Speaker 1: Front off is unfiltered. It's our resident GM. Jim Bowden,
Speaker 1: It's the big week. It's the best week, trade deadline week.
Speaker 2: JB. Good to see you.
Speaker 1: But let's start with the closer market and how it's
Speaker 1: going to be impacted with Emmanuel class A.
Speaker 2: Off the list. Did you think that he was going
Speaker 2: to get traded. Oh, he was going to get traded,
Speaker 2: there's no doubt. And Chris Antoney, the president might turn off.
Speaker 2: The GM have been working six weeks at moving Emmanuel
Speaker 2: class A and they were in a really strong position
Speaker 2: as sellers, and they decided to sell, and that's the
Speaker 2: direction they were going, and class A was going to
Speaker 2: be the headliner at this trade deadline for them. And
Speaker 2: they were in a great position because we have so
Speaker 2: many of the contending teams and division leading teams that
Speaker 2: were focusing on high leverage back end relievers, the Phillies,
Speaker 2: the Mets, the Dodgers, the Seattle Mariners, the Detroit Tigers.
Speaker 2: It's just overwhelming the market. And they had one of
Speaker 2: the top two guys and they had been working very
Speaker 2: diligently to get it. So this is franchise changing. This
Speaker 2: is a huge blow for them because this was going
Speaker 2: to be an opportunity to really reset this organization by
Speaker 2: using him as trade bait here, and so it is
Speaker 2: just a huge setback.
Speaker 3: Jim, I don't know this, but I'm assuming you never
Speaker 3: had a guy go under investigation for gambling, maybe steroids,
Speaker 3: maybe something else gets suspended right for the trade deadline.
Speaker 3: But as a GM president of baseball offs, how do
Speaker 3: you flip it right away? Because, like you said, if
Speaker 3: they were so close to moving him, then all of
Speaker 3: a sudden he's off the table, right then do you
Speaker 3: think we'll move him in the off season? And how
Speaker 3: do you flip your organizational's thought process. Have you've been
Speaker 3: working on this, like you said, for six weeks.
Speaker 2: Well, I don't think you can think about trading Class
Speaker 2: A in the off season with for them to put
Speaker 2: him on the administrative lead through August. There has to
Speaker 2: be significant evidence on this. And I hate to bring
Speaker 2: up John ta Porter in the NBA, but he's been
Speaker 2: banned for life and he pleaded guilty and these Major
Speaker 2: League Baseball is not going to do this unless there's
Speaker 2: overwhelming evidence. Now he deserves due process. So as a GM,
Speaker 2: it's a great question. Aj. You know, I do think
Speaker 2: you always have to pivot, right. I mean, like when
Speaker 2: the Yankees lost out on one Soda that they quickly
Speaker 2: pivoted to Max f Reid. I mean, it's not the
Speaker 2: end of the world, but you just lost a huge asset.
Speaker 2: You know, you could pivot now to Kate Smith. Whatever
Speaker 2: discussions you were having regarding Class A, you know you
Speaker 2: can now go back and offer Kate Smith instead. You're
Speaker 2: not going to get quite the same package. You're gonna
Speaker 2: have to take less, but you still have to go forward.
Speaker 2: You know, injuries happen in this game where you can
Speaker 2: have a star player and then all of a sudden,
Speaker 2: here's Tommy John surgery right before the deadline, and it happens.
Speaker 2: You mentioned pds. You could have a guy gets a
Speaker 2: PD suspension. So as a GM, you have to roll
Speaker 2: with it. You don't have a choice. It's unfortunate, it's disappointing,
Speaker 2: it's a punch in the belly, but you gotta pivot
Speaker 2: always and you have to move.
Speaker 1: On to the next So now let's look at the
Speaker 1: big picture of the reliever market.
Speaker 3: JB.
Speaker 1: What do you have for us? Who do you think
Speaker 1: is going to be the biggest name of that group?
Speaker 1: To move do you think that some of the multi
Speaker 1: year team control guys like a Duran or a Jacks
Speaker 1: is going to move versus the rentals of course like
Speaker 1: Oriyan Helsley.
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I think it's going to be a very
Speaker 2: active market, just because that's the goal that these gms.
