1
00:00:00,520 --> 00:00:02,160
Speaker 1: All right, let's hit the field.

2
00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:07,960
Speaker 2: Cody Bellinger, former Rookie of the Year, MVP, World Champion,

3
00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:12,000
Speaker 2: Silver Slugger, and the twenty twenty three Comeback Player of

4
00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,040
Speaker 2: the Year for the Chicago Cubs, but at just twenty

5
00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,080
Speaker 2: nine years old. Word round the campfire is that the

6
00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:21,959
Speaker 2: Chicago Cubs have made him available for trades with openings

7
00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:25,120
Speaker 2: in the outfield and at first base. The Yankees have

8
00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,840
Speaker 2: been seen as a fit and have been rumored to

9
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,200
Speaker 2: be involved. Tonight, we're speaking with Patrick Mooney, senior writer

10
00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:35,760
Speaker 2: for The Athletic covering the Cubs and Major League Baseball,

11
00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:38,080
Speaker 2: and the co host of one of our sister podcasts,

12
00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:42,519
Speaker 2: North Side Territory, about who Cody Bellinger is at this

13
00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:45,800
Speaker 2: point in his career and whether or not the Yankees

14
00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,560
Speaker 2: are a good fit. Catch comments, Ready, this is Pinstripe

15
00:00:49,640 --> 00:01:02,720
Speaker 2: Territory's all right, come back, everybody, Welcome back, and welcome

16
00:01:02,800 --> 00:01:08,399
Speaker 2: to Patrick Mooney making his Pinstripe Territory debut. Patrick, I

17
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,600
Speaker 2: feel like we're at that calumn before the storm phase

18
00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,760
Speaker 2: for the MLB off season. Are you ready for a

19
00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:16,120
Speaker 2: busy month of December?

20
00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,720
Speaker 3: Yeah, no doubt it. Each offseason had its own sort

21
00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,520
Speaker 3: of rhythm. But this is definitely kind of a time

22
00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,880
Speaker 3: where I guess most teams except for the Dodgers, sort

23
00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:29,080
Speaker 3: of shut it down for a little bit, and then

24
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,399
Speaker 3: obviously that week leading into the Winter Meetings.

25
00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,520
Speaker 1: And then the Winter Meetings show. I think it won't

26
00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:36,760
Speaker 1: be a show about nothing this time.

27
00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,640
Speaker 3: I think actually stuff will actually happen, which will be

28
00:01:39,680 --> 00:01:42,840
Speaker 3: a lot of good news for people like us to

29
00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,160
Speaker 3: need to come up with content.

30
00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:44,440
Speaker 1: You know.

31
00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:47,360
Speaker 4: Well, the good news is that Scott Boris is already

32
00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,840
Speaker 4: ahead of last year's pace in terms of getting his

33
00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,920
Speaker 4: guys signed. Yeah, so let's talk a little bit about

34
00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,120
Speaker 4: Cody Bellinger. Earlier this week and early or late last week,

35
00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:02,640
Speaker 4: there were some reports that the Cubs are possibly shoppingby

36
00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:06,120
Speaker 4: Cody Bellinger around on the trade market after he opted

37
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:09,840
Speaker 4: into his contract. As somebody who's in the know about

38
00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:12,640
Speaker 4: such things, are the rumors true and if so, how

39
00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:15,760
Speaker 4: serious are the Cubs about moving them and what's motivating

40
00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:16,600
Speaker 4: them to move him?

41
00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:22,680
Speaker 3: Well, look, I mean this front office is extremely open minded.

42
00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:27,840
Speaker 3: If Jed Hoyer could trade Anthony Rizzo, Javier Biaz and

43
00:02:27,880 --> 00:02:30,440
Speaker 3: Chris Bryant in like a twenty four hour period, he

44
00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,840
Speaker 3: certainly isn't gonna feel overly sentimental about Cody Bellinger's two

45
00:02:34,919 --> 00:02:38,600
Speaker 3: years with the Cubs, which have been very good for

46
00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:41,880
Speaker 3: Bellinger individually. But you know it was eighty three wins

47
00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:47,040
Speaker 3: each time. And you know we mentioned, you mentioned Scott Boris.

