Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - Jorge Polanco's Surgery News Adds Context to Rough Mariners Season + Fan Fiction Friday
Episode Date: October 11, 2024Jorge Polanco has undergone surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee. That adds some context to his struggles in 2024, but does it ultimately change the perception of his season as a who...le and the discussion around his $12 million club option? Ty and Colby discuss then grade some Mariners trade ideas from listeners.Ask us questions!Follow the show on Twitter: @LO_Mariners | @TyDaneGonzalez | @CPat11For your next listen, check out the Locked On MLB podcast. Prepare for the Fall Classic with Sully, who has it all covered every single day. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Arena ClubWhether you’re buying, selling, trading, or displaying—Arena Club is the card-collecting platform you have to check out. Right now, you can get 10% off your first Slab Pack or card purchase by going to ArenaClub.com/lockedonmlb and use code lockedonmlb. RobinhoodRobinhood Gold provides the privileges of a high net worth for any net worth. These generous benefits are now available for only $5/month. The new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold.Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC. PrizePicksGo to prizpicks.com/lockedonmlb and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game. IbottaIbotta is a free app that lets you earn cash back every time you shop. Right now, Ibotta is offering our listeners $5 just for trying Ibotta by using the code LOCKEDONMLB when you register. Just go to the App Store or Google Play store and download the FREE app to start earning cash back when you use code LOCKEDONMLB. eBay MotorsFrom brakes to exhaust kits and beyond, eBay Motors has over 122 million parts to keep your ride-or-die alive. With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it’s easy to bring home that big win. Keep your ride-or-die alive at EbayMotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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) 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)
So Jorge Polanco was reportedly dealing with a Pettelitin an injury this year.
Does that change the way we look back on his season and the question of picking up his club option this winter?
We'll discuss and then grade some of your Mariners trade ideas coming up here on the Lockdown Marrars podcast.
Colby, hit it.
You are Locked on Mariners.
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Ahoy, Sailors.
It is Friday, October 11th, 2024.
This is Tadang Azales and Colby Patnode for the Lockdown Marriors Podcasts podcast.
Part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
It is Fan Fiction Friday.
We'll be looking at some of your Mariners trade ideas,
but we also have some Horei Polanco News to talk about first.
Before we get into that, though, shout out to our title sponsor today.
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prize picks run your game and if you want to hear from me and colby even more and help support the show check out our patreon the link is in the description and you can sign up for a free seven day trial so yesterday it was reported by jeff passin of esPN that uh hori polanco is set to undergo patella tendon surgery and this is an injury that according to passin uh polanco was dealing with for most of this past season now we we did know that
that polo was dealing with some sort of leg issue, but it was more so described as a hamstring
injury, and he was able to play through it for the rest of the year. But Pettelotendin injuries
typically are pretty serious. I know of two that stick out of my mind, being a Seahawks fan.
It's Will Disley. It's Jimmy Graham. Both of those guys had Patelotendin injuries, and both of
those guys were not really the same players since those injuries occurred.
So this is, I mean, one, pretty remarkable that he even played through it.
But two also gives us maybe at least a little bit more context as to why he struggled so much.
Passa mentioned that this was a big reason that he was struggling from the left side of the plate.
And obviously his numbers from the left side of the plate nowhere close to his career norms.
Passon says that
he should be ready
or at least the hope is that he'll be ready
by spring training
but before we get into Polo's future
and how that might pertain to the Mariners
how does this change your perception
Colby of Polo's season?
I mean it's still a disappointment
there's no way around that you needed him
to be more than he was for you
but it also provides some context and some, you know, possible explanation for why he struggled.
It's real easy for us to sit here and always say, like, oh, well, he struggled because the Mariners acquired him and he can't hit a T-Mobile and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
It's not always the case.
You know, we oftentimes don't know what's going on with the player until after the season ends.
And so, you know, it's maybe it was mostly just this knee issue was just hampering him all year.
and that really slowed him down and hurt his numbers.
