OverDrive - OverDrive - August 1, 2025 - Hour 3

Episode Date: August 1, 2025

Join Bryan Hayes and Dave Feschuk for the final hour of OverDrive for the week! The guys were joined by former MLB pitcher Trevor May to discuss the MLB trade deadline. Plus the guys revisit their conversation with Blue Jays General Manager Ross Atkins.

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Brian Hayes, Dave Festruck of the Toronto Star, Jay's Royals tonight. Trevor May coming up in a few moments. Lineups out. We've got Varsho back playing center field tonight. You got Ty France making his debut. He's going to DH tonight. Kirk still hurt. Springer still hurt.

Santander still hurt. Those are three guys that would be regulars, would be playing tonight. Not available to you. But Blattie's playing, Bichette's playing, Barger's hit in fifth, you know, and it's interesting. We're talking about this with Ross Atkins, and we'll revisit our chat with Ross a little bit later on. You know, like kind of adjusting your viewpoint,

you asked them, like, if I had it told you that Nathan Lucas would be leading off, Joey Lou Perfito would be hit in second. I think Clement playing second base. Because Jimenez is another guy who's going to play. Yeah. Like he doesn't hit as well as Ernie Clement, but he defends better. than Ernie Clement. Defensively, he's the best second baseman in the game,

which is an interesting transition here with Varsha coming back, arguably the best defensive center fielder, him and has eventually backed arguably the best defensive second basement. What does that do for your Varlens and your Dominguez types and your Hoffman types and Bieber when he makes his return? It's going to make those guys pretty happy. Run prevention, baby. Run prevention. But how does it affect the offense that has been so potent for a month, month and a half because Clements played well. And Barger's been great. And Lucas has had some really clutch home runs and big hits. And that's going to be the balancing act for John Snyder.

It can be a tough balancing act. A lot of choices. Yeah. Good problem to have, but also a difficult one. Yeah, exactly. Not everyone can play every day. And obviously it's situational. Who's on the mound and who you're facing and historical stats and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, and you throwing a guy like Thai France, who's a veteran guy who's going to be on the 26-man roster. He's going to be available to you daily. What do you do? Wentzinger returns. Kirk returns. Now you got Varsho here.

Santander's a different story. We've talked about it. Who knows when he's going to return? It's not going to be in August. So they don't have to worry about that for at least another 30, 35, 40 days. Yeah, Ross said it. First, he said day to day, and then he said week to week. Yeah. It sounds like maybe a month to month. Who knows if Santander is going to play? But him and as Ross did say,

should be returning relatively soon. So if him and he's going to play, he's going to hit 8th or 9th and you're every single day. He's never going to be a guy that you're going to put at the top of your lineup. But it's nice to have him. It's nice to have him. Yeah. And he's committed and they're paying him a lot of money, so he's

going to play. You know, it's just, I am curious to see what it looks like in two weeks if all these guys are back. Santon Dare notwithstanding. Where does Lucas fit in? Where does Lou Perfito fit in? Where does Ernie Clement fit in? Yeah. I don't know. Maybe they don't. Maybe they

don't. They certainly weren't, as Ross said, you know, you would have never envisioned a lineup on August 1st. Yeah. Leading off with Lucas, going to low Profito at number two. And Barger hit in 5th. Yeah. Like that's what's surrounding

Vladian Bichette tonight. Wild stuff, man. Yeah, it is. Yeah, it is. And it's worked for them and they've been fine and that is the question. I mean, maybe these reinforcements show up at the right time. I guess that's what I'm getting to is if at some point there's stumbling blocks or these guys, you know, snap out of it and realize, like you said earlier,

man, I'm Joey L. Profito and I'm hitting second on August 1st and for three and a half games up in the ALE East, what the hell is going on here? If a reality check kicks in, that's when him and his arrives, veteran, stable, prepared for this scenario. Varsho probably arriving at a perfect time. Springer will return. Kirk's going to return.

Ty France is a vet. It's been around a long time. Played in playoff. Been an all-star. Yes. So the balancing of youth with veteran presence, I think is important. And if and when the youth decides, if they do it all, that maybe they're hitting a bit of a skid.

That's when you've got to lean on the other guys. 100%. And that's why you have options. That's why you have depth. And that's the beauty of this season so far is that you've gotten such a bonus out of so many of these guys that you never expected to be key contributors that you're right. It's almost as though you're getting a second wave. back with Varsha coming back

and with, I mean, Santander may or may not, but Jimenez coming back and those are nice things to kind of be hitting you at a moment where you've let's face it, you've had a little stumble here. You went to Baltimore and it did not go well. Got to snap out of that. Yep. Yep, for sure.

No, I am, I think it's going to be a daily occurrence where there's debate over who's going to play where and what it's going to look like, you know, presuming health. Like, if there's a right-handed pitcher on a Mount Barger's playing, where is he going to play? Right.

