Latest / Foul Territory / Astros land Tatsuya Imai, Holiday signings recap, Chandler Rome joins

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Astros land Tatsuya Imai, Holiday signings recap, Chandler Rome joins · Foul Territory

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Oh, we're back.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: Some people didn't know we're back today. We're back. They're like,
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: you're back. Yeah, it's January second, back to work and crats.
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: We're gonna have to carry the show today.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: That's not true. Yeah, we're gonna have to carry that.
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: And it's okay. I'm here.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Tod Father hasn't eaten a morsel of real sustenance.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Sustenance in a day and a half. Day and a half,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: I'm trying to do three days. I'm hungry just saying it.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: I've been reading on there's some good things. Just reset
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: the body. I'm not trying to lose weight. It's just,
• 0:36
  Speaker 3: you know, reset the whole body, water, electro, lights, and
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: work out again.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: And we're getting after it.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: A New Year's resolution, is that way?
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Yes?
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: And no, it just came on that day and it
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: just worked out. The timing was perfect. And yeah, it's
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: been thirty seven hours in counting, so we're moving.
• 0:55
  Speaker 4: We're going. You know what helps when you're going through
• 0:58
  Speaker 4: something like that, You look freaking amaze, You look like
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: you're glowing, You look like you have energy. I don't
• 1:05
  Speaker 4: care what you feel. You look like you have. Let's
• 1:08
  Speaker 4: get it.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Let's get it. I appreciate that, but it's hard. It's tough, man.
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: I don't know how people do it, but there's a
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: lot of good things that come out of it.
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: I would say over under at a half for a
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: bathroom break for Todd, father is just guzzling water all day,
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: over the under half.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: I'm setting the over under a bathroom breaks at one
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: and a half.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'll take the under on that. No, I think
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: he can go two hours. I think I'm with just one. Yeah,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna try my best. Yeah, but and don't mention
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: it much because that creates the problem too.
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: Here.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: Let's try and distract Todd then for the next Yeah,
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: don't stay waterfall. So we have the Jason Stark tweet
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: that kind of helps to paint the picture sure of
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: what's happening here.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: He said.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: A friend in baseball once told me it's amazing how
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: far away spring training feels on December thirty first, and
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: how close it feels on jan one, just to prove
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: that the first spring training game of twenty twenty six
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: is seven weeks from today. Do you feel warmer yet?
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: He also posted a nice, crispy, warm spring training picture
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: from I believe it was clearwater.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: When I looked very quickly considering where we're at here, we're.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: More than halfway through the off season. Yeah, well, did
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: you know that from the end of Game seven of
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: the World Series to the start of the first spring
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: training game, we are closer to that spring training game
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: at this point.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: Kratzy, I would always I figured it out. But eventually,
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: I'm like, after in the New Year's it's like, when
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: do I start hitting again? I used to hit before
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: New Year's when I was younger, I used to hit.
• 2:51
  Speaker 3: I take like a month off and get back after,
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: and I'm like, as I got older, I'm like, let's
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: wait until the New Year and now middle of January,
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: and it just got later and later. But at the
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: same time, it's like, you know you're gonna get your
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: swings in, but I never knew that happy medium and
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: when to start swinging again and feel comfortable about it.
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: I mean, there's extremes of guys that like Ichi Row,
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: he takes one day off after the season's over and
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: then he goes back.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: I read that too, Yeah, like I think.
• 3:21
  Speaker 4: He probably still hits now. He like owned his own
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: stadium that was abandoned in Japan. But like, and then
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: there's dudes who show up the spring training and they're like,
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: did you guys bring my bats? Because I don't have
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: any of my own. You know, it's hard. It's hard
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: to figure that out. The only thing I ever ironed
• 3:39
  Speaker 4: out was my throwing, because I always felt like I
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: had to come into camp, always on a new team,
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: all that stuff. I have to figure it out. Like
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: December fifteenth is my anniversary. I figured I wanted to
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: throw twice before my anniversary. Figured we go away somewhere,
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: you know, have a weekend trip or something, and then
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: when I got back from it, that next week, I
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: would toss once, throw three times. So that I'm spring
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: training first day, Hey, who's this guy? What's Oh, he's
• 4:07
  Speaker 4: got a good arm. And it's like, okay, then I'm
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: good to go because everybody thought I stunk at hitting.
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: And then you look at my stats and you're like,
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: they're probably like, yeah, you're.
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: Right, d that's crazy your anniversaries. Then mine's the fourteenth.
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: It's nuts, that's not the same day Todd doesn't really matter.
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: Well, it's close enough.
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: Fourteen.
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: It's such a baseball thing, remember, such a baseball thing.
• 4:30
  Speaker 4: You gotta have your wedding. You gotta have your wedding
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: in the off season, yep.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: And the call the freezing col or.
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: You have your anniversary on like Feb fourteen, because half
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: the guys are already gone. And so then they missed
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: Valentine and they miss.
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: I used to miss Valentine's Day and then then eventually
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: I was good and.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: You would do right after. Yeah, it's right on that
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: cusp of reporting to spring training. Anyway, there was pretty
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: big news. I mean, of course they're going to be
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: signings over the last week and change that we were
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: not doing a live show. But let's get to the
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: most recent and biggest name. Let's start out. Tatsuya am
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: I signs with the Houston Astros three years. It can
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: get to sixty three million bucks. It's got opt out
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: after each season. So for me, I'm on the high
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: side of what I think he's going to bring to
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: the table in twenty twenty six krats. I treat this
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: like a one year deal for the Houston Astros. The
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: posting fee is about eleven million bucks. He's only going
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: to count eighteen million bucks against the luxury tax, which
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: is big. And we'll talk to Chandler Rome, who covers
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: the Astros every day, about how that folds into the
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: way that the soft salary cap, the luxury tax number,
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: the CBT fits for the Astros the rest of the
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: off season. But let's start with the player. I think
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: Amaia has upside to be a front end starter, a
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: guy who can start a playoff game. It sounds like
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: the industry spoke and said, we don't necessarily trust that
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: and the risk is too high, so the Astros win
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: the bid. It sounded like the Mets and Yanks weren't serious,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: even though we had heard about them being serious from
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: people in the past. Maybe the Cubs were the second
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: place finishers, or they just wanted people to think that way.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: But what do you think of this?
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: For Houston, you might have Hunter Brown, then him I
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: might be their next best picture.
• 6:22
  Speaker 5: In my mind, I mean I believe.
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: I believe in the Cubs thing, because I mean, look,
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: they've gotten Seya before, they've gotten.
