Latest / North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast / The Ryan Pressly trade means another North Side/Crush City crossover episode

Transcript

The Ryan Pressly trade means another North Side/Crush City crossover episode · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

0:05
Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory. Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm
0:09
Speaker 1: Sahadev Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney with us today
0:14
Speaker 1: once again is Chandler Rome. Since the Cubs and Houston
0:17
Speaker 1: Astros seem to just, you know, be in love with
0:20
Speaker 1: each other and can't get enough, he can moves, Chandler
0:26
Speaker 1: is our Astros beat writer. I didn't say that Astros
0:28
Speaker 1: beat writer over at the Athletic. Patrick and I cover
0:31
Speaker 1: the Cubs for the Athletic. This is yet another move
0:35
Speaker 1: between the Cubs and Astros Chandler. Obviously it's a big
0:38
Speaker 1: one for the Cubs. They needed a back end reliever
0:41
Speaker 1: and experience reliever. Just tell us a little bit about
0:44
Speaker 1: Presley more like I've been hearing a lot lately now
0:48
Speaker 1: about his leadership and I'm really curious about that.
0:50
Speaker 2: Just tell us about him as a person.
0:52
Speaker 1: What he did in that clubhouse that kind of set
0:55
Speaker 1: things apart for him.
0:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, he is he epitomizes to me the veteran. He
1:02
Speaker 3: is the epitome of a seasoned vet, like just shows
1:05
Speaker 3: up to work every day, does his stuff very rarely,
1:08
Speaker 3: seeks the spotlight very rarely. I mean he'll he'll, he'll
1:12
Speaker 3: give you time for interviews if you ask for it,
1:15
Speaker 3: but is not going to be the guy that's front
1:17
Speaker 3: and center, does not want his you know, face or
1:20
Speaker 3: voice or much out there publicly as like you know,
1:24
Speaker 3: team spokesman sort of thing, but is certainly within the clubhouse.
1:27
Speaker 3: Then the Astros clubhouse revered, and that really only manifested
1:32
Speaker 3: itself within the last year year and a half. This
1:35
Speaker 3: past year. He was one of the the main reasons
1:40
Speaker 3: why they survived that twelve and twenty four start. I mean,
1:43
Speaker 3: he was kind of a sounding board. He was, you know,
1:46
Speaker 3: I can remember during that stretch. I think there was
1:49
Speaker 3: actually one time in Kansas City, and there was another
1:52
Speaker 3: time at home, like I walked in a postgame clubhouse
1:55
Speaker 3: after a loss and there were about five or six
1:59
Speaker 3: young pitchers and young players just kind of gathered around
2:02
Speaker 3: Presley's locker and they were just you know, I don't
2:04
Speaker 3: know if it was a come to Jesus, but it
2:06
Speaker 3: was kind of just more of a debrief kind of
2:08
Speaker 3: just a you know, just talking through a start that
2:13
Speaker 3: I don't think any of them could have ever envisioned.
2:15
Speaker 3: And then, you know, I wrote about this a little
2:17
Speaker 3: bit but you know, Hunter Brown, young young starter for
2:20
Speaker 3: the Astros, had one of the worst starts in Major
2:24
Speaker 3: League history in Kansas City last April. I believe he
2:26
Speaker 3: gave up nine runs and thirteen hits in two thirds
2:29
Speaker 3: of an inning. They were on the that was a
2:32
Speaker 3: getaway day game. They were on the plane back from
2:35
Speaker 3: Kansas City to Houston, and like Presley made it a
2:38
Speaker 3: point to go sit with Hunter. They talked about just
2:42
Speaker 3: kind of how to come back from this, how do
2:47
Speaker 3: you put this behind you? And look, Ryan Presley can
2:49
Speaker 3: speak from experience. This is a guy that was dfaid.
2:52
Speaker 3: He was a Rule five pick, like he got optioned
2:56
Speaker 3: pretty close to right before he got traded to the Astros.
2:59
Speaker 3: So this is not a guy that has come by
3:01
Speaker 3: success easily like this is. I mean, he's had to
3:06
Speaker 3: go through it in the big league. So he's got
3:08
Speaker 3: a lot of wealth and knowledge air and he shared
3:10
Speaker 3: that with Hunter, shared that you know it'll get better.
3:13
Speaker 3: It can't get any worse after you give him not
3:15
Speaker 3: a nine runs and thirteen hits in two thirds of
3:19
Speaker 3: an inning. But you know that helped catalyze Hunter Brown's
3:22
Speaker 3: turnaround last year. He Hunter still talks about that conversation
3:26
Speaker 3: in parts, so you're getting a good picture. He's not.
3:29
Speaker 3: I'm not gonna sit here and say he's as elite
3:31
Speaker 3: as he once was. I think he's better than Astro's
3:35
Speaker 3: fans give him credit for. I think he's better than
3:37
Speaker 3: maybe the stats show. But along with that, you're getting
3:42
Speaker 3: a the epitome of a veteran the epitome of a
3:45
Speaker 3: veteran leader, but a guy that does it in a
3:47
Speaker 3: different way. You're not gonna hear him raw raw. You're
3:49
Speaker 3: not gonna hear him yell. He's not gonna be the
3:51
Speaker 3: one to stand up in a team meeting, but just
3:54
Speaker 3: leads by example, leads by just his his experience.
3:59
Speaker 4: Jayler, It's interesting you say that because I think back
4:01
Speaker 4: to this cubsteam the last two years, and what's done
4:04
Speaker 4: them in is like the four game losing streak. Bad
4:07
Speaker 4: week becomes like two bad months that totally sink their season.