Like now that Varsha's back, if he's healthy and playing, he's playing center field every single day. Worse. So that's happening. You know, the D.H. Roy,

you can play Springer there, but if not, you know, George is going to play right field. No doubt. More than likely. No doubt. You know,

so where is Barge are going to play? I don't think they're overly comfortable with him playing left field. Now he can't D. But I don't think they're overly comfortable with him playing third base, especially down the stretch. Because where he is tonight. Exactly.

so you know you got to find a role for him but it's a matter of where it's going to fit Ernie Clement the same thing like when Jimenez returns he's playing second base of course so where is Ernie going? Great question you know I don't know like I can I can guarantee this if they're healthy Kirk's catching Laddie's playing first him and is playing second Bichette's playing short Varsho's playing center field that we can guarantee

yeah and then you got to fill out what else what else are going to do Springer likely playing right field. So figure it out from there. Maybe Barger turns into a D.H down the stretch. Maybe back and forth with France. You know, France hits lefties, barger hits righties. The bat stays hot.

Yeah. He might make the case that you can't take him out. Yeah. But then Lucas, Luke Profito, are they simply going to be relegated to, you know, more or less bench duties, pinch hits, you know, giving guys days off? That's hard to stay hot.

Then it becomes almost impossible to explain. that out of the guy, you know, if they're not going to get everyday hacks. So, we'll see. We'll see what comes with it. But yeah, I'm curious to to see what the reaction is going to be tonight if they go to the bullpen

and one of the new guys comes out. Because, you know, Atkins effectively said that. You asked him about the Yankees. And he kind of took a shot at the Yankees and said they had much more glaring holes. Way more glaring holes. I'm putting words in his mouth. But they had more glaring holes.

You say glaring weakness is. their weaknesses than what we had. But he specifically referenced his bullpen. He said we had to attack our bullpen and they did that bringing in two arms where there's been somewhat of a philosophical

shift for them with their bullpen. I wish I asked Ross that because they had been prone to bringing in guys that threw kind of funkier pitches and had to hit their spots and you know they had a number of guys that was like, why is this

guy in the bullpen, he throws 91, 92, and he's always trying to hit you with off-speed pitches or throw change-ups or whatever. He made it very clear, and he referenced Terry Francona, and one of Frank Conan's, I guess, famous, you know, build them up speeches in clubhouses of the past that, like, be aggressive, go-out guys, and don't ever apologize for being,

you know, having that type of mentality. Never back down. Never back down, I believe, was the term he used. And that's what these. guys represent like varland and dominges represent guys they're going to throw 98 99 if you can hit it hit it here it is and hoffman the same thing yeah like i'm going to throw heat and if you can hit it good for you but i'm not going to stop and that's somewhat of philosophical change like they haven't had that really in the past it's been more of the garciras who are still here and guys

like that it's like all right what are they going to bring what if they're not on what if they don't hit their spots they're going to get crushed you're right and with hoffman like you asked about Hoffman and the fact that he's given up a lot of home runs and quite a few loudouts that make you shiver a little bit if you're a Blue Jays fan but Ross's point was hey that's going to come with going at people yeah we can accept it if you're going to challenge

if you're going to keep that mentality and keep that kind of aura that I guess he's got and I guess that can permeate through the rest of the bullpen all right here's former MLB himself you can catch his podcast the Mayday podcast back on overdrive here's Trevor May how you doing Trevor nice guys how are we doing we're doing okay yeah we're feeling pretty good up here uh how are you feeling

about the blue jays post trade deadline pretty good i thought they uh they had a couple nice little pieces um i mean i was a it was quite the deadline it's hard to keep track everywhere and everyone went everywhere i like it man we talked about it was a fan yeah we talked about it earlier that i like baseball it took them a long time to realize like you got to have a drop dead date you can't do this like waiver wire in August and all that crap like they had to get with the times like what the NHL does and majorly in NBA and NFL and they've established that now and this July 31st trade down line it was unbelievable yesterday there was so much activity it was great yeah never seen never seen anything like that especially the last couple years

especially since the playoffs expanded we it's been kind of a foregone conclusion that there's going to be a few teams that are absolute buyers and a few teams that are absolute sellers and then everyone else is kind of on the fence. It doesn't really know how to make a decision and that's what we've seen last few years. But it feels like they've gotten their sea legs under them and now everyone's ready to pull the trigger. So I'm not complaining. I had a great time. Well, the big news up here in Toronto, obviously Trevor, and the big excitement is around the Shane Bieber deal. Obviously, a risk-reward gamble for a former Sy Young winner, who's coming off Tommy John, and is still in the midst of his rehab process here.