48
00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:51,120
Speaker 3: You know, this deal with the Cubs was designed for

49
00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:53,680
Speaker 3: him to become be a free agent right now, Like

50
00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,880
Speaker 3: all those Boris deals with the opt outs, like if

51
00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,480
Speaker 3: the player returns, usually something went wrong. And it's not

52
00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:04,040
Speaker 3: like Bellinger had a bad season. I think it's more

53
00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:10,160
Speaker 3: just he felt like there's a lot more there. We'll

54
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,080
Speaker 3: get into, you know, his defense, his health, some other stuff.

55
00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:17,560
Speaker 3: But ultimately, the Cubs, in a weird season, had a

56
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:22,200
Speaker 3: couple of really good things happen at the primary positions

57
00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,680
Speaker 3: where Bellinger has value, and that's Pete crow Armstrong becoming

58
00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,919
Speaker 3: a major league caliber centl fielder and Michael Bush becoming

59
00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,679
Speaker 3: a nice two way player on a pre arbitration salary.

60
00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,320
Speaker 3: So it's like, if Bellinger's not playing center or first,

61
00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,600
Speaker 3: you don't really want to make Saya Suzuki a full

62
00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,520
Speaker 3: time designated hitter in November, even though Bellinger's clearly a

63
00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,760
Speaker 3: superior defender in right field, a Gold Gloff caliber guy.

64
00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:51,840
Speaker 3: And you know, the Cubs don't spend like the Yankees.

65
00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:54,400
Speaker 3: They spend more than the White Sox and the teams

66
00:03:54,400 --> 00:03:59,040
Speaker 3: in their division, so that chunk roughly thirty million dollars.

67
00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,200
Speaker 3: They feel like they could maybe use that in other ways.

68
00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:05,600
Speaker 3: It's not like they're trying to just get rid of them.

69
00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,520
Speaker 3: It's more of kind of the reality of this offseason

70
00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:08,880
Speaker 3: for them.

71
00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,720
Speaker 4: Do you think that the market is going to show

72
00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:15,320
Speaker 4: more value for him as an outfielder or as a

73
00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:18,960
Speaker 4: first baseman. You've mentioned that he plays two positions. Obviously,

74
00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,679
Speaker 4: a lot of different teams have different needs. Are there

75
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:24,200
Speaker 4: people who are looking for a center fielder and I

76
00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:26,400
Speaker 4: know the team's looking for a first baseman the Yankees are.

77
00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:28,919
Speaker 4: Are there multiple teams that are in on him? Do

78
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:29,440
Speaker 4: you think.

79
00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:31,000
Speaker 1: Well?

80
00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:34,320
Speaker 3: I think his ultimate value is as a center fielder,

81
00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:36,960
Speaker 3: and I don't know how long he would stick there.

82
00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,279
Speaker 3: But if you're only talking about a year, I don't

83
00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:40,520
Speaker 3: know if he's going to be as good as he

84
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,440
Speaker 3: was in center when he first came to the Cubs. Clearly,

85
00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,200
Speaker 3: p Crow Armstrong, while still very raw hitter, showed flashes

86
00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,760
Speaker 3: of being a Gold Glove caliber center fielder for.

87
00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 1: Years to come.

88
00:04:53,520 --> 00:04:57,520
Speaker 3: So as you know, like two way center fielders are

89
00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:02,039
Speaker 3: really hard to find, and I'd imagine if you're the

90
00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:05,440
Speaker 3: Yankees that maybe Aaron Judge not playing center field all

91
00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:08,080
Speaker 3: the time would be a good way to maybe protect

92
00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:14,880
Speaker 3: your investment, very long term investment. But otherwise, I think

93
00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,599
Speaker 3: part of it, and this is where he did fit

94
00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:20,760
Speaker 3: well with Craig Counsel, of you can move him around.

95
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,240
Speaker 3: I mean, he can play all three outfield positions, he

96
00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:28,520
Speaker 3: can play first base. He does it all with really

97
00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:32,960
Speaker 3: good like game awareness, he has speed. Like there's a

98
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,040
Speaker 3: lot to like about Cody Belinger, even though his name

99
00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,040
Speaker 3: has been in trade rumors for a while and also

100
00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,800
Speaker 3: in that kind of free agent cycle of not quite

101
00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:45,760
Speaker 3: getting what he wanted or not anticipating that he'd get

102
00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:46,320
Speaker 3: what he wanted.

103
00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,960
Speaker 1: That's why he's staying with the Cubs. But I don't know,

104
00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:50,000
Speaker 1: he's a nice.