• 6:31
  Speaker 5: Monagah, thank you.
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: And now for the Astros, like you sit there and
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: you go, okay, they made a splash into the Japanese
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: market here, but at what cost?
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: To me?
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: It's not a big cost at all. I get it
• 6:44
  Speaker 4: the eleven million dollars posting fee cost but doesn't go
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: against their luxury tax. But eighteen a year for a
• 6:52
  Speaker 4: picture like wait till the end of the off season,
• 6:55
  Speaker 4: see what else guys are getting, Like who else is
• 6:59
  Speaker 4: getting paid eighteen million a year? And I feel like today,
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: without seeing him pitch in a Big League game, I
• 7:07
  Speaker 4: feel like it's a pretty good deal. I didn't have
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: him as high as Yamamoto. But you also have to
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: remember everybody remembers the recency bias of Yamamoto dominating besides
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: his little blip against the Phillies, and he almost lost
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: the World Series coming back out after another dominating performance,
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: but everybody remembers he's the MVP. He didn't pitch half
• 7:29
  Speaker 4: the first year, so for the Astros. When he was
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: with the Dodgers, the first year with the Dodgers, he
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: didn't pitch half of that year because of an injury.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: If you're the Astros, you're sitting here like, we don't
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: know we're going to get the first year. And I
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: think the industry probably feels the same way. And the
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: fact that he can go out, have a ridiculous first
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: year and opt out is great for both parties because
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: am I can get what he need, get what he
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: wants in the fact that he can show he can
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: pitch in the big leagues, and the Astros say, you
• 8:05
  Speaker 4: do really well, we benefit and then you go out
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: and we don't have any more of your contract on
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: our books.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Right, it's insurance in case he completely bombed or it
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: gets hurt or something like that. But otherwise, let's bring
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: in Chandler Roam right now, who wrote articles about this
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: multiple d already and has a breaking news spot out
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: on crush Citty Territory where you can check it out. Chandler,
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: your thoughts on this signing for the Astros? Did you
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: see this one coming?
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: I did not, and I don't think really anyone around
• 8:37
  Speaker 5: the Astras on'lyk anyone that intently follows them saw this
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: one coming. They were always going to keep searching for
• 8:42
  Speaker 5: starting pitching. There was an internal thought that the gap
• 8:47
  Speaker 5: between Hunter Brown and the rest of the Astros rotation
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: was two wide, and obviously, with when you have a
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: guy that was a cy Young finalist in Brown, there's
• 8:56
  Speaker 5: obviously going to be a gap. But the Astros wanted
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: to work to close that gap a little bit. I
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: you know, everything that we had been told and everything
• 9:05
  Speaker 5: that I had reported this whole winter suggested that, you know,
• 9:09
  Speaker 5: they didn't have a ton of money to spend, that
• 9:11
  Speaker 5: they wanted to be mindful of their luxury tax positioning.
• 9:14
  Speaker 5: But it should be noted that the Astros cut about
• 9:17
  Speaker 5: an estimated sixteen million dollars in payroll by trading Mauricio
• 9:21
  Speaker 5: Duban and then releasing Chas McCormick, Luis Garcia, and ramon Arius.
• 9:26
  Speaker 5: This is the reinvestment of that cutting of the payroll.
• 9:30
  Speaker 5: And you know, I think Jim Crane, I think the
• 9:33
  Speaker 5: Astros wanted to make a mark in the Japanese market,
• 9:38
  Speaker 5: in the Asian market. I don't think it's a coincidence
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: that they renamed their ballpark dyke In Park about a
• 9:44
  Speaker 5: year ago. Todaydike In is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. They
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: wanted to have their footprint a little bit in the
• 9:55
  Speaker 5: Asia market, in the Japanese market, and this is going
• 9:58
  Speaker 5: to help that immensely. Now, they were never going to
• 10:01
  Speaker 5: give Emi the contract that many pundits projected he would get.
• 10:06
  Speaker 5: The athletics. Tim Britton said he would get eight years
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: and one hundred and ninety million dollars. MLB trade rumors
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: had him at six years, one hundred and fifty million dollars.
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: The Ashers were never going to go to that length.
• 10:17
  Speaker 5: But when opinions of Emi were kind of polarizing within
• 10:21
  Speaker 5: the industry, when it became clear that he wasn't going
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: to get that long term deal that a lot of
• 10:27
  Speaker 5: places were projecting, he was going to get Jim Crane
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: and the Ashers are perfectly fine with this a short term,
• 10:34
  Speaker 5: high AAV deal. In fact, that's the kind of free
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: agent deal they have done throughout Gym's entire ownership tenure.
• 10:40
  Speaker 5: So really this one just kind of fell into their
• 10:42
  Speaker 5: lap and they were happy to take it.
• 10:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and I want to go along those lines too
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: as well. Understanding that people were thinking he was going
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: to get closer to two hundred even three hundred million
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: dollars and he got sixty three.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Why do you think that happened?
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: And why do you think he took this deal over
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: other deals that had a little bit more money on
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: the table.
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: Well, you got to remember that he's represented by Scott Boris.
• 11:06
  Speaker 5: I think Scott Boris wants to get him back out
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: into the free agent market as quickly as possible. I think,
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: you know, why didn't he get that longer term deal.
• 11:15
  Speaker 5: You know, I think there are some questions a little
• 11:17
  Speaker 5: bit about his durability. I think there are some questions
• 11:19
  Speaker 5: about you know, I don't think anyone questions the upside.
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: I don't think anyone questions the stuff and what this
• 11:25
  Speaker 5: guy can bring. I don't think anyone ever projected him
• 11:30
  Speaker 5: to get, you know, to be on the same plane
• 11:32
  Speaker 5: as Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Now Scott Boris at the GM meetings
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: did say that certainly Emi has done everything Yamamoto did
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: in NPB, and that is one hundred percent true when
• 11:42
  Speaker 5: you look at the statistics. So I just think that
• 11:45
  Speaker 5: the market really didn't materialize in the way that maybe
• 11:49
  Speaker 5: Emi thought it would. And I think this is a
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: perfect opportunity for him to prove to maybe some of
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: the naysayers, some of the people in the industry that
• 11:59
  Speaker 5: that were that we're questioning, kind of his upside and
• 12:01
  Speaker 5: what he can bring. You have a year to prove it.
