Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory w/Ken Rosenthal: AL East Chaos, Rangers still alive, Braves add Kim, Padres injury bug

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Fair Territory w/Ken Rosenthal: AL East Chaos, Rangers still alive, Braves add Kim, Padres injury bug · Foul Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welgo everyone to the Monday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal, and we do have a lot to talk
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: about on this Monday. As I just tweeted, people often
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: ask me, after all this time covering baseball, this is
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: my thirty ninth season, do I ever get sick of it?
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Do I ever get bored? And the answer is no.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: And the answer is no because it is so interesting
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: this sport on a daily basis, on a seasonal basis,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: year after year. This weekend alone, we had things happen
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: that we didn't really expect. And I'm not talking about
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Trevor Story's ridiculous hole wrote off the Pesky Pole, which
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: was very cool. I'm talking about some races that suddenly
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: are races that really weren't before. I'm talking about a
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: move that took place, a post deadline roster move, transaction
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: that kind of came out of nowhere. I'm talking about
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: a lot of things. So let's start today with the
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Al East and with the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen difficulties
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: and the tightening of this particular race with the Red
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: Sox and Yankees now only two and a half games back.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: Let's look at the standings to start the show, and
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: we'll go from there. As I just said, you have
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: the Blue Jays up top, still in a good position.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: We're a month away from the season ending. Less than that,
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: there's still two and a half games up on both
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the Red Sox and Yankees. The problem is the Blue
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Jays bullpen is collapsing. And let me take you through
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: the week that was, because this was as horrific a
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: week for a bullpen as you will see from a
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: contender from bad teams. Yeah, this will happen. So Tuesday,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: this is going back Last Tuesday, Jays lead the Twins
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: five to three. In the ninth, Jeff Hoffman allows a
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: solo homer by Mickey Gasper and a three run shot
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: by Matt Walner. Jays lose seven to five. Friday, Bieber
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: versus peralta great matchup, great game, scoreless into the sixth.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: The Brewers score five runs in the six This was
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: off Brendan Little and Lewis Varland. Then Saturday, one one
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: into the ninth against the same Brewers, Hoffman back in
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the game, Jackson curio home run, Christian Yellich home run,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the Brewers get another run. They win for to one.
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: And then on Monday, just yesterday, four to two lead
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: over the Reds in the ninth, Tommy Lance and Little
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: combined to allow three runs in a five to four loss.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Four horrific bullpen losses in the span of a week. Now,
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: the problem is when you have a situation like this
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: developed at this time of year, there isn't any way
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: to go outside. You can't make trades. It's over the deadline,
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: it's past. All you can do is look for help
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: from within. And I want to show you a tweet
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: from John Morosi last night that illustrates the current problem.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: And it goes beyond anyone pitcher, as JP says, and
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: it goes beyond Jeff Hoffman, who's allowed a ton of homers.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: The solution begins as JP wrights with more throwing more strikes.
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: Over the last thirty days, Jay's relievers averaging five point
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: sixty five walks per nine. That is the worst mark
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: in Major League Baseball over that period. So, now, what
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: does the bigger picture look like? In the Ale East,
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: the Yankees and Red Sox each have one series left
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: against the Blue Jays, and for the Yankees in particular,
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the schedule is about to get real interesting. We saw
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: what happen to the Yankees against the Red Sox in
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: New York. They got swept. Then we saw them go
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: six to one against the Nationals and White Sox. Good
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: for them, they beat up on bad teams. Well, here
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: we go. Now you see the schedule right there. First
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: fourth series from this point on at Houston, Toronto at
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: home for three, Detroit at home for three, and then
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: at Boston for three, and then the final four series
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: are much easier at Minnesota for three, at Baltimore for three,
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: and then a home stand against the White Sox and
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Orioles to close it out. The Red Sox schedule is
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: not quite as in contrast as we go along here,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: but it's kind of interesting too. They've got another West
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: coast trip coming to West Sacramento, where the A's are
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: playing very well, they're dangerous offensively, and where the Tigers
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: were just swept last weekend, and then Arizona and the
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Red Sox and their season with six games against the
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: Blue Jays and also the Tigers and the Tigers. By
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: that point they will have clinched almost certainly, and they
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: will be just lining up their playoff rotation. So I
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: don't expect that series to be particularly taxing, but the
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: Red Sox schedule is kind of interesting as well. So
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: the Jays have a problem here. They've got Lewis Barrowins,
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: a reliever they acquire from the Twins at the deadline
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: they thought was going to be really good for them.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: He was really good for the Twins. They can't fix him.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: It seems like they've got Imi Garcia, who is out
