Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Big Names On The Move! | 933

Episode Date: December 12, 2024

Watch Blitzball Battle 5 NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@WarehouseGames This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/TALKINBASEBALL and get on your way to being your best self.Follow all of our content on https://jomboymedia.com Head to https://www.skims.com/talkin to get yours today! Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use promo code TALKINTalkin' Jake and Trevor Plouffe break down Garrett Crochet being traded to the Red Sox, how he stacks up in the rotation, what the Red Sox have to do next, Max Fried signing with the Yankees, what that means for the rest of the free agent pitching market and where does Alex Bregman land? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. How about the lefties? Max Fried to the Yankees. Brochet to the Red Sox. Avaldi, who's next? Let's talk about it. Max Fried. I'm tired.

You're out. I'm just out. Bobby Bonilla. Hello and welcome to Talking Baseball. Present you by Seat Geek. Go download the app. Get some tickets to see your new shiny objects you're getting. This off season, Jake Storelli, Trevor Ploof on the West Coast.

He was on the, he was on the beat report of sorts the past couple days. We'll get some updates on that. Bobby Sarachi, Rob Seraco, producing. As we are in the teeth of winter meetings, I mean, almost, almost the end of winter meetings. And Trev, while we are recording this, Bregman is supposedly getting close. There's Mariners' trades that are supposedly getting,

close. But either way, Juan Soto just got announced with the Mets. The pitching market has fully happened. There's still more to go there. But it actually happened. I was laughing earlier today, Trev, because there's all the, hey, baseball needs this window where stuff gets done. And it's kind of like, it has a fake one of those. And it's kind of working right now. How are you doing? I'm doing great. I mentioned I was tired. I'm banged up, guys. I was in Vegas. for two days with all the old the old heads of baseball name drop oh it was a lot of guys this year man hanging out with tory hunter paul moleter came obviously every day eddie was there

detroit jocke dason gombie chain victorino he could go on and on bobby bobby bo was my golf partner i talked to him about deferrals as i did are you sick of people asking you about this he's like he's like it's bigger than my birthday i get so many mentioned um but no it was a great time and for a good uh cost still got game foundation kenny lawfell and won the golf tournament again because he's sick of. Oh. Yeah. So a lot,

a lot of fun. And yeah, we got a lot of good news. So it's going to be a good show. Obviously, we're going to talk about Crochet. We're going to talk about Freed. There's about a million other signings, too.

I disagree. I don't think we need a window. I'm not into that at all. I want people to be able to negotiate their own pace. And so far, it's been good. I mean, I think it changes every off season,

depending on what teams are involved, who's got the guys. I think Boris is, I think Boris is out to, to get his name back. That's what I think. He's doing a good job. Man, you're your boy Max.

I don't know if you send the congratulations text yet. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah, you did. I mean, that's a lot of money, bro. A ton of money. And you know what? For our listeners of talking baseball,

you guys are the best. You can subscribe, comment who your team wants next, all that good stuff. But to show the people that when I come on talking baseball, I try to keep Yankees Jake bottled up and just ready when we need them. At the news of the hour, Max Fried, you're going to have to wait.

Garrett Crochet is going to the Boston Red Sox sale 2.0. Garrett Crochet, the breakout lefty for the White Sox. And I think a lot of baseball fans remember some of the story here. Like Tennessee pitcher out of college, and he was on pitch ninja and stuff throwing triple digits. And you're like, whoa, what? Do college pitchers just do this now? It's a yes and no, not at Crochet's level.

He got called up to be a lefty reliever for the good white socks teams, the competing white socks teams, put together a nice bullpen season there, gets hurt. He comes back to the bad white socks. but he has his breakout year last year, all-star for them. The strikeout rate, the K-per-9 is insane. It passes the sniff test of how it looks on the mound, just dominant.

We heard the trade rumors at the trade deadline, and that got a little funky. He gets traded to the Boston Red Sox for not their two top prospects, arguably not their top three. Kyle Teal's supposed to be a guy on some list. He's a top 25, top 40 prospect. Braden Montgomery, Chase May drop. Not sure I'm saying that right.

Weakleman Gonzalez. I'm working on my scouting report and my names. The news here, Trev, obviously, Boston gets a guy in the rotation. I love it for them. I mean, obviously this guy, his stuff is so electric. And he made some adjustments last year, like, becoming a starter. He actually started throwing harder last year, which is pretty crazy. Smart.

It's the other way around. Yeah, smart. That's Jake Ulynick. Just throw a little harder. Were we talking about that before the show? Can't you just throw a little harder? I think there was a pitching coach that said something like that. So, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, look, the Red Sox are in such a good position to make. We've been talking about that all offseason long. This is their chance to go really improve their team. So you bring crochet over. They needed starting pitching. We know that. I don't think they're done in that aspect. Still, you mentioned they're able to keep hold of,

was it, Marcelo Meyer and Roman Anthony? Like, those are their top, those are their big dog. But the reason they're able to do this, man, and the reason they're in this window is, like, they've had guys come up and be successful big leaguers that are making league minimum still. So, like, they have, they have such, I think, like roster flexibility and a bunch of guys knocking on the door,

this is a time where, yes, you go out and make trades like this and try to supplement your roster to get back in the swing of things in the AL. I think the time is now. Now, if you're in the American League, like, you should be going. There's not a dominant team in the American League right now. So your chances of getting to a World Series might, I mean, I don't know, they might never be better. So they go out and make this trade.

Again, I don't think they're done. I think they're still, you know, could they be the one to go get that Mariners pitcher? Could Luis Castillo be a part of this rotation? And then all of a sudden you got, I mean, they got like six or seven dudes already lined up. That could be in that rotation. They could really help them. We mentioned who they have offensively as well. Like they're,

they're prime, man. I love this move for them. I watched Garrett Crochet pitcher a few times last year in person against my twin. And he's film. I mean, he is, he is, and we talk about guys with stuff and who's got the best stuff. And sometimes we say Blake Snell, sometimes we say scoops.

