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Fair Territory: Red Sox lose Bregman, Rays roar, Nats rebuild sludge · Foul Territory

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Is that service time manipulation. It is absolutely service time manipulation,
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: and teams do it all the time because they are
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: trying to take advantage of the system and do what
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: they can to keep costs down as much as possible.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Monday edition of Fair Territory. As
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: always a ton to talk about. We've got a team
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: that seemingly can't get it going. We've got a hot
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: team that's also in the same division, the Ale East,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: and we've got some really standout performances from the weekend
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: that I want to highlight as well and talk about
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: my column on the Nationals that appeared in The Athletic
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: on Monday. But let's start with the team that seemingly
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: can't get going, and I think you probably know who
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: I'm talking about, the Boston Red Sox. Now, they had
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: a significant loss with the injury to Alex Bregman, the
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: quad strain that's going to keep him out probably months.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: And with that they had the promotion of Marcelo Meyer,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: something Fair have been clamoring for, though not under these circumstances.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: And the Red Sox they're two under five hundred, they's
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: seven out in the Division two and a half out
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: in the wild Card, and Alex Cora, the manager, has
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: basically said this is who we are right now, and
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: he's right. The question is how do they get better now?
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Meyer is up, and I don't expect him to set
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: the world on fire, just as Christian Campbell, who did initially,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: has slowed down. Marcella Meyer is a young player who
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: is going to have his struggles. And I know Red
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: Sox fans are calling for the promotion of Roman Anthony,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: perhaps lose Trevor's story. I don't know a DFA Trevor
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: story not happening, but we'll get to that in a second.
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: And then you would put Raphaela in the infield and
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: really go to a youth movement. One, it's too early
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: for that. It can't give up on the season. Gregman
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: is coming back. And two, a contending team or team
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: with aspirations of contending can simply have a majority of
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: young players. It's not going to work that way, not
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: if you're trying to get into the playoffs, and that's
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: what the Red Sox are trying to do. We're not
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: even in JUNI yet. Remember at this point last season,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: the Astros still weren't hot. The Mets were still buried,
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: and they came around and eventually had the seasons that
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: really were quite memorable for both those clubs. So with story,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: and here's a guy who is struggling offensively and defensively,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: a guy who had played only sixty nine games the
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: previous two years. The Red Sox are not going to
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: give up on him in DFA him immediately. Here's a
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: guy who is making twenty two and a half million
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: dollars this year. He's owned twenty five million next year,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: another twenty five million the year after that, and then
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: a five million dollar buyout. Teams just don't cut players
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: unless they have a really good reason when they're making
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: that much money. So I don't expect the Red Sox
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: to do anything along those lines. I do expect we'll
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: see Rome and Anthony at some point, but again, it's
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: going to be a difficult balancing act for them. And really,
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: the symbol of their season right now, or the statistic
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: that embodies their season, is Garrett Crochet. He is a
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: brilliant pitcher. He's got a two point four ERA on
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: the season, and yet they are only six and six
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: in his starts, six and six with the most dominant pitcher,
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: arguably in the American League not good. The Red Sox
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: continue to flounder, but I still expect that they're going
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: to be a better team as the season goes on.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: Also in the AL East, we have finally a red
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: hot Tampa Bay Rays team. Now here's a team that
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: couldn't win at home initially, and now they've got a
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: six game winning streak, all at home. It's been hot
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: at Steinbrunner Field, which is not a surprise in Tampa.
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: As we get closer to the summer, and the Rays
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: are putting something together here this six game winning streak.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: Two wins against Houston, three against Toronto, one against Minnesota.
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  Speaker 1: Those are good teams. And what you're talking about with
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: the Rays is a team now that is over five hundred,
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  Speaker 1: one out in the wild card and the second place
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  Speaker 1: team in the American League East. Their offense is still
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: a question. Jonathan Rondo having an all star type season,
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: Brandon Law finally getting it together. They're still waiting on
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: Yon di Diez. Their offense is going to be an issue.