Maybe it's that he's just an older player who's declining or maybe it's a combination of both.
But yeah, it's a bit of a, it's a bummer, obviously, for Polo.
It's pretty serious injury.
We don't know the severity of it, but obviously it was not severe enough or it was,
apparently it wasn't severe enough that they thought it could get worse if he played,
but it's severe enough that he needs surgery, not a doctor.
Shocking, I know.
But you just play one on TV.
Sure, not even.
But yeah, it's a tough little, you know, it's tough bit of news that does offer some explanation for the season that he had and does provide some level of excuse if we want to call it that for why he underperformed or at least some, you know, plausible rationale for why he struggled the way he did.
But yeah, we'll have to wait and see how the surgery goes, how serious it is.
I think a full recovery from like a torn, a completely torn is like six months plus,
which would take him into the regular season next year, not just spring.
Like no chance he's ready for spring training.
So yeah, it's in terms of what, you know, how we read his 2024 now, obviously he's a tough dude.
He's playing through this.
He's trying his best to help the team.
And he was pretty good for a couple different stretches there.
with this injury.
It just ultimately the wear and tear was just too much.
And it might offer some explanation for why Polanco struggled the way he did.
But overall, it's still a disappointing season, one of the more disappointing seasons on this club.
But I know you got to give credit to Polo.
He's a tough dude.
Played through this without anybody, you know, any of us knowing it and did what he could.
But obviously he was severely hampered by it.
I've seen a lot of fans, a lot of Maris fans.
take this news and go,
oh,
well,
now I definitely want to bring him back
because,
like,
clearly there's a reason
that he was so bad this year.
I'm in the complete opposite direction.
Because Polo is 31 years old.
He'll be 32 next July.
He is coming off of a down year.
Obviously,
some of that,
yeah,
can be due to the injury.
But like I said earlier,
the guys that I know that have had Patelotenten
injury,
and obviously this is in a different sport, but still,
they weren't the same guys once they got back from it.
And again, we're not talking about a 26, 27 year old here.
We're talking about 31, 32 year old here.
So this makes me even more out on him.
Right.
I mean, it all but guarantees that the team will decline the option,
which they were going to do anyways.
But obviously, you know, it's not until four to six weeks after you have the surgery
that you are even,
supposed to be able to put all your weight on the leg that you had surgery on.
And even then, it's probably with a pretty heavy brace there to protect it.
And so it's not just that, hey, this guy might not be ready by spring training.
Probably won't be.
It's not just that this guy might miss some time in the regular season.
It's that Polanco won't be able to do his offseason work or not to the extent that he needs to.
And so he's going to be behind the eight ball already.
He's going to be, you know, way behind schedule based on what.
what he would normally do in an off-season.
And then there's a question of how fast can you get on schedule.
We've seen what happens when guys miss spring training.
It takes them quite a while to get back into the field of things.
And you can only take so many, you know, AAA at bats and you go to the big leagues,
it's still going to be an adjustment period there.
So I think at best, assuming this is a somewhat, like, if the term is the hope is that
he's ready to go by spring training, that tells me that this is probably a real like a
it's pretty significant tear, which means it's probably six months minimum.
So if he's ready to go by spring training, I think what that really means is that he's ready to begin his offseason work in March.
Yeah.
Like and that's just a no, it's just no, not a $12 million.
You're not even interested in it.
And honestly, I don't know how interested I am in in like, like if they declined the option and nobody wants to sign them and you can get them back here for three, four, five million bucks and then like load up on incentives.
fine, I guess, but the issue there again is that he's going to basically be starting back from square one when he's finally healthy.
And he's not going to be cleared for baseball activity until at least six months.
You have to take the, when you're considering things like this, you have to take the long end of a recovery period.
And, you know, it's not uncommon for these injuries.
it's not super uncommon for it to take a full year after the surgery before the patient has feels
like they have full range of motion that they used to have and that they trust the knee on
percent that's the other thing too there's a psychological factor here so polanco you know i like the
dude um and is there a very specific scenario where the mariners bring him back and it makes sense
sure it doesn't start with picking that 12 million dollar option and it probably takes
I mean, what is akin to, here's two million bucks.
