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Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Hammer Territory podcast.

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Speaker 1: This is episode two six zero. I am your host,

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Speaker 1: Brad Rowland, coming to you only a few hours after

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Speaker 1: our last episode, and this time I am joined I

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Speaker 1: joked yesterday. I'm joined very rarely by Steven Tolborg, even

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Speaker 1: more rarely by Sean Coleman. Sean Coleman is here for

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Speaker 1: a true I don't know about you, Sean, A stunning

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Speaker 1: emergency podcast on Labor Day afternoon. How are you?

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Speaker 2: I'm doing well man. Listen. We have been missing these

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Speaker 2: emergency podcasts. We thought that we were going to at

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Speaker 2: least get a couple of them at the trade deadline

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Speaker 2: that wound up not working so much. But I'm gonna

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Speaker 2: give the Braves credit. We're gonna get into it quite

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Speaker 2: a bit. But one of the things that stands out

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Speaker 2: to me was that the lack of activity at the

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Speaker 2: trade deadline, not trading Rice, sale, not trading Marcel, those

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Speaker 2: things came, you know, a little bit confused as to

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Speaker 2: why those things did not occur, but at the very

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Speaker 2: least in the aspect of how are they going to

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Speaker 2: improve for twenty twenty six. One thing that I will

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Speaker 2: greatly admit I did not think that much of the

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Speaker 2: waiver wire having a good spot in that waiver wire.

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Speaker 2: The Braves have worked that out. We're going to discuss

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Speaker 2: that obviously with their latest move. But pretty exciting emergency

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Speaker 2: podcast if you ask.

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Speaker 1: Me, yeah, to be sure, and if you are new

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Speaker 1: to the podcast, we are Hammor Territory. We cover the

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Speaker 1: Braves all year round. Go ahead and subscribe anywhere you

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Speaker 1: get your podcasts. But it's a true blue Bergacy podcast

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Speaker 1: because the Braves claimed Hassan Kim off of the waivers

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Speaker 1: on Monday from the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that may

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Speaker 1: not sound exciting, but Sean, I know between the four

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Speaker 1: of us, we talked about Hassan Kim probably twenty five

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Speaker 1: times this winter as a potential free agent target. A

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Speaker 1: lot of people immediately on Twitter were like, wait, is

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Speaker 1: this the same guy that we talked about in free

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Speaker 1: agency this winner And the answer was yes to that question.

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Speaker 1: But this is one of those mystery waiver things where

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Speaker 1: no one even knew he was on waivers. The Rays

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Speaker 1: didn't out he was on waivers. It was one of

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Speaker 1: those situations where like, he has some money left in

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Speaker 1: his contract. We'll talk about it, but it's a contractual

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Speaker 1: situation where the breathers are taking on some risk, but

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Speaker 1: they're adding in a player that we talked about. Look,

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Speaker 1: I just refreshed my memory. Before we started recording, a

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Speaker 1: lot of projections had Hassan Kim maybe signing a deal

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Speaker 1: in like the sixteen to twenty million dollar annual value

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Speaker 1: range this last winter. Fangrafts had him at five for

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Speaker 1: one hundred projection at one point this last winter, and

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Speaker 1: there was some injury concerns and all that. But he's

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Speaker 1: just suddenly available on September first, at a position where

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Speaker 1: the Braves famously have had a hole for several seasons.

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Speaker 1: Now it's it's a bit of it's interesting. It's comes

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Speaker 1: with some risk. He's had injury questions that we'll talk about.

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Speaker 1: But this is a potential and I want to use

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Speaker 1: potential on purpose, potential solution to shortstop and also, as

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Speaker 1: you just alluded to, a real commitment of resources to

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Speaker 1: where we don't there's no guarantee because there's a player option,

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Speaker 1: not club option, a player option in play here that

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Speaker 1: there's no guarantee that he'll be on the roster. But

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Speaker 1: if you're the Braves, you can't make this move unless

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Speaker 1: you are prepared to have him on the roster at

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Speaker 1: a big time sum of money next season. So it's

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Speaker 1: truly like a October November, December level emergency podcast on September.

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Speaker 2: First, absolutely, and it's you know, potentially even bigger, you know,

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Speaker 2: And that's the thing that stands out about this. You know,

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Speaker 2: we'll write down a few different aspects of it, but

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Speaker 2: let's first get to the player, the player him himself.

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Speaker 2: We're talking about a player who averaged higher than three

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Speaker 2: f war from twenty and twenty two, twenty and twenty four.

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Speaker 2: And I know myself, I know you brought into all

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Speaker 2: four of us, four of us. I know many in

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Speaker 2: Braves Country have talked about it. We don't need someone

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Speaker 2: who's going to sit here and put up a nine

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Speaker 2: ops at shortstop. Sure that will be great, but we're

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Speaker 2: probably not going to pay the money to get that

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Speaker 2: type of player. We just need league average production offensively,

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Speaker 2: and that would make a ton of difference for this team.

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Speaker 2: And that's what you're potentially getting with Hasan Kim. You

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Speaker 2: see that he had over a one hundred WRC plus

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Speaker 2: in twenty two, twenty three, and twenty four. But the

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Speaker 2: kicker is is that it comes with Gold Globe level defense,

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Speaker 2: consistent Gold Glove level defense, and you didn't have to

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Speaker 2: give up any type of prospect capital. Yes, you're taking

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Speaker 2: on potentially a sixty million dollar commitment. Obviously has only

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Speaker 2: played twenty four games over the past year plus. There's

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Speaker 2: a bit of injury concern there, but the upside, in

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Speaker 2: my opinion, makes it worth it. I don't know if

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Speaker 2: there's a better potential player who could sum up all

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Speaker 2: the things we've been asking for at shortstop than Kim

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Speaker 2: and that's what gets me excited risk in Bob, but

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Speaker 2: I think the reward potentially is certainly worth it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, And to your point, this is why we talked

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Speaker 1: about him a lot in this winter, and the injury

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Speaker 1: was always the caveat. He was not healthy, and that's

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Speaker 1: why he got the deal that he got, which was

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Speaker 1: a two year deal with a player option. He kind

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Speaker 1: of took that like kind of a pillow ish contract

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Speaker 1: because it was like, all right, get healthy, go back

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Speaker 1: on the market potentially if you want to. But it

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Speaker 1: was always him and Willie Damas that were the names

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Speaker 1: that we talked about at Shortstop, and they were kind

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Speaker 1: of polar opposites. You mentioned Goldglove defense. He actually did

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Speaker 1: win the Gold Glove at shortstop in twenty twenty three.

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Speaker 1: Like that's a it's a proven thing. Whether he is

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Speaker 1: as good as Nick Allen defensively, maybe not. Nick Allen's

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Speaker 1: been incredible, but like he's a very good defensive player

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Speaker 1: and a much much better hitter for a long time

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Speaker 1: than what the Braves have had a position since Arcia

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Speaker 1: had that season a couple of years ago where he

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Speaker 1: kind of had, you know, was above his head for

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Speaker 1: half a season. So Kim is twenty nine untill turn

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Speaker 1: thirty in October. You just gave some of these, but

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Speaker 1: I'll stay the numbers as well. He averaged three and

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Speaker 1: a half, was a Bell replacement for three years in

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Speaker 1: a row, reached as high as you know, five basically

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Speaker 1: five one season in twenty twenty three, a one oh

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Speaker 1: six WRC plus over three years combined. That's above above

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Speaker 1: average hitter at shortstop with plus glove. Costs a lot

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Speaker 1: of money, and it's worth a lot of money. That's

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Speaker 1: what he is. It's not an elite bat by any means,

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Speaker 1: but it's an above average hitter. Also takes walks eleven percent,

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Speaker 1: walk right over those three seasons, doesn't strike out a

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Speaker 1: time average thirteen members of the season, so not a

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Speaker 1: ton of power, but a little like non zero power

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Speaker 1: and just a very well rounded hitter, great defensive metrics.