105
00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:55,360
Speaker 4: Yeah, I like good baseball players. He seems like he's

106
00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:58,360
Speaker 4: a good baseball and right now, the Yankees are kind

107
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,800
Speaker 4: of lacking in some of those tertiary skills like base

108
00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:03,880
Speaker 4: running and things like that. You know, it kind of

109
00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:06,080
Speaker 4: felt weird being in the World Series where everything's on

110
00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:09,120
Speaker 4: the line and you're conceding your defense, you're conceding the

111
00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,280
Speaker 4: base running and just trying to win on strikeouts and

112
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,120
Speaker 4: home runs there. So, you know, I think there's a

113
00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:17,960
Speaker 4: lot he could add to the Yankees. So let's talk

114
00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:20,880
Speaker 4: a little bit about where he is offensively at this

115
00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:25,760
Speaker 4: point of his career. Obviously, he had a really great

116
00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,000
Speaker 4: bounce back twenty twenty three. Numbers kind of dipped a

117
00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:31,280
Speaker 4: little bit this year. They took a little bit of

118
00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:32,680
Speaker 4: a downturn. We could take a look at some of

119
00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,839
Speaker 4: the stat cast numbers as we talk through it, but

120
00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,600
Speaker 4: you see the ex Wobo was down, the barrel percentage

121
00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:41,240
Speaker 4: is down, hard hit percentage is in the fifteenth percentile.

122
00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:43,919
Speaker 4: Bat speed is something that worries me. It's in the

123
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,120
Speaker 4: thirteenth percentile, and the chase percentage was down. But he

124
00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:50,480
Speaker 4: does square the ball up. He's very good at avoiding strikeouts.

125
00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,279
Speaker 4: He's in the eighty fifth percentile. And for those of

126
00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,359
Speaker 4: you listening, he's also in the seventy seventh percentile of

127
00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,239
Speaker 4: running speed. And he's above average as a baseball player

128
00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:03,840
Speaker 4: in batting run value, base running value, and fielding run value.

129
00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:06,960
Speaker 4: How do you kind of look at his profile versus

130
00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,400
Speaker 4: you know what your eye test tells you.

131
00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:13,679
Speaker 3: Well, I think there's two things you said there, Derek

132
00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:15,880
Speaker 3: that really stood out, Like, I'm not going to pretend

133
00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,360
Speaker 3: to know more about the Yankees and than you do,

134
00:07:18,440 --> 00:07:21,080
Speaker 3: but I don't know. Watching the World Series reading some

135
00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:25,440
Speaker 3: of the coverage, it was, you know, a certain lack

136
00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:32,360
Speaker 3: of fundamentals or situational awareness, just some of those little

137
00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,920
Speaker 3: things that Cody Bellinger does do well. Obviously he grew

138
00:07:35,960 --> 00:07:40,080
Speaker 3: up as the son of a former Yankee, Clay Bellinger,

139
00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,240
Speaker 3: like just someone who kind of knows what he's doing

140
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:45,800
Speaker 3: out there. And I love the idea of I like

141
00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,200
Speaker 3: good baseball players because sometimes I feel like we twist

142
00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,800
Speaker 3: ourselves into knots trying to like explain this or that.

143
00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,120
Speaker 3: Like he does a lot of things well at an

144
00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:55,240
Speaker 3: above average level.

145
00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:56,080
Speaker 1: Now, those.

146
00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,400
Speaker 3: Blue zones we're seeing, I think think is part of

147
00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:04,400
Speaker 3: why he came back to the Cubs last year. That

148
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,880
Speaker 3: was part of the Cubs calculation that there's a lot

149
00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 3: of teams out there that are so analytically driven. Everyone

150
00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:16,160
Speaker 3: has their models and their systems or whatever, but there

151
00:08:16,200 --> 00:08:18,720
Speaker 3: are certain teams that are so locked in on that

152
00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,720
Speaker 3: are going to see all those blue areas and be like,

153
00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:25,960
Speaker 3: now we're good. We're like, that's gonna give us a

154
00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:31,559
Speaker 3: lot of concern. I think what Scott Boris would say

155
00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,480
Speaker 3: is he loves the you know, the sprint speed, the

156
00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:39,120
Speaker 3: arm strength, and I do think he has a point there,

157
00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:44,360
Speaker 3: like Cody's made adjustments, like you're in this league for