4:11
Speaker 4: And I'm curious what Presley can bring, Like how much
4:16
Speaker 4: do you think he has left in the tank, And
4:19
Speaker 4: you know, looking back on it, how much did the
4:21
Speaker 4: Josh hater situation weigh on him? Like if they don't
4:26
Speaker 4: make that impulse move, maybe is his season slightly worse
4:30
Speaker 4: than the year before, but still, you know, all star caliber,
4:33
Speaker 4: and we're not really having this conversation.
4:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, with the with the caveat that relievers are the
4:40
Speaker 3: most volatile people in baseball, Like I mean this, I
4:43
Speaker 3: mean I talked about this on Crush City yesterday. But
4:46
Speaker 3: like smart teams don't invest long term money in their bullpens,
4:51
Speaker 3: like just because of the nature of volatility, the nature
4:54
Speaker 3: of relievers and how they vary from year to year,
4:57
Speaker 3: Like it's tough to you know.
4:59
Speaker 2: Say this.
5:01
Speaker 3: It's tough to speak with any like absolutes about any
5:03
Speaker 3: reliever minus like maybe two or three guys. I mean, heck,
5:06
Speaker 3: look at Josh Hater last year. I mean, the Astros
5:09
Speaker 3: thought they were getting a guy that you know if
5:11
Speaker 3: they took a one run lead in the ninth in
5:13
Speaker 3: and he was shutting the door. Josh Hayter was good
5:15
Speaker 3: last year, but he was not anywhere near this elite.
5:18
Speaker 3: I mean, I think he blew seven saves, like, gave
5:21
Speaker 3: up more homers last year than he had given up
5:23
Speaker 3: I think in the last three years combined. So I
5:25
Speaker 3: mean the position is volatile. To the Hater point, everyone
5:32
Speaker 3: with the Astros last year They all said the right
5:35
Speaker 3: like Presley said the right thing, jo spotted Dana Brown.
5:38
Speaker 3: They said the right stuff, but made no mistake. There
5:41
Speaker 3: were some There was some part feelings and I and
5:45
Speaker 3: I understand that. And when I say this, I don't
5:48
Speaker 3: want this to sound like Josh Hater and Ryan Presley
5:50
Speaker 3: didn't like each other. That is the furthest thing from
5:52
Speaker 3: the truth. Their kids of this around the same age
5:55
Speaker 3: they hung out off the field together. Those two guys
5:57
Speaker 3: are actually pretty tight. But it's just more of like
6:00
Speaker 3: I think it's human nature. Like he got Ryan Presley
6:04
Speaker 3: got demoted for no reason, like he was fine in
6:07
Speaker 3: twenty twenty three. He was very well, did nothing on
6:11
Speaker 3: the field to earn a demotion. The Astros wanted to
6:15
Speaker 3: build a big, you know, three headed monster at the
6:18
Speaker 3: back end of their bullpen. So they got it done.
6:20
Speaker 3: They they they kept him involved. They kept Presley involved
6:24
Speaker 3: a little bit in the in the Hater negotiations. But
6:26
Speaker 3: it's not as if they saw his approval. It was
6:29
Speaker 3: they called him and were like, hey, we're probably gonna
6:31
Speaker 3: do this. We just want to let you know before
6:33
Speaker 3: it comes out on Twitter. So again, everyone said the rights,
6:37
Speaker 3: Everyone said the right things. But it was it was
6:39
Speaker 3: tough for him. Joe Spotta basically said that at the
6:41
Speaker 3: Winter meetings this year that it took him a while
6:44
Speaker 3: to adjust that setup role just and I think it
6:48
Speaker 3: left a bad taste in Presley's mouth just for kind
6:52
Speaker 3: of what he had done for the organization. I mean
6:54
Speaker 3: that's and look, baseball's a baseball is a cruel business.
6:57
Speaker 3: Like it's a very rarely sure jose L Tuv, like,
7:01
Speaker 3: very rarely do you get like you've done this for
7:04
Speaker 3: the franchise, So we're going to like defer to you.
7:06
Speaker 3: Like it's a tough business in that way. But I
7:09
Speaker 3: think there was part of Presley that thought, you know,
7:11
Speaker 3: he has been, you know, maybe the second best reliever
7:16
Speaker 3: this franchise has ever seen, behind Billy Waddner who just
7:19
Speaker 3: got into the Hall of Fame, like uh, and to
7:21
Speaker 3: demote him like that, you know, I think it hurt
7:23
Speaker 3: a little bit. And I think he wanted a an
7:26
Speaker 3: opportunity to close. I'm not sitting here saying that putting
7:30
Speaker 3: him back in the closures role is going to get
7:33
Speaker 3: him back to a sub three era with twelve k's
7:35
Speaker 3: per nine, But it's a role he's more comfortable with
7:39
Speaker 3: as far as how much does he have in the tank?
7:41
Speaker 3: I don't think he was that bad last year, like
7:43
Speaker 3: everyone wants to talk about, you know, the everyone wants
7:46
Speaker 3: to let it always declining. And look at his numbers.
7:48
Speaker 3: I mean he had a three ten FIP with a
7:50
Speaker 3: three five era. He saw it a one fourteen e
7:52
Speaker 3: er plus. Like this is still a really good reliever, right.
7:56
Speaker 2: Is he?
