Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Blue Jays sign Okamoto, Yankees have Edward Cabrera interest, Royals extend Quatraro

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Fair Territory: Blue Jays sign Okamoto, Yankees have Edward Cabrera interest, Royals extend Quatraro · Foul Territory

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Monday edition of Fair Territory, the
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: first edition of twenty twenty six. Happy New Year Day everyone,
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: I hope everyone had a great holiday. Everyone is back
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: at it on this Monday, and that would include the
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: sleeping baseball world. This offseason has not progressed in a
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: particularly rapid fashion. I wrote this morning with Will Salmon
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: about a number of teams that still have unfinished business.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: And in that story we noted that the top three
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: free agents according to the Athletics Big Board, are still unsigned.
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: That would be Kyle Tucker, Bobashett and Alex Bregman. Six
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: of the nine are still unsigned, and twenty of the
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: top fifty. And there are still a number of trade
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: conversations percolating as well. And we're going to start today
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: talking about one of those trade conversations that I reported
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: yesterday with Will Salmon. I'm sorry with Chris Kershner about
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: the Yankees and the Yankees' interest in Edward Cabrera of
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: the Miami Marlins. Now, we wrote the talks have taken place.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: We wrote that as of now, no deal is close,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: but certainly this is something the Marlins have been discussing
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: for quite some time. There are other teams in the mix.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: After we reported this, a number of reports came out
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: citing the Mets, the Cubs, and others that are also
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: sniffing around on Cabrera. As they say in baseball, the
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Orioles have been involved in the past as well. It
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: certainly appears that Cabrera is going to get traded. He's
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: an interesting guy. He's extremely talented, immensely talented. He also
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: gets hurt a lot. He was on the IL twice
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: last year, and he is a guy that if you
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: get him, you love him. Of course you love the talent,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: but you hold your breath as well that he will
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: stay healthy. And with the Yankees the situation that they're in,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: as Chris and I described in the story, Garrett Cole,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Carlos Rodon Clark, Schmidt all starting the season on the
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: injured list. They're supposed to return at various times. Rodin
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: and Cole, first, both in the first half, Rodin April,
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: l May, May or June, and then Schmid hopefully in
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: the second half. So the Yankees do clearly have a
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: rotation opening and that is one reason, of course, why
• 2:09
  Speaker 1: they're interested in Edward Cabrera. We'll be talking more about
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: the Yankees and their off season in the Inside Dish. Now, obviously,
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Edward Cabrera is not the only starting pitcher in play
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: with regard to trade. Now you have also Mackenzie Gore
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: of the Washington Nationals, and you have Freddy Peralta of
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Brewers. And we reported in the same story
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: that we wrote about Cabrera that the Yankees are among
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: the many teams that have also shown interest in Peralta.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Why is Paralta so attractive even though he is under
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: club control for only one more year. Well, one because
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: he's good, and two because he is incredibly affordable. Eight
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: million dollars for this season coming up, and that's about
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: half of what Corbyn Burns was making when the Oriols
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: acquired him from the Brewers two years ago. So Peralta
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: is attractive not only to teams like the Yankees and
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: the Mets and the Braves and others who would be
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: classified as big market, but even small market teams can
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: afford him, and they're in the mix as well. Do
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: I expect Paralta to get traded? I would say yes,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: I do expect that to happen. I expect the Brewers
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: to get pushed to the point where they feel like
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: they're comfortable doing it, and if they get a major
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: league ready starting pitcher in return, they would have some
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: depth in that rotation. They actually already have depth. It's Woodriff,
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: it's Misraowski, and its Priester to start that rotation, and
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: then they have a bunch of other candidates that they
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: feel pretty good about. If they got one more, they
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: feel even better. Even without Freddy Peralta, who of course
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: has been immensely important to that team over the years
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: and coming off arguably his best year. So we'll see
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: what happens with Paralta, and we'll see what happens with Cabrera.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: But trade talks are ongoing, and of course free agency
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: is ongoing. From bra Valdez still out there, Rangers Suarez
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: still out there, and the big free agent hitters that
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: I mentioned, not just Tucker Bregman and Bishep, but also
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Cody Bellinger and a number of other lesser hitters still
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: in the open market as well. We did have a
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  Speaker 1: big signing over the weekend, and that was the Toronto
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Blue Jays, kind of a surprise entry into the Kazuma
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Okamoto Sweepstakes. A late entry perhaps, but they got it
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: done four years, sixty million, and he seems to be
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: a guy who from an offensive standpoint, fits them really well.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: As opposed to Murakami. He is a guy who makes
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: a lot of contact, and that is why he ultimately
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: got the better guarantee. In my opinion, Murakami took thirty
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: four million over two years from the White Sox. He's
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: betting on himself, betting that he'll ultimately have two good
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  Speaker 1: years and then go back in the open market and
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  Speaker 1: do even better. Okamoto a little bit older Kami. And
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: you see the positions right there, third base, first base,
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  Speaker 1: and outfield, And this is where I don't quite see
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  Speaker 1: the fit for the Blue Jays. Offensively, yes, absolutely fits
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: into their high contact profile. But from a defensive standpoint,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: it's been reported and said that he is better at
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: first base than third. The Jays obviously have a first
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: baseman that's Vladimir Gerrero Junior. Third base, Yes, Okomota could
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  Speaker 1: play there. You can move Ernie Clement to second, Addison
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: Barger to the right field. It works if you view
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: him as that. Now, if not, you bounce him around
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: third base, first base, outfield dh okay, But you're paying
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: fifteen million dollars a year for a super utility player,
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: and maybe that's worth it. We'll see. But what's really
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: interesting about the Blue Jays is a lot of people
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  Speaker 1: still believe they are in the mix for one more
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  Speaker 1: big bat. Alex Bregman would seem like less of a
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: priority for sure, and that's what Cody Stavenhagen and Mitch
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  Speaker 1: Batnen wrote in The Athletic after the signing was reported.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: They wrote that Bregman is less likely and you still have, though,
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: Bishett who could play second base. That would raise questions
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: about how the Jas would use Ernie Clement, their postseason hero,
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: and also Kyle Tucker maybe even the best fit in
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: certain respects because the J's have two outfielders who are
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: potential free agents after this season. I'm talking about George
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: Springer and Dalton varshow So, it's an interesting dynamic in
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: play with the Jays. They've had what we've seen so
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: far as a tremendous offseason. John Hayman has written that
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: he views them as the team to beat in the
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: AL East. I would tend to agree with that at
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: this moment. I don't know that we can necessarily judge
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: anything right now, because there's so much to be done,
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: so much incomplete. As again Will Salmon and I wrote
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: in The Athletic today, So that's the Blue Jays, that's
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: the Yankees. We've got a lot more coming on the
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: AL East. And I want to mention as well a
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: move yesterday in the AL Central, a managerialll move, a
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: three year extension from Mac Quacharro, the manager of the
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Kansas City Royals. He's a guy who in three seasons
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: has established himself as one of the steadier, more solid
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: managers in the game. JJ Piccolo, their general manager, also
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: signed through two thousand and thirty. Courtraro now is through
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty nine, with a club option for two thousand
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: and thirty. You remember Quatrro's first year, they were fifty
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: six and one oh six. The next year they made
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: the playoffs. Only three teams have gone from one hundred
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: losses to the playoffs in the game's history, and the
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: Royals in twenty twenty four or one of them last
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: year a bit disappointing. And this year this is a
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: team that actually we did not include in our column
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: today about all these teams with unfinished business, but they
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: still are looking for one more hitter, two and they
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: have a starting pitcher to trade. They have a little
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: bit of a surplus in their rotation in their view,
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: and they feel that if they can get one more,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: they'll be in a really good place. What have they
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: done so far? Matt Strom for the bullpen, Nick Meers
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: for the bullpen, and Isaac Collins coming over in that
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: trade from Milwaukee for a Helzurpa, and of course they've
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: also signed Lane Thomas. So in addition to bringing Jonathan
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: India back, they have taken some steps to improve their offense.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: They would like to take one more. They've been on
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: the fringes of the Brandan Donovan conversations. I don't know
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: that they're going to get there with him. It seems
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: like other teams maybe are in better position to acquire Donovan,
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: Seattle being one of them. But we will see what
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: exactly transpires with the Royals over the coming weeks as
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: we get closer to spring training, and we're really now
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: only about a month away. It's hard to believe only
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: about a month away early spring training this year, because
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: of course, this is a World Baseball Classic season. The
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: WBC will take place in March. All right, that's it
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: for the first segment. We've got the Inside Dish and
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: more on the Yankees and the Al East coming up
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: after this. Well well, well, well, all right, time now
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: for the Inside Dish, the part of the show I
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: go inside a story. I've written a trend in the game,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: or perhaps one division that has been quite interesting this offseason.
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: And yes, I'm talking about the ALE East. And we
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: are going to talk specifically in this segment about the
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: New York Yankees. Now, Yankee fans are sort of losing
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: their minds, like Cubs fans as well, because these are
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: two teams that really have not done much as of yet.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: And I want to show you to start this segment
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: what exactly has happened in the ALE East, the biggest
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: moves that have taken place for each of the four
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: main contenders. I'm excluding Tampa Bay for now. They are
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: not perhaps at the same level as the four teams
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: I'm going to talk about right here. The Blue Jays,
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: we know what they've done. Dylan sees Cody Pond's Tyler
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: Rogers and as we discussed Because Okamoto, the Red Sox,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: Sonny Gray, Johann Oviedo, Wilson Contraras with another big bat
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: to come, most likely the Orioles. These are just some
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: of the names that they've acquired Pete a, Lonzo Taylor Ward,
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Shane Boz, Ryan Helsley. There'd made some other moves as well,
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: and then there are the Yankees, and the Yankees' three
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: biggest editions you see them right there are guys that
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: they re signed from last year's club, Ryan Yarborough, Paul Blackburn,
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Amed Rosario. These are complementary pieces, as is Paul DeYoung,
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: who agreed to a minor league contract with the Yankees yesterday.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: And as we discussed in the first segment, the Yankees,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: at least to start the season are in kind of
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: a tricky spot with their rotation. As I mentioned, Rodin, Cole,
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: and Schmidt are not going to be there at the
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: start of the season. Rodin likely returns first his elbow
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: surgery was bone chips, then Cole coming off to Tommy
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: john and then perhaps in the second half Clark Schmidt.
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: They've got obviously starting pitchers that they're quite comfortable with
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: despite all these injuries, but they want to add at
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: least one more and they're trying to do that as
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: we discussed Cabrera, Peralta, whoever it might be, maybe a
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: free agent drops that they want. They're also looking to
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: add some bargain relievers. They are a team that did
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: not necessarily participate in the high end of the free
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: agent market for relievers. Actually, I should not say not necessarily,
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: they did not participate. They lost Devin Williams, they lost
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: Luke Weaver. They've got Bednar in the trade coming back,
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: and they've got Doval coming back as well, and others.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: But the Yankees could use some additional bullpen depth, There's
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: no question about that. And then there's the question of
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: the bat and what are they going to do to
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: replace Cody Bellinger if they need to replace him, or
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: do they simply resign him to a big deal and
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: have him as they're leading complementary piece to Aaron Judge
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: or one of their leading complementary pieces to Aaron Judge.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: They need to resign Balinger. He's their top priority. They
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: seem much more interested in bringing him to New York,
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: bringing him back where he has proven in New York,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: than going after Kyle Tucker, who might not be as
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: comfortable in that kind of market. And frankly, is not
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: as versatile a defender as Bellinger is. Bellinger can play
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: the outfield for now in first base later if you
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: need him to do both at the same time. He's
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: that kind of guy. So Bellinger is their priority and
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: has been that priority. And Joe Sherman of The New
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: York Post reported yesterday that the Yankees have made a
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: second offer to him. They clearly are focused on him.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: If they lose him, yeah, they've got a problem. I
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: don't know exactly where they would turn. But the main
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: overriding theme here is Aaron Judge is in the prime
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: of his career still. He is in his early thirties
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: thirty three thirty four range, but that prime is not
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: going to last forever. It might seem like that right
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: now because Aaron Judge is at the peak of his
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: powers and is coming off, if not his best season,
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: certainly one of his best seasons. And as Yankee fans
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: have repeatedly pointed out, you cannot waste and waste as
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: a relative term because they keep making the playoffs, but
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: you cannot keep going forward and not put your best
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: foot forward with Aaron Judge. And that is the complaint
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: that Yankee fans have had, and it's an understandable one.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: You have to build your best possible team around him.
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: They know it. That's why they tried for Juan Soda
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: last year, That's why they signed Freed and Bellinger and
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: did all the things they did after they lost Sodo.
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: They're gonna be there, They're gonna do things, But right
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: now it's fair to wonder, Okay, what if you don't
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: get Bellinger, what happens then? So here they are. They've
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: talked a lot about how they don't want to go
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: over three hundred million, at least their owner, house steinbrunner Haus,
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: or at least he said, we can build a winning
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: team without being a three hundred million and that's certainly true.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: They were two ninety six to end last season, and
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: now they're at two sixty three. Clearly room for a
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: thirty million dollar player, if not more. And I expect
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: that they're going to do things. But at some point
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: you've got to see it right. And time is a wasting.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: It's not over yet, the offseason not even close to over.
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: As we discussed in the first segment, there are so
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: many things happening still, so many things that are in play,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: so many things still to take place, but the Yankees
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: know that their mission is far from complete. Now, one
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: good thing about the Yankees, or one promising thing at
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: least for twenty twenty six, and this was pointed out
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: by my producer Jerem B. Meyer. Jeremy said, and he
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: looked at the schedule. Wow, their schedule in the first
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: two months is fairly easy, at least in a relative sense.
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: Only four teams or only four series against playoff teams
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: from last year that would be this is in the
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: early two months, the first two months. Seattle, Boston, Milwaukee,
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: and Toronto. Those the four series against playoff teams before
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: June that the Yankees will have. Now they're also gonna
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: have two series against the Oils, who are much improved.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: They're also gonna play the Mets, who are another team
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: that is driving their fans nuts and needs to get going.
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: But relatively speaking, again, relatively speaking, there's a lot of
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Kansas City and Sacrabto and Tampa Bay on that schedule
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: in the first two months. No opponent is easy in
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: Major League Baseball. We're not discounting anyone. But again, relatively speaking,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: the Yankees, without those starting pitchers to start the season,
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: are gonna be in a reasonably competitive spot simply because
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: their schedule should repeat, should allow for it. So here
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: are the Yankees. We're still waiting on them, We're still
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: waiting on the Cubs, We're still waiting on the Mets.
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Things are going to happen, I promise, But certainly if
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: you're a Yankee fan, if you're a Cub fan, if
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: you're a Met fan, you're getting a little anxious because,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: as I said, spring training is not all that far away,
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: and more to the point, perhaps the options are dwindling.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: And I just pointed out with the Yankees, if they
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: don't get Bellinger, then what I don't see them going
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: after Tucker Boba Schett maybe, but he's not going to
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: play shortstop for the Yankees. And if they get him,
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: they'd have to trade Chisholm at second base or Ryan
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: McMahon third to accommodate Bishett. Then there's Bregman, same kind
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: of problem. And I just don't see where the next
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: big move is if it's not Bellinger. Now I might
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: be missing it completely. Obviously, Brian Cashman is considering all
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: kinds of scenarios. But again, as the options dwindle, it
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: becomes more of a question. So that's it. On the Yankees,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: Derek Lewandowski hosts Pinstripe Territory, a must listen and must
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: follow for Yankee fans and for that matter, Yankees haters.
• 16:50
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• 16:53
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• 17:00
  Speaker 1: and read five stars wherever you listen to the entire
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Foul Territory network. Grilling Ken is coming up next.
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  Speaker 1: Give us a sub time now for grilling Ken, the
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: part of the show where I answer your questions. Let's
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: get right to them. First question comes from Robot fifty
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: to fifty three. What do you think think about options
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: like Tucker doing Bregman Bellinger signs a short contract for
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: two years with a player option after year one. Okay,
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I see what you're saying there, And the thought would be,
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: if you're Kyle Tucker and you're not getting the long
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: term deal you want, sign a shorter deal with an
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: opt out the way Bregman and Bellinger did and others
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: of course have done in the sport, and then go
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: back into the market next year, two years, whatever the
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: case might be. I can see Kyle Tucker considering that,
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: perhaps from a team like the Dodgers and Will Salmon
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: and I wrote about this today, the Dodgers are always
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: going to be in play, hanging around the backboard, as
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: their people like to say, when a free agent's market drops,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: when an elite free agent doesn't get necessarily what he wants.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: So could you do, say, if you're the Dodgers, or
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: for that matter, any other team, a four year deal
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: for Tucker with a massive aav say forty to forty
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: five million a year and opt outs after years one
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: and two, something along those lines, similar to the Bregman
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: deal with the Red Sox. Right, Well, yeah, he could
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: do that, but he also is a guy that at
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: this stage of his career, not yet thirty, should be
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: able to command the long term deal, and I would
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: expect ultimately that is what he's going to get. Might
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: be wrong about that, And certainly there are also not
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: a number or a large number of teams that can
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: give Kyle Tucker the contract he wants. So maybe in
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: the end the suggestion that Robok had there ultimately comes
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: into being and ultimately comes to pass, But I don't
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: see it. I still expect Kyle Tucker to get the
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: long deal that we all have projected he will receive,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: all right. Next question, this one comes from Chris Rajuda
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: sixty six to seventy five. How likely do you think
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: that Phillies have a shot at signing Boba, Shet Chris,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: I would say not very likely, And the reason for
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: that is that payroll is already quite up there, and
