Latest / Foul Territory / Fair Territory: Cubs NEED to spend, Mets have Kyle Tucker interest, Arbitration exchange day

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Fair Territory: Cubs NEED to spend, Mets have Kyle Tucker interest, Arbitration exchange day · Foul Territory

0:00
Speaker 1: Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm
0:03
Speaker 1: Ken Rosenthal, joined today by the Grand Puba of the
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Speaker 1: Foul Territory Network. Scott Braun will be co hosting alana
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Speaker 1: Is as they say on assignment. So we've got Scott today,
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Speaker 1: and Scott, we've got a lot to get through on
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Speaker 1: this Thursday.
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Speaker 2: We do. You know, I love doing this hopping on
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Speaker 2: for a little cameo pinch hip performance, Ken, So let's
0:23
Speaker 2: jump right into the lead. And I will say to
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Speaker 2: those who celebrate happy arbitration figure exchange Day. I don't
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Speaker 2: know why you would celebrate unless you're a player, But
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Speaker 2: what can you tell us about this? And I will
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Speaker 2: add fans should care if they somehow hear an extension
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Speaker 2: pop up for a player of their choice. But really,
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Speaker 2: for the most part, we're just figuring out salaries for
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Speaker 2: next year, right.
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Speaker 1: That's exactly right for arbitration eligible players. And the interesting things,
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Speaker 1: as you mentioned, Scott, one would be an extension. Two
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Speaker 1: would be an unusual split one way or the other,
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Speaker 1: a team offering a lot more than the player is asking,
1:01
Speaker 1: a player asking for a lot more than the team
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Speaker 1: is offering, or a split that is so ridiculously close
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Speaker 1: that it should have been settled. And then finally today
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Speaker 1: we have the case of Terek Scougle and he's a
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Speaker 1: very interesting case, and we'll show you the most prominent
1:15
Speaker 1: players that are eligible today and the ones that are
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Speaker 1: projected to receive the highest salaries. Trek Scougble is while
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Speaker 1: projected by Mlbtrade Rumors dot Com to get seventeen point
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Speaker 1: eight million, that probably is low. He's a two times
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Speaker 1: sy Young winner, back to back sy Young winner, and
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Speaker 1: he is expected to break the record into arbitration for
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Speaker 1: a pitcher, which is David Price's nineteen point seventy five million.
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Speaker 1: Because of those back to back cy Young's, Schooble is
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Speaker 1: in a particularly great place as far as his arbitration
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Speaker 1: case is concerned. And while Mlbtrade Rumors dot Com is
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Speaker 1: kind of looking at the race he got last year,
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Speaker 1: which was seven and a half million to ten point
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Speaker 1: one five million, and taking the same kind of rays
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Speaker 1: and giving it to him year, because Schooble has what
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Speaker 1: is known as those special accomplishments, he is going to
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Speaker 1: do really well here and a question will be whether
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Speaker 1: they settle or whether they reach a number. Generally, these
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Speaker 1: cases as you mentioned Scott all Settle, but I'm sure
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Speaker 1: there'll be some that don't today as well.
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Speaker 2: So when I look at that list, of course, keep
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Speaker 2: in mind that a player who is one year from
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Speaker 2: free agency is going to be in a different mode,
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Speaker 2: in a different tier, right, And that actually applies to
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Speaker 2: both the two that I'm about to bring up, Trek
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Speaker 2: Scooble and Randy Rosorina. It is kind of weird to
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Speaker 2: see Randy ahead of school Schooble is a back to
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Speaker 2: back sy young winner. Randy's good player. He had one
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Speaker 2: of the most epic October's you know, we've seen in
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Speaker 2: the twenty first century, but that was a while ago
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Speaker 2: at this point, nice player, but it's just crazy to
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Speaker 2: think that him and Schooble, according to this MLB and
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Speaker 2: Players Association agreed upon system, are worth around the same
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Speaker 2: amount right now.
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Speaker 1: I do expect Schooble to do better, but starting pictures
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Speaker 1: in arbitration, for whatever reason, do not generally fare as well,
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Speaker 1: at least to start with. And then what happens is
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Speaker 1: you're building your future salaries on the previous salaries. So
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Speaker 1: because that happens because the first fear arbitrations, starting pitchers
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Speaker 1: generally start at four or five million. They do not
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Speaker 1: accelerate as quickly or as prominently as some of the others.
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Speaker 1: It's kind of a weird deal, but yeah, that's the
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Speaker 1: way the system goes.