He's going to pitch a rehab assignment on Sunday at Buffalo is the latest news for Bieber. But, you know, you're a guy who's pitched in the majors. You've seen a lot of stuff. I mean, what's your level of kind of comfort with the Blue Jays taking a risk of that nature? Well, I like it. I think even in terms of, you know, risk level, it is one of the, lower risk size, at least on terms of financial and commitment. You know, he's on a one-year deal.

Of course you wanted to work out, but like if it didn't, I don't think the world's ending either. We just, you know, we want to win and win now. And in that context, I think it's a great move because Shane Beaver's got a great track record. He has really never had a time where he was on a major league mound for any length of time and struggled ever. And that's a, I know there's been, there's Tommy John. and he's coming off an injury and there's a certain level of rustiness

that comes with that. If Brandon Woodruff has shown us anything this year, some guys can just not be rusty and they can come out sharp. And by all accounts, what I've heard anecdotally, from people who've seen some of his rehab starts, he's pretty sharp,

and that's a good sign. I was with Hunter Pence yesterday, covering the deadline here, and he was, James Bieber to Toronto, was the number one, that he loved, and I tend to agree. It's the top three for me.

I think the potential, the ceiling, could be absolutely huge for the team. And it's already a staff full of veteran guys with experience. Like winning and the experience of winning is not in short supply in that group. So you can add this guy in there as well, and it just comes down to how healthy, how sharp are we all feeling. But if you check all those boxes for this team, it's going to be a tough team to be. in a series. Well, Trevor, you're one of these pitchers during your career who underwent Tommy John and had to sit out a year.

I mean, what was when you came back, you know, when you were at the point where Shane Bieber is now, where you're actually throwing live pitches, your velocity is coming back. Like, what is the next step? What's the hardest thing to go from rehab assignment to major league game? I think it comes down to the speed of the game.

And just the level of adrenaline you get from the game, like, truly mattering. And there is a little bit of a disconnect in the minor leagues because sometimes, especially in AAA, you can get the feeling that you're almost playing spring training games, and you're just all trying to get ready to get to the big leagues. And the games don't feel like they matter as much. And that changes the moment you get to the major leagues. And it takes, sometimes it's a little bit of a shock to the same. system and some guys take a little bit longer than others. Fortunately, he is a starting

pitcher so you can go out. The game usually starts off a little bit more. Let's see how this thing's going. Let's get in the groove here. And so starters can kick that rust off and not be affected by adrenaline as much as say a reliever. Like for when I came back, it was, I was going in and I expected to be in leverage from the first time I was out there. And that could be a little frustrating if you're not quite to the 100% you know uh here it is hit it type of mindset so i think he's in a good position that is not really how he pitches anyways he is a guy who needs who locates who who you know uses that foreseen ball in and out on the edges of the zone and then just hits you with breaking balls and i think that uh there's no reason he can't dial that in in the in

the middle leagues and then just show up in the big leagues with all that stuff ready to go uh he's at a better position than say i would be for example. With Trevor May, so knowing what we know as of today on August 1st, who do you believe, who would you have more faith in having an impact on September and hopefully October with the Blue Jays? Shane Bieber or Max Scherzer? Oh, that's a, that's a dangerous question.

No, because I know Max. I got to make sure I don't get a text message. You know what? I'm going to give it to Max because he has pitched big league games recently. And there's a big, big, big, big question mark around when you have to pitch in the big leagues for a year or so and how you're going to respond right away. I am pretty confident that that's not going to affect Shane as much as maybe some other people. But I also don't know, you know, where the bill is. I don't really know where the stuff's at currently yet either.

And I've seen some, we've seen some good stuff out of max in times recently, you know, up to 95, sitting 95. the slider seems sharp the things that max needs to do to be successful we're seeing on a fairly regular basis and so i'm going to give him the edge also he's just a very scary person okay yeah exactly i think that's probably a wise play avoid you know going against max scherzer i don't blame you there uh go ahead dave hey no i was i was going to ask you Trevor uh obviously people in Toronto are excited about the Blue Jays editions and there's a lot to be said for them. People in New York who love that team in the Bronx,

I think were even more euphoric about the way Bryant Cashman addressed the weaknesses of the Yankees. What did you make of the Yankees really loading up at the deadline and how formidable does it make them in your eyes? Well, they got on the, the reliever train a little bit. Actually, to be honest, both New York teams pretty much took everyone's relievers. This was the year of the reliever for sure.

