OverDrive - OverDrive - July 31, 2026 - Hour 2 - Steve Phillips

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

Join Al’s Brother and Dave Feschuk for Hour 2 on OverDrive! TSN Baseball Insider Steve Phillips joins the show to discuss Kevin Gausman’s future in Toronto, if the Jays should consider Louis Varland offers, and if a possible lockout in 2027 could affect how teams pursue buying. The guys play “The Filter” and discuss which NHL superstar will be the first to surpass $20M AAV on their next deal. The show wraps up with FanDuel Best Bets.

It is a mail-it-in Friday edition of Overdrive, 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 can get it all in 20 minutes or less. The fast lunch doesn't have to be fast food. See you for a $15 fast lunch at your local Boston pizza. Mike DiStefano, filling in for Hasey B. Got Dave Fetchuck of the Toronto Star with me. I think Hayes down at the game tonight. Just on Instagram, you posted a photo of.

of the statute down at Rogers Center. So maybe Hazy B playing hooky to go to the game tonight. Should be a good one, though. Dylan C's on the mound. He's become appointment viewing for me. So I think Hacy B made the correct call. Friday of a long weekend. You cut off work and you go watch the Jays game.

Pretty solid move from the veteran. The weather's perfect. Great night to be at the ballpark. Even if the team stinks, it's a great night to be at the ballpark. Yeah, I think so. A couple of rosters. moves, though, from the Jays to announce. Looks like Braden Fisher is

rejoining the team. Adam Makko is option to AAA along with Johenric Pinyango, because Jesus has been activated off the injured list. Expected to be in the lineup tonight, I'd imagine. Timing of this move doesn't seem to be

all that random. Little showcase for Hesu Sanchez ahead of the deadline. What do you think? Yeah. I mean, it's possible. I know he's been on a lot of lists of potential trade He was playing really well at one point this season. Like, I remember the memes out there that he had a better OPS and a higher wins above replacement than Kyle Tucker. Yeah.

Through the first, like, three months of the season. And, you know, the injury came and he hasn't, you know, really played a whole lot. Getting him one final series to show teams that he's healthy and capable of being an outfield bat for you potentially. Yeah, I think that it makes a lot of sense to try and get him in there and see what he can do. I'm with you. I mean, hey, everything must go, man. If it can get you something back that you could use in a long term, to your point from earlier in the show, if it can make you better next year and maybe for a few years to come.

You want something with control, obviously. The Shapiro Atkins front office is all about team control, baby. So bring back pieces with team control as much as you can between now and Monday at 6 p.m. and then suddenly maybe things look a little brighter in the future, if not in the immediate now. I think Kevin Gosman is scheduled to start tomorrow. Probably going to be his final start as a Toronto Blue Jay after five quality seasons. I mean, this guy has been more than advertised, I think, since coming to Toronto. He's been a blessing for the Blue Jays.

An outstanding addition when they signed him. He's been an ace for the squad, likely going to be his final. dark tomorrow and, you know, just makes you think, like, could tomorrow have any bearing on his market when it comes to Kevin Gosman at all? I'll tell you what, if it goes like Shane Bieber's most recent start, it could in a negative way. I think, you know, anytime you do something that makes people go, hang on a second, what's going on there, like walk six guys in two-thirds of an inning, a la Bieber.

But I don't think that's going to happen for Gosman. I mean, but I'm saying, like, you can obviously hurt yourself as a trade piece. So here's an interesting actually, funny you bring that up. I, you know, it was driving in today, and I was listening to, I think I was listening to Dan Patrick on the way in. And they were talking about how Casey Mize got scratched from his start today with the Tigers. Right. Casey Mize might be involved in a deadline deal, so they want to protect their asset. Any thought you think into protecting your assets?

Last said, you know, we were talking about a guy like Kevin Gosman. Because you mentioned an injury. He could go out and throw six walks in two-thirds of an inning. Like, I don't know if that ever is something that will pop in your mind. I guess the difference here is, I guess, Gosman probably earns that final start if he wants it at the dome. Yeah, I think so. On the road, maybe, but at home probably earns the opportunity to go out there and pitch.

Probably. I mean, I also think, like, there's a little. little bit of, you know, you've got to show that he's still, you know, a good picture. Like, he's still, like, he's still intact, right? He's 35 years old, right? You got to, like, there's, there's, there's, there's, there he is. He can still, you know, hit the zone. He can still get it up into the velocities that you expect if you trade for him. I mean, there's, teams are moderning this stuff, right? Like, it's, guys fall off and, you know, things happen. So, you know, you don't, you

don't want, I mean, ideally you'd want to pitch really well tomorrow and then send him on his way for really good value before Monday at 6 o'clock. Yeah, it sounds like Vladdy also feeling better and going to be back in the lineup for the Jays tonight as well. So you got see something out. Look out. Yeah, Vladdy back in the line up. Tonight's tonight. Well, here's a question. I saw someone put this out on Twitter. Like, they're only five and a half games back. If they sweep the Cardinals this weekend, does that change? anything for you come Monday afternoon? Probably not Monday afternoon.