158
00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:47,280
Speaker 3: so long you have to figure out, you know, that

159
00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,960
Speaker 3: cat and mouse game. I do think he's done some

160
00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,080
Speaker 3: of that, and like now he's almost got penalized for

161
00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,760
Speaker 3: it in a sense, if that, if that makes sense,

162
00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:01,800
Speaker 3: and one interesting I'm not sure how this would play

163
00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:04,439
Speaker 3: at Yankee Stadium. I'm sure it would played better though

164
00:09:05,840 --> 00:09:08,600
Speaker 3: as a left handed hitter. Wrigley Field this past year

165
00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:13,319
Speaker 3: was just a brutal place to hit that it ranked

166
00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:16,720
Speaker 3: either at or near the bottom of the majors. I

167
00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,240
Speaker 3: want to say, maybe twenty ninth, maybe just ahead of Seattle,

168
00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:22,119
Speaker 3: which is very unusual.

169
00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,920
Speaker 1: So I do think that did suppress his numbers somewhat.

170
00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:32,120
Speaker 3: And also, you know, the kind of an average offensive

171
00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,560
Speaker 3: player now, like those numbers are just suppressed across the board,

172
00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:39,800
Speaker 3: so that even if he wasn't performing like an MVP,

173
00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,440
Speaker 3: just being like a you know, solidly above average offensive

174
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,880
Speaker 3: player is a big deal, even though his numbers didn't

175
00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:49,160
Speaker 3: really like blow you away.

176
00:09:49,800 --> 00:09:54,000
Speaker 4: Yeah, what interests me is the base running. You know,

177
00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:57,920
Speaker 4: I think about that movie Rocky where they asked, you know,

178
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,800
Speaker 4: Stallone's character, why do you like Adrian and he says, oh,

179
00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,240
Speaker 4: we feel gaps. You know, got guts, and I feel

180
00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:06,520
Speaker 4: like I feel like Bellinger would fill some gaps. So

181
00:10:06,559 --> 00:10:08,320
Speaker 4: we don't know that the Yankees don't run the bases to.

182
00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:10,840
Speaker 1: What they does like drunks.

183
00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:16,160
Speaker 4: So you know, I see that eighty percent or percentile

184
00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,360
Speaker 4: base running value, and I see the sprint speed, I

185
00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,439
Speaker 4: see the defense, and I'm thinking, well, maybe he fills

186
00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,520
Speaker 4: a couple of gaps for us. But let's let's talk

187
00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:27,120
Speaker 4: a little bit. We can move on and talk a

188
00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:29,520
Speaker 4: little bit about his defense. Now you mentioned that his

189
00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:34,240
Speaker 4: primary value is as a center fielder. Obviously, Yankees have

190
00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,400
Speaker 4: a pretty good offensive centerfielder in judge. I contend he

191
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,120
Speaker 4: should be playing right field, which maybe he will if

192
00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:43,640
Speaker 4: Sodo doesn't resign, And if Sodo does resign, he's probably

193
00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:45,719
Speaker 4: gonna have to move to left. But then you got

194
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,839
Speaker 4: Jason Dominguez, who's their top prospect, had some defensive struggles

195
00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,960
Speaker 4: but you know, as a centerfielder, he should be okay.

196
00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:55,120
Speaker 1: Do you think.

197
00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:58,520
Speaker 4: Bellinger would be okay, you know, moving to first base

198
00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:01,360
Speaker 4: for the foreseeable future or will they hurt him contract

199
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:04,480
Speaker 4: time when he ultimately does become a free agent.

200
00:11:06,320 --> 00:11:06,400
Speaker 2: No.

201
00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:10,360
Speaker 1: I mean this guy is pretty unselfish.

202
00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:14,600
Speaker 3: He like he would and I will get to kind

203
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:19,920
Speaker 3: of what you ask, But teammates really enjoy playing with

204
00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:24,480
Speaker 3: him and just kind of he shows up. He loves baseball,

205
00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,880
Speaker 3: which is another one of those things where like should

206
00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,960
Speaker 3: be obvious or you think would be automatic, and that's

207
00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:34,080
Speaker 3: not always the case. But this guy loves getting to

208
00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,600
Speaker 3: this get into the field, hanging out at the cage,

209
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,200
Speaker 3: talking baseball with teammates, like you know, cracking jokes, like

210
00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:46,720
Speaker 3: all that kind of stuff. And so because of that mentality,