Now they both have three closers. So I think they did a good job of going and grabbing a lot of impact to really shore up the back into the bullpen. But I also don't think that that was their biggest need. I think a little more starting pitching maybe would have been. more of help. So I think that they're in good position if they can get a lead and have a lead in the sixth inning, I would have been having a good group of guys that can get that job done. But I think you've got to get the lead. And the starting pitching has to get you there. So did they get better? Yes. But they got better mostly in one area. And, you know, I think

they still had some weaknesses, some other areas that weren't addressed as strongly as the bullpen. But you can't deny that, you know, going to getting Camillo DeVall, going to grab two closers and some other guys who are having career years to go into your bullpen and really revamping it all at once is a positive for the team that gets to do it. Yeah. And they boosted their defensive play as well. They can hit home runs. You know, you presume Judge is going to be healthy. And if so, you know, that changes a lot as well, knowing that Aaron Judge is going to be available to you with Trevor May. now that we're post-trade deadline,

like how much has your kind of power rankings reshuffled, if at all? Do you still have the Dodgers as the clear-cut best team in the league? Do you think it's the Brewers, the Cubs? Do you think the Jays are there, Yankees? Like, where do things stand today for you as you project the rest of the way compared to where things stood before the trade deadline? I will say that I don't, the Dodgers are not the top of the board for me. They probably haven't been because they're a little bit in the wait-and-see moments.

We're going to see what they get back off the IL in the next two or three weeks, and that's going to be really telling because that's what their trade deadline is going to be, which I think makes sense because they have, you know, MVP's and Cy Young Award winners waiting to come back. So I would think on that, too, if I were them. But I would say the Padres just got super scary. I thought grabbing Luriano and O'Hern, was just a huge deal, especially,

and then grabbing Mason Miller and J.P. Sears had some more depth into the rotation. That's a really well-rounded team. They were already really, really good, in my opinion, but they're only three games back in the Dodgers. They are, they are, I would be, I would not be feeling very comfortable if I were the, the blue team. I thought they did a really good job too. So actually, we talked about this today. I talked about this with some of the guys that work with me in my,

offices we were with the matchups were right now i believe uh it's one of the best wild card rounds you know ever uh with like the yankees and the red sox would would line up uh the mess and the ponderays would line up um i believe uh there's there's another one that's great and it's just it would be you guys and it would be the uh the brewers all kind of waiting to see what what happens so um oh and then and and philly would be taken on uh the other game that I'm forgetting. The Mets, I think, isn't it? Who would they be playing right now?

Philly. Who's left? Well, it's, Mets, Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, maybe Padres. You know, those are kind of what we're looking at. Yeah, that's how we kind of shake out and these big matchups

that we'd be looking for right out of the gate. So I'm feeling, honestly, I'm feeling much better about the teams that are in the wild card situations with what they did, at least in the National League, because I thought the Brewers couldn't done a little bit more, but they like their teams. So it's interesting. It's like you can't fault the teams that didn't do a ton that are leading their divisions

because they've done it all year with the guys they had and kind of unexpected. So why worry about it now? But then you also got to look at the teams got way better. So things get shaken up really fast here, especially August is going to be interesting. It's going to be fun. Yeah, we're into the stretch run now, post-trade deadline, post-all-star break. he is former MLV pitcher himself. You can catch the podcast, the Mayday podcast.

He's Trevor May. Great catching up with you, Trevor. Thank you for doing us. Of course, guys. Thank you. Chat soon. There is, Trevor May. Yeah, I mean, the National League sets up.

Like, you've got big-time battles, like Mets, Phillies, Brewers, Cubs, Dodgers, Padres. You know, and only five of those teams are going to make, or I guess all six can possibly make it. You have three division winners and then three wildcard teams, but who's going to end up winning the top two seeds in the National League? It's up for grabs. It could be any combination or really any of those teams still. I mean, they're separated.

Those one, two, three, four, five, six teams are separated by four wins. I mean, Padres have 60 at the bottom and Brewers and Cubs have 64 at the top. So it's just like there's... Give me a great stretch run. It's absolutely crazy. And the fact that the Dodgers have kind of been sleepwalking through the season. Well, and they've had a lot of injury problems. But if they start getting guys back into the lineup and then they snap out of it,

they have the most potential to be just a juggernaut really. Like remember us? Like, yeah, we're back. Big time. And as you can see, Fandual Future Odds World Series, they're plus 240. Dodgers are plus 240. The books don't want to give up on it. They don't want to give up on them.

I'd say that's pretty wild. We're not giving long odds on the Dodger. No, I wouldn't blame them. Milled on Friday, brought you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch.

Your local, Boston Pizza will sneak in. Dear hazy beer, two later in the hour. Best bet still to come. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN2. From tariffs to trade deals, the markets are changing. Is your portfolio ready for what comes next? For all your questions, you need a money guy.

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A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. All right, best match a little bit later in the hour. Snick in a deer hazy beer too as well. Jay's Royals tonight. Shane Bieber's down at the dome and he's going to do a bullpen session and then pitch for the Bisons on Sunday in Buffalo. I guess he's meeting with the media.

Looks good in the Blue Jay's uniform. Yeah. A lot of excitement. said he feels good about where he's at. It's all good. You know, that's the big get. Farland will be active tonight. Ty France is going to be playing.