Like, he's, he's in the conversation. He'll blow you away. He added a sinker last year. he started throwing a cutter just because why not lower the arm angle a little bit a lot of things changed for him when he became a starter but they're all good changes you know i think even some of these numbers i mean they're great overall but i think they could be better at the end of last year he was going through weird stuff like you talked about the trade deadline they were limiting his

outings like four innings or something like that after july he was playing for nothing like there was there was just he was just playing to play like put him put him in a situation now where he's got something too playful i think we're going to i think the best days of garret crochet are still ahead you're probably right uh garret crochet he's 25 years old i mean you know Kyle teal's a real prospect he's going to be 23 for opening day next year um so garret crochet that breakout year he was so dominant and i was going through the stats too, Trev, because I was, you know, in my head, I was like, you know, crochet after the break was kind of rough, right? And depending how you look at the numbers,

it says that there's one real outlier start. I think he gave up seven earn runs to the Cubs one game. And then, like you mentioned, it was weird because they didn't want, they wanted to limit his innings because if he got hurt, you know, we just saw, I mean, we saw Shane Bieber's last season, although he's going back to Cleveland, that, like, that injury can throw off. Who is it? Brandon Woodruff with the Brewers, who he was one of their best assets,

and then he got T.J. and they had to, like, let him go. So then they resigned him. Do I remember that right? Anyways. Prochet, he jumps up to the one of Boston staff. Halk, who broke out last year, would slide to the two for now.

Bayo is there, Cutter Crawford is there. Your guy Dick Fitz, sure. Lucas coming back. Lucas is coming back at some point. Mr. Gialito, Chris Rose rotation, that the Red Sox have some pitching. They signed a Raldus Chapman.

They have Liam Hendrix. So they got a plan on the back end. They got a plan on the front end. And like you said, with the lineup, this is where things get fun. Not only did they not sacrifice their farm, which I think Red Sox fans, if you are buying Marcello Mayer cards or Roman Anthony cards, I think you can feel pretty good that, well, let's see,

because I don't want to overstep because there's still some trade pieces out there. And we're going to talk about some of the remaining pitch. This is going to be a pitcher-heavy episode. So if Trev makes a turn on us, be careful. If I start throwing up on my keyboard, yeah. Yeah, some of these dollar amounts, Max Reed. But the Red Sox, you know, the early rumors are, they're talking to the mayor. Mariners, and is that Luis Castillo, or, hey, if they're willing to part with one of the younger

arms, then maybe Roman Anthony isn't safe or something like that. I don't know yet. But I agree with you. The Red Sox, they have a lot of talent. It's why you like them a lot coming into this offseason. And now that Crochet has happened, they're going to do something else because their lineup is so lefty right now, like absurdly. Like, don't get me wrong. I like a good stack. But Duran Devers, Kassas, Yoshita, Abrae, Hamil. right now. They're going to make move. They're going to make move. And I don't know, this is not the right expression.

You know what people call it like a slippery slope, right? Everyone knows that. This is the tip of the iceberg, I think. You know, you get crochet. Now it's like, okay, let's, let's begin. Like now we have our guy and let's go supplement the offense or I guess, you'll switch some of these lefties into varieties, whatever it, whatever it is, they have the payroll space to do it.

They have the prospects to trade. They have ready major league talent to trade. They kind of have some sort of a log jam, you know, as far as position players. Like this is, this is it for them. And if there are a couple moves away from being, you know, in the discussion for top team in the AL. I don't think that's far-fetched. No, it's not. especially Baltimore.

I don't know if we're going to talk about them. They've got some. That ownership group has some decisions to make in the next. Open the hand up and give some of the prospects away. Let's go. God, they, their fan base has to be asking a lot of questions right now. The Red Sox, man, their path is really opening up for us. Because let's say, if they want to trade Casas to Seattle,

that could get you Luis Castillo maybe that could get you one of the young guys like that Tristan Casas would be one of the best young hitters available in the market. If they don't want to do that, they like Tristan Casas and they can. You know, are they going to go for Corbyrne Burns? I don't know. I still, we still haven't seen the Boston Red Sox front office roll out a big free agent contract since David Price. So it's been a couple moons.

and, you know, that their ownership group has gotten some commentary because there are a lot of businessmen that haven't had their eyes focused on the baseball team, some have been saying. But it seems like there's a turn being made, and, man, there are right-handed bats to be had in the free agent market, a lot more than lefty bats, that I would think the other fun one that's been floated out is Masataki Yoshita, Like, could you trade him for Jordan Montgomery for a one-year deal,

a guy you've been interested in? There's like a money swap there that takes place. And then you could keep Kossis, you add another righty bat, and now, okay, we got some pitch and we like, we got some hit it. You sign a Tay Oscar or something like. Bregman has been rumored. It's all in front of them. And the Red Sox are going to be here this.

Yeah, they have some interesting decisions to make. I mean, I wouldn't trade Kosses. I think he's proven that he can hit at the Major League level. And I just think he's too valuable. But if you did move him, yeah, that opens up a lot of different avenues for them. You can kick Devers over to first. And yeah, you can go get a Bregman or somebody like that. I wouldn't do that.

I would, I would keep him. I think he's, I think he's got a lot of talent, man. I think we're going to see again, like I said about crochet, I think his best years are definitely ahead of him. So slippery slope, tip of the iceberg, whatever it is. I really do feel like they're just getting started. At least I hope so. I mean, I feel like Boston fans. have for a couple off seasons felt like they've been on the outside looking in a little bit.

