Latest / Foul Territory / Jim Bowden's Front Office Unfiltered: Gallen/Framber market, Geno Suárez bargain, Luis Arráez value

Transcript

Jim Bowden's Front Office Unfiltered: Gallen/Framber market, Geno Suárez bargain, Luis Arráez value · Foul Territory

0:10
Speaker 1: All right, Jim, great to be with you as always
0:12
Speaker 1: loving the get up, my friend. I always love coming
0:14
Speaker 1: on here to see what you're wearing on that particular day.
0:17
Speaker 1: You have a new podcast to talk about. It is
0:20
Speaker 1: the newest show on the foul Territory Network. It's called
0:23
Speaker 1: GM Territory. It's something you've been working on. Proud to
0:26
Speaker 1: talk about it, tell us more.
0:28
Speaker 2: Yeah, Alt, I'm really excited to join the foul Territory
0:32
Speaker 2: channel lineup for sure. You know, I think the GM's
0:35
Speaker 2: voice in the game deserves once a week, right, players
0:38
Speaker 2: get five days a week, They deserve that. We deserve
0:41
Speaker 2: at least one day. Because you know, GM's in front office,
0:44
Speaker 2: we probably view the game a little bit differently than
0:47
Speaker 2: most people. So this show is going to be a
0:48
Speaker 2: lot about roster building, contracts, scouting and evaluation, player development, analytics,
0:54
Speaker 2: research and development science, the legal part, medical part, PR,
0:59
Speaker 2: the collective bargain agreement. It's really just from a front
1:02
Speaker 2: office angle, and as you guys know, it comes unfiltered,
1:04
Speaker 2: it comes completely transparent. But I think that kind of
1:08
Speaker 2: angle deserves a watch once a week. And so yeah,
1:12
Speaker 2: my son Trey and I are very excited about doing
1:15
Speaker 2: this weekly show. The first episode dropped today, so yeah,
1:20
Speaker 2: it's gonna be a lot of fun. And one thing,
1:22
Speaker 2: you know, I always remind people, right, there's only sixty
1:25
Speaker 2: people in Major League Baseball that has full access to
1:28
Speaker 2: all the information. Right, it's just the president and the
1:31
Speaker 2: GM and everybody else that's involved in the game. All
1:34
Speaker 2: their opinions, all the information all flows directly to those
1:38
Speaker 2: two guys, right, whether it be the manager and the coaches,
1:42
Speaker 2: player development, research and development, the scouting departments, whoever is
1:46
Speaker 2: involved in the sport, it all goes to those two guys.
1:49
Speaker 2: And of course the owner also has access, but they're
1:50
Speaker 2: not looking on a daily basis. So I just thought
1:53
Speaker 2: it was very important to make sure that the voice
1:56
Speaker 2: of the GMS are heard on this channel, and I
1:59
Speaker 2: think I hope hopefully the viewers are going to like
2:02
Speaker 2: it and hopefully they'll subscribe and give us a chance.
2:05
Speaker 3: Overall, what do you think the one thing is that
2:09
Speaker 3: isn't heard from voices GMS now that we get a show,
2:12
Speaker 3: What is the one thing that you would be like,
2:15
Speaker 3: GMS get this as a bad rapper, maybe underappreciated.
2:19
Speaker 2: I think it's more of an explanation because you know,
2:22
Speaker 2: in general, unless the GM's in first place or a
2:26
Speaker 2: world champion, most fans want them fired. Right. A lot
2:30
Speaker 2: of the decisions are unpopular, a lot of them become controversial.
2:34
Speaker 2: It's just the job you have. I mean, you drive
2:36
Speaker 2: into any city on a team that's not in first
2:39
Speaker 2: place and you turn on local radio and they'll want
2:41
Speaker 2: that person fired. Sometimes it's just kind of an explanation
2:45
Speaker 2: of why. You know, keep in mind, when you're in
2:48
Speaker 2: a reality GM spot, you have to be political, right.
2:51
Speaker 2: You have to protect your owner, right, you have to
2:54
Speaker 2: protect your players, you have to protect your staff. There's
2:57
Speaker 2: a lot of that goes on, and so sometimes you
3:00
Speaker 2: need someone to translate GM speak to tell the audience
3:03
Speaker 2: really what's going on and kind of take off the
3:06
Speaker 2: filter that they have to have or the aspect of
3:10
Speaker 2: being political. And so in this particular role, we don't
3:13
Speaker 2: have to do that. We can explain to people exactly
3:16
Speaker 2: what the gms are doing and why they're doing it,
3:19
Speaker 2: or why they view a player who hit two twenty
3:22
Speaker 2: but they think he's gonna hit two eighty, explain why
3:24
Speaker 2: that is the case. So I think it's just let's
3:27
Speaker 2: take the curtain down and all the things that the
3:29
Speaker 2: GMS can't really tell you publicly, we can tell you
3:33
Speaker 2: on this show.
3:34
Speaker 4: Jim, You've never been silent with your opinion, so welcome
3:37
Speaker 4: to the family. You're gonna run out of scarves and
3:40
Speaker 4: Louis Vaton's and Gucci's though, if you have to do
3:42
Speaker 4: this once a week, so you're gonna have to upgrade
3:44
Speaker 4: your style just a little bit if you're doing this
3:47
Speaker 4: on the regular. Now, congratulations, Welcome to the family. Explain
3:51
Speaker 4: to me why Gino Suarez only got one year fifteen
3:54
Speaker 4: It's a great move for the Reds. I love the
3:56
Speaker 4: move for the Reds, but why were there other teams
3:59
Speaker 4: not clamoring for his attention, like the Red Sox, the Yankees.
4:02
Speaker 4: I mean, there's a.