He's D.H. in tonight. Dominguez will be in town. Likely pitching coming off an off day yesterday. He'll pitch. Right? So you got Gossman on the mound. Gossman's been pitching really well post all-star breakout.

Standing. Back-to-back starts been great. Royals in town. They don't hit great, but they pitch okay. Starters are going to face. It's going to be a little bit difficult. But Jay's are in a good spot. They've got to get cooking here.

After a little bit. bit of a stumbling block. Yeah. Right? Losing three or four against Baltimore. He lost the last game in Detroit. Getting blown out in Baltimore. Yeah, they got, like the first couple of games, they got blown up, blown up.

But Casey for three, then Colorado for three, and then it gets cooking again. Dodgers, Cubs around the corner. But caught up with Ross Atkins, GM of the Jays, a little bit earlier this afternoon. And obviously, he's happy with his work. But we began by asking him, you know, how comfortable he would have been possibly at more at the trade deadline than he actually did? Depends on how you define more. There was other ways to, you know, think about on the margins.

Are there small things that we can continue to do that we were certainly considering until the last second? And, you know, there was other deals that we were in where, you know, prices were different and some were steeper. So you just, we were in a position where we were. able to accomplish our goals and fired up about that. And yes, but to your first question, the price matters. You know, you're doing bad deals.

That's going to sting at one point. No doubt about it, Ross. And obviously, the price matters and the risk tolerance also matters when it comes to making a deal for a guy who's in the midst of a rehab assignment like Shane Bieber. I mean, take us through, like, the level of due diligence you had to do to be comfortable that trading for Shane Bieber would be the risk reward that you wanted it to be?

Yeah, it's a fair question, Dave, a good one. And it starts with us having firsthand knowledge of the player, having a couple of our staff members that have worked with him in the past and then all of our work that we've done to continue to learn about Shane and how he's improved as a professional

and how he's gone through this rehab process. Obviously, there was the medical evaluation that was paramount for this decision. But I think the biggest piece that gave us enough comfort, obviously, to make the decision, was his last rehab outing, just seeing how effective he was, the stuff was back to as effective as it's ever been. And in today's game, that's not just our eye telling us that and hitter swings telling us that. We have that down to the data point, you know, and that I know it's not the sexiest thing to talk about, but we have very, very good information and telling us how effective he currently is. So what is the best case scenario for Shane Bieber as a Blue Jay?

Well, we're, he's pitching in a World Series for us and starting, you know, a game or two and effective throughout those. So it's important to have options. It's important to have, you know, guys who have shown that they can handle that level of pressure before. And then we just added another one of them to the mix for us. So, you know, we're going to need to have some depth in different areas. We were able to acquire it in this particular one and high-end starting pitching. And obviously, there's still a few steps for him to make. But it was a really good fit for us, given the way we're currently.

constructed. He has a player option next year. Where does the future of Shane Bieber and the Blue Jays currently stand beyond this year? Yeah, I mean like if he came to us today and said, hey, I'm just going to pick that up. We're probably having a real discussion. You know, it's just so exciting to think about him in this organization moving forward. So we're open we're, you know, we are obviously extremely interested or we wouldn't have given up such a significant piece, but for now we're just focused on the impact of this year. When you look at Alan Rodin as an interesting guy, you moved out at the deadline, Ross. You know, thinking back to the opening day, he was a big story out of spring training,

and the promise that was within that young man, now he's no longer with you. Take us through sort of, you know, the ups and downs of that career and why you ended up, you know, kind of parting ways. Yeah, I mean, that one was. a very difficult decision. He's going to be an effective Major League player. I have very little doubt. He's going to help them in the short term and in the long term, and

I'm going to be pulling for them. But that's the price to pay and the price to play. And to acquire someone that can impact us as much as Louis Varlane today, we weren't going to get them without Allen Rodin involved. That was 100% clear.

And that, you know, it's just part of it where you have to make difficult decisions. And Varlane and Dominguez, your two bullpen arms we've spoken of beaver but let's talk about these two guys and what they bring to the table for you um how how much do you believe you've improved your bullpen with the acquisition of these two guys yeah a lot um so to to put two guys in that you feel you could pitch in virtually any inning uh and you know that you know me most importantly that you would feel very good about them in the seventh eighth or ninth against

left handed or right handed hitters and um especially against right handed hitters for both of those guys. They dominate them, but we're comfortable with those guys facing. Obviously, we just saw Sir Anthony do it in a very, very left-handed hitting team in Baltimore. So adding those guys to the group that we have already and Brendan Little and obviously Jeff Hoffman, Jarrell Rodriguez, hopefully we get Jimmy Garcia back and how effective some of our younger guys and Fisher and Flew Hardy have been. That's a really strong bullpen. So And it's also has some versatility and, you know, some differences to it that allow us to attack different lineups in different ways. We've talked, you know, a lot about Jeff Hoffman on our show this year.