I think if you're Ross Atkins, you've got to be looking ahead. You can't be, you can't be gambling on faint hope rallies. If you're three games out of the playoffs on Monday, that'd be tough to throw in the towel. Yeah, it wouldn't be that tough. You don't think? Because you get the worst offensive baseball. Like right now you do, and I don't know,

if you start exploding for, you know, crazy amounts of runs in the next three games, maybe you start to say, and Vladdy hits, you know, God forbid he hits a home run at Rogers Center or maybe two. Imagine that. I mean, that would be crazy, wouldn't it? Maybe you say, hey, we've turned a corner, but I can't see it. I mean, first of all, they're not sweeping anybody. They haven't swept anybody in how long. I know. And they just haven't, they just haven't gotten on those runs. And they've had plenty of opportunities. But I know what you're saying, like it's, like the beauty of this system, or maybe

the not so great thing about this system if you're a GM that can't figure out to sell or buy, is that almost nobody's completely out of it. Well, I just find it funny, because if there were no expectations on the Blue Jays, right, like think about, I don't know, what was a waste year, like, oh, wow, 2009

was kind of like a no man's land for the Jays, right? Like the early 2010s before that big Marlins had plenty of them. Got of a wasteland type of season. If they were only four games out of a wildcard spot at that moment, they would have been all in and like buying, like, oh, we're buying, we're close.

Like, we want to make the playoffs. And there would have been, I think, an aggressiveness to add and be buyers at the deadline. Yeah. But because there was such sky high expectations this season, it feels like being four and a half, five and a half games out. It's just like, why bother? Yeah. Well, it's not just the five and a half, though, right?

It's the five teams between you, between you and that final wildcourt spot. It's actually six because. You know, if you count the team that's in the final walkout spot, which is the Cleveland Guardians who happen to have the second worst offense in Major League Baseball. So you got to leapfrog all those teams. And, you know, it's not easy to do that, as you know, because you got to go on a hell. You got to go on one of those Red Sox-esque, you know, franchise record-threatening win streaks.

And where have been the signs that that's coming? They haven't been there. They haven't been there. But there's a chance. There's always a chance. joining us now on the Maple Toadah hotline, Steve Phillips or TSN MLB Insider. How's it going, Steve?

I'm doing great, guys. Good to be with you. Good to be with you as well. We were just chatting about how the Blue Jays, they're five and a half games out of a playoff spot. And in other years, when teams are five and a half games out, they still might be considered buyers or contenders being, you know, somewhat relatively close. It doesn't seem like the Jays are happy about where they're at.

No, I think that it's one thing you're five and a half out and your five games over 500. It's another when you're 10 games, nine games under, right? I think that that's the difference is they're not playing baseball like a playoff contending team. It just doesn't feel like it's there. The energy's not there. Kevin Gosman actually, you know, that they don't feel as close as they did a year ago. A part of that is that, you know, when you're not winning or when guys are really struggling, it's hard you get so introspective that you don't connect.

with each other because you're lost in your own head and it feels like that's kind of where many of the Jays are right now. So, yeah, to me, they're sellers. I don't think there's any question about that. And we're going to start to see some of those, the Gossmans and Bers and Varshos

and guys like that start to get moved. So when you look at those, I mean, we were just talking about when you're a GM, Steve, and you've got a guy you very well, probably will trade in Kevin Gosman. Is there, is there are any sort of, you know, motivation to say, hey, Kevin, maybe you don't start tonight.

Maybe we just, maybe we sit you down. Maybe we just protect our assets. And, you know, you can go about your merry way, you know, when we trade you before Monday at 6 o'clock. Like, how much do you think that would be factory into Ross Atkins' decision-making process in the lead up to time? I think it should. Yeah, I think it should. I think the Mets scratch Freddie Peralta from his start because they're going to trade them. And I think that it's important that if you're going to bring back assets for the organization

and if you get out from under some of the money, I think it's an important thing to do. You know, it's the right thing to do. So, you know, I would scratch guys and just tell them that, look, we're not going to take a chance with doing anything just to protect it. If nothing happens in the trade market, then we'll throw me right back into the rotation. But as it stands right now, we've got to make sure we're protecting this moving forward. So I would definitely be taking those sorts of precautions. Well, what about the sentimental aspect of it?