So I know like reading some Boston fans takes online, like they're hesitant to, you know, kind of be all in because they don't want to get their hearts broken. But I do think this is the off season where we do get big moves and we do see them kind of catapult back into the conversation. Well, Treve, I have good news on that and I have better news. Blitzball Battle 5 because this pregame, I think my guy coach Trev, is involved in. Check this out. We are back in the warehouse. Blitzball Battle 5 presented to you by Draft Kings, the second of our two semi-final matchups between forgotten rotten and defending blitzball champion McFlurry Power.

They have dreams of hoisting a second straight blitzball banner. And with a win, they will take down the inaugural warehouse cup. The biggest storyline for me today is Trevor Proof. Shelfi has gone well above what he's supposed to do. It's time for Trevor to pick it up a little bit. This is another good matchup between two teams who haven't been as good as they should be. They really haven't hit this entire tournament.

Somebody's going to have to score runs to win. Trevor Plufe is going to have to come through at the plate eventually. I think it's going to happen. For me, I'm going to be taken Forgotten Rotten guys. If I pick McClurry, Rotten's going to win. So I pick McClurry. I think Forgotten Rotten Rotten will make it to the championship against your team from Lovey's.

Today is your day, Blufe. We'll find out who's going to make all the way to the finals. Blitzball Battle 5 presented you by Draft Kings. All right. Please go check out our Blitzball Battle on the Warehouse Games channel. It's an incredible product. It's a little different, but I guarantee you get sucked in. Do you know how many freaking of the ex-ball players are like,

what is this thing you're doing? They all see it. They all want to be a part of it. I'm like, you guys, I say, first of all, I would tune you up. You got no chance. I don't think you could just come into my arena, all right? I know you're a better baseball player than me on the field, but Blitzball's different.

It's different. They do watch it, man. It's different. We have, you know, this might surprise some people. John Boy Media has some resident Red Sox fans, mostly the We Got Ice Guys, also in Blitzball Battle. Yeah, what are they saying? Are they in the office right now?

So Jack Doyle is, you know, pushing the limits of being a human and being AI. So I haven't gotten his full commentary. Zoe is a sports nut And he had a hop in his step Because of exactly what you just said, man Like, A, he's been working at John Boy Media So he's been surrounded by Yankee fans All day, every day during the Wonsoto times,

The high times and the low times. And he hasn't had a punchback. Like since they've been here since 21 or so, the Red Sox haven't been a big part of the discussion and they're back in the forefront, man, and they, you know, the Yankees that will get to in a second with Max Fried and the rest of that free agent market, like the Yankees have a path that things are going to happen

and the Yankees are the Yankees that they're going to have a squad coming in next year. Dude, I've even letting myself daydream some of the Red Sox moves. like I mentioned trade for a manager's pitcher or a Mariners pitcher and signed Tay Oscar. Hey, I'll tell you what could be a sneaky signing for them.

Glaber Torres. They've had a second base hole for a little bit. That guy batted leadoff in front of Soto and Judge. So say what you want about the defense. But like if he can be the fourth piece, the Red Sox ad this offseason, just I think the whole board is open for them. And I wonder the Andres Jimenez trade

that we're not going to dive super into this episode. You know, Chris Rose has been on a Bo Bichette's going to get traded thing just because there's not short stops out there. And I'm wondering in my head, like, Andres Jimenez is one of the best defensive second baseman I've ever seen. Like, it's literally, like, you should put classical music behind it. Just watch it. They were fun to watch last year.

It's amazing that, and hey, I think Bo Bichet is an amazing baseball player. Defensively at shortstop, he has left some things to be desired that, I don't know, I feel like you'd almost be putting yourself in a weird spot, having Jimenez at second while Bichette's at short. That's a long way of saying, like, we've wondered what the Blue Jays are going to be up to, the rays are going to raise, but if the Red Sox are here, the Yankees are going to be around.

The Red Sox are going to be here. If you're the Blue Jays, I wonder if this makes them, we've wondered what their offseason is going to do. You have to start asking more questions. And Baltimore, Trev, there's a lot of eyes on them because they, you got to do something.

And even if you bring Corbyn Burns back, like Santander was such a big part of what they did last year. that they are, I mean, the Baltimore wave that was coming, I mean, that wave coming down a little bit. I mean, I love Tyler O'Neill. I think that's a good signing for them. Yes. I love Gary Sanchez.

I was his hitting coach for a while. Everybody knows that. But those aren't the moves that I think Baltimore, the fan base wants or thinks, or they're expecting more. I mean, and they haven't gotten it yet. There's a lot of teams you can say that about. I'm going back to the Red Sox, though. I want to finish up kind of like what I think. think they need to do.

I do like the idea of bringing in like a second basement. I don't think they need to do that. I don't think they need to do a lot position player-wise. If you wanted to get rid of some lefty bats and do that, and I could see that. They need a right-y stick, dude. Right now the best righty might be Trevor's story, which we don't know where he's at.

Fine. But more bullpen. Better bullpen. That's where they got to go now. If they're good, go get another starting pitcher. If you're in the Corbyn's steak, great. That means, or you're trading for Luis Castillo, whatever it is.

obviously I'm on board with that, but their bullpen was their biggest liability. So yeah, you bring in a Relis Chapman, you're getting Hendricks back, but they have to go make a splash. And I don't know if that's Tanner Scott. I don't know if they want to go out and get him and pay him all that money or they want to go, you know, be a trade or bring somebody else in. But that's the biggest thing I think that needs to address. High leverage guys, guys that are proven because I've seen it. time and time again everyone that watches baseball man you you can have a great offense you could have great starting pitching but if you have a suspect bullpen that's blowing games it just takes the steam

the wind out of your sails man so this is that's to me that's where they have to really really focus on i wouldn't mind them getting some bench help either i kyle farmer would have been a really good fit for them he signs with a colorado raffees i think he would have been a great bench bat for them so i i would go bench bullpen it's kind of like where my thought process is they're just in a fun spot, dude. Like, if, if, if it's, let's say it was Casas for one of the younger Mariners pitchers. Let's say it's Bryce Miller or something like that. A, and something that's massive about this crochet trade, making three mill next year.

They don't have a lot of, like, guaranteed big concha that they're paying out. Like, Devere, really. So that, that's what I want to see, man, because they need to add a righty bat and there's a lot of rumors around. Breggman right now, which I'll tell you what. If they added Breggie with the monster Endeavor slides to first, or it's Tay Oscar, like, Hey, I know a lot of teams are riding the Polar Express this offseason.

I don't think Boston is. They can go a lot of ways with it. I'm looking at their lineup right now, the guys that were in there last year. Durrass, I asked him. Uh-oh. Jonathan Loisiga and the Yankees have agreed to a one-year contract with a team option for 2026. Okay. Huge.

He's back. Don't get too, you know, nilly-willy with that passing button, okay? Hey, hey. He's pitched some high leverage in. He has. Listen, Jaron Duran, Pre-Arb. He would have been good on the Red Sox. Darren, Pre-Arb. Tristan Casas, Priarb, Abrae-U-P, Connor Wong, Priyarb, Hamilton,

Pre-Rab, Raphaela Priyar. Like, they are. That's amazing, dude. If you could talk about your most of your, most of your starting lineup is pre-arb, earmuffs. Fucking go, make some moves. My God. Go Craig Breslo, former teammate.

What's up? Their guy. Hey. Okay. Hey. You were going to go somewhere there. Just three jokes came in. I don't know, Craig.

I was going to, I'm just letting it go. And because, like Rob just said, Donnie Loisagena to the Yankees, maybe coming into games after Max Fried, Trev, the biggest contract ever given to a left-handed starting pitcher. Eight years, 218. You knew him since he was a boy, Trevor. You saw an athletic 19-year-old Max Fried working out in L.A.

He is the highest paid left-handed starting pitcher one contract ever to the New York Yankees. He needs to give Juan Soto a thank you. And the Yankees are making their strength of strength. He slots in behind Garrett Cole. Carlos Rodan, who they gave 160 mill to. That's your three. I mean, that's pretty crazy. That would be the biggest contract.

A lot of teams have ever given out. Luis Hill currently at the four. I say currently for a reason. And then Clark Schmidt, Nestor Cortez, Marcus Stroman, the Yankees have created starting pitching depth to trade from that they are going to be one of the other teams you hear about in the coming days via trade. Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker and all that. Have you hit up Max?

I guess what was your reaction on the golf course in Vegas? We were, I was with Flaherty. We were talking about he was there in Vegas as well. name drop. We were talking about it. We're talking about kind of Max setting that market. Obviously, those guys are really good buddies, but we were talking numbers and we didn't get to 8, 218. We never got that. Right. So I'm very, very happy for Max. I mean, I think he does, I mean, he deserves it. How many times that we set on this show, like Max is going to get broke off? Like, if you look at the numbers, you're shocked when you get in there. I think I even

flippantly threw out like Cooper's talent for Max Reed. Oh. That was a little far-fetched. A little, a little far-fetched. But, no, I mean, the numbers are there. I think that I didn't see him like choosing New York, but I guess you can't turn down that kind of, that kind of contract. And now that I'm visualizing him in those pinstracts,

I think it's, I think it's going to work. He's calm. He's cool and collected. Hey, he's going to be your best defensive infielder on your, on that dang team. That's actually something that's interesting to me too is, you know, he's kind of a ground ball pitcher. Yankees kind of like need to step that up. I guess jazz at third piece,

volpey it short. Okay, let's, let's continue with that because you're going to need it with Max. But I'm happy, man. I think it's a great deal. I think the Yankees obviously wanted to go out there and make a splash. And you write about the starting pitching and how stacked they are now. I don't want you to trade Luis Heel, though.

I know that's been rumored a little bit. I think he's too good, man. I don't think he give up on the guy. I don't think a lot of people say, oh, sell high on him. But watch that guy. Roe. Like, he's got so much potential. So, I don't know.

I love it. I think my biggest takeaway was, oh, shoot, a lot of money. It's a lot of money. And that's why I wanted to mention Garrett Crochet making 3 mil next year to trade. And I, hey, maybe Kyle Thiel is the next guy guy. And some people think he is, but to pay a prospect package and allow the rest of the flexibility for your team. Max Fried, man, he's got some stats. I like a lot.

Since 2000. 2020. 2020. Jesus. Losing my mind. 112 starts. That's a lot. 281 ERA.

Like that's... I believe that's the lowest ERA among qualified starters. Yes. It's rare air, man. And then even like last season, Erno's like, whoa, you know, his first two starts were wonky. He was a 28,

285 after that. So Max Fried has a lefty pitcher, and hopefully he can use that, learn how to use that big Yankees left center field, because balls do go to die out that way, as long as they're not going to short right. What was that faith? I mean, I hit some balls that didn't die in Yankees Stadium.

Yeah, I mean, you turn. And I mean... Big down. Got your hips through. That, yeah, the Yankees have a impactful rotation currently, and now they're going to have to trade from that because they need... They need at least three hitters.

Hey, Trev, this lineup, without Juan Soto, missed the playoff. and was last or only the A's who currently don't have a city were behind them. So, like, I'm very, I'm worried about the Yankees lineup. Cashman in the Yankees front office, it's time for them to put in the work.

And, you know, it's kind of interesting. They've got a Goldilocks bear situation. Like, you know, do you want Nestor for one year? Eight million. Like, that's a valuable piece for one year. are they going to find a one-year swap for a guy like him? Strowman is one-year-18. Like, hey, maybe you got some bad hitting money you're looking to swap with.

And by the way, Marcus Strowman with a good defense behind him, I bet his numbers would have looked a little bit better because, God, the Yanks shot him in the foot a lot this year. Okay, you're looking for a couple more years in growth. Clark Schmidt has pitched well and taken a step every year as a pitcher. And then Luis Heel, who won rookie of the year, four years of control, the stuff passes the eye test. He does have a little bit of an injury history that probably doesn't have him valued as he could be, or you might think he is, and maybe the right team does.

So that's the interesting next part for the Yankees. Where are they going to let one or two young guys play next year? And what's going to be available between Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker has been a hot in the streets rumor. And my God, Trev, if they could replace Juan Soto with Kyle Tucker, that's about as close as you can get. Obviously not the offensive production, but maybe a better fit for the Yankees

if he can play that left field out there where you were the only one able to hit it out. I mean, that's, look, any team wants Kyle Tucker. I don't know, man. Like, my thought process on that is, you just traded a significant package to bring over at Juan Soto because you thought you could extend them. Right. Did not happen.

Are you going to do the same thing two years in a row and bring over Kyle Tucker who has Scott Boris as his agent? Right. Is he going to sign an extension and then is it worth it? I think a lot of Yankeesans obviously want him there. And they talk about this window with Garrett Cole and Aaron Judge. It's kind of, you know, three more years. right something like that if you I'm hesitant on that I really am I would I mean obviously love to have Kyle Tucker there I mean if you're a Yankee fan you obviously want him in the outfield but he's going to require a significant package and I'm the one that's always on here saying I don't care about prospects ship him out but I think doing it two years in a row thinking you're going to sign somebody back and it not happening that that could that could put you back a little bit for your future some maybe A little bit of irony that I've said on the show the past two years,

Kyle Tucker and how much money he's going to get. People might not be ready for that, and he could be a potential Yankee savior that, yeah, it would be interesting. There's obviously Houston and New York stuff there that, you know, does either team have a little bit of attacks with each other? There's some interesting rumors out of Chicago that now people are daydreaming.

You know, Tucker goes there. Cody goes to the Yankees. Yeah, I would, as a Yankee fan, I'll let that Yankee Jake out. If you can get Tucker, I think you got it. Who's the prospects that you trade for him? Like, who are your guys? I know what the thing is?

Well, there's rumors about Heal, which, again, that's four years. But, you know, there's some stuff on his resume that is a fair argument. Like the control was kind of Like, you know Tucker like straight up I think the Yankees say no

That's reportedly what they've said no to I would do it in a heartbeat I just said don't trade him Because I think he's got a lot of potential But you're dealing from a position of strength Right the the rumor on Yankees Yankees Twitter Is that it was

Heel and Ben Rice And the Yankees turned that down Or excuse me Yes, the Yankees turn that down. So I don't know. I don't know. The Yankees need to add and there's places they can go. Like the Cubs, like Bellinger and Nico Horner. Does Belly have a no trade club? I don't think so. I think I researched that yesterday. That, yeah. Robbie, will you look that up for us? I'm interested to find out.

Luis Robert is out there. I don't know. The Yankees are going to have to figure out because, you know, they still have Yankee money to spend, but it's for the holes they need to fill free agency, that money goes away real quick. You sign a, you sign a 25 and a 25, and that's game. So they need to get to work, and it's interesting, is Marcus Stroman going to have a landing place? Is Clark, what kind of value does he have? What kind of value does he have?

but you bring in a talent like Max Fried. And I'm excited to get to see him, Trev. Again, I know he's one of your guys. We got to meet him at spring training. Not like an aw, gee, shucks guy, but just like a nice fellow. Just a very nice guy, yeah. And the money, I guess, I started to do the math because that's what I do on this show. Right.

27 and a quarter a year? That's not bad for AAV. It's just the eight years of it, I guess. makes it seem like that. But that's, uh... Yeah, the curiosity is, did they stretch it out to eight to lower the AV a little bit and give him a little more coin

and leave them a little more window to do something? Not bad for Macs. Not bad for Matt. I think he's going to do great in New York. He has the temperament for that. Like you said, cool, common collected. He's going to say all the right things because he is just a nice guy.

Like, he's going to give credit to his teammates. You know, do that whole thing. and yeah, you guys are friends with them. It's great. It's great news. Did you send the text? Did you send the congrats? Of course I did.

I told him we had this big dinner planned in a couple weeks where all the LA guys are getting together. So, I mean, I was going to pay for it. I don't know now. You're not. Our plan was the three oldest guys are going to pay this year and then kind of move it down the line every year because we're trying to make this a yearly thing.

But I don't know. I think Max might just flip the bill now. Yeah, Trev. I don't... Like, guys, I am the poorest one on the group chat. Yeah. Best looking, but... That's where I live.

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It's the only underwear I brought to Vegas. I wear him. I think they're great. I was a fan of their, a competitor. I guess I can't probably say the name. But I made the switch. Yeah.

I ordered a bunch of stuff. I even got some socks from them. Excellent. And Olivia is like, you know, they do these drops. And she's always, I mean, I get a package of skims delivered all the time. Get that. Well. It's all about it.

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And did it... Have you been seeing Kim more? Yeah. I don't want to reveal too much. Well, her son and Teddy are on the same basketball team. Okay, that was the stuff I thought I didn't know. Oh, is that... What is that?

Well, no, it's just not my information to share. I don't want... I don't know, right? Shouldn't be telling people where your kids are. They both need to work on their jump shots. I'll tell you that. much right now. Coach Treves going to get him in the lab. Oh. I don't know if you're

basketball. Oh my. I want to see your basketball game so bad. It's not bad. No, I mean, it has it obviously has to be a certain level of good, but the way you talk about it is a step less confident than I thought you would talk about it. Like, I thought

you'd be like... Me and you one on one, I'm winning. Well, let's find out. But, um, I I saw you dribble a basketball. I like all the up in to hell Manhattan. I like a mere size. I'm ready for them.

I know how that body moves. You guys aren't used to garden someone with my frame. I'm an uncomfortable guard. I'll say that. When it comes down to it, your basketball video is going to be remembered for a long time. I think that's one of the most underrated pieces of content we put out. Maybe we'll put a link in there.