211
00:11:46,800 --> 00:11:48,760
Speaker 3: like he just wants to be out there. And I

212
00:11:48,760 --> 00:11:54,280
Speaker 3: think his you know, highest theoretical value would be as

213
00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:58,200
Speaker 3: an everyday center fielder. I'm just not sure like how

214
00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:04,040
Speaker 3: long that runway you know, realistically exists. But you know,

215
00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:08,680
Speaker 3: he's moved around without complaint for a long time. I

216
00:12:08,720 --> 00:12:13,319
Speaker 3: think in the modern game, when you're looking at matchups

217
00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:16,320
Speaker 3: and you know, planning for bullpens, like to have a

218
00:12:16,360 --> 00:12:22,520
Speaker 3: piece like that in your everyday group is should be

219
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:27,880
Speaker 3: really appealing. And so I think, you know this happened

220
00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,960
Speaker 3: with the Cubs kind of scenario you're painting about, Well,

221
00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:31,960
Speaker 3: if this young guy pops or you know, this guy

222
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,760
Speaker 3: comes up from Triple A, like that happened with the Cubs,

223
00:12:36,080 --> 00:12:40,439
Speaker 3: and he fit in seamlessly. He just didn't have that

224
00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:45,560
Speaker 3: like MVP caliber year and wasn't on the field like

225
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:49,560
Speaker 3: long enough consistently enough to be have that all Star

226
00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:55,600
Speaker 3: caliber season. But there's still like a lot of little

227
00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,319
Speaker 3: things that add up. I think the issue with the

228
00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:00,679
Speaker 3: Cubs this point is he's being paid like a star,

229
00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,960
Speaker 3: and the first year there he was that guy. I mean,

230
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,160
Speaker 3: he showed up in the MVP voting, he carried their

231
00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,240
Speaker 3: offense for months.

232
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:12,080
Speaker 1: They dug out of this hole.

233
00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:14,880
Speaker 3: I think it was ten games under five hundred and

234
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:19,000
Speaker 3: around this time the Yankees they were on him. You know,

235
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:23,760
Speaker 3: the Cubs, you could have traded him, and in very

236
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:27,000
Speaker 3: far hindsight, maybe they should have since they're one game out.

237
00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,880
Speaker 1: But this is a guy who like transformed.

238
00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:33,640
Speaker 3: The team, and part of it is his offense, and

239
00:13:33,679 --> 00:13:37,720
Speaker 3: part of it is that defensive versatility that really gives

240
00:13:37,760 --> 00:13:39,959
Speaker 3: you a lot of options.

241
00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:43,400
Speaker 4: Very very interesting. Let's talk about his health because you

242
00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,720
Speaker 4: mentioned that he wasn't on the field a ton. He's

243
00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:49,840
Speaker 4: definitely had some injuries over the years. You know, you

244
00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:54,480
Speaker 4: see the shoulder surgery there, he heard it during the celebration.

245
00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,440
Speaker 4: You know, He's had some fractures here and there, a

246
00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,120
Speaker 4: lot of collisions. This year, he got hit by a

247
00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,319
Speaker 4: pitch and miss some time. I'm just gonna go ahead

248
00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:06,840
Speaker 4: and quote Moneyball. Is he healthy? Is he a healthy player?

249
00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:10,520
Speaker 1: I would say yes. I mean, I think.

250
00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,959
Speaker 3: Maybe this is what I should have how I should

251
00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:16,800
Speaker 3: have answered the center field questions, like, yeah, he's ran

252
00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,520
Speaker 3: into a lot of walls. And as you get like

253
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:23,280
Speaker 3: I think he's maybe twenty nine now, as you get older,

254
00:14:23,320 --> 00:14:27,080
Speaker 3: that kind of gets harder. I think there is an

255
00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:32,520
Speaker 3: element of playing smarter that I do think he understands now.

256
00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,800
Speaker 3: I think you can break up some of those injuries,

257
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:37,400
Speaker 3: like the A lot of them were kind of like

258
00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:44,040
Speaker 3: freak injuries and not really like chronic stuff. The accumulation

259
00:14:44,160 --> 00:14:48,800
Speaker 3: of those injuries in LA really got him out of source.

260
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:52,800
Speaker 1: That's part of why he had this precipitous.

