting further removed from TJ will help him do that.
Speaker 4: I mean, and Skens is anything close to what we've
Speaker 4: been accustomed to seeing with him. That is one of
Speaker 4: the better three headed monsters that you have in Major
Speaker 4: League Baseball. Like, that's how good I think Jared Jones
Speaker 4: can be. So he's a huge variable here because yeah,
Speaker 4: Bubba chan where Mitch Keller? Like, I think Bubba can
Speaker 4: be a lot better And I think Mitch Keller can
Speaker 4: be less bad.
Speaker 3: If those are your four and five, you're fine.
Speaker 4: If the top three guys are what they could what
Speaker 4: they're you know, possible of being able to do. So
Speaker 4: that's where I go, And I think that can really be,
Speaker 4: you know, a shot in the arm for them.
Speaker 1: The only thing that you said that I disagree with
Speaker 1: is can Mitch Keller be less bad? We haven't even
Speaker 1: seen second half Mitch Keller yet. He had been a
Speaker 1: disaster and basically every single season this time around, he
Speaker 1: had a bad first half. Is he going to right
Speaker 1: those wrongs this time or have we not even seen
Speaker 1: the worst of Mitch Keller? And Big E brings up
Speaker 1: another good point in the YouTube comments section, ben Cherrington
Speaker 1: buying in the deadline season bring back I kf, Jalen
Speaker 1: Beeks and Brian day La Cruz. That's another burning question
Speaker 1: that I have for the Pirates, like do they just
Speaker 1: bring in supplemental pieces that are really boring and do
Speaker 1: absolutely nothing, or do they actually buy here? Because I
Speaker 1: think even if Paul Skeens is good not great, and
Speaker 1: let's say Jared Jones is good not great, this team
Speaker 1: can still hit, this team can still play. I mean,
Speaker 1: they're right in the thick of it, and they've sustained
Speaker 1: injuries to Connor Griffin, sustained the injuries to O'Neil Cruz
Speaker 1: and Spenser Horowitz, and their entire rotation has not been
Speaker 1: healthy all year, and yet they are still in the
Speaker 1: wild card race. So does Ben Charrington actually buy I
Speaker 1: don't want crap, you.
Speaker 3: Know, I don't want I would want to move.
Speaker 1: I don't want them to pick up things from Lost
Speaker 1: and Found. I want them to actually spend money.
Speaker 4: Well, the move that the move that he made to
Speaker 4: go get Jacob Gonzalez and Brett and Eyert, I think
Speaker 4: is more aggressive than anything he's.
Speaker 3: Done in years. Yeah, that's a good point that Compey pick.
Speaker 3: So hope hopefully it's a sign of more to.
Speaker 1: Come absolutely, let's go over to the Cincinnati Reds. And
Speaker 1: I went first, last time, go ahead.
Speaker 3: With the Cincinnati Reds. Who goes? Who do they move?
Speaker 3: Because this is a team that is a clear cut
Speaker 3: seller at this point.
Speaker 4: I think, and like, barring a crazy run over the
Speaker 4: next few weeks, they're sellers. So you're not trading Allie,
Speaker 4: You're not trading sal You're obviously not trading Hunter Green
Speaker 4: Chase Burns. Then I think it's wide open, right like
Speaker 4: could you cash in on a JJ ble day?
Speaker 3: Do you does anybody bite on Genos Whare has no chance?
Speaker 3: I don't think do you cash in on? Cash in
Speaker 3: is a strong word on the Tyler Stevenson. I think
Speaker 3: Spencer Steer a lot of teams.
Speaker 4: With how many teams need right handed bats, I think
Speaker 4: Spencer Steer is going to attract teams. He could play
Speaker 4: like every position. They're not going to play that well.
Speaker 4: He's kind of like well Castro, but you play almost
Speaker 4: every position. I think a lot of teams would love
Speaker 4: to bring Spencer's hearing. I'm just curious what the retooling
Speaker 4: looks like for this Reds team. If Nicodolo comes back
Speaker 4: and rattles off a few sharp, healthy starts could he go.
Speaker 4: I think the Reds need to shake this thing up
Speaker 4: a little bit. I think Nick Crawl has not done
Speaker 4: a very good job obviously, even over the last couple
Speaker 4: of years. But I'm just very, very curious to see
Speaker 4: who they do end up moving, assuming that they are
Speaker 4: definitive sellers.
Speaker 1: I wonder if Abbot could be on the move too.