4:03
Speaker 2: List of teams you could come up with that all.
4:05
Speaker 4: Could afford one year and fifteen million for god can
4:07
Speaker 4: hit you fifty?
4:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, Aja, you and I are on the same page
4:11
Speaker 2: on that. I don't get it. And you know, one
4:12
Speaker 2: of the things when I look at the Yankees lineup,
4:15
Speaker 2: they're two They're two left handed right. The only right
4:17
Speaker 2: hand bats they have right now are Aaron Judge whoever's
4:21
Speaker 2: playing shortstop and John Carlos Stanton. And we all know
4:24
Speaker 2: gian Carlo Stanton's injury history. But besides that, they're all
4:28
Speaker 2: left handed. They needed a right handed bat, and Suarez
4:31
Speaker 2: could have been that, you know, backup, third, backup, first,
4:34
Speaker 2: back up DH. I mean for one year at fifteen million,
4:37
Speaker 2: are you kidding me? Look at the Detroit Tigers, another
4:40
Speaker 2: team way too left handed. They need another right hand bat,
4:43
Speaker 2: and their best prospects are all left hand hitters too
4:45
Speaker 2: that are coming, like Kevin McGonagall and Max Clark and Brusno.
4:49
Speaker 2: So you know, I think that he would have fit
4:52
Speaker 2: so many spots. I'm surprised the Pirates didn't make a
4:54
Speaker 2: better effort that that one really surprises me. But I
4:58
Speaker 2: always like to give credit where it's due. And Nick Krawl,
5:01
Speaker 2: the president, Brad Meter the GM. They listened to Todd Fraser
5:05
Speaker 2: last week on foul Territory and Todd was manifesting Suarez
5:10
Speaker 2: going to the Reds as the DH. I text with
5:12
Speaker 2: Nick Krawl yesterday. I wanted to know the role that
5:15
Speaker 2: Suarez was going to have. He was very clear with me.
5:17
Speaker 2: He said, look, he's going to DH. He'll play some
5:20
Speaker 2: third and we'll give him some reps at first base
5:22
Speaker 2: in spring training to get a forty nine home run
5:25
Speaker 2: bat at great American small park, the hit in your
5:28
Speaker 2: middle of the lineup. That was a huge pickup for them,
5:31
Speaker 2: and look shame on some of the teams that weren't
5:33
Speaker 2: more aggressive. Look, I even thought a team like the
5:35
Speaker 2: Rockies would have been smart sign them, give him a
5:37
Speaker 2: two year deal, trade him at the trade deadline, let
5:39
Speaker 2: him hit all those homers at Corsfield, and try to
5:42
Speaker 2: get a prospect for him. But at the end of
5:44
Speaker 2: the day, I think he landed in a great spot
5:47
Speaker 2: for him, a great ballpark, he's familiar with the city.
5:50
Speaker 2: He's going to add to that culture in that clubhouse.
5:53
Speaker 2: So I love the signing for them. I thought it
5:55
Speaker 2: was a bargain deal, And yes, I agree with you.
5:57
Speaker 2: I think a lot of teams missed the boat, with no.
6:01
Speaker 1: Question about that, And good for the Cincinnati Ed's locking
6:03
Speaker 1: him up. And Eric was making the point Jim that
6:05
Speaker 1: it's unbelievable that a guy on basically February first is
6:09
Speaker 1: a cleanup hitter and is being signed this late into
6:12
Speaker 1: the off season. Your first episode with trade dropped, it
6:15
Speaker 1: was all on the Al East, So we're going to
6:17
Speaker 1: stick to the National League here. Your reaction to the
6:20
Speaker 1: Luis Arise signing with the San Francisco Giants and what
6:24
Speaker 1: that does to the middle of their infield, in the
6:26
Speaker 1: middle of their order. And why is this a guy
6:28
Speaker 1: Jim that has three batting titles to his credit, yet
6:31
Speaker 1: he keeps getting traded or he's continued to be available.
6:35
Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'll start first of all with the last
6:39
Speaker 2: question that you threw out there. It's because it Rise
6:42
Speaker 2: wins the batting title. He does it without power, without speed,
6:45
Speaker 2: and a blow average defender with blow average range. So
6:48
Speaker 2: you're getting one tool right, and it's an important tool
6:51
Speaker 2: because he can create traffic. And that's what I like
6:55
Speaker 2: about is fit with the Giants. He can hit the
6:57
Speaker 2: top of the lineup, get on base, and that allows
7:00
Speaker 2: devers Adamis and Chatman when they go yard that it
7:04
Speaker 2: can be a two run home or a three run
7:06
Speaker 2: homer instead of a solo shot. So from an offensive perspective,
7:09
Speaker 2: I like it. Now, keep in mind, while the Dodgers
7:13
Speaker 2: have been shopping at blooming Dale's and Sacksville Avenue and
7:16
Speaker 2: Neiman Marcus, the Giants have spent the winners shopping at
7:20
Speaker 2: Target and Costco and Walmart. But that doesn't mean they're
7:23
Speaker 2: not getting value deals. And I think a Rise comes
7:26
Speaker 2: out of value, just like I thought Harrison Bader, who
7:29
Speaker 2: I think is a fourth outfielder. But it improved their
7:31
Speaker 2: defense in center field. I like them taking a chance
7:34
Speaker 2: on Tyler Mallley in the middle of their rotation. If
7:37
Speaker 2: he can stay healthy, can help. So these small moves
7:40
Speaker 2: I think makes them a little better. It brings them
7:42
Speaker 2: closer to the Padres, although not the Dodgers. But I
7:46
Speaker 2: think when you look at a Rise, the other fit
7:49
Speaker 2: that I have is a couple of things. Number One,
7:51
Speaker 2: Ron Washington is there on the San Francisco staff, so
7:55
Speaker 2: Ron Washington can be working with him defensively. He makes
7:57
Speaker 2: everybody better defensively, like that number two. Right now, they've
8:02
Speaker 2: got Bryce Eldridge is gonna be the DH He's six
8:05
Speaker 2: foot seventy's twenty one years old, he has big holes
8:07
Speaker 2: at the plate. There's no guarantee that he's gonna be
8:10
Speaker 2: Rookie of the Year. There's no guarantee he's gonna hit
8:12
Speaker 2: in the first two months. In fact, he could pull
8:14
Speaker 2: an Aaron Judge. And if you remember Aaron Judge's rookie year,
8:17
Speaker 2: he punched out fifty percent of the time. Literally Eldridge,
8:20
Speaker 2: that could happen to him as well. So for the
8:23
Speaker 2: Giants to have a Rise, if Eldridge doesn't hit, you
8:26
Speaker 2: can option him out. You can put a Rise at
8:28
Speaker 2: DH and put Casey Smith Schmidt back at second base
8:31
Speaker 2: to improve your defense at the position. So I liked
8:34
Speaker 2: the play for traffic. I like the depth play in
8:37
Speaker 2: case Eldred's doesn't hit, and I like the value dollar wise.