The Gosman's been here five years. He's been a cherished member of the team, a really good citizen, expressed his love for the community and all the rest of it. And, you know, he wants that last start, or at least he's talked about how there's certainly been a sentimental aspect to it. Does that factor in at all, Steve? No. I mean, you know what I'll do is, you know,

I'll give him a bigger hug and hold them a little bit longer. and then pat him on the back a little bit harder and, you know, give him that opportunity. You know, if a trade happens, you know, it's the handshake and hugs in the dugout, right? That it happens during the game. And then, you know, you can flash on the scoreboard. You know, Kevin Gosson has been traded and let him come out

and tip his cap to the crowd. But I don't, I'm not going to give him the start out of sentimental value because it's not, it's not, it's, I get it. And emotionally, I would want to be able to do that, but it's not the right thing. If you let him pitch and he gets hurt and you can't make the trade and you don't get out from the money and you don't add the prospects to the organization, it would be baseball malpractice. Steve, there seems to be an ongoing debate that's been happening for a couple of weeks now when it comes to Louis Varlane, who just continues to increase his trade value.

Like, what's that debate like in the front office do you think right now between Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro and the rest of the front office personnel when they're discussing the possibility of moving on from Louis Varland. Like what type of package would it take for you to say, okay, yes, let's do it? Or, Steve, is this a player that's just too good that you think could be part of your team long term that you wouldn't even entertain an offer on? Yeah, I would never say anybody's untouchable. But what I would tell teams is that you could try to knock my socks off and throw offers at me.

I'm not really looking to negotiate on it. So you can try to wow me to get me to trade them. But, you know, we do think we're going to be able to compete next year. We think he's part of that answer for us for next year. It doesn't mean that, you know, that there's not a way I'd move them. But I don't know what the price is. I'll only know it when I hear it. So knock yourself out.

And let people come at me with it. And they might, you know, they might. And I would say no, no, no, no. until I'd say like, oh, oh, maybe. But I would really let them, you know, keep coming at me with it. Because, you know, I mean, when it comes to closers, if not Mason Miller to be moved this year, you know, Luke Weaver's a guy that had saved some games that I think the Mets are listening on a little bit. But Varland's a whole other, you know, level, you know, between Luke Weaver and Mason Miller that, you know,

I think it would take a really significant package to do something. Steve, I read your great piece on tsn.ca, which I would highly recommend to everybody how the Blue Jays should approach the trade deadline is the headline. And you know, you do a great job in analyzing. You even offer some predictions of where you think various Blue Jays will end up. You got Gosman going to the Cubs, Bieber to the Rangers, Springer to the White Sox. But I wanted to ask you, like, in a lot of the trades that you're sort of predicting, and it's not easy to do. obviously. It's not hard to see the forest through the trees at this time of year, I understand. But you're talking about the Jay's getting second-tier prospect, third-tier prospect,

one or two of each for various players. How much do you think the Blue Jays would also be trying to, at this point, acquire actual major league players with club control so they could sort of advance the cause of next year? So I think that when you're trading away the guys that they have, I don't think they're of the impact that you're going to get Major League players in return. I don't. I just don't think that these deals are going to bring those guys back. I would rather bring back more impactful, lower-level players in these deals,

but I would be shopping for Major League players if the Angels are trading Redepmers or Jose Soriano. I'd be interested in one of those guys for the rotation for next year. And the one I would actually think really be interesting to consider is if the Mets want to trade Francisco Lindor, and you need offense, he's got a no trade clause, but Ross Atkins, Marks, Pirol, were in Cleveland when Lador was there. You know, there's a lot of talk. The Mets are wanting to maybe separate Soto and Lindor and that they don't seem to be getting along together. And I don't think Lendor is the problem in that. he's got five years left on his deal. But if I could include Andre Jimenez in that trade, who, oh, by the way, I don't know if you know, is going to start making $23 million a year next year for the next three years.

That in Lindor's making $34 million, I would, you know, I would consider something, you know, some prospects with Jimenez to get Lindor and you get an offensive shortstop who I think the fans would love in Toronto. He's a special guy and a community guy and he's got a smile that lights up a stadium. That's the sort of thing. Now, that may be more of an off-season spray, but something that's the sort of thing of looking ahead to next year because the Js have a lot of money coming off the books. If you trade Jimenez in the deal, some of the money coming off the books is going to have to go to offense anyways, and Lindor could be some part of that. So I don't know. I would I would think creatively right now, and I would not just sell, but I would buy for the future

while selling for the short term. How hard is that to do you think with like this impending threat of a lockout where teams, whether it's a salary cap that could come into place or the fact that there's going to be no baseball next year? Like how does that also factor into these big blockbuster trades that could be on the table? Yeah, so I think for big money guys, it might factor in a little bit. but I mean, look, if there's a salary cap, it's going to be grandfathered in. I know the first offer from the owners wanted, you know,

that everybody needed to be in line at $270 million at the cap by next year. It's just not going to be possible. No team should have to trade away good players just to get under the cap, you know, that's starting immediately. You've got to give them some time to get there. So, you know, with the J's a lot of money coming off the books, I'd be okay. you need to add offense if you're going to compete next year.

It can't go back with the same group. And so I would be open to adding some. And you know, you're not going to get nuts with it. But I think that I don't worry too much about it right now, not knowing what the rules are. And then understanding they've got to have some grace period to get there. But, you know, when there's talent available, I'm jumping in. With Steve Phillips or MLB insider, it's been pretty quiet so far.