• 12:04
  Speaker 5: You have a year to go out and erase those
• 12:06
  Speaker 5: durability concerns. The innings, pitch thresholds in this contract are
• 12:11
  Speaker 5: very interesting to me. They started eighty innings pitch, so
• 12:14
  Speaker 5: he gets an extra million dollars if he hits eighty innings,
• 12:17
  Speaker 5: another extra million if he hits ninety innings, and then
• 12:19
  Speaker 5: another extra million if hits one hundred innings pitch. Usually
• 12:22
  Speaker 5: you see those innings pitch thresholds for starting pitchers way higher.
• 12:27
  Speaker 5: You usually see in about one hundred and one twenty
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: one forty. So you know, maybe that is indicative of
• 12:33
  Speaker 5: some of the concerns that that are had about his durability,
• 12:36
  Speaker 5: whether he can pitch deep into a season, into a
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: major league season. But this is now, you know, he
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: has all the opportunity in the world now to prove
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: a lot of people wrong, to prove that he is
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: worthy of that long contract, and he can get back
• 12:51
  Speaker 5: into free agency next winter and perhaps get it.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: Will there be a push because of those innings? That
• 12:57
  Speaker 4: was my question was going to be about those innings.
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: It's very rare, and you you highlighted that, but I'm
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: gonna double down on it. Are they going to use
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: him differently? In the sense every Japanese picture that comes
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: over six man rotation, that's what everybody hears. It's durability.
• 13:14
  Speaker 4: It's kind of like a it seems like a cliche,
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: especially after what Yamamoto did this year after a season
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: where he came back, you know, didn't pitch half the season.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: Is there a way that they're gonna have to deploy
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: him differently because of that? Or is that innings limits?
• 13:31
  Speaker 4: Really just they feel like he's a twenty one million
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: dollars a year pitcher, knowing that he'll get there without
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: an injury.
• 13:38
  Speaker 5: I think it's more of the latter. Eric. I don't
• 13:40
  Speaker 5: think they're gonna mess with you know, he's a starter.
• 13:43
  Speaker 5: They're going to deploy him as a starting pitcher. You know,
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: they'll read and react, and they'll obviously have to talk
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: to him and be in communication with him just about
• 13:50
  Speaker 5: all the stuff you usually have to be in contact
• 13:52
  Speaker 5: with with an MPB pitcher coming over. Just the transition
• 13:55
  Speaker 5: kind of what's different about big league life. You know,
• 13:59
  Speaker 5: you mentioned this XP rotation, and I'll tell you this,
• 14:01
  Speaker 5: the Astros opened the season with twenty five games in
• 14:04
  Speaker 5: twenty seven days. It would not stun me that they
• 14:08
  Speaker 5: come out of spring training already in a six man
• 14:10
  Speaker 5: rotation maybe for the first month of the year. And
• 14:13
  Speaker 5: the interesting thing is Emi kind of falls in line
• 14:18
  Speaker 5: with all of the other pitchers that they have acquired
• 14:21
  Speaker 5: this offseason. You look at Ryan Weiss, who they signed
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: out of the KBO, a ton of innings incentives in
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: that contract to somebody with a ton of upside that
• 14:29
  Speaker 5: that really just hasn't proven it at the big league level.
• 14:32
  Speaker 5: You look at Mike Burrows, who they got in the trade,
• 14:35
  Speaker 5: the three team trade with Tampa and Pittsburgh. Another guy
• 14:38
  Speaker 5: that they're very excited about, a guy that certainly has
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: the prospect pedigree and has shown a little bit what
• 14:43
  Speaker 5: he can do at the big league level, but certainly
• 14:45
  Speaker 5: not a proven commodity. He's only throwing ninety innings at
• 14:48
  Speaker 5: the big league level. And then Nate Pearson, who they
• 14:50
  Speaker 5: signed early in the off season. They're going to give
• 14:53
  Speaker 5: him a chance to start, you know, a top prospect
• 14:56
  Speaker 5: that certainly has the stuff, has has a high high ceiling,
• 14:59
  Speaker 5: but they're gonna give so it really kind of falls
• 15:02
  Speaker 5: in line with they've really leaned into a lot of
• 15:05
  Speaker 5: high upside plays with you know, maybe not a ton
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: of you know, guarantees as to what they'll be, but
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: if they can hit on all of these guys, they
• 15:15
  Speaker 5: certainly have the makings of a really good rotation, and
• 15:18
  Speaker 5: if there's one team's pitching development infrastructure and kind of
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: analytics and pitching infrastructure that I would trust to hit
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: on these guys, it's the astros.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: Wait, I gotta go back to something you said, six
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: man rotation, Hunter Brown. Hunter Brown is a cy young candidate.
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: Will he agree to a six man rotation? Because that
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: just that like just that moniker on your name. Oh
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: he's in a six man rotation. It's gonna automatically make
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: people I don't know or is he gonna be the exception?
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: Everyone else goes six and he goes every five and
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: you just get bumped when it's Hunter's turn.
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: Yeah, that's why I was gonna bring up Eric. They
• 15:57
  Speaker 5: can they can read and react on these things like
• 15:59
  Speaker 5: it's this is a good problem to have. It is
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: a good problem to have a lot of starting pitchers
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: that they're gonna have to find kind of figure out
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: what to do with. This is a problem that quite frankly,
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: they didn't have the last couple of years. So yeah,
• 16:11
  Speaker 5: it could be a situation where maybe they they talk
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: with Hunter and see if he wants to pitch every
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: fifth day, but they can make if Emi needs some
• 16:19
  Speaker 5: extra rest or if they're bullpens kind of short, maybe
• 16:22
  Speaker 5: they can figure out a way to finagle to get
• 16:24
  Speaker 5: Hunter to pitch every fifth day. But I'll say this,
• 16:27
  Speaker 5: you know Hunter Brown was they ran six man rotations
• 16:30
  Speaker 5: last year at points of last season at Hunter Brown,
• 16:34
  Speaker 5: at least publicly, never never begrudged it, never never spoke
• 16:38
  Speaker 5: out against it. Internally, you know, speaking to him, he's
• 16:41
  Speaker 5: a he's his team first of a guy as it comes.
• 16:43
  Speaker 5: I don't think it's going to be that big of
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: a deal, but because mainly because he's done it already.
• 16:49
  Speaker 5: He has been part of a six man rotation as
• 16:51
  Speaker 5: a cy young candidate before he did that last year.
• 16:54
  Speaker 5: I don't envision it being much of a problem. But
• 16:57
  Speaker 5: they will have that flexibility to be able to kind
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: of do with him what they please.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: The Astros fans, man, they got to be really excited
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: about this.
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: First off, he's coming to the team, and second off,
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: he said he wants to beat the Dodgers.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: How do you perceive all this?
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: And are the fans just falling in love with this
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: guy already not even seeing him throw one pitch yet.