Speaker 1: I agree. I think that that is kind of the
Speaker 1: one burning question. Another one that I had is more
Speaker 1: team related, and I feel like we should start having
Speaker 1: some real second half auditions for a couple of players.
Speaker 1: Matt McLean has simply been bad ever since his short stint.
Speaker 1: Is a rookie, and how much longer is Matt McClain
Speaker 1: just going to get consistent every day run in this lineup.
Speaker 1: And I think Noelvie Martes he had the eighty game
Speaker 1: PD suspension. He's had short spurts where you're like, holy shit,
Speaker 1: Noelvie Barte is awesome, and then it's awful spurts, right,
Speaker 1: I think it's too early to have a real second
Speaker 1: half edition. For Edwin Arroyo, you got called up recently.
Speaker 1: He's not even twenty three yet. That one is more
Speaker 1: just I'm excited to see what he does in the
Speaker 1: second yeah, like play him, yeah, exact round an audition.
Speaker 1: I think McLain and Weelvie Marte are like, if you
Speaker 1: can't turn it around, now, we got to make some changes, yep,
Speaker 1: because they have just been consistently bad for now a
Speaker 1: long time and they're getting consistent run here and you
Speaker 1: know there's a couple other guys too, and they have
Speaker 1: good prospects that could come up and potentially help them.
Speaker 1: I just think those two I got my eyes on you,
Speaker 1: and I'm sure the Reds do too, because at this point,
Speaker 1: how much longer can we go about this?
Speaker 4: I agree, and I think this is the final, Like
Speaker 4: this is where you get your clarity to go into
Speaker 4: next offseason and say this is.
Speaker 3: We got we got to change something, and we got
Speaker 3: we got to shake some things up.
Speaker 1: And even Cabrian Hayes, what do you do? Because I think,
Speaker 1: funny enough, Armle, Let's say he has a decent second half,
Speaker 1: he's gonna start a third next year, right, If he
Speaker 1: has a bad second half, he won't. So I think
Speaker 1: that's technically a audition, even though I feel like we
Speaker 1: know the answer to him more than the other guys.
Speaker 4: Oh my gosh, it's just it's crazy when you got
Speaker 4: Souths start playing third base in the All Star Game
Speaker 4: and then you went out, you know and traded for
Speaker 4: Kybrian Hayes a year ago. Like it's it's one of
Speaker 4: more head scratching moves. And that's another. I have no
Speaker 4: idea what they're gonna do with him. For those who
Speaker 4: may not be keeping track, he is under contract until
Speaker 4: twenty twenty nine oh seven million, seven million, eight million,
Speaker 4: eight million, then a club option for twelve million that,
Speaker 4: barring a miracle, will be declined in twenty thirty.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I don't I don't know what Cabrian Hayes
Speaker 1: is going to do. What I do know is I'm
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Speaker 1: One burning question for every team in the National League.
Speaker 1: We move over to the National League East, which features
Speaker 1: the Braves, the Phillies, the Marlins, the Nationals, and the Mets.
Speaker 1: I'll go first arm with the Atlanta Braves atop the division.
Speaker 1: What does Spencer Schwellenbach look like when he comes back?
Speaker 1: Because when you look at the Braves right now, I
Speaker 1: have no questions about Chris Sale. Chris Sale is freaking awesome.
Speaker 1: Then everybody else, I got questions about Owen Murphy. They
Speaker 1: just got called up. He threw four innings, looked pretty good.
Speaker 1: They got Grant Holmes, who's been kind of that stable
Speaker 1: arm in the rotation, has given them eighty seven innings,
Speaker 1: but he's not really a top end guy. And then
Speaker 1: you have Rainaldo Lopez, who you know, who knows what
Speaker 1: he can give you. I know he's given you solid productions.
Speaker 1: So if our underlying metrics say, don't expect that for
Speaker 1: the rest of the season. And then you have Bryce Elder,
Speaker 1: who again can be an innings eater, but you don't
Speaker 1: expect him to be at the top of the rotation.
Speaker 1: And Spencer Strider, of course, is dealing with elbow inflammation,
Speaker 1: and even when he was on the field, he did
Speaker 1: not prove he can be a really, really solid number two.
Speaker 1: But Spencer Schwellenbach should be back in August. And when
Speaker 1: Spencer Schwellenbach is on, he is one of the best
Speaker 1: young arms in Major League Baseball. I know Podcast P
Speaker 1: is in love with Spencer Schwellenbach considers him one of
Speaker 1: the better overall pitchers in Major League Baseball. I know
Speaker 1: you're a huge fan. I'm a huge fan. How could
Speaker 1: you not be? You know, he started thirty eight games
Speaker 1: in his career. He's thrown two hundred and thirty four
Speaker 1: innings to a three two three ERA with a three
Speaker 1: two seven fit, doesn't walk anybody, strikes out a batter
Speaker 1: per inning command, top of the line, really really good pitcher.