And I think it's safe to say he's had some ups and downs. His stats, you know, don't jump off the page. He's been hit pretty hard. He's given up a fair amount of home runs. How concerned are you with, you know, his plus? or his, you know, the way he currently stands? And are you a believer that that'll clean itself up as we get down the stretch here? Yes, obviously we are, you know, we believe that he is going to be very effective down the stretch.

And are we concerned, no. The, you know, all day long, one of the best, you know, I guess clubhouse statements I've, I've ever heard from a manager, at least in the baseball world. And the baseball clubhouse is it's not a, place for as much as it is in maybe football and hockey and maybe even the NBA for just the rah-rah and and you know fire guys up types of speeches but one of the best statements I've ever heard was from Terry Francona talking to his team about things that he never wanted to see and one of them was I never want to see it back down and that's what we feel like

we've established is a lot of guys that aren't going to do that we throw the ball over the plate early on we did give up some home runs we do think that is going to that number has already come down significantly but we got some guys coming after you and the result of that sometimes is home runs but the stuff is is real on all of them and just as good as anyone's against right-handed and left-handed pitching so we would never want him to back down and we feel like he's the type of athlete and pitcher that can make adjustments and we'll do ross hayes and i were just talking about the sort of the unexpectedness of the performance of this team when it comes to sort of the depth of contributions you've had from guys that maybe some of us didn't see

coming. I'm sure you certainly saw it much differently. But if I were to have said to you on opening day that you'd be leading the American League on August 1st and leading off would be Nathan Lucas and hitting second would be Joey Loperfito, what would you have said? Not likely. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's, I mean, listen, like, we obviously have believed in this team. I think I've said that a few times. Yep. Yes, you have.

But it takes depth, and it takes time for that depth to show. And then we had the opportunity to acquire some players last year and the time for guys like Addison Barger to develop and opportunity for guys like Loper Fido and now Nathan Lucas to just show what they can do. So, you know, we did feel very good about our 40-man roster coming into the year. But, you know, that was not a plan that we were going to have those two guys in the one-and-two-hole. And it's going to work for now. They probably won't be there for the rest of the year.

But maybe one of them will be. but I am fired up for the success. Obviously the team and organization for the city, but I am fired up for the individuals as well. I'm really happy for them. Yeah, and there, I mean, it's, Luke has been really good. Luke Profito's been very good recently.

You got Barger hit in fifth playing third tonight. You got Ernie Clement playing second hit in eighth, I believe, in the lineup this evening. And I'm curious how, you know, we always talk about projections and had a pretty good feeling of how your veterans are going to handle August and September, you know, chasing a pennant, chasing the American League East.

How do you get a read on how Nathan Lucas or Addison Barger or Ernie Clement are going to possibly handle this? Like the dome's packed every single night. The city's buzzing. These guys are, you know, they're big-time celebrities now in Toronto because of how well they're playing and how everything is so positive at this point. How do you project, you know, how a young guy could handle this because it's a very different spotlight?

Yeah, I agree. And I think having Varsho back in the mix, Jimenez, relatively soon back in the mix, hopefully Anthony Santander back in the mix, complimenting with Thai France. And, you know, just not having George and Alejandro Kirk, we've seen that hit. So missing Varsho, Jimenez, Santander, George Springer, and Alejandro Kirk is why we have the one and two hole you're talking about. Right. And those guys are all coming back as the plan. So that will take a lot of pressure off the names you mentioned.

But we're not going to the World Series and winning it if they can't handle it. So we believe they will and believe they can. Well, you might not be going to the World Series and winning it if you don't get past a certain evil empire from down in the Bronx, Ross. And as much as people are excited and you're fired up and your fans are fired up with all the moves you made to improve the team, the folks down in New York City are fired up with the Yankees going

maybe even bigger you could argue in terms of bolstering their bullpen and their defense on the left side what did you make of the way the Yankees were so aggressive at the deadline yeah I mean I think they had more glaring holes than we did those were clear

opportunities to make significant ads for them and ours was just much more clear in our bullpen So I don't want to talk about their acquisitions or compare them necessarily, but Louis Varlane and Sir Anthony Dominguez are high-impact late-in relievers that can chase anybody and get swing and miss and aren't going to back down that we are very glad to have. With Ross Atkins, and I think that description obviously fits Max Schurzer probably better

than anyone we've seen in baseball the last 15 or 20 years. And Scherz will be back in a mound tomorrow night. How much confidence do you have in his health? How confident can you ultimately be? And I asked you earlier, like, what's the best case scenario for Shane Bieber? I guess I'll apply that to Max Scherzer. What do you see over the next two, maybe three months? Yeah, I mean, similar answer.