8:42
Speaker 3: All right, I love that these both these players are you.
8:44
Speaker 3: Hinu Suarez and Luisa Rise both signed pretty much on
8:49
Speaker 3: the same days as a GM who got better value
8:53
Speaker 3: twelve million for a Rise into the Giants' lineup or
8:58
Speaker 3: fifteen million for Auhnu Swa into the Reds lineup.
9:02
Speaker 2: It's the fifteen million for Suarez for me in the
9:04
Speaker 2: lineup for sure, because it's you know, he may not
9:07
Speaker 2: hit forty nine homers, but he'll probably hit forty in
9:09
Speaker 2: that ballpark, right, and that's huge for that team, the
9:11
Speaker 2: big three run homers. I think he can be more
9:14
Speaker 2: of a difference maker for Cincinnati than a Rise can
9:17
Speaker 2: be for San Francisco. So for three million dollars more
9:21
Speaker 2: to get a forty home run bat Yeah, I'm gonna
9:24
Speaker 2: take Suarez and I like the question.
9:26
Speaker 4: All right, so you mentioned Pittsburgh. I mentioned Pittsburgh is Pittsburgh,
9:30
Speaker 4: and I said this, Pittsburgh's got a point where they
9:32
Speaker 4: have to overpay. And we've had this conversation and it's
9:34
Speaker 4: not on the knock on the pirates. Listen, they're trying.
9:36
Speaker 4: But if you go to Gino Suorrez and they say, oh,
9:39
Speaker 4: we're willing to go two years a little bit higher AAV.
9:41
Speaker 4: If you go to him and say we'll give you
9:43
Speaker 4: two forty, you think he's going to say no to that? Like,
9:46
Speaker 4: you have to overpay because Pittsburgh hasn't proven over the
9:49
Speaker 4: last honestly. I mean, I know they made the playoffs
9:53
Speaker 4: in the what thirteen to fourteen around there, but honestly,
9:55
Speaker 4: they haven't been really relevant since the Barry Bonds Bobby
9:58
Speaker 4: Benia where they have a chance to win the World Series.
10:02
Speaker 4: So you have to prove the players that you're relevant
10:05
Speaker 4: and you really are trying, not just doing window dressing.
10:07
Speaker 4: Am I wrong on this?
10:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're not wrong. And let me take it behind
10:12
Speaker 2: the curtain there with GM Ben Sherrington, who as we
10:15
Speaker 2: all remember, was a world champion general manager of the
10:18
Speaker 2: big market Boston Red Sox, and when he left there,
10:20
Speaker 2: he went to the Toronto Blue Jays, another big market
10:23
Speaker 2: team where he's used to paying with the value as
10:25
Speaker 2: of players, and they'd gone over to Pittsburgh and the
10:28
Speaker 2: ownership hasn't given him money really to spend on free
10:32
Speaker 2: agents since he's been there. This is the first year
10:34
Speaker 2: he's had a little bit money to spend, and I'm
10:36
Speaker 2: just not sure he's used to understanding how hard it
10:40
Speaker 2: is to get players to a team like the Pittsburgh market.
10:44
Speaker 2: It's difficult, it's not easy, and you have to overpay
10:48
Speaker 2: to get them. I made the comment earlier today they
10:51
Speaker 2: didn't really want you, Heniosuarez, because if they did, they
10:53
Speaker 2: would have gotten him. They would have done two years
10:56
Speaker 2: at forty or two years at thirty eight, and they
10:58
Speaker 2: would have gotten the player. So I don't want to
11:00
Speaker 2: hear that they wanted the player. Yes, they were interested,
11:04
Speaker 2: they didn't want him bad enough. That's kind of how
11:06
Speaker 2: it came down. If I'm Sorez and I have two
11:09
Speaker 2: similar offers, one in Cincinnati and one in Pittsburgh, I'm
11:13
Speaker 2: taking Cincinnati. That's where I'm going, and I think that's
11:16
Speaker 2: what Surez did. But to your point, yeah, pirates are
11:19
Speaker 2: going to have to learn from this experience. You know,
11:21
Speaker 2: they undershot Kyle Schwarber. They should have made him the
11:24
Speaker 2: highest offer that any team did to at least have
11:26
Speaker 2: a chance for him, and they should have taken advantage
11:29
Speaker 2: of Srez being on the open market. He might have
11:32
Speaker 2: been a game changer for them. So yeah, I mean,
11:34
Speaker 2: I think that's one thing that Ben, if nothing else, learned,
11:37
Speaker 2: and we'll see if he can make an adjustment because
11:39
Speaker 2: I still think they need one more bat.