Speaker 2: When I talk to the gms and I ask what
Speaker 2: your goal is? Impact, high leverage, reliever is what you're hearing.
Speaker 2: I just went through the teams. I don't even think
Speaker 2: I remember to mention the Texas Rangers in that right
Speaker 2: with Seattle, and so that's the goal. And I think,
Speaker 2: you know, if you're a team in cell mode, you
Speaker 2: have a chance to win this trade deadline, right, you
Speaker 2: have a chance to really help rebuild your franchise by
Speaker 2: trading your back end guy. So I do expect the
Speaker 2: Twins to trade either Johann Durant or Griffin Jacks. I
Speaker 2: think Duran will go. I think Ryan Helsley has to go.
Speaker 2: If you're Saint Louis, you know John Mozelak stepping down,
Speaker 2: hind Bloom's going to take over. I think it would
Speaker 2: be foolish to hold on to him. You're not going
Speaker 2: to be able to extend him. I think Raziale Glacias
Speaker 2: gets moved. I think David Bednar gets moved. I think
Speaker 2: Seth Halverson of the Colorado Rockies gets moved. The Nationals
Speaker 2: are trying to move Kyle Finnegain, he probably gets moved.
Speaker 2: So yeah, and even Kenley Jansen of the Angels. You know,
Speaker 2: I didn't get a chance to talk to Perry manassion
Speaker 2: because he was ill over the weekend. But you know,
Speaker 2: I got to think we're there in the standings right
Speaker 2: now that they need to move on from Jansen too.
Speaker 2: So there's a lot of relievers out there. There's a
Speaker 2: huge buying market for them in particular, and I think
Speaker 2: it's pretty foolish really for those teams to hold on
Speaker 2: to them with the possible returns they're going to be
Speaker 2: able to get in terms of really good prospect returns.
Speaker 3: I love what you just said, Jim. I just have
Speaker 3: one question for you. When is it's just gonna be
Speaker 3: a last.
Speaker 2: Minute Flirriday Thursday?
Speaker 3: No, I know it's just gonna be a last minute flurry.
Speaker 3: Everyone's gonna wait, best offer, best offer. Nobody wants to
Speaker 3: jump on this now. And maybe hey, say you get
Speaker 3: one of these bullpen guys and they win you a
Speaker 3: game Tuesday or Wednesday instead of waiting till Thursday. Why
Speaker 3: why are we waiting till the last minute.
Speaker 1: Let's get this going people.
Speaker 2: No, I'd like it too, but I know I talked
Speaker 2: to several GMS yesterday and they said it's gonna be Thursday,
Speaker 2: and it's gonna be a flurry, and everyone's gonna pivot
Speaker 2: once the first guy goes. You know what the contending
Speaker 2: gms and presidents do right now is we have lined
Speaker 2: up our priority list to who we want. Right so,
Speaker 2: if we had Class A one, Duran two, Bennar three,
Speaker 2: Hellsley four, for example, I now have to take class
Speaker 2: off the board right So now before I before I
Speaker 2: make my legitimate final offer for Bennar and Helsley, I
Speaker 2: need to make sure that Derek Falve and the Twins
Speaker 2: tells me I can't get Durant. And I'm gonna tell
Speaker 2: Ben Sherrington who's guy? Ben Nara and Dramozev at Helsley,
Speaker 2: I want your guys. They're second and third on my list.
Speaker 2: I've got to see if I can get Duran first.
Speaker 2: So now the Minnesota Twins hold up, hold it up
Speaker 2: if they want to wait to Thursday to get their
Speaker 2: best offer, which you know, with class off the board,
Speaker 2: price just went up, right if you're selling, so you know,
Speaker 2: you probably gonna have to wait for Thursday morning or
Speaker 2: Thursday afternoon. And when the first guy goes and I
Speaker 2: didn't get them, I'm gonna go to my second guy
Speaker 2: and try to close that. And then if that doesn't work,
Speaker 2: I go to my third guy, and then the fourth
Speaker 2: guy and the fifth guy. There's not enough to go around,
Speaker 2: so that's why it gets delayed. You know. I think
Speaker 2: we'll have a trickle of trades, you know, today and tomorrow.