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Speaker 1: And until the last year, we'll come back to this,

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Speaker 1: I'm sure the durability aspect is probably the biggest thing

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Speaker 1: here until the last issue with the shoulder and now

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Speaker 1: the back. He did average one hundred and forty one

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Speaker 1: games a season in those three years, so it wasn't

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Speaker 1: like he was always hurt. Like this is a guy

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Speaker 1: who played as a full time starter for three full

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Speaker 1: seasons in San Diego and was a plus plus player,

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Speaker 1: So that's kind of the of what he actually is.

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Speaker 1: I mean, do you want to talk about the injury?

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Speaker 1: Do you want to bury the lead on that? We

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Speaker 1: probably have to talk about the injury at some point

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Speaker 1: and where we are at this stage because it really matters,

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Speaker 1: and then we'll get to the contract too.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, the injury concern is a bit. It's

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Speaker 2: certainly relevant in my opinion. And the thing is is

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Speaker 2: that I believe also it's been multiple injuries as well.

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Speaker 2: Correct me if I'm wrong. I believe it was. I

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Speaker 2: want to say it was a risk at the end

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Speaker 2: of last year. I may have been wrong. I may

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Speaker 2: be wrong on the injury itself.

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Speaker 1: I've got it too, I got the history. So if yeah,

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Speaker 1: don't worry.

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Speaker 2: But I'm getting at is is that it's not as

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Speaker 2: if it's just some random injury that has occurred that

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Speaker 2: has kept him out for much of the season. Last year,

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Speaker 2: he had a different injury than he has now, which

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Speaker 2: kept his contract expectations low. That's why he had to

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Speaker 2: take the structure of the deal that he got this year.

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Speaker 2: He certainly has not been a pillar of health, so

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Speaker 2: that injury risk certainly stands out now if he's coming

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Speaker 2: back and the Braves potentially get to see him for

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Speaker 2: a month or so. Brad, you, I many others have

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Speaker 2: talked about it. One of the biggest goals for this

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Speaker 2: Brave's team is to have as many other impact players

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Speaker 2: going into the offseason as healthy as possible. Kim could

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Speaker 2: be that type of player for this Brave squad, and

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Speaker 2: if he can go into the off season healthy, that's

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Speaker 2: a big difference. But yes, it's relevant. It's something that

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Speaker 2: you know when it comes to injury. Again, with it

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Speaker 2: being multiple injuries, that heightens the that concerned that they

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Speaker 2: could pop up again. So the injury part of this,

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Speaker 2: that's where the risk is. It's certainly relevant, it's not

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Speaker 2: just something to set to the side.

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Speaker 1: And it's probably the biggest reason why he was available.

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Speaker 1: So we'll get into that in a second. We'll get

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Speaker 1: to the contract, which is very very important to navigate

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Speaker 1: those waters. What the Braids are looking at shortstop for

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Speaker 1: the next month. All that's coming up in a second

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Speaker 1: com slash promos all right, Sean, So, our colleague Ken

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Speaker 1: Rosenthal was first to report the news and the brace

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Speaker 1: of sense analysids, so it's official. When that came down,

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Speaker 1: I think we all had this like flood of questions

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Speaker 1: and all these things, right, And one of the things

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Speaker 1: that you already alluded to was the injury history. So

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Speaker 1: when we talked about it, I went through kind of

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Speaker 1: some of podcast notes from the winter to refresh my

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Speaker 1: memory of what we were saying, and it was a

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Speaker 1: he had basically had a labrum tear like he had

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Speaker 1: a shoulder a labrum tear that was that was well known.

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Speaker 1: He had to have surgery. When the whole time we

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Speaker 1: talked about it, it was like, we know he's not gonna

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Speaker 1: be ready for April. That was the looming specter about

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Speaker 1: Hassan Kim as a potential AD and fregency. It was like,

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Speaker 1: all right, when is he actually gonna play? And this

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Speaker 1: season was well, it's lost now was supposed to be

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Speaker 1: one where the brads were competing and that every game

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Speaker 1: was gonna matter and all that stuff mattered, And maybe

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Speaker 1: that's why they didn't get it on him.

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Speaker 2: We don't know.

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Speaker 1: But he didn't come back until basically early July, so

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Speaker 1: he missed, you know, a long time. That was expected

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Speaker 1: though with the shoulder. When he came back, he played

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Speaker 1: twenty four games in about a six week period. So

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Speaker 1: there was a little bit of an injury to his

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Speaker 1: back in the middle of that. He had some back issues.

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Speaker 1: He won in the IL for ten days, he came

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Speaker 1: off the IL, played a little bit more, and then

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Speaker 1: currently was on the IL when he was placed on waivers.

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Speaker 1: That's not supposed to be a long term issue. I

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Speaker 1: Ken already reported this. The Braves as we're recording this

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Speaker 1: Monday afternoon, have not talked about this. They announced it.

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Speaker 1: But unless I'm missing something and Snid hasn't talked, nobody's

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Speaker 1: talked yet as we're talking, keep that in mind as

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Speaker 1: a timestamp here. But Ken's writing was like, he's basically

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Speaker 1: ready to go off the il, so presumably he'll be

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Speaker 1: ready to play. I mean, maybe not today, but maybe

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Speaker 1: ready to play in the next couple of days. And

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Speaker 1: that's the injury history that's gonna matter even more. We

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Speaker 1: talk when we talk about the contracts, but as far

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Speaker 1: as like, it's not a tryout because they have a

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Speaker 1: commitment beyond the season with player option. But I'm assuming,

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Speaker 1: I mean, I don't know about you, Sean, I am assuming.

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Speaker 1: I don't like to assume, but we have to right

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Speaker 1: now that he's gonna play shorts up every day. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I can't imagine you make this move and then he

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Speaker 1: doesn't play every day. As soon as he's able to play.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean absolutely, you know, and the Braves have

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Speaker 2: every reason to play him at shortstop right because they

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Speaker 2: want that he's now on the team. And I know

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Speaker 2: that that may seem very obvious. But the point that

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Speaker 2: I'm getting at is is that it doesn't make any

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Speaker 2: sense for the Braves to sit here and make this

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Speaker 2: move just to set him to the side and let

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Speaker 2: him go into the offseason then try to prevent anything

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Speaker 2: else from happening to him. You want him to play

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Speaker 2: because you want to be able to see when we

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Speaker 2: get into the contract. We already know that there's a

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Speaker 2: good chance he potentially could be on a player option,

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Speaker 2: but we also know the Braves like to be very

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Speaker 2: creative when it comes to these player options or when

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Speaker 2: it comes to these contracts. If he plays well, they

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Speaker 2: like what they see. Could that mean more? And the

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Speaker 2: other thing about the injury that I think, you know

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Speaker 2: again is makes it even more relevant than just Kim's,

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Speaker 2: you know, having multiple, you know, significant injuries over the

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Speaker 2: past year plus. That's the big story for the Braves

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Speaker 2: over the past year plus. You know, so many of

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Speaker 2: our players that have been an all star level kind

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Speaker 2: of like Kim has been in the past, but injuries

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Speaker 2: have crept up all of a sudden and now are

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Speaker 2: a part of their player profile, Austin Riley being one

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Speaker 2: of them. So you know, we hear all these great

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Speaker 2: things about Kim. We hear what he has been but

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Speaker 2: if you're a bit concerned, could he get back to

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Speaker 2: that since we've seen it happen to other Braves, I

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Speaker 2: don't blame you a bit. And that certainly is part

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Speaker 2: of his profile. So that is where when the injuries

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Speaker 2: come to play. I think that's why the Braves have

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Speaker 2: another reason to plaim get him to end the season

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Speaker 2: on a good note, having to be healthy, having be productive.

