Latest / The Craig Way Show / Gene Watson predicts the 2024 MLB Awards

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Gene Watson predicts the 2024 MLB Awards · The Craig Way Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Our MLB insider, Geene Watson from the Chicago White Sox
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: front Officusly, are you a big hockey fan?
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: By the way, Gene, you know what.
• 0:08
  Speaker 3: I love to go to hockey live.
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  Speaker 4: It is so fast and they're truly the most gifted
• 0:13
  Speaker 4: athletes in my opinion, but it's it's kind of hard
• 0:17
  Speaker 4: to get to for me.
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: I'll go to a.
• 0:18
  Speaker 4: Few games in Arizona during spring training and that's about it.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: I hear now that you're in the employee of a
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: team in the Windy City. I was just in your
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: town yesterday that uh that a Blackhawks game is not
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: to be missed.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: I hear it's an event.
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: That's what I've been told, and we actually have access
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: to that. And I'm going to be in Chicago in
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: a couple of weeks and I'm going to try to
• 0:40
  Speaker 4: make that happen. I've heard it's it's truly something, especially
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: the national anthem.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely all right.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I wanted to I wanted to have you pop on
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: and uh I wanted to uh to discuss a couple
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: of things with you. Since this is officially now called
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: MLB Awards Week in November being an awards season in baseball.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: It's always been like that.
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  Speaker 1: And so far we've gotten the Gold Glove Awards, the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Silver Sluggers, the All MLB Team, and more than any
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: of that surprise you, by the way, those who got
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: their awards for Silver Slugger or those who didn't or
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Gold Gloves or those who didn't and the All MLB Team,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: did any of that surprise you.
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: Well.
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  Speaker 4: One that's really a great story is Cal Rawley out
• 1:26
  Speaker 4: in Seattle, because this is a guy that's really turned
• 1:30
  Speaker 4: himself into a great, great player. I mean, coming up,
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: he always had the physical size and strength, but there
• 1:37
  Speaker 4: was a lot of things that he had to do
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: to improve his game, and he is really he's a
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  Speaker 4: development testimony. And he winning the Platinum Award at the
• 1:46
  Speaker 4: catcher's position, you know, one of the elite positions in baseball, catcher, shortstop,
• 1:51
  Speaker 4: center field. To find a well above average defender like
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: they did in him and his power. It's fun to
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  Speaker 4: watch these kids go through the minor leagues and you
• 2:01
  Speaker 4: see what they are at the very beginning, and then
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: you see all the accolades that they reach at the
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  Speaker 4: major league level.
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  Speaker 3: It's really fun to watch. And he was one, for
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  Speaker 3: one that was fun for me this week.
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  Speaker 2: No doubt about it.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, all right, let me let me jump to the awards,
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: because then I want to ask you about some free agency.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: But let's let's talk about the awards today.
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  Speaker 2: Is going to be the Jackie Robinson.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year Award that's going to be announced
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: today and the National League Rookie of the Award. Uh
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Should there be a uh no doubt? Or is this
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  Speaker 1: closer that you might think between the three finalists Paul
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Skiings and the Pirates, Jackson Churio, the Brewers, and Jackson
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: Merrill of the Padres.
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: Well, I think when you look at what Jackson Merrill
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: meant to that ball Clubjaction Cheerio and Paul Skings certainly
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: incredible talents, but what what Jackson Merrill did for the
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: San Diego Padres And a lot of people don't know
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: that on the inside, for a young talented player like
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: he is in that clubhouse with all the contracts and
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: all the money and all the accolades at that clubhouse
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  Speaker 4: had Jackson Merrill was the leader of the clubhouse and
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: that's very unique situation. I think you saw it in
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  Speaker 4: San Diego this year with Jackson I think you saw
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  Speaker 4: it in Kansas City this year with Bobby Wood Junior.
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: And so for me, Jackson Merrill, inasmuch as those other
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: two players had tremendous rookie season, Jackson Merrill would be
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  Speaker 4: the winner for.