Speaker 2: I think we'll see some action Wednesday, but I think
Speaker 2: Thursday for the reliever market is when you're gonna get
Speaker 2: the blizzard, the tornado, and the hurricane all on one.
Speaker 1: Ft fam we have a special offer for you. If
Speaker 1: you go to surf shark dot com slash foul or
Speaker 1: use the code foul at checkout, get yourself four extra
Speaker 1: months of surf Shark VPN. It's a risk free, thirty
Speaker 1: day money back guarantee and you can see more information
Speaker 1: in our show notes. It's surf shark dot com slash
Speaker 1: foul and why should they check out surf SHARKVPN crafts.
Speaker 4: Well, this is a no brainer because I travel a
Speaker 4: lot and I'm online. I need to have that security,
Speaker 4: and as a former catcher I need someone else to
Speaker 4: catch my digital threats online. Surf sharks the place.
Speaker 1: It's time to take control of your online security. Try
Speaker 1: surf Shark today and enjoy their thirty day money back guarantee.
Speaker 1: Secure your digital world now. Visit the link below, it's
Speaker 1: in the notes. Start surfing securely until next time, Stay
Speaker 1: tuned and stay safe. Check out surf shark dot com
Speaker 1: slash vowel.
Speaker 4: Is there a team that's lined up or primed to
Speaker 4: get two of these guys you talk about like everybody's
Speaker 4: bidding everybody. There's so many guys that need high leverage
Speaker 4: relievers and there's a decent amount out there. Is there
Speaker 4: a team that's in line to get two of them?
Speaker 2: I think when we say two of them, I think
Speaker 2: the two would have to be Bednar and Dennis Santana,
Speaker 2: which isn't really two impact closers. That really wasn't your question,
Speaker 2: but I think I think that's possible with the Phillies
Speaker 2: or Mets. They've had a lot of discussions with the
Speaker 2: with the pirates regarding that. But to answer your question, no,
Speaker 2: I don't think you're going to see a team that
Speaker 2: gets Dran and Bedner or Helsley and Durant. I don't
Speaker 2: think that's gonna happen because I think you're gonna I
Speaker 2: think each team's gonna do better taking advantage of who's left.
Speaker 2: You know, I talked to Jerry Depoto, the president of
Speaker 2: the Seattle Mariners, yesterday, and you know, I asked him
Speaker 2: if he was done after making his great trade for
Speaker 2: Josh Naler, and he said, no, I mean, I'm going
Speaker 2: all in. I'm there, I'm going and he's got his
Speaker 2: owners willing to spend money at this deadline. He has
Speaker 2: a farm system that's literally loaded. There's no reason why
Speaker 2: he shouldn't finish a job, and as a former major
Speaker 2: league reliever himself, that's his priority. That being said, I
Speaker 2: asked him if he was still in on Suaz, expecting
Speaker 2: a no, and he said, if I can add impact
Speaker 2: at third base, I'll do that too. So I think
Speaker 2: Seattle is gonna be very, very fascinating here over the
Speaker 2: next couple of days here, without a doubt. And I
Speaker 2: also think the other two teams that are very intriguing
Speaker 2: right now are the Cubs and the Phillies. And I
Speaker 2: just bring them up, you guys, just because I'm just
Speaker 2: hearing the Cubs are going after every top starter out there,
Speaker 2: right Edward Cabrera and San die Al Contra in Miami,
Speaker 2: Mitch Keller in Pittsburgh, Mackenzie Gore in Washington, and that
Speaker 2: Jed Hoyer is obsessed with getting one and he's got
Speaker 2: enough in his system he gets snap his fingers and
Speaker 2: get a deal done there. And Dave Dobrowski, you get
Speaker 2: the sense. And we covered and watched Dave Debrowski win
Speaker 2: a world championship with the Florida Marlins and the Boston
Speaker 2: Red Sox. We saw him get the Tigers there, the
Speaker 2: Phillies there, but he really wants to get that world
Speaker 2: championship ring with the Phillies. And I feel like this
Speaker 2: is the year that he's gonna absolutely put that accelerator
Speaker 2: at full blast, get that back end reliever that he wants.
Speaker 2: And I believe he was in on Class A and Kwan.
Speaker 2: I thought there was a chance he gets both of them.
Speaker 2: I won't be surprised if he's the guy that ends
Speaker 2: up with duran Or and he's the guy that ends
Speaker 2: up with Lewis Robert. That wouldn't surprise me at all.
Speaker 3: By the way, Jim, somebody just said I laughed about
Speaker 3: Jerry Depoto making trades like him. Aj Preller, Dave Dombrowski.
Speaker 4: I mean it's like, you'll.
Speaker 3: Get a trade, you get a trade, you'll get a trade.
Speaker 3: Everyone gets a trade.
Speaker 2: Boom boom boom boom boom.
Speaker 4: Right.
Speaker 3: I mean the only one, Jed Hoyer, is a little
Speaker 3: more calculated, but the other ones are like, oh, you
Speaker 3: want this, Okay, we'll give you that. We'll give you that.
Speaker 1: We'll trade.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we'll make trade just to make trade. Sometimes it
Speaker 3: feels like the Poto just made trades to make trades,
Speaker 3: just to say, hey, I tried guys with trades, but
Speaker 3: would take for them to have money.
Speaker 4: That's big news.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think he's been a little bit more measured
Speaker 2: though over the last year and a half, looking back, right,
Speaker 2: I think you're right. I think when he first went
Speaker 2: to Seattle, even with the Angels, he was wheeling and
Speaker 2: dealing left and right. I think he's learned to be
Speaker 2: a little bit more measured, going after specifically what he wants.
Speaker 2: I think he's worked really hard to build this team.
Speaker 2: I asked him yesterday, is this the best baseball team
Speaker 2: you've ever overseen? And he said yes. Remember he had
Speaker 2: that ninety eight win team with the Angels when he
Speaker 2: was GM. There had a lot of stars back then.
Speaker 2: But he says this is the best team he's had,
Speaker 2: and I would tend to agree with them. And I
Speaker 2: think when you look at it, you really want to
Speaker 2: finish the job when you're this close, because you know,
Speaker 2: if you're able to get a Duran or a bed
Speaker 2: Inard here for the back end of the bullpen, and
Speaker 2: if you were able to miraclely somehow get Suarez as well,
Speaker 2: you'd have as good a chance not only win the division,
Speaker 2: you'd have a good chance to win the World Series
Speaker 2: two with the pitching they have, And they're going to
Speaker 2: get Bryce Miller back soon, so they're going to be
Speaker 2: six starting pitchers deep if you include Logan Evans. So
Speaker 2: I think Depoto has grown with the job there. Like
Speaker 2: you know, it takes a long time to learn how
Speaker 2: to do this job right. It really does. And the
Speaker 2: more experience you have, the wiser you get, the less
Speaker 2: mistakes you make. And I think Jerry has turned the
Speaker 2: corner that way. But I totally understand understand where you're
Speaker 2: coming from there, JB.
Speaker 1: So we know a lot of these relievers are going
Speaker 1: to move. Do you feel the same way about the
Speaker 1: impact starters? And when I say impact starter, someone who
Speaker 1: you would trust in a playoff game, right, basically a
Speaker 1: top three guy. Do you think that Sandy al Contra
Speaker 1: actually will be moved McKenzie Gore, Mitch Keller, it sounded
Speaker 1: like over the weekend they were still deliberating about or
Speaker 1: I'm like, are they asked actually just trying to get
Speaker 1: the right price for him.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question, and my answer is I'm
Speaker 2: not sure. Okay, So what I'm being told by the
Speaker 2: Marlins camp is they are not going to trade al
Speaker 2: Contra for a discounted package. So if somebody wants to
Speaker 2: pay him as if he was the National League Cy
Speaker 2: Young Award winner like he was a few years ago,
Speaker 2: then they will trade him. But if no one's going
Speaker 2: to offer that package, then they're going to keep them.
Speaker 2: And they feel like they have figured out some things
Speaker 2: with him. They think he's gonna have a strong August
Speaker 2: and September, and they would prefer to wait until the
Speaker 2: offseason when teams understand that it costs two hundred million
Speaker 2: to go get a premium starter and then they'll see
Speaker 2: if they can get a better trade package there. So
Speaker 2: I'm not sure. I don't know if anyone's going to
Speaker 2: step up and pay that kind of price for all Contra.