Speaker 1: Do the Braves have their number two back or do
Speaker 1: they not? That's my burning question for them.
Speaker 4: Mine was the same thing, just kind of extrapolated or
Speaker 4: just like extended out a little bit more, which was just,
Speaker 4: you know, how did the injured arms return? Because I
Speaker 4: look at Arson Waldrip and I think he plays a
Speaker 4: big part in their their whole deal as well, because
Speaker 4: I think what Waldrop showed prior to injury in the
Speaker 4: end of last year and just talking to him about that,
Speaker 4: like the arsenal tweaks and what he had been able
Speaker 4: to develop, to be able to more ground balls pitched
Speaker 4: a week contact, still have that splitter in his back pocket,
Speaker 4: but not be so one dimensional where it's just fastball
Speaker 4: splitter and it's a flat fastball. Now it's a detailed
Speaker 4: arsenal with the sinker, with the cutter, with the slider
Speaker 4: at the curveball to all work around. Still an elite
Speaker 4: splitter has made him really good. And we saw two
Speaker 4: a to Adra in fifty six and the thirds innings
Speaker 4: last year. And is he that good? Probably not, but
Speaker 4: I think he's a mid threes guy and it can
Speaker 4: be really effective for them. And you pair that with
Speaker 4: Schwellenbach with whatever you get from Strider, and this team's
Speaker 4: outlook is a whole lot different, and their deadline needs
Speaker 4: are a whole lot more attainable, and you don't have
Speaker 4: to go as crazy trying to abid with everybody on arms,
Speaker 4: and you can maybe go get some of the bats
Speaker 4: that you need, or just allocate all those resources to
Speaker 4: one big arm that you want. It makes things easier
Speaker 4: when you've got more pieces, obviously, And I think that's
Speaker 4: the name of the game here with the Braves, and
Speaker 4: it's a couple guys coming back from the same thing,
Speaker 4: right loose bodies. We've seen arms come back and be
Speaker 4: successful pretty quickly, so I think it's a fair fair question.
Speaker 1: I also think it makes alex Anthopas alex Anthopolis's life
Speaker 1: difficult considering the timing of when Schwellenbach returns is going
Speaker 1: to be post deadline. So do you run the risk
Speaker 1: of not adding a big time starting pitcher expecting that
Speaker 1: to be Schwellenbach when he returns, and then let's say
Speaker 1: he falters, then what or does he say Let's pretend
Speaker 1: Schwellenbach is not returning at all. Of course he is,
Speaker 1: but we need to add a really strong number two.
Speaker 1: We've seen them linked with the Red Sox with Sonny Gray.
Speaker 1: Now we have no idea if the Red Sox sell
Speaker 1: at all, but clearly they are in the market looking
Speaker 1: for a strong number two. So it's not even just
Speaker 1: about Schwellenbach. It's what Alexanthopolis does. Considering his return is
Speaker 1: after the break or after the deadline? Excuse me, I
Speaker 1: think that makes it difficult.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and Waldrop comes back I think before that. So
Speaker 4: like you have one maybe kind of answer. But the
Speaker 4: bigger question with the best, you know, the more talented
Speaker 4: arm is you gotta wait and see. And yeah, there's
Speaker 4: gonna be a lot to try to decide and sift through.
Speaker 1: Let's go over to the Philadelphia Phillies. I started with
Speaker 1: the Braves. You're up first, what do you what do
Speaker 1: you got?
Speaker 4: But the Phillies can Dave Dombrowski find his right handed bat,
Speaker 4: and a lot of teams out there want that right
Speaker 4: handed bat.
Speaker 3: I think you could argue.
Speaker 4: That the the Phillies needed as bad as anybody. Yeah,
Speaker 4: you don't like Abillies Garcia, if he's even available, I
Speaker 4: still don't like him.
Speaker 3: So I just don't know. I don't know when you'll
Speaker 3: get that lineup.
Speaker 4: There's not much to get excited about from the right side.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 4: Trey Turner. We've talked about how frustrating he's been. He's
Speaker 4: gonna get the.
Speaker 3: Run all your one.
Speaker 4: Alcolm has been a lot better, but it's still a
Speaker 4: seventy three WRC plus on the year.
Speaker 1: J C.