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Speaker 2: Okay, Ken, Let's move to your latest column. It came
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Speaker 2: out this morning and it has to do with the
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Speaker 2: Cubs latest acquisition of Eduard Cabrera. But what's next? And
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Speaker 2: I think the way to summarize it from the fan
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Speaker 2: perspective is that you said, much more eloquent terms and
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Speaker 2: more detailed terms, what every Cubs fan is feeling for
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Speaker 2: a while now, probably for five years now. Can we
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Speaker 2: spend some damn money to show that we're a big
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Speaker 2: market exactly?
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Speaker 1: And they had one major free agent signing in twenty
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Speaker 1: twenty two that was Dance by Swamp and, as I
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Speaker 1: point out in a column, that has worked out well.
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Speaker 2: Now.
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Speaker 1: The point of what I wrote is that after getting
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Speaker 1: Cabrera and giving up Owen Casey, a guy who figured
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Speaker 1: prominently in your future as an outfielder, then where are
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Speaker 1: you now? This is two years in a row. The
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Speaker 1: Cubs have traded a very highly regarded hitting prospect, Cam
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Speaker 1: Smith last year for Tucker for one year of Tucker,
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Speaker 1: as well as trading e Zach Parides and Wesnsky in
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Speaker 1: that deal, and then doing this trade Owen Casey, their
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Speaker 1: number one prospect, the guy who was expected to hit
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Speaker 1: will probably play a prominent role this year for the Marlins.
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Speaker 1: And then you get Edward Cabrera. That's fine, but you're
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Speaker 1: one bat short because Tucker is not coming back. And
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Speaker 1: what I'm suggesting is that they signed one of the
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Speaker 1: big four guys who fit them to varying degrees. I'm talking,
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Speaker 1: of course about Bellinger, Bishett, Bregman, and Tucker. Obviously some
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Speaker 1: of those fit better than others. You can make the
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Speaker 1: case any which way you want, and who knows if
5:01
Speaker 1: certain players want to come to Wrigley, which is a
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Speaker 1: challenging hitting environment, when they might have better options. Okay,
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Speaker 1: but at some point the Cubs need to stop being
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Speaker 1: cute and go for it and go after one of
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Speaker 1: these types of players if they want to be a
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Speaker 1: team that is a World Series contender. Now, maybe they're
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Speaker 1: comfortable getting in the playoffs, maybe win in the Central,
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Speaker 1: maybe getting in as a wild card, Okay, but it
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Speaker 1: shouldn't be enough for a Chicago team, a team that
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Speaker 1: plays in the third largest market in the United States
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Speaker 1: and a team that should be just competing at a
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Speaker 1: higher level. I will say this about this trade. I
5:42
Speaker 1: did like it a lot for the Marlins. I like Casey,
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Speaker 1: I like his potential. I know he's had some swing
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Speaker 1: and mis issues a lot of young players do. Cabrera
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Speaker 1: is a risk. He's had injury issues last year, elbow
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Speaker 1: problem that cost him most of September the year before,
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Speaker 1: twice on the al with the shoulder in pingement. He's
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Speaker 1: a guy that is extremely talented and if he's on lookout,
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Speaker 1: But the problem is will he stay healthy. You see
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Speaker 1: last year one hundred and thirty seven and two thirds innings.
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Speaker 1: He also had a blister issue at the start of
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Speaker 1: the season that cost him time as well.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, you figure the innings total for him is going
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Speaker 2: to be one fifty or below, right. It's just not
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Speaker 2: a guy that's going to eat significant innings. So in
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Speaker 2: my mind, Ken, this is someone that the Cubs look
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Speaker 2: at as getting to October, if we can get there,
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Speaker 2: and starting a playoff game for us. Of course, you
6:33
Speaker 2: want him to make as many starts as possible during
6:35
Speaker 2: the regular season, but I get it. You handled what
6:38
Speaker 2: you wanted to on the starting pitching end. Want to
6:40
Speaker 2: bring up how in your article you said the second
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Speaker 2: half for the Cubs plus the playoffs was not very
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Speaker 2: rosy for them. From an offensive standpoint, Tucker was much
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Speaker 2: better in the first half. He's not back Pete crow Armstrong,
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Speaker 2: who is he? We saw a superstar in the first
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Speaker 2: half and then his production fell off in the second
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Speaker 2: half of the season. So this all adds up to
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Speaker 2: what you're saying with offense. Here's my question. I thought
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Speaker 2: the interesting for it in the article that I need
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Speaker 2: to keep reminding myself. Rickley Field right now is a
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Speaker 2: pitcher's park. If the Cubs are trying to be cheap
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Speaker 2: and signed guys who have opt outs right like the
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Speaker 2: deal that they were able to do with Cody Bellinger,
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Speaker 2: why am I, as a free agent choosing Chicago if
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Speaker 2: that is going to potentially suppress my offensive production. If
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Speaker 2: I'm looking at this as a one or a two
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Speaker 2: year deal, even if it's a larger deal like four years,
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Speaker 2: but I want to opt out and hit the market again,
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Speaker 2: why would I choose Rickley.
