Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Did The Mets Sign Frankie Montas to get to Juan Soto?

Episode Date: December 3, 2024

Use code TALKIN10 for 10% off tickets on SeatGeek. https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TALKIN10 *Up to $25 offStart your free online visit today at https://Hims.com/talkin for your personalized ED treatment options.Shop the hottest bats at the lowest prices this Black Friday and Cyber Monday and save up to 80% off with free shipping and free returns on every order: https://bit.ly/justbatsxtalkinbaseballCorona is for the fans who never lose. Be sure to get yours at https://OrderCorona.com Watch Blitzball Battle 5 NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@WarehouseGames The offseason is starting to ramp up! Jake and Trev analyze what Frankie Montas to the Mets really means and if this is just the beginning, Why the Cubs need to dig deeper after signing Mathew Boyd, where Tommy Edman will play and slot in the lineup for the Dodgers and more! 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. Gobble, gobble, gobbler, ho, ho. It started. Montas. Boyd, the hot stove is here. Tommy Edmund, the Dodgers. Let's talk ball. Frankie Montas.

Higher arm angle. Home run. Probably. Hello and welcome to talking baseball. Presented to you by Seekek. Welcome back, everybody. And make sure you use Seeky. Go download the app.

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I think over the weekend I started getting the itch. It was like, hey, when's this going to go? And then we got a little bit of cheese last night. Frankie Monta signs with the Mets that kind of kicks off. You know, one of the teams that's going to be highlighted this off season just with their needs and their owner's wallet. And then a team that always kind of has us a little befuddled. The cubbies get into the mix with your.

your guy, Matthew Boyd, Edmund extension, who maybe something else will happen. And I think we want to try a new segment at the end, the Reddit Wheel of Death. So Trev, how are you? How was Thanksgiving?

Everything was excellent, had family up, all that good stuff. My friend, Coach Nick, smoked my bird for me. And it was delicious. So shout out, Coach Nick. You let another man smoke your bird, huh?

Yeah, he's, you know, good friend. So I'll let him, Smelt my bird, obviously. It's something new he's trying, that we're all trying out. Look, yeah, I'm, I think that we're going to have a lot of this in this offseason because of Juan Soto, because all the big guys, or most of the big guys, have these qualifying offers, which teams, you know, whether they're using that as leverage against the player or not, or whether they're just scared of losing draft picks.

There are some holdups. I'm hoping it doesn't go that way for us, Jake, because, look, we run a baseball show. we like to talk about fun things. But the Juan Soto thing, I think, is going to hold this whole market up. And then, like I said, Corbyn Burns has a qualifying offer. Max Fried has a qualifying offer. Like, these things are all, they're all important. So, you know, we're lucky to get a little bit of news.

This is, this is interesting. I think we're going to get into kind of where we're at in the baseball landscape in terms of, you know, what pictures are worth. And what can they, what can, what can, what is your organization? think that they can do to fix guys. I think that's where we're at right now is every organization's like got a couple guys back in the basement being like, you know, we just did this to this guy. We can get this.

And I'm not so sure it works that way. I'm really not. I've been behind the scenes. I heard these guys talking. And I'm like, yeah, in a perfect world, you might be able to make some adjustments and turn out some new product.

But a guy is a guy. It's an interesting conversation. because a guy's a guy, but there's some teams that have the track record that we give them respect, and if a guy signs there, we're like, oh, watch out. And yeah, I think both of these,

I mean, the Mets and the Cubs, both of them are kind of in between. They deserve a little bit of credit for tapping into guys, but I don't think they're viewed as the elite. Do the Cubs have that? I mean, look, the Mets have a shining example of last year. So I get why they're optimistic about it.

The Cubs, to me, who have they turned? around? I think they have some guys in the bullpen. I mean, again, it's where the guy a guy conversation, but, you know, where Justin Steele's landed in Shoda and Mnaga, that contract, we were all like, okay. I'm kind of out on the Cubs. Hey, man, I've, I want to be in on them. I know. I said if, I said if they signed Corbyn Burns, I'm in, and here's Matthew Boyd as your early Christmas gift. So, and I think that's the other interesting combo with both these teams. Like the Mets definitely have more shopping to do.

And it's where do the Cubs go with that? But first, let's do the Mets and Monsas, because this was the news that broke last night. I think it was an interesting contract because I don't know, Frankie Montas, there's some numbers you can chop up the past couple years that aren't so pretty. It's been a little while since he has been that 2021 dominant Frankie Montas. yet, I don't know, he got traded for by the Brewers last year, and they're a smart organization,

and then David Stearns and the Mets, where he came from the Brewers, they're signing him to a two-year, $34 million contract, 17 mil per year with a player option. I didn't realize that this morning. So if Montas is good, essentially he'll opt out again, because he wasn't great and he got that money. But if you like great, why don't you check out this Blitzball Battle 5 promo coming up?