Speaker 4: Real muteso he's his seventy six WRC plus the right
Speaker 4: he's in that line up. I'm not gonna I can't
Speaker 4: do the math immediately, but I'll estimate when it's a
Speaker 4: seventy six, seventy three and seventy four, it's going to
Speaker 4: be somewhere around the seventy four range right, so that
Speaker 4: all of the righting's in that lineup around seventy four
Speaker 4: to seventy five WRC plus. Hey, that's the starters. Like
Speaker 4: you know who's raising that number, Derek Hill since he's
Speaker 4: put on a Phillies uniform. So it's really rough from
Speaker 4: the right side here, and you run into a good
Speaker 4: left handed arm, you're gonna be in trouble, especially in
Speaker 4: the postseason, which is where we expect this team to
Speaker 4: be able to be as good as If Zak Wheeler
Speaker 4: gives you a seven shutout, doesn't matter if the lefty
Speaker 4: opposite of him also does. So they got to find
Speaker 4: that right handed back I think more than anybody, and
Speaker 4: knowing that a lot of teams also need need that,
Speaker 4: I'm just curious to see if if Dobrawski can pull
Speaker 4: it off.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. And my question is along those lines.
Speaker 1: It's about a right handed hitter in the Phillies lineup.
Speaker 1: And we've been asking this question all season long. And
Speaker 1: the reason we've been asking this question is, don't expect
Speaker 1: the Phillies to really dominate in the playoffs if this
Speaker 1: guy doesn't bounce back in the second half. Can Turner
Speaker 1: bounced back and not be a complete traffic cone like
Speaker 1: he's been for the first half of the MLB season,
Speaker 1: Because we're not just talking about the offensive numbers where
Speaker 1: he's got a six thirty nine ops and he's hitting
Speaker 1: two thirty six. We're talking about being a traffic cone
Speaker 1: defensively as well up the middle at shortstop. You know,
Speaker 1: Hembo came on and says he doesn't think that he's
Speaker 1: a true shortstop. Well, whether you agree or disagree with Mbo,
Speaker 1: he's got a play shortstop right. I don't think they're
Speaker 1: going to be in the market adding a big time
Speaker 1: shortstop in order to replace Trey Turner. Trey Turner is
Speaker 1: the shortstop for the rest of the season. And if
Speaker 1: Trey Turner continues to play like this, like a below
Speaker 1: average player, don't expect much from the Phillies in October.
Speaker 1: I know that Wheeler, you know, could maybe within the
Speaker 1: cy Young this season if he gets to one hundred
Speaker 1: and seventy egs, which I know is going to be really,
Speaker 1: really hard, But that's just how well he's pitching. I
Speaker 1: know Christopher Sanchez is awesome. I do worry about him slightly.
Speaker 1: We'll be honest with you. I still think he's awesome,
Speaker 1: But is he the lead of the elite that he
Speaker 1: was at the beginning of the season. We'll see. And
Speaker 1: Lozardo is great, like they have a three headed monster
Speaker 1: in the rotation presumably, and they have Schwarper, and they
Speaker 1: have Harper, and you even have Boone playing better. But
Speaker 1: if Trey Turner at the top of your lineup is
Speaker 1: an auto out, the Phillies are an auto out. He's
Speaker 1: not important to the Philly success, so they need him
Speaker 1: to pick it up or else it'll be another year
Speaker 1: of or Wheeler pitching well and Sanchez pitching well, and
Speaker 1: maybe even Lozardo pitching well, but then the offense scores
Speaker 1: a run and they lose and the pitching won't matter.
Speaker 4: Yeah, and then the other one for me was just
Speaker 4: Brandon Marsh, Like, can the bab at God continue to
Speaker 4: just do what he's doing because they need I mean,
Speaker 4: we talked about lineup length concerns. That's with Brandon Marsh
Speaker 4: having a breakout season, so they need Marsh to continue
Speaker 4: to do what he's doing this year too.
Speaker 1: Let's go over to the Miami Marlins. I'll go first,
Speaker 1: because my guess is you've been doing a lot of
Speaker 1: more team related ones. Mine is more player focused. I
Speaker 1: am just fascinated to see what ury Perez's second half
Speaker 1: looks like because at the end of May right leading
Speaker 1: into June, he only allowed two earn runs. I know,
Speaker 1: his ten innings, but he only allowed two earned runs.
Speaker 1: And then at his first start in June he throws
Speaker 1: a seven inning perfect game, and then or excuse me,
Speaker 1: this is in July, so the other ones were ending.