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Speaker 2: Here in a minute, we'll discuss another aspect of his

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Speaker 2: game that's really really important to the Braves that they

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Speaker 2: dude decide to keeping twenty twenty six and beyond. But

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Speaker 2: getting him on the field, playing and being productive, I

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Speaker 2: think is a big plus if it can happen.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and again Ken said it, Kin reported it. We'll

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Speaker 1: see what the Braves say and we'll cover that on

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Speaker 1: our next episode. But that's the assumption that I'm gonna make.

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Speaker 1: I think you're making the same one. And look, he's

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Speaker 1: replacing Nick Allen. There's been a lot of Nick Allen discourse.

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Speaker 1: We don't want to do all that today. Nick Allen

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Speaker 1: has done what Nick Allen sho should have been expected

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Speaker 1: to do this season. It's not his fault that he

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Speaker 1: can't hit. He's never been able to hit, and he's

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Speaker 1: played great defense. And honestly, you know, I had this

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Speaker 1: stat that I'm almost I'm almost like sheepish to share

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Speaker 1: it because it's not like I fel like I pick

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Speaker 1: on Nick Allen and I'm not. It's Nick Allen has

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Speaker 1: been fine. Nick Allen is not the problem with the

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty five Braves. I don't know if you're agree

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Speaker 1: with me on that, Sean, but that's that's what I

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Speaker 1: feel about Nick Allen. I'm saying that now just to

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Speaker 1: say this that Nick Allen currently has the lowest slugging

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Speaker 1: percentage by an MLB player in at least four hundred

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Speaker 1: played appearances since nineteen eighty eight. Nick Allen has a

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Speaker 1: two forty nine slugging percentage this season. In the last

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Speaker 1: thirty years, the lowest until now was two sixty one,

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Speaker 1: So he's twelve points below the worst mark in the

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Speaker 1: last thirty years of basically a full time player. So again,

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Speaker 1: not his fault. Nick Allen was always supposed to be

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Speaker 1: a backup utility infielder, and then Arcia fell off the

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Speaker 1: face of the earth and all those things, so I

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Speaker 1: get it, honestly, Kus Nick Allen. I'm not picking on

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Speaker 1: Nick Allen at all. Nick Allen did his job, but

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Speaker 1: it's not the reason have to make this huge. Like

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Speaker 1: you know, see change changing of the guard at shortstop,

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Speaker 1: you just shake Nickdallen's sand and say, Nick, you're a

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Speaker 1: now our backup infielder again and Hassan Kim.

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Speaker 2: Stepson absolutely and I think that it needs to be

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Speaker 2: said Nick Allen. Though he's shown his defensive value, Nick

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Speaker 2: Allen has more value to a winner than he does

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Speaker 2: to a team that's struggling. And the reason why it

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Speaker 2: is is because he is the type of player his

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Speaker 2: main value is in run prevention. You want that lad

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Speaker 2: in games. And if the Braves could utilize him and Kim,

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Speaker 2: because don't forget Kim can play third, Kim can play second.

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Speaker 2: You put those two guys out there during some late

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Speaker 2: game situations to prevent leads, that will be an excellent

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Speaker 2: benefit for this Brave squad if they retain Alan. The

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Speaker 2: big key for the Braves and why they're so interested

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Speaker 2: and why they got Kim they need to score runts

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Speaker 2: earlier in games. And that's why we've talked about upgrading

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Speaker 2: at shortstop was something that they had to address. Scott Coleman,

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Speaker 2: your partner has talked about it at nauseum and he

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Speaker 2: has every right to. They've got to be able to

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Speaker 2: get more offensive production out of the spot. So, Nick Allen,

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Speaker 2: I agree with you. I think that the Braves have

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Speaker 2: every right to want to retain him next year for

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Speaker 2: his defensive value, but they could not go into next

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Speaker 2: year looking to contend getting that low of production, especially

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Speaker 2: over the past two years. And here's a big, big key, Brad,

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Speaker 2: as to why I'm so excited about Kim above one

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Speaker 2: hundred plus or above one hundred WRC plus with runners

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Speaker 2: in scoring position Since the start of two thousand and three,

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Speaker 2: the Braves over the past two years have had the

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Speaker 2: lowest production at shortstop with runners in scoring position. That

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Speaker 2: and of itself is where the value lies.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know if this is what you were

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Speaker 1: referring to earlier when you teased a skill set. Was

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Speaker 1: it the ability to run because Hassan Kim can run.

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Speaker 1: Was that where you were going with that, Sean.

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Speaker 2: Oh, it was the ability to run, but also the

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Speaker 2: ability to hit with runners in scoring position.

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Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I figured it was one of the two

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Speaker 1: and probably both, but Kim I said them, we didn't

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Speaker 1: say earlier, just to say it out loud. He hasn't

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Speaker 1: seen it where he still thirty eight bases and they

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Speaker 1: stole twenty two the year after that, and still a

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Speaker 1: basis can be overvalued to some degree. But like when

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Speaker 1: you steal sixty bases in two years, hitting in the

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Speaker 1: middle of the order, not even leading off like he

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Speaker 1: was hitting like six most of the time for the Padres,

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Speaker 1: that's a potential weapon. It provided He's still got the

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Speaker 1: speed that he had coming off of the injuries, but

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Speaker 1: it was a shoulder like It's not like he shouldn't

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Speaker 1: have lost a ton of speed. He's also not in

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Speaker 1: the middle of his prime, but the fact that he'll

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Speaker 1: be thirty next year, that's still pretty much a normal

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Speaker 1: prime age skill set. Wise, he's not the fastest player

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Speaker 1: in the world, but he does have a skill set

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Speaker 1: for stealing bases. I think he had like a seventy

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Speaker 1: sixth percentile sprint speed in his most recent full season.

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Speaker 1: So a guy who can run give them a little

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Speaker 1: bit more juice. They haven't had a ton of that recently.

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Speaker 1: We're all hitting the order. I have no idea we'll

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Speaker 1: talk about that, I'm sure when he gets established. But

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Speaker 1: a guy who can get on base again eleven percent

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Speaker 1: walk right for three years, not a zero there, and

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Speaker 1: someone who you know is a professional hitter like that

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Speaker 1: gets overused, but not gonna blow you away. He's not

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Speaker 1: gonna hit fifty home runs. He averaged thirteen home runs

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Speaker 1: a season like that, that's what you're talking about. But

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Speaker 1: he's not going to also be a guy they have

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Speaker 1: to bat nine every day if he's right. So that's nice.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's nice to have a high floor player in

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Speaker 2: many different areas. He can run in a productive fashion,

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Speaker 2: and he can hit with and he has situational hitting

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Speaker 2: in a productive fashion. He can field in a productive fashion.

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Speaker 2: Look at last year when we got Ramond Loriano and

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Speaker 2: Mark Briseil or not Mark Grizzle, excuse me, Mark Brizzle.

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Speaker 2: He reminds me of Mark Brizzil.