We got three days of the deadline, so still plenty of time for things to heat up. We had that minted trade last night going from the Mets to the Twins. What do you think is the log jam here? Is there a domino that we're kind of waiting to fall before things start to happen? Oh, yeah. It's supply and demand. I mean, you've got seven defined and determined sellers and 23 potential buyers. And maybe it's 8 and 22, but it's, you know, and so.

if I'm selling and I've got the supply, I'm going to squeeze all the teams that want the players for more. Because so many teams are in, some teams are going to wait through the weekend. It's going to be a late popping deadline because there are so many teams who are still figuring out around the bubble. Do they want to buy? Do they want to sell? How aggressive are they going to be? Even teams with the same record could take three different approaches.

You know, all of them that are two games out. One could stand pat. One could buy. the other one might just say, you know what, let's sell a little bit and tip to our way into it because we're here earlier than we thought. So it's a weird market. But I think that Sunday and Monday are going to be very active. You look back on your days behind that desk, Steve, as a GM at a deadline. What stands out is the most stressful moments?

Like how stressful did it get for you? Oh, it's, I mean, it's, you know, for me in the large market of New York, it was the noise, you know, and I tried to block it out as much as I could. You know, the, you need to do this. You have to do that. The expectations of what you need to do. And, you know, one of the things that drove me the craziest were leaks because I believe that knowledge was power. And I did not want anybody to take my power. I didn't want people to know what we were doing. That inevitably, things would leak out, you know. And you're sitting there trying to figure that out to the point I was checking phone records to see, you know, who was leaking stories and who was leaking information. Because, you know, if I have interest in a team and I want a reliever, I don't want another team that needs a reliever going after the guy I want. It only makes sense, right, to keep that to yourself. So, you know, the stress of that.

But, you know, it's the other one that's always so interesting to me is, you know, that two teams are getting close on a deal. I don't even know what that means because the only time I thought I was close on a deal, was when I was getting ready to dial the number to tell the other general manager, yes, I'll accept the trade. Otherwise, I never thought anything was close. I just, you know, I would never assume that. Because as soon as you think you've got a deal done without it being consummated, somebody else jumps in there.

And, you know, that team that has a player can certainly trade them somewhere else unless we've, you know, documented and reported it to the league what we're doing to get a deal done. Steve, just kind of moving on to something that has really fascinated me over the last couple of days is obviously the show hey Otani situation. You know, he hasn't been pitching for almost a month and now obviously was pulled from the game yesterday. I'm looking at some National League MVP betting odds right now. Otani minus 125. Pete Crow Armstrong has crept up to even money at plus 100. When you prognosticate the rest of the season and you look at the MVP race,

Otani or Armstrong the rest of the way, who do you feel more comfortable with? Yeah, it's interesting, right? It's a really good call. I would suspect I'm still going to go Otani. You know, one of the things about PCA is the second half of the season last year, it all fell apart on them. And, you know, for a young guy, when that's what happened, you know, what's going to be a self-fulfilling prophecy?

How much has that left the mark on him? How much when he takes an over, does that creep into his head that, oh, boy, could this be things starting to unravel on me? For Otani, I don't think that stuff Everett enters his mind. And, you know, he still has pits quite a bit. I think he will pitch again. And so, yeah, I'm not, I would still lean toward Otani right now. But PCA, when you look at the Wins Above Replacement, what he does defensively and how much that garnishes his numbers and in Ram's up his numbers. I think it's one that I understand why he's in the mix there. And he's got a chance

to be back-to-back years of 30 homers, 30 doubles, and 30-stolen bases, which is stuff like Jose Ramirez has done that. And it's, you know, it's not a common thing that people get done. And he's got a chance to do it back-to-back years. So he's having a special season. But I think that too close to call for me right now. So, Steve, and your TSN.com, you've got a little bit on off-the-board, pick because I know the Dodgers, as they always are, the favorites to land Tyree Skouble and get the big prize like they always seem to do. And yet you believe, according to your piece currently up at tsn.ca,

that it will be the brewers that land scubel before the deadline. What makes you believe that? Well, Milwaukee's going to go for it. And they have a farm system that could allow them to get that done. I mean, they've got the top prospect in baseball and Jesus Made. Now, you know, there's been, I talked about what it might take to get a deal down. People in Milwaukee are, like, attacking me because they're like, you're nuts. We're not giving it.

Like, here's the thing. Do you want to be a team that sustained success and has these nice little players that break into the big leagues? Or do you want to win a World Series? And I think they're at that place right now where they were back in 2008 when they traded for Sabathia. And he went on that great run for them. and this is the year where you've got Mizorowski at his youngest and freshest, most powerful arm, that if you team scoble up with him, you've got a chance to potentially take the Dodgers down. And if the Dodgers don't get them, then you're that much better because the Dodgers starting pitching when it comes to playoff baseball.