And then for every, you know, 50 plate appearances you're able to take will give you
a hundred grand or whatever, you know.
So like it's got to be super team friendly.
But ultimately, I think this all but ensures that Jorge Polanco will be playing baseball
somewhere else next year, if at all.
Yeah.
Because, again, the age is also something that is.
Yeah, I think the risk of him going into spring training and even the regular season
unsigned is real given all of this.
It might be one of those, it might be one of those like one plus one deals with a team
where they're more so invested in him for 2026 rather than 2025, but they're just going to get him
in, monitor his rehab, all that.
And then whatever they get in 2025 from him as a bonus.
Right.
I mean, it's also worth noting though that Polanco missed half of the 2023 season with the hamstring
issue as well.
So this isn't the healthiest guy in the world either.
So, yeah, we'll have to see how it goes with Polanco, but I would be pretty surprised he was playing baseball with the Mariners at any point in 2025.
And, you know, again, hopefully we don't have all the information, but hopefully this is a relatively mild patella tendon issue.
And the timeline of him being ready to go by spring training is, you know, valid.
It turns out to be true.
but even then, even at the best case scenario, no, you're not picking up the option and no,
you're probably not even giving him a contract that he would consider taking with you.
So it's the end of the line.
It just seems like optimism that you would expect from his camp going into a year where he's going to be a free agent.
Yeah.
So, yeah, I just, I'm a little concerned about the validity of that timeline.
and at that point again I'm I'm out because even if he is ready to go by then again like you said he's not going to be able to get in his offseason work he's going to be 32 years old at some point next year he already hasn't been the healthiest dude in the world he's coming off of a down year there's just so many red flags there that even like it it has to be a very very specific situation for me to consider bringing him back and at that point you probably have other options solidified so yeah
All right.
So it is fan fiction Friday.
We are going to get into your Mariners trade ideas here.
And just a moment.
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And you're listening to the Lockdown Mariners podcast.
It is fan fiction Friday.
Let's get into your Mariners trade ideas.
This one comes from Joey.
It's a straight up one for one with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Brian Hayes, third baseman for the Pirates for first base prospect, Tyler Locklear from the Mariners.
Brian Hayes was the worst hitter in baseball this last year.
I believe his WRC plus was 53.
It was something like that.
Yeah, 59, 59.
Much better.
Sorry to disrespect.
Cabrian A's there.
Plus defender at third base still.
Maybe the best defender at third base kind of depends on where you want to look and who you want to talk to.
So you do get an elite glove there, but a 59 WRC plus.
Yeah.
I don't matter how good of a deep defender you are, even at a premium defense position like their base.
If you're a 59 WRC plus, you have no business being in the majors.
He has parts of five seasons now under his belt for essentially full seasons, but he's been hurt.
So he hasn't played a ton like he only played 96 games this year.
He only played 96 in 2021.
Played 136 in 2022, 124 and 2023.
but even then, you know, defense was carrying his value, right?
He was a 3.2 F4 guy in 2020, but that was all defense.
So 100 WRC plus that year.
It was a league average bat, which is fine.
271, 309, 453.
I mean, he's slugging at least.
But, you know, the year before he was 3.1F4, all defense.
244, 314, 345.
That's an 86 WRC plus and 136 games.
I just honestly I'd rather like he's not as good of a defender but I'd rather just have Josh Rojas.
Yeah the other thing you have to keep in mind with Brian Hayes is that well he is locked in long term.
He's under club control through the 2029 season.
There's actually a club option for 2030.
I mean it seems like a lot.
The AAV is less than $9 million.
But if he's a 54 or 59 WRC plus, $9 million is a lot, especially to the
the mariners who aren't going to just eat contracts like this and be like, oh, well, we miss there.
I guess we'll just, you know, DFAM and lose $55 million for nothing.