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: It always seems to be with the Rays. They do
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: have Hashan Kim coming back probably in mid June, and
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: that should help. Taylor Walls brilliant defensive shortstop, not much
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: of a hitter at all. What the Rays do best,
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: as always is pitching in defense, and they're pitching in
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: this latest stretch here has been absolutely outstanding. Four runs
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: allowed in their last thirty seven innings. Their rotation, even
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: without Shane McClanahan, is pretty good. Rasmussen's been brilliant, Pepio
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: has been good right down the line. Bradley and boz
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Has have their inconsistencies, but this is a good group,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: and Zach Lettel's kind of a consistent, workman like fifth
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: guy through bullpen as well is really strong. It's Pete
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Fairbanks basically in a bunch of guys you've no never
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: heard of. But that's the Rays, right They do this
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: every year, and I do expect, as I've expected all
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: year long, them to be not necessarily a threat to
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: the Yankees for the division title, but a team that
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: will be in the wildcard mix. And that's where the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: Rays are right now, and I do like what they're doing.
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: It's just been an intriguing team to me from the start.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: We'll be back after a quick word from our friends
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• 6:25
  Speaker 1: All Right, Finally, in the first segment here, I'd like
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: to highlight some really cool things that were going on
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: this weekend. And let's start with the Cubs. Say us Auzuki,
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: and to a lesser extent, but he's still really good,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Pete Crow Armstrong, Say as Azuki, this dude leads the
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: majors in RBIs. He's got forty nine peak. Crow Armstrong
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: is second with forty eight in his last six games.
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: Suzuki is twelve for twenty four, three homers, three doubles,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: ten RBIs. Here's a guy we don't talk much about.
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: The Cubs have bigger names. I guess you can call
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: them Dansby. Swanson's their biggest free agent signing. Of course,
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: in recent years, PCA now grabbing the spotlight. They've got
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: other contributors as well, but say Suzuki has been a
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: really consistent offensive force for them. Also over the weekend,
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: in case you missed it, the Tarrek Schooble two hitch
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: shutout of the Guardians a maddox a brilliant performance. Thirteen strikeouts,
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: no walks, ninety four pitches and the last pitch I
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: believe was one oh two. Oh yeah, that's pretty good.
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: This guy is one of my favorite pitchers to watch.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: He's competitive, he's emotional and uh oh yeah, he's really
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: really good. I expect Trek Scoogle to possibly start the
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: All Star Game for the American League, and I just
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: hope we keep seeing him perform at his peak because
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: it's really exciting. And then over in Pittsburgh, where we
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: generally don't, hear a lot of good things. O'Neil Cruz
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: once again breaking stat cast one hundred and twenty two
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: point nine miles per hour. This home run right here
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: one twenty two point nine that breaks his previous record.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: It's the hardest hit ball since that cast began tracking
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: in twenty fifteen. O'Neill Cruz is a really fascinating player.
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  Speaker 1: Not a great defender, wasn't great at thro its stuff,
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: not great at center field, and he doesn't always connect,
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: as we know, offensively. But when he does, my goodness,
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: it's something to behold. So the Red Sox, the Rays,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: all these great performances and plenty more to discuss, stay
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: with us. Sources confirm Fair Territory fits are available at
• 8:29
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  Speaker 1: dot com and look like the fairest of them all.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: Well well, well, well, time now for the inside Dish,
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: the part of the show where I talk about maybe
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: a story I've written, maybe a trend in the game,
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: maybe something else entirely. But today I am going to
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: focus on a story that I published on Monday in
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: The Athletic, and it's about the Nationals, and it's about
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: a team that we don't normally associate with the dregs
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: of baseball. You know, I'm talking about the Rockies, the Pirates,
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: the Marlins, the A's, But yet the Nationals belong in
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: that conversation. And that's kind of the theme of the column.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: You see the headline right there. Nationals remain among MLB's
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: bottom feeders despite lengthy rebuild. And actually, sometimes people will
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: ask me, hey, where did you get this idea? And
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: I got this idea talking to an executive from another
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: team who pointed out to me that the Nationals are
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: essentially spinning their wheels. And he said, hey, man, six
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: straight losing seasons. They're losing ninety every year, if not more,
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: and it's going nowhere. So I looked into it, and
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: what this executive called it was a failed rebuild. I'm
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: not going to go that far, and I didn't go
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: that far in the column. But the Nationals, and I
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: don't know that a lot of people know this since
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: they won the World Series in twenty nineteen. Of course
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: that was a great, great run for them, but since
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: then they are third in the Majors in losses, behind
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: the Rockies and the Pirates, and they are only one
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: loss behind the Pirates. So yes, they belong in this
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: conversation as one of the worst teams. And I go
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: into what has happened here and it's, as always not
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: a simple answer. With the Nationals. A lot of people
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: focus on their lack of spending, and that's fair. They
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: were a top ten payroll team for quite some time
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: in the twenty tens, and in the last three years
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: they've averaged being a bottom ten payroll team, so yes,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: they are not spending. The Learner ownership operates the team
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: rather curiously, and that's been the case even in the
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: good years. They did some things that were kind of
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: questionable but worked out, and yet here they are now
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: in a much different place. They are not spending. Okay,
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: we know that, but it goes a lot deeper than that.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: And really one of the lines the column is good