261
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:56,600
Speaker 3: Fall from those MVP World Series heights, like when you're

262
00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:02,760
Speaker 3: trying to compensate, when you're trying to rush things, when

263
00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,160
Speaker 3: you're trying to get back on track, like that's when

264
00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:06,440
Speaker 3: your offensive game.

265
00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:08,560
Speaker 1: Really suffers.

266
00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,840
Speaker 3: And so I think Bellinger at this point has proven

267
00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:20,440
Speaker 3: that there is considerable distance from that kind of rock

268
00:15:20,520 --> 00:15:27,480
Speaker 3: bottom point in LA. Now, is he gonna get all

269
00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,200
Speaker 3: the way back to where he was in whatever year

270
00:15:31,240 --> 00:15:34,040
Speaker 3: that was, you know, seventeen eighteen nineteen, when he was

271
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:39,640
Speaker 3: like in a you know, budding superstar. I don't know,

272
00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:41,520
Speaker 3: but I do think you could catch the lightning in

273
00:15:41,560 --> 00:15:43,440
Speaker 3: a bottle with this guy for a couple of months

274
00:15:43,480 --> 00:15:45,240
Speaker 3: the way that the Cubs did in the summer of

275
00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,800
Speaker 3: twenty three and have a good like I think his

276
00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:53,960
Speaker 3: floor is a lot higher now. You know, I was

277
00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:59,400
Speaker 3: there in Baltimore when that fastball hit his hand. I mean,

278
00:15:59,400 --> 00:16:04,400
Speaker 3: there's nothing can really do about that. And I will say,

279
00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:06,920
Speaker 3: to his credit, you know, maybe part of why the

280
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:10,360
Speaker 3: numbers weren't exactly where he would have wanted. He played

281
00:16:10,400 --> 00:16:12,120
Speaker 3: through a lot of stuff, I mean playing You know,

282
00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,240
Speaker 3: he came back faster from the broken ribs and the

283
00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:19,200
Speaker 3: broken finger, faster than the Cubs anticipated. Craig council flat

284
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,080
Speaker 3: out confirmed that, Like, yeah, I was a little a

285
00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:26,680
Speaker 3: little surprised, And I do think that speaks to his

286
00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:32,360
Speaker 3: competitiveness and some of the intangibles he would bring to

287
00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,800
Speaker 3: whatever team he's playing for next year.

288
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,800
Speaker 4: All right, So another quote from Moneyball, he's healthy ish.

289
00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:40,560
Speaker 4: It sounds like he's healthy.

290
00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:43,280
Speaker 1: Day, right, you know.

291
00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,720
Speaker 4: So so let's talk about the price tag. As with

292
00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:50,560
Speaker 4: all things, there is a price. Obviously, he carries with

293
00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:53,520
Speaker 4: him a lot of money, and typically when a player

294
00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:55,400
Speaker 4: makes that kind of money and a team wants to

295
00:16:55,480 --> 00:16:59,600
Speaker 4: unload it, the prospect hall is generally not huge because

296
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,800
Speaker 4: you know, you don't have to pay that extra leverage

297
00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,119
Speaker 4: in prospects. But if teams are looking at him in

298
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,800
Speaker 4: center field, other teams are looking at him at first base,

299
00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,400
Speaker 4: there could be some competition, so you'd imagine that they'll

300
00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:12,639
Speaker 4: get something back for him. So what are your thoughts

301
00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:15,440
Speaker 4: on the price tag for somebody like Cody Belcher?

302
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:22,399
Speaker 3: I would say one, the Cubs are not desperate to

303
00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,600
Speaker 3: unload Bellinger's contract. To my understanding, there has not been

304
00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:30,520
Speaker 3: some sort of like mandate from ownership that they have

305
00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:36,880
Speaker 3: to cut to a certain number, you know, by whatever

306
00:17:37,040 --> 00:17:39,879
Speaker 3: January first, I'm just making making up dates here, Like

307
00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:46,399
Speaker 3: they have pretty general understanding of where they're gonna be

308
00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,880
Speaker 3: year to year, and Cubs ownership sets that around.

309
00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,800
Speaker 1: The CBT, they are.

310
00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:59,480
Speaker 3: Fairly far underneath that it's gonna go quick because they

311
00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:02,320
Speaker 3: have to get at least one legit starting pitcher, they'd

312
00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:07,440
Speaker 3: like to get another catcher, they would like to.