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  Speaker 2: Me, all right. American League Rookie of the Year.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Austin Wells of the Yankees, Luise Heel the pitcher for
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: the Yankees, or it's a sentimental choice for me, Colton Calcer,
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: the Baltimore Orioles, the Sam Houston bear Cat, Gotta Chip.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: How about your thoughts in the al Jackie Robinson Rookie
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  Speaker 1: of the Year world.
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: Well, I'm going to go with the Jersey Village product,
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: Colton Calser. And what a great testimony. And you know, Craig,
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: one of the things prior to nil that you could
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: find in the state of Texas was that that really
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: good high school football player that spent four years trying
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  Speaker 4: to chase the state championship, that had some baseball ability
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  Speaker 4: that would go to a mid major. When you look
• 4:10
  Speaker 4: at Paul Goldsmith at Texas State, Ryan O'Hearn at Sam Houston,
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: you look at Hunter Dozer what he did, uh and
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  Speaker 4: and then and then also you know Colton Calser. These
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  Speaker 4: guys were very good high school football players that went
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  Speaker 4: to mid major colleges and turned into very good, UH
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  Speaker 4: baseball players, and he'd certainly be what a talent he
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  Speaker 4: is and and he would certainly be.
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  Speaker 2: The winner for me, you know. Uh.
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  Speaker 1: Looking at ESPN's take, they also said there should have
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: been a write in vote for Kate Smith at the Guardians.
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  Speaker 2: What do you think about him?
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  Speaker 4: No question, he was a big part of what they
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: did down the stretch. But I think what Calser did
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  Speaker 4: was was really special.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, Next we jumped to National League Cy Young Award
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  Speaker 1: winner the finalists, Uh Chris Sale of the Braves, Paul
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: Skeins of the Pirates, Zach Wheeler of the Phillies.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: Well, what Chris Sale did?
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  Speaker 4: I mean, it's incredible what he's been able to do,
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  Speaker 4: you know, the injury history and just the will withal
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  Speaker 4: to keep coming back and keep fighting to get back.
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  Speaker 4: It's one thing to get healthy and be able to
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  Speaker 4: go out on the mound and pitch. It's another thing
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  Speaker 4: to get healthy and be able to go out on
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  Speaker 4: the mound and pitch to the level that he pitched at.
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  Speaker 3: But when you look at this, I think Zach Wither.
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: Zach Whler has been one of my favorite pitchers since
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: he was in the minor leagues with the San Francisco
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  Speaker 4: Giants obviously traded over to the Mets and the Carlos
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: Beltron deal, and you know, he's just an incredible talent
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  Speaker 4: with incredible stuff.
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  Speaker 3: I think you have.
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: I think Skemes's days are coming, but I think Willer
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  Speaker 4: would be the choice for me.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 1: Next would be American League Cy Young, Terrek School of
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: the Tigers, Seth Lugo of the Royals, Emmanuel Plasse of
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: the Guardians.
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: Well, what Eric Scubael did is it cannot be denied.
• 6:01
  Speaker 4: I mean, arguably the most dominant left hander, not only
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: in the American League, but in the game. And this
• 6:06
  Speaker 4: is a guy that was a tenth round pick out
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: of the University Seattle kind of burst onto the seam
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: in pro ball, got to the major league level. And
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: I remember specifically talking to aj Hinch a couple of
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: years ago where he had gone through four or five
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  Speaker 4: really rough outings when even the Tigers begin to doubt
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: what his ability was going to end up being. And
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: you know, I talked to Aj about I got what
• 6:25
  Speaker 4: do you do with the guy like this, that this
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: talented that struggled the way they did, and they got
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: back into the biomechanics of his delivery, you know how
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: the arm swing was working off the rubber and and
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: really got him back to be right. And when you
• 6:39
  Speaker 4: put the type of competitor that he is and play
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  Speaker 4: with it, I think it's undeniable that he was arguably
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: the best pitcher in baseball this year, certainly in the
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  Speaker 4: American League.