Like, they're not going to do that.
They're not going to eat that money on Hayes.
So a lot of red flags with Brian Hayes and keep in mind, defense a little bit overvalued
in war formulations as well.
So, you know, it's just one of those things where it's like he also wasn't as good
defensively this year. Now, is that injury related? Maybe it could be, but there's so much risk to
Cabrian Hayes that, and Locklear isn't even a lot to give up. I don't object to giving up Locklear
for just about anything. But Cabrion Hayes is just not the type of player that the Mariners
should be taking a chance on. And it would be a chance. It'd be a huge gamble. Because again,
like defense, great, whatever. If he does what he did this year, even with well above average defense,
he's like a one-win player at most.
So, yeah, just give Josh Rojas 4.5 million
and he'll be at least probably a one-and-a-half two-win player.
And you can keep lock there.
So, yeah, Brian Hayes is an interesting idea.
And if he had repeated the year he did last year, this year,
we'd be having a different conversation.
But it is such a huge red flag and such a big risk to take on a guy
and that reasonable contract if he's a 100 WRC plus player.
totally reasonable contract, but it is a huge leap of faith to assume that this you can hit.
It's a reasonable contract, but do I want to get locked into that knowing what the financial restrictions
that have unfortunately been placed upon the front office are for a guy who's offensive ceiling so
far at the big league level is 271, 309, 453, obviously with plus plus defense, but
yeah because it's like all right fine yeah seven million dollars a year is totally fine
even even with the offensive concerns that's totally fine but for what six more years seven more
years how many years is uh there's a club option through 2030 so 2029 would be the soon as you can
get out of it yeah five so five years so yeah it's just you want to
$40 million for a guy who, frankly, with the season he just put up, isn't close to major league quality.
Yeah.
There's some good things there, but you really have to believe in the bad and you have to believe that you can fix him.
And not only get him back to where he was at his high point, you have to find another gear.
That's something he's never shown before to justify trading for him and just making him the solution at third base.
so I don't object to the cost of Tyler Locklear.
If you can get a solid third baseman for Tyler Locklear, do it in a heartbeat, no problem.
Even if it's only for one year, do it in a heartbeat, no problem.
But I just don't trust a Brian Hayes to hit at all.
So for me, 35, 40, I don't like a Brian Hayes.
I don't like that idea.
Yeah, you just need to get better offensively.
And if that means sacrificing defense, then so be it.
Like you have to get someone who better profiles at that position,
offensively speaking, than what you have right now.
And again,
it's just like if I want a guy that's going to hover around 100 WRC plus
and give me,
you know,
pretty good defense.
It's not going to be as good as key Brian Hayes,
but I'll just stick with Josh Rojas.
The bad has a higher floor than could Brian Hayes.
Yeah, it does.
Yeah.
So,
so,
yeah,
I just,
yeah,
I'll go.
I mean,
it's fine,
valuation so I'll give it a 40 but yeah yeah it's just not the type of player that the uh the mariner
should be targeting a j has uh two separate deals for bady of the uh the Mets bret badie
third baseman former top prospect of uh of the new york met's uh the first deal is emerson
to hancock for brett bayy straight up or logan evans plus mitch hanniger for brett betty
and the Mets take on all of hanniger's money uh so let me let me attack the
the second one.
I don't think the Mets are going to pay essentially $17.5 million plus Brett Beatty for
Logan Evans.
That's just a non-starter there.
Yeah, that's just not going to happen.
So on that one, 25.
20.
Yep.
Yeah.
And then Emerson Hancock for Brett Beatty.
I'll give Colby the floor here.
So you can tell you how worthless Emerson Hancock is.
I mean, it's a couple of what we would kind of charitably call failed first round.
on prospects,
trading hands here.
Hancock is,
like I said,
he's a five or a six.
I mean,
like at best,
that's his ceiling.
And I think people,
kind of remember all the pretty good starts he had,
and they don't look at the numbers
where he was running,
you know,
a five and a half fifth,
and he had a negative point.