313
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,479
Speaker 1: Throw a bunch more arms at their bullpen.

314
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,360
Speaker 3: That's just kind of like basic roster stuff to say

315
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,080
Speaker 3: nothing of like how do you go for mayighty three

316
00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:16,000
Speaker 3: wins to ninety wins?

317
00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,639
Speaker 1: Or what do you really want to do this offseason?

318
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:24,120
Speaker 3: So that's why they have to have these conversations of Okay,

319
00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:29,280
Speaker 3: if they can unload that, unload Bellinger and his contract,

320
00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:35,160
Speaker 3: maybe that opens another lane for one of several well

321
00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,679
Speaker 3: regarded prospects who are essentially at the Triple A level

322
00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,320
Speaker 3: now or have had a cup of coffee in the majors.

323
00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,919
Speaker 3: Could you then maybe get just do more of this

324
00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:53,480
Speaker 3: offseason in other areas. That's kind of the logic here.

325
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Speaker 3: I don't think the Cubs really need more a ball prospects,

326
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:02,200
Speaker 3: to be honest, Like, this is a well regarded farm system,

327
00:19:02,600 --> 00:19:04,840
Speaker 3: it's a front office that's under a lot of pressure

328
00:19:05,200 --> 00:19:09,520
Speaker 3: to get this offseason right and make the playoffs next year.

329
00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:14,960
Speaker 3: So I would imagine they would want some form of

330
00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:21,359
Speaker 3: major league talent or like close to major league ready talent,

331
00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 3: and like teams generally don't give that up. I will

332
00:19:26,320 --> 00:19:30,520
Speaker 3: say Jet Hoyer has a pretty good working relationship with

333
00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 3: Brian Cashman, and that the Cubs like what the Yankees do,

334
00:19:36,359 --> 00:19:42,320
Speaker 3: meaning they liked Tayden was an esky They've hired, you know,

335
00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:45,480
Speaker 3: think at least one I mean the new Marlins pitching coach,

336
00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:49,960
Speaker 3: Evan Moscow, sorry Daniel Moscos, I always get he came

337
00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,080
Speaker 3: up in the Yankee system. They traded Mark later Junior

338
00:19:55,080 --> 00:19:59,280
Speaker 3: for a couple of guys who the reliever neely made

339
00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,360
Speaker 3: his major league d with the Cubs, and they added

340
00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,440
Speaker 3: I may pronounce this wrong, I think it's Ben Knowles.

341
00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:07,560
Speaker 3: They added him to the forty man Like they like

342
00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,600
Speaker 3: their players, they like how they developed them, they like

343
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:16,359
Speaker 3: their kind of pitching development structure. So like, I don't know,

344
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,560
Speaker 3: in the course of all those deals, I'm sure they

345
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:21,720
Speaker 3: have a pretty good idea of what cash Men sort

346
00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:28,159
Speaker 3: of values or what his inventory is. And at the

347
00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:30,440
Speaker 3: same time, like I don't know, how many teams are

348
00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:36,560
Speaker 3: gonna have enough payroll flexibility to take on Bellinger, are

349
00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,480
Speaker 3: gonna like the player enough to value those intangible things

350
00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,840
Speaker 3: we talked about earlier and be willing to actually, like,

351
00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:46,880
Speaker 3: you know, kind of go for it for a guy

352
00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,160
Speaker 3: could only be there for one year.

353
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 1: So I still think.

354
00:20:51,600 --> 00:20:55,480
Speaker 3: I'm so expecting to see Bellinger like in Arizona, you know,

355
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,080
Speaker 3: shortly after the Super Bowl. But I have a sense

356
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:02,600
Speaker 3: that these rumors are not going to go away like

357
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:03,679
Speaker 3: at all.

358
00:21:04,119 --> 00:21:07,119
Speaker 1: I think be interesting to see what happens with Juan Soto.

359
00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:10,680
Speaker 3: That was part of the reason why the Cups thought

360
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,720
Speaker 3: he might opt out, and that Boris could position Bellinger

361
00:21:14,760 --> 00:21:19,560
Speaker 3: as a good, solid, left handed hitter for the teams

362
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:22,080
Speaker 3: who missed out on Sodo. Obviously He's not want Soto

363
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:29,080
Speaker 3: but to get a really nice piece for a contending team.

364
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,439
Speaker 1: So I think that logic is now applied to the Cups.