7:57
Speaker 3: Is he Edwin Diaz? Is he Josh Hater is like
8:00
Speaker 3: that ilk? Probably not? But I think the one thing
8:03
Speaker 3: about Presley and I talked about this yesterday when we
8:06
Speaker 3: were on Crush City, was the thing that fans are
8:10
Speaker 3: going to have, the thing that Astro's fans maybe had
8:13
Speaker 3: trouble with. He doesn't throw a hundred. He doesn't have
8:16
Speaker 3: that one aesthetically pleasing like wicked pitch that's gonna end
8:22
Speaker 3: up on pitching Ninja a bunch or like he doesn't
8:24
Speaker 3: do it with like palpable dominance. Like he's not Ben
8:28
Speaker 3: Joyce going out there throwing one oh five. He's not
8:30
Speaker 3: you know other guys that have these like crazy breaking
8:34
Speaker 3: balls and things. His breaking balls are really good, but
8:35
Speaker 3: like he's gonna be ninety three to ninety five, maybe
8:38
Speaker 3: touch ninety six. He's gonna rely on both of his
8:41
Speaker 3: breaking balls. It's not this dominant like, oh my goodness
8:46
Speaker 3: when this guy comes in like you're gonna see like
8:49
Speaker 3: one hundred and two. Like, it's not that. But he
8:52
Speaker 3: misses enough bats. He didn't miss bats last year. That
8:55
Speaker 3: was his biggest problem, Like he struggled to miss bats.
8:57
Speaker 3: He got some poor batted ball luck as a result,
9:00
Speaker 3: the walk rate ticked up a little bit. But a
9:04
Speaker 3: couple of things I will say about him. He takes
9:06
Speaker 3: the ball. He will pitch three days in a row
9:08
Speaker 3: if you need him. He's a gamer, very tough. It's
9:13
Speaker 3: been on the il a couple times, just a little
9:15
Speaker 3: bit nagging stuff, but nothing that is a concern. But
9:20
Speaker 3: I think he's still a very good relievers. He as
9:23
Speaker 3: good as maybe he was in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty one. No,
9:27
Speaker 3: but he's also going to be thirty six years old,
9:29
Speaker 3: so I think it's I think he's maybe been unfairly miscasts,
9:34
Speaker 3: like on a gradual decline, like on a steep decline.
9:38
Speaker 3: But like, I think he's still a really really good
9:40
Speaker 3: reliever and a he can close for a contending team.
9:46
Speaker 5: News flash, ft FAM America's number one meal kid has
9:49
Speaker 5: a new offer for you. But first crats tell us
9:51
Speaker 5: why we love Hello Fresh.
9:52
Speaker 6: Figuring out dinner is so much easier now I go
9:55
Speaker 6: online and pick from fifty recipes each week. They pre
9:58
Speaker 6: portioned the ingredients and then ship them right to your doorstep.
10:01
Speaker 6: Now that's the service we all deserve at an affordable price.
10:04
Speaker 7: Don't forget about those new ready made meals that go
10:07
Speaker 7: from fridge to fork in just three minutes. It's the
10:09
Speaker 7: same high quality ingredients and restaurant worthy flavor you always
10:13
Speaker 7: get from HelloFresh, just with none of the work.
10:15
Speaker 3: We love that.
10:16
Speaker 5: If you're looking to fit a specific lifestyle, Hello Fresh
10:19
Speaker 5: features preferences like fit and wholesome or my personal favorite,
10:23
Speaker 5: quick and easy. This week, I'm crushing a sizzlin shrimp
10:25
Speaker 5: bowl with roasted broccoli and spicy mao, plus a dreamy
10:29
Speaker 5: mustard apricot chicken dish with roasted potatoes and green beans.
10:32
Speaker 7: Get up to ten free meals and a free high
10:34
Speaker 7: protein item for life at HelloFresh dot com slash ft
10:38
Speaker 7: ten FM one item per box with active subscription. Free
10:42
Speaker 7: meals applied as a discount on the first box. New
10:44
Speaker 7: subscribers only varies by playing.
10:48
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think there's a few things here that
10:52
Speaker 1: the Cubs really respect.
10:53
Speaker 2: The leadership angle. They've looked for that because they've lacked.
10:59
Speaker 1: It in years past, and I think fans hear that
11:02
Speaker 1: and immediately think of Hector Naris and the season he
11:05
Speaker 1: had last year. They see the velocity decline, they see Houston,
11:09
Speaker 1: and they immediately go to Naris. They're not the same
11:13
Speaker 1: type of pitcher like Naris needed that fastball desperately to
11:16
Speaker 1: make the splitter work. Presley has these two really good
11:20
Speaker 1: breaking balls that the Cubs in all likelihood will have
11:23
Speaker 1: him use more of that, and they hope to tease
11:25
Speaker 1: a little bit more velocity out of him.
11:28
Speaker 2: I really think they need.
11:30
Speaker 1: They like having that veteran go look at their past,
11:33
Speaker 1: like when they've had good bullpens. David robertson Michael Gibbons.
11:38
Speaker 1: Yesnaris last year stood up and did a lot of
11:41
Speaker 1: things in the clubhouse. He was a guy that I
11:43
Speaker 1: saw him get on relievers that didn't know how to,
11:46
Speaker 1: you know, go through the day and work on things,
11:49
Speaker 1: the day to day routine that it takes to be
11:52
Speaker 1: a successful reliever. So while he didn't maybe have the
11:55
Speaker 1: positive impact they wanted on the field.
11:57
Speaker 2: He was a positive impact in the clubhouse.
12:00
Speaker 1: Obviously, you hope Presley is built like that's what the
12:03
Speaker 1: Cubs are hoping, and I think that's what the expectation is.
12:05
Speaker 1: And you've kind of touched on what I was thinking,
12:08
Speaker 1: Like this velocity drop, I think people see and expect
12:11
Speaker 1: him he's going to like it's going to crush his
12:14
Speaker 1: career that he's done.