It's a good watch, man. That's a twice a year for me. That was a fun day. I dribbled a basketball through Manhattan, like a hundred-something bond. Your hands were disgusting. So gross. So gross. Back to baseball.

Yeah. What we know. Because the hardwood wasn't for us. It didn't choose us. Trev, I guess let's talk about the starting pitching market a little bit. And I, again, a reminder for the talking baseball. people when this time of year rolls around we try to hit the big ones as well as we can that there's usually a full circle back and that's why i said like i want to touch upon the pitching a little bit um

you know like avaldi resign with the rangers three here 75 for nate dog by the way he's like one of my fair pitches in the game man i think he's like said it he's like said it and forget it for me like he is a guy that you just he's going to be there you can pitch in big games he do all the things. You can miss bats if he needs to. Like, I love he's amazing. Is he in your book? He is in my book.

He is in my book. That Yankee Stadium. I think that's why you like him too. And, you know, I want to circle back, like, there's a whole Clay Holmes combo to have. Sevy happened a while ago. Like, Alex Cobb's on the tires. I want to talk about it. I don't know if today's the deep dive on him, but I guess I want to talk about the next steps for the pitching market.

Because we talked about the Mariners. have something to trade. The Yankees have some things to trade. Is there a Monty flip out there? Dylan Sees and the Padres. Like people aren't sure what's going on with that. And then in free agency, you've got Corbyn Burns who should get the biggest bag.

That's kind of what everyone assumed coming into this free agency. And Max set quite a tone. Max might have to thank Soto. Corbyn might have to thank Max when it's all said and done. And then from there, like I think our guy, Jack Flaherty, who he's got a pretty good argument, like, wait, I'm a little younger than Max, and I, I pitch pretty damn good last year. And then you start, like, Scherzer's out there.

There's still pitching to be had. I think the price tags have been elevated. I guess Sean Minaya, who's been a talking baseball legend still out there. So I guess where do you, I guess where does your, where do your eyes turn next? well it's gordon burns obviously i mean he's kind of like the target i didn't know he's only 30 years old i thought he was a little bit older than that so younger than free dude the beard effect is crazy yeah um and max does have like a baby face sure so i mean yeah now i'm looking eight years for him why not probably what's going to have to be and an aav if over 30 like this guy's gonna

get it from somebody i don't know who it's going to be if the red sox are going to pony up and and do that. Are the Orioles going to try to re-sign him? It doesn't seem likely to me that they would do that. But yeah, I think he's up next. If I was the Red Sox, I would probably, I don't even know why I'm talking about the Red Sox right now, but I would go get Manaya. Maybe not go get Burns. I'll get Mania, put him in my rotation as well and kind of go and fix the bullpins. I would go like Mania Scott rather than going out and getting the burns. That's kind of my thought process there. but yeah there's there's i think walker be is going to be a steal of the offseason he talks about that you know

the way he looked at the end of last year he kind of got that dog mentality back you know he really struggled at points last year but then like when it he started to feel good again started to feel healthy and it he looked great man so i think he's i'll be if i was a if i was a GM and i'm looking for starting pitching

those are the two guys i think i would go after mania and bule obviously avaldi he's gone now back to the Rangers, but those are like my, not so under the radar, but almost like, I feel like they're coming at like discounted rates. Even Manaya, I don't know what he's going to get, but it's not going to require an eight-year commitment to get enough. I would, well, this just crossed my mind and I think we're going to look back and be like, oh my God, the Snell contract looks fantastic. Yeah. How good is a show hey,

contract look now. That's, like, it already looked great, but when Soto has, or $805 million, no deferral, and you're talking about Shohei deferring 98% of it. Like, it's, you see people on the, you see people in New York City and sometimes the phrase is just, I don't have, I don't have the time today. I don't have the time for that today. Happy for the Dodgers and Shoah and Nez and and Snell, whatever. I'll tell you what, I get on the horn and I'd ask about Dylan Sees.

Yeah. Because you just had kind of a price tag laid out for you a little bit. I mean, except one year less. Like, if, okay, the Red Sox had to give a top, let's say teal is top 40 and the other main guy in there's top 100-ish. Okay, so does one of those get me Dillon C's for a year? And I'd be a little nervous that the Orioles would do that again because that's kind of Corbyn Burns part too, right?

But I think there's going to be a smart team that you don't have to empty the farm for one year of a guy that might win the Sai. Like, you know, like, okay, so these prices are scary to you, go get a potential Sigh Young winner for your third prospect. Like that That feels like a no-brainer That we're gonna be on the mics in a couple days And a smart team did that

If the Padres decide to go that way Who's the smart team that's gonna do that? Braves? Braves would be interesting, right? Like they've been snaking the grass this whole time And they're not just sleeping. Like I, who was I daydreaming? Cease to the Braves theme,

so that seems like it's gonna be part of the simulation. Cease to the Braves, fits the simulation. There was another, there was a stud I was thinking about the other day. Oh, Kyle Tucker. Like, is that not Braves? Is Kyle Tucker

not Braves? Extension, donate a little of the charity. He's not signing a freaking extension, dude. He's not. Especially with the Braves, dude. Here's what I'll say. He's going to get $400 million. The way these deals are going right now? Right.

Trev, you know the You know the player aspect side of this is slightly better than me. I'm okay saying that. I'll admit that part. Kyle Tucker is going to get a lot of money. He got hurt last year. It wasn't like an injury-prone injury, but he got hurt. Juan Soto is Wonsoto, and that's in a vacuum,

in the Cohen part of it, an inner circle Hall of Famer. Kyle Tucker is a very, very good baseball player who, five-tool, five-tool-tuff. If a team trades from Braves, Yankees, whoever it is, and they start looking at this and they say, Kyle Tucker, we love you. 300 mil.