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: teams both spend and develop, and what I wrote was
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: the Nationals do neither. And this is the real crux
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: of the issue, at least in my opinion, because if
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: you're not going to spend, and there are teams that
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: don't spend in the game, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, others,
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: if you're not going to do that, if you're not
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: going to spend, you better develop. And they have failed
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: in player development since I don't know about twenty thirteen.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: They have failed in international scouting, amateur scouting. Soto was
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: their last great international sign that was in twenty fifteen.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Since then, it's basically Luis Garcia junior and a whole
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: bunch of nothing in the amateur draft. And I highlighted
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: this as well. This is really interesting. You go back
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: to twenty thirteen, they have produced only three players who
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: compiled five b war or more that's five wins above
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: replacement according to Baseball Reference dot com or more, and
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: those players all play for other teams. It's Nick Paveta,
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Jesus Lozardo and Eric Fetti. They all made their marks elsewhere.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: So the Nationals drafting has been horrible, and in recent
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: years they've done a little bit better. I know Keith
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: low the Athletic thinks the twenty twenty four draft was
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: really good and Dylan Cruz came in twenty twenty three
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: with the second pick of the draft. And they've got
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: some good things happening in the system, as all teams do.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: But the Nationals are in this position because they have
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: not drafted well, they have not developed well. They made
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: one great trade, an amazing trade, the Soto Josh Bell
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: trade with the San Diego Padres. It brought back Mackenzie,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: Gord c j Abrams, James Wood, Robert Hassel Third who's
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: now in the big leagues, and Darlin Susanna, a prospect
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: who's currently on the injured list at Double A, but
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: a guy who throws extremely hard. Now that was great,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: no doubt about it, an all time return for obviously
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: a great player who had two and a half years
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: of control. But the problem is, even with those players,
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: the timeline is accelerating, at least in terms of service time.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: And what I mean by that is Mackenzie Gore after
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: this year, will have only two years remaining before he
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: becomes a free agent. CJ. Abrams will have three years remaining.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: So Gore, who leads the major leagues in strikeouts, is
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: essentially in the same spot right now that Juan Soda
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: was in twenty twenty two, two plus years remaining before
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: becoming a free agent. Now. I don't expect the Nationals
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: are going to trade Gore. They're not in that same
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: kind of place. They're not going to offer him four
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: hundred and forty million like they did with Soto and
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: then decide we've got to move them. I don't expect
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: that scenario to happen. They're trying to build here. But
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: at the same time, Mackenzie Gore, James Wood, and Dylan
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: Cruz all represented by Scott Boris, who generally does not
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: like to sign players to extensions before they become free agents.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: He likes them to establish their values on the open market.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: There are exceptions, and there are always exceptions, but there
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: aren't that many exceptions, and again, generally speaking, those guys
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: are going to go free agent. That's just the way
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: Boris operates. He's been pretty successful at it. Over the years.
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: So you look at all this, and even if the
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: Nationals start to play a little bit better, and they
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: have of late, they've been seven and three in their
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: last ten, there's still five games under five hundred. They're
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: still not in the thick of it at all in
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: the National League playoff picture, because, of course their division
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: is very strong and the league is very strong. But
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: even if that all comes together, then they're going to face,
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: at some point fairly soon the potential losses of Gore
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: and Abrams. Now it's not tomorrow that that's going to happen.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: And if you had a better farm system, if you
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: were spitting out players year after year, you wouldn't have
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: to worry so much about potentially trading guys because you'd
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: have others to replace them. Isn't that what Tampa Bay
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: does As their guys get closer to free agency, they
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: just send them, I swear, bring in other prospects, and
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: continue that process as they do. It's not something that
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: a lot of us love seeing that constant churn, but
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: it's how these teams kind of survive. The Nationals aren't
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: doing that now. Their president Baseball Operations, Mike Rizzo, he
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: has been their guy since two thousand and nine. He's
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: the second longest tenured head of baseball operations in the game,
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: behind only Brian Cashman. He's had a lot of success.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Twenty nineteen World Series, they tens in general were a
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: pretty successful time for the Nationals. He made a lot
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: of changes with player development, international and amateur scouting after
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty three season, and maybe ownership is simply
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: waiting for some of those things to kind of take
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: hold and for the Nationals to just get into a
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: better place. But so far it's not happening. And at
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: one point during this whole process, which started really in
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty one, that's when their rebuild began. It's when
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: they traded Max and trade Turner to the Dodgers. It's
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: when they traded Kyle Schwarber, John Lester, a bunch of others.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Shortly after that, I think it was the following year,
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: Rizzo was quoted as saying, we know how to do this.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: This is going to be a shorter reboot. It's not
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: a rebuild. Well, as I end the column, the promise
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: of a shorter reboot, that's gone and time is no
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: longer on the National side. We'll be back after a
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: quick word from our friends at foul Territory.