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Speaker 1: Like, wow, that was that was quite a throwback sean.

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Speaker 2: Deep deep cut as they say. But when we got

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Speaker 2: whit Maryfield last year, just the overall batting approach, smart

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Speaker 2: hitter worked counts, could field okay, cam fielding even better.

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Speaker 2: But also it was just productive when he was on

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Speaker 2: the field that is Hawsong Kim and the Braves need

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Speaker 2: as many of that as possible. We've seen the impact

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Speaker 2: that Jerks and Profar has made why the Braves signed him.

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Speaker 2: Just being at the play. It's productive at bat after

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Speaker 2: productive at bat. That's what you're getting with Kim. And

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Speaker 2: I think that that high floor in many of the

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Speaker 2: areas where we've had such a low floor here recently,

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Speaker 2: especially from the shortstop position, is why it's really exciting

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Speaker 2: to see what he can do if he stays on

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Speaker 2: the field.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I know, since we hear from fans all the time,

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Speaker 1: and it's great. We love hearing from people, and I

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Speaker 1: know a lot of fans don't like necessarily the fact

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Speaker 1: that the Braves have a lot of not all or nothing,

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Speaker 1: but a lot of guys who are relying on hitting

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Speaker 1: the ball hard and they don't have the best approaches

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Speaker 1: all the time. Kim is the opposite of that. He

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Speaker 1: doesn't hit the ball very hard. A lot of Blue

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Speaker 1: and his like hard hit metrics on his stackcast page.

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Speaker 1: But I just pulled this out to Michelle. Wasn't crazy

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Speaker 1: Last season twenty twenty four, ninety eighth percentile chase rate.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't swing a bad pitches. That's a nice breath

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Speaker 1: of fresh air for Braves fans ninety second percentile with rate.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't mispitches when he swings, he tends to hit

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Speaker 1: the ball, and he takes walks, doesn't strike out, all

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Speaker 1: those things that I think people maybe yearned for on

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Speaker 1: this roster a little bit more. And look, Profar's at

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Speaker 1: some of that too. Profar's approach has been a breath

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Speaker 1: of fresh air with his walks and not striking out

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Speaker 1: a ton. Another guy like that who kind of fills

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Speaker 1: this roster out, because look, there's still going to be

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Speaker 1: relying on guys like Olsen, guys like Gothick, Riley. You know,

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Speaker 1: Harris is going to be on this team. Harris is

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Speaker 1: a chase guy. We all understand that. But having another

430
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,600
Speaker 1: guy who's not that to balance things out a little

431
00:19:34,600 --> 00:19:37,960
Speaker 1: bit is pretty helpful. And not you know, I think

432
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:39,600
Speaker 1: that's going to be a again, breath of fresh air

433
00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,520
Speaker 1: is probably being overused by me on this conversation, but

434
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,720
Speaker 1: just a solid professional hitter.

435
00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:48,639
Speaker 2: And that's the type of presence that you want for

436
00:19:48,760 --> 00:19:51,080
Speaker 2: someone that likely is going to be batting towards the

437
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,120
Speaker 2: bottom of your order because I know that we reference

438
00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:57,720
Speaker 2: the wonderful years, the wonderful pass that was twenty twenty three.

439
00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,879
Speaker 2: I know that a lot of homers were hit. But

440
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,480
Speaker 2: two aspects, two forgotten aspects I think of what made

441
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,119
Speaker 2: that often so good their ability to score runs early

442
00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:07,480
Speaker 2: and their ability to turn that line over in such

443
00:20:07,480 --> 00:20:10,240
Speaker 2: a productive way. Getting the eight to nine guys set

444
00:20:10,320 --> 00:20:12,200
Speaker 2: up for Acuna and others at the top of the order.

445
00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:14,880
Speaker 2: You put Kim down there compared to the other guys

446
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:16,640
Speaker 2: that we ran out it shortstop over the past couple

447
00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:19,200
Speaker 2: of years. That turns that line up over. That puts

448
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,480
Speaker 2: those productive at bats in that second and third inning

449
00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:23,239
Speaker 2: in place to where we can get that extra run

450
00:20:23,359 --> 00:20:25,200
Speaker 2: or two to support our pitchers and play with the

451
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,120
Speaker 2: lead more often. That's where a big value from Kim

452
00:20:28,240 --> 00:20:30,199
Speaker 2: comes from. And the more hitters that we can get

453
00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:32,640
Speaker 2: like that, especially when it comes to us not having

454
00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,200
Speaker 2: to give up anything to get him. Jake Frayley is

455
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:38,960
Speaker 2: that type of potential outcome as well. That's adding these

456
00:20:39,040 --> 00:20:42,160
Speaker 2: two guys gives us those high floor depth pieces where

457
00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:44,359
Speaker 2: when guys are potentially out with injuries, our guys are

458
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,919
Speaker 2: struggling next year, we've now got much better options than

459
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,360
Speaker 2: we've had the past couple of years. That's what makes

460
00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:51,320
Speaker 2: these move so exciting in my opinion.

461
00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:54,680
Speaker 1: Certainly, and it doesn't fix anything from this year. We're

462
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,200
Speaker 1: not saying it does, but Alex has certainly not gone

463
00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,280
Speaker 1: to sleep recently, like he's been very active. The pitching

464
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,399
Speaker 1: stuff's gotten a lot of funny attention from us and

465
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:05,720
Speaker 1: others about kind of the cycle of you know, name

466
00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,720
Speaker 1: your least better pitcher, Eric Fetti, Tau Quantrill, Carls Carrasco,

467
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,399
Speaker 1: et cetera. But Jake Freiley is an interesting addition potentially

468
00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:14,760
Speaker 1: for the future. This is even a high profile example

469
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:17,200
Speaker 1: of that, and with that as the backdrop, we will

470
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:20,320
Speaker 1: get into the contracts and the implications there after a

471
00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:21,760
Speaker 1: word from our partners.

472
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:24,719
Speaker 3: We're throwing a curveball at you this week for our

473
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:28,280
Speaker 3: Arena Club segment. As AJ has opened up a Pokemon

474
00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:28,960
Speaker 3: slap pack.

475
00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:29,840
Speaker 4: Did you say it?

476
00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:30,480
Speaker 3: Pokemon?

477
00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:31,120
Speaker 1: Flatman?

478
00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,080
Speaker 3: Pokemon? Don't ask me to say what that card is,

479
00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:35,600
Speaker 3: but we're doing with that card.

480
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,600
Speaker 4: I already sold it anything back, baby. I bought it,

481
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:40,359
Speaker 4: and then I got more money than I paid for

482
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,200
Speaker 4: the pack, so I sold us straight back.

483
00:21:42,600 --> 00:21:45,920
Speaker 3: You bought it for two fifty you sold it for

484
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,440
Speaker 3: and you can go get yourself something that you maybe

485
00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:51,840
Speaker 3: know how to pronounce.

486
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:53,920
Speaker 4: Yes or know what it is. I said it because

487
00:21:53,960 --> 00:21:57,600
Speaker 4: I saw certain people opening in Pokemon and they're making money,

488
00:21:57,640 --> 00:21:59,920
Speaker 4: and guess what I got, Lucky made money off.

489
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:02,840
Speaker 3: Of too exactly. But of course, if you're into sports cards,

490
00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:05,720
Speaker 3: that is something that you can find a ton of

491
00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:10,359
Speaker 3: on the arena club marketplace. By sell slab pack trade

492
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,800
Speaker 3: twenty percent off your first slab pack or card purchase

493
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:16,800
Speaker 3: can be had at arenaclub dot com. Slash foul and

494
00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,560
Speaker 3: use the code foul. That's arenaclub dot com. Slash foul

495
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:24,160
Speaker 3: and use code foul all.