350. I understand the hitting free agency, but let's say Kyle Tucker joins a new team and he has a so-so year or he gets hurt again. Trev, it would three, like, we're not, again, this is me talking about, I'm not talking about $20 billion. talking about $300 million.

It's something Kyle Tucker would have to think about seriously. I understand Boris, but... I agree. Look, an offer that's actually put out in front of you, you know, that's a little bit different than just thinking about it. Yeah, of course, it is my... I want to get to free agency. I want teams bidding on me. I want to maximize, you know, my earning potential.

Yeah, but if you do put that offer and says, all you have to do, my friend, is go like this. And you get X amount of money. it does make you, you know, you have to think about it. I agree with you there. But I don't think, I think Scotty B will be like now. And he does have Scott, right? I think so.

I'm going right now. Or is he a CIA guy? Let's see, Kyle Tucker, Excel. Okay. I don't know, man. Free Fitty, I... Abraham Lincoln, M. F does it all.

His stats are crazy. Um, yeah, I want to, I want to see Manaya has to be one of the next guys on the list. I, grab, that was, again, I feel like we're getting too buddy, buddy at the end here, but real interesting for teams saying, okay, Gordon Burns is going to cost us 30, 33, wherever that number lands. Okay, does Manaya cost me 25 and I get a high leverage really? Like the exact example you laid out, um, teams have to be wondering that. And I, like you have said, I think teams love Manaya, man. And I think there's going to be one team.

I tried to say this before the offseason, and I said it, like, poorly and you kind of didn't like it. Like, because this was supposed to be Walker Bueller's going to sign a one year, and then he'll get the big contract next year. He might just get it. I don't know about a huge contract, but yeah, he should. I mean, teams should be lining up the sign. Like, you're talking about getting C's, you know,

a guy that's like led the league and starts the last couple years. Say Young four, Sa Young two type guy for a prospect. I think, yes, team should be lining up to do that as well. Mueller's the same way where I feel like your, his value,

the monetary value is low. But like what he can bring to you on the field is, you know, is extreme. Like he could be a top end starting pitcher for you. And like I said, you can get him at a discount right now. So, yeah, I'm in on it.

Well, like you said, again, I have no idea. Walker Bueller, I'll tell you what, Walker Bueller is going to do Walker Bueller. But, like, if the whole thought process is, hey, you know, Walker Bueller's going to go up pitch next year and get a huge bag, if you're a, I guess I don't know enough about the injury history, I think he's a double TJ guy, but, you know, if you throw out the five for 115 or something, like, like you said, once that contracts in front of you and, you know, Walker Bueller pitched the last part of last season looking at his arm like,

this isn't Walker Bueller. I don't know. Interested to see Alex Cobb, we got more coming up on that. If you're a lefty, just like drop your arm angle down a little bit. Boom. Done. I'm trying to think of a lefty out there that just needs to drop his arm down. Maybe Jordan Montgomery just needs to drop his arm angle down a little bit.

I think he's the highest release point. So stop. Yeah, no. Just go like that. that, yeah. Just bring you down here, Big Cat. Hey, today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. The holiday season is all about feeling good and staying cozy at home.

For some, wrapping up in a blanket with a mug of hot cocoa or watching a movie with the family is the best way to spend the month of December. I'm doing that the next couple days. I'm excited. If you're looking for comfort, even when the season changes, therapy can be a great way to bring comfort that never goes away. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule.

Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapist anytime for no additional charge. Find comfort this December with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash talking baseball to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp. H-E-LP.com slash talking baseball. Go check it out. Trev, you want to do a little rumor mill where we're at? Because again, like, there's too many signings that I would feel bad to those teams

for not properly hitting them in a couple days. You know, we just did a little pitcher follow-up. We didn't even mention full pension Piv and what contract is that guy going to get there. I'm very curious to see what he gets. There's some Mets rumors out there. I guess one of the biggest names right now is Bregman. You know, Willie Adamas set the tone To kind of kick off this whole winter meetings

And those are two guys I was wondering who is going to get who I thought Adamas with a shortstop Had the leg up Now with the way money's flying around And teams not wanting to be at the dance And Bregman's resume I think he might get him

I guess which fit do you like the most And where do you think Or and then where do you think it's going to For Bregman? For Breggie. Oh, my guy. Send him a text. I don't know where he ends up.

He fits a lot of different teams. Again, we always talk about, you know, he's kind of a guy that plays all the time, I think he's going to age well. Where does Bregman end? Right now, the leading rumors are kind of Red Sox, Yankees. Detroit is back in the mix.

And I think Houston, too. I had to, I think, I picked him to go to Detroit in our draft, but the more and more I thought about it, you know, over the weeks after that, I think he ends up back in Houston. I think that's just like where I see him going. Yankees and Bregman will be something. It would be interesting because jazz goes to second. You have Bregman and Volpe. We're talking about the Yankees that got embarrassed in the World Series. You have like defense and athleticism. Yeah, I don't know. I originally was kind of, you know, going back a year or two ago,

Bregman was one of the like Mets rumored guys. Gento said her, like, Trev, I guess, I don't know if you saw any of this. I'm curious to get your thoughts. Alex Bregman, you threw out the Max Fried, the hall. Alex Bregman, 40 career war,

like we did this conversation, him, Evan Longoria, like, I don't know, do you think there's anything to, if he goes to Detroit, make some of those milestone numbers a little trickier. The ball doesn't fly there where, you know, I can say the same thing for the Yankees. That's not a Detroit shot.

Like it's a big left field you got out there. Now the Boston Red Sox or even Houston, I don't know, like those are places built for Breggie. Do you think that's in his head at all? Going to a hitter-friendly ballpark? Sure. I mean, you want to, yeah, you want to, spend your time at a place where you feel good about it.