• 16:28
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  Speaker 1: Time now for grilling Ken. Let's get to your questions.
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: First question comes from Lucha Insider, who asks should the
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: Yankees trade for a bat or just wait on Stanton now?
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: Luca Insider, I'm not going to pick on you, but
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: sometimes fans crack me up. The Yankees don't need to
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: trade for a bat. They're second in the major leagues
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: behind only the Cubs and runs per game. What the
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: Yankees do need is a third basement. And I'll get
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: to that in a second. But Stanton at some point
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: is going to return. We don't know exactly when yet,
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: and then they're going to have some interesting questions. With
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: Ben Rice performing as well as he is in the
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: DH spot, how do they make all the pieces fit.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: I don't know that it will be that much of
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: a problem, simply because Stanton is not going to play
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: every day. But as far as the Yankees needing offense,
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: they don't really need offense. What they do need, and
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: this does play into the offensive portfolio of the New
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: York Yankees, is a third baseman, and that's the area
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: where they've really struggled the entire season. Oswaldo Cabrera got
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: hurt but wasn't performing particularly well, and now oswald Perazza
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: taking the position, but they are twenty ninth overall, next
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: to last in ops at third base. So if there
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: is an area the Yankees are going to address at
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: the deadline besides pitching, which is what teams always want
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: to address, I expect it will be third base. And
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: that doesn't relate to Stanton in any way. They're hoping
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: that Stanton's going to come back. They're hoping he's going
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: to come back strong again. The issue is third base.
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: It's not dh where they're going to be overcrowded. So
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: Luja insider, don't worry. Things are going to be okay.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get to the next question now, and
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: this one comes from Kyle Bellback is disliking the new
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: MLB jerseys. Kyle, I'm sorry you're disappointed, but you ask
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: after the Pirates lost a year of service time by
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: promoting schemes so early last year and him winning Rookie
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: of the Year, are they looking to avoid the same
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: fate with Bubba Chandler by continuing to delay his call up.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: That's a good question, Kyle, and it does relate somewhat
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: to skeens. I would think in the average fan's mind
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: and even in my mind, like Okay, it's the same
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: kind of scenario and what Skeenes did because he was
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: called up in early May by winning Rookie of the Year. Yes,
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: he gained the full year of service time under the
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: new CBA, and he will be gone a year earlier
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: than he might have been otherwise. The motivator with Bubba Chandler,
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: though it seems to me, is more the Super two
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: deadline and also where the Pirates are as far as
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: their season is concerned. The Pate It's obviously are going nowhere.
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: They know that, so why should they call up Bubba
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: Chandler before the Super two deadline which is expected to
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: be in early June. And at that point, after he
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: gets through that, you're ensuring that he's going to be
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: eligible for only three years of arbitration and not four.
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: Is that service time manipulation? It is absolutely service time manipulation,
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: and teams do it all the time because they are
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: trying to take advantage of the system and do what
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: they can to keep costs down as much as possible.