Speaker 1: But basically, over his last four starts, he's looked great. Like.
Speaker 1: He gave up two earned runs in his last start
Speaker 1: before the break, and that was one of his worst starts.
Speaker 1: In a while, all the talent in the world, Like,
Speaker 1: I feel good about Sandy at least being above average, right,
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna give you his classic seven innings
Speaker 1: three runs every start. I feel really good about Max
Speaker 1: s Meyer, who is named an All Star, Like feel
Speaker 1: better about him. Eury Prez has shown he could either
Speaker 1: be a four inning, five walk for earn run guy
Speaker 1: or the most talented pitcher in the division in terms
Speaker 1: of just raw tools from a guy that young. What
Speaker 1: do we get from him? Because also the Marlins they
Speaker 1: need him, right, you look at everyone beyond Ury not
Speaker 1: a loot to hang your hat on. I think he's
Speaker 1: massive for the Marlins success moving forward in the second half.
Speaker 4: Well, if he's throwing the way that he's been throwing,
Speaker 4: I mean that now, all of a sudden, your three
Speaker 4: guys at the top, Like that's that's as good as
Speaker 4: as just about any team like you if you have
Speaker 4: Max Meyer continuing to throw the way that he's throwing,
Speaker 4: with what Yuri can do when he's on, like Sandy's
Speaker 4: your three, Yeah, And if Sandy's your three, you're in
Speaker 4: a pretty good spot. And I think that's that's the
Speaker 4: exciting part there with the Marlins. I think that's a
Speaker 4: big one. I think the other part of it is
Speaker 4: for a team that you know has been able to
Speaker 4: maneuver the bullpen this year, the way that they have,
Speaker 4: it's pretty shocking considering that they have arguably the worst
Speaker 4: closer in Major League is Fall so far this year
Speaker 4: and Pete Fairbanks, And so for me, it's can.
Speaker 3: Pete Fairbanks figure it out?
Speaker 4: I just don't see how you can be a playoff
Speaker 4: team with your closer having a six' eight THREE, era
Speaker 4: and even in the saves that he does pull, off
Speaker 4: it's like, strikeout warning track, flyout warning track fly, out
Speaker 4: like oh my, gosh that was a close, one or
Speaker 4: it's a two run lead solo, shot warning track, flyout
Speaker 4: warning track fly, out ground. Ball it's been rare to
Speaker 4: see a clean save From Pete, fairbanks even when he
Speaker 4: does do. THAT i think that's going to catch up
Speaker 4: to this team at a certain. POINT i JUST i
Speaker 4: don't know how you can survive as a team that
Speaker 4: needs to do everything right on the margins when your,
Speaker 4: closer you, know is a liability and a significant.
Speaker 3: One and it also gets to a point.
Speaker 4: Where if he continues to be a, liability do you
Speaker 4: relegate him from that.
Speaker 3: Role who's the?
Speaker 4: Closer Calvin fauche is As jackal And hyde as anybody
Speaker 4: in majoraguase because you walk six per.
Speaker 3: Nine Michael peterson's probably your.
Speaker 4: Closer HE'S ao If Pete fairbanks goes, down WHICH i
Speaker 4: love What i've seen From Michael, peterson but this guy's
Speaker 4: just figuring it out at thirty two years.
Speaker 3: Old you're going to thrust him into the closing role for.
Speaker 4: A team that's in the you, know in a, Playoff,
Speaker 4: haunch that's a big one for. Me they Need bender.
Speaker 4: Back you, know he's been banged, up AND i think
Speaker 4: that even only adds to. It bender's, Hurt king's. Hurt
Speaker 4: you Need Pete fairbanks to be the guy that you
Speaker 4: paid thirteen million dollars, for which The marlins don't. Do
Speaker 4: so that's my biggest one with them is you, know
Speaker 4: how does he? Look and, yeah And Big mike is
Speaker 4: banged up even. TOO i don't know how long he's
Speaker 4: gonna be, out if he's gonna be, Out so there's
Speaker 4: a lot of wrinkles to.
Speaker 1: It and what The marlins are going to do with the.
Speaker 1: DEADLINE i, mean let's say they play five hundred baseball until, then,
Speaker 1: right they're fifty two and forty. Five right, now over
Speaker 1: the next ten games they go five and. Five there's
Speaker 1: still seven games above five. Hundred how can you constitute.