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  Speaker 1: And won the Triple Crown Wins strike out say the era, Okay,
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  Speaker 1: next National League MVP, Well, I'll just give you the
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: finalist show Francisco Lindor and Catel Marte.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: I think we all know where it's going, and it's
• 7:06
  Speaker 4: going to be you know, I was so hoping that
• 7:09
  Speaker 4: they might throw him in for an inning off the mound.
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  Speaker 4: It's going to be really interesting to see how that
• 7:14
  Speaker 4: dynamic all plays next year. With his offensive numbers and
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: now they've got to go back to managing the two
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: sides of the ball on the mound and offensively, I
• 7:24
  Speaker 4: don't think we can expect to see the numbers that
• 7:27
  Speaker 4: we saw this year, just because of what it does
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  Speaker 4: to your body.
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  Speaker 3: Pitching on the mound. But one of the talents.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: That I mean, we're fortunate enough to watch this guy
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: play every day. I was fortunate enough to be with
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: him for a year and just an unbelievable player that
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: still has great years ahead of him.
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: American League MVP, well, I'll just give you that. Actually,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: it's a much closer ranks. I think Aaron Judge Bobby
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: with Junior and one.
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  Speaker 4: So yeah, And it's so unfortunate because Bobby Wood Junior
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: is the future, you know. I think everybody expects him
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  Speaker 4: to hold this crown in years to come to do
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: what he did at such a young age in a
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: smaller market. I mean, he truthfully reshaped the city of
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: Kansas City. And when you got Pat Mahomes and Travis
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: Kelty and so many great things going on, Salvador Perez
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: on his ball club. Bobby has done a tremendous job.
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  Speaker 4: But what Aaron Judge did, He got to take the
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: playoffs out of it. I think you have to look
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: at the body of work and I think this will
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: lean towards Aaron Judge a little bit overall.
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: Nationally Manager of the Year.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: I was little little disappointed that that that Dave Roberts
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  Speaker 1: wasn't even a finalist for this with what he did
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: with all the injuries and have two bullpen games a
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: week all the way through and they win a world title.
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  Speaker 2: But he's not not a final finalists.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Carlos Mendoz are the Mets, Pat Murphy, the Brewers, Mike
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  Speaker 1: Shoulder of the Padres.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, three great names, and you're you're exactly right, Dave Roberts.
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  Speaker 4: Not to be even mentioned in the category is is
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: not right. I mean what you can say, well, they
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: had the highest payroll, they have the best players, but
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: to manage what he managed, and it's such a thin
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: line between winning and losing in October, and when you
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: look at that game where they were playing the Padres
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: and it's Dylan Cease versus a bullpen with the season
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: on the line, you can't ignore that and what he
• 9:18
  Speaker 4: was able to do, and that was the defining moment
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: of the whole season for the Dodgers, and they prevailed
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: and went onto the World Series, where nine times out
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: of ten that outcome is not going to work for you,
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: and it did for them, so he certainly needs to
• 9:31
  Speaker 4: be in consideration. Mike Shield did a tremendous job I
• 9:34
  Speaker 4: mean it's a Pat Murphy did a great job. But
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: what Carlosmandoza did in New York with that team and
• 9:41
  Speaker 4: where they were and all the pressure that was kind
• 9:43
  Speaker 4: of built around that team for the first half for
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: them to really come out of nowhere in the second
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  Speaker 4: half and do what they did and make the push
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: that they pushed in the playoffs, I think he has
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  Speaker 4: to be the favorite to win that award.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: Okay American League Manager of the Year Stephen vote to
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: the Guardians, Mac Guataro of the Royals and your pal
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: A J.
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  Speaker 2: Hints at the Tigers.