11:42
Speaker 1: Jim. Why didn't the Red Socks even make an offer?
11:44
Speaker 1: And why are the offers so similar? Why is everyone
11:48
Speaker 1: offering a one year, fifteen million dollar deal. It seems
11:51
Speaker 1: like they're chatting.
11:53
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I don't want to answer that last part.
11:55
Speaker 2: I'm going to answer the first part. Red Sox don't
11:57
Speaker 2: like his defense at third base, so that they don't
12:01
Speaker 2: want the defense at third. They can't have him DH
12:04
Speaker 2: because they've got four outfielders, of which one asked the
12:06
Speaker 2: DH every single night. They've got the best outfield in baseball.
12:09
Speaker 2: So the bottom line there was the defense at third.
12:13
Speaker 2: They didn't want Suarez to block Marcelo Meyer when he's healthy,
12:16
Speaker 2: They've got him at third base right now, and they're
12:19
Speaker 2: really concerned about the defense, and they should be right.
12:21
Speaker 2: They have an elite defensive outfield, but the infield defense
12:25
Speaker 2: was very questionable last year and there are still questions
12:28
Speaker 2: about that this year. So that is the answer. I
12:31
Speaker 2: probably would have taken a shot just because I would
12:33
Speaker 2: have liked him in that lineup at Fenway Park. I
12:36
Speaker 2: might have tried to live with the blow average defense
12:39
Speaker 2: at third base and defense form late in games. That
12:42
Speaker 2: would have been my opinion. But to answer your question,
12:45
Speaker 2: that's why Craig Breslo passed on.
12:48
Speaker 3: All right, everybody loves to watch look, come and watch
12:50
Speaker 3: the show for your outfits, but they love to read
12:54
Speaker 3: projections because they know you're going to be exactly right.
12:57
Speaker 3: Let's start with the National League East, the Mets first,
13:02
Speaker 3: the Phillies third. Do they both make the playoffs? And
13:07
Speaker 3: kind of explain a little bit of your projections and
13:10
Speaker 3: your your off season grading for the National League East?
13:15
Speaker 2: Okay, thanks Eric. Let me start with the Phillies. Phillies
13:20
Speaker 2: were hard for me to navigate through because I just
13:24
Speaker 2: don't know what I'm getting with Zach Wheeler. So you know,
13:27
Speaker 2: I don't know when Wheeler is going to be activated,
13:30
Speaker 2: and I don't know what he's going to look like.
13:32
Speaker 2: You know, there are some pitchers that have had drastic
13:35
Speaker 2: outlet syndrome that have never come back, like Steven Strasburg,
13:38
Speaker 2: although his was a different kind. But that's a question
13:42
Speaker 2: for me. If someone could tell me that Zach Wheeler
13:44
Speaker 2: is going to be the ace that he once was,
13:48
Speaker 2: I would think differently. I don't know what Aaron Nola's
13:50
Speaker 2: going to be. He really looked like he was declining
13:53
Speaker 2: to me. The stuff wasn't the same. Is he going
13:55
Speaker 2: to have a bounce back here? I'm not sure I
13:57
Speaker 2: know what he is. And with Andrew Paynter, is he
14:00
Speaker 2: going to live up to the potential that we saw
14:02
Speaker 2: of him in the minor leagues? Another year away from
14:05
Speaker 2: Tommy John, could he live up to the potential? I
14:08
Speaker 2: don't know those questions. You're gonna miss Ranger Suarez. I
14:11
Speaker 2: do know that question. I love Sanchez. He's now the
14:14
Speaker 2: ace right now of the Phillies, but it was the
14:17
Speaker 2: question mark in the starting pitching that had me put
14:21
Speaker 2: the Phillies in third place, probably in the playoffs. To
14:24
Speaker 2: answer your question, as a wild card team, but that's
14:27
Speaker 2: the only reason they weren't there. If the Wheeler and
14:30
Speaker 2: Nola answers are positive, then they've got a good chance
14:34
Speaker 2: of any of winning the division. I kind of like
14:37
Speaker 2: that odoles Garcia signing. The more that I look at it,
14:40
Speaker 2: the more I talk to people that had him last year,
14:43
Speaker 2: like Chris Young and Brett Boone, I get a little
14:45
Speaker 2: bit more excited about maybe a comeback year for him.
14:49
Speaker 2: Kind of open minded with that kind of watching that
14:53
Speaker 2: they're running back the same team. You know. I don't
14:55
Speaker 2: love the fact they're doing that again. I would have
14:58
Speaker 2: liked them to be able to land, but that would
15:00
Speaker 2: have been a difference maker in terms of the Mets.
15:03
Speaker 2: This was fascinating because they had like the worst off
15:05
Speaker 2: season until January, and then all of a sudden they
15:08
Speaker 2: made those flurri of moves and just completely changed the
15:12
Speaker 2: outlook for me. Adding Freddy Peralta with Nolan McLain at
15:15
Speaker 2: the top of the rotation, that's significant for me. I
15:19
Speaker 2: think McClain maybe the guy starting Game one, with Peralta
15:23
Speaker 2: starting Game two. But now they have starting pitching depth
15:26
Speaker 2: as well, so they've got two guys at the top
15:29
Speaker 2: that are ace quality, and now they've got the set.
15:33
Speaker 2: They're seven deep, and Jonah Toong may not even be
15:36
Speaker 2: in the rotation on opening day if Senga and and
15:38
Speaker 2: I are healthy. So you know, with Peterson and Holmes,
15:42
Speaker 2: I just like the depth there. I think Devin Williams
15:44
Speaker 2: and Luke Weaver will be fine. Williams look good at
15:48
Speaker 2: the end of the year, so hopefully he can bounce back.