496
00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:27,280
Speaker 1: Right, Sean, the big part of this beyond the field,

497
00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:29,280
Speaker 1: because the onfield stuff matters a lot, but it's the

498
00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:32,480
Speaker 1: contract is the headliner here. Honestly, we've kind of buried

499
00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:36,680
Speaker 1: the lead to some degree. Hassan Kim has a sixteen

500
00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,240
Speaker 1: million dollar player option for twenty twenty six. One more time,

501
00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:45,440
Speaker 1: sixteen million dollar player option for twenty twenty six. I've

502
00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,680
Speaker 1: already seen people, I'm sure you have to misinterpreting, misinterpreting this.

503
00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,280
Speaker 1: People talking about this is a tryout. No, no, no,

504
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:53,440
Speaker 1: this is not a claw option. This is Hawsong Game

505
00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,000
Speaker 1: being able to unilaterally pick up a sixteen million dollars

506
00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,159
Speaker 1: player option if he wants to pick it up. That

507
00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: means the Braves have to do this. That it may

508
00:23:01,560 --> 00:23:03,560
Speaker 1: not stay this way. There is a pathway that you

509
00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:07,160
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier very smartly, that they could potentially renegotiate, maybe

510
00:23:07,359 --> 00:23:09,120
Speaker 1: end up with a multi year deal that's a little

511
00:23:09,119 --> 00:23:11,119
Speaker 1: bit lower. There's there's there's ways you can do this.

512
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,760
Speaker 1: But if nothing else changes, you could be owing Hassan

513
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:19,680
Speaker 1: Kim sixteen million dollars for next season. And on one hand,

514
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,560
Speaker 1: that's encouraging that the Braves and somebody even above Alex

515
00:23:22,720 --> 00:23:25,760
Speaker 1: was will in a green like that. But also that's

516
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:27,800
Speaker 1: a real commitment for a guy who's been banged up

517
00:23:27,800 --> 00:23:29,760
Speaker 1: for the last year and he is worth that if

518
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:31,840
Speaker 1: he's healthy. He's been worth more than that honestly the

519
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,000
Speaker 1: last three years before this year. But that's a real

520
00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:39,879
Speaker 1: big commitment, Sean. And also Alex has this stated, I

521
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,160
Speaker 1: don't know if it's a full fledged CU club policy,

522
00:23:42,280 --> 00:23:44,800
Speaker 1: but a preference at least a strong preference to not

523
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,960
Speaker 1: give out player options. He has a player option, so

524
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:51,440
Speaker 1: that's really all this is very interesting. It wasn't a trade,

525
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:52,480
Speaker 1: so it was like he had to go out and

526
00:23:52,560 --> 00:23:55,159
Speaker 1: talk to the Potters about this. Sorry I raised about this,

527
00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,119
Speaker 1: but it's a lot of weirdness. This is not a

528
00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:02,320
Speaker 1: very Bravesy thing that's happening here. The player option, the

529
00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,320
Speaker 1: big commitment a year here at a year ahead of

530
00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 1: time for a guy that they could have signed this

531
00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:08,280
Speaker 1: winter and they didn't sign. What do you make all

532
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:08,440
Speaker 1: of this?

533
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,000
Speaker 2: Well, I tip my hat to Alex and Thoplss. We're

534
00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:15,040
Speaker 2: going out of his comfort zone, going into doing another

535
00:24:15,640 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 2: creative type of move with where we were in the

536
00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:21,719
Speaker 2: waiver wire to add a potential difference making talent when

537
00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,119
Speaker 2: we want to contend. Now. I know that's sixteen million

538
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:27,159
Speaker 2: is quite a bit to take on, or quite a

539
00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:29,520
Speaker 2: bit to commit with the recent injury history that we've

540
00:24:29,600 --> 00:24:32,120
Speaker 2: seen from Hassan Kim, But this also falls in line

541
00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:33,920
Speaker 2: with kind of what Alex and Thopliss has done in

542
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,639
Speaker 2: his bravest tenure. You know, he signed josh Anilson in

543
00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:39,200
Speaker 2: twenty nineteen when Donaldson came off and off year and

544
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:42,680
Speaker 2: Donaldson was absolutely outstanding for us. He signed Marcello Zune

545
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,879
Speaker 2: before the twenty twenty season when he was coming off

546
00:24:44,920 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 2: a bit of an off year. He's been absolutely outstanding

547
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:49,760
Speaker 2: for us. So this kind of the way that he's

548
00:24:49,800 --> 00:24:51,520
Speaker 2: going about doing it through the waiver wire is a

549
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 2: bit odd or a bit different from what we've seen,

550
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:55,960
Speaker 2: but it winds up in the same spot in terms

551
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:58,840
Speaker 2: of you've got a one year deal with someone who,

552
00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,640
Speaker 2: in Kim, I feel like, is going to have more

553
00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:05,640
Speaker 2: focus on keeping healthy being productive because on Kim's side

554
00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:07,320
Speaker 2: of things, which is what I think makes it more

555
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,040
Speaker 2: than makes sense for the Braves to do. Even though

556
00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:13,560
Speaker 2: Kim's turn in thirty, even though he's had injury concerns

557
00:25:13,560 --> 00:25:16,359
Speaker 2: over the past two years, he I think if he

558
00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:18,400
Speaker 2: opts into that player option or he does some type

559
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,120
Speaker 2: of one year renegotiation with the Braves, I think Kim

560
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,040
Speaker 2: has every reason to want to play healthy and play

561
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,240
Speaker 2: productive next year because then he goes back into the

562
00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:27,680
Speaker 2: free agent market at the end of twenty twenty six

563
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:30,000
Speaker 2: at thirty one years old, he still could get a

564
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 2: very lucrative contract as a proven shortstop, So he has

565
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,080
Speaker 2: every reason to play well next year. I think the

566
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:37,240
Speaker 2: Braves are betting on that, and if they want to

567
00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:39,320
Speaker 2: keep me long term, that potentially makes sense, but they

568
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,159
Speaker 2: really could benefit from him wanting to do want to

569
00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,159
Speaker 2: make good year. That's the other aspect of this that

570
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,879
Speaker 2: I really think helps the Braves want to invest in

571
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:47,639
Speaker 2: Kim's production.

572
00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:52,399
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, there's so much nuance and that what

573
00:25:52,840 --> 00:25:57,240
Speaker 1: I would recommend strongly is that people not overreact to

574
00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:00,560
Speaker 1: what the next four weeks of results spring with on kid.

575
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: On one hand, I get it. On one hand, I've

576
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 1: seen a lot of like, oh, well, they got a

577
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,440
Speaker 1: month to see what they have. Yes, they do, but

578
00:26:07,560 --> 00:26:10,200
Speaker 1: that's it's four weeks of games and even that to

579
00:26:10,280 --> 00:26:12,200
Speaker 1: be plays today, which we don't know how fast it

580
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:13,520
Speaker 1: is gonna play. It might be three weeks a game,

581
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:14,720
Speaker 1: it might be three and a half weeks. We don't

582
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,359
Speaker 1: know that. That's not a big enough sample size to

583
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,119
Speaker 1: learn enough to only make a utilatteral decision based on that. Alex,

584
00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:24,280
Speaker 1: and you mentioned it already. Alex has a history of

585
00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,480
Speaker 1: looking beyond the most recent season, also a history of

586
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,720
Speaker 1: looking beyond the box score numbers. He likes this is

587
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:35,639
Speaker 1: this is an organization that does value batterball profile, that

588
00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,800
Speaker 1: does value the things that don't necessarily make their way

589
00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: into your baseball reference. First cover page you know, they

590
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,240
Speaker 1: like to see the whole picture, and with Kim, you're

591
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:47,080
Speaker 1: doing that. No matter what. If he comes out and

592
00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:50,240
Speaker 1: hits four hundred the next month, great, If he comes

593
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:52,560
Speaker 1: out and struggles a little bit, that isn't going to

594
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:55,399
Speaker 1: be a death sentence. It just can't be, Nor would Alex.

