Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - A Nelson Cruz Reunion Doesn't Make Sense For the Mariners

Episode Date: July 5, 2023

Nelson Cruz has been DFA'd by the Padres, which has naturally caused for Mariners fans to pound the table for the potential future Hall of Famer to make his way back to the Pacific Northwest. Ty and C...olby, however, are not on that bandwagon, at least from a pure roster construction standpoint. They explain why, then dig into tonight's matchup between Seattle and San Francisco, and look at the possibility of trading for Padres middle infielder Ha-Seong Kim.Be sure to follow or subscribe to Locked On Mariners wherever you prefer your podcasts! For questions and other inquiries, email: lockedonmariners@gmail.comFollow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @danegnzlz | @CPat11Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IbottaRight now, Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 just for trying Ibotta by using the code MLB when you register.Just go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE Ibotta app and use code MLB.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.SleeperDownload the Sleeper app and use promo code LOCKEDON and you'll get up to a $100 match on your first deposit.  Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details. Currently operational in over 30 states. Check out Sleeper today! FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Look, I love Nelson Cruz. He's a great clubhouse fit. And even though he only spent four years in Seattle, he's a franchise legend. But that alone is not a good enough reason for the Marys to bring him back. Let's talk about it here on the Lockdown Marriers podcast. Colby, hit it. You are Locked on Mariners.
Starting point is 00:00:16 Your daily Seattle Mariner's podcast. Part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Ahoy, sailors. It is Wednesday, July 5th, 2023. This is Tadang Azales and Colby Patnaud for the Locked-on Mariners podcast brought to you by Sleeper. Swing for the fences on Sleeper picks and you can win up to 100 times your money. Download the Sleeper app and use promo code locked on and you'll get up to $100
Starting point is 00:00:41 matched on your first deposit. Terms of conditions apply. See Sleepers' terms of use for details, currently operational in over 30 states. Check out Sleeper today. Thank you so much for making us to your first listen, subscribe, like and turn on alerts if you're watching on YouTube or subscribe and leave a five-star review on your preferred podcast platform. If you like like what you hear. And if you're part of the crew and rock with us every single day, let us know in the comments below. And if you want to hear from us even more, please consider signing up for our Patreon. You now get a free seven-day trial to check out the show. The link as well as our social accounts is in the description of this episode.
Starting point is 00:01:15 The Mariners are going for the sweep tonight, the San Francisco Giants down in the Bay Area. You can catch all the action on the Mariner's hometown broadcast with Sirius XM via the SXM app. Can they win despite throwing Tommy Malone out on the bump? to counter Alex Cobb. Talk about that a little later on in the show. We'll also talk about Ha-Sung Kim, the Padre's middle infielder, whom you guys have asked about a little bit.
Starting point is 00:01:41 So we're going to do a trade today about him towards the end of the show. But first, speaking of the Padres, they DFAed Nelson Cruz yesterday morning, which, of course, with rumblings about a potential leadership issue in the mayor's clubhouse and the mayor's need for offense in general,
Starting point is 00:01:58 Marys fans are pounding the table for Cruz to make his return to the Pacific Northwest. Now, Colby, I just, I don't think this is a great fit. I love Cruz. I would love for him to, you know, come back in some fashion at some point. I would love for him to be involved with this organization in the future. But right now, as things currently stand with this roster and where this team is still trying to go and the hole that is trying to dig itself out of right now, I just don't know if he makes a lot of sense.
Starting point is 00:02:31 And I assume that we're on the same page on that front, right? I mean, it certainly sounds like you hate Nelson Cruz, so we're not on the same page on that front. Right, right. In terms of- I express a lot of respect and admiration for Cruz. Yes, I hate him. You hate Nelson Cruz confirmed.
Starting point is 00:02:50 So, yeah, here's the deal with Nelson Cruz. Love the guy. Obviously, he would fit great in the clubhouse. He always does. And he's been okay for chunks of the season. He had a really good April. He was pretty good in June, although granted, that was only in, you know, two dozen at bat, so kind of tough to tell.
Starting point is 00:03:13 But he was God awful in May. He was awful last year. He is a pure DH. You can't even fake him in the field at this stage of his career. And the Mariners kind of already have that. guy only better. Like Mike Ford is a better version of what you want Nelson Cruz to be. So, you know, bringing back Cruz as much as I love the guy and I wouldn't be mad if they did. It's just I don't see the fit. I don't think he makes you
Starting point is 00:03:43 better, which is the only point to go out and acquire somebody. I just don't see it. Because when you look at the moves that they would have to make possibly to make room for Nelson cruise and have it makes sense. You're talking about DFA and Mike Ford. That's laughable. You're talking about DFA and AJ Pollock, which I, I, I'm fine with DFA and Pollock, but like, to replace with a guy who can't run or field, that's not, that's not, that's not, that's not a good way to go.
Starting point is 00:04:13 And by the way, AJ Pollock had himself a really good game last night. Surprise. You let the guy play every once in a while and he can produce for you. Who knew? But, uh, I just, I don't see it because how. how are you going to make Nelson Cruz fit on this roster when he can only DH, he can only hit. He's not really done that even this year or last year.
Starting point is 00:04:34 And you already have that guy who is actually hitting. I just, I don't see it. I don't see how you make this, this puzzle work. And the only way you can do it is you have to DFA Pollock. And then you have to demote more and bring up a true outfielder. You need a fourth outfielder. And right now that's Pollock and Dillemore is kind of your fifth outfielder. At least that's how it should be.
Starting point is 00:04:54 So we'll see. You can't have three outfielers and no, you can't play Jose Cabbiero on the outfield because he's fast, as I saw somebody suggest. That's not a thing. That's not a thing. So you need another outfielder. So if you really wanted to squeeze him in, I guess you could DFA Pollock and call up Tremel or Deloch or Marlowe to replace Dylan Moore.
Starting point is 00:05:19 And that's how you have your outfielder. But you just lost one of your best base runners off the bench. you just lost some defensive versatility. So, you know, and now Colton Wong has to be in your lineup pretty much, you know, four or five times a week as a result, which he is anyways right now. But yeah, you're just not in a good spot to absorb Nelson Cruz and his role on this team because you already have somebody who's fulfilling that role and he's doing it better than Cruz has done it for the last, you know, two and a half or, well, the last two and a half seasons
Starting point is 00:05:47 essentially because remember Cruz wasn't very good when he went to Tampa Bay either. So it's been a while since we've seen. seen really good Nelson Cruz consistently. And I just, I don't know if I want to count on it. If they claimed him, if they signed him after, or as a free agent after he clears waivers, I don't hate it. I'm not going to complain. I just wouldn't get it.
Starting point is 00:06:10 I, because like you laid out, right? Ford is just the better hitter now. Right now, as things currently say, Mike Ford is a better hitter than is a better hitter than Nelson Cruz. And frankly, I think that he's a better bet. to hit the rest of the way than Nelson Cruz is. Plus, it's July 5th. Track record to me doesn't matter as much up to this point.
Starting point is 00:06:31 And Ford has proven now within what 70 or so played appearances that he should be hitting you in your lineup almost every day. And that maybe says more about what the mayor's other options are more than the Mike Ford right now. But I mean, even yesterday notwithstanding, he's helped you quite a lot as of late. he's also a lefty which is really important here because you desperately need a lefty hitters and lefty hitters who can hit power
Starting point is 00:07:00 and Ford does that he also unlike Cruz can at least fake it in the field at first base and like yesterday give Thai France a blow when he needs it Cruz can't even do that Cruz can't play for a space stop with that nonsense he can't play in the field and look on the surface
Starting point is 00:07:21 I'm totally fine with DFA and AJ Pollock, even with what he did yesterday. I said on last Wednesday show that they should DFA him, move on, and I laid out some potential moves that they can make in correspondence to that. But you need someone that can actually play in the field if you're replacing A.J. Pollock's spot on the roster. Because Pollock right now, at the very least, the value that he brings you is the ability to allow Julio or Teo or Jerry to DH on occasion or just get a day off because Pollock at the very least can still play
Starting point is 00:07:57 a little bit of outfield. He's 89th percent on sprit speed right now. Like he's still a decent fielder and a pretty good athlete even at this point in his career. So that's more valuable to me than having two DHSs on the roster and getting, you know,
Starting point is 00:08:17 the leadership aspect of crews in here, which again, we don't even know if this team actually really needs, right? Because we're not there. I've said this time and time again. We're not actually in the clubhouse. We don't know what these issues are. We don't actually know if there is a leadership issue specifically there.
Starting point is 00:08:35 And we don't know if Nelson Cruz really, you know, gives them much of a boost on that front. Obviously, he's a great guy to have around. No one's denying that. But that only has so much value, especially when right now the issue with the Mariners is a lack of production. or the issue has been a lack of protection, aside from the, you know, last four days, obviously. Just too inconsistent of an offense. And look, if you want to just see for two weeks
Starting point is 00:09:03 if Cruz can be something fine, but again, it's not a great fit. The Mariners should still send Dillamore down or ghost I'll him or whatever, even if they don't bring in Nelson Cruz. So you can make that work with bringing up of Zach Deloche or Cade Marlowe or Taylor Tremel or whoever. And maybe, you know, like, again, maybe that buys you some time until a trade deadline
Starting point is 00:09:28 and you get crews in here and improve vibes, maybe hits for you or whatever, and fans will be excited. All that is great. I just, it doesn't make sense from a pure roster building perspective. And so for me, it's a no again. I don't hate it if they bring them in. I just don't get it. And I don't get how it works.
Starting point is 00:09:49 It's honestly, it's not that far off in terms of ridiculousness as, you know, saying that you should bring in Felix Hernandez to start today because you need a number five starter for one time through the rotation. Like anybody pound on the table for that? No, because they want good players, right? They want better players and what they have. At least you should. So it just doesn't make sense, man. You do need to improve your bench. I just don't think that Nelson Cruz honestly does that enough for it to make sense.
Starting point is 00:10:19 So we'll see. I'm not going to be mad if they bring him in because I love Nellie, but I just I wouldn't quite understand what they were going for unless they're convinced that, you know, Nelson Cruz can hit pretty much like he did before he went to Tampa Bay, which is a pretty big assumption. Look, if you get April Nelson Cruz, that was a 323, 33, 338, 565 hitter, then absolutely. Absolutely. At least take the shot on that.
Starting point is 00:10:48 Yep. And that's ties That's the closest we'll get to tie saying trade tie france But Mike Ford First Baseman of the future You heard it here first Right trade tie France First second baseman
Starting point is 00:10:59 In May he had a negative 6 WRC plus And then in June had like a 10 hold on I have the numbers here 105 WRC plus in June Which is fine You know 263 317 447 You're better with Mike Ford If that's all Cruz is
Starting point is 00:11:17 is 105. I just, I'm, I'm not willing to bet and, and mess up my roster as is on Cruz being the April version of himself, when for the last year and a half, two years, he's definitely shown that he's on the decline.
Starting point is 00:11:39 And it's sad. And it's sad because, you know, he's beaten father time, time and time again, but it seems like it's finally, you know, caught up to him at 43 years old.
Starting point is 00:11:47 And also on just quickly, we got to run, but quickly on the note of, you know, DFA and Ford for Cruz, which is insanely laughable for a multitude of reasons, but none more so than the fact that Cruz is 43 years old. He's a rental and Ford. Well, I'm not saying that Ford is going to be a part of your long term plan in 2024 or 2025. He does have club control and he's 31 years old. Like to me on just that front advantage for that's that's a no brainer. So sounds like he's saying it. So look, it's totally fine if you guys want Nelson Cruz, whatever. Like, I don't blame you.
Starting point is 00:12:28 I love Nelly. We love Nellie. But yeah, just I don't really get it personally. All right. Let's talk about the Mariners and the Giants tonight. Mariner's going for the sweep. We're going over that Tommy Malone versus Alex Cobb. In just a moment, but first, a reminder this episode of the Lockdown Mariners podcast is brought to you.
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Starting point is 00:13:26 Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper's terms of use for details. Currently operational in over 30 states, check out Sleeper today. And you're listening to the Lockdown Mariners podcast. Thank you again for making us your first listen. You can catch the Mariners and the Giants tonight on the Mariners hometown broadcast with Sirius Exemption. via the SXM app.
Starting point is 00:13:46 Let's talk about that game. Tommy Malone spot starting in place of Bryce Miller, who has gone on the IAL with a blister issue. Nothing to worry about on that front. Again, like we talked about a couple days ago, just makes sense with the All-Star break coming up. He's only going to miss one start. But Tommy Malone came up.
Starting point is 00:14:05 Who did he pitch against? I can't even remember. Colorado. It's Colorado. Came up, pitched against Colorado. I think he went for scoreless or maybe gave up a run or something. It was like four and two thirds. Yeah, it was a solid start.
Starting point is 00:14:17 So hopefully we get that version of Tommy Malone, but this is also a much better lineup than Colorado's for sure. So Colby, how do the Mariners win this game? How do they pull this? Because the only person who's scored against the Mariners is Blake Sable. So it's true. Good point. Yeah, don't tempt fate here, though.
Starting point is 00:14:43 How do they win? They score runs. Like, they're going to have to. And it's not going to be an easy task. Alex Cobb, basically an ace. We've talked about this before. You guys aren't listening to the Patreon show. I like Alex Cobb as a trade candidate.
Starting point is 00:14:59 Ty thinks he sucks. I guess we'll see tonight. There he goes exaggerating again. I'm just like, yeah, maybe Alex Cobb is not actually worth what you want to trade for him. But did I want a trade firm to you? Anyways. Don't derail us. Yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 00:15:13 So, yeah, you're going to have to score. I'm planning simple. You can't really trust Malone. I think he'll be competitive. I think he'll keep you in it. But Malone's version of keeping you in a game is five innings, three or four runs. So, you know, we'll have to wait and see how he looks. And you never know when you call these guys up.
Starting point is 00:15:32 But Malone knows how to pitch. He generally throws strikes. So your offense is probably going to have to score five or six, which they've been doing pretty regularly the last, you know, a week or so. So that's a good sign. But again, Cobb is a difficult pitcher. He's got that splitter, fastball splitter combo. So going to be a little bit tougher on lefties than usual. So we'll see how Scott wants to maneuver his lineup.
Starting point is 00:15:58 I assume he'll just start all of his lefties because he does that anyways. But yeah, they're going to have to score. I mean, playing simple, they're going to have to score four or five runs at least to win this game. The good news is that, you know, Logan's complete game yesterday, the bullpen is completely rested. they can be really aggressive with that. But you still do kind of want to hold back. You really want Malone to give you five or six if you can because you have four games after this with no days off in between.
Starting point is 00:16:23 So you don't want to have to have your bullpen cover six innings tonight. They can do it, but you prefer them not to. So yeah, you're just, you're going to have to score. You're going to have to not make bad mistakes. You can't give San Francisco up. You can't give them an inch in this game because, against Malone, he doesn't have the stuff to pitch out of that trouble. So you got to make the routine plays.
Starting point is 00:16:47 You're probably going to have to make one or two really good plays. You're going to have to score guys when you get an opportunity early, and you're just going to have to play a really clean game. And again, thankfully, they've done that the last four days. Well, the one game against Tampa Bay on Sunday wasn't exactly the cleanest game, but whatever. For the most part, they've played pretty clean ball. They're going to have to do it again.
Starting point is 00:17:11 and they're going to have to score. So, you know, I think, honestly, they're probably going to put up five or six to win this game. Can they do it? Sure, you know, San Francisco will kick the ball around. So find a way to put it in play. And hopefully you can kind of grind down Alex Cobb and get them out of the game early. You know, like I said during the sleeper ad,
Starting point is 00:17:32 I think this could be a big game for Julio and Cal and it needs to be, right? And it needs to be a big game for, you know, Mike Ford. Not a Mike Ford's in the lineup. Yeah. You're going to need at least a couple of these guys to pop tonight in order for you to win this game because you're, you know, Malone and company, probably going to give up a couple of runs at least. We might also see Darren McCacken, which I know is going to make a certain someone in the comments happy. No, he was demoted. Oh, he was?
Starting point is 00:18:00 He was demoted to make room on the 26, man. For Tommy? Yeah. And Fred Murphy did the 60 Macacken demoted. I missed that. I missed that today. Well, there you go. I'm sorry to the Darren McCacken stand in her comments.
Starting point is 00:18:17 It's over. It's over. You can't wait for him to be DFA'd. It's going to be glorious. You know, it's sad. McCacken will probably get a start for the Mariners at some point this year, like another one. Probably going to happen. Will he though?
Starting point is 00:18:31 Will he though? Well, if they don't trade for anybody at the deadline, maybe. If they do, then he's behind that guy and Hancock at that point. and maybe Marco who I mean Tommy Malone might get you know like he's going to get DFA'd again I would assume after this but he'll probably make his way back to Tacoma so yeah Malone's going to get DFAed after this game and then that might be where Barrow meets the team in Texas so keep an eye out for that bro is already on the 40 man so you don't have to make another move there but if you do DFA and Malone obviously you have a free 40 man spots you can really add anybody Riley O'Brien, A.J. Puckett, Isaiah Campbell, although Campbell's also on the 40 men. So we'll see. But again, this is why it was absolutely critical to get those first two,
Starting point is 00:19:21 because now you're kind of playing with house money. No game is like unimportant, especially when you're in the position the Mariners are. But it is a lot easier to swallow. Okay, you know what? We lost with Tommy Malone on the mound, but we still won the series. Like that's a really easy sell. It's not about win streaks. It's about getting on runs.
Starting point is 00:19:41 right winning 14 of 20 winning 16 of 22 etc etc etc etc 18 of 26 like yeah that's what it's about here so yeah if you lose the win streak which is the longest active win streak in major league baseball right right now which is funny also weird because it's only four games but uh yeah it's it's it's fine just you know maintain the momentum and what's really important here is that if you do lose this game tonight don't lose the momentum because they have done that time and time again where they have a bump of the road and then they allow that to snowball and to a second loss and a third loss and a fourth loss and you don't want to lose the ground that you made up because you can't afford to do that anymore no you know you don't have to run the table before the break you could lose if you go three and two in the last five games before the break that's a really good run uh you you would have done exactly what we said you needed to do to kind of give Jerry the incentive to go out and buy. So, you know, don't panic after a loss. You're, you are after this going to go face, you know, a fairly banged up Astros team. Al Tuve is going for an MRI today. Sounds like he's almost certainly
Starting point is 00:20:56 headed to the IL with a, um, with a shoulder, I believe it is. Uh, Framber is going to start tomorrow. Like they've already kind of announced that. But Christian Javier might, might sit out this series. So you have a shot. You know, again, you're not facing the 100%. healthy and obviously Yordon is not going to play. So you're not facing the 100% healthy Astros. So get out of today. Hopefully the bullfins in good shape and go try and find a way to at least split a four-game series on the road against the still very good Houston Astros team.
Starting point is 00:21:26 And if you could do that, it's a pretty successful road trip. And you have maintained the momentum that we think you need to maintain to ride into the second half. You're listening to the Lockdown Marinus podcast. Thank you again for making us. your first listen. So Hassan Kim, Padre's middle infielder,
Starting point is 00:21:46 27 years old, having a really good year right now. 2.8F4. A lot of that is defense, but he is slashing 257, 344, 411. That's a 112 WRC plus. He's walking a bit, 11.4% of the time.
Starting point is 00:22:00 Decent K rate, 22.7%. He's got 10 home runs this year as well. You guys have asked about him a little bit for the Mariners, because obviously the Padres having a really, really disappointing year, even more disappointing than the Mariners, which is wild to think. But it's been a big lead down there in Southern California.
Starting point is 00:22:21 So maybe Kim is someone that's on the move, but he's still got two more years left of club control after this one. The last year on that is a mutual option, which is $7 million with a $2 million buyout. So only one year then after this. right because he can't he can because he can say no yeah he can say no right so yeah technically one year left of club control right uh potential one and a half sure yeah yeah sure uh so so what do you think about kim as a potential fit for the mariners and do you think the padres are actually
Starting point is 00:22:56 entertaining that idea of trading him i think the podres have to be willing to entertain any move right now that is not a good that's not a well put together team. It's an expensive team. It's a talented team. It's not well put together. Surprise. You gave AJ a preller a blank check and he screwed it up. What? Who would have guessed, but I think you have to consider everything. I do think they would look at moving other guys first instead of Kim, but I think you might be able to sneak them away here. And Kim would, you know, if acquired, he would certainly become the everyday second baseman. The Mariners desperately need. If for no,
Starting point is 00:23:38 the reason he is an incredible defensive upgrade over colton long and even Jose cabiero and cabbiero has been really solid at second but kim is 100th percentile and outs above average he can pick it at second he can also play short and he can play third um so it kind of checks two boxes he's your everyday second basement and he makes dillan more you know expendable so um yeah obviously you know you're not he's not a guy who hits the ball hard a ton uh does have some problems with the 10 home runs, 14 bags, stolen bags. That's a good number. And there are some CTZ elements to him.
Starting point is 00:24:15 He doesn't whiff. 81st percentile on whiff rate, 94th percentile in Chase, 82nd percentile in base on ball, and 83 percentile in sprint speed. So he is a good player. He's not a great player because the bat isn't quite where it would need to be to cross over, but he is a defensive you know, wizard essentially across the infield.
Starting point is 00:24:41 He is a very good base runner. He does have some power and he does get on base a fair amount. So he's a good player. He's going to be pricey. There's really no doubt about it. He's also like you said, he's, you know, a year and a half, at least of club control. And he's only 27 years old.
Starting point is 00:24:57 So you're going to have to essentially make the Padres listen to you. You're going to have to be pretty aggressive with your offer. I would assume, especially when you look at how shallow the middle infield classes in next year's free agency. So I think it's possible. I think he might be available. I just think he's going to be quite expensive. And he's not the bat that you really need.
Starting point is 00:25:19 If you're AJ Preller, though, are you even picking up the phone if you see a 206 area code? I mean, I don't know. If you're A.J. Preller, are you trying to make moves to save your job? Because I think, you know, the calls for his job have to be getting louder and the hot seat has to be getting warmer. for Preller. So I don't know if he's even in a position where he wants to sell because he could lose his job if he does. So, I mean, probably lose his job either way. But yeah, it's not an ideal situation for Preller either.
Starting point is 00:25:49 So I don't know. I don't know what he does. I do think that he probably at this point has to trade Blake Snell. I think he has to trade Michael Waka. I think he should try and trade Juan Soto. But he's got a lot of big contracts. that he can't move. He's got a lot of players that aren't great fits.
Starting point is 00:26:10 And even some of the medium range guys like Jake Croninworth, it's a seven-year, $80 million deal. Now, that's not a ton of money, but it's enough to knock out some clubs. And with Cronerworth struggling again, it might be a tough sell. So you Darvish just signed a massive extension. You're not trading him.
Starting point is 00:26:29 The Padres are in a bit of trouble here. And Kim is a guy who could potentially net them, something that can help them as soon as next year. If you're the Mariners, you're obviously laughing at any attempt to get Gilbert or Kirby or Wu or Miller. And I just, I don't know if you have the prospect where it makes sense
Starting point is 00:26:49 because Kim is not the bat that you need. He is a good bat. You need a 130 WRC plus type of guy. And I would sacrifice some defense to get that. So, yeah, I just, I don't know. It's just tough to know what Kim would cost. and that's what that's what makes this conversation really because i if you're the padre's why would
Starting point is 00:27:10 you trade him for like emerson hancock that doesn't well that's what that's what i was going to say in terms of like who the merriers would be willing to trade and who makes the most sense for the podre's timeline prospect wise that would be hancock but hancock alone probably isn't gonna that's he's not good enough to be the headliner for a hawsong him deal just not so And the Padres, I don't know if the Padres weren't bulk either. So I don't know if you can do bulk. I can pitch something here. Okay.
Starting point is 00:27:42 No, not Thai France. It's Thai France. It's Thai France. Just think about it for a second. No, no, no, no, no, no. Think about it. Go right now. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:27:52 Right now, Jake Croninworth is the first basement. That's not where he should be playing. It puts more pressure on his bat. He doesn't have a first basement bat. Croninworth needs to be playing second. They can't play. He can't play second because Kim is just significantly better. So, if you were the.
Starting point is 00:28:05 Padres, you are trading Kim for an extra year of Thai France. You're putting Thai France at first. You're moving Croninworth to second. If you're the Mariners, you are, you are trading essentially. Thai France is above average bat, which is really hit or miss. There's no power whatsoever. As a first, compared to other first baseman, Thai France does not have power. You're getting significantly better at second base.
Starting point is 00:28:28 You're finding your solution to second base next year, too. and what's easier to find on the open market right now? A guy who could stand at first base and hit 30 home runs or, you know, a gold glove second basement who's not a zero at the plate. It makes a lot of sense as much as you might hate it. It does make sense. So are you getting to replace Typhrance right now? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:28:48 I'll go trade it for C.J. Cron. Like I'll put Mike Ford out there for until I find somebody. Have you seen that C.J. Cron has done this season? Yeah, I know. It's not great. It's not great. I'm not up on my first basement who might be available. Colby. Colby. I speak for everyone here.
Starting point is 00:29:03 I think I speak for everyone here and saying no. Then I speak for the intelligent crowd where I say it makes sense. You have to consider it. No. You have to. Stop trying to trade Thai friends. Tell me what part of that argument doesn't make any sense, aside from trading Thai France. Because you're getting worse offensively.
Starting point is 00:29:23 Are you? Yes. Ty France is not very good compared to other first baseman. He's not. He's posting like a 115 WRC plus right now. Who cares? With no power. He's wildly inconsistent.
Starting point is 00:29:37 He's always getting hurt. He's not a great defensive first baseman. Ty France is a good player. So is Kim. Neither are all stars. Neither are great players. And Kim plays a more valuable position. And he plays it much better.
Starting point is 00:29:49 He also adds speed and versatility to this lineup, which Thai France does not do. And hey, you know what? Kim has more home runs than Thai France. He's a better power hitter than France's as well. honestly the Padres should laugh at this offer Kim is better Kim is a better player also more club control and whatever
Starting point is 00:30:08 oh so all of a sudden we only care about club control not impact now gotcha sure Kim's a 4 win player Thai France is a 3 win player but sure the extra year of club control should make all the difference in the world no you're wrong
Starting point is 00:30:23 no Alex Redugo sure Hassanko so you would trade Thai France for worst player. An outfielder? A lefty hitting outfielder? Yeah, Kim's better. Verdugo's a three and a half one player. Kim's a four one player. Is he a better fit for the roster though? You need a second basement bad. I think you can make me. You do, but you also need
Starting point is 00:30:46 lefty pop. Fordugo's a lefty pop guy since when? I mean, like he hits for doubles. Oh, that, oh, okay, cool. Cool. Yeah, sure. From the left side. That's totally for sure. Okay. Why can't you just go get Alex Verdugo and Kim. Okay. You only have one Thai France, though. Okay. Trade him for Kim. Okay.
Starting point is 00:31:09 And then who are you trading for Verdugo? Hancock. Hancock, Class A. Topa. I don't know. Who cares? I'm sick of this idea that Thai France is some untouchable in that you can only trade Thai France if you're getting some kind of superstar in return.
Starting point is 00:31:29 Thai France isn't a superstar. He's a good hitter. He's not a great. great hitter. And he's not a guy who honestly fits. He's a first baseman who doesn't hit home runs. And he's not hitting 300 to make up for it. Ty Francis isn't that guy.
Starting point is 00:31:44 I think we know who Ty France is. He's 270, 3.30, 340. And he's 415, 420, 430 slug. That's fine. That's a good player. If that is a second baseman, that's an all-star. As a first baseman who hurts you on the bases, because she's kind of a guy.
Starting point is 00:32:02 that's a guy not a guy so yeah miss me with this tie france is untouchable BS it's garbage never said that never said that
Starting point is 00:32:11 you just did you said you wouldn't trade tie france for a better player because of one extra year of club control that's a time for impact I guess we'll just say it Colby wants to win more than tie does
Starting point is 00:32:21 it's it's not just that it's also like having to address that spot now it's a lot of there's a multitude what is easier to find a first base or a second basement. Answer the question. A good first basement, but also you made a great point.
Starting point is 00:32:37 The Padres are probably laughing at you if you offer just France for Kim. So that means that you're going to have to add more on top of France. And I just don't want to do that. I don't want to do that. Oh, see,
Starting point is 00:32:47 now you don't want to. Okay. Okay. Before. No. Sure. I don't want to do it. That wasn't in consideration before,
Starting point is 00:32:52 but now. Now that Colby's making all these excellent points. Personally, I got to dance. I got to change the subject a little bit here. All right. I think that's good. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:03 good episode good episode all right thank you guys so much for tuning in to the lockdown Mariners podcast again you can catch the Mariners and the Giants tonight on the Mariners hometown broadcast with serious XM via the SXM app for Colby Pat node I'm Tadian gonzales
Starting point is 00:33:19 be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at LO underscore Mariners you can follow me at Dan Gonzalez the C-A-N-ZL-Z and Colby at C-P-E-E-T-11 follow us on Instagram and TikTok as well over at Locked-on Mariners that's one word Locked-on Mariners you can also find all that stuff in the description of this episode.
Starting point is 00:33:35 Thank you again for making us your first listen. Have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we'll see you tomorrow. Peace.

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