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Speaker 1: Right And that's the point I'm making. If you're in
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Speaker 1: that position, if you're the Cubs, and you're thinking we
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Speaker 1: can get cue here and do something short with opt outs. No,
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Speaker 1: you probably can't because a player of this caliber of
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Speaker 1: the guys we're talking about Tucker, Bashette, Regman and Bellinger,
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Speaker 1: they're not going to say, yeah, I'll go to Wrigley
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Speaker 1: Free that's a great idea. Bellinger didn't have a choice,
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Speaker 1: he didn't have a better option. But these players, I
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Speaker 1: would think, do have better options. And yeah, that's a problem.
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Speaker 1: So that is why what I'm saying is they've got
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Speaker 1: to go longer here. They've got to give one of
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Speaker 1: these guys six.
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Speaker 2: Years or whatever.
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Speaker 1: It's going to take five years high Aavy, maybe seven years.
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Speaker 1: They gave Dansby seven years. They've got to do something
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Speaker 1: along those lines. And they are positioned to from a
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Speaker 1: financial perspective as well. They are well below the luxury
8:18
Speaker 1: tax threshold. The first threshold, there's thirty million plus below that.
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Speaker 1: They also have minimal commitments for the next three years,
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Speaker 1: almost zero in a relative sense. It's really just Dansby,
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Speaker 1: Swanson and film Aton for twenty twenty seven. I think
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Speaker 1: it's thirty nine million total. So when you're in that spot,
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Speaker 1: when your books are clean, when you're not even close
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Speaker 1: to the threshold. Why are we playing around here? Why
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Speaker 1: aren't we going for it with one of these players,
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Speaker 1: That's the question I'm asking.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, this is the dream scenario. You're a big market
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Speaker 2: team and you have the books very clean after twenty
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Speaker 2: twenty six. This is the offseason when you usually pounce
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Speaker 2: because you're going to have a bunch of players that
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Speaker 2: are talented one more season and then hit free agency.
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Speaker 2: So anyway, we'll keep an eye on that, Ken, I
9:04
Speaker 2: do want to also cover what the rest of the
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Speaker 2: starting pitching market is going to look like. We're still
9:09
Speaker 2: waiting on a few big names to sign, like Forrembervaldez
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Speaker 2: and Ranger Suarez. But how does this trade, and I
9:15
Speaker 2: guess we can look at the Shane bos trade too,
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Speaker 2: affect what's next here. I know you've talked a lot
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Speaker 2: about Freddy Peralta and how you're probably edging towards him
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Speaker 2: being traded more so than not being traded. So what's next.
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Speaker 1: Well, it's interesting, Scott, these two trades that we've seen
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Speaker 1: Boz and now Cabrera big returns. The Bos return was massive.
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Speaker 1: I would say a lot of top prospects went in
9:38
Speaker 1: that deal. Guys who were further away, but players that
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Speaker 1: could have good careers. And with Cabrera, it's Casey and
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Speaker 1: two other pieces, and Casey was the Cub's number one prospect.
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Speaker 1: So for three years of Edward Cabrera, the Cubs were
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Speaker 1: willing to do that. Now, Mackenzie Gore two years of
9:56
Speaker 1: control left, I'm sorry, three years of control left, and
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Speaker 1: then Freddie Paralta one year of control left. So it's
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Speaker 1: a different scenario with those two guys. But if you're
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Speaker 1: the Nationals and you're sitting there with Gore, you're in
10:07
Speaker 1: a good spot right now. If you're the Brewers with Paralta,
10:10
Speaker 1: it's a little different because one year of control is
10:13
Speaker 1: something where teams are reluctant to commit too much. But
10:16
Speaker 1: at the same time, Freddie Peralta, if they trade him,
10:19
Speaker 1: should command a pretty sizable return. And if the Brewers
10:24
Speaker 1: get a major League ready starting pitcher out of that,
10:26
Speaker 1: plus maybe another piece or two, I would say that's
10:29
Speaker 1: a win for them, at least in terms of maximizing
10:32
Speaker 1: Paralta's value. We can debate whether it's a wise move
10:36
Speaker 1: to trade Parolta. I'm not sure that it is. If
10:38
Speaker 1: you're trying to win this year. But that's not how
10:41
Speaker 1: the Brewers operate, and time and time again they've churned
10:44
Speaker 1: their roster. They did it with Corbyn Burns, they did
10:46
Speaker 1: it with Josh Hater, and they've done it to great effect,
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Speaker 1: even while at times getting criticized for it. I was
10:53
Speaker 1: critical of the Hater trade, and the Hater trade was
10:55
Speaker 1: a bad look in a lot of ways, but it
10:58
Speaker 1: led them to William Contreras and Robert Gasser and got
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Speaker 1: them ultimately a great return. So with Peralta, they feel
11:07
Speaker 1: they have the depth behind him to do this. But
11:10
Speaker 1: if they can get one more picture in this one
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Speaker 1: more starting pitcher, a young guy who is ready to go,
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Speaker 1: that would be for me a pretty good return and
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Speaker 1: something the Brewers should really look at.