595
00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:58,359
Speaker 1: I think Alex has proven that he's not gonna judge

596
00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,400
Speaker 1: a tenure of this a player based on four weeks

597
00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,480
Speaker 1: of data. It's just not gonna happen. But fans, will

598
00:27:03,600 --> 00:27:05,080
Speaker 1: you know how this works, Sean, If he has a

599
00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:07,320
Speaker 1: bad two weeks, we're gonna be furious and it's gonna

600
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:10,920
Speaker 1: be what it is. But I do think, like we've

601
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,680
Speaker 1: seen creativity, that's the word you use, that's a good one.

602
00:27:14,760 --> 00:27:18,480
Speaker 1: I almost I'm almost projecting them to come to a

603
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,480
Speaker 1: different deal with him this winter in my in my

604
00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:23,840
Speaker 1: brain right now. Obviously that's silly because the default is

605
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,480
Speaker 1: Kim decides yes or no on a player option, and

606
00:27:26,600 --> 00:27:29,159
Speaker 1: that is the default. But given where the Braves have been,

607
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,840
Speaker 1: the way they've operated, like what, it should surprise absolutely

608
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,680
Speaker 1: no one if they come up for air in November

609
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,400
Speaker 1: or December whatever, sorry, October, November, whatever, the player option

610
00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:43,000
Speaker 1: deadline is and basically it's instead it's a it's a

611
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: two year deal for twenty four million dollars total like

612
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,920
Speaker 1: something like that, or it's a three year deal for

613
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:50,800
Speaker 1: whatever if he's if he's healthy and they feel good,

614
00:27:51,000 --> 00:27:53,040
Speaker 1: like there is some wiggle room there. But no matter what,

615
00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:55,520
Speaker 1: if you're haus on Kim on the player side, which

616
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:57,800
Speaker 1: always have to point out the player side, you're guaranteed

617
00:27:57,840 --> 00:27:59,960
Speaker 1: sixten million dollars next year, so you're not gonna sull

618
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: take some bargain basement discount contract like you have a

619
00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,879
Speaker 1: guaranteed amount coming to you. And if it's a restructuring,

620
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,199
Speaker 1: it might lower the AAV a little bit, but it's

621
00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,480
Speaker 1: going to be a commitment because that's the whole point

622
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:14,119
Speaker 1: of having the player option. Negotiating that last winter with

623
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:15,439
Speaker 1: Tampa Bent and.

624
00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:17,680
Speaker 2: I was talking just a second ago. On the player side,

625
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:20,280
Speaker 2: the Braves investing in him, wanting to make the most

626
00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:22,359
Speaker 2: of his year, and he have potentially been able to

627
00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:24,960
Speaker 2: do that to help the Braves contend. It should not

628
00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,720
Speaker 2: be lost on anyone. How the Braves can benefit Kim

629
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,640
Speaker 2: as well. Number One, they're keeping him a shortstop which

630
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:32,719
Speaker 2: is going to make the most of his value. Number two,

631
00:28:32,760 --> 00:28:35,600
Speaker 2: they're looking to contend, which is going if he plays well,

632
00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,160
Speaker 2: it's going to add value to him naturally itself, instead

633
00:28:39,160 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 2: of him playing for someone who's not looking to contend.

634
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:45,600
Speaker 2: And the big thing also the Brave's history with helping

635
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 2: players who in past years have been productive, had been

636
00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:51,800
Speaker 2: played very well, they fell off a bit due to

637
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:53,719
Speaker 2: injury or lack of production where they weren't a good

638
00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,480
Speaker 2: fit wherever, but when they came to Atlanta they did well.

639
00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,200
Speaker 2: Look at what jorgees Celerat did in twenty twenty one,

640
00:28:59,440 --> 00:29:01,600
Speaker 2: Donald said, zoom to look at how they bounced back

641
00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:05,480
Speaker 2: in their careers. Just last year, Ramon Mariano really benefited

642
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,920
Speaker 2: from his time in Atlanta. The Braves have a history

643
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,680
Speaker 2: of taking these type of players and being able to

644
00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:13,160
Speaker 2: make the most of them, helping get back to where

645
00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:15,680
Speaker 2: they were at their best in the past. So that's

646
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:18,800
Speaker 2: something else that really could stand out. And Kim's approach

647
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:20,880
Speaker 2: at the plate seems to really fit well with kind

648
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:22,800
Speaker 2: of what Tim Hiers is put in place in the

649
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:24,920
Speaker 2: second half of this season. But the other thing that

650
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,280
Speaker 2: I do want to also mention about Kim. We talk

651
00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:29,840
Speaker 2: about the streakiness of players, so much. We're so high

652
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,960
Speaker 2: solo with many of our players, Kim just stay solid

653
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 2: and that's in the Braves or of that. So I

654
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:38,560
Speaker 2: agree with you on the side of the Braves want

655
00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 2: to invest in that type of presence in their lineup.

656
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 2: It would not surprise me if all if Kim was

657
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,480
Speaker 2: open to it, he would take a two year deal.

658
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,880
Speaker 2: I would hesitate though on one thing. I do think

659
00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 2: that the Braves will look to renegotiate, but I do

660
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,080
Speaker 2: think that they put some type of option out there,

661
00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:56,480
Speaker 2: maybe to where not a player option. I don't really

662
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:56,960
Speaker 2: know how they.

663
00:29:56,920 --> 00:29:57,320
Speaker 1: Could do it.

664
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:00,760
Speaker 2: But if I'm Kim, I'm not necessarily that interested in

665
00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,440
Speaker 2: going like beyond maybe two years. Because I do he

666
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:05,600
Speaker 2: probably wants to make the most of if he does.

667
00:30:05,720 --> 00:30:08,160
Speaker 2: Went on twenty twenty six, So that's another factor in

668
00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:09,560
Speaker 2: how those negotiations will go.

669
00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:12,000
Speaker 1: Oh for sure. And I always try to bring up

670
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,000
Speaker 1: the player side because I know everybody's a fan of

671
00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 1: the team and rooting for the team. I get all that,

672
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:17,320
Speaker 1: But like the player side matters. They have to buy,

673
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:18,600
Speaker 1: especially when you have when you have a player out.

674
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 1: This is a unique thing for the Braves. They don't

675
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:21,960
Speaker 1: do this. This is why I said, this is something

676
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,360
Speaker 1: we don't talk about a lot, but the player has

677
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:27,360
Speaker 1: they earned that. They negotiated that. That was their pillow

678
00:30:27,960 --> 00:30:31,680
Speaker 1: insurance contract coming out of the injury last winter. Obviously

679
00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,959
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay didn't work out super well or they wouldn't

680
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,280
Speaker 1: place on waivers. But they're in a weird spot to

681
00:30:36,360 --> 00:30:40,720
Speaker 1: his organization. I get all that, and the Braves benefit potentially.