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: for the season scheduled for elbow surgery, and Chris Bassett,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: their starter, one of their better starters, said yesterday, well,
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: it's honest, starters, we're not going deep enough into games.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: That is not really true. Ba'st went six yesterday. In August,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: the Jays were third third in the majors in starts
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: or i'm sorry, innings per start from their starters, so
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: they were doing fine in that regard. Now, yes, the
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: bullpen is tired. All bullpens are tired at this time
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: of year. It's going to be really interesting to see
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: how the Jas come out of this, because I'm not
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: sure there is a fix here. We'll see, you never know.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Eric lower goes to the bullpen. Now, maybe it stabilizes,
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: Maybe the rotation starts going deep, everybody gets a little arrest.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: Who knows. You never know what's going to happen in
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: this game. And for another example of that, look at
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: the Texas Rangers. Here is a team that has been
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: underachieving all season, a team that all of us were
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: ready to write off after their latest injury wave. In
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: a span of three days last week, they lost Corey
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: Seeger and Nathan Valdi, arguably their two most important players.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: In a span of six teen days, they had eight
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: players go on the il, including those two and Marcus Simeon,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: another one of their important players. And now here they are,
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: They're on an absolute role. They've won six in a row,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: they've won nine of ten. They're now just one and
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: a half games behind the Mariners in the American League
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: race for the third wild card, and they're four and
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: a half out in the Division, four and a half
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: out with six games left against the Astros, including three
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: this weekend. I'll be there for Fox in Texas for
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: that one. So the wildcard race isn't over. Certainly the
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: division race might not be over either. You look at
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: the standings right there. The Rangers are the top team
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: that is out right now. They're the leader of the
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: group that is chasing the Mariners for the final birth.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: The Royals just two and a half back. I think
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: the Guardians are four back beyond that. Now here's Seattle.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: They're seventy three and sixty five. They're still in a
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: decent position here. But what is the problem. They're playing
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: poorly five ten in their last fifteen games, one in
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: eight on the road in that time, and they've got
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: five games left on this trip on the East Coast
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: against Tampa Bay and Atlanta. Seattle needs to get it together.
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: And this is a team that loaded up on the deadline.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: They Josh Naylor, Aohano Suarez, Caleb Ferguson, and they cannot
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: seem to get out of their own way. So the
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Seattle Mariners are facing a real challenge here from mostly
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: the Rangers, but also the Royals. The Royals are right
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: there two and a half back. It's not insurmountable at
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: this time of year. So that's a race that at
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: least has developed in a surprising way. And entering the weekend,
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: you thought, okay, the Royals were the first team chasing,
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: they have the best shot. They lose two of three
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: to the Tigers. Well, here come the Rangers making this
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: incredible push finally. Now, one other thing worth noting in
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: this first segment. The San Diego Padres two bad injuries
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: in the last week. Now, maybe they'll rebound like the
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Rangers did and seemingly progress without any problem at all.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: But Xander Bogarts goes down to a fractured left foot.
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: He's hoping to be back by the end of the season.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: And then yesterday Jason Adam, one of their top relievers
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: in a bullpen full of top relievers, suffers a quad
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: tenent rupture. He's going to be out for this season. Now.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Obviously their bullpen is really strong. They can afford the
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: loss of one reliever. But what was the strength of
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: this team and is the strength of this team their
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: ability to shorten games with a bullpen that is incredibly
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: powerful and behind a rotation that is not so powerful. Also,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: yesterday with the Padres, Tatists was out with what they
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: called lower half tightness. I wouldn't imagine that's a big problem.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: Maybe he just needs a day. But that's something to
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: watch as well. So here are the Padres. Just a
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: few days ago, we thought maybe they would catch and
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: pass the Dodgers in the NL West not happening. They're
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: now down one reliever from their stacked bullpen. They're two
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: and a half behind the Dodgers, and they are three
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: behind the Cubs in the wildcard race. And this is
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: significant because if the standings hold, and I'm not saying
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: they will, we don't know that they will, but if
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: they hold, the first round or the Wildcard series would
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: pit the Padres against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. The
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Padres are a dangerous home team. They are really good
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: at home, forty three and twenty three, one of the
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: best records in baseball at Peco Park, which is an
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: electric environment as electric as you will find in the
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: sport right now. So to play on the road, not
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: insurmountable road teams win all the time in the Baseball playoffs.