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Speaker 2: Okay, now, let's move to the Kyle Tucker market, right,
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Speaker 2: the guy who's supposed to get the most guaranteed dollars
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Speaker 2: on the free agent market. And your colleague Will Salmon
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Speaker 2: also covers the Mets and put out an article last
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Speaker 2: night about the interest for the Mets in someone like Tucker.
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Speaker 2: What did you make of the article? And I'll do
11:41
Speaker 2: the classic fan question, why would Kyle Tucker select the
11:47
Speaker 2: Mets for maybe a contract that only guarantees him three
11:51
Speaker 2: or four years in a high average annual value versus
11:54
Speaker 2: the Blue Jays who might be offering him eight years.
11:57
Speaker 2: Other than maybe he just doesn't want to go to Canada.
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Speaker 1: Right and who knows what the player's preference might be.
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Speaker 1: He also might not want to go to New York.
12:05
Speaker 1: This is a low key guy. I don't know that
12:07
Speaker 1: he necessarily wants the New York spotlight. But what the
12:11
Speaker 1: Mets are thinking, when all teams are thinking right now,
12:14
Speaker 1: and what they're all trying to do and dreaming of,
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Speaker 1: is short term deals for these big time players and
12:21
Speaker 1: including opt outs if necessary in order to get the player.
12:25
Speaker 1: But on the lesser commitment, every team is dreaming of that,
12:29
Speaker 1: at least every team with the money to afford these players. Now,
12:32
Speaker 1: can they get it done? That remains to be seen.
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Speaker 1: If you're Tucker, and let's just play out what you
12:38
Speaker 1: just said, Scott, the J's are offering seven or eight
12:41
Speaker 1: years thirty thirty five forty million a year. The Mets
12:44
Speaker 1: are offering four years. And let's say the aav is
12:47
Speaker 1: forty five a year, and the Mets aren't even at
12:49
Speaker 1: four years. According to Will's article, there are three so
12:52
Speaker 1: or below even I don't know, you're not going to
12:56
Speaker 1: the Mets, and the player ultimately is going to go,
12:59
Speaker 1: most likely for the best deal. So I understand the Mets,
13:04
Speaker 1: like the Dodgers, are trying to get the best possible
13:06
Speaker 1: financial situation they can with one of these big time players.
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Speaker 1: But it's not always so easy to do when the
13:13
Speaker 1: market exists to go longer for those players. And with Tucker,
13:17
Speaker 1: at least, I expect that's the position he's going to be.
13:20
Speaker 1: And now if he doesn't want to play for the
13:22
Speaker 1: Blue Jays and the rest of the offers are these
13:25
Speaker 1: shorter offers, okay, then the Mets are in play, and
13:28
Speaker 1: the Mets should be in play. But do I expect
13:31
Speaker 1: that to happen. No. I would say Toronto right now
13:34
Speaker 1: is the leader in the clubhouse for Tucker, just based
13:36
Speaker 1: on everything we know and Scott, as you know, we
13:39
Speaker 1: don't always know everything. In fact, we often know very
13:42
Speaker 1: little about what's going on behind the scenes in free agency.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, we love when something mysterious pops up. And my
13:49
Speaker 2: last thought on this is that if the Mets are
13:51
Speaker 2: trying to be like the Dodgers, which they've stated publicly,
13:54
Speaker 2: for many years now, hanging around and seeing if someone's
13:57
Speaker 2: going to take that high av shorter term dealer. It's cool,
14:00
Speaker 2: but not when the Dodgers also seem to be hanging
14:02
Speaker 2: around for the same player if they have similar offers.
14:05
Speaker 2: I think we know where he's going to end up, right,
14:08
Speaker 2: if want to The.
14:10
Speaker 1: Yankees want to do this, the Red Sox want to
14:12
Speaker 1: do this. They all want to do this. Well, if
14:14
Speaker 1: you all want to do it, someone who goes longer
14:16
Speaker 1: is going to ultimately most likely get the player.