682
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:44,680
Speaker 1: And look, just to say this out loud, there's some downside.

683
00:30:45,080 --> 00:30:48,000
Speaker 1: We mentioned risk when you owe a player option of

684
00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:52,560
Speaker 1: sixteen million dollars if he is either hurt or not playing, well,

685
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 1: you know that's not great. So this is I'm sure

686
00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:57,920
Speaker 1: that Alex when he talks about this, and he will,

687
00:30:57,960 --> 00:30:59,720
Speaker 1: I'm sure because it's such a big commitment that he

688
00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,560
Speaker 1: has to talk about it at some point soon he'll

689
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,040
Speaker 1: acknowledge that. I mean, this is a deal that has

690
00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:09,280
Speaker 1: almost I keep saying deal. It's not a new deal.

691
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 1: They're just picking up a deal that already existed. So

692
00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,240
Speaker 1: they're just they're decided. It's a decision that has some

693
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,000
Speaker 1: risk to it. But also I don't know where you

694
00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: come now. I guess we should end with this, Sean.

695
00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:20,040
Speaker 1: It seems like you like this. It seems I don't

696
00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:21,880
Speaker 1: want to speak for you, but I will ask the question,

697
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,080
Speaker 1: like broadly speaking, you don't have to get a grade,

698
00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:26,719
Speaker 1: but like, how do you feel about this right now?

699
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:29,400
Speaker 1: With acknowledge it we don't have all the information yet

700
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:31,920
Speaker 1: and the injury stuff is lingering. But if he's ready

701
00:31:31,960 --> 00:31:33,400
Speaker 1: to play now and you're taking a kind of a

702
00:31:33,600 --> 00:31:35,600
Speaker 1: it's not a free shot, it's it's with some risk.

703
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:36,800
Speaker 1: But what do you what do you what was kind

704
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:38,160
Speaker 1: of your synopsis of this whole time?

705
00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:39,960
Speaker 2: I was getting in the show with this, But I

706
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,400
Speaker 2: think this is a good time to kind of sum

707
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:44,160
Speaker 2: it up this way in my opinion, since May of

708
00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 2: twenty twenty four, when our offense started struggling, we ran

709
00:31:47,760 --> 00:31:49,960
Speaker 2: into injuries with a coon you it just a lot

710
00:31:50,040 --> 00:31:52,480
Speaker 2: of things have not worked out our way, or when

711
00:31:52,520 --> 00:31:55,680
Speaker 2: it comes to us expecting something like the trade deadline,

712
00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:58,840
Speaker 2: for instance, it wound up happening worse than what we expected.

713
00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:04,360
Speaker 2: This is a different scenario. This is adding to twenty

714
00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:06,600
Speaker 2: and twenty five to set up for twenty twenty six

715
00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:08,480
Speaker 2: and beyond. This is a type of move that is

716
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,720
Speaker 2: making things better moving forward. You combine adding Hassan Kim

717
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 2: Jake Frayley to the mix for twenty and twenty six.

718
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,120
Speaker 2: You look at what Hirst and Waldrip is doing during

719
00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,160
Speaker 2: his breakout, Drake Baldwin continuing what he's doing, Joey Wentz

720
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:25,120
Speaker 2: potentially becoming a depth option. Those type of developments. This

721
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,440
Speaker 2: depth getting better for the Braves when you know we're

722
00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:30,000
Speaker 2: going to have to utilize it due to injuries or

723
00:32:30,080 --> 00:32:33,840
Speaker 2: under performance likely next year. At some point are set

724
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,120
Speaker 2: up for twenty and twenty six in terms of depth

725
00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:38,920
Speaker 2: and in terms of dressing areas that we clearly needed

726
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:40,840
Speaker 2: to improve on to have a better chance of contending

727
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:45,040
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty six. The Braves approach has been better

728
00:32:45,120 --> 00:32:47,600
Speaker 2: than expected over the past four weeks, and I commend

729
00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:50,120
Speaker 2: to Alex and the franchise for doing that. That's why

730
00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:52,520
Speaker 2: I'm excited about this move. We are in a better

731
00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:55,200
Speaker 2: spot to contend in twenty and twenty six than we

732
00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:57,880
Speaker 2: were when we were very, very inactive at the trade deadline.

733
00:32:57,960 --> 00:32:59,880
Speaker 2: I didn't expect to say that I'm glad that.

734
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:04,000
Speaker 1: We Yeah, I would echo that for sure, and there's

735
00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:06,120
Speaker 1: more that we'll talk about with this. This is just

736
00:33:06,160 --> 00:33:11,680
Speaker 1: our emergency first reaction. But also I liked the aggression yes,

737
00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:14,280
Speaker 1: it's weird to say aggression when all you had to

738
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:16,880
Speaker 1: do was just click the box to say claim on waivers.

739
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,080
Speaker 1: But it's a real commitment to owe that much money

740
00:33:20,640 --> 00:33:22,360
Speaker 1: when you look at for agents and we've all kind

741
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,040
Speaker 1: of looted this a few times without doing a deep

742
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,000
Speaker 1: dive during the season. When you look at the shortstop

743
00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:30,120
Speaker 1: crop almost every year, it's really hard to add shortstops.

744
00:33:30,520 --> 00:33:31,920
Speaker 1: And if you can do it without having to give

745
00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:34,840
Speaker 1: it anything else but money and not have to trade

746
00:33:34,880 --> 00:33:37,560
Speaker 1: for it, and yeah, not a superstar level player, but

747
00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:40,680
Speaker 1: a good starting level shortstop when he's been healthy. Like

748
00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:42,640
Speaker 1: I like the aggression of go ahead, you know, you

749
00:33:42,640 --> 00:33:44,920
Speaker 1: know what, let's just do this now. And it's funny people.

750
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:47,680
Speaker 1: I don't know if I'm I'm opening Twitter every once

751
00:33:47,680 --> 00:33:49,240
Speaker 1: in a while. I'm sure I'm not missing anything that's

752
00:33:49,320 --> 00:33:51,560
Speaker 1: new that's being said as we're talking. But one of

753
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:53,640
Speaker 1: the things that I've gotten in my mentions is like,

754
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:55,520
Speaker 1: way to take all of the suspense out of the

755
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,800
Speaker 1: off season, Alex and kind of kind of in a

756
00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,200
Speaker 1: funny way. But yeah, I mean one of the one

757
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,120
Speaker 1: of our major storylines, this winner was going to be

758
00:34:03,120 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 1: shortstop and this isn't necessarily full on solvent. But this

759
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: is this is their this is their end, this is

760
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 1: what their bullet they're firing on shortstop.

761
00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:11,800
Speaker 4: This is what this is.

762
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:14,480
Speaker 1: It has to be that. I mean, there is room

763
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,239
Speaker 1: for nuance. But as far as like questions about what

764
00:34:18,360 --> 00:34:21,080
Speaker 1: the plan is that shortstop the question, the answer to

765
00:34:21,200 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 1: that at this moment on September first is Hassan, Kim

766
00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:25,799
Speaker 1: and Penn like that's what has to.