You know, I think they've got Blake Snell and Glassnow on the angelus coming back. They are so both unpredictable. And there's a part of me that looks at Roki Sasaki. thinks that he could melt in a big playoff moment. And I know he pitched in the bullpen last year in closed games. I don't believe in his confidence. And so I look at them and think Eric Lauer might be one of their starters in the playoffs. So this is the time for the Brewers to go for it.

I mean, listen, he pitched great for them. But you've got Yamamoto. If Otani's knee isn't allowed him to pitch, then you've got Sasaki and Lauer, Robleski, who's another soft Thompson left-hander, and then Emmett Sheehan, who might be the guy that gets traded in a deal if they get Scoobol. So for me, this is the time if the brewers are ever going to go for it. This is the time to do it. Steve, really appreciate it.

As always, I'm sure it's going to be a busy weekend for you with the deadline coming up pretty quick. Appreciate the time, as always. Okay, you've got it, guys. My pleasure. All right. Steve Phillips, TSN, MLB Insider. and Steve Phillips joining us on the Maple Toyota Hotline. Down to Toyota, check out the Maple Tootho.

Toyota Tacoma and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks, both available as hybrids, Maple Toyota, near Canada's Wonderland in the Maple Auto Mall. You know, the Otani thing is fascinating, and I wonder how much that will kind of fuel the Dodgers, the fact that he hasn't pitched since, what, July 3rd, I think, but almost a month. Yeah.

And, you know, he just got scratched from a start with a, injury as well. I think his knee kind of bugging him as a fielder. There's an opportunity here where if you go and you aggressively pursue Tariq Scoobel, not to say you don't need Otani.

Everyone could use an Otani. You think? You don't feel pressured if you're the Dodgers to have to use him if you bring in a top dog sly young guy like Tariq Scoobal. You would think, no? Oh, without a doubt. I mean, it's the rich get richer.

It would be a little sickening. It wouldn't it be if the World Series fans get the guy that everybody wants? Yeah, that's exactly what happened last summer when they landed Kyle Tucker. Of course. And how does that work out from? Well, that's, you know, they get people who don't want to see the Dodgers rule the world could hope that the same thing kind of happens where it doesn't really turn out the way they hope in the case of Tucker. You have three home runs in the World Series.

I'm not sorry about Tucker. Yeah. No, it's a fair point. Yeah. But, I mean, like, they do have an embarrassment of riches. on so many fronts. But to Steve's point, like it is, you know, at a certain point, you're starting pitching does get a little dicey for sure.

If you can't count on Otani, Snell and Glasnow are currently on the I-I-L. They're glass houses. They can be. They can also be elite. No, 100%. When they're at their best, like there's no rotation better in baseball. But there's also a lot of injury history with that rotation.

So bringing in a guy like Tariq Scoobal, He doesn't have a long injury history. Maybe someone who could be a little more reliable down the stretch. Yeah, that's why I think Steve's a little bit off the board there with the brewers getting them. I mean, maybe they will. It would be great to see. Well, I think the brewers want to bring him in. I think that, you know, in a way too, it's almost you're stealing from the Dodgers.

You're making it a little more likely that you can compete with them by bringing in to Rick Scoob. Yeah. Right. You bring him in, you pair him up with Jacob Mizorowski, and now you've got a one-two punch. That'd be something. Let's see what happens in a sense. seven-game series between those two. That would be very, very interesting if they could do that

because there's always this feeling that hey, man, then that, you know, and maybe hey, our guy Alex Anthopoulos might get in on Scoobel as well, right? Who knows? Van Duel does have a market on Tarek Scubal. They got the Dodgers' favorite at plus 130, the Brewers

plus 270, the Tampa Bay Ray's at plus 500. Third favorite to land scubal. And then Alex Anthopolis's Atlanta Braves. at plus 750. Yeah. You know, the Dodgers are favorite, but it's not, you know, it's not minus money favorite. No.

There's still an opportunity for one of these other teams to come in and save baseball. Yeah, it's all about putting a package together. I mean, you wonder if the Dodgers will just throw whatever they need to throw at it just because they know, hey, this is, if we're looking at the last season before the salary cap, this is our moment, man, because we are the ultimate anti-salary cap team. You want to have to repeat. That's the thing about the Dodgers, too. They're so good.

Their major league team is so good. They've got a plethora of great prospects as well. It's sickening. It is sickening. It truly is. All right. The filter is coming up on the other side. The return of the filter.

It's been a long time since we've done it here on Overdrive. I'm excited for it. Mike DiStefano. Dave Feschuk here with me with the Toronto Star. Overdrive continues on TSN, on TSN 1050, and on YouTube Live. IHart Radio is throwing it back. 20s. To the days of huge hits and unforgettable albums.

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Preset the station so it's always one tab away. No filter? You have no filter. That's obvious. That's true. That's a good thing. Just say whatever comes into your mind. I don't really modulate your feelings at all.

Yeah. It's a good thing for me, but it's a bad thing for water. All right. So return of the filter here on Overdrive. You've played it before, I believe. Love playing it. All right. So for those who are new to the program or unfamiliar with the filter,

basically we got some takes that need to go. through the filter before they get sent out. So it's a bit of a Twitter filter. Do you send it? You save it in the drafts? Do you delete the tweet or is it just such a bad take that you should

not only delete the tweet, but delete your account? Yes. You should no longer be allowed to put opinions out on Twitter or X, whatever you want to refer to it as. Producer Alex, would you like to give us what

needs to go through the filter. What are the takes? Let's get right into it, gentlemen. I'm excited to have this segment back. We'll kick things off by a discussion. You guys sort of pondered throughout the show today. The first one here, by no means, should the Jays even entertain Louis Varland

trade scenarios? I must send it. Like I am. I'm on that side of the train firmly planting my flag on Keep Louis at all costs. Within reason, obviously. Like, if there, Well, you say by no means.

All right, but if someone offers you, like, Ellie Delacruz, yeah, sure, no problem. But the tweet says by no means. Okay. Well. So read the tweet, bro. All right. Well, let's wait and see what the options are. But, like, with a reasonable trade.

Like, would a fair market deal entertain me? No, it would not. Okay. It would not. I prefer to keep Louis Varland and have him for next year in the next five years than I would take, like, what would be considered a fair market deal for that. Like, I just. You're going to be searching for him next year.

Yeah. So why? I'll tell you why. Because bullpen arms come and they go. And you got to delete this tweet because if you can get him onto the market for value for a piece that you value more than him and more than a bullpen arm, you got to go for you. You can sell him high, Al's brother, which is what you'd be doing here. You never thought this guy would be this good. you picked him up last year at the deadline.

He's exceeded expectations. You've driven up his value. This is the time to strike. This is the time to sell. This is what you do if you're a smart organization. You drive up value and you liquidate at the height. All right. All right.

Next one. Next one involves the gentleman pitching on the mound for the Jays tonight. Dylan Seas is the most exciting Jays pitcher since Roy Holiday. Roy Holiday. That's going back a long time. That is going back. Like, there's got to be another pitcher in there. Well, I mean, let's just...

All right, Dickie, is Ari Dickey in that conversation? I mean, Robbie Ray would run a Cy Young in 2021. That was pretty exciting. Yeah, that's true. I mean, you've had a finalist for a Cy Young in 2022. Remember that exciting All-Star Alec Minowa? I was going to say, as like, Alec Manoa was, like, third on the ballot for a that one year.

Behind Dylan Sees. Behind Dylan Seas? And Justin Verlander, who won it? So, I mean, you've had, you've had, Gosman was, you know, pretty electric when he, when he first arrived on the scene. But I see where this is coming from. I got to save this tweet. You saved this tweet because I think there's still more to prove here for Dylan Seas. I mean, he may, probably the second favorite to win the Say Young this year, right? Yes, yeah.

Schlittler is ahead of him, I believe. And the Yankees always get preferential treatment. Let's be honest there. Yeah. If there's a Yankee, the Yankees is going to win. If it's a tie, right, probably. Just the American media being what it is. But you know what?

He's got a chance to be in that conversation. Yeah, well, I mean, exciting pitcher. I'm actually going to send the tweet. And I'm looking at the word exciting maybe as the reason for it, because I don't know if we've seen a guy who's had a run. Maybe it's a little bit of recency bias where he's thrown two, hitters in his last three starts. We'll do a one hit complete game at Fenway in his last

doubting the last time we saw him. Pretty darn good. And a guy who's consistently hit in double digit K's. Like we haven't seen that out of a guy consistently, probably since Doc. Yeah. I mean, like there's been some good pitchers who've put together good seasons. But I feel like,

but the stuff we're seeing from Dillon's cease feels different. Like it's electrifying. Like there's a good, there's a difference, I guess, between being a good pitcher and being an electrifying pitcher. I just feel like he's got electric stuff. Okay. Yeah, I'm actually going to send the tweet. Okay, fair enough. Yeah, I'm going to send it.

What's the next one? Third one in my tweet list here. The only player in the NHL who should ask for more than Macklin-Cellibrini's $18.8 million dollar AAV is Connor McDavid. I'm going to delete it. I'm going to delete it. Like, I, realistically, I think there's a few players coming up the next couple of years that are probably going to get more than that number.

I think Kilmacar is someone who definitely can ask for more. I think Quinn Hughes is going to ask for more money. Austin Matthews is going to be an interesting conversation when those talks start in a year from now, whether or not he comes in above or below that Macklin-Cellibrini number. The Leo Carlson deal puts everything kind of into flux, doesn't it? Big time. Like that's just a small window to land in between Leo Carlson and Macklin Celebrating.

That's where I think you struggle and where 19, 20 million seems like, it seems likely that we'll see a few players get into that range over the next two seasons. I think we will. I mean, I think it's, you know, the Carlson, the Carlson offer sheet was like a seismic moment. where it just rewrote the salary structure of the NHL. And Celebrini is a case in point because guess what? He couldn't take less than Leo Carlson on this extension, right? It would have been malpractice for his agent to accept less than Leo Carlson when he's clearly a better player by, you know, several orders of magnitude.

Did it surprise you that he only commanded 800,000 more than Leo Carlson on an A.V? Well, no, it didn't surprise me because if you talk in terms of percentage of the salary cap, right? Like, that's still almost, it's 16 and a half percent. Like, when McDavid signed his first, second contract, like the one out of his rookie deal, he was at like 15.7. So this is, you're getting into, like, and Carlson, of course, it's 17 percent, you know, whatever. So it's, it's crazy stuff, right? Like, this is, we haven't valued players. like this in the NHL in the past very often, right? If at all. So if you're looking at a percentage of the cab, no, I don't think it's,

I don't think it's surprising. I think it's just that the Carlson deal was just so outrageous. It was. And so out of step with who the player is at age 21, he may turn into a player that's worth it, but he ain't worth it right now, according to the market. Who do you think that's where we are? Who do you think is first to hit 20 million a season? Yeah, it's just going to be timing, right? You got to think about who's going to be up next.

Whoever, like... Does Hughes or McCard, like, do they get there, or is it going to have to be McDavid that gets there two years from now? I mean, you're already at... You're essentially at 19 right now, right? Yeah? So, I don't think it's going to be very long. I mean, you got...

Who are the... You know, I mean, I'm looking at the free agent class for 2027. It's not exactly, you know, a bunch of guys that may be fall into that category. I guess, yeah, Quinn Hughes. It's Quinn Hughes. It's Quinn Hughes. It's Quinn. Those are the two players.

So it's, you have to believe that that's the situation, right? I mean, but it's, you know, here we are in a world where it's happened in the NBA now, and it's, it happens in the NHL all the time where guess what's going to happen? There's going to be teams that are going to be asking these guys to take discounts, you know, because it's, you know, I don't care how good a GM you are. If you've got one guy commanding 17%, of your salary cap. It's going to be a lot harder. It's going to be a lot harder

to build the team around him that becomes a winning team. Especially Minnesota. He's already got Caprisov, taken up. Was it 17 and a half? Like, it's, yeah, that'd be tough for Quinn Hughes to get there. McCard. Seems like a guy who might be willing to take a discount. Like McKinnon's

done that a couple times. Yeah, we'll see. That's going to be the interesting conversation, right? And it's, considering we're talking about a salary cap circumvention case right now that never seems to go away. The idea that you ask all these guys to take discounts in the NBA and the NHL,

you start wondering, well, what do they get for doing you that favor? Yeah. Next one. Got time for two more here, gentlemen. Much like he did, off the court, LeBron James, quote-unquote, Last Dance documentary will usurp Michael Jordans. Delete your account.

What? In what world do we expect for LeBron James. The last dance was, granted, like, the timing of it couldn't have been better, right smack dab in the middle of the COVID. But it was like an appointment viewing. Every week, everyone sat down to watch that documentary. No matter if you were a sports basketball fan or not, like, that was appointment viewing. It's what everyone was talking about. Again, granted, middle of COVID, not a whole lot going on.

But, like, that was a monumental. piece of like art. Yeah, it was. That was released. And I just don't know, like, there's no way that ESPN's going to top that.

No, I mean, you have to delete the account, Alex. I mean, it's sorry to say. But, I mean, first of all, like, I take issue with documentary. These are not documentaries. Okay, these are, these are athlete-approved as-called by Michael,

as-told by LeBron. These are access-granted video journals. Who would you like to hear from that you didn't hear from then? Why? Like in the Jordan, Doc? Is there a couple voices you missed that you wish you heard? No, I thought it was very well done, given the parameters of being a Michael Jordan-approved production.

Right. Okay. Where Michael Jordan apparently made most of the money from it, which is fair enough. I mean, it was his story to tell, and without Michael Jordan, you can't really tell it. And so he sat down for a very good dollar, I'm sure, because that's how Michael operates, and rightly so. and told it. But obviously, it was told from his perspective, right? I think Scotty Pippen probably takes some issue with some of the ways that he was portrayed.

And there's always two sides to every story. And it's hard to get to them all in one production. Who's like, I'm curious who would be like the Pippin and, like is it, Wade and Bosch, I guess, would be like the Pippin, Rodman's sidekicks that garner a lot of tension in the dock. I don't know if it will have as much. I don't even know what this thing is. Yeah. Like his management's come out and said it's not a last dance documentary

because we don't know when LeBron's last season will be. I guess. I think he's had a two-year deal. Right. Technically. I mean, who knows? He was still pretty damn good last year. Yeah.