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: The CBA to some degree has reduced the manipulation, but
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: with the Super two deadline it hasn't happened. And as
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: long as the system remains in place, I don't expect
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: it to happen, So I expect that we're going to
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: see Bubba Chandler sometime in mid June. Should we see
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: him now? Is he good enough to pitch in the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: major leagues? Well, put it this way. Seven starts at
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: Triple A last year one point eight three ERA, ten
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: starts at Triple A this year two point two seven ERA.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: That seventeen starts at Triple A. Seventeen starts in which
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: he pretty much has dominated. I would say he's ready
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: for the major leagues. All right. Next question, let's see
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: this one comes from Jorge Solair. It's not really Jorge
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: so Laer, but it's some guy who is pretending to
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: be Hoye Solaier, and he asks, can the Giants keep
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: it up and win the NL West? And your immediate
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: reaction to that might be no way. That was sort
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: of my immediate reaction. But the Giants are one of
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: the great surprises of this season to thirty one and
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: twenty three. Right now, as we speak on Monday, they're
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: tied for second place behind the Dodgers, with the Padres
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: two games back, just two games back of the Dodgers
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: and the Giants. As we have seen this year, they
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: have been an intriguing team in a couple of different ways.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: They're only eleventh in runs per game. They're below average
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: offensively at first base, second base, and shortstop, though Adamis
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: eventually should change that. They're not a great offensive team.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: They're okay pitching wise, so they've been really good. Their
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: bullpen statistically, whether you judge it by eraor opponent's OPS,
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: is the best in baseball right now. Their staff overall
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: ranks third in ERA, behind only the Mets and the Royals, Mets, Royals, Giants,
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: that's the ERA leaders in Major League Baseball. They've got
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: the same run differential as the Phillies, so it's a
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: much better Giants team. I kind of love their outfield
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: with Ramos and Lee and then of course Yustremsky. They
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: need to get some more offense out of their infield. Obviously,
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: if they can get Justin Verlander going when he comes
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: off the injured list, that would be a bonus. They've
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: rejiggered their rotation now put Birdsong and Harrison in. It's
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: an interesting group to say the least. Can they win
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: the NL West because that, of course was the question.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: I don't know that they can win it unless the
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Dodgers keep getting hurt, which of course is always a possibility.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: But they are in the playoff mix, and they are
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: going to be a team that I would expect is
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: active at the deadline, trying to do something and trying
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: to stay at least in contention for a wild card.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: All right, last question, This one comes from sports. I
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: don't even know what the handle is here. Royles and
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: Baltimore seem like a perfect match for a win win trade.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: Royles need hitters and Orioles need pitchers. Do you see
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: a deal? In theory? This is a good idea. Yes,
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: the Royals are deep in starting pitching, and they're really
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: going six deep right now, except they've got two guys
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: on the injured list, and the Orioles obviously have a
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: ton of young bats. The question is which pitcher do
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: the Royals trade now? As I just mentioned Cole Reagan's
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: and Seth Lugo, they're on the injured list right now,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: so suddenly the Royals' depth isn't as great as it
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: might appear on paper. But they do have very strong
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: starting pitching. Chris Brubric has been a revelation this year.
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: He's probably going to be an All Star if this
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: keeps up, and right down the line, as far as
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: the rotation is concerned, they're pretty well set. The one
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: guy I guess they would trade. Perhaps, actually they wouldn't
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: trade this guy, but he's the guy you would think
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: about trading for if you're the Orioles is Noah Cameron.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: He's a rookie. He's come up this year zero point
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: nine to three ERA in three starts. Now it's only
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: three starts, I know, but that's the kind of long
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: term play I would imagine the Oriols are looking for
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: and for you, the Royals, you're not going to trade
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Waco or Lugo or Reagan's. They're the heart of what
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: you have, the best pitchers on your team, veteran guys.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: So maybe the Ools would want someone like Noah Cameron. Okay,
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: what would they give up? The Royals need outfielders, and
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: maybe Colton Kowser is a guy who's currently on the
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: injured list with a fractured thumb. But again, I don't
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: see the Royals necessarily doing that and compromising the depth
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: that they do have on the pitching side. It's something
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: you don't want to mess with. And as for the Oriols, sure,
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: I would imagine they'd entertain this kind of trade. I
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: don't think Kobe Mayo is going to be a guy
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: that the Royals would necessarily be interested in because they're
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: kind of set in the infield and Mayo so has
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: some questions now that maybe he didn't have before. But
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: it is an intriguing match until you start breaking it down,
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: and for that reason, I don't quite see it happening.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: Want to thank everyone for their questions. We got some
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: really good ones this week. I want to thank you
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: for watching, for listening. You know where to find us YouTube, Apple, Spotify,
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: and we will be back Thursday, myself and Alana Rizzo
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: with our normal live show twelve thirty Eastern, nine thirty Pacific.
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: Have a great week, everyone.
• 25:29
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