14:19
Speaker 2: Yep, makes sense. Okay, We'll be right back with Dude
14:22
Speaker 2: and Dork of the week.
14:23
Speaker 1: Dude, dude, dude.
14:31
Speaker 2: This is my nightmare right now, Ken, because I get
14:33
Speaker 2: a heads up on what dude and dork is going
14:35
Speaker 2: to look like for you. I sit next to aj
14:37
Speaker 2: Przinski every day, right and I have to try and
14:40
Speaker 2: prevent him from making it a football show all day.
14:43
Speaker 2: I say that in Jess, but he does love talking football.
14:45
Speaker 2: I heard that your Dude of the week is not
14:47
Speaker 2: in baseball. What do you have for us?
14:50
Speaker 1: It is not in baseball? And I believe this is
14:51
Speaker 1: the first time I've ever selected a due to the
14:53
Speaker 1: week not baseball related. But I was so impressed by
14:58
Speaker 1: Tyler Loup and the bounce he had after missing that
15:01
Speaker 1: kick for the Ravens in the Sunday night game that
15:04
Speaker 1: determined the AFC North champion and ultimately led to John
15:08
Speaker 1: Harbaugh getting fired as Ravens coach. I was so impressed
15:12
Speaker 1: by that that he is my Dude of the week.
15:13
Speaker 1: This guy is twenty four years old. He just went
15:17
Speaker 1: through a moment that is as humiliating and embarrassing whatever
15:21
Speaker 1: word you might want to use as a player can
15:23
Speaker 1: experience in any sport difficult as any player could experience,
15:28
Speaker 1: and the Ravens in every way handled this well. Harbaugh
15:32
Speaker 1: when he walked off the field with Luke, had his
15:34
Speaker 1: arm around him. And then when Luke did the interview
15:37
Speaker 1: and he spoke for seven minutes, seven minutes which is
15:40
Speaker 1: a long time, he had the snapper and the holder
15:43
Speaker 1: right there next to him offering support. But what impressed
15:46
Speaker 1: me the most was him and the way he answered
15:49
Speaker 1: questions and how he just calmly explained everything that went on,
15:55
Speaker 1: everything he was feeling. He obviously felt terribly for the team,
15:59
Speaker 1: and I will say this is as well the reporters
16:01
Speaker 1: in this scenario. If you watch the tape and watch
16:04
Speaker 1: the video of it. They were very respectful in their
16:07
Speaker 1: questions and they ask good questions, so it all worked
16:11
Speaker 1: the way it's supposed to work. Good questions a guy
16:14
Speaker 1: answering questions, and I know fans often say I'll leave
16:17
Speaker 1: the guys alone after they have a tough no. That
16:20
Speaker 1: is not the way this world works, and the players
16:23
Speaker 1: often seem to understand it better than a lot of
16:25
Speaker 1: fans do. The players know they have a responsibility. It's
16:29
Speaker 1: part of the job to explain what happened. Tyler Luke
16:32
Speaker 1: did that at age twenty four in one of the
16:34
Speaker 1: most unimaginable moments a player can experience, and he handled
16:39
Speaker 1: it with unbelievable class and grace.
16:42
Speaker 2: Due to the week, there's an accountability component that I
16:46
Speaker 2: think the majority respects. You might hear the loud noise
16:49
Speaker 2: on social media like you mentioned, saying hey, leave them alone,
16:53
Speaker 2: or there are many others that say you should be tougher,
16:55
Speaker 2: you should go at them. Well, there's a sense of
16:57
Speaker 2: professionalism that should occur in a locker room work, and
17:00
Speaker 2: that's what happens. And of course what comes to mind
17:03
Speaker 2: is just a few months back, Ryan Kirkering right his
17:05
Speaker 2: teammates embracing him right away. Oriyan stepping up in front
17:08
Speaker 2: of the media. I wasn't in the clubhouse. I think
17:10
Speaker 2: you were on a different series, but same thing. We
17:13
Speaker 2: saw him step up and take accountability and speak about it,
17:16
Speaker 2: and that certainly stood out absolutely right.
17:19
Speaker 1: That's why, Yeah, it was a perfect choice.
17:22
Speaker 2: Let's get to mine. So I love a little juice.
17:26
Speaker 2: I wish that owners were more transparent about how they're
17:30
Speaker 2: really feeling. And Michael Araghetty, the co owner of the
17:34
Speaker 2: Baltimore Orioles, is just speaking right to what every Orioles
17:37
Speaker 2: fan wants to hear. So they had this economic club
17:40
Speaker 2: in DC. I think it raises money. David Rubenstein, who's
17:43
Speaker 2: the majority owner, was there as well, and they're trying
17:46
Speaker 2: to be a little more candid and open up, right.