12:15
Speaker 2: It just doesn't seem like that's the case.
12:17
Speaker 1: It just doesn't seem like he's that type of picture
12:19
Speaker 1: that yes, it's a drop in velocity and the effectiveness
12:22
Speaker 1: is not what you said twenty one, twenty two, but
12:24
Speaker 1: he's clearly a very good pitcher. I just don't see
12:27
Speaker 1: how I think it's so easy. And I know I'm
12:31
Speaker 1: probably looking too much on Twitter and seeing fans complaining,
12:34
Speaker 1: and I shouldn't and I shouldn't assume that all fans
12:38
Speaker 1: are like this. I think most fans hopefully understand that
12:41
Speaker 1: this is this is a positive move in all likelihood.
12:44
Speaker 1: But I think what you said at the beginning about
12:47
Speaker 1: like relievers are volatile, we don't know what they're going
12:49
Speaker 1: to be. Like you mentioned Edwin Diaz, Edwin Diaz had
12:51
Speaker 1: like a two month stretch where he stunk last year
12:53
Speaker 1: and lost the closers job, and he's one of the
12:55
Speaker 1: most dominant forces in the game. So it's a It
12:58
Speaker 1: is a crapshoot, and I think that's part of the
13:00
Speaker 1: reason why Jed won't go out and spend that much
13:03
Speaker 1: money on relievers. Although I'm still a little shocked that
13:07
Speaker 1: they offered what they did to Tanner Scott, but I
13:09
Speaker 1: just don't I think it is an overreaction to someone
13:13
Speaker 1: that was dominant taking maybe a slight step back. This
13:17
Speaker 1: isn't some precipitous downfall of a reliever.
13:21
Speaker 3: And I think the main difference I see with between
13:25
Speaker 3: Nars and Presley. You know, Nearris had very limited closing
13:28
Speaker 3: experience before he came to the Cubs, and he may
13:31
Speaker 3: have done it in Philly a little bit, he didn't
13:34
Speaker 3: do it with the Astros. I mean, he would be
13:36
Speaker 3: the closer on some days when a couple of guys
13:38
Speaker 3: were down. But I mean there's something to be said
13:41
Speaker 3: about Presley having as much experience in the ninth inning
13:45
Speaker 3: as he does, and it's not something we can quantify,
13:49
Speaker 3: you know, you can't look at a number you can't,
13:51
Speaker 3: you know, quantify it statistically, but there's something to be
13:54
Speaker 3: said for the fact that Presley has been in as
13:58
Speaker 3: as tense situations as you can be in. I mean,
14:01
Speaker 3: he He's pitched forty five postseason innings for the Astros,
14:06
Speaker 3: most of which were as the closer. He's been on
14:09
Speaker 3: the mound and the ninth inning of Thai games. He's
14:11
Speaker 3: been in the mound and the ninth inning of one
14:12
Speaker 3: run games with a lot of stuff on the line
14:15
Speaker 3: in those games, like all big stakes. So that'd be
14:18
Speaker 3: my biggest difference is that is that you know, Ryan Pressley,
14:21
Speaker 3: the ninth inning is not going to phase him, and
14:23
Speaker 3: like if he does blow a save or two, like
14:26
Speaker 3: he's done that before, Like it's not It's not one
14:28
Speaker 3: of these things that's going to like Creter. I'm not
14:31
Speaker 3: saying that's the case with Neris, but that was Nearris's
14:34
Speaker 3: first time really in about four or five years as
14:37
Speaker 3: a full time closer. This will not be that for Presley.
14:41
Speaker 3: I think he'll be able to handle the failures that
14:44
Speaker 3: every reliever experiences during the season. I think could be
14:47
Speaker 3: able to handle those really well. And I think I
14:50
Speaker 3: think there's something to be said for the fact that
14:52
Speaker 3: he was a closer as recently as twelve months ago,
14:56
Speaker 3: and he had done it for six years before that,
14:58
Speaker 3: So that'd be my biggest you know, difference with him
15:01
Speaker 3: is that you know, you're getting someone with that bona
15:04
Speaker 3: fide experience and that's something that you can't replicate. That's
15:07
Speaker 3: something that you can't quantify, that you can't you conjure
15:12
Speaker 3: up in a pitching lad that you can't overhaul and make.
15:15
Speaker 3: That's just something that just inherently is going to make
15:19
Speaker 3: Presley I think stand up may be better than that.
15:22
Speaker 1: Yeah, and those postseason numbers are really strong, right, Like,
15:24
Speaker 1: they're pretty dominant.
15:26
Speaker 3: It's not a stretch to say he may be, if
15:30
Speaker 3: not in the top two or three, top five postseason
15:33
Speaker 3: relievers in Major League Baseball history. And that's not hyperbly
15:36
Speaker 3: if you go look at the numbers.
15:38
Speaker 2: Wow, Jamla.
15:40
Speaker 4: This may be like an elementary question for people who
15:44
Speaker 4: listen across city or read your great work on the
15:46
Speaker 4: athletic but like, where is Jim Crane and all of this?
15:50
Speaker 6: I mean, Ryan Presley is one.
15:51
Speaker 4: Of the most accomplished, but you know, one notch below
15:54
Speaker 4: Billy Wagner, maybe in franchise history, Alex Bregman is still
15:59
Speaker 4: out there, and I asked, because you know, the Cubs
16:02
Speaker 4: have an owner who sets a payroll around the same
16:04
Speaker 4: area as the Astros, but very much stays out of it.