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: could they slip in perhaps with one of these shorter deals. Yes,
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: I guess they could, and certainly they have checked in
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: according to John Hayman, But I don't see them necessarily
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: being a team that's going to win the bidding for
• 20:12
  Speaker 1: a guy like Bashett. I just don't see it with
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: them with their payroll being where it is. Bobashett obviously
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: is one of the younger free agents. You see his
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: day of birth there. He's only going to be twenty
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: seven in March, twenty eight in March. But at the
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: same time, where do you put them? If you're the Philliage,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: you can find the spot third base, second base, no problem,
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: and figure out the rest. But I just don't know
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: if he fits into their payroll plans. They still need
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: a right handed platoon outfielder who will pair with Brandon
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: Marsh and left we mentioned Randon Gritchick. Randall Gritchick, I
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: should say as a possibility. But while Bashett is certainly
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: an attractive player for any team, I would be surprised
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: if he landed in Philadelphia. Next question, this one comes
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: from rally Squirrel twenty eleven. Would Arnatto be willing to
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: lift his no trade clause for the Angels? Good question,
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: rally Squirrel, and it's one that may indeed come to pass.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: The Angels are among the teams that have shown interest
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: in Arnado, but his market has to shake out. Okamoto
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: signing is one thing that will advance it. Bregman signing,
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: of course, will be the key one. So I don't
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: know exactly where Arnado ultimately fits. If the Red Sox
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: do not get Bregman, do they then go after a
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: Nolan Arnado who is declining offensively, I'm not sure that's
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: their move. Could it ultimately then be the Angels, a
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: team that is still lurking with some potentially big moves. Yeah,
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: it could be. And I think if Arnado is faced
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: with the same situation he was last offseason when his
• 21:47
  Speaker 1: options fell one by one off the wayside, he is
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: going to have to consider going home to southern California
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: and yes, playing for the Los Angeles Angels. All right,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: we've got at least one more question. Let's get to
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: it right here. This one comes from Cody Kleig eighty
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: one oh five. What is next for the Pirates after
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: missing out on Okamoto? Address this will I did today
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: in our story about what teams might do next. The
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: Pirates are in, as we said, a bit of a quandary.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: The situation with them is they've added through two trades,
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: three hitters that they like a lot. The password is
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: one of them, Garcia from the Red Sox and of
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: course Brandon Lao and Jake Mangum from the Tampa Bay Rays.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: They also have added Ryan O'Hearn on a two year,
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: twenty nine million dollar free agent contract. They want more,
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: but to get more, it's going to be difficult to
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: do in free agency one because the better players are
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: gone for the most part, They're not going to be
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: in the mix for Bishett and that group. So they've
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: repeatedly missed on free agents because guys when they have
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: a better competitive position or better team that they can
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: go to a more competitive team, they're going to take
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: that option. As a classic example, would you rather play
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: for Toronto or would you rather play for Pittsburgh. I
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: think we know the answer, So we saw the answer.
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: So the Pirates maybe their best route is another trade,
• 23:11
  Speaker 1: and they're willing to make such a trade. They're still
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: willing to trade young players prospects. They're less willing to
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: trade major league players, which is what every team seems
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: to want this offseason, because if you do that then
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: you've got to backfill, and the options to backfill on
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: your major league roster are diminishing. So I do expect
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: the Pirates to do more, but maybe it will come
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: from the trade route more so than the free agent route.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: Aohano Suarez is a guy who might fit, but I
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: think Aohano Suarez is going to have interest elsewhere as well. So,
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: as I said, the Pirates are in a bit of
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: a tough spot. Obviously it's one of their own making
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: from years of neglect. But what's interesting about this, and
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: I'll close the show with this, As I said, teams
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: now this particular offseason are not so much willing to
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: take prospects. Very few are willing to take prospects. There
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: are so many teams trying to win. Why is that. Well,
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: we're entering ACBA year, the final year of the collective
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: Bargain Agreement, and maybe some teams are trying to put
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: a better foot forward to show that they're spending money.
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: The Pirates are one of those teams, and maybe they
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: want to justify where they are and how they're operating
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: their franchises as we get ready for the next fight
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: over revenue sharing and the like. All right. With that,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: we're going to close it out. I want to thank
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: everyone for watching and for listening. Foul Territory coming up
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: at one pm. Jim Bowden, Chris Kirshner both colleagues are
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: buying from the Athletic and Vinnie Pasporentino joined. Aj Prisentski,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: Eric Kratz and Scott Braun. We're back Thursday at twelve
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: thirty Eastern. I'll talk to you then