He's worth almost negative one win by,
you know,
by war standards.
So,
yeah,
I'm totally fine.
trading him and baitie is the kind of guy or is the type of guy that uh honestly uh jerry has
has gone after in the past he's a former top prospect former first round pick we know jerry
likes to take shots on those guys betty also pretty decent defender at third but again we get back
to this like how much do you trust baitie over just bringing back josh
because the cost is fine emerson hancock fine whatever i i will replace emerson
Hancock in five minutes.
If you want to do this and also take a shot on Josh Roe.
I mean, like this doesn't preclude you from doing anything else.
No, he's going to be a minimum guy.
Yeah.
Does he have an option with?
He does have an option.
Well, uh, actually,
I know,
no, that's a pre-2020.
Yeah, no.
So he has to be on the on the major league roster.
Right.
And he's really only third base guy.
Yeah.
Now that I know that he's not an option, I'm out.
Yeah, you just.
again, it's one of those things where, like, you have to really believe that you know how to, you know, fix Brett Beatty, 215, 282, 282, 325 at the big league level.
It's just not going to get it done.
In AAA, he was okay this year in the international league, not the PCL.
So, you know, obviously, it's a much more difficult offensive environment over there.
252, 349, 504.
he crushed AAA in in 2023 for a brief time before he was called to the big leagues and he just struggled.
Like this is a guy who right now kind of looks like a 4A player.
There's not anything for him to prove in AAA.
There's nothing there for him left to do.
So I do think Beatty or I think he has a good shot to get like DF8, right?
Or he's not going to get non-tendered.
he's not arm eligible or he'll get swapped to a team for you know nothing and and hancock is kind of
nothing so uh i i think but he he he's i could start at the MLB trade rumors for agent list and
find somebody better than Hancock okay he's he's anything but he's starting depth with a with
a minor league option left um right so that gives me that gives me more roster flexibility and
brett betty does yeah honestly i just rather kept i think i'd just rather keep that to be i think you
the Mets, you'd rather have
Trent Thornton than
Emerson Hancock.
Yeah, that's just too much for me for
Brett Beatty without the option
to send him down. No, I'm probably not
tindering Trent Thornton anyway, so if I
can get Brett
Beatty for him, fine, I'll take the shot there.
But yeah,
like, I don't have a problem giving up Hancock
for Beatty even without the option.
I just, I don't care. I don't value Emerson
Hancock enough to
to prevent him from taking any
shot really on just about any player.
I will give you Emerson Hancock for the shot on a talented player.
But again, if you're the Mariners, you have to really believe that you can fix Brett
Beatty because otherwise you're just rolling into third base with or rolling into 2025
with a worst third base, you know, position than you did in 2024.
So, yeah, I think Beatty's the type of guy that the Mariners typically take a shot on.
So I think it's fine.
but the cost has to be essentially a guy that I would throw away.
Like I would have no problem with the team DFA this guy tomorrow.
That's the only thing I'm giving up for Brett Bady because that's pretty much what Brett Bady is,
a guy that I probably can get a DFA in a couple months.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
So like, I don't know, somewhere between a 45 and a 50.
Yeah, it's fine.
Yeah.
All right.
We got a couple more trades here to go over in just a moment.
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And you're listening to the Lockdown Mariner's podcast.
It is Fan Fiction Friday.
We are reading and grading your Mariners trade ideas.
We got this one from Kai Bowren.
It's a deal with the Cincinnati Reds.
Mariners get Jonathan India and Alexis Diaz for Logan Evans, Dominic Canzon, and Josh Rojas.
But Kai Bowen also adds here.
After some reflection, the deal still felt light.
So I would throw in Michael Morales as well.
So Evans, Canzone, Rojas, and Morales for India and Diaz.
Thoughts.
As it so happens, both India and Diaz are players I have heavily considered for my offseason plan,
which Ty and I will reveal our individual plans next week on our Patreon show.
Patreon.com forward slash control the zone.
We are professionals.