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I think it's a case of, well, this is where we're at with the starting pitching market. You know, he, he's a guy that has upside. And if you have any sort of upside as a starting pitcher, like teams are willing to take a chance in you, especially with a, you know, a one, two-year deal, one year with an opt-out, whatever it may. be. And then I think the Mets, like I said, with Sean Mania last year, you know, when they brought him in last year, they didn't think they were going to get Sean Mania that we saw towards the end of the year, but they made some adjustments. And is that going to happen when Frankie Montas? I don't think so. Is there a right-hander that he's just going to magically model his

pitching style after and take off? Hey, they should try Nolan Ryan. Like, you know, I don't know, try something. So, like, there are some things that teams like to do. I was talking earlier about, you know, there's guys in the back, you know, all these, you know, bio mechanic dudes that are just, you know, they'll hook, they'll hook him up to some sort of, you know, tracking device. And, and obviously with Trackman, they already know arm angles and they know, you know, release points in extension and his spin rate and all these things. And with a guy that has the arm talent like Frankie Montas, we can still run the ball up there, you know, mid to upper 90s, you know, they think they can fix some things. He wants to, he wants to,

went to the brewers, you know, he raised his arm slot, you know, whatever an inch or something. And there was a little bit of V-low things, you know, when you do that, your pitch shapes change and they found some things that sort of work. So I think, you know, that's where their thought process is on this. Look, it's not that expensive. I know we're talking about a guy that's been injured and hasn't had a ton of success as of late getting, you know, $17 million a year. And I know that sounds like a ton of money. But in the baseball world, especially starting pitching that's not that much money and the commitment is is cheap so for them it's hey this guy's going to slot in at the back of our rotation we're going to add more there's going to be more depth

but he does i mean look it's kind of undeniable that he he has upside we've seen it he's done it before at the big league level so i think that's where their thought process like it's not going to hamstring us with anything else number and number two which is maybe the most important thing it's a Scott Boris Klein and it's did Boris say hey if you want a chance a real chance at our guy

we got this other guy you need to take care of first I don't know like this stuff like that happened would you put it past you know a super agent to do something like that use the leverage that he has I wouldn't so I think all those things together make it makes sense for the Mets I don't hate the move for the Mets

I think there is potential here and it's low risk so I'm into it. I know, I don't think this is going to be, this isn't the move that's going to, you know, change the outcourse of the 2025 season for the Mets, but it has potential to work out decently for them. Yeah, it's going to be interesting to see where it falls

in the realm of Mets moves this off season. Is this their second biggest move? Because, like I laid out, Mets fans are expecting a big off season. And I think that's kind of a funny thing to think about with Stearns like, hey, they built the Brewers into that, you know, they're in the running for the Central every year without the bank roll, that it's like, okay, are they going to do that?

Because if Frankie Montas is the third best pitcher they signed this for agency, then the Mets are going to have an all-time off season, and they're going to be like World Series favorites again and back to it. If Montas is this, you know, one of two starting pitchers, okay, who's the other guy and what's that rotation look like? Because currently it's listed as Kodi Sangha, who, you know, he had his injury troubles last year and what can you truly bank on through a full season,

obviously more than last year. But Montas kind of slots in as there, too. David Peterson was really good last year, 21 starts. And then it's Paul Blackburn and Tyler McGill. So they still have some rotation work to be, done. I mean, those guys are MLB guys, but you want them kind of push down in the rotation a little bit and add to your bullpen depth. They lost three like legitimate starters for them last year.

Like, yeah, they're going to fill out this rotation. And if you can peg Montas, why'd you look at me like that when I started? Yeah, I was, I don't know. I don't know. Okay. You Billy Hoyle looking mofo? You do look like him today. Billy Hoyle? Yeah, from White Men Can't Jump. Oh, thank you. Are you getting a ball? Yeah,

you might. He was pretty good in that movie. I thought you were talking, at first I thought you were referencing the guy from Firefest. What's his name? I have that guy's energy, right? A little bit, maybe a little mixture of both of those guys.

Right in between. If you could slot in Montas as you're four or five with these debt pieces, I think. And if you, I mean, that's with the caveat that you add to like, top of the rotation guys, then that,

then this move makes a lot more sense, I think. It's going to be interesting to see what they tap into. You mentioned the Brