Latest / Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast / Episode 52 Part II feat. Hagen Snell - Sellers who made questionable moves at the MLB Trade Deadline, Competitiveness in the NL and AL

Transcript

Episode 52 Part II feat. Hagen Snell - Sellers who made questionable moves at the MLB Trade Deadline, Competitiveness in the NL and AL · Sports Avenue Twisted Podcast

0:00
Absolutely. The next question I want to ask
0:02
you is sellers who did, who did not do enough, who do you think
0:09
did not do enough at this trade deadline?
0:13
To me, there's a clear answer here, and it's got to be the
0:16
Atlanta Braves I. Mean.
0:21
Right after the deadline ended, I put out a tweet and I said
0:23
Dallas Anthropolis knows the trade deadline passed because he
0:26
just sat on his hands the entire time.
0:28
I mean, he the only thing he did was trade Rafael Montero a
0:31
couple days before the deadline. I mean, how do you not trade
0:34
your closer? Who's appending for agent Raziel
0:36
Iglesias When you saw what these relievers were getting?
0:38
Look at what Tyler Rogers got. I know Raziel Iglesias hasn't
0:41
been that great this year, but he's still a high leverage arm
0:43
that teams needed a team like the Astros looking for high
0:45
leverage arm at the end. Marcelo Zuna, I know he has his
0:48
4:50 rights. We could veto any single trade,
0:50
but reports that came out is they didn't even try to trade
0:53
them. It wasn't like they tried to
0:54
trade them and then vetoed it. I don't know what they were
0:57
doing there. I mean, not even entertaining
1:00
deals on these guys is criminal to me.
1:02
I, I thought this was an awful job by Alex Anthopolis.
1:05
And let me view him a little bit different as AGM because this
1:08
was your one opportunity as the Braves.
1:10
You know, they're probably not going to be sellers next year.
1:11
They're still one of the most talented teams in Major League
1:13
Baseball. They haven't had an opportunity
1:15
to sell in a very long time. And you get 1 opportunity and
1:17
you don't do it. That, that, that that pissed me
1:20
off. Yeah.
1:22
No, I get that. And go ahead, Rob.
1:26
No, I was just going to going to say, you know, when they we got
1:31
a friend who's a Braves fan and he was telling us just before we
1:34
jumped on about Anthropolis is kind of gaslighting the fan
1:39
base, thinking, you know, the fans are stupid in a sense and
1:44
giving them an excuse. Like they didn't get any decent
1:49
or solid offer for Raziel Iglesias, not enough to trade
1:54
him. And I mean, I don't know what
1:57
kind of excuse that is because you got a player for Montero,
2:03
which I mean, let's let's let's be frank, Montero's nothing,
2:08
man, you know what I mean? And and and Braves fans were
2:12
were lucky and they were pleased to get what they got for him.
2:15
So for them not to trade Iglesias, I understand why they
2:19
didn't trade Pierce Johnson, OK, because they're because he does
2:23
have an option for next year. And but, you know, and then the
2:27
fact that, like you said, they didn't even seem to try to trade
2:31
Ozuna properly. So, yeah, I don't understand.
2:35
I don't understand what's going on with Anthropolis and that
2:38
trade deadline. But you're not wrong.
2:40
That's the answer right there is the Atlanta Braves.
2:45
I think that's the popular answer.
2:48
And and what I was told that the the boss of to Alex is not happy
2:57
at all. But and and you can't blame him.
3:00
I mean, this is the opportunity. You only get opportunities like
3:03
this on a rare scenario, right? So I'll give you another team I
3:07
don't think did well and that's the Pittsburgh Pirates.
3:11
Like what is going on with Ben Sharrington?
3:16
And look, we could blame Bob Knighting for not spending
3:19
enough. Understandable.
3:21
But damn, like what is Pittsburgh doing, man?
3:26
Like I am so baffled. Like they're they're good.
3:29
They're not going to contend with Paul Skins running being
3:33
the ace of that staff man. And it's unfortunate.
3:36
And I don't know why they didn't fire Sherrington.
3:40
I don't think he's done a good job besides drafting certain
3:43
guys. I think they she's drafted well,
3:46
but there are some draft draftees they drafted has been a
3:49
flop like a Henry Davis number one pick in 2021.
3:53
He hasn't turned out to be anything.
3:55
Tamara Johnson's yet to be up. What is he doing being there for
3:58
four years in the minors? Like a lot of people thought
4:00
that he would be a player, but they drafted Conor Griffin,
4:03
who's the best prospect of baseball, which is
4:05
understandable, right? And and I get I get frustrated
4:11
with a team like Pittsburgh and I get it.
4:13
Look at look at the Rays, for example.
4:15
The Rays have found a model of contending while not investing
4:19
as much, right? And the Marlins are starting to
4:21
do that way. Ben Charrington seems like he
4:24
needs to operate in a big market scenario like he did in Boston
4:28
when they won the World Series in 13 rather than being in
4:31
Pittsburgh, because in Pittsburgh it just doesn't seem
4:33
like he's modeled that way, right?
4:34
So I think what's important at the end of day is like, how do
4:39
you, how do you do that? And I, I, I don't know if I
4:45
don't know if Pittsburgh will will contend the way they're
4:48
they're operating and not getting a top 100 prospect for
4:52
Bednar. That's that's a flag that is
4:55
malpractice. And those are the opportunities
4:58
you try to get in return. And I think I think some of the,
5:02
some of the assets they got in return were underwhelming.
5:04
And how come Dennis Santana didn't get traded yesterday?
5:07
Like, like what? Why?
5:10
Why didn't or Andrew Heaney? Did Heaney get traded?
5:12
I don't think so, right? No, he pitched tonight.
5:17
And he's a free agent. Pittsburgh is not a good state.
5:21
And I'm sorry to say but like Sherrington, might need to go
5:25
so. I mean, I think like you said,
5:28
great in the beginning there you said you can blame Bob Nutting
5:30
for not spending the money and I normally give Ben Sherrington
5:33
the benefit of the doubt. There was a lot of the stuff
5:35
that happens that organization because he as are going to be
5:38
the worst owner in sports to work with.
5:40
So it's all right when you're able to sell and you have like
5:43
an Andrew Heaney. I know from an aspect of
5:46
quality, he's not great this year, but a team's going to pay
5:49
him what, $2,000,000 to go out there and give him 50 innings.
5:52
That's valuable. Major League Baseball.
5:54
He's been healthy. He's a left-handed pitcher too.
5:56
There's teams needed a pitcher. I mean, even the Mets.
5:58
I would have loved Andrew Heaney on my team.
6:01
Tommy Pham. We've been great lately.
6:03
Every deadline Tommy Pham gets dealt for someone.
6:05
Tommy Pham's a great bat style. I know he struggled this year,
6:07
but he's been great lately. He's.
6:09
Been great, yeah. Dana Santana too, if you were
6:11
going to sell. I mean, I get he has another
6:13
year of ARB, but like really, I guess they're going to keep us
6:17
their closer next year. But you do you really need a, a
6:20
true closer if you're this bad of a baseball team and you're
6:23
going to win 60 to 70 games? I I really don't think so and
6:27
listen to the returns like I get you traded away like 6 guys I
6:30
believe, but the returns I just did not think were good at all.
6:33
Like the Bednar return. I thought the Yankees fleeced
6:36
them. Yeah, I I agree.
6:39
Like, like I told you, like Santana has another year
6:43
arbitration, but Bednar had another year of arbitration and
6:45
they ended up trading up. Yeah, I I just don't understand.
6:50
And the whole Brian Reynolds thing, I don't know what's going
6:55
to happen with him because he has like AI think a handful of
6:58
teams that he doesn't want to get traded to.
7:00
So he doesn't want to be in the big market.
7:02
And I don't know how long he's going to last.
7:04
And his value is so down right now.
7:06
It's it's it's it's not looking good on him right right now.
7:11
And and another trade is Brian Hayes trading within the
7:15
division. Sammy Sammy Sistaphora is a
7:19
decent pick, but they could have aimed much higher with that many
7:21
years and that much control within the division.
7:24
Cincinnati did not give up much because they have so much assets
7:27
or so much prospects that they didn't trade away like the man.
7:34
It's I I feel bad for pirates fans.
7:36
They deserve so much better, especially when you know the
7:39
prime Mccutchen days like they went through nearly a decade
7:43
ago. Any any the loyal guy to
7:44
Mccutchen. And I understand you want to
7:46
retire with the pirates. Rightfully so.
7:48
So, um, very disappointing franchise man and, and look, you
7:53
could blame nothing all you want, but Sherrington is
7:55
supposed to do his job and he didn't do enough overall.
7:59
Yeah, even till you talk about that Keep Brian Hayes trade
8:02
where stuffer. Yeah, it's a good guy to get,
8:03
but you should have gotten some more of that Keep Brian Hayes.
8:06
And they chose to get Taylor Rogers to flip him because they
8:09
thought they'd get him a decent amount of value.
8:10
But you flip him for a prospect who's not even in your top 30.
8:13
So you really got. Was that worth it trying to flip
8:16
it? Like it felt like he was trying
8:17
to get too technical with things but he didn't too.
8:20
Cute. Yeah.
8:23
Yeah. No, I didn't.
8:23
I didn't understand that at all, man, when I saw that out.
8:27
Yeah. What are you doing?
8:29
I mean, he gets to fur was a nice player.
8:31
But yeah, I don't know. I don't know.
8:35
It's it's baffling to say the least, what that franchise does
8:38
on a year to year basis. So, I mean, they're going to be,
8:41
what is it, five years away from being five years away from being
8:45
10 years away, man. Like they're never going to
8:47
compete, man. But let me ask you this, what
8:56
are some teams that made some questionable trades in your
8:59
opinions where you know you may say to yourself like left you
9:03
scratching your head afterwards? You know, one of them has to be,
9:09
and I think it was probably the most shocking deal, and it was
9:12
in a funny way too, was the Diamondbacks when they traded
9:16
away Shelley Miller and Jordan Montgomery, the Brewers, because
9:19
obviously Shelby Miller is on the IL right now and Jordan
9:22
Montgomery, he's out for the year.
9:24
So the Brewers are taking on a contract like normally the
9:27
Brewers, the ones trying to get rid of money, not taking on
9:29
whatever the the 7-8 million prorated rate is on that
9:32
contract for the rest of the year.
9:33
So you're going to be paying that much for a reliever when
9:37
the Brewers already have more than enough arms.
9:40
I guess it's a depth move there. I guess on the bright side, they
9:43
didn't have to give literally anything up in return, which I
9:46
thought was kind of funny too, but that was a little
9:49
interesting to me. Angels every year the angels
9:56
seem like they're pseudo buyers in some sort of capacity, man
10:02
like it. It just baffles me of what
10:05
they're doing. Like when you see the
10:08
opportunity of being a cell, you got to be realistic about what
10:10
your team is, right? I saw the vision of Texas.
10:14
They're they're, they're Texas, Seattle, Houston, those are the
10:18
three teams. Angels when you get swept by the
10:22
Mets and then you start, I mean, being mediocre.
10:26
So The thing is like, you look at the Angels and you look at
10:32
how they've operated the last few years and look, look at what
10:37
they've done. And I get it, the Rendon
10:38
contract was bad, but they got 2 relievers in one trade and they
10:42
got Peraza. I don't understand what they're
10:45
doing. Like they could have had the
10:47
opportunity to trade Kenley Jensen.
10:49
I think they had the opportunity to trade Taylor Ward.
10:52
I think they had the opportunity to trade some of the like some
10:54
of the guys on the rotation like a Kyle Hendricks.
10:57
Like there were opportunities, but they seem like, I don't
11:00
know, they're just they're just right in the muddled middle.
11:02
They say right of things, right. So I just don't understand that
11:06
organization and why they operate the way they are.
11:10
That's my that's my question. To me, it's not trading Zach
11:15
Gallon. I don't understand that The
11:18
guy's a free agent at the end of the year.
11:20
Like trade him. Like get something for him.
11:23
Now he's going to possibly walk for nothing because I think he's
11:26
going to have some suitors next year on some teams that want to,
11:29
you know, give him give him a deal.
11:32
I could I could definitely see a road where he is back with with
11:35
the Diamondbacks. But to me in that market, a
11:40
pitcher that has had a track record like his in the past
11:44
where he's he's a good pitcher, he's having a down year.
11:47
And I get they probably didn't, you know, weren't getting the
11:49
offers of what they wanted. But I mean, I still think you
11:52
have to trade him. And to me, that was
11:53
questionable. I mean, I completely agree
11:58
there. I mean, I mean, you don't trade
12:03
Zach Gallon and I can see, I mean, we said a little earlier
12:05
on the show that maybe you resign them.
12:07
That's the reason why I didn't trade them.
12:08
But if you're going to resign them and there's mutual interest
12:11
there, can you not say, hey, we're going to trade you go play
12:13
for another team, start a game for him, we'll sign you back and
12:16
we'll make the team better for when you're on this team long
12:19
term. That's it just doesn't make any
12:21
sense to me. I mean, we saw, I know the
12:23
starting pitcher market might have been high, but you could
12:26
have gotten them for something. And it's not because market
12:27
didn't even pick up at all. It felt like I never really
12:29
heard that many rumors about teams being, you know.
12:33
Right. Yeah, I didn't hear anything
12:35
about it really. You know, you heard a lot about
12:38
Alcantra Cease, you know, some of them starting pitchers, you
12:43
know, but Seth Lugo, I mean, he didn't end up getting moved
12:48
because they were buyers. But yeah, it's just, it was just
12:51
a baffling thing. And like you said, you could
12:54
always re sign them in the offseason.
12:56
It's happened before, you know. What about the Rays?
13:03
What what about what about the rays?
13:04
Like I I so they traded two players and I and they traded
13:13
they they acquired Griffin jacks rights and they did not trade
13:19
Yandy as they did not trade Brendan Lau.
13:21
They kept Fairbanks. Like what?
13:23
How would you say they're traded up?
13:25
Because that's another team that I'm not sure what they're doing
13:28
or operating right. So.
13:31
I mean, that was weird. I didn't really know what they
13:34
were going to do. It felt like they were going to
13:35
sell at the deadline too, especially because they got a
13:37
little bad stretch of baseball before that.
13:40
Then they sell Danny Jansen and get a Nick Fortez.
13:41
Where? OK, yeah, you're upgrading your
13:43
catch. You did that.
13:45
So it's all right. You're going to, maybe you're
13:46
placing your catcher there, but you get rid of a Danny Jansen.
13:48
We don't. That was going to be traded.
13:49
Then you sell Zach Littell. It's like, OK, they're traders
13:52
now. Then then you look in your they
13:54
trade away Jose Caballero, they look at their full sellers, but
13:57
then like in the last 10 minutes, they go by Adrian
13:59
Hauser, who's been great this year and Griffin Jax, which was
14:03
Griffin Jax. I can see a little bit OK of OK,
14:05
that's a long term play where it just he's available right now.
14:08
We just DF 8 or sent option toss Bradley down.
14:11
We have enough pitching right now.
14:13
So let's get Griffin Jax was available right now.
14:15
That one I can see, but the Houser one kind of shocked me a
14:18
little bit because it was, it makes me think whenever the Rays
14:21
make a trade, you do question, especially Adrian as a Mets fan,
14:26
I am not very fond of him. He was awful to say the least on
14:29
the Mets. But then he's been, he's been
14:31
awesome this year. I mean, he's been one of the
14:33
most effective pitchers in the American League, no matter what
14:35
the advanced numbers say on him. He's been great this year for
14:38
the White Sox. So I just thought it was kind of
14:40
crazy that they gave up three players to get Adrian Houser.
14:44
You know. I'm sorry.
14:47
But I'm just going to say, like, when you do a deal with the
14:49
rage, you do the deal with the devil, They say, right?
14:52
For so many reasons, right? That's why I think the Marlins
14:57
are becoming like the rage because Peter Bendix used to
14:59
work there as a GM, right? But yeah, that that's all I want
15:02
to say. Yeah, no, I'm just with the
15:05
Rays. It feels like they do this all
15:06
the time though. Every year that's like they're,
15:09
they're never a clear seller and they're never a clear buyer.
15:13
It's always something in the middle.
15:15
And this year was kind of no exception, but they did it to
15:19
almost more of a an extreme, more of a buyer's standpoint
15:25
that a seller's standpoint. And to me, I don't even, I don't
15:29
know if I don't even see them having much of a chance to even
15:34
make the playoffs. I mean, I mean, there's always a
15:36
chance, of course, but they're not one team that you you go and
15:40
you think, oh, they're super stronger than the Blue Jays, the
15:43
Yankees and the Red Sox. You know, it's like the
15:46
division. So I thought that they should
15:49
have took advantage a bit more trading Taj Bradley.
15:52
I get what they did there, but I still think he's a good starting
15:57
pitcher who's having a bad year and getting Griffin Jacks.
16:01
I mean, you got him for what, two more years?
16:04
So we'll see. Like, are they going to compete
16:06
next year? But they're going to do more of
16:07
the same. The raise will be the raises, I
16:09
say. You know.
16:14
What do you think about Kansas City?
16:16
They ended up being buyers and not.
16:19
Weird too. They they they had a interesting
16:23
trade deadline, right, to say the least, right.
16:26
So I think I think it just bodes down to how their schedule is
16:34
because they face a lot of teams.
16:37
You know, we more teams, you know, like they face in the
16:41
coming weeks, because you look at how they operate and how they
16:46
get things done. And and you know, it's it's it's
16:49
the fact that, you know, when you have Bobby Witt as your
16:52
cornerstone player, they just brought up Jack Caglione, who's
16:55
who's a nice player. He's going to be a good player
16:57
for them, of course. And and you know, this ownership
17:00
and organizations trying to build a winner.
17:03
And I think they will compete for years to come.
17:06
And they gave Seth Lugo that extension and looking at looking
17:10
at that team, I mean, they they're they're still determined
17:13
to try to win it. And if they don't win, they'll
17:15
see where things go, right? So.
17:19
Yeah, I thought they were a weird one too, because obviously
17:22
you want to see a team like the Royals teams, they don't have
17:25
that high of payrolls when they spend money, when they go make
17:27
trades, you normally are like, Oh yeah, do that man.
17:30
I want to see, I want to see team like the Royals get in the
17:32
playoffs and do something there. But sometimes you have to look
17:35
around and think, is is this the right decision here?
17:38
I mean, I I would still tell you, we talked earlier, I don't
17:40
like the Red Sox that much. I'm still taking the Red Sox
17:42
over the Royals at this point. I mean, if it's look at the
17:45
trades they made too, I mean, Bailey falter, I can see because
17:48
you needed some innings in that rotation, need some guy like
17:50
that. I didn't really understand that
17:53
the Adam Frazier move that much. I know that was about two weeks
17:56
before the deadline. I really didn't understand that
17:58
one very much too. He's pending free agent, by the
18:00
way, Randall Gritschek, another one where he has a mutual
18:04
option, but I mean, those hardly get accepted.
18:06
So he's pretty much a pending free agent too.
18:08
And then also the Mike discrepancy deal where I know
18:10
you have any huge players for this, but it was just a lot.
18:14
It was almost like a soft buy in sense if you want to call it
18:17
neutral because they got a pretty good package in return
18:20
for the back of Patcher Freddy for Maine.
18:22
You can call it that, but I I didn't think they would buy at
18:25
all. Yeah, it's just one of those
18:31
types of trade deadline. I forgot to mention.
18:34
One team I don't think did well enough too is the Washington
18:37
Nationals. Men like, what was their trade
18:40
deadline about? Like I know they got a couple
18:42
guys, a return from Mike Soroka, Decent Hall, Kyle.
18:47
Finnegan. Kyle Finnegan yeah, like the The
18:50
thing is like, they did not trade Josh Bell, right?
18:53
I thought that he would be a guy that some teens would have want.
18:56
I mean, he does have the experience and stuff too, right?
18:59
So I think that's a factor as well.
19:02
Like I think I just hope Washington gets it right, man,
19:05
because that that franchise, like you, you have the right
19:09
players to build around with. And with a guy like James Wood,
19:12
goodness gracious, that guy is a monster.
19:15
Like I love everything about a man.
19:17
And he just plays the game right.
19:20
And they called up Robert Hassell, right?
19:23
So I'm curious to see what that organization is too.
19:27
So we'll see. We'll see.
19:31
Yeah, I think they're a very interesting organization on
19:33
where they're going to end up because it almost, it wasn't
19:36
like, I wouldn't say they had a great deadline.
19:38
I wouldn't say that an awful deadline either.
19:39
I mean, just Josh Bells, probably the only one that I
19:42
probably shot should have got moved.
19:44
Else I think you probably should have moved in there because
19:45
you're not playing for anything this year.
19:47
But I thought you maybe could have gotten a little bit better
19:50
return for Kyle Finn again. But I guess they did get
19:52
something for him. So you can't be mad you got
19:54
players back when you were selling.
19:56
But I feel like you should have gotten Josh Bell off this team.
20:01
Yeah, yeah, I agree. You mentioned about the weirdest
20:07
trades. You mentioned one thing.
20:09
Was there any other weird trades that that trade might be the top
20:13
one when it comes to the weirdest trades of this trade
20:16
deadline. But was there any trades?
20:17
He's like, I did not understand that trader.
20:19
It was just a confusing trade besides the one with the
20:22
Diamondbacks and the Brewers. I mean, I probably spoiled down
20:26
a little bit because that that was my answer for that one.
20:28
But I do have a second one and it was on the Padres side of
20:31
things. And I just spoke out of here
20:32
with the Royals. But the Royals traded their
20:34
backup catcher, Freddie Fermain, who's not a great hitter.
20:37
He's good defense to the yes, but the the Padres give up a
20:41
depth starting pitcher for him is making starts for him.
20:43
And the number 7 ranked prospect for a backup catcher.
20:47
I know he's technically going to be their starter and their
20:49
catcher has been awful to to be frank with that, but you gave up
20:54
your 7th ranked prospect and a depth starting pitcher for a
20:57
backup catcher. I thought that was a little
21:00
crazy. I feel like you could have just
21:02
gone out there and like what if you just got like a Danny Jansen
21:04
earlier in the week? I just think you could have
21:07
found other backup captures that can at least be serviceable with
21:12
the bat, which it seems like what they're looking for is just
21:14
be upgrade from our team Hall to otherwise Diaz.
21:17
So I just thought that was a little crazy.
21:20
I I I liked Preler's deadline a lot, but this was the one move
21:23
that I didn't know. I mean, the, I mean, I thought
21:30
that, you know, the, with Preler, I, I, I understand what
21:35
he's doing and I, I, Maldonado's a little bit older.
21:37
He's what, 41, right? So I they felt like they need to
21:41
go get a catcher instruments, but they did give up a little
21:45
bit there with Burget. That's a lot of depth.
21:46
I thought they gave up there right.
21:48
So if you look at the Red Sox, the one with Dustin May and
21:55
James Tibbs, the third and Zach was it was Zach Wolland, the
22:00
other prospect. And and The thing is that when
22:04
you look at when you look at the way they operated, they were in
22:09
on Joe Ryan. They ended up getting a Dodger's
22:11
husband and there was a reason why the Dodgers traded away in
22:14
every way possible, right? So and they got value in return
22:17
because James tips the third was part of that Devers deal, right.
22:21
So The thing is like we are looking at the Red Sox is like,
22:28
what are they doing? Like, what are what are we
22:32
doing? Like seriously, like it's
22:36
important. It's important like when you
22:38
have an in division trade like that and or not in division
22:43
trade, a trade like that and you don't do enough, especially when
22:46
you're battling in that division with the Yankees and the Jays.
22:49
Like that's not how you make a move, right.
22:51
So I think that's that's going to be a thing like that.
22:55
The Red Sox are going to it's going to backfire from that
22:58
because I thought that they have something going on and they
23:00
could address more pitching and they did not do that.
23:02
And I get the market that the starting pitching market is so
23:06
inflated, right. So that trade did not understand
23:11
me either. So.
23:13
Yeah. And the thing to me that did not
23:14
make sense in that deal is you trade away the James Tibbs and
23:17
give them to the Dodgers. Who was your main return in the
23:20
Raphael Devers deal? I know that deal was mainly to
23:22
get out of the money, but you got a good prospect in James
23:24
Tibbs. So I know a lot of people are
23:25
very high and think he's going to be a good big leaguer.
23:27
So I mean, you can make the joke that the Dodgers had a better
23:31
return, the Devers deal and the Giants did now, because all the
23:34
Giants or the sorry then the Red Sox did because the Red Sox, you
23:38
have Dustin May, you're going to trade James Tibbs, your main
23:40
return in the Devers trade for Dustin May, Who's going to make
23:44
it starts for him. He's a free agent after the
23:45
year. Are they going to resign someone
23:47
long term who's had a lot of health issues and was didn't
23:51
really have a spot on that daughter's rotation when they're
23:52
healthy? Yeah.
23:55
I just don't know, like it's it's it's, it's weird the way
23:59
they operated, right. So Rob, do you have any weird
24:05
trades that you thought that was questionable or?
24:08
We kind of talked about it already.
24:10
My, I really think that trading Griffin Jacks for for Taj
24:16
Bradley's just it to me it doesn't make sense.
24:21
And I get they got starting pitching, but if and if you're
24:26
why do you need a bullpen arm if you're not competing, I get just
24:30
it doesn't make me it doesn't make any sense to me.
24:33
And then Louis Varland, we talked, we touched on that
24:36
earlier, trading him with five years of control to Toronto for,
24:42
you know, an older, a bit older outfielder and Alan Roden and
24:47
Kendry Rojas, who I really like. But essentially, I guess you're
24:52
you're, you're trading that, that guy with five years of
24:56
control for. I thought they could have got
24:58
more for him. And, and I saw a lot of Twins
25:01
fans were were pretty upset with that deal.
25:03
So like I said, we already touched on them earlier in the
25:06
episode. So but but those are the two
25:08
name 2 deals that I go back to and they just make me scratch my
25:12
head. We'll talk about the
25:18
competitiveness in the AL like how do you look at the matchups?
25:22
How do you look at the rest of the teams in the divisions in
25:25
the and and the playoffs? Who do you think could be in the
25:28
playoffs? Like if you if you name the
25:30
teams right now it, do you think it's pretty much send stone or
25:33
do you think there could be some surprise teams that could have a
25:36
run and compete? I mean, it's not really the fun
25:40
answer, but I think the NL seems like the six teams that are in
25:45
the picture right now feel like they're going to be the six
25:47
teams. I mean, we all agreed that the
25:50
Phillies, the Padres and the Mets are going to be in there.
25:52
I think we all feel, even after not adding too much of the
25:55
deadline, that the Cubs and the Brewers or the Dodgers are going
25:57
to be in there as well, too. I don't see the Giants obviously
26:00
just sold, the Cardinals sold off their bullpen.
26:04
The Reds, they bought a little bit, but are the Reds going to
26:07
get in over the the loser of the divisions out of any of those
26:11
three teams? I I just don't see it.
26:12
So I find the National League is more just going to be the fight
26:16
for the seating on who's going to get the one seed, who's going
26:18
to get the six seat, who's going to get the three seat, who are
26:20
going to get the byes in that division.
26:21
That's the way I do the National League right now.
26:25
Yeah, I I can't argue with that. Nice.
26:29
I do think that the Padres are going to win that division in
26:32
the end. I think that as long as they
26:34
stay healthy, because we know we all know health matters.
26:37
So especially in baseball, it's a long season.
26:40
If they stay healthy, I think that they can overtake the
26:42
Dodgers. But yeah, the the Brewers are
26:45
going to win their division. I think then it's going to be
26:49
either the Mets or the Phillies. I mean, they're neck and neck
26:52
right now. So it's going to be right down
26:55
to the end for those two teams. It's going to be a dogfight.
26:58
It's going to be fun to watch. It may be a little stressed out
27:02
for you, Hagen, but it's going to be fun nonetheless.
27:06
But yeah, I, I, I can't argue with that.
27:10
I mean, it's for sure going to be a little stressful,
27:11
obviously, being in a little Pennant race, a division race
27:13
down the stretch. But we all know that's the best
27:15
baseball. That's the most exciting
27:17
baseball is when you have to win every single game every single
27:20
day in September and October. We all know that's the best
27:22
baseball. Absolutely.
27:25
You know, you know, what else well say to that is I think the
27:29
Mets will win the division, the Padres will win the division,
27:36
and I still think that Milwaukee will still stand firm, right?
27:44
So, I mean, at the end of the day, we got to look at what's
27:48
going on in those three teams. And you know, I'm going to keep
27:52
an eye since Cincinnati, I want to see what they're about.
27:55
I know that they got a third baseman who could play better
27:58
defensively. I think they got a pitcher and
28:03
you know, like at the end of the day that I think we have a
28:08
better idea where these teams are at.
28:09
But man, the bullpens and is going to be tough.
28:14
Like Philadelphia improved the Mets and the Mets improved the
28:18
Padres. And I don't know where the
28:20
Dodgers stand. Where do the Dodgers stand in
28:22
this stuff? Like that's a bigger question,
28:25
right? So I don't know where things
28:29
stand at the end of the day when it comes to the Dodgers when
28:33
when they didn't do enough. I know they got an outfielder.
28:36
Was it Alex Call? What they got?
28:38
They got I think in the back of Ben Roydford.
28:41
Yeah, like the couple guides. But other than that, it's like
28:44
he just, he just. Started to see them leak oil
28:48
over the last few months to, you know, kind of, you know, a
28:55
little bit of their luster, you know, the past few weeks.
28:57
I mean, it's a long season. There are ups and downs.
29:00
So I mean, they can get that back.
29:02
But I mean, it's going to be tough, man.
29:04
It's going to be tough, tough division with especially what
29:09
the Padres did, as long as they can remain healthy and and you
29:12
know, it's going to be a that's a tough bullpen, man.
29:16
I just don't know where, where, where the Brewer, the Cubs,
29:22
where the Cubs are standing this like I felt like they could have
29:25
done more, right? So I don't, I don't know where
29:29
the Cubs stand in all this, right?
29:30
So because they could have done more, but I felt like they
29:35
didn't do enough. I just didn't see it.
29:37
Like Soroka's a nice ad, Willie Casper's a nice ad, but they
29:41
needed more pitching help. They needed a starting pitcher
29:43
and they didn't even get that. Yeah, they, they needed a
29:47
starting pitcher that would be a good option to go to in a
29:50
playoff start for him. They also knew that I feel like
29:52
a high leverage arm to in the playoffs.
29:54
And I, I wouldn't say that Taylor Rogers is a true high
29:58
leverage arm that you you want in that, in that bullpen and
30:01
what let's say the 8th inning per SE.
30:03
I, I just feel like the Cubs, they could have done a lot more
30:06
and Andrew Kittridge too. That's, I don't think that's the
30:09
high leverage arm I would love in that bullpen.
30:12
And I thought they were going to do more too, especially after
30:14
Chet Hoyer got the extension a few days for the deadline.
30:16
Like to me, when I saw that, I was like, oh, he's going to gear
30:18
up and he's going to go for this deadline especially.
30:20
They have a great farm to begin from.
30:23
And that offense is one of the best in baseball, man.
30:26
They got a + 114 run differential, You know, like you
30:30
yeah, you figured that they would have done more to, you
30:33
know, to bolster their chances of, of making.
30:36
Well, I mean, of, of going far in the playoffs because I, I
30:40
think that they'll be there. But yeah, it's, it's, it was
30:43
kind of disappointing their trade deadline overall.
30:50
Let's let's switch over to the AL.
30:52
Let's talk about what what, what you think's going to happen in
30:56
the AL and how do you think that's going to play out?
31:00
You know, I think you have to say that the Astros are a
31:03
locked. They'll probably would say,
31:04
honestly, you could say win the Division, I guess not a lock to
31:07
win the division. But the Astros, I think you're
31:09
going to be there. The Blue Jays and Yankees, I
31:11
think you're going to put those guys in there too.
31:13
I think the Tigers, they're they're going to be locked to
31:16
win that division. I would say.
31:17
So those teams there and then it comes down to those last wild
31:21
card spots. Is it going to be the Rangers,
31:25
the Mariners, the Red Sox, which which one of those guys doing in
31:27
there? I think it's going to be the big
31:28
question is out of those three teams, who gets the spots?
31:32
Do the Mariners and a buying and then not not making the
31:36
playoffs, which sucks for them. And I mean, I think everyone
31:39
wants to see the Seattle Mariners in the playoffs and
31:40
want a deep run here, especially a franchise that never had a
31:43
World Series. I think everyone's to see that
31:46
the Rangers have been so disappointing since the World
31:48
Series. They're still hanging in there.
31:50
Will the offense turn around and start hitting for once?
31:52
They had the pitching to make the playoffs and want to run in
31:55
the playoffs, but the offense can still it.
31:56
Was Mark Simeon going to stop being a hole in that offense
31:59
compared to what he's making money wise?
32:03
Are the Red Sox, are they going to see that the pitching is not
32:06
that great right now from the starting aspect?
32:08
Is there going to be a few guys that Luis Gilio, is he going to
32:12
slow down from his crazy run he's been on?
32:13
Is this Red Sox bullpen going to hold up?
32:16
I think the big question, I mean, there's a lot of teams and
32:18
that's not even to mention, I mean, to the Rangers.
32:20
The Rangers were game out. The Guardians are behind them.
32:23
The Royals are half game behind them.
32:25
Then you have the Angels in the Rays a game and half behind
32:27
them. I mean there's like still like 7
32:30
teams that can compete for this wild card right now, which is
32:33
unlike the NM. I think it's just the way teams
32:39
are structured like Seattle, Houston, I think they're they
32:45
improve drastically together and those two are going to fight.
32:49
I think Texas will still be in the race.
32:51
Getting Merrill Kelly is a big boost to the rotation.
32:54
Will he will he be good enough to for them to be a playoff
32:57
team? We'll have to see, right?
32:59
And getting Phil Maton does help their bullpen.
33:02
I still felt like they need another bullpen and, and a bat.
33:05
And, and you know what's so funny?
33:08
I want to bring up this and this has to do with the Rangers.
33:12
Did you see the report that Adalos Garcia got traded to the
33:14
Mets? Hey.
33:17
That's fence. Did.
33:18
Did you see that report? And when you saw that, like,
33:20
what were your thoughts about that?
33:22
You know, I did see because I put out a tweet just that the
33:25
Mets new lineup once they got Cedric Mullins and the top
33:27
comment was at Adols Garcia in there when I first saw it.
33:31
And I was what why? Why would the Mets buy Adolos
33:34
Garcia? Like there's not a spot for him
33:36
on this team. Are they going to are they going
33:38
to DFA starring Marte, who's been phenomenal the last couple
33:40
months? So I had like, I didn't think it
33:43
was real off the bat especially too, it wasn't from any of these
33:45
big time reporters, the pass insurance, the nighting gales,
33:48
the Morosi's wasn't from any of those guys.
33:50
So I was I don't think it's real.
33:52
But let's let's just wait a second because this could be
33:55
true. Because David Fern does like to
33:56
do some crazy stuff at times. No, I was just gonna say when I
34:03
saw that, I was a little bit confused and then I then I saw
34:07
and then it I forget who it was that tweeted out.
34:10
They're like, no, no, no, no, this is a false report.
34:13
I'm like OK, but was it Morosi that tweeted it out?
34:18
I believe it was Mikey Deportes. Oh, it was Deportes.
34:22
OK, OK, yeah, I was just, I was confused.
34:25
I was like, what? The guys just got Mull and then
34:28
you got him and it's like, and then that's what I thought.
34:30
And and we were talking about this.
34:32
We're like, where are they gonna have all the room to play all
34:35
these guys that they're getting? And then then the report came
34:39
out that it was false. And I'm like, oh, OK, that makes
34:41
sense. Yeah.
34:45
I mean, I think this is what happened.
34:48
I think that Adolis Garcia to the Mets was a thing.
34:52
And I think that there might have been a deal placed with
34:55
Ozuna and Iglesias to the Rangers because if you think
35:00
about that, they needed a bat to upgrade Adolis Garcia opens up
35:06
another roster spot, right? So and the fact that you look at
35:13
the way that that was set up, that deal did not happen and
35:16
Atlanta didn't trade Ozuno, he had the 10 and five rights and I
35:19
think Ozuna veto that trade. He vetoed every trade what I was
35:23
told and it was insane to think that it was in it was baffling
35:27
the way they operate like you guys said, right?
35:30
But overall, you have to look at it this way.
35:32
It comes down to two teams operating.
35:35
But I think it's sometimes when you have those clauses, it's
35:38
tough to do a deal. So I think that they did what
35:42
they had to do. So it was interesting.
35:44
But like you said, back to the Ali, don't think the Tigers did
35:47
enough. I felt like they needed to do
35:49
more. And I get what they're trying to
35:51
do because there was a report that they were in a Bednar and
35:56
there was a report out there that they were asking for Joe
35:59
Zuberceno and the Tiger said no. So and I think that this could
36:04
be a stepping stone for them moving forward because they got
36:06
more guides in the system coming like the Mcgonagall's, the Max
36:10
Clark's, the Tharlizondo. So it's like they're built
36:15
pretty well. Bright.
36:16
What's up? Bryce Rayner is another one to
36:18
Troy Melton. It's going to be part of the
36:21
rotation plans and they got Jackson job who's going to be
36:23
out till probably 27. So I think Detroit is in the
36:26
right direction, but like the firm buyers that did well as I
36:31
think that took the next step with the Jays, Yankees, Astros
36:35
and Mariners. So I think that's that's the
36:40
play, right? So those are the four and maybe
36:42
the Rangers after that. And this the 6th spot is wide
36:45
open, right? So and they've Kansas City feels
36:48
like there's a door open for them.
36:49
Red Sox could be a contender. So I mean, it all depends,
36:53
right, how this thing plays out. And like you said, I think
36:55
there's seven teams. Yeah, there is going to be that
37:01
many teams in there. But I think like you said to
37:04
the, the Astros, the Blue Jays, the Mariners, the.
37:06
Yeah, I could. I could.
37:07
I could see that. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
37:10
Is there any final thoughts you want to add?
37:12
Is there anything missing that you want to add before we wrap
37:15
it up? No, I think we went through a
37:17
lot. I mean, we went through a lot of
37:18
trades there. I think pretty much broke down
37:22
almost every big teams that were either buying or big sellers
37:25
there. So I only covered a lot this
37:27
episode. Yeah.
37:29
I mean, I mean, I think overall, I think the way this trade
37:35
deadline was set is that most of these teams did not shy away,
37:40
gave a grand opportunity to try to build especially A-Team like
37:44
the Padres. They usually headline trade
37:46
deadlines like this, right? And the, and, but the shocking
37:49
part to me, the Dodgers not responding.
37:51
And because if you notice, every time the Padres do a bolster
37:56
move, the the Dodgers or Dodgers would respond.
38:01
And the other baffling part is San Francisco getting Dever
38:05
thinking that they got their bat and they ended up being sellers
38:09
and and Verlander was available and he did not get traded and it
38:13
just it just went S from him and they're just going to go with
38:16
what they have, right. So that's the way they're
38:19
they're operating, right. So very interesting trade
38:22
deadline. It was great.
38:23
And you know, hopefully you know these next whatever game 60
38:29
games or less can work your way through and just just let's see
38:34
how this outcome of the season goes.
38:37
But Hagen Snow, we appreciate you, man.
38:40
We had a great time. A lot of great conversation, a
38:43
lot of information, a lot of talks, man.
38:45
Where can we find you in social media and everywhere else?
38:48
You'll find me on on sub stack doing some articles over there
38:51
and then on Twitter both on we'll just be Hagen Snell BB, so
38:55
and then that and then you'll find me on the Skipper's view.
38:57
You'll see me on the website doing their podcast Co hosting
38:59
that too. But then you guys were having me
39:02
on. I mean, I had a blast year.
39:03
I've been looking forward to this for about a month and a
39:05
half now, so hopefully get to come back on here again sometime
39:08
and I'll pop to you guys on Twitter and some spaces every
39:10
once in a while. But thank you guys for having
39:12
me. I really enjoyed this.
39:14
Yeah, we'd love to have you back, man.
39:16
It was awesome talking baseball and you know, just it was a
39:19
great trend. It was a great trade deadline.
39:22
It was it was a monumental trade deadline in that regard,
39:24
something that we don't see every day, so every year.
39:28
But thanks for joining us, man. And yeah, we'll get you back on
39:31
again for sure. Thank you guys.
39:35
I really appreciate it. We will place the description
39:40
below where you can find Hagen Snell, but till next time, take
39:45
care, be kind to each other. Signing off from the Sports Ave.
39:49
Twisted podcast on Friday, August 1st, 2025.
40:34
None.