Speaker 2: I mean, i'd ask you guys if you would. I mean,
Speaker 2: certainly his last start looked great, but with his inconsistencies
Speaker 2: all year and coming back from Tommy John, you know,
Speaker 2: sometimes it's the next year that you're better. So I
Speaker 2: would think it's more likely they trade Cabrera than all
Speaker 2: Contra at this point. Now, in terms of McKenzie, Gore
Speaker 2: is kind of a fascinating position. Right, So you have
Speaker 2: an interim GM in Mike de Bartolow and Washington, right,
Speaker 2: and that interim tag is huge, rights. It's in bright lights, right,
Speaker 2: with exclamation points all around the interim. So we know
Speaker 2: they're trying to move Mike Soroka and Kyle Finnigan, and
Speaker 2: they probably will, but they're not going to get a
Speaker 2: return that's gonna help the career. Mike the Bartolow, right,
Speaker 2: we're gonna look and say, okay, you got a solid
Speaker 2: mid level prospect for each of them. You know, nice going,
Speaker 2: and that's gonna be it, right, But what if what
Speaker 2: if he gets the huge package from the Cubs on
Speaker 2: Mackenzie Gore. What would that do for his career? If
Speaker 2: he walks into the owner and say, look at the
Speaker 2: package of these four guys that I can get for Gore,
Speaker 2: and this is what we think of these guys and
Speaker 2: how it will impact us going forward, that might allow
Speaker 2: him to get rid of that interim in front of
Speaker 2: the GM. Right, and they're going to hire a president
Speaker 2: of baseball operations, but perhaps let's just say they can
Speaker 2: get Eric Neander from Tampa to be the president of
Speaker 2: the Washington Nationals. He could keep to Bartolow in theory,
Speaker 2: as the GM or the owner could make that part
Speaker 2: of the deal. But I think the only way Mike
Speaker 2: de Bartolow probably gets to keep this is make a
Speaker 2: splash at the deadline and show people how good you
Speaker 2: are at what you do, and don't be afraid. The
Speaker 2: Nationals are not going to sign Mackenzie Gore long term.
Speaker 2: He's represented by Scott Bores and ownership is still upset
Speaker 2: about the Patrick Corbyn contract, the Steven Strasburg contract, the fact,
Speaker 2: they're still paying Max Schurz to to pitch for Toronto,
Speaker 2: So I kind of find it fascinating and look forward
Speaker 2: to seeing what happens there.
Speaker 3: By the way you asked me the question, I'll give
Speaker 3: you the answer, Jim, I would not trade for our contract.
Speaker 3: He's a number one because he hasn't pitched like it.
Speaker 3: And yes, I know he's cheap, but there's no guarantee
Speaker 3: he's going to bounce back. So no, I would not.
Speaker 3: But that's just me and I'm not a GM and
Speaker 3: I'm not My job's online, So I'm just saying, but
Speaker 3: let's move on to a different team. Let's move to
Speaker 3: a different things. Kansas City. Why is Kansas City buying?
Speaker 3: I mean, they're signing Lugo to an extension. Why did
Speaker 3: they bring in grit Chick if they're because I just
Speaker 3: don't see them being a team that can even if
Speaker 3: they sneak into the playoffs, can they do damage?
Speaker 2: No, I don't think so. They're buying because they don't
Speaker 2: have expiring contracts. They were in the playoffs last year.
Speaker 2: You know they're they're hoping to get Cole Reagan's back
Speaker 2: at some point. Noah Cameron's been really good in the rotation.
Speaker 2: If they traded Lugo, they weren't going to get the
Speaker 2: return that was going to be significant. And they quite
Speaker 2: frankly think that even if they don't win this year,
Speaker 2: they can bounce right back next year and be right
Speaker 2: back in it. And they you know, Luca has been
Speaker 2: really effective for them, and he the way he pitches,
Speaker 2: there's no reason to think he can't pitch this way
Speaker 2: for two or three more years. So I thought it
Speaker 2: was a really good move to sign him. Now. In
Speaker 2: terms of getting Gritchick and getting Adam Fraser, you know
Speaker 2: they're little moves, but you know, Gritchi can still hit
Speaker 2: left handed pitching Jack Caglion went down with a hamstring.