15:50
Speaker 2: And then I just you know, up the middle defensively
15:52
Speaker 2: right Simmon at second, Lender at short, Robert at center,
15:55
Speaker 2: and Alvarez catching. I love that defense up the middle,
15:58
Speaker 2: and adding Bashett and pull Uncle. I mean, those are
16:00
Speaker 2: two twenty home run guys. Bashett creates traffic, and I
16:04
Speaker 2: love the Soto sandwich of lidn Or and Bashett sandwiching
16:08
Speaker 2: him in that lineup, whether it's Bishette one, Linden or
16:10
Speaker 2: three or vice versa. I kind of like that. So
16:14
Speaker 2: I just feel like there's a momentum in New York.
16:16
Speaker 2: I think that the pendulum has swung. And so I
16:19
Speaker 2: gave them an A minus for my off season grades,
16:21
Speaker 2: and I predicted them to win the division. I had
16:24
Speaker 2: it Atlanta in second. I gave them a B plus.
16:27
Speaker 2: I like the fact that they got Robert Suarez and
16:30
Speaker 2: brought Iglesias back at the back end of the bullpen.
16:33
Speaker 2: Atlanta's grade has to do with and putting them in
16:36
Speaker 2: second is kind of like Philadelphia. Is the pitching going
16:39
Speaker 2: to be healthy? I mean, is Chris sale back? Is
16:42
Speaker 2: schrolling back back? I mean that, I don't know. Is
16:45
Speaker 2: Spencer Strider going to be the guy we saw three
16:47
Speaker 2: or four years ago before Tommy john Er is he
16:50
Speaker 2: the guy we saw last year? Again, I don't know
16:52
Speaker 2: those questions. I do know this. If Atlanta is healthy,
16:56
Speaker 2: they're a playoff team. I do know that. So again,
16:59
Speaker 2: I love this division. Miami's much better. I thought they
17:02
Speaker 2: had a solid off season. Washington, you know they're rebuilding,
17:06
Speaker 2: but they're doing it the right way. So I think
17:08
Speaker 2: all in all, the analyst had a really good off season.
17:12
Speaker 2: I lined them up Mets, Braves, Phillies for now. We'll
17:15
Speaker 2: see if spring training changes anything. But that's kind of
17:17
Speaker 2: how I see it today, Jim.
17:20
Speaker 4: I just want to I just want to go back
17:21
Speaker 4: to something you said about the Phillies. You question their
17:24
Speaker 4: pitching depth. Isn't that why they brought back Aaron Nola?
17:26
Speaker 4: Isn't that why they thought they could let Rangers Suarez
17:29
Speaker 4: get away. Isn't that why, Hey, Sussel Lozzardo was brought in.
17:31
Speaker 4: They have Andrew Payne or is he going to bounce back?
17:34
Speaker 3: Right?
17:34
Speaker 2: But this is the one thing.
17:35
Speaker 4: When they signed Aeronola, they said, we have consistency. Right,
17:38
Speaker 4: they bring back real Muto, they bring back Coyles Rubber.
17:41
Speaker 4: We have consistency. We have consistency. We have consistency. Now
17:44
Speaker 4: everybody outside of Philadelphia saying, man, are they too old? Now?
17:48
Speaker 4: Nola's losing his stuff. Did they make some wrong decisions
17:51
Speaker 4: along the way of bringing back guys just to bring
17:54
Speaker 4: them back because they loved them.
17:57
Speaker 2: I think, I think you can when you're running teams.
18:00
Speaker 2: I think you can get a team that's stale, and
18:02
Speaker 2: you can have players that are together too long. And
18:05
Speaker 2: I think sometimes it's good whether you influx young players
18:09
Speaker 2: or whether you make some changes. I thought the Nola deal,
18:12
Speaker 2: I thought Joe Longo negotiated a great deal for Nola,
18:15
Speaker 2: a great long term deal that was very player friendly
18:18
Speaker 2: at the time. I questioned it at the time, and
18:21
Speaker 2: when you look at the dollars, it was an amazing
18:23
Speaker 2: deal for Nola. But again, none of us know for sure,
18:28
Speaker 2: you know how long pitchers can pitch at a certain level.
18:31
Speaker 2: You know you didn't know that at the time, None
18:33
Speaker 2: of us do. But I don't think we can ignore
18:35
Speaker 2: what we're watching. In terms of the position players. You know,
18:40
Speaker 2: you know how long has Alec Bone been there? You
18:43
Speaker 2: know Bryson Stott? Is there a chance to upgrade? They
18:45
Speaker 2: tried to with Boba Shet He recognized it. But I
18:48
Speaker 2: think one of the positive keys for Philadelphia could be
18:50
Speaker 2: the rookie Justin Crawford in center field. He's going to
18:53
Speaker 2: bring youth, energy, speed, range in the outfield, so that
18:58
Speaker 2: could be huge. Aidan Miller could get ready at some
19:01
Speaker 2: point during the season. He could take over third base
19:04
Speaker 2: or second base or play shortstop, and Turner could move
19:07
Speaker 2: to second base. I mean, I think that, you know,
19:09
Speaker 2: those kind of things could change the direction of this team.
19:12
Speaker 2: But to me, the Phillies, it's all about that rotation.
19:14
Speaker 2: If you tell me Wheeler, Nola, Lozardo and Sanchez are
19:18
Speaker 2: going to live up to when we've seen them the best,
19:20
Speaker 2: then they can run the table on October. So I
19:22
Speaker 2: don't think their run is over, but I think they
19:25
Speaker 2: better be careful because they are getting older and they
19:27
Speaker 2: are getting stale.