• 17:18
  Speaker 5: He could not have endeared himself better to this fan
• 17:21
  Speaker 5: base just based off of those comments he gave to Dice,
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: came out Susaka on that show in Japan. But I
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: found his entire kind of outlook on this whole thing
• 17:29
  Speaker 5: really fascinating. That he didn't want to go somewhere where
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: there was a large Japanese presence where he wanted to
• 17:37
  Speaker 5: maybe go see if he could confront kind of these
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: struggles that are inherently going to come just of the transition,
• 17:44
  Speaker 5: just of coming to a new league, coming to a
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: new country. He wants to battle those on his own.
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: He essentially said he'd be taking the easy way out
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: by going to a team with a big Japanese presence
• 17:55
  Speaker 5: where he can rely on, you know, a guy like
• 17:57
  Speaker 5: Yamamoto or a guy like Sasaki, or even if he
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: went to the Cubs relying on Shota or relying on
• 18:03
  Speaker 5: Saya Suzuki. Like, I think that's a refreshing perspective to have,
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: and I think it's certainly something. I think we're going
• 18:08
  Speaker 5: to get to talk to Emi next week. I think
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: they're going to do a press conference here. It'll be
• 18:12
  Speaker 5: interesting to hear kind of more what he has to
• 18:14
  Speaker 5: say about that. But just reading up on that and
• 18:18
  Speaker 5: not being afraid to be different, not being afraid to
• 18:21
  Speaker 5: be the only guy kind of on the team. That's
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: Japanese and that comes from that culture. I think that's
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: a really interesting and a really kind of enlightening viewpoint
• 18:31
  Speaker 5: and way to view things.
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: Chandler.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: I like the Kikuchi angle too. I know Scott Boris
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: mentioned how he was paying attention to the fact that
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Kikuchi goes over to the Astros they seem to get
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: him clicking, and then it turned into sixty three million
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: bucks for him with the Angels. Of course, the comedy
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: in it for me is that Kikuchi goes to the
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Angels and those two yes, I have similar contracts in
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: terms of guaranteed money. The ass Joe's have a deal
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: with a Japanese h back company. Kikuchi complaining about AC
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: with the Angels, and so my ends up with the Astros.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: They have good AC and good backing behind it. So
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: I read that, and that's where my brain was twisting.
• 19:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and I want to make this clear too, Like
• 19:18
  Speaker 5: it's not as if you say Kakuchi and Tatsuya Emi
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: are identical. Like Kakuchi is left handed, Emi is right handed,
• 19:25
  Speaker 5: they are not the same pitcher, Like, they have different things,
• 19:29
  Speaker 5: different ways of getting hitters out, but they've got some
• 19:32
  Speaker 5: similarities in their arsenals. They've got some similar ways in
• 19:35
  Speaker 5: the way they do things. And you know, I I
• 19:38
  Speaker 5: I talked to Scott Morris when you say was still
• 19:41
  Speaker 5: with the Astros, talk to him in Anaheim kind of.
• 19:43
  Speaker 5: I think that last series of the year when when
• 19:46
  Speaker 5: Kokuchi was going to pitch and he raved about what
• 19:48
  Speaker 5: the Astros did to Kokuchi, and it was more about
• 19:52
  Speaker 5: kind of simplifying what Yusai Kakuchi was doing, and I
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: think Scott said something to the effect of, you know,
• 19:58
  Speaker 5: they're letting him pitch like he did. He was an
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: amateur when he was coming up in Japan, before he
• 20:03
  Speaker 5: came over to the States and before he posted. So
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: I can't sit here and say they're going to do
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: the exact same things with Emi that they did with Kakuchi.
• 20:11
  Speaker 5: But at the very least Scott Boris had a baseline
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: to where he could go to Emi and tell him. Look,
• 20:18
  Speaker 5: they have had success with some with a Japanese pitcher,
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: granted not someone that came over straight from MPB, but
• 20:26
  Speaker 5: they have had success with guys with similar arsenals. To
• 20:30
  Speaker 5: what you have and what you do like this is
• 20:32
  Speaker 5: a place where I think they all felt comfortable that
• 20:35
  Speaker 5: he could come here and really maybe realize that potential
• 20:39
  Speaker 5: that some people are questioning within the industry.
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: Let's talk about next moves for the Astros after this.
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: They're still slightly under and once they trade away Jose
• 20:49
  Speaker 4: Abreu's salary, I mean, I mean Christian Walker's salary, were
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: just rinsing and repeating the same story. Is that something
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: that's going to happen. Do they have to the Astros
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: have to or will they look at moving possibly Estoc
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: Paradis or Christian Walker.
• 21:08
  Speaker 5: Kratzy. I just don't know where they're gonna have the
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: every day at bats for these guys, because Joaspot has
• 21:14
  Speaker 5: said at the winter meetings he wants Jordan Alvarez to
• 21:16
  Speaker 5: d h most of the time and he wants Jose
• 21:19
  Speaker 5: al Tuova to play second base a majority of his time.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: Now they can both play some left field, but judging
• 21:25
  Speaker 5: on what Joaspot has said, he'd like those two guys
• 21:28
  Speaker 5: to be entrenched in those positions. You got Carlos Korea
• 21:31
  Speaker 5: at third base, you have Jeremy Pana a second at shortstop,
• 21:34
  Speaker 5: excuse me, you're gonna have Jose al Twove at second base.
• 21:38
  Speaker 5: I don't know where the at bats come for Estoc
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: Paratus and Christian Walker of the everyday variety, with the
• 21:44
  Speaker 5: DH being clogged up with Alvarez, Like, I just don't
• 21:47
  Speaker 5: know how you get both of those guys every day
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: at batch. You know, Christian Walker, he sat out a
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: pivotal game in September last year. Joe Spott has said
• 21:55
  Speaker 5: it was due to matchups. He was scuffling at that point,
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: and I talked to Christian Walker that day and he said,
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: I'm an everyday player. He said, I want to play
• 22:02
  Speaker 5: every day. He understood why the move was made, but
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: made no bones about it. He wants to be an
• 22:07
  Speaker 5: every day player.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: He saw.
• 22:08
  Speaker 5: Paratus is currently an arbitration. He's going to be an
• 22:11
  Speaker 5: arbitration next year. How do you get paid in arbitration?