Speaker 1: SELLING i canna understand buying in selling at the same,
Speaker 1: time but how can you do that to the? Fans
Speaker 1: if you're seven games above five hundred and you have
Speaker 1: one of the best records in The National, league how
Speaker 1: can you then tell your fans like what needs to
Speaker 1: happen for you to finally? Buy AND i understand that
Speaker 1: they're a head of, schedule but, Again i'm just fascinated
Speaker 1: to see what they do with the.
Speaker 4: Deadline, YEAH i don't think they sell unless they, completely
Speaker 4: like the wheels completely completely completely fall.
Speaker 3: Off but even their.
Speaker 4: Buying is going to be just it's not going to be.
Speaker 4: Buying it's it's like trading like it's it's it's going
Speaker 4: to be big league and maybe a filler prospect for
Speaker 4: big league because they want to preserve this farm system
Speaker 4: that admittedly like they have, talent but IT'S i don't
Speaker 4: think it's as good as they want it to. Be
Speaker 4: the farm, System SO i think that's part of their.
Speaker 4: Apprehension you got to be really careful that when you're
Speaker 4: subtracting from a big league team that has a really
Speaker 4: good thing going right now to try to also improve
Speaker 4: that big league. Team and that's where it becomes. Fascinating
Speaker 4: SO i think that's the other big question. TOO A,
Speaker 4: matins who have been pretty transparent about the fact that
Speaker 4: they are open to moving big league pieces to address
Speaker 4: a need on the big league. Team you gotta be
Speaker 4: careful with that because sometimes you can disrupt something that's
Speaker 4: working really.
Speaker 1: Well moving over to The, nationals what's your one burning
Speaker 1: question for?
Speaker 4: Him CAN c J abrams sprint through the finish?
Speaker 3: Line Because James wood's a. SUPERSTAR i feel good About.
Speaker 4: James wood being what he, is right and then you're
Speaker 4: gonna have your turbulence with a player Like James. Wood
Speaker 4: but at the end of the, DAY i think everyone's
Speaker 4: pretty comfortable that this is a superstar type of. Player
Speaker 4: Cj abrams is on pace to do some really special
Speaker 4: things this. Year he was on pace to do some
Speaker 4: really impressive things last year as. Well now he is
Speaker 4: comfortably better than he was even through the really good
Speaker 4: stretch that he had last. Year, ready he has more
Speaker 4: homers this year than he had last, year but we
Speaker 4: saw him be great and then fall off a cliff
Speaker 4: a little. Bit right he's on pace to driving one
Speaker 4: hundred and twenty, Runs he's on pace to hit thirty five,
Speaker 4: homers he's on pace to steal almost thirty. Bags this
Speaker 4: could be a really special year for a guy in
Speaker 4: his age twenty five. SEASON a lot of indications could
Speaker 4: just point towards him being just growing into himself and
Speaker 4: reaching and starting to tap into the prime right forgot
Speaker 4: that was rushed to the major. LEAGUES i think this
Speaker 4: is important BECAUSE i don't. KNOW i think that at
Speaker 4: this point they're just going to ride it out with.
Speaker 4: Him because this national, team at, first my question was
Speaker 4: going to be, like you, know how close are they
Speaker 4: to be in Competitive and then that's another big part of,
Speaker 4: it like do they struggle in the second half and
Speaker 4: maybe makes us realize that they're further away than maybe we'd.
Speaker 4: HOPED i think they're closer than than a lot of
Speaker 4: people with, thought AND i think they've proven. That and
Speaker 4: no matter how the second half, GOES i think they'll
Speaker 4: slow down a little bit And i'll probably trim some
Speaker 4: pieces and That i'll only encourage the. SLOWDOWN i think
Speaker 4: we've seen enough to say that this is a team
Speaker 4: that could absolutely be wild card contenders next year and
Speaker 4: have a lot of reasons to make. Additions but With,
Speaker 4: abrams it's like if he sprints through the finish, line
Speaker 4: it doesn't have the first half second half situation he
Speaker 4: had last year where he was an eight forty three
Speaker 4: ops in the first half and a six thirteen in
Speaker 4: the second half in his, career like that's something that
Speaker 4: he's done in his whole. Career it's just been a first,
Speaker 4: half second half. Thing twenty twenty four to twenty twenty
Speaker 4: Six Thank You podcast P eight forty three ops in
Speaker 4: the first, half six thirteen ops in the second. Half
Speaker 4: this is a guy THAT i think can solidify himself
Speaker 4: as a star in this game.