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: It's not a big deal, but it's certainly not ideal
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: as well. Padres thirty three and thirty nine on the
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: road this season. So what we're looking at here is
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: an NL West race that might soon be decided if
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: the Dodgers start playing better and the Padres cannot get
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: a going again, or maybe it tightens up again. But
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: the Padres without bulguards from an offense that was much better.
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: It has been much better since the trade deadline and
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: the additions that they made, and then without Jason Adam,
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: they're just not as strong in either area as they
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: were before. All right, we've got the inside dish coming up.
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about the Ha Song Kim situation
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: with the Atlanta Braves claiming him off waivers. We'll be
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: right back after this.
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: One of the newest shows on the FT Network is
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: called Friar Territory. That's right. If you're dialed in on
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: the Padres, then you want to listen to Kyle Glazer
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: and former padres Mike Cameron and Heath Bell who joined
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: him during the week, to break down everything that's going
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: on with this exciting team. We're throwing a curveball at
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: you this week for our Arena Club segment, as AJ
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: has opened up a Pokemon slap pack.
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: Did you say it?
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: Pokemon?
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: Flatman?
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: Pokemon? Don't ask me to say what that card is,
• 10:55
  Speaker 2: but we're doing with that card. I already sold it back, baby.
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: I bought it and then I got more money than
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: I paid for the pack, so I sold us straight back.
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: You bought it for two fifty You sold it for
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: and you can go get yourself something that you maybe
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: know how to pronounce.
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: Yes, what it is. I exaid it because I saw
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: certain people open in Pokemon and they were making money,
• 11:18
  Speaker 3: and guess what I got.
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: Lucky made money off of it too, exactly. But of course,
• 11:22
  Speaker 2: if you're into sports cards, that is something that you
• 11:25
  Speaker 2: can find a ton of on the Arena club marketplace.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: By sell slab pack trade twenty percent off your first
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: slab pack or card purchase can be had at arenaclub
• 11:35
  Speaker 2: dot com. Slash foul and use the code foul. That's
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: arenaclub dot com. Slash foul and use code foul.
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: Well wide dished the part of the show where I
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: go maybe inside a story I've written, inside a trend
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: in the game, or go inside a roster move a
• 12:01
  Speaker 4: transaction that happened over the weekend that frankly.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: Took me by surprise and took a lot of people
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: by surprise. It was one of the most fascinating moves
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: at least you'll see at this time of year. And
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: I'm talking again about the Braves claiming of Hasan Kim
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: the shortstop from the Tampa Bay Rays. You see my
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: tweet there yesterday with the news. When I originally heard
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: this on Sunday, what I originally heard was that Kim
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: was on outright waivers. And sometimes I'll hear that and
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: then I'll pursue it, trying to confirm, see what's going on, etc.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: And when I pursued it, that's when I learned that
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: not only was he on outright waivers, he was claimed
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: by the Atlanta Braves. Now, how does this work? Kim
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: has owed about two million dollars the rest of the way.
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: The Braves assumed that obligation. He also has a sixteen
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: million dollar player option for next season, so he can
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: exercise that or he can become a free agent. This, then,
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: was a bold move by the Braves. It was an
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: eighteen million dollar gamble effectively. At the same time, it
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: was a move that made a lot of sense. The
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Braves need for a shortstop is no secret. It's one
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: of the biggest needs we have anticipated going into the
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: off season. Nick Allen. They've played him there all year.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: He is a great defender, but he is one of
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: the weakest hitters in the game. And they pursued Kim
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: at the deadline actually thinking that maybe they can get
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: him and make the same kind of decision and wait
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: for the same kind of decision by him in the
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: off season. And that right now, that would have been
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: a sensible move even then, because the shortstop market this
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: winter is very thin. You've got Bobaschett out there, but
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Bob Baschett, in the eyes of many in the industry,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: should not be a shortstop, or at least not for
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: much longer. So what were the Braves going to do?