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: You get paid by accumulating stats, accumulating games played things
• 22:17
  Speaker 5: like that. They may look, they could go to spring
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: training with this glut of infielders, and I'm sure they
• 22:23
  Speaker 5: could make it work. I'm sure they could set up
• 22:25
  Speaker 5: a schedule to where all these guys get, you know,
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: enough at bats to feel good, and we're all fine
• 22:31
  Speaker 5: and dandy, but Kratch, you've been in a big league clubhouse,
• 22:35
  Speaker 5: same thing with Todd Like it's I don't think it's
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: going to sit well with these veteran guys being told like, hey,
• 22:40
  Speaker 5: you're not an everyday player anymore. And they may say
• 22:42
  Speaker 5: everything right publicly. You know, we did this song and
• 22:45
  Speaker 5: dance when the Astros acquire Josh Hater to when they
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: signed him two years ago, Ryan Presley everything publicly, he
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: was on board. You know, he did nothing in the
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: clubhouse to create acrimony, but they traded him a year later,
• 22:58
  Speaker 5: in part because his relationship but the organization had deteriorated,
• 23:02
  Speaker 5: in part because they signed Josh Hater. Now, you know
• 23:06
  Speaker 5: they as far as the payroll goes, they are about
• 23:10
  Speaker 5: four million dollars under the luxury tax right now. They
• 23:13
  Speaker 5: need a backup catcher. I think they'd like another left
• 23:16
  Speaker 5: handed hitter, and I think they'd like another reliever. You
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: can't do that without spending money, so I would imagine,
• 23:22
  Speaker 5: you know, you start to look at who makes money.
• 23:24
  Speaker 5: Essock Paradus is estimated to make about ten million dollars
• 23:27
  Speaker 5: in arbitration. Christian Walker is going to have twenty million
• 23:30
  Speaker 5: dollars salary, it's going to be really hard to move.
• 23:32
  Speaker 5: You have Hayesus Sanchez in the outfield, who's estimated to
• 23:35
  Speaker 5: make about six and a half million in arbitration. He's
• 23:38
  Speaker 5: certainly a trade candidate as well. But if the Ashers
• 23:41
  Speaker 5: want to get the most value back, if they want
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: to make a trade that gets them, that helps their
• 23:46
  Speaker 5: farm system, that maybe helps their major league team. I
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: think Essock Paradus is the most valuable guy on their
• 23:52
  Speaker 5: team that they could trade. It would help to clear
• 23:54
  Speaker 5: payroll space, and it would help it would give them
• 23:57
  Speaker 5: the most value back in return. Didn't they know all this?
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: Didn't they know all this last year when they traded
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: for Carlos Korea And I know they're going to say, unbelievable.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: Any chance you get an opportunity to bring Carlos Correa back,
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: you do it, especially since the Twins are paying some
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: of that contract. But didn't they know this? Like when
• 24:18
  Speaker 4: they've had your Don Alvarez this whole time and he
• 24:21
  Speaker 4: is locking up your DH spot, I get it, you've
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: been putting him in left. So who's to blame for
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: this maybe logjam that they're sitting at right now.
• 24:32
  Speaker 5: I think they went into the twenty two I went
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: they went into last year's trade deadline just saying, we
• 24:37
  Speaker 5: need to make the playoffs this year. We need to
• 24:39
  Speaker 5: help ourselves this year get to the playoffs. And remember,
• 24:43
  Speaker 5: at the time of the trade deadline last year, Estak
• 24:45
  Speaker 5: Paradis was thought to be done for the season. He
• 24:48
  Speaker 5: had sustained a severe hamstring strain. They needed a third base,
• 24:52
  Speaker 5: like they needed a third baseman to compete last year.
• 24:55
  Speaker 5: They went and got Carlos Korea again, a situation where
• 24:58
  Speaker 5: it kind of fell into their lap. Of the Twins
• 25:00
  Speaker 5: just completely fire sailing and being willing to eat some
• 25:04
  Speaker 5: of that contract. It fell into their lap, and Dana
• 25:07
  Speaker 5: Brown and Joe Spot have both said that they needed
• 25:09
  Speaker 5: some leadership that obviously Carlos Korey is going to provide that,
• 25:12
  Speaker 5: but Cratsy thing new like they knew they were getting
• 25:15
  Speaker 5: questions about that, like the day after the trade deadline
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: last year, and it was all just, oh, we'll cross
• 25:20
  Speaker 5: that bridge when we come to it. Well, you know,
• 25:22
  Speaker 5: we're worried about this team, this year's team, and it
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: was easy then. It was easy to kick the can
• 25:27
  Speaker 5: down the road and just say we'll address this when
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: we have to. Well, now they're here, and it's going
• 25:33
  Speaker 5: to be a difficult one to address because Estoc Paradus
• 25:36
  Speaker 5: is it's better for the twenty twenty six asters of
• 25:40
  Speaker 5: Estoc Paratus is on the team. The pole power, the patience,
• 25:45
  Speaker 5: being able to work at bat's work, played appearances, the
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: sort of offensive profile they don't have in their lineup,
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: like he is the best fit to say on the team.
• 25:55
  Speaker 5: But I just don't know if they're going to be
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: able to move Christian Walker. He's got a limited no
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: trade clause that allow in the block of trade to
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: six teams. He's got a twenty million dollar salary that
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: I can't envision any team is going to take on
• 26:07
  Speaker 5: in its entirety, so I'll have to eat some of it.
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: It's going to be far more cumbersome to move Walker.
• 26:12
  Speaker 5: Could they do it? Sure? Maybe there's a team that
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: you know, when we get to the end of January
• 26:19
  Speaker 5: that has missed out on some of its free agent targets,
• 26:21
  Speaker 5: has missed out on some of the offensive free agents
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: out there, and say we need a right handed power hitter.
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: Christian Walker still did hit twenty seven homers last season.
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: He's not you know. I know it may have been
• 26:34
  Speaker 5: tongue in cheek cratzy, but I don't think this is
• 26:36
  Speaker 5: a Jose Brady situation. I mean, Walker still hit twenty
• 26:40
  Speaker 5: seven homers last year. He had a seven ninety nine
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: ohps after the All Star Break. Like, I don't think
• 26:46
  Speaker 5: this is a situation where he has just completely lost
• 26:49
  Speaker 5: it and it's irredeemable. Like he's got value at that price.
• 26:54
  Speaker 5: You know, I don't know if any team's going to
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: take him on at that price. He's on in his contract,
• 26:58
  Speaker 5: but he's got enough value to where he could move.
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: But it may come later in the off season, maybe
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: after a team has done and settled, they've missed out
• 27:07
  Speaker 5: on some targets and they're like, hey, like we need it,
• 27:09
  Speaker 5: we need another bat in of our lineup. Then maybe
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: they pivots Christian Walker.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: Yep, good call.