I don't like to undersell LeBron. But, I mean, I will undersell the idea that this is going to be some ground-baking piece of sports content. I'm sure it'll be something that might be worth watching. But here's the other thing about the, like, the difference between the Jordan Last Dance and whatever this thing. is. Right. Like Michael Jordan didn't live his life in the social media era. So when you unearth footage

that no one's ever seen before, very few people have seen before, and you lay that footage onto gravity. It has gravity. It has, it has a we've never seen this before quality to it. Like we see a lot of LeBron, you know, on social media, on his agents, on his podcast, on his, on what is it, the shop, the barbershop

show they do. I mean, we see, we see and hear from LeBron an awful lot. I'm not sure what we would get out of this thing that would either kind of wow us or shock us or, you know, delight us in the way that the last dance documentary did. Yeah, and like, you know, Michael was always a controversial figure. Like you knew about the Jordan controversies. Other than, like, what's so controversial about LeBron James?

Other than the fact that, like, he started the Big Three movement. like what what really is controversial that we're going to learn or that we want to learn more about about lebron james and his it just doesn't have the same compelling nature to me than lebron james than uh the michael jordan last dance documentary did no he's kind of an open book right like he lays it all out there he's told us he's told us he's the greatest he's the self-proclaimed king like like there's nothing really he never holds anything back really it feels like i'm sure there's some there's some things that that we don't see that would that we were seeing about a very rich pro athletes' life, but we're not going to see that in this production.

No, probably not. Probably not. All right. Good stuff. I think, you know, I had a couple of decent takes there, and that last one, not the best. Well, Louis Deming, not the best on that one. Delete your account, Alex. Not the best. Yeah, not the best. Banduel best bets coming up next. Hello, Canada. This is Brian Adams Radio. Hosted by Brian Adams himself. We'll play a few of mine, a ton of my favorites and some must-hear behind-the-scenes stories from the world of rock and roll. I'm going to get you. One thing about doing rock and roll so long is you end up meeting a lot of the people that you admire. Sometimes you even get to work with him.

Brian Adams Radio. Now available on the free I-Hare Radio app. 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 sight 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. Today's best bets are powered by

Fandual. Make your picks and assemble the same game parlay and seconds on the Fanduals Sportsbook app. Taking a look at the Jays game tonight. Dillon C's on the mound. It's almost an automatic overs on his strikeouts whenever he's out there pitching and he's been unbelievable

appointment viewing TV his last few starts. I'm taking over 7.5Ks for East, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Back in the lineup after dealing with his little injury, hiccup he had a couple of days ago. I think Vladdy, two plus bases tonight. So over seven to half Ks, Vladie, two plus bases.

You get decent odds on that one. Today's best bets. Powered by Fanduel. Same game parlay is available for every MLB game on the Fandual Sportsbook app. Please pay it responsibly 19 plus and physically located in Ontario. Well, it's the Friday of a long time. weekend too which snuck up on me you asked me in the break if had any plans i'm like no i forgot until like yesterday that it was even civic holiday weekend you get any plans yeah my my head north

might do a little relaxing relaxing by a lake or something like that for a couple days which would be fun but yeah i like hard to believe man last day of july this summer is zooming past and i don't know like everyone told me when when i got engaged and decided to have my whole wedding process within like a year within like nine months. They said that nine months is going to fly. Like there's so much going on and at my stagado a couple weeks ago. I feel like my whole life has been consumed with that and my summer has just evaporated. And then we're already into August tomorrow.

You and Taylor and Travis. Yeah. It's all about the wedding. Yes, that's what it's all about. But actually I do have something going on this weekend. There's a card show in Hamilton. I'll probably attend the card show on the Monday. Card market's hot.

It is hot. You see that Otani card that got pulled the other day? Well, I follow you on social media, so of course I do. No, I think 11 million, I think was the number that it sold for. This is a thing. 11 million bucks. Yeah, and there's that Celebrini card that's likely to get to a million or so dollars. It's on auction right now on Golden Aulda.

Who's getting rich off all these one-of-one? I wish it were me. I wish it were me. It's not you? I'm kind of surprised. I'm pretty sure Kevin O'Leary is the one who bought, like, his group, I think is the one who bought that Otani card. Really? Yeah, he's big into it.

Okay. He's big into that market. So, yeah, it's the national down in Chicago this weekend, too. So that's why it's so prevalent this week, the whole card business and card scene. There's a lot going on with the national sports card convention. All the billionaires want to get into sports. They do. They do.

Alternative investing is what they're calling it these days. alternative investing. All right, it was a great show. It was a fun way to end the week. Dave, really appreciate it. That does it for us. The boys, Aisy B, he'll be back on Tuesday, and he'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, 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. Unmistakably Canadian. It's the music that raised you. The artists raising the bar. Hi, this is Brian Adams. Hey, my name's Brett Emmons.

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