But I think that that's not, that's down the line. I think it's, he wants to win. He wants obviously to get paid. Yeah. The Phillies rumors like kind of interesting to me with him. I think he fits that,

that like kind of, um, atmosphere that they have there. That would mean they'd have to move bone, which they've kind of talked about. But I believe, um, Topper came out and said,

we're not. We're not doing it. So maybe the Phillies are out on Breggman. But that's the place I could see him like fitting in and having fun. And it kind of hits all the marks there, talking about being on the competitive team, good ballpark, all those things. So the, if he doesn't,

because the Red Sox are prioritizing Alex Breggman. That's what, that was on MLB trade rumors. If that happens, then you know something's going to go on with Costa. Right? They have to. Yeah.

Yeah. Yes. So it's almost like selfishly as a fan of the sport. I don't want that to happen. Like I love when teams have to make these decisions and make these moves. I mean, Breggy goes to third, Devers goes to first, cost us gets shopped, who do they get in return? Like, I'd like to see that happen.

The Red Sox have a lot of, a lot of chips on the table. And by God, what a way to round it out for Bregman in New York if he goes Houston to Boston. Dude, those Phillies are, I said snake in the grass before. What is Dombrowski got up his? I don't know, man. They've been pretty slow.

Is it Luis Casas? Like, my guy has, is it Bregman? Is it like some sick Alonzo thing? Because that's just Phillies ball. I think I looked at Alonzo's like Homer chart. And if he plays at Philly every year, like an automatic 50. Like it's just...

Gotta move Bryce back to Outfield then. I mean, I don't... There's no rumor there. That was just... But, like, I think the other thing that has me all jazzed up, Trev.

You can hear it in my voice. Dude, like, I think the Rangers were big in on Freed. I think they went to the Freed finish line. So that was a team we weren't sure how much the wallet would be open and they got a Valdi, and it doesn't mean you're going to spend,

all of that money, but the nationals are supposed to be rumored in on Alonzo and trying to take the next step as their team. The Mets ain't done. No. They got to cook. Braves were the other team I said. Like, the Braves and the Phillies haven't been involved super much

this offseason, and they will be and I don't know, man. Like, it's still percolating. Yeah, there's a lot of stuff that still has to go because we talked about, okay, if you're the Yankees, you went out and got freed, You still have, you said three hitters they need to get in that lineup. They still have moves to make.

And talked about the Red Sox, you know, getting crochet. And that's just the start of these things. So there are a lot of teams involved, you know, trying to improve their roster. And this is, it's great for baseball. When teams are actively, you know, going for it, the Mariners for, they just got the third pick in the draft. Like, they should be wheeling and dealing right now. Like, I can't wait. I'm excited.

I think there's going to be moves that we don't see coming. I mean, obviously everything's rumored and we know the guys that are available. But, you know, when you get into, you know, trade season, like, things can get shaking up, man, quickly. And I think we're, I think we're going to see that. I think we're going to see, like I said, the Phillies try to pry people away. I think the Orioles need to get step in and get in the game. The Rangers, sure, I'd love to see the Rangers, you know, insert themselves back into the chat, if you will, after going missing last year. I mean, DeGroms me back on the mound.

And, you know, they've paid guys to create a way. window. So they have to continue to be aggressive. We're going to see some stuff, man. Orioles, I keep forgetting that, like, this is... They have to go. A seminal moment. Is that the right phrase? In Orioles history, okay, that's good. Dude, the other team that we, it feels like we never talk about Houston. I know we did some Kyle Tucker stuff, but, like, we just think Houston's going to trade Tucker for prospects and

Bregman's going to walk like I you know they're another one of those I think if you look at Alonzo's homers if he plays there every year it's about 44 so um god what about my twins what do yeah what's yeah that's a good place as we as we start winding down what's what's the rumor rumors not a lot of rumors going on there I think they might they might be a team that trades away I don't think they're adding much there was two hours at this office where Correa or Buxed might be on the table. I don't think that happens

unless they get blown away by an offer because then, I mean, the fan-based interest right now on the Twins is not great. It wasn't great. Attendance-wise last year for them. You know,

they went a whole, like a three-month period where people in Minnesota could not watch the twins on TV because there were some direct TV and Comcast, something, I don't know what happened.

But, like, can if they do that they are going to put themselves in the back of minnesota sports fans minds like the vikings are playing good you know the wolves are they're like they they're losing any sort of steam um that they had and they so i i could see them trading like a high leverage release i could see like a duran or a jacks getting traded i think chris paddock is probably on the block. Willie Castro is probably on the block. But I really hope they don't because they're going to lose, like I said,

even more steam than they've already lost. Turn a Griffin Jackson to a starter. Yes. Final notes brought to us by the Draft King Sportsbook. Get involved. People grab your favorite team's jersey and some snacks. Head to the couch, another Sunday of action-packed football. And to get closer to the action each Sunday with our partners at the Draft King's

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On behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas, 21 and over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bet must win to receive reward. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash FT Ball. Yeah, my final note that you mentioned there, Trev,

I, and I, Rob, mark this down as like, let's see that it feels like the trade market should be bigger than ever. I, I just, it, with where free agency's at and with all these team needs that remain, it's just like, it feels like the free agency is going to have a couple more. We're going to have a couple more big fish go, but I think, I think, I think, think the trade market and maybe crochet kicks it off. But I think that's, I think if you haven't gotten your 1A guy in free agency as they fall off the board, now those second plans are, okay, we got to trade this prospect capital and, or even parts for parts.

We talked about that a lot last year that would love to see something. Yankees need to make it happen, man. Let's go. Three hitters. You said it. Three hitters, I believe it. Hold me to it. I hope I'm right.

Hey, we will see you guys coming up. We'll see if there's one of the big ones and we can hop on the mics. We'll do it for you. A crazy couple days coming for me. We'll see. But hey, we appreciate you guys to the absolute best. Go baseball. Go Trev.

Go Rob.