19:29
Speaker 1: Jim, Let's move our focus to the NL Central. You
19:31
Speaker 1: had said in your grades that Chicago you expect them
19:34
Speaker 1: to be first. Not a huge shocker there. But the
19:36
Speaker 1: question for Cincinnati that you pose is, even with Suarez
19:40
Speaker 1: on board, Jim, do they have enough offense to make
19:43
Speaker 1: it back to the postseason. They did make it last year,
19:45
Speaker 1: they lost to the Dodgers in two games, but they
19:47
Speaker 1: were in the postseason. Do they have enough?
19:50
Speaker 2: Yeah? I mean I think all right, So let's talk
19:52
Speaker 2: about what has to happen for them to have enough. Right,
19:56
Speaker 2: two of the keys for me are, right Phil and
19:58
Speaker 2: ove Marte and first base and Sal Stewart. I love
20:02
Speaker 2: both their bats. Can they do it this year? You know?
20:05
Speaker 2: Can they be consistent? Can they give us five hundred
20:07
Speaker 2: plate appearances? And live up to the offense? You know,
20:10
Speaker 2: we don't have that answer. I know they have the
20:12
Speaker 2: potential of doing that. Can La Dla Cruz be the
20:16
Speaker 2: player that we think he's going to be this year
20:18
Speaker 2: or is he going to be the player that he's
20:20
Speaker 2: been so far? Great tools, It looks like a player
20:23
Speaker 2: that could be an MVP player someday. It looks like
20:25
Speaker 2: a guy could be in the Hall of Fame someday.
20:27
Speaker 2: You have to do it, though, right, You can't keep
20:29
Speaker 2: talking about it. You can't chase out of the zone.
20:31
Speaker 2: You've got to be more consistent. You know, if he's healthy,
20:34
Speaker 2: can he live up to our expectations? Will he finish
20:36
Speaker 2: top five in the MVP. I think that has to
20:39
Speaker 2: happen for them. And then you know, you look at
20:40
Speaker 2: the bottom of the lineup. You know, I need Matt
20:43
Speaker 2: McClain to be the player I saw his rookie year,
20:45
Speaker 2: which I haven't seen since. Right, he's gone through a
20:47
Speaker 2: lot of injuries, you know, another year away from from
20:51
Speaker 2: his shoulder surgery. You know, hopefully he can add to that.
20:55
Speaker 2: So I just kind of think there's a lot of
20:57
Speaker 2: questions with their young hitters, and I think there's a
20:59
Speaker 2: lot of questions at the very bottom of their lineup.
21:02
Speaker 2: So I think, you know, that's kind of why I
21:04
Speaker 2: look at they would eighty three win team last year
21:06
Speaker 2: that made the playoffs. If you blink, you would have
21:09
Speaker 2: missed their series with the Dodgers. But the thing I
21:12
Speaker 2: love about the Reds is I love the starting pitching,
21:15
Speaker 2: I love the bullpen depth, I love their manager in
21:18
Speaker 2: Terry Francona. I think this is an eighty five to
21:21
Speaker 2: eighty seven win team. Is that going to be good
21:23
Speaker 2: enough to make the playoffs? I don't know, but I
21:26
Speaker 2: do think I have both the Cubs and the Brewers
21:28
Speaker 2: ahead of them because I think the Reds lineup needs
21:31
Speaker 2: more length, and I think we have a lot of
21:33
Speaker 2: questions about young hitters living up to potential.
21:36
Speaker 3: Which NLS storyline is the one that's going to shape
21:40
Speaker 3: the division more than any other one. Katl Marte still
21:44
Speaker 3: being out there possibly to be traded, uncertainty of what
21:48
Speaker 3: is going to happen with Tony Vtello and managing the Giants.
21:52
Speaker 3: Is it just the Dodgers are just gonna be the
21:55
Speaker 3: World Series champion, so everyone else is playing for second place?
21:59
Speaker 2: Well, I think in the West, the Dodgers for the
22:02
Speaker 2: first time. I don't think we'll have a race, and
22:04
Speaker 2: we have been having a race. I mean, people don't
22:06
Speaker 2: realize in the regular season last year Milwaukee Brewers had
22:09
Speaker 2: a better record than the Dodgers. But we've watched a
22:12
Speaker 2: race between the Padres have been in it, Arizona's been
22:15
Speaker 2: in it for years. I don't think we're gonna have
22:16
Speaker 2: that anymore. I think the Dodgers offseason has said goodbye
22:20
Speaker 2: challenge to Lacks everybody, You're gone. Okay, we'll see you
22:23
Speaker 2: guys in October. Okay. I think there's the big, biggest
22:27
Speaker 2: separation we've seen in a long, long time with this
22:30
Speaker 2: Dodger team, which is built so well at every level,
22:33
Speaker 2: by the way, the minor league system, the scouting, the analytics,
22:36
Speaker 2: science technology they just have. They're the model of baseball.
22:41
Speaker 2: That's what they are, and they're in a dynasty that
22:43
Speaker 2: we should all embrace and enjoy. So I think what's
22:46
Speaker 2: gonna be fun is the race between the Padres and
22:48
Speaker 2: Giants for second or third. Can one of these teams
22:50
Speaker 2: make the playoffs. I think that's gonna be a really
22:53
Speaker 2: big storyline. And yeah, I do think at some point
22:55
Speaker 2: could tell Marte gets traded. And I do think the
22:58
Speaker 2: two managers though, with San Diego and San Francisco, both
23:01
Speaker 2: of them, whether it's Vitello or Craig Stammon, I think
23:05
Speaker 2: it's fascinating to watch how they succeed or how they develop,
23:09
Speaker 2: or what hiccups they have. I mean, it's kind of interesting,
23:14
Speaker 2: kind of bizarre to me that we have two really
23:17
Speaker 2: inexperienced major league managers in these positions, and I'm just
23:22
Speaker 2: gonna be fascinated to see kind of how that plays out.
23:26
Speaker 2: So I guess, if I had to pick one storyline
23:29
Speaker 2: because I think the Dodgers is too easy, I think
23:31
Speaker 2: it's the two managers in San Diego and San Francisco
23:34
Speaker 2: and how they do.
23:36
Speaker 3: Do you see the Dodgers running away with the actual
23:39
Speaker 3: record because of how they use their rotation? Somebody's bark
23:44
Speaker 3: and at we already heard Blake Snell is kind of
23:47
Speaker 3: exhausted from last year's one hundred innings that he threw,
23:51
Speaker 3: and they're kind of holding them back a little bit.
23:53
Speaker 3: Do you feel like they're really going to push to
23:55
Speaker 3: win one hundred games or they're just built so deep
23:59
Speaker 3: that they're just gonna win one hundred games.
24:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, they're built so deep they're going hundred games. Yes,
24:04
Speaker 2: But to answer your question, they're going to play the
24:06
Speaker 2: regular season for October. They're not gonna push these starting pitchers,
24:12
Speaker 2: so they're gonna go with a six man rotation, and
24:15
Speaker 2: then as we get to June and July, we're gonna
24:18
Speaker 2: have an injured list of an oblique or we're gonna
24:20
Speaker 2: have a toenail that needs to go on the IL
24:24
Speaker 2: and we're just gonna monitor the innings. We're gonna go slow,
24:27
Speaker 2: We're gonna get everything ready for October, and we're gonna
24:31
Speaker 2: show off our pitching depth. As we developed Sasaki and Sheehan,
24:35
Speaker 2: we still have landed knack. Bobby Miller hasn't gone away.
24:39
Speaker 2: We're gonna go and take our time. And that bullpen,
24:42
Speaker 2: you know, Yes, they've got dz Now in the back end,
24:44
Speaker 2: arguably the best closer in the league, but they're eight
24:48
Speaker 2: deep after him. They've got eight guys that they can
24:51
Speaker 2: run out there, so starters don't have to go deep
24:53
Speaker 2: into games. We can take our time. Give me five,
24:56
Speaker 2: I'll go to the bullpen. I've got eight guys and
24:59
Speaker 2: I got a arm system loaded with more. So yeah,
25:02
Speaker 2: let's take our time. We're just gonna yawn win one
25:06
Speaker 2: hundred and we'll catch in October and we'll be ready
25:07
Speaker 2: to go in October. Believe me.
25:12
Speaker 4: Alana, Oh gee, sorry, I thought Alana was going. Sorry, Jim,
25:16
Speaker 4: we hit a rise, we hit Suarez free agents. What
25:20
Speaker 4: about before we go? I gotta ask Gallon from Bervaldez,
25:23
Speaker 4: are they gonna sign because spring training starts about what
25:26
Speaker 4: a week. I think some teams report on the tenth
25:29
Speaker 4: eleventh this year round. Then, so we're getting down to
25:32
Speaker 4: the nitty gritty here, Jim, have you heard anything about
25:34
Speaker 4: those two guys?
25:35
Speaker 2: Yeah? Aj, you know what's funny, I've heard nothing about
25:37
Speaker 2: Frambur And I've been trying to dig I've been trying
25:40
Speaker 2: to get something, anything from anybody, and all I keep
25:44
Speaker 2: hearing is probably gonna end up in Baltimore. But I
25:47
Speaker 2: think the market for him is just completely fell flat.
25:50
Speaker 2: And I just don't know what the agents are planning now.
25:54
Speaker 2: I don't know if they're planning on Hey, I'll wait
25:56
Speaker 2: to spring training and see if somebody blows their arm
25:58
Speaker 2: out where maybe somebody else jumps in. Obviously they don't
26:01
Speaker 2: have anything on the table they like. I don't know
26:04
Speaker 2: if they're ready to do the Suarez thing and just
26:07
Speaker 2: sign that short, one one year deal and and have
26:10
Speaker 2: a home. But I have not heard anything. AJ and
26:13
Speaker 2: I have been digging very hard. In terms of Gallan.
26:17
Speaker 2: You know, he does have a pretty good market, but
26:18
Speaker 2: he is tied to drop pick compensation, which is a problem.
26:21
Speaker 2: He's coming off a down year, which is somewhat of
26:24
Speaker 2: an issue. You know, I keep hearing a return to
26:27
Speaker 2: Arizona is most likely. That's the latest I've heard. But
26:30
Speaker 2: there are a lot of teams in on Zach Gallan.
26:33
Speaker 2: He does have a robust market, and Scott Borish represents
26:37
Speaker 2: him and Scott as you know, never going to be
26:39
Speaker 2: in a hurry. He's going to take his time. He's
26:41
Speaker 2: going to think that if he may have an advantage
26:43
Speaker 2: to wait until spring training starts. Scott's never been afraid
26:47
Speaker 2: to do that with a client. So I'm not really
26:50
Speaker 2: worried about Gallon finding a home. I think he can
26:52
Speaker 2: always return to Arizona. Framber's kind of, to me, the
26:55
Speaker 2: most fascinating free agent of this entire offseason. I can't
26:59
Speaker 2: wait to see where he lands and how much he gets.
27:01
Speaker 2: I can tell you one thing, if I was a
27:03
Speaker 2: GM of any of these teams, I would be making
27:05
Speaker 2: that phone call every single day to see if there
27:08
Speaker 2: isn't a way I could steal the player.
27:11
Speaker 1: Jim always phenomenal information. We appreciate it very much. Don't
27:14
Speaker 1: forget you guys, a brand new show, GM Territory with
27:17
Speaker 1: Jim and his son Trey. Let's make sure you guys
27:20
Speaker 1: get to subscribe to that we appreciate it.