365
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:35,919
Speaker 4: Very very interesting. One last question before I let you go,

366
00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,320
Speaker 4: how did Jack Neely look after they called him up.

367
00:21:38,560 --> 00:21:40,959
Speaker 4: I was rooting for the Yankees to bring him up.

368
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,399
Speaker 4: I liked what I saw from him in the minor leagues.

369
00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:44,480
Speaker 4: How do you look?

370
00:21:46,160 --> 00:21:47,320
Speaker 1: I think he had a rough.

371
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:52,040
Speaker 3: Outing and then kind of it was kind of hard

372
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:56,639
Speaker 3: to crack the circle of trust at that point, but

373
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 3: it comes a really high on him. I mean, he

374
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:02,120
Speaker 3: is like a legit, you know, six seven, six' eight

375
00:22:02,359 --> 00:22:04,679
Speaker 3: like he. Is The yankees do a good job of

376
00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:09,920
Speaker 3: like finding those just big, dudes you, know for those

377
00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 3: short inning relief, first and you, know they like they're

378
00:22:16,359 --> 00:22:20,240
Speaker 3: certainly putting him in that mix for next. Year and

379
00:22:20,280 --> 00:22:24,080
Speaker 3: they've shown that they don't like to pay big money for.

380
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:28,320
Speaker 3: RELIEVERS i guess they did when they traded For Rodess

381
00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:32,440
Speaker 3: chapman a while, ago but at this point in, time

382
00:22:32,520 --> 00:22:33,480
Speaker 3: they really like just.

383
00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,560
Speaker 1: Kind of the volume, approach just throwing a bunch of

384
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:42,720
Speaker 1: arms at the later. Innings And neely is certainly someone

385
00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,600
Speaker 1: who could really earn a nice.

386
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:52,280
Speaker 3: Opportunity that's kind of how you, Know scott F ross

387
00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:54,640
Speaker 3: was a great guy In. CHICAGO i know hasn't worked

388
00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,840
Speaker 3: out thus far In New. York he hasn't stayed, healthy

389
00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:00,199
Speaker 3: but you, know he was a nice success story for

390
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,479
Speaker 3: them as, well and a guy who kept earning more

391
00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:08,800
Speaker 3: and more opportunities Than i'd Imagine neely And wesnsky in

392
00:23:08,880 --> 00:23:13,359
Speaker 3: the same way of just they have some holes in this.

393
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,080
Speaker 1: Roster they, know, everyone pitchers always get. Hurt you. Know that,

394
00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,119
Speaker 1: was you, know one of the biggest stories in baseball this.

395
00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 3: Year SO i think a lot of THOSE X yankees

396
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:25,439
Speaker 3: will be on The Wrigley field radar.

397
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:25,800
Speaker 1: Here.

398
00:23:26,119 --> 00:23:28,800
Speaker 4: Wow, YEAH i think Wes nesky could end up being

399
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:30,760
Speaker 4: a solid. Pitcher The yankees are good at putting together

400
00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 4: the serviceable type of pictures like THE Jp sears and

401
00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:37,320
Speaker 4: The Randy vasquez and all these. Guys so best of

402
00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,920
Speaker 4: luck watching it this. YEAR i hope that you guys

403
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:43,159
Speaker 4: have a busy. Offseason Patrick moodey Of The athletic and

404
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,439
Speaker 4: Of North Side, territory one of the sister podcasts Of

405
00:23:46,880 --> 00:23:51,520
Speaker 4: Pinstripe territory and Of Foul, territory thanks a lot for joining,

406
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,199
Speaker 4: us and to everybody, watching please like and subscribe and

407
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,520
Speaker 4: go subscribe To patrick's channel North Side.

408
00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: Territory, patrick thank you very much.

409
00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 4: Much have a great.

410
00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:04,159
Speaker 1: Weekend thanks so. Much, derek same to. You talk to you, soon.

411
00:24:04,359 --> 00:24:05,280
Speaker 4: All, right, Guys we'll see you.

412
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:13,600
Speaker 2: Later if you enjoyed this, video please drop a like

413
00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 2: and give us a. Subscribe it helps Other yankees fans

414
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,720
Speaker 2: find the. Channel we're also on all your favorite podcast

415
00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:23,640
Speaker 2: platforms and social. Media join the, community have some. Fun

416
00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:32,760
Speaker 2: we're here after every. Game this is pinstripe. Territory