767
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:29,280
Speaker 2: Be absolutely and the other thing that and you mentioned

768
00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:32,560
Speaker 2: you like the aggression. I do as well, especially with

769
00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:36,120
Speaker 2: the fact that some of our riskier moves here recently

770
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:39,360
Speaker 2: have not worked out well. Jared Kelnick. After all the

771
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:41,640
Speaker 2: different hoops that we tried to jump through to get him,

772
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,920
Speaker 2: he has not worked out well. Jerkson profar. He seems

773
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,360
Speaker 2: to be a pretty good investment, but he certainly, you know,

774
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:50,040
Speaker 2: has not been productive towards us winning this year like

775
00:34:50,200 --> 00:34:53,200
Speaker 2: many had hoped. But the Braves are staying aggressive. And

776
00:34:53,320 --> 00:34:55,000
Speaker 2: also to your point, I think it's a great point.

777
00:34:55,320 --> 00:34:58,239
Speaker 2: This time, though you lack suspense, you don't have to

778
00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:00,920
Speaker 2: jump through all those hoops. It's forward. You don't have

779
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,480
Speaker 2: to give up prospects. When you talk about I know

780
00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:06,400
Speaker 2: many people. One is exciting an offseason as possible, and

781
00:35:06,520 --> 00:35:09,800
Speaker 2: the uncertainty or you know, not knowing what occurs adds

782
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:13,200
Speaker 2: to the excitement. The Braves don't need excitement for their offseason.

783
00:35:13,600 --> 00:35:18,320
Speaker 2: They need productive moves with as less issues as possible,

784
00:35:18,600 --> 00:35:20,959
Speaker 2: and this is the type of move that fit checks

785
00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,160
Speaker 2: those boxes. Yes, you do have the injury risk, but

786
00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:26,719
Speaker 2: I think that there are plenty of options out there

787
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,879
Speaker 2: for the Braves to use to make him the best

788
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:30,400
Speaker 2: that he can be if he's on the field, and

789
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:32,160
Speaker 2: that's why I think the reward is worth it. So

790
00:35:32,200 --> 00:35:34,480
Speaker 2: I'm here for the lack of suspense yet getting a

791
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,440
Speaker 2: player who could really play a big foot role for

792
00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:37,960
Speaker 2: us winning in twenty twenty six.

793
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:40,520
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's sweet where we can leave it,

794
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:44,640
Speaker 1: But it's aggressive. It is not without risk. I want

795
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,799
Speaker 1: to we have acknowledge that, we understand it, we both

796
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:51,000
Speaker 1: like it. But with the prism of this is there's

797
00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:53,839
Speaker 1: downside too, and that's most deals have risk if we're

798
00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: being one hundred percent honest about it, but this is

799
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,120
Speaker 1: one that might You know, I have been saying and

800
00:35:58,120 --> 00:35:59,560
Speaker 1: I have back this up with what I'm saying now,

801
00:36:00,040 --> 00:36:01,759
Speaker 1: saying it for two months now like you can't sit

802
00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:03,400
Speaker 1: on your hands anymore. This is not you can't. This

803
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:05,239
Speaker 1: is not a run it back winter. If I'm in

804
00:36:05,320 --> 00:36:06,719
Speaker 1: charge of the Braves, and this is not a run

805
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:10,319
Speaker 1: it back move. This is an aggressive move. So uh

806
00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:12,440
Speaker 1: more to talk about, Sean. I'm sure I know our

807
00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,600
Speaker 1: guy Steven is busy today and we'll have to get

808
00:36:14,640 --> 00:36:17,400
Speaker 1: his thoughts on this. Scott is gallivanting. He just texted

809
00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,239
Speaker 1: me from across the pond weighing in. I will not

810
00:36:20,360 --> 00:36:21,759
Speaker 1: share that. We'll talk about it when he when he

811
00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:24,359
Speaker 1: gets back to but uh a big move. And hey,

812
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,320
Speaker 1: some programming for us in September. Maybe not in October

813
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,880
Speaker 1: November anymore, but some programmer for us in September that

814
00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:31,600
Speaker 1: was not expected at this point.

815
00:36:31,960 --> 00:36:35,800
Speaker 2: For anybody also who is maybe not necessarily that excited

816
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:38,960
Speaker 2: because it takes some suspense out of the off season.

817
00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:43,000
Speaker 2: Here's one little nugget to remember. When we went into

818
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:45,840
Speaker 2: the trade deadline, we were come disappointed that Ozuna was

819
00:36:45,920 --> 00:36:48,319
Speaker 2: not moved, Iglesias was not mood. But then a few

820
00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:52,200
Speaker 2: days later, don't forget there was that news breaking, or

821
00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,480
Speaker 2: that that that revelation that the Braves talked with the

822
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,359
Speaker 2: twins about Byron Buxton. It did not work out, which

823
00:36:57,440 --> 00:37:01,640
Speaker 2: makes sense. Now you've got short stop potentially addressed for

824
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,200
Speaker 2: next year, maybe potentially beyond. That means Alex can turn

825
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:08,440
Speaker 2: his attention to improving the squad in other ways, in

826
00:37:08,600 --> 00:37:12,040
Speaker 2: other creative, unexpected ways. So now that shortstops taken care of,

827
00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:14,560
Speaker 2: you've got his attention to potentially improve the team in

828
00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:18,240
Speaker 2: a way that none of us expected. And the chances

829
00:37:18,239 --> 00:37:20,440
Speaker 2: of that happening now, I think, have improved. So that

830
00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:22,480
Speaker 2: is something to be excited for. When it comes to

831
00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:23,080
Speaker 2: the off season.

832
00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:25,560
Speaker 1: It's gonna be fun and it'll be a little bit different.

833
00:37:25,719 --> 00:37:28,400
Speaker 1: And again, more to come on this podcast. So if

834
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:30,800
Speaker 1: you're just finance for the first time, welcome aboard. We

835
00:37:31,040 --> 00:37:33,319
Speaker 1: talk about the Braves all year round on the show.

836
00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,400
Speaker 1: Follow Sean, follow me, follow our colleague Stephen and Scott,

837
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,680
Speaker 1: who are not with us today but subscribe to the podcast. Sean,

838
00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:44,040
Speaker 1: I appreciate the rare opportunity to do a show with you.

839
00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:46,520
Speaker 1: We are split up because we basically de facto are

840
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:49,120
Speaker 1: the hosts of the two that's just what happens. But

841
00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:50,560
Speaker 1: we'll do more of these together.

842
00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,560
Speaker 2: This was fun. Hey, Hey, I'm just I am glad

843
00:37:53,960 --> 00:37:55,440
Speaker 2: that I got to sit here and do it with

844
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,560
Speaker 2: the legendary Bradland. That's what I'm most excited about.

845
00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,400
Speaker 1: That's not true pleasure, pleasure, get to do it with you.

846
00:38:02,080 --> 00:38:04,120
Speaker 1: Thank you, Sean, and hopefully it was a little bit

847
00:38:04,239 --> 00:38:05,600
Speaker 1: uh maybe I don't know if the easier is the

848
00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:07,680
Speaker 1: right word. You didn't have to like tell I mean,

849
00:38:07,680 --> 00:38:09,279
Speaker 1: people are gonna be disappointed with it, don't They don't

850
00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:11,080
Speaker 1: here to welcome at the top of the podcast, and

851
00:38:11,280 --> 00:38:13,160
Speaker 1: then they do, then you're then your a voice will appear,

852
00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:15,760
Speaker 1: people will know Sean is here. That's great. H Anyway,

853
00:38:15,840 --> 00:38:19,759
Speaker 1: please subscribe everybody to Hammer's Territory once again. Tell your

854
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:21,840
Speaker 1: friends about the podcast. We'll have more to come, I

855
00:38:21,920 --> 00:38:23,759
Speaker 1: promise you later on this week, and we'll see you

856
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:24,560
Speaker 1: all next time.