And I agree. You know, that competitiveness and tenacity that you can see and feel through the television screen is as real as I've ever seen, and it does impact our clubhouse and others in a real way. And that was part of the plan and part of the acquisition that we were, you know, hoping would have such an impact. So I think, you know, my confidence in his return to forum has just continued to elevate because of, one, the effectiveness, the life on his pitches, the swinging miss,

punching out 10 guys, I don't care who you are or what the name is on the back of your jersey or who you're facing, that's a real good sign that he's getting that much swing and miss. And so I think as he gets back in, you know, each start seemingly has just gotten better and better. So I'm extremely confident he is. And then I think secondarily the way that he's talking about his confidence in himself and what he's thinking about and how he's talking about what's ahead gives us a great deal of confidence that he's going to be a big part of our success. What's the level of confidence, Ross,

that your big off-season acquisition on the offensive side of the ball, Anthony Santander, will actually be able to contribute, be healthy enough to contribute this season. And at one point does it become a matter of maybe moving on to hoping for a healthy next season? Yeah, I mean, well, that will be, that will be, that will, just take day of the time. I don't, you know, we're right now just planning for him to impact us at some point, whether that's, you know, later this month or mid-September or just for the playoffs.

All of that would be a positive because of his experiences and just the real threat to put the ball on the seats and they have really good at bat. So we'll just take it, you know, really kind of a week at a time. And right now we're just optimistic and hopeful that he will make an impact. With Ross Atkins, GM of the J's Jays Royals tonight down at the Rodgers Center. Bulbushet's had a great, great season, and, you know, his numbers have been off the charts. He's hit cleanup again tonight, obviously ever since he moved. On the lead-off role to the cleanup position, he's just been a rocket for you.

And now that you're past the trade deadline, you know, the contracts are coming, and you know that the off-season is when a lot of business takes place. And I'm curious, you can give us an update on where things stand, you know, between the team, Bichette, and his future as a Blue Jay? Do you want me to give you all the dialogue? Yes, everything you've got, everything you have, verbatim, please. Yeah, I mean, it's not something we can ever, really. I know it's so disappointing for fans.

I wish I could. It just decreases the likelihood of getting something done and him being here for some time. The desire's there. He loves it. He loves the momentum of the organization. and, man, I, you know, talked about this with a lot of my friends, just watching him get celebrated right now at the level that he is is so fulfilling for me.

And right now we're all focused on how are we going to win today and what is best for this team and organization. And so unearthing that would be, you know, me talking about that would be somewhat of a distraction. So you're not going to go Jerry Jones on a say, Ross. No, I'm not going to go. the Rick Bushland level. Yes. There you go.

We appreciate that. Although I would love you to do that at some point. Who came up with that? The Rick Bushwood level of concern. That is so good. Yeah, it's a good one. I don't, I mean, the audio, JP, you can drop it if you want.

I mean, we... Six Bush Light, six Bud Light, and I love him, tall boys. That's our boy. He lives in Hamilton. He's actually like, he's probably a massive Blue Jay fan, Ross. He's probably watching right now

and wondering what's going to happen with Bichette in the future. And now he's like, why are you guys talking about me? as opposed to Beau. But yeah, listen, Bo's been, you know,

he's been great. And obviously there's, we're always going to discuss, you know, your superstar players. And Vladdy, you know, he's got his contract done.

He's got his money. He's been very healthy and he's performing. And how much, how much more do you think is, is there for Vladie, in terms of performance and stats in particular?

And how much is needed for this team to ultimately reach its, its potential. Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I think he's doing it. I think he's doing it. I think,

If he just keeps doing what he's doing, then, you know, I think there's probably some focus on the home runs, and those will come. It's just, it's such a talk about cliche, you know, but you can't try to hit him, you know, and he doesn't need to. He is one of the best hitters in the game as it stands right now, and if he just continues to be himself, like, you know, he gets pitched around a little bit, he's taking his walks, the quality of his contact is elite. and he is a massive, massive threat in the middle of our lineup.

As long as he continues to do that, we'll be fine. Yeah, and he loves to play ball, man. We've talked about it. Like Dave and I, Ross, you've been on the show a lot over the years, and I've always admired that. I mean, you would expect it. You're supposed to want to perform and play, but you've got to drag him off the field,

and I would think that's contagious. He's always on the top step. He seems to be in on every single pitch. You know, there's a lot of value in that. It is. I, you know, it's like the, the, what comes first, the confidence of the success is the conversation that no one will ever figure out and no one will ever have the answer to, but the, that playing with joy comes from, in my opinion, not just loving the game, but the game not being so stressful. And how do you create that? I'm not sure, but Vladie definitely has it, and it is a massive impact on us.

we'll get you out of here with an update on George in Alejandro Kirk so they're both currently on the IL you put George on the retroactive seven-day concussion IL everything all good with those two do you believe by hopefully the end of the

weekend you got better answers if not by next week they're both playing where do things stand on their status Kirk and Springer yeah I'm so grateful for that protocol because of just the risk around it that it's taking it out of the player's hands and we are going to be safe there, but we are extremely optimistic.