17:48
Speaker 2: I think people are giving a lot of money to
17:49
Speaker 2: be there. So Araghedty, a New York native, said you
17:52
Speaker 2: can put this in the paper. I hate the Yankees
17:55
Speaker 2: as much as anyone, and he was drawn to Baltimore
17:57
Speaker 2: because of passionate fans young Core Campden yards whole deal.
18:00
Speaker 2: He is a baseball super fan and that is a
18:02
Speaker 2: way to connect with your fan base. A fan base
18:05
Speaker 2: that was incredibly disappointed this past season, but I think
18:07
Speaker 2: it's feeling much better this offseason. So for me, Ken
18:10
Speaker 2: that's an easy dude of the week. They're doing damage
18:12
Speaker 2: in the off season in a good way, and then
18:14
Speaker 2: they're calling out one of their rivals. If you're a fan,
18:16
Speaker 2: what else can you ask for?
18:18
Speaker 1: No question?
18:20
Speaker 2: All right, let's hit dork. What do you ask Scott?
18:30
Speaker 1: It's been a long time since we called out the A's,
18:34
Speaker 1: long time since we talked about their wonderful move to
18:38
Speaker 1: Las Vegas. But with help from the US Patent and
18:41
Speaker 1: Trademark Office, the A's this week are going to be
18:45
Speaker 1: the dorks of the week. Why because their request for
18:50
Speaker 1: a mark a distinctive mark was rejected by the US
18:54
Speaker 1: Patent and Trademark Office because they feel that it's not
18:58
Speaker 1: descriptive enough from a geographical perspective, that Las Vegas Athletics
19:03
Speaker 1: doesn't distinguish the A's as much as it should. And
19:06
Speaker 1: Josh Gerbin, an attorney, wrote an article about this, explaining
19:09
Speaker 1: how while the trademark is too geographically descriptive, ultimately the
19:14
Speaker 1: A's probably will get the trademark that they want because
19:18
Speaker 1: at some point they will establish themselves in the marketplace
19:22
Speaker 1: as the Las Vegas A's and yes, at that point
19:26
Speaker 1: they will deserve the trademark, but not yet in the
19:29
Speaker 1: Las Vegas Athletics. Anybody wants to make a T shirt
19:32
Speaker 1: with Las Vegas Athletics while this is pending, they can
19:35
Speaker 1: do so. And the A's just for yet another embarrassing
19:39
Speaker 1: misstep here, even if it's not entirely of their own
19:43
Speaker 1: making dorks of the week, why not Athletics again are
19:47
Speaker 1: way in deserving of this honor.
19:50
Speaker 2: And Ken may I add that I think this is
19:53
Speaker 2: a sign that even the government thinks they should change
19:56
Speaker 2: their name when they go to Vegas. Right, that is
19:58
Speaker 2: the one thing that I called out that I felt
20:00
Speaker 2: so strongly about. Do you want to establish something new
20:04
Speaker 2: in Vegas and make it feel like it's their team.
20:07
Speaker 2: I've been to Vegas probably four or five times since
20:09
Speaker 2: we've had all of this news about the A's moving there.
20:12
Speaker 2: I've never spoken to someone there that has said we
20:14
Speaker 2: want to be called the Vegas as they want the
20:16
Speaker 2: stain of that whole situation gone and they want their
20:18
Speaker 2: own fresh name. This is another call out, and you
20:21
Speaker 2: know what's going to happen. Nothing, They're still going to
20:23
Speaker 2: be called the Vegas as.
20:25
Speaker 1: They say. We were the Philadelphia A's, we were the
20:27
Speaker 1: Kansas City A's where the Oakland A's Now we want
20:29
Speaker 1: to be the Las Vegas Athletics. That's our historic name.
20:32
Speaker 1: But for the US Patent and Trademark Office right now,
20:35
Speaker 1: they can't distinguish that from an athletics store, so the
20:39
Speaker 1: A's remain in trademark limbo hilariously.
20:44
Speaker 2: Yes, okay, I'll get to mind quick Perimnajian, who is
20:47
Speaker 2: the general manager of the Angels, who said we made
20:50
Speaker 2: a jump last year and his latest words with the press.
20:52
Speaker 2: I think we were in the top four or five
20:54
Speaker 2: and wins from the previous season. We expect to make
20:56
Speaker 2: another jump this year. Sam Blum does an excellent job
20:59
Speaker 2: covering the Angel and much more for The Athletic. He
21:01
Speaker 2: posted how the Angels record in twenty four was sixty
21:04
Speaker 2: three wins than seventy two wins in twenty twenty five,
21:07
Speaker 2: not good enough, and really I encourage you to read
21:09
Speaker 2: Sim's latest article that talks about Anthony Rendon's restructure contract
21:13
Speaker 2: and how it doesn't appear as if the Angels are
21:16
Speaker 2: going to use that money saved on payroll this year,
21:19
Speaker 2: and Perry was super super coy about really anything. So, Perry,
21:24
Speaker 2: I've known you for years. You're a super nice guy,
21:26
Speaker 2: but you are dork of the week because we just
21:28
Speaker 2: want you to speak a little more openly and more
21:31
Speaker 2: like a dude at the bar asking about how things are.
21:34
Speaker 2: I know, you got to be a professional and keep
21:36
Speaker 2: it tight with the angels. And also, in fairness, Ardi
21:39
Speaker 2: Moreno is not the easiest owner to work for. He
21:41
Speaker 2: might not know all of the answers about payroll. They're
21:43
Speaker 2: dealing with the TV money situation, among many others. But
21:46
Speaker 2: ken for me, the GM speak gets a little bit old,
21:49
Speaker 2: and I think that they get disconnected from fans that way.
21:53
Speaker 2: Just talk to me a little bit more like I'll
21:55
Speaker 2: use some examples Alex Anthopolis, Dave Dombrowski and many others. Right,
21:59
Speaker 2: I just I want to hear you're a little more
22:00
Speaker 2: of the human element when there is a press conference
22:04
Speaker 2: with a general manager so fans can connect. Fans went
22:07
Speaker 2: crazy after that press or yesterday, just like they did
22:09
Speaker 2: when he was awkward about the AC system that was
22:12
Speaker 2: clearly broken because you say, Kakucci had to call it
22:15
Speaker 2: out and it was like an Abbot and Costello, back
22:17
Speaker 2: and forth. So Perry, it's been a couple of these
22:20
Speaker 2: now this offseason. So you're a dork. Bet MGM account
22:22
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Speaker 2: subscribe to foul Territory on YouTube. We are getting very
22:42
Speaker 2: close to three hundred thousand subscribers on the channel and
22:45
Speaker 2: love all of them, so we'd love you to join
22:48
Speaker 2: us on that channel as we break down everything going
22:51
Speaker 2: on across the sport. It is baseball the way it
22:54
Speaker 2: should be covered at foul Territory. Give us a sub.
23:04
Speaker 1: Time now for Brill and Ken, the part of the
23:05
Speaker 1: show where I answer your questions. Before we get to
23:08
Speaker 1: the questions, I want to correct one thing where I
23:10
Speaker 1: think I misspoke earlier. Mackenzie Gore two years of control remaining,
23:15
Speaker 1: not three. So two years of control for Gore, one
23:18
Speaker 1: year for Peralta. Remember Shane Bows and Edward Cabrera, they
23:22
Speaker 1: each had three years of control, so of course the
23:24
Speaker 1: amount of control always affects the price that you get
23:28
Speaker 1: back into trade for a pitcher. All right, with that,
23:31
Speaker 1: let's get to the questions. First one comes from Jonathan
23:34
Speaker 1: Newman four four seven four, who asks does the return
23:37
Speaker 1: for Cabrera incentivize the Twins to revisit Ryan Lopez stance
23:42
Speaker 1: Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez given the Twins are barely
23:45
Speaker 1: active despite wanting to win. Well, this is a good
23:49
Speaker 1: question because you're right, as the market shifts, Jonathan, teams
23:53
Speaker 1: might reconsider their positions. But the Twins have been very
23:56
Speaker 1: adamant about wanting to be a better team this year
24:01
Speaker 1: and wanting to keep Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez and
24:04
Speaker 1: Byron Buxton for that matter, at least for the start
24:07
Speaker 1: of the season and see if they can do any
24:10
Speaker 1: damage in the Ales Central. Now you might say, well,
24:13
Speaker 1: that's all well and good, but what have they done
24:14
Speaker 1: to make themselves better? Good question. We don't really have
24:17
Speaker 1: an answer for that yet other than Josh Bell and
24:20
Speaker 1: maybe a reliever or two. But the Twins to this point,
24:24
Speaker 1: after their injection of money from new ownership partners, they
24:28
Speaker 1: have said that they do not want to trade those
24:31
Speaker 1: guys that they want to at least start the season
24:33
Speaker 1: with them. All right. Next question, This one comes from
24:37
Speaker 1: Frank Marsella, who asked, given the rise in player salaries,
24:40
Speaker 1: is there any consideration to increasing the luxury tax thresholds? Frank,
24:44
Speaker 1: the question here is whether the next CBA, which of
24:49
Speaker 1: course will start in effect twenty twenty seven season, will
24:53
Speaker 1: include a luxury tax at all, or will there be
24:56
Speaker 1: a hard salary cap. The owners, we anticipate, are going
25:00
Speaker 1: to push for a hard cap, more likely, in my opinion,
25:03
Speaker 1: they won't get it, and ultimately we'll have something of
25:07
Speaker 1: the same system in place. Now with regard to the thresholds,
25:10
Speaker 1: if the system does remain intact, Yes, the thresholds I
25:14
Speaker 1: am quite certain, will go up, and they always go up.
25:17
Speaker 1: They've gone up historically, and certainly with the amount of
25:21
Speaker 1: money being spent and certain teams spending a ton of
25:24
Speaker 1: money Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, etc. Yeah, you would need higher
25:28
Speaker 1: thresholds if this system is to remain in place.
25:33
Speaker 2: All right? What we got now?
25:34
Speaker 1: Can Johnson ninety four was the Lorenzen signing mentioned more
25:38
Speaker 1: notable than usual signing for the Rockies. Glad you asked
25:41
Speaker 1: Can Johnson because we did not mention it. And Michael
25:44
Speaker 1: Lorenzen agreed last night to a one year, eight million
25:47
Speaker 1: dollar deal with the Colorado Rockies with a nine million
25:50
Speaker 1: dollar club option for twenty twenty seven. And with the Rockies,
25:54
Speaker 1: they're not going long term on any pictures. I don't
25:57
Speaker 1: know that any pitcher wants to sign with them long term,
26:00
Speaker 1: but they are in a position where they would like
26:03
Speaker 1: to get a couple of guys short term. And for
26:06
Speaker 1: Michael Lorenzen, who is an a mentally talented guy, this
26:10
Speaker 1: will be a challenge, no question, But you know what,
26:13
Speaker 1: I like it. And the Rockies, if he performs well,
26:16
Speaker 1: can always trade him at the deadline. But for the
26:19
Speaker 1: Rockies this was a step forward. And what's intriguing to me,
26:22
Speaker 1: and the question I want to ask today is are
26:26
Speaker 1: they going to let him hit too? Because Michael Lorenzen
26:28
Speaker 1: can hit, as you remember, especially from his days in Cincinnati.
26:33
Speaker 1: All right, one more question before we run, Let's go
26:36
Speaker 1: Video Game Nation twenty six ken. With the Rockies signing
26:39
Speaker 1: Michael Lorenzen, the Red Sox are the only team not
26:41
Speaker 1: to sign an MLB free agent. Do you think Craig
26:44
Speaker 1: wrestler is on the hot seat if twenty twenty six
26:47
Speaker 1: does not go as expected for Boston, he could be yes,
26:51
Speaker 1: but I would not read too much into the free
26:54
Speaker 1: agent shutout so far for the Red Sox. It's not
26:57
Speaker 1: like they've been inactive. If traded for Sonny Gray, traded
27:00
Speaker 1: for Wilson Contreras, traded for Johann Oviedo. I fully expect
27:05
Speaker 1: that they're going to sign one of the remaining hitters,
27:08
Speaker 1: Alex Bregman, perhaps, Boba Schitt, perhaps, and at that point
27:12
Speaker 1: we can end this conversation about why they haven't signed
27:16
Speaker 1: a single major league free agent. Joel Sherman wrote a
27:19
Speaker 1: column in The New York Post today. Rob Bradford wrote
27:22
Speaker 1: something for weei dot Com just about how it's really
27:26
Speaker 1: at this point too early to scream about the inactivity
27:30
Speaker 1: of these teams that we're talking about. They are going
27:34
Speaker 1: to do things now. Ultimately, if they don't do enough, yeah,
27:38
Speaker 1: that's fair game for criticism. But we're not at a
27:41
Speaker 1: point yet where we can say, oh, these teams are
27:43
Speaker 1: just not doing anything. Give it to all the end
27:46
Speaker 1: of the offseason, which is really Opening Day, and let's
27:49
Speaker 1: see where these teams are.
27:50
Speaker 2: Then all right.
27:51
Speaker 1: I want to thank everyone for watching and for listening.
27:54
Speaker 1: Foul Territory is next. You know who to watch there.
27:57
Speaker 1: Todd Frasier, Eric krat and Scott Brun Welcoming Royals manager
28:01
Speaker 1: Mac Charo, Clubs reliever Hunter Harvey, and Marque Sports Network
28:05
Speaker 1: Lance Rodzalfki. Stay tuned for that and we'll see you
28:09
Speaker 1: on Monday