16:08
Speaker 4: You know, when they trade Anthony Rezil, like, well, that's
16:11
Speaker 4: just decision, or when Alex Pregnant is still out there,
16:13
Speaker 4: it's like, well, Jed can do whatever he wants within
16:16
Speaker 4: this Confine's like, where is Jim Crane sort of lurking here?
16:20
Speaker 4: Is he you know, glad to see Presley go because
16:23
Speaker 4: he wants Bregman more? Or how did you just explain
16:25
Speaker 4: that dynamic generally to people who don't, you know, follow
16:29
Speaker 4: the Astros as closely.
16:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, this off season's been just fascinating in terms of
16:34
Speaker 3: like the many different directions that this team has gone,
16:37
Speaker 3: Like they trade Kyle Tucker to start the off season, like, oh,
16:40
Speaker 3: like they'll take a soft like reset, but they'll still
16:43
Speaker 3: contend like they're not gonna they're not gonna tear it
16:46
Speaker 3: down this year, but you may see a little bit
16:48
Speaker 3: lesser of a team. And then they signed Christian Walker
16:51
Speaker 3: and you're like, okay, like they can again kind of
16:55
Speaker 3: going along the lines of you know, not I mean,
16:59
Speaker 3: they traded their best play, so but Christian Walker's a
17:02
Speaker 3: good addition. You know, they want to contend in twenty
17:04
Speaker 3: twenty five, but they're but they're not going to go crazy.
17:07
Speaker 3: And then, you know, as Alex Bregman just kind of
17:09
Speaker 3: remains out there, I think the allure of bringing him
17:13
Speaker 3: back has has just kind of infiltrated. And they wouldn't
17:17
Speaker 3: be doing this for any other player. Like if this
17:19
Speaker 3: was literally any other player available, they would not be
17:23
Speaker 3: exploring this. But I mean, let's face it, this is
17:25
Speaker 3: a this We're past Dana Brown at this point as
17:28
Speaker 3: far as the Bregman stuff goes. Now, I want to
17:30
Speaker 3: make one thing abundantly clear. They've been shopping Ryan Presley
17:34
Speaker 3: since November. Like, this is not like I think there
17:37
Speaker 3: is a false narrative out there among you know, maybe
17:40
Speaker 3: people that aren't following it as closely as that, Oh,
17:43
Speaker 3: they saw Alex Bregman was back, so they started shopping
17:45
Speaker 3: Ryan Presley like three days ago to clear salary. Like no,
17:48
Speaker 3: this has been They've wanted to do this since the
17:51
Speaker 3: beginning of the off season. Like I reported at the
17:52
Speaker 3: GM meetings in November that they had put him on
17:54
Speaker 3: the block. And it just so happens that it has
17:58
Speaker 3: lined up at the time when Alex Bregman's market is
18:02
Speaker 3: coming to a head. So does it Will it help
18:05
Speaker 3: their pursuit of Pregnant that they cleared some of this
18:08
Speaker 3: some of Presley's salary, Yes, it will. They did not
18:11
Speaker 3: trade him solely because they're trying to get Bregman back.
18:17
Speaker 3: You know, as far as you know where Jim stands
18:20
Speaker 3: with payroll and everything. You know, the last two off
18:22
Speaker 3: seasons I've reported, and it was right at the time
18:26
Speaker 3: that he had told people that he didn't want to
18:28
Speaker 3: go over to the lectric tax, that he did not want
18:30
Speaker 3: to exceed it. Last year he gave Josh Hater ninety
18:33
Speaker 3: five million dollars because he wanted him at the twenty
18:36
Speaker 3: twenty three trade deadline and they didn't get him, so
18:39
Speaker 3: he wanted him. And Alex Bregman's kind of that same
18:43
Speaker 3: sort of ilk. I mean, no one knows Alex Pregman
18:46
Speaker 3: better than the Astros, no one, no one realizes his
18:51
Speaker 3: meaning here more than the Astros. And don't underestimate Josel
18:55
Speaker 3: Tuovay's role in this either. The fact how vocal he
18:58
Speaker 3: has been since September to bring him back. I think
19:01
Speaker 3: has certainly carried some weight. I know there was some disappointment.
19:06
Speaker 3: I think disappointment is putting it mildly. When Dana Brown
19:10
Speaker 3: said in December that negotiations had quote stalled with Bregman,
19:14
Speaker 3: there was some disappointment within that clubhouse, and I think
19:18
Speaker 3: that made its way up the chain, and I think
19:22
Speaker 3: that's where we are now. So as far as like
19:25
Speaker 3: I I, it's so weird to me to think about
19:28
Speaker 3: how this may look if this happens, because they're setting
19:32
Speaker 3: themselves up like if they do bring Bregman back, like
19:35
Speaker 3: and he's on that six year deal that's still out
19:37
Speaker 3: there that they offered him, you'll have Bregman for six years,
19:41
Speaker 3: you'll have al Twove through twenty twenty nine, you'll have
19:43
Speaker 3: Jordan Alvarez through twenty twenty eight, and you'll have Esac
19:46
Speaker 3: Paradus for the next three years. So it's like you're
19:49
Speaker 3: probably moving Jose al Tuve to left field permanently because
19:52
Speaker 3: this is not something that you can just flip after
19:56
Speaker 3: the season. Because they have all these guys under control
19:58
Speaker 3: for so long. You can't date two guys. You're not
20:01
Speaker 3: going to dh Alvarez an l Twove. So it's fascinating.
20:07
Speaker 3: Do they flip Paradus, like if they signed Bregman, Do
20:09
Speaker 3: they try to find another trade partner in trade Esock
20:12
Speaker 3: Paradis for the million time in the last I don't know.