Speaker 1: As, well no doubt about. It my one burning question
Speaker 1: is about another player on The nationals who has not
Speaker 1: had a good first half and he really hasn't played
Speaker 1: well at, all but he's going to continue to get,
Speaker 1: run AND i he should continue to get more, run
Speaker 1: but at some point you have to start asking questions
Speaker 1: and that and my question is what Does Dylan cruz's
Speaker 1: second half look? Like it might be prize to learn
Speaker 1: That Dylan cruz has played one hundred and sixty THREE mlb.
Speaker 1: Games he's played a full. Season, now what do the
Speaker 1: numbers look? Like nineteen homers and thirty four steals sounds?
Speaker 1: Great is?
Speaker 3: It?
Speaker 1: No twenty five percent below league average? Offense so he's
Speaker 1: getting to your accounting numbers make it seem a little
Speaker 1: bit better than it. Is but it's not like he's
Speaker 1: playing all world. Defense he's not this all world base runner.
Speaker 1: Either and at this point he's twenty four years. Old
Speaker 1: there's still. Time not saying giving up on, him but
Speaker 1: WHAT i will say is if he has a bad
Speaker 1: second half and keeps sitting to a seventy FIVE wrc
Speaker 1: plus and racks up two HUNDRED mlb, games Does Paul
Speaker 1: taboni start to ask what do we got? Here is it?
Speaker 1: Anything AND i think that in the second half of The. Nationals,
Speaker 1: AGAIN i said it last, year AND i still think
Speaker 1: that's part of the equation right now is who's a
Speaker 1: part of the. CORE i think clearly they've Found James
Speaker 1: wood is a part of the. Core, yeah they clearly found. C.
Speaker 1: J abrams is a part of the. CORE i think
Speaker 1: there's still it's up in the air Whether Dalen lyle is,
Speaker 1: yeah And Dylan, cruz you hope, is but hasn't. Been
Speaker 1: that's my burning question IS i, mean you guys drafted
Speaker 1: him number two, overall you've given him run and nothing has.
Speaker 1: Transpired can it transpire in the second half or does it?
Speaker 3: Not?
Speaker 4: Yeah, WELL i Think lyle is he's starting to get,
Speaker 4: going and just that the cruise, situation it's just he's
Speaker 4: got to show you some signs of.
Speaker 3: Life he didn't need to be, great just some signs of.
Speaker 4: LIFE i think that's probably the biggest question, mark AND
Speaker 4: i think could be the biggest shifter of like how
Speaker 4: much more optimistic we could be about The nationals next
Speaker 4: year if If Dylan cruz is starting to play at
Speaker 4: a higher level and settle into the big.
Speaker 1: Leaks did you see that report that was put out
Speaker 1: today by The Red sox guy who does the radio
Speaker 1: In spanish for, Them he said that The Red sox
Speaker 1: The nationals are having conversations About James Wood AND i
Speaker 1: saw the report and first of, all it was, like hold,
Speaker 1: on wait a, minute it's early in the. MORNING i
Speaker 1: haven't even had my coffee. Yet first of, all The
Speaker 1: Red sox are trading for a left handed.
Speaker 3: Outfielder, yeah WELL i don't think.
Speaker 1: So and then number, two The nationals are considering Trading James.
Speaker 1: Wood both shocked. Me but it did come out from
Speaker 1: a guy who conceivably is in the. Know i'm not
Speaker 1: saying it's going to, happen BUT i did want to
Speaker 1: bring it up to see if he saw, it if
Speaker 1: you had any.
Speaker 3: THOUGHTS i didn't see. It there's there's no.
Speaker 1: SHOT i.
Speaker 3: AGREE i don't think there's absolutely no.
Speaker 4: CHANCE i don't even think it's being. DISCUSSED i don't
Speaker 4: think that makes any. Sense that's pretty shocking to even
Speaker 4: come out. With to be, HONEST i JUST i hope
Speaker 4: Maybe i'm, wrong BUT i just it doesn't seem. Fathomable
Speaker 4: there's your segment On James wood to the boss Of Red.
Speaker 4: Sox all, right let's let's end with The. Mets i'll end.