27:22
Speaker 4: All right.
27:22
Speaker 1: We're talking a lot about the San Francisco Giants, obviously
27:24
Speaker 1: with the Luis Arise conversation. So the question that I
27:28
Speaker 1: ask you guys bet MGM futures the regular season wins
27:31
Speaker 1: for San Francisco over or under on a line of
27:34
Speaker 1: eighty one and a half. AJ will start with you,
27:37
Speaker 1: what are you taking? Why is this funny? I don't know, betting,
27:45
Speaker 1: why is this funny?
27:48
Speaker 4: Because his number's tough? You know what I'm going under.
27:51
Speaker 4: I'm gonna say eighty one because I don't know. I
27:57
Speaker 4: wanna They're so good at these.
28:00
Speaker 1: Are so tar That's why it huge casinos, because.
28:04
Speaker 4: That's why I'm taking the under. Because with the Dodgers,
28:07
Speaker 4: I think the Diamondbacks will be improved. I think the
28:09
Speaker 4: Padres are better than the Giants right now. The Rockies
28:12
Speaker 4: are the Rockies, so they're kind of irrelevant, but I
28:15
Speaker 4: just think that they're the fourth best team maybe in
28:17
Speaker 4: this division. And to see him get over eighty one
28:20
Speaker 4: wins in a really tough division that just doesn't seem
28:23
Speaker 4: like the way. Now, they could prove me wrong. Giants
28:25
Speaker 4: fans already hate me so and what's a little bit.
28:27
Speaker 2: More, all right.
28:28
Speaker 1: Sarah Harmon nineteen seventy four says, take the over, They're
28:31
Speaker 1: going to be stronger. I need money, says take the
28:33
Speaker 1: under owl of Minervas as loll dam. I'm not sure
28:36
Speaker 1: what she's referring to, but fourth place, I need money,
28:40
Speaker 1: all right? Ek, What do you say over under on
28:45
Speaker 1: the San Francisco Giants regular season total at eighty one
28:49
Speaker 1: and a half, that's your line.
28:52
Speaker 2: Under?
28:54
Speaker 3: I think there are five two. I think they're a
28:56
Speaker 3: five hundred team. And I'm not saying they're going to
28:58
Speaker 3: be like seventy eight wins. I would take a'd be
29:02
Speaker 3: a massive under for me. But I think they're a
29:04
Speaker 3: five hundred team unless they make a move that moves
29:07
Speaker 3: the needle for me. Because now you know, is Willia
29:12
Speaker 3: Domas's defense gonna be there all year, Raffie Devers is
29:15
Speaker 3: gonna hit his thirty homers. But is the right side
29:18
Speaker 3: of their infield not good enough? Is the outfield defense legit?
29:22
Speaker 3: Do they stay healthy? Do they have enough depth for that?
29:26
Speaker 3: I just feel like they're a five hundred team. I
29:28
Speaker 3: feel like this number is eighty one if there's very
29:31
Speaker 3: few when it's like when I'm right on this number
29:34
Speaker 3: that I'd be like, okay, either one. I'm like not
29:37
Speaker 3: gonna take it. If you said, here's what the price is,
29:40
Speaker 3: here's the number I'm giving you. If you take eighty
29:43
Speaker 3: one wins, I will take eighty one. I think they
29:45
Speaker 3: are a five hundred team, and I don't think they've
29:47
Speaker 3: done enough to make them not a five hundred team
29:50
Speaker 3: this offseason.
29:51
Speaker 1: AJ is not a huge fan of bets in the eighties.
29:54
Speaker 3: Apparently.
29:55
Speaker 4: Oh no, they've just been really good lately. That these
29:58
Speaker 4: these gamblers. It's like they know what they're doing.
30:00
Speaker 2: I think they do odds makers.
30:02
Speaker 4: I should say it's listen, I agree with everything. Kroutzy
30:05
Speaker 4: just said, Man, we agree on this one. Like they're
30:07
Speaker 4: a five hundred ish team. Everything can break right and
30:10
Speaker 4: they could be better. Everything can break wrong and they
30:12
Speaker 4: could be worse. So it's just we'll see.
30:14
Speaker 3: You can't you can't end the season last year where
30:17
Speaker 3: they ended it with a cy young candidate Logan Web,
30:21
Speaker 3: and say what if Logan Web has an unbelievable year,
30:24
Speaker 3: Like Logan Web is not what you're talking about. Ralfie
30:27
Speaker 3: Devers is not what you're talking about. He's gonna hit
30:29
Speaker 3: his dingers. William Damas showed up, you know, to hit
30:32
Speaker 3: thirty homers again. It's gonna be tough. Matt Tapman's gonna
30:35
Speaker 3: play ridiculous defense. It's just did you add anything to
30:40
Speaker 3: the already pieces that you have? And I don't think so,
30:44
Speaker 3: And I think right now they're five hundred.
30:46
Speaker 2: Yeah.
30:49
Speaker 4: Don't forget Verlander had an unbelievable second half last year
30:51
Speaker 4: and they still finished, really finished. So, I mean, Robbie
30:54
Speaker 4: Ray was pretty good. I mean, well, Logan Web was
30:56
Speaker 4: really good all year, Domas was thirty.
31:01
Speaker 2: I just don't bet MGM account holders today.
31:04
Speaker 4: How About in any sport parlay boost token you can
31:07
Speaker 4: score a bigger payout if your wager with that token hits.
31:09
Speaker 2: Tokens can be used on parlays and on same game parlays.
31:13
Speaker 2: Gambling problem or concerned, there's help called one eight hundred
31:16
Speaker 2: Gambler