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: A trade? Seemed unlikely. Who was going to be available
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: in a trade that was so good? So this move
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: to them could solve the problem. Braves don't generally play
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: big in free agency anyway. This is a one year deal.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: If Kim exercises the option at sixteen million. Teams, as
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: we've talked about many times before, they love one year deals.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: They don't even care about the price usually, and sixteen
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: million for a player of Kim's caliber is not a
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: bad price. Okay, So with Kim they get a player
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: who did not make his season debut until July third,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: coming off shoulder surgery, then twice went on the il
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: with lower back trouble. He's played only twenty four games
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: this year, hasn't really hit hasn't really played well, not
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: great science. But now the Braves get a month to
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: look at him, to get to know him. Kim gets
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: a month to know the Braves, and he already is
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: friendly from the Padres days with Jerks and Profar and
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: we will see how this all plays out. Now, Kim's
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: decision is interesting too. Now he's a Scott Boris client.
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: He cannot get a qualifying offer now that he has
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: changed teams in the middle of a season, so free
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: agency will be more tempting for him than it might
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: otherwise have been. But he'd be coming off a season.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: As I just said, he plays only or has played
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: only twenty four games so far, and barring a huge
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: performance this month, and I can't rule it out, he's
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: going to play shortstop every day for the Braves the
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: rest of the season. If that happens, okay, maybe you
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: opt out and you take your chances. But if it
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: doesn't happen, then you have to think about exercising that
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: player option. Just going back to the Braves again, the
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: shortstop market is thin. That would play to Kim's benefit
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: if he has a big month, but if he doesn't,
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: he might be better off just staying with the Braves.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: He's not going to get the long term deal he wants.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't expect coming off a season like this. He
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: didn't get the long term deal last year. Of course,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: at that point he was recovering from shoulder surgery. So
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: what this would be with the Braves is is essentially
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: a pillow contract, the kind that sometimes Scott Boris favors,
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: the kind that Kim otherwise might get in free agency.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: If he goes out there again a chance to re
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: establish his value for one year and then go back
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: into the market. It's not a bad play by him
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: at all. And with the Braves he'd strictly be playing shortstop.
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: He wouldn't bounce around to second base and third as
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: he has done with the Padres and Rays to some extent.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: So it's kind of an appealing place for him in
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: a lot of ways. The Braves are going to be
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: good most likely, they're going to have a good lineup
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: for sure. I know what happened this year, but next
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: year things should be better for them. And it's just
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: a really appealing place, you would think. Now, Scott Boris's
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: clients do not always opt out when given that opportunity.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: He loves to include the opt outs, give them the flexibility,
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: but it doesn't always happen that way. Cody Bellinger just
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: last season exercise a twenty seven point five million dollar
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: player option. Now he's having a big year for the Yankees.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: He has another player option for next season twenty five million. Yes,
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: he will opt out of that one, but he did
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: not doubt the first time because he was coming off
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: kind of an okay year, but not a great year.
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: So if you're Kim, is it worth losing what appears
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: to be a good landing spot for the chance to
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: maybe get a multi year deal when free agency didn't
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: work out so well from him last year. I don't
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: know that the answer to that question is yes. And again,
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: the final month will play a big role in deciding this.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: If Kim has a big month, as I said, then
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: it gets a little interesting from his perspective. If not,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: it seems to me anyway that the Braves would be
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: the logical choice. Now, this is not exactly a free
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: look for the Braves. People say, oh, free look, no problem. No,
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: you're paying two million dollars for the rest of the
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: season and possibly another sixteen million if he stays on
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: this contract. But even if Ki opts out, the Braves
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: can pursue him in free agency, right, nothing against that,
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: no reason they can't do that if they want him,
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: and for a team in desperate need of a shortstop
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: as the Braves are. At least in my opinion, this
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: was about as good an outcome as you can get.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: So that is it for the Hassan Kim situation. Again,
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: a fascinating move. Waiver claims aren't always as interesting. Maybe
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: it's not that interesting to you, It was really interesting
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: to me. All right. We'll be back right after this
• 18:32
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  Speaker 1: Time out for Grill and Ken. The part of the
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: show where you guys get to ask me questions of
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: your own. Let's start with this one right here. First
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: question comes from well, actually we don't have a person
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: identified with this question, but the question is which picture
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: beyond Schooble Tyrek Scooble is most likely to step up
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: as an appendable number two starter for the Tigers in October.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Thank you for the timely question, whoever sent it, because
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: I wrote about this just this morning in The Athletic,
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: and essentially what I wrote is that the identity of
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: the number two starter isn't that big a deal for
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: the Tigers. Jack Flaherty would be the obvious choice, but
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: he's been up and down this year. They've got Casey
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: mis as well and Charlie Morton who has struggled in
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: his last two starts. And the reason I wrote that
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: the number two starter isn't that big a deal because
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: aj Hinch will manage this bullpen aggressively, and we've seen
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: this happen in a few recent games that the Tigers
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: have played. He's yanked the starter pretty quickly because he's
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: got guys like Troy Melton, Tyler Holton and others who
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: he can use in bulk rolls. And keep in mind
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: too that for the postseason, one of those starters, at
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: least for the division Series, will move to the bullpen.