20:16
Speaker 3: It's you know, we are past now when you start
20:22
Speaker 3: talking about maybe exceeding the luxury tax again, you know,
20:26
Speaker 3: offering that sort of free agent deal to Alex Bregman.
20:29
Speaker 3: We're past Dana Brown where this is. We're now in
20:32
Speaker 3: Jim Crane's wheelhouse. And you know, if he wants something,
20:36
Speaker 3: ninety nine percent of the time it gets done.
20:39
Speaker 1: Uh, it's probably worth talking more about Bregman and outside
20:43
Speaker 1: of the Astros as well. I mean, we Patrick and
20:45
Speaker 1: I did some reporting a week ago, and it seemed
20:48
Speaker 1: pretty clear that where the Cubs interested. Sure that Bregman
20:52
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense for the Cubs. I think
20:54
Speaker 1: we've been saying this since they've traded for Tucker. Uh, okay,
20:58
Speaker 1: you don't have a third basement now. Bregman makes all
21:01
Speaker 1: the sense in the world. It's purely about finances. Why
21:04
Speaker 1: they're not, you know, doggedly pursuing him. They just they're
21:10
Speaker 1: not going to go past a certain number on the payroll,
21:14
Speaker 1: they have, their budget.
21:15
Speaker 2: It is what it is, and it would.
21:17
Speaker 1: Just not be realistic in my mind for them to
21:20
Speaker 1: be able to sign him, not for the years he
21:23
Speaker 1: wants and the money he wants. The Cubs are trying
21:25
Speaker 1: to be opportunistic, like they always are. It's it's kind
21:28
Speaker 1: of their matra. Look for an opportunity where they can
21:31
Speaker 1: find value. If Bregman somehow ends up in that position,
21:37
Speaker 1: maybe they can make something work. I just feel it's
21:39
Speaker 1: a long shot. I mean, what have you heard Chandler beyond?
21:42
Speaker 1: Like where would you kind of like rank the teams
21:45
Speaker 1: or maybe maybe that's unfair, but like, what have you
21:47
Speaker 1: heard as far as who's there? What else he has
21:51
Speaker 1: offered to him? And like just the realistic chances of
21:55
Speaker 1: where he could end up?
21:57
Speaker 3: I mean what I have heard that they're five teams
22:00
Speaker 3: in and it's the Astros, the Cubs, the Red Sox,
22:04
Speaker 3: the Tigers, and I'm missing the fifth one, oh the
22:08
Speaker 3: Blue Jays, the Blue Jays on everyone. I guess it
22:12
Speaker 3: should be noted that, like there was a Scott Morris
22:15
Speaker 3: client like a month ago that signed with a random
22:17
Speaker 3: team out of completely nowhere that no one was talking
22:19
Speaker 3: about with Corbyn burns going to the d Backs. So
22:22
Speaker 3: keep that in mind that there could always be that
22:24
Speaker 3: team that's lurking that no one's talking about, that swoops
22:27
Speaker 3: in and gets it done. You know, there's some reporting
22:31
Speaker 3: out there that he has gotten multiple offers of at
22:34
Speaker 3: least five years. I have not been able to independently
22:37
Speaker 3: confirm that I do know that there are offers, there
22:41
Speaker 3: are other off I have been able to confirm that
22:43
Speaker 3: I haven't. I don't know the numbers, I don't know
22:45
Speaker 3: the years, but I have been able to confirm that
22:47
Speaker 3: there are offers out there within reasonable striking distance of
22:52
Speaker 3: the ASTROS offer. Like, It's not one of these things
22:54
Speaker 3: where I don't believe that the Astros offer is head
22:59
Speaker 3: and shoulders above every other offer he has. I think
23:02
Speaker 3: there are other teams that are in there to the
23:04
Speaker 3: point where if they negotiate and if they get down
23:08
Speaker 3: to the wire that some of these teams it would
23:10
Speaker 3: be easy to kind of up it and you know,
23:13
Speaker 3: get to that point. I it's tough for me to
23:17
Speaker 3: look at the Astros as anything but the betting favorite
23:20
Speaker 3: right now, just given what we know, Given you know
23:23
Speaker 3: how vocal jose Al Twovey has been you know what
23:27
Speaker 3: Jim Crane usually gets when he puts his mind to something.
23:31
Speaker 3: But it is worth noting that, you know, all at
23:34
Speaker 3: the Astros had their fan fest this weekend, and everyone
23:37
Speaker 3: that we talked to was basically like, oh, yeah, it's
23:39
Speaker 3: a long shot, like we're in there, but you know,
23:41
Speaker 3: we don't. We don't think it's gonna happen. And now
23:44
Speaker 3: most of the people Jim Crane did not speak. So
23:48
Speaker 3: this is his this is his call, and if he
23:51
Speaker 3: is okay exceeding the luxury tax for a second straight year,
23:54
Speaker 3: then I think it gets done. I think that you know,
23:57
Speaker 3: it makes a lot of sense. But make no mistake,
24:01
Speaker 3: like you've seen how you've seen how Alex Cora has
24:04
Speaker 3: basically gushed about Alex Bregman at any opportunity. It's very
24:08
Speaker 3: clear Alex Cora wants him in Boston. Uh, the Blue
24:11
Speaker 3: Jays are in a position where they can, for lack
24:15
Speaker 3: of a better, for lack of a nicer phrase, be
24:17
Speaker 3: stupid overpay, like overpay, give him the big offer that
24:20
Speaker 3: he wants, don't count out the Tigers with aj Hinch.