But so, yeah, so I have looked at these guys a little bit.
You know what I really like about Alexis Diaz, Ty?
He's that Wyn Diaz's brother?
Well, no, but I mean, sure.
Yeah.
Big,
big extension guy.
Big extension.
Of course.
Of course.
Yes.
With a fantastic fastball.
Without fantastic fastball Velo, it's actually 93, 94 mile an hour fastball.
So it's nothing all that entertain or any cool at all.
But she spends it very well.
It gets a lot of ride in the zone.
He's going to make $4.5 million this year.
And our, you know, India's cost controlled as well.
I think, I think India is.
is going to make, I think you made five this year. I don't know if it was a straight five and
five or there was a. He is set to make five point four. Okay. So about 10 million dollars
to add these two guys. It's going to cost you Logan Evans. Dominic Canzone, whatever,
don't care about that. Rojas. So basically Rojas pays for Diaz. It just in terms of money.
So you're having about five minutes.
million bucks to get this guy Jonathan India and it's going to cost you Logan Evans and Michael
Morales.
Now, both of those guys are probably, you know, number five, number four starters at best.
But unfortunately, they do represent a large chunk of your starting pitching depth entering
next year.
If you trade-
And this is why you can't trade Emerson Hancock for Brett.
This is why you absolutely should.
So that way you're not tempted to trade, you know, any of the good pitchers in your system
that might be worth something.
So yeah, like both of these guys finish the year in double A,
so they will be, in theory, major league ready or be ready for the opportunity,
for the challenge of pitching at the big league level.
If you trade both of them in the same deal,
then your number six is Hancock and your number seven is Brandon Garcia,
who's got one year of starting, you know, under his belt.
I mean, he is my favorite of the three of Evans Morales.
But it's like, it's not like there's a big gap, right?
And it's not like there's a sure thing that he can help you.
And with Wu's injury issues, well documented, you know, and just the fickleness, is that a word?
The fickleness of pitcher injuries.
Like, you're not too far away.
And by the way, Hancock's got his own injury issues in his past to worry about.
So you're not too far away from having to rely on, you know, Brandon Garcia to make 15 starts for you.
And you hope nobody else gets hurt because after that, it's the Darren McCacken types.
You know what I mean?
And so it's you're really living dangerously here.
I'm just going to get out ahead of it in the comments.
We love Darren McCacken.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Did I recently purchase my Darren McCacken autograph card for the Jerry DePoto Draft
Binder?
I sure did.
Really?
Looks good.
Looks good.
But yeah, I'm concerned about this deal is that you're giving up a lot of your
pitching depth.
And just because it's not like super great pitching depth doesn't mean it's not important.
And frankly, Evans and Morales are better than Hancock right now.
So to give up both in a deal, a little bit on the fence.
But then again, India probably helps you at their base.
Diaz not very good this year, not terrible, just not nearly as good as he was in 2023.
So it might be fine low.
But there's a shot that Diaz is just Trent Thornton.
but I will point out again
100th percentile in extension
big extension guy
Diaz is so
yeah this is
it's a tough trade to judge
I also wonder you know
with the hiring of Francona
would the Reds even entertain a trade like this
where they're getting a bunch of prospects
basically
for two players that they're going to
to theoretically.
Well, they're getting Rojas
who...
Right.
More or less replaces India.
I mean, he might just be
loft-handed Jonathan India.
He might be, but now
you're trading Diaz for
you know, a couple
number five.
Well, you get
outfield depth.
And you get...
Is it depth, though?
And you get two guys
that are at least close to Major League
ready, they can pitch out of your rotation and they obviously need pitching help, especially on the
back end of their rotation. So, and they obviously really like guys from Seattle.