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  Speaker 4: Oh, well, you know how I feel about this, and
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: I love Matticq. I'll never forget. And I've probably told
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: you the story sitting at Wild Berry in Chicago on
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: a Friday morning and We're gonna play Detroit in a
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: three game series and me and A. J. Hinch are
• 10:16
  Speaker 4: having breakfast and I said to him, I said, you know,
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: the thing about this season is because the first real
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: big move for them was the manager of Miguel Cabrera
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: and getting him to retire and being able to move
• 10:29
  Speaker 4: on for that. And the second big move was being
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: able to sit Hobby Baiaz and getting all the young
• 10:34
  Speaker 4: kids up and getting Jackson job up in mid September,
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: and at the time, you know, we're talking about how
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: twenty twenty five will be such a great season because
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: they'll make two steps forward and they go on to
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: sweep us that weekend and go on an absolute tear
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: and make the run that they made to beat a
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: very difficult I mean, the seven time American League Championship
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: Series team, and the ash was to do what they did.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: The sky is certainly the limit for this team. Next year,
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: the expectations will be very, very high for the Tigers,
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: and I look for a J.
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: Hinch to win that award.
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: Okay, all right, uh So with all of this going
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: into it and and all of these all of these awards,
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: it's it's a it's a pretty exciting time in terms
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: of those kinds of things. But the other thing I
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: wanted to ask you about was a free agency clock
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: sticking right now? What in tomorrow isn't it is the
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: day about accepting or or not accepting tendered offers from
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: teams who would then players with them would become free agents.
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: Those who are tendered offers if they don't if they
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: don't accept by tomorrow.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and tomorrow is actually my busiest day of the
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: year because when the ton when the non tender list
• 11:45
  Speaker 4: comes out, I literally have to go through every player,
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: how do they fit, what are the finances, start reaching
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: out to agents, start reaching out to scouts on makeup,
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: digging on the fit of the player, and it's really
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: unknown right now.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: There will be a few surprises.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: There will be some that aren't so big surprises, but
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: it's truly one of the most It's like it's like
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: the first Christmas Day, especially for a team like us
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: in a rebuild, to really try to find those change
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: of scenery guys, those guys that can come in and
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: compliment your twenty six man Roscar So tomorrow will be
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: an extremely busy day for the Chicago White Yeah.
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: I start to say for you, it's it's different in
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: what your organization is trying to do in the rebuild.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: And then in the case of some of the other
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: teams like the Yankees, were the Dodgers, or the Padres
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: or or or you know some of those other teams
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: where they're looking at cherry pick, then there's those big
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: names up there starting at the top. I guess with Soto,
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: but but but even to Oscar Hernandez. I mean, there's
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: there's some there's some pretty lofty names up there that
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: teams will be eyeing very carefully.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Have an imagine, Yeah.
• 12:47
  Speaker 4: Willia Domas, the Oscar Hernandez, Soto, Walker Mueller, Blake Snell
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: and a lot of teams are going to hold off
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: to see what happens with Sasaki because that's a two
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: point five million dollar investment and it's really a recruitment.
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: But you don't want to spend all your international money
• 13:04
  Speaker 4: right now. You want to try to hold out and
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: use those finances. I think he can make upwards of
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: seven point five million dollars a year after the agreement
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: in the posting. So there's some things that could slow
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: the market down this winter. I really thought that the
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: one Soto signing would really drag the winner out, but
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: my information is that they're being very aggressive with teams
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: and that he'd like to get a deal done sooner
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: than later. And once teams know where that falls, where
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: Walker Bueller falls, Willia Domas, Alex Bregman, Pete Alonzo. Once
• 13:37
  Speaker 4: you get the bigger names off the board, then teams
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: begin to work on those second tier players and then
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: after that they'll go, Okay, we fell short with the
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: top tier, second tier free agents. Now what can we
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: go get in trade that's going to make our team
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: better for twenty twenty five.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: He Gene Watson, our MLB inside from the Chicago White
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: Sox front office will follow all this carefully and check
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: him from time to time during the hot stove and
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: the Winter league stuff with Gino. I appreciate the time,
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: my friend, and we'll look forward to visiting again around
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: the corner. All right, guys, thanks so much, have a
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: great weekend YouTube. All right, that is Gene Watson, our
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: MLB insider. We're going to hear more from Logorn's head coach,
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: Steve Sarkisha coming up on Sports Radio AM thirteen Under
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: the Zone.