Speaker 2: You know he can fill in there. He's a major
Speaker 2: league fourth outfielder. Fraser can play different positions.
Speaker 1: You know.
Speaker 2: Look, we all want a team to improve by a
Speaker 2: yard or a foot or an inch, but sometimes a
Speaker 2: centimeter is makes you a little bit better. I think
Speaker 2: they would like to go bigger if they can. I
Speaker 2: think they would love to go get a big, powerful
Speaker 2: left fielder that can impact the middle of the lineup.
Speaker 2: That would be their goal. They'd like to use their
Speaker 2: catching depth in the minor leagues to do that. They
Speaker 2: haven't been able to do it. They're going to continue
Speaker 2: to try to do it, but without expiring contracts. And
Speaker 2: the fact that you're building around Bobby Witch Junior and
Speaker 2: mikel Garcia and Jack Caglione and Vinnie Pascantino. Salvador Perez
Speaker 2: is still performing and you still have two top catching
Speaker 2: prospects and Cardiage Jensen and Blake Mitchell coming. I understand
Speaker 2: where they are, you know, as Stevez is controllable, er
Speaker 2: seg is controllable. I think they need to keep adding
Speaker 2: and whether it for be this year or the next
Speaker 2: year or the year after. I kind of understand what
Speaker 2: they're trying to do here.
Speaker 4: Jamie, I gotta ask. We've talked about pitchers mostly. Some
Speaker 4: teams are getting some of the position players. Would you
Speaker 4: do because the Mets needa centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. For
Speaker 4: Mark Vento. Straight up.
Speaker 2: No, I'd hold on to Mark Vantos. I mean, I
Speaker 2: really like what I saw with Vano's last September and October,
Speaker 2: and I can't get that out of my head. I
Speaker 2: think I saw it, and I think we can bring
Speaker 2: that back, you know, Lewis Roberts kind of a polarizing guy. Right.
Speaker 2: We all love his tools. He's a plus defender in
Speaker 2: center field. He's got power, he's got speed. He hasn't
Speaker 2: hit for a couple of years. He's dealing, he's dealt
Speaker 2: with injuries. He's got a groin right now. You know,
Speaker 2: I would take a chance on him if it was
Speaker 2: the right spot to take a chance on him. I
Speaker 2: think it's risky, to be honest with you. You know,
Speaker 2: sometimes it doesn't look like he wants to play. You know,
Speaker 2: sometimes I don't know if is he kind of lacks
Speaker 2: a day's goal, not focused because he's been on the
Speaker 2: last place team the last several years, or because there's
Speaker 2: no help around the lineup to help him, so he
Speaker 2: ends up chasing pitches he normally wouldn't chase if there
Speaker 2: was more help around the lineup. Like I look at
Speaker 2: Robert and I would say to myself, if I were
Speaker 2: the Phillies, I would take a chance on him because
Speaker 2: I think if I could put his locker in between
Speaker 2: Schwarber and Harper, I think we'd have a chance of
Speaker 2: maximizing what he's capable of doing. It would be a
Speaker 2: good ballpark for him, putting him in a winning atmosphere
Speaker 2: and see what I can get. But I wouldn't give
Speaker 2: up too much to get him. I think, you know,
Speaker 2: if I were to give up a top ten prospect,
Speaker 2: probably one that's in the more six to ten range,
Speaker 2: that would probably make sense and then a throw in,
Speaker 2: But that would be about the extent of my interest.
Speaker 4: JB.
Speaker 3: If the White Sox go out mark Fiento's for Luis
Speaker 3: Strobert Jr. Chris Ketch would be doing backflips down Michigan
Speaker 3: Avenue tomorrow, trust me. I mean, I was just I
Speaker 3: was just in Chicago. Number one question is are we
Speaker 3: trading Louise Robert? I'm like, what can they get for him?
Speaker 3: Because of what you just said? So if he could
Speaker 3: get straight up, he would be.
Speaker 2: Doing back Oh, I know that's what That's why I
Speaker 2: said I wouldn't do Vento's for him.
Speaker 1: Also, right now, JB, you're not picking up the twenty
Speaker 1: mil option unless he picks it up for the last
Speaker 1: couple of months of the season. If you're a GM
Speaker 1: of almost any team right twenty.