• 27:15
  Speaker 2: So maybe that curse that Kratz is talking about gets
• 27:18
  Speaker 2: a raised here. And I agree, Yeah, it's not like
• 27:20
  Speaker 2: it was a bad year this past season. It's just
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: the irony of them already shopping the first baseman that
• 27:26
  Speaker 2: they signed to a long term contract. And I agree,
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: paratus is built for Houston. So I hope that he
• 27:31
  Speaker 2: gets to do one more season there. I'm sure he
• 27:33
  Speaker 2: feels the same way because he's entering his free agent year.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: But anyway, Chandler, great catching up, appreciate it, great hustle.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: The last couple of days Krush City Territory episode out
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: there now for much more detail on this signing. There
• 27:44
  Speaker 2: it is. It's Chandler, it's Tyler, it's Josh Reddick, it's
• 27:48
  Speaker 2: part of THENE network. And Chandler's got multiple articles out
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: there in the Athletic on am I and what's next
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: for Houston. Thanks Chandler.
• 27:54
  Speaker 5: Happy New Year, Bud, Thanks guys, Happy new Year.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: Here we go.
• 28:01
  Speaker 2: Hot corner signings that happened since we've been gone from
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: a live show. Tyler mally San Francisco Giants ten million
• 28:09
  Speaker 2: dollars in guaranteed cash over one year coming up.
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: He was great.
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: That'll be about three point five million guaranteed California.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: Uh hey, he was.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: He was really good.
• 28:27
  Speaker 2: In about half a Season's where it starts. Miley hasn't
• 28:30
  Speaker 2: been able to stay on the field consistently. He had
• 28:32
  Speaker 2: TJ two at one point, but he had sixteen starts
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: this past season at two one, eight ERA and eighty
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: six and two thirds innings, low strikeout numbers though sixty
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: six punches in eighty six and two thirds.
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: Imagine getting signed there like say, like my last year,
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: they signed me for three million, I'm like, can I
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: get two point nine nine nine to third?
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: So I don't have to.
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: Say, well, that's what guys do nowadays, at least some
• 28:54
  Speaker 2: of them do. They say, hey, can I get at
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: the third? Back to when I'm in Florida or Texas
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: whatever it is. So this pair with I don't think
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: we really got to this at one point when it happened,
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: because it was maybe a few days before our final
• 29:06
  Speaker 2: show of twenty twenty five. Adrian Houser also signed with
• 29:10
  Speaker 2: the Giants. The temperament from Giants fans on social media
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: is not good right now, Kratz. They're pissed. They think
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: that these are little uh spots and dots moves. Two
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: years twenty two mil for Hawser, one year ten mil
• 29:25
  Speaker 2: for Tyler Molly. That's not little money like Howser and Molly.
• 29:30
  Speaker 2: You're getting twenty two million bucks, you know. That's that's
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: like what AMAI is getting this coming season for Houston.
• 29:37
  Speaker 2: So would you rather have a may or Hawser and
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: Molly I'll take a mind.
• 29:42
  Speaker 4: Well yeah, I mean everyone will take you may but
• 29:45
  Speaker 4: I think they already have their Emaid. If they think
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: he mine is going to be, you know what, they're
• 29:50
  Speaker 4: paying him to be. The Astros and another reization believes
• 29:53
  Speaker 4: that they already have Logan Webb, they already have Robbie Rain.
• 29:56
  Speaker 4: Those are the guys that have to carry the tour
• 30:00
  Speaker 4: for this team, and I think you kind of that
• 30:02
  Speaker 4: is a place where I think the Giants can get
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: a lot of value. We need guys that throw strikes,
• 30:11
  Speaker 4: guys that are in the zone and let people make contact.
• 30:14
  Speaker 4: Because it's a large park. You're not gonna get hurt
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: by that long fly ball. You're not gonna get hurt
• 30:21
  Speaker 4: by the fact that a ball on the ground is
• 30:22
  Speaker 4: going to get through. Because their defense, they built their
• 30:25
  Speaker 4: team for defense. I know they got Willia Doomas, but
• 30:28
  Speaker 4: he came in, you know more for the offense. They
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: got defense up at in center behind a dish one
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: of the best, Matt Chapman. So I don't hate this
• 30:38
  Speaker 4: for the Giants. Because of how Oracle Park plays and
• 30:42
  Speaker 4: because of how they've built their team, I think they'll
• 30:44
  Speaker 4: find more value in these signings than maybe some other teams.
• 30:47
  Speaker 3: Would have Zach Eflin known fact, well it is known
• 30:52
  Speaker 3: because I was it. My thousand ten was off Zach Eflin.
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: Oh really yeah, Oh well, he's just transitioning us right
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: into the next starter signing.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: That excuse me, shall we? I thought we were talking
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: about them already.
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: No, you're confusing your housers with your Efflin.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: That's what.
• 31:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're getting a little pile on me.
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: You grit a little peal on me.
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: I need Crats here to give them a little smack.
• 31:15
  Speaker 2: But okay, crats I I'm doing. Yeah, I'm not criticizing
• 31:19
  Speaker 2: that the Giants moves as much as you know, fans
• 31:22
  Speaker 2: expecting more of a heavy hitter signing. But they're they're
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: signing around the margins and that's actually what was written
• 31:27
  Speaker 2: about them at the start of the off season. Don't
• 31:29
  Speaker 2: expect the Giants to lay the hammer down. They're going
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: to do more of these depth deals. So okay, excuse me,
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: but now let's get to mister one thousand.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: Zach Efflin.
• 31:42
  Speaker 2: A one year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and the
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: Orioles continue to strike. They're pissed. A year ago Todd
• 31:50
  Speaker 2: father said, you're not making the playoffs.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: Guys.
• 31:52
  Speaker 2: We didn't like your off season, and neither did anybody
• 31:55
  Speaker 2: who we thought they were exactly this time around one year,
• 31:59
  Speaker 2: ten million bucks, four million with bonuses tied to start
• 32:03
  Speaker 2: so he could make himself up to fourteen million bucks
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: to be part of an Oriole's rotation that needed a facelift,
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: and they're getting it right now. Suddenly you've got Shane
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: Boss zach Eflin. Trevor Rodgers was brilliant for the Orioles.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: Hopefully he can continue that for them. What's his face?
• 32:22
  Speaker 2: Just came back towards the end of the year. As
• 32:25
  Speaker 2: I'm pulling up, Bradish just came back towards the end
• 32:28
  Speaker 2: of the year. Now we're talking, or are we?
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: Guys? Are we talking now?