Speaker 1: It i'll go. First my burning question for them is
Speaker 1: which of these young pitchers is going to step up
Speaker 1: in the second Half Because Zach, THORNTON i, think has
Speaker 1: looked pretty good so, far really ended the first half
Speaker 1: on a high, note going Seven shutty And Nolan McLean
Speaker 1: is kind of an up and down, overall though he's
Speaker 1: had a good season with a three five to two,
Speaker 1: era BUT i think both you AND i arm can
Speaker 1: agree that he could be better than. That Freddy peralt
Speaker 1: is as good as, gone so Can Christian scott continue
Speaker 1: to look? Good you, Know sean And iah? Gone then
Speaker 1: who steps up Is Clay holmes? Gone then who steps
Speaker 1: up is A Jonah tong when he makes his return
Speaker 1: to the. ROTATION i think The mets have to start
Speaker 1: to kind of figure out who of these young starters
Speaker 1: is going to be a part of their core next,
Speaker 1: Year like how do they build out a? Rotation because
Speaker 1: one thing about The, mets even in that eighty nine
Speaker 1: win season where they went to the playoffs and took
Speaker 1: The dodgers even to six, games it wasn't really because
Speaker 1: of the. Rotation it was because it kind of breakouts from,
Speaker 1: veterans right with The Sean maniah's of the, world The
Speaker 1: David peterson's of the, World like those pitchers were never
Speaker 1: really a part of their long term. Plan they just caught.
Speaker 1: Fire i'd like to see some arms in The mets
Speaker 1: rotation that are a part of the long term, plan
Speaker 1: AND i feel like outside Of nolan, McLain they haven't
Speaker 1: figured it out. Yet SO i think this second half
Speaker 1: when they trade Away, parlton maybe they trade Away. Mania
Speaker 1: they've already traded Away. Peterson these guys that they call
Speaker 1: it from the minor, leagues and even the guy's currently
Speaker 1: on the big league, roster who starts to establish themselves
Speaker 1: as a rotation piece for next.
Speaker 4: Year, yeah mine was Actually Christian scott as, well because
Speaker 4: there you, Go i've loved this guy as a, prospect
Speaker 4: AND i think that you look at the struggles in
Speaker 4: The mets system right. Now Jonah tongue has been bad
Speaker 4: In TRIPLE. A you've Traded brandan's, Broke, Right you're gonna
Speaker 4: Lose Freddie peralta in free. Agency you're probably gonna trade
Speaker 4: him before that, Anyways, right you are going to trade
Speaker 4: him before that.
Speaker 3: Anyways nolan McLain is your guy at the.
Speaker 1: Top but then WHO.
Speaker 4: I even look at some of the pieces that they
Speaker 4: have just just throughout the farm system THAT i was excited,
Speaker 4: about Like Jack WENNINGER i thought would have debuted by
Speaker 4: now command his.
Speaker 3: Regrets At TRIPLE. A so they really need a guy.
Speaker 4: To grab onto a spot and, say, Hey i'm a
Speaker 4: rotation piece for next. Year And Christian scott's provided plenty
Speaker 4: of flashes this, year reminding me why he was a
Speaker 4: top one hundred prospect FOR us and why he's a
Speaker 4: very important PIECE i think for The mets moving forward
Speaker 4: coming back from. Injury there was gonna be some rush
Speaker 4: to shake off after, surgery BUT i think the further
Speaker 4: he's been removed from, that the sharper he has. Looked
Speaker 4: AND i do think this is a guy that could
Speaker 4: be a solid rotation piece for.
Speaker 3: Them and they, sorely sorely need it as they get
Speaker 3: ready for twenty twenty.
Speaker 1: Seven and then if they trade lindor just, KIDDING i
Speaker 1: don't think they're going to do. THAT i really am
Speaker 1: looking at this rotation BECAUSE i think it could be,
Speaker 1: good right If Christian scott steps, up If Jonah tong
Speaker 1: takes a next step and finds, it If thornton ends
Speaker 1: up being an arm for. THEM i, mean we got
Speaker 1: pieces here outside Of Noelan, McLean WHICH i think is
Speaker 1: the obvious. One but if none of them do, yikes yeah,
Speaker 1: right or if one of them, do LIKE i just
Speaker 1: want to, know AND i Think mets fans are pleading
Speaker 1: to know who is our rotation because if none of
Speaker 1: the young guys step. Up we got to go grab
Speaker 1: three arms in free agency next. Year, YEAH i don't
Speaker 1: think they want to do, that but we got a,
Speaker 1: trade so The mets are in an interesting. Spot and then,
Speaker 1: YEAH i think they got a lot to figure. Out
Speaker 1: and those are our burning questions for the second half
Speaker 1: for every team of The National. League don't Forget American
Speaker 1: league tomorrow again with arm AND. I hopefully everybody enjoyed
Speaker 1: this episode of The Just Baseball. Show thank you everybody
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Speaker 1: Description special shout out to PODCAST p for brilliant producing
Speaker 1: once again for Arm. Layton I'm Peter, apple see you
Speaker 1: tomorrow for The American. League and with, that thank you,
Speaker 1: everybody