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: So I'm not so sure. Really who starts is that
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: big a concern. They'll start whoever is hot, whoever matches
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: up best. Perhaps that's even more important than who is
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: hot against that particular opponent. The Tigers' issues are these.
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: They strikeout rate as an offense is the third highest
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: in the majors. That's not good. Not good in the postseason,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: their strikeout rate from their bullpen is twenty ninth, next
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: to last in the majors. That is a problem too.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: They need more strikeouts out of their pen. You play
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: a danger rush game when the ball is always in play,
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: as we've seen. So I still like the Tigers. They've
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: got a great year. They do some amazing things on
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: the field. But those are the issues that seem to
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: me to be the biggest concerns. All right, now for
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: the next question, This one is can Juan Soto carry
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: the Mets to the Wildcard race? Glad you asked? Now,
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: The Mets have obvious rotation deficiencies. It's a little weird
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: that their best pictures were in the minor leagues, like
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: two weeks ago, right, Jonah Tong, Nolan McClain. Maybe branded
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: Sport's coming. Not good these guys, the guys carrying them
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: to the Wildcard is supposed to be code is Sanga
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: and Sean and I, et cetera. But back to the
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: question to Juan Soto. Seems to me, I remember, I
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: don't know back in April, when Juan Sota was struggling
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: that people were saying, at least Yankees people or Yankees
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: fans were saying, ah, man, he should have resigned with
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: the K. He really wanted to be a Yankee. He's miserable,
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: he can't play. He's having a great year. It's not
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: maybe a typical Wan Soto year in terms of some
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: of his rate stats, but he is having what anyone
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: would classify as a really strong season. Added stolen bases
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: to his game. I'm talking about offense. Defense is never
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: gonna be great. But the home runs, the big home
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: runs of lady hadn't hit and running with runners from
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: scoring position most of the season. He's doing that now.
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: So can he carry them? Yes, he can carry them.
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: But as we saw. It was just yesterday. They had
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: that big game, big scoring game. He did great things,
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: and yet the Mets did not win that game. So
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: they're gonna need to pitch at some point. They're gonna
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: need to pitch, and they're gonna need to pitch better
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: than they have. And I don't know if you can
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: win with this kind of rotation going into the postseason.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: And in the postseason, they'll get there. I'm pretty confident
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: of that. How long they last, that's a better question.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: All right, here we go. One more question, at least today.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: How big was the Cubs come back for their wildcard chances?
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Certainly big, And frankly, we've underestimated the Cubs a little
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: bit in the last I don't know, month or two.
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: I say, Weave me, I've underestimated them, and we've kind
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: of overlooked them. And again me, I've overlooked them. And
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: here's the deal. I don't have the standings in front
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: of me right now, but as I mentioned earlier, they're
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: a head of the Padres in the wildcard standings. They're
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: pretty close to the Dodgers as well, obviously, because the
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: Padres are chasing the Dodgers in the NL West, so
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: they're well positioned to open the postseason at home. Now
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: their offense seems to be getting it back together. I'm
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: a little worried about their rotation. Still tie home back
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: on the injured list, Kate Horton, how strong will he
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: be in October. He's been terrific as a rookie so far,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: but that is a concern. The same time, they're having
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: a great year, they're overshadowed by the Brewers because the
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Brewers are having this ridiculous here. But while they're not
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: going to win the division quite obviously, they're still in
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: a great position in the wildcard race. And you get
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: that first home series, you maybe win the home series,
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: you maybe build momentum for the DS, and then you
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: have something. So I'm not ruling out the Cubs in
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: the postseason. I'm a little worried obviously. As I said
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: about their rotation, I do believe their offense now is
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: going to be back to form. It couldn't be as
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: bad as it was for however long that slump lasted.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: All Right, I want to thank everyone everyone for listening.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: You know where to find us, YouTube, Apple, Spotify. We
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: will be back on Thursday. The normal live show with
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: a lot of rizzo. Twelve thirty Eastern, nine thirty pacifics.
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Thanks to everyone, have a great week. We'll talk to
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: your Thursday.
• 25:46
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• 25:49
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• 25:52
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