Alejandro is feeling great. George is feeling, maybe just a touch behind, but 100% in his words. But because they demonstrated some level of concerning symptoms, we're always going to err on the side of making sure that the human being is first. But we're extremely encouraged by how they're feeling today. and we'll see them soon is what today's information is telling us back on the playing field. Perfect. And then Beaver's on the mount on Sunday.

Is that the plan down in Buffalo? Is that the hope? Yeah, that is the plan. He's probably already thrown a bullpen today, and we'll be excited to hear about that. So he's really good to have him in our clubhouse. Is that a car service move? We were discussing that earlier. He's not staying in Buffalo.

Is it straight down the QEW and right back, or what happens on Sunday? Yeah, he'll hang out with us. Yeah, that's the veteran move. Absolutely. All right, Jay's Royals tonight. Good luck this weekend, and we always appreciate you finding time for us. Thank you, Ross. Hi, Brian, and Dave.

Thanks for having me all. You got it. There is, Ross Atkins. Right into Dear Hazy Bee brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a side, and a drink, and you get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food.

See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston Pizza. So we've had people tweeting in saying, Dear Hazy Beat, do we road trip it down to Buffalo? Absolutely. Yes, you do. Saturday night. Stay Saturday night. Have yourself a great time.

It's a pretty good party town in the summer. Wings, beers, whole nine, Bison's game Sunday, come back with Beaver Sunday night. Yes. Unreal play. Great play. And it's a long weekend.

Enjoy yourself, right? I might be doing that. Yeah, I don't mind that play. Like, you can get to from downtown Toronto to Buffalo. And the Bison Stadium's really cool. It's cooked right into the city. Really good. It's a really, really cool park.

And you can be round-trip that, man. You don't even have to stay the night. Tickets are 20 bucks. Yeah, go down Sunday morning. Grab lunch down that at a great spot. Grab wings. Go to the game. You'll be home by like 7 o'clock.

Great. Unreal play. Great ballpark food there, too. Yeah, really cool park, man. Like, really, like, steeped into the city, like in the skyline and everything. It's a really cool place. All right, best bet's coming up.

We'll wrap up what's been a busy afternoon. Overdrive continues. TSN 1050 and on TSN2. From tariffs to trade deals, the markets are changing. Is your portfolio ready for what comes next? For all your questions, you need a money guy. Kelvin, the money guy, will help you develop a financial plan that includes the right levels of diversity.

The best way to navigate uncertain times. With strategic advice from Kelvin, you can not only protect your investments, you can grow them. Don't wait. Call 416-457 plan or visit ask kelvin.cai.a. Dear Hasey B is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree, a site, and a drink, and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less.

A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. All right, Best Fets powered by Fanduel. Make your picks and assemble a same game parlay in seconds on the Fandual Sportsbook app. I'm going to parlay two Blue Jay plays tonight. Gosman over five and a half strikeouts. He has been dialed in his last two outings. And I think he racks up seven, eight strikeouts I could see tonight.

I'm on the over five and a half. And tie France to record a hit. Feel good story. Making his debut as a Jay. He's played well against Walker throughout his career. He's on the mound for the Royals tonight. That paying about plus 200. Best bets powered by Fanduel.

First inning means as much as the ninth when you bet baseball and the fan to Sportsbook. Yeah, police play responsibly 19 plus physically located in Ontario. All right. The new guys are activated. Bar show is activated tonight. I think we're going to see all of them tonight. Certainly throughout the weekend. You got Gosman, Scher Bassett for the Jays. Big weekend. And you got summer tomorrow morning. Summer McIntosh. She gets Ledecki. Yes. A little past eight tomorrow. Four for four tomorrow?

In Ladecki's race. This is the only race that summer can probably lose, right? Okay. Never beat her in this one in a big meal. didn't even make the final of the Olympics in this event. Let's get after it tomorrow. But Ledeck is the all-time great, and I love the Summer McIntosh's going after her. Let's get after it tomorrow. Let's win this thing. Let's set a new world record.

Let's be happy with a win, right? Knock off a legend. Knock off a legend. Summer McIntosh. The summer of summer again. We just had it. We're doing it again. Might be a few more to come.

I think they're likely will be. All right, Dave, good seeing you, man. Great seeing you. Have a great long weekend. Thanks to everyone behind the scenes for helping out. Appreciate it. Everyone for tuning in. TV radio podcast web and of course up on YouTube live. We're out of here. Enjoy your evenings. Enjoy your weekends. We're back Monday at 4 p.m. We'll chat then. Mail it in Friday is brought to you by Boston Pizza, Canada's favorite sports bar. Enjoy $15 lunch at BP where you get an entree of site and a drink and you'll get it all in 20 minutes or less. A fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Tate McRae

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