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: Are we feeling a lot better about the rotation heading
• 32:35
  Speaker 2: into this season?
• 32:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah? I feel good about it for sure.
• 32:39
  Speaker 3: They're making these moves to win, and I think this
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: is a good one here. He's still a really good picture.
• 32:44
  Speaker 3: He knows how to throw well. I didn't know he
• 32:46
  Speaker 3: was thirty one. I thought he was older than that.
• 32:48
  Speaker 2: Is he only thirty one zach.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: Eflyn or thirty two? Maybe excuse me. Yeah, he's thirty.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: Two season. I mean yeah, still doing it. Stay healthy,
• 32:59
  Speaker 3: get out there. Yeah, show him what you really are, Bro,
• 33:01
  Speaker 3: You're a really good pitcher. He's got a nasty breaking pitch,
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: his fastball's got some movement to it, and he's a
• 33:07
  Speaker 3: tall stature. Another good pickup for Baltimore, another check mark.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: But for me and I know where Kratz is probably
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: going one more, poor Fovar one more. It could be
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: like our prior segment, a Ranger Suarez. It could be
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: a friend Rivaldees, it could be one of the mid
• 33:26
  Speaker 2: tier guys. There's actually a number of mid tier guys
• 33:28
  Speaker 2: still available on the market. Of course, if you're an
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: Orioles fan, you want one of the big boys that's left.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: But there are quite a few starters in that mid
• 33:36
  Speaker 2: tier range. Nick Martinez, Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassett, Zach Lateel,
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: the zackly Tel sign.
• 33:43
  Speaker 4: Yet I'm not one hundred percent on that.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: Anyway, there's quite a few left that I think would
• 33:52
  Speaker 2: make Oriols fans feel a little bit better from the
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: depth department, Because if you're one of those fans that said, hey,
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: last year was a mess because injuries. Okay, well then
• 34:02
  Speaker 2: that's something that occurs all the time in the pitching department,
• 34:05
  Speaker 2: So you better stack up this year. And I think
• 34:06
  Speaker 2: that's part of what they're doing here, Crafts. If they
• 34:08
  Speaker 2: can get one more starter, I think they're in the
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: playoff mix.
• 34:12
  Speaker 4: Or I think this is really setting up for them
• 34:15
  Speaker 4: to get Ranger Suarez. I get I guess I'm you know,
• 34:17
  Speaker 4: really pushing that forward. But what have we always said
• 34:20
  Speaker 4: about Ranger Suarez? You know, one hundred and thirty, one
• 34:23
  Speaker 4: hundred and forty innings. He's gonna spend a little bit
• 34:25
  Speaker 4: of time on the il, and then he's gonna ball
• 34:29
  Speaker 4: out in the playoffs. That's what he's done in his career,
• 34:31
  Speaker 4: and that's what you're paying for in free agency. So
• 34:33
  Speaker 4: what the Orioles think that's worth. You know, it's worth.
• 34:37
  Speaker 4: Let's get some other guys around them. Let's get some
• 34:39
  Speaker 4: other guys to If he can only make twenty five
• 34:42
  Speaker 4: of his starts, how can we subsidize those other seven starts?
• 34:47
  Speaker 4: The issue if you don't get a Ranger Suarez, and
• 34:50
  Speaker 4: you do and I love a Nick Martinez, I would
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: like that signing too, because I think he goes out
• 34:55
  Speaker 4: there and gives you that Swiss army knife kind of pitcher.
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: The issue is your on a guy like Bradish to
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: say you have to make your thirty two starts, you
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: have to be the guy you were before you got hurt.
• 35:11
  Speaker 4: That's tough and I think that can put too much
• 35:16
  Speaker 4: pressure on a guy to fight through the issues that
• 35:20
  Speaker 4: some pitchers have coming back from Tommy John surgery. I
• 35:23
  Speaker 4: know he came back at the end of the year
• 35:25
  Speaker 4: and he pitched really, really well. I just would like
• 35:29
  Speaker 4: a little softer landing with a guy in the rotation
• 35:32
  Speaker 4: like a Ranger Swarz. I think it vaults the Orioles
• 35:36
  Speaker 4: to a new level if you have a Ranger Suarez,
• 35:39
  Speaker 4: Trevor Rodgers, and a Kyle Bradish. Because of then those
• 35:43
  Speaker 4: other pieces Shane Boz, you have e Flynn, and then
• 35:48
  Speaker 4: you're able to mix in Tyler Rose, You're able to
• 35:50
  Speaker 4: mix in just other guys and you have more of
• 35:52
  Speaker 4: like a seven man rotation that looks really clear going
• 35:58
  Speaker 4: into the playoffs because one of those top three guys Falter.
• 36:03
  Speaker 4: Now one of those other three guys steps up and
• 36:05
  Speaker 4: is that guy coming into playoff time, and Zach Eflin
• 36:09
  Speaker 4: he doesn't need, in my opinion, isn't need to apologize
• 36:12
  Speaker 4: for what he did with the Orioles. If you look
• 36:14
  Speaker 4: back when he got traded over the nine starts he
• 36:17
  Speaker 4: made in twenty four, he was lights out. So there's
• 36:22
  Speaker 4: clearly a track record of them liking him and him
• 36:25
  Speaker 4: liking Baltimore. And to me, I think they're gonna get
• 36:28
  Speaker 4: closer to the twenty twenty four guy they traded for
• 36:32
  Speaker 4: than what happened in twenty five.
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: And Lettel, by the way, is still a free agent
• 36:38
  Speaker 2: for all of you Lttell super fans out there, but yeah,
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: one more, one more for Baltimore. But giving them a
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: ton of credit, they've been maybe the most aggressive team
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: so far this offseason. They had a lot of bullpen
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: to remake and they've been working on that as well,
• 36:50
  Speaker 2: which moves us right to a team that has solely
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: focused on remaking their bullpen. Since most of their guys
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: from this past season were free agents, the Chicago Cubs
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: snuck in with a Hunter Harvey contract. Harvey's always a
• 37:04
  Speaker 2: big stuff guy. I just can't stay consistently on the field.