Speaker 2: Mili, I'm not picking it up. No, no, right, So
Speaker 2: the value and I'm not king that much as I said,
Speaker 2: I'm just not too many questions with him.
Speaker 1: Last one, JB, I want, I'll do it for you.
Speaker 1: This little pat on the back the team. I think
Speaker 1: you've piped more than anyone else this year has just
Speaker 1: give it time. The Texas Rangers have won nine of
Speaker 1: ten games, so here they come. I want to get
Speaker 1: the Texas update. Astro's just got swept by the A's.
Speaker 1: The lead has gotten a little tight for them in
Speaker 1: the Al West. What do you have for us on
Speaker 1: the Rangers and the Astros over the next few days.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, let's start with the Astros. I talked to
Speaker 2: Dana Brown, the general manager of the Astros, yesterday. He
Speaker 2: was very clear what he was looking for at the deadline.
Speaker 2: He wants a left handed hitter, preferably an infielder that
Speaker 2: could play second or third base, but he would take
Speaker 2: a left fielder because they can move all two bay
Speaker 2: back into second base. Some of the names that I'm
Speaker 2: hearing from opposing gms as possible fits include Ryan O'Hearn
Speaker 2: of the Orioles, Brandon Lao of the Tampa Bay Rays,
Speaker 2: Ozzy Albi's of the Atlanta Braves. Although my Atlanta sources
Speaker 2: tell me that they haven't even talked about. Albe's okay,
Speaker 2: So there's that. And then the other thing is he
Speaker 2: wants a game three starter for the playoffs. Those are
Speaker 2: the two goals. They feel great about Valdez and Hunter
Speaker 2: Brown pitching games one and two. They love having a
Speaker 2: bray You and Hater in the back end, and they're
Speaker 2: left handed and set up guys. He would love to
Speaker 2: get that game three starter. They are going to get
Speaker 2: Spencer Getti off the IL coming up pretty soon, but
Speaker 2: if he can go out there and get an upgrade there,
Speaker 2: that's what he would like to do. And look, they're
Speaker 2: gonna have to make moves. I'm amazed that they're still
Speaker 2: in first place with no your Don Alvarez, no Jeremy Pana,
Speaker 2: no esac paratus, Tucker playing in Chicago, Bregman playing in Boston.
Speaker 2: To think that they're there is amazing to me. But
Speaker 2: they're gonna have a hard time staying in first place
Speaker 2: because Seattle got way better getting Nailer and they've got
Speaker 2: all their pitchers healthy now. And the Rangers, as I said,
Speaker 2: they were my preseason pick to win the division. Texas
Speaker 2: Rangers had the best TV ERA in the sport. By
Speaker 2: half a run. That's how they pitch, and they got
Speaker 2: the grom and evolved. You pitch games one and two.
Speaker 2: I text with Chris Young and Brett Boone over the weekend,
Speaker 2: try to get a feel for where they are. Pretty
Speaker 2: clear for me what they're trying to do right now.
Speaker 2: They want a high end reliever like Claus, who's now
Speaker 2: off the board. That would be the first goal. The
Speaker 2: second goal is they really want a right handed hitter
Speaker 2: as well. I'll be surprised if see why doesn't get
Speaker 2: both of them.
Speaker 3: Wow, yeah, al Pacino told me her name drop. Okay,
Speaker 3: like you just did No, you gotta do it.
Speaker 2: You gotta do it this time of year. These are
Speaker 2: direct sort of.
Speaker 1: Credibility, and yeah, ac credibility exactly. It's front office sew
Speaker 1: on Sunday.
Speaker 3: By the way, Kyle Tucker would be a great left
Speaker 3: handed bet.
Speaker 4: And he.
Speaker 1: Looked great, and there look great.
Speaker 3: They love Smith and and he's like he has been
Speaker 3: great for him.
Speaker 1: So I mean, well, now he's.
Speaker 3: Hurt, I know, but he was great for He was great.
Speaker 1: And it was a it was a it was a
Speaker 1: good trade for both sides. Jbupplcatulator this week, all right,
Speaker 1: sounds good.
Speaker 2: Thanks guys,