So we assume. I wonder though, because Francona is there, I don't think Francona signed on,
uh, to sit through the first couple stages of a reshuffle. No, no, they're trying to take that thing
to the next level, which me, I mean, could they trade Diaz and, and still take a jump next year? Yeah,
absolutely. They could. Well, and was India.
well with with india specifically i mean they they have steer and they have and mcclain's going to be
coming back and they have ellie obviously and incarnassee strand and no alvi and yeah so right
cam callier's coming up the pipeline pretty quick too like cam collier sure so i think they'll shop india i don't
have i don't have a problem with that um yeah i think when you just combine all these little
X factors, right? Like how
are the Reds going to attack this off season after hiring Francona?
It's not a move you make unless you can convince Terry Francona that you're in it to win
the Central next year.
The uncertainty of the Mariners and they're starting pitching depth giving up these
couple of guys, how are the Reds going to value Diaz coming off of a disappointing year
after he had a great year of the year before?
Like, is India and Rojas?
Is that even an upgrade for Seattle?
Is that even or is...
I have...
major concerns about Jonathan India. Yeah, we talked about India probably more than any
non-mariner on this podcast. His numbers outside of Great American Ballpark are
average at best and look he played third base in Florida, but he hasn't played it at the
major league level. No, he hasn't played in five years and that's probably what you're
requiring him to do is play third base not second for you.
Howard hasn't really ever been anything yeah.
And offensively, away from Great American Ballpark, he's pretty much been right-handed Josh Rojas.
Yeah.
And probably is a worst defender.
Right.
For a million dollars more than Rojas.
We could probably do like a whole 30-minute show on just this trade because there's a lot of little, you know, tentacles and, you know, decision tree things going on here.
I'm going to say 45.
I just don't know.
I don't know how to really value this.
Could be a 50.
It's the Diaz part that I get hung up on,
but I think like you're giving them interesting pieces.
I just,
to me,
the both of the pitchers is a bit rich for me.
Right.
Even though that I'm getting a really good reliever,
or at least someone that can be a really good reliever in Dias.
And I'm addressing
one of the positions of need for myself.
But again, I'm not sure
that India is that much better than Rojas.
You're paying a million dollars more.
You get India over Rojas.
You're also a pretty right-handed heavy lineup right now.
So you swap one of your lefty bats for a righty bat.
So I don't,
there's a lot of really interesting.
I think Diaz is a totally worthy like trade candidate.
I think India by himself,
unfortunately,
is going to make a lot of sense for the Mariners this winter
because it's just not a lot of options.
You can find them together.
It kind of gets kind of sticky.
And then you throw in the Mariners pitching depth questions in this.
It's just.
And then also there is a little bit of a monetary gain with the Mariners.
And is adding $5 million in payroll more or less to jump from India to Rojas.
Is that really worth it?
You do get Diaz out of it, though, too.
So, you know, it probably should give it a 50 just because it's very back and forth.
And it's, there's enough like, you know, tip.
for tat where you're like well yeah this but also this so probably yeah a really good job so 50
i'll go 50 50 50 maybe even 55 because it is a really interesting conversation starter i just um
yeah i don't really know how to feel about it from the merrier side of things it's really
just the india rojas element and the the two pitchers that i'm getting hung up on the most
with that would would you rather like if it was this deal but you got to keep evans and you instead
had to give up like locklear or pete type heat like would you give up a little more to keep one of
those pitchers just because of where you're at in your build i think at that point i'm just moving
moving on i think it's just i think it's just one prospect in that range too rich for me it's it's
it's more rich because it's two pitchers and that takes away more of my starting depth but even with
type p like that's just that's just too much for me what if instead of morales it was jito martinez still a pitcher
but a little bit further away.
Not going to back in the 2025.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Right.
But then at that point,
are the Reds interested
on the guy who sat far away?
So yeah,
nice deal.
It's just,
it's,
I mean,
it's something I can see happening,
and I don't know how I feel about it
from a mayor's perspective.
Yeah.
I do like Diaz quite a bit.
I just,
India, to me,
just so,
me,
that I just,
I have no idea how to value him in a trade.
He's a really difficult guy to pinpoint.
All right.
That is going to do it for our show.
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Have yourself a beautiful baseball day and we'll see you next time.
Peace.