• 37:07
  Speaker 2: Cubs sign him up to a one year deal. They've
• 37:09
  Speaker 2: done a lot with their bullpen, one year six million
• 37:12
  Speaker 2: bucks by the way for Hunter Harvey. But I say
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: all that with the caveat that the Cubs are playing
• 37:20
  Speaker 2: in the kiddie pool for the most part this year,
• 37:23
  Speaker 2: to use an aj Bruzinski term, they have not only
• 37:28
  Speaker 2: not landed a big boy, but it doesn't seem like
• 37:30
  Speaker 2: they're in on any of the big points. So, like,
• 37:33
  Speaker 2: we have a resident Cub super fan in the chat,
• 37:37
  Speaker 2: Mike g who's just been on fire today, and he
• 37:39
  Speaker 2: said one of his comments. I copied it down so
• 37:42
  Speaker 2: I could read it to you for this segment. He said,
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: Cubs now quote in on Bashett, cubs in on Bregmant,
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: cubs in on Okamoto, cubs in on Suarez, cubs in
• 37:51
  Speaker 2: on trademarket for starters, cubs in on eg McMuffin before
• 37:55
  Speaker 2: seeing the shocking price. His point is they are sticking
• 37:59
  Speaker 2: so hardcore to their model, like, hey, this is what
• 38:01
  Speaker 2: we have you valued at. If you want this number,
• 38:03
  Speaker 2: we'll give it to you otherwise, And that's just not
• 38:06
  Speaker 2: how you win free agents over So, for example, if
• 38:09
  Speaker 2: they really wanted to Mie, they easily could have gone
• 38:12
  Speaker 2: the distance to bring them in, right if it took
• 38:14
  Speaker 2: three or seventy five mil or whatever it is. But
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: in the meantime, I'll give them credit for their reliever
• 38:18
  Speaker 2: signings and a big fat incomplete on their report card
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: for the twenty twenty six campaign. I mean Game five
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: against the Brewers, it was a bullpen game starter, their
• 38:31
  Speaker 2: season on the line.
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: Come on, guys, figure it out. Yeah, bullpen.
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: Though I like Palencia, he was great for them, emerged
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: last year. Philm Aiton was signed this offseason. Hunter Harvey,
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: Caleb Theobar, Holby Milner like cool. We think Porter Porter
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: Hodge has big potential. I'm fine, We're good there right Krats,
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: But starting rotation wise, do we feel like the group
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: they have right now is going to get them to
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: October and then in big games in October? I mean
• 39:02
  Speaker 2: they'll probably lose one or two via injury and there's
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: not a lot of depth there. Steele will come back
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: hopefully late this season, got Boyd Hopefully Kate Horton puts
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: together a really strong sophomore campaign. Injuries got him towards
• 39:18
  Speaker 2: the end of last year. See what in a MONOGAA
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: looks like? Is it the first or second year in Monaga?
• 39:23
  Speaker 2: Tie On's more of a back end guy. Colin Ray
• 39:25
  Speaker 2: I'd prefer as more of a swingman spots start kind
• 39:28
  Speaker 2: of situation at this point.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: But your thoughts, I.
• 39:32
  Speaker 4: Mean you posed two questions there, and the one was
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: does this start in rotation get them to October? Yes? Yeah,
• 39:42
  Speaker 4: I think it does. I think it showed that does
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: they have their position player core intact? Oh wait, besides
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: Kyle Tucker, they still need that guy. I think they
• 39:54
  Speaker 4: made the right decision last year in Matt Shall. Matt
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: Shall's value to the team was almost equal to the
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: same war as what Alex Bregman brought to the Red Sox.
• 40:05
  Speaker 4: So yeah, they made the right decision. But they can't
• 40:09
  Speaker 4: go it to me. They can't go into this end
• 40:11
  Speaker 4: of this offseason the beginning of the season saying, well,
• 40:15
  Speaker 4: you know what, we made that right decision and now
• 40:18
  Speaker 4: we're going to do the same thing. We're going to
• 40:20
  Speaker 4: kind of stay status quo because they didn't stay status
• 40:23
  Speaker 4: quo last year and they got a Kyle Tucker who
• 40:25
  Speaker 4: is the Cubs Kyle Tucker. Whether you can say he
• 40:29
  Speaker 4: faded down the stretch, you know he wasn't worth it
• 40:32
  Speaker 4: as a Cubs fan, that's fine. You watched him every day.
• 40:35
  Speaker 4: I'll let you be to your own opinions, but the
• 40:38
  Speaker 4: dude produced for a majority of the season and you
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: need to replace that. You need to replace that if
• 40:46
  Speaker 4: it's not in the starting pitching. If you're not going
• 40:49
  Speaker 4: to sit there and say, well, we'll see it bounce
• 40:51
  Speaker 4: back from Tyrone and Steele will be our number one
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: starter even though he's coming back from Tommy John surgery.
• 40:56
  Speaker 4: When we'll make it to the playoffs, you still need
• 40:58
  Speaker 4: somebody in a position, player or to say I'm the man,
• 41:03
  Speaker 4: And right now, I don't see that with the Cubs lineup.
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: I don't see that with the rotation. And yeah, I'm
• 41:11
  Speaker 2: not scared there. So I think Cubs fans are pretty
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: pissed right now. One more in the division. The Reds
• 41:17
  Speaker 2: added JJ Bleda and Dane Myers. Okay, the real spark
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: is I mean, no offense to the guys, but they
• 41:24
  Speaker 2: you know, they haven't I don't think they're going to be.
• 41:27
  Speaker 2: They shouldn't be starting outfielders. And if they want to,
• 41:30
  Speaker 2: you know, have them platooning or whatever. Right now. I
• 41:33
  Speaker 2: mean that's I think the real goal for the Reds
• 41:35
  Speaker 2: is they've been chatting with the White Sox for like
• 41:38
  Speaker 2: a year and a half. Now about Luis Robert and
• 41:40
  Speaker 2: either the Reds or the Mets are going to get
• 41:41
  Speaker 2: him at some point. Is the trade going to happen
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: this offseason? If it's Cincinnati, they're probably gonna eat make
• 41:46
  Speaker 2: the White Sox eat more of the contract. So we'll
• 41:49
  Speaker 2: see what happens. But if you're a Reds fan, you're
• 41:52
  Speaker 2: probably like, Hey, remember how promising we were this past
• 41:57
  Speaker 2: season and then we made the playoffs and then you
• 42:00
  Speaker 2: guys made a bid for Kyle Schwarber. Are you gonna
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: do anything else because you didn't get Schworber. So if
• 42:05
  Speaker 2: I'm a Reds fan, I'd be like, let's go. We'll
• 42:10
  Speaker 2: tell him at Reds Fest. Hey, I like the I
• 42:13
  Speaker 2: like the change of scenery for Luis Robert. Someone's gonna
• 42:16
  Speaker 2: do it and give that a shot.
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: Yep.
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: But yeah, those were just little moves that we didn't
• 42:22
  Speaker 2: get to. I think we got to everything that we
• 42:23
  Speaker 2: missed in the past week and a half.