24:24
Speaker 3: That that and I I think something else that I
24:28
Speaker 3: wrote about this in November, but Alex Bregman doesn't want
24:32
Speaker 3: to be in a part of a rebuild. He doesn't
24:35
Speaker 3: want to have where he goes tear it down in
24:38
Speaker 3: a year and a half. And I'm not saying the
24:40
Speaker 3: Ashers are going to do that, but like you kind
24:42
Speaker 3: of start looking at their long term future if they're
24:45
Speaker 3: talking about moving jose Al Tuve to left field, like
24:48
Speaker 3: what does that? What does that say? What they think
24:51
Speaker 3: about their system? About what they have coming up? They
24:54
Speaker 3: have nothing, like like they have Cam Smith and that's it,
24:57
Speaker 3: Like they don't have anything. So and this core is
25:01
Speaker 3: getting older. Who's two is gonna be thirty five? They
25:04
Speaker 3: have Farmer Valdez coming up to free agency next year,
25:07
Speaker 3: They're not going to pay him. It's It's one of
25:10
Speaker 3: these things where like you could very easily envision a
25:13
Speaker 3: scenario where if they start this season as poorly as
25:16
Speaker 3: they started last season, and that can take Like you
25:20
Speaker 3: could really see a thing where this goes off the
25:22
Speaker 3: rails pretty quickly. I don't think it will, but I
25:25
Speaker 3: think there are other teams in on Bregman that can
25:29
Speaker 3: sell him on more long term, sustainable success through the
25:34
Speaker 3: life of his contract. I think the Cubs are one
25:36
Speaker 3: of them. I think the Cubs can certainly make that
25:38
Speaker 3: pitch a lot better than the Astros.
25:41
Speaker 4: I do think it's interesting, like this a little bit
25:43
Speaker 4: behind the curtain here. When we wrote the other day,
25:46
Speaker 4: you know, the Astros and Cubs in pursuit of Bregman.
25:51
Speaker 4: It was us and Ken Rosendal, each of us had
25:53
Speaker 4: we had four different sources saying the Cubs are in.
25:56
Speaker 4: Now there weren't four sources saying Cubs are the favorite
25:59
Speaker 4: of Cubs are willing to go there in terms of money.
26:03
Speaker 4: In fact, there's a lot of skepticism about that. But
26:04
Speaker 4: I do think it's interesting that the Cubs. I think
26:09
Speaker 4: maybe this is the way to sum it up of
26:10
Speaker 4: asid It says the Cubs are trying to be opportunistic,
26:13
Speaker 4: whereas Jim Crane gets what he wants, and that I
26:16
Speaker 4: think is a huge difference between the Cubs and Astros
26:20
Speaker 4: in this case.
26:22
Speaker 3: Maybe I'm maybe I need to I mean I don't
26:25
Speaker 3: I don't follow the Cubs on a day to day,
26:26
Speaker 3: but like, why are they trading for Kyle Tucker, Why
26:29
Speaker 3: are they trading for Brian Presley? Why are they doing
26:32
Speaker 3: all this if they're not going in a division where
26:35
Speaker 3: the Cardinals are flat out The Cardinals have flat out
26:38
Speaker 3: said they're not trying. The Brewers aren't going to spend money,
26:42
Speaker 3: and like the Pirates are completely pirates. Yeah, like why
26:47
Speaker 3: not like so much?
26:48
Speaker 2: Hitler?
26:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're you sound uh this is I mean, I
26:52
Speaker 1: think we say this, and certainly the fans say this,
26:55
Speaker 1: and and I mean the answer is that the payroll,
26:57
Speaker 1: the budget is the budget, and that's what it is.
27:00
Speaker 1: They don't have a top five budget in baseball, and
27:03
Speaker 1: they should, but they don't.
27:05
Speaker 2: So that's that's what it is.
27:06
Speaker 1: So Jed and Carter in the front office have to
27:08
Speaker 1: kind of work within that world, and they can't just
27:12
Speaker 1: I think some people would be like, just go all
27:14
Speaker 1: out for Bregman and don't sign players like Colin Ray
27:17
Speaker 1: and Matthew Boyd or John Birdie.
27:22
Speaker 2: I think they.
27:22
Speaker 1: Believe they need both, right, they need that depth and
27:24
Speaker 1: they need impact. They got one on the impact side,
27:27
Speaker 1: and Tucker they didn't. They're clearly not going all out
27:30
Speaker 1: for Bregman.
27:32
Speaker 2: Yeah.
27:33
Speaker 1: I think it's as simple as the budget. That's that's
27:35
Speaker 1: the reality of it. You could you could, if you
27:37
Speaker 1: want a Nippick and say they're not allocating the budget
27:40
Speaker 1: properly that you know, we can have that debate. I
27:43
Speaker 1: think it's spend two hundred and sixty million, not two
27:46
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty five or something like that. To spend
27:49
Speaker 1: two hundred and seventy because plenty of other teams do.
27:52
Speaker 1: I'm not saying you have to act like the Mets
27:54
Speaker 1: and the Dodgers, but you know, act like the Cubs
27:57
Speaker 1: used to when they won a World Series.
28:00
Speaker 2: But that's I mean.
28:02
Speaker 1: I feel like Patrick and I have been talking about
28:04
Speaker 1: this a lot lately because it's become more and more
28:06
Speaker 1: of a topic, and it's just you're right what you're saying.
28:10
Speaker 2: You're absolutely right. I just don't see it changing anytime soon.
28:16
Speaker 3: It I mean to me, you'd want to parallel and
28:18
Speaker 3: I'm not saying spend as much money as they do,
28:20
Speaker 3: but like you'd want to parallel the Yankees. And I'm
28:23
Speaker 3: not saying that Kyle Tucker's Wan Soto, but like, you
28:25
Speaker 3: have one year of Kyle Tucker, you have one year
28:27
Speaker 3: of this guy that you gave up a massive piece
28:31
Speaker 3: of your farm system for, Like, why not maximize that
28:35
Speaker 3: one year? Especially from what you're saying. If Alex Bregman
28:39
Speaker 3: ain't gonna fit in the budget. Kyle Tucker surely ain't
28:41
Speaker 3: gonna fit in. Why not? Why not surround Kyle Tucker
28:46
Speaker 3: with To me, I.
28:48
Speaker 1: Think the hope would be that the budget eventually moves up.
28:52
Speaker 1: We don't have like firm indications that's the case, but
28:55
Speaker 1: this is the budget for twenty twenty five, so that
28:58
Speaker 1: Bregman doesn't fit in for twenty five budget beyond. I
29:03
Speaker 1: can't say that they won't get to a top five payroll. Ever, again,
29:07
Speaker 1: they just haven't been there in what how many years
29:09
Speaker 1: has it been?
29:09
Speaker 2: Patrick five?
29:10
Speaker 3: Six?
29:12
Speaker 1: Which is pretty unacceptable if you ask me, like, you
29:15
Speaker 1: will go two years without doing that? Okay, I understand
29:18
Speaker 1: you kind of reset things. I don't completely agree with it,
29:21
Speaker 1: but at least I understand it. This is hard to
29:23
Speaker 1: kind of swallow for fans, and it doesn't make a
29:25
Speaker 1: lot of logical sense in the grand scheme of things
29:28
Speaker 1: outside of well, the Diamondbacks made the World Series. Oh,
29:31
Speaker 1: the Brewers keep winning? Look at how they do it?
29:33
Speaker 1: How do they keep winning? How does Cleveland keep winning?
29:35
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay? Like, if you keep hearing those excuses, then
29:38
Speaker 1: then you understand the mentality that you're working with.
29:42
Speaker 6: Well, thank you, Chandler.
29:42
Speaker 4: For essentially writing a lead for us. Thirty second, what
29:47
Speaker 4: is like our ninetieth episode. In thirty seconds, you summed
29:50
Speaker 4: up everything that's wrong about the Cubs at this moment.
29:56
Speaker 4: And basically the difference you know, between the Phillies or
29:59
Speaker 4: Brave in the Cubs is essentially Bregman's projected salary, right,
30:05
Speaker 4: Like that's what they were talking about. You're not even
30:08
Speaker 4: saying it has to be Dodgers or Mats, but that's
30:11
Speaker 4: a separator of you know, Sienn All Star third basement
30:16
Speaker 4: or not. And that's kind of the gap between the
30:18
Speaker 4: Phillies and the Cubs, roughly speaking in terms of payroll
30:21
Speaker 4: for this year.
30:22
Speaker 3: And you talk about look, I mean, you guys talked
30:24
Speaker 3: about it earlier. We talked about like that lack of
30:26
Speaker 3: leadership like that the Cubs have had, like you signed
30:29
Speaker 3: Alex Bregman, Like like I could we could do an
30:32
Speaker 3: hour long podcast about Alex Bregman's leadership qualities and what
30:36
Speaker 3: he has done in Houston. And I'll always go back
30:38
Speaker 3: to what Josel Tuove said in September during his first
30:42
Speaker 3: interview where he really came out and said that Alex
30:44
Speaker 3: Braign that they needed to keep Alex Bregman. He said,
30:48
Speaker 3: this entire organization is better with him in it than
30:52
Speaker 3: it isn't, And I was like, I was like, what
30:54
Speaker 3: do you mean. He goes. He looked at me and
30:55
Speaker 3: he said, no, the entire organization. It is not just
30:59
Speaker 3: a clubhouse thing. It's not a team. It is like
31:01
Speaker 3: a top to bottom thing that he is, that he's changed,
31:06
Speaker 3: that he has been able to impact, and to me
31:09
Speaker 3: like that, that is his biggest selling point to me
31:12
Speaker 3: is he comes in to any clubhouse and immediately legitimizes
31:16
Speaker 3: it as a championship contender. And I you know, look,
31:20
Speaker 3: the power has declined. He's not gonna hit forty homers
31:22
Speaker 3: ever again, I don't think you know. He doesn't run well.
31:27
Speaker 3: He's had some soft tissue injuries in the past, though
31:29
Speaker 3: he was very durable last two years. Gold Glove defender.
31:32
Speaker 3: His war is dirty war. He's gonna post every day.
31:35
Speaker 3: The defense is going to be great. He's gonna get
31:36
Speaker 3: on base. But you know it's not the sexy forty
31:41
Speaker 3: homer guy. But I'm telling you, like, he's gonna make
31:44
Speaker 3: some team really really really happy and it may end
31:48
Speaker 3: up being the Astros.
31:50
Speaker 1: All right, Well, if if somehow the cubs sneak in
31:52
Speaker 1: there and manage that. We'll we'll do that hour long episode. Chandler,
31:55
Speaker 1: you can. You can just basically become our de facto.
31:59
Speaker 1: But thanks so much for listening to everyone. This is
32:01
Speaker 1: north Side Territory Foul Territory Network Scubs podcast. Make sure
32:04
Speaker 1: to listen to Cross City with Chandler Rome, our Astros podcast.
32:09
Speaker 1: Make sure to read all our work at the Athletic
32:12
Speaker 1: Chandlers on top of the Astros, we got your cubs
32:14
Speaker 1: to be covered.
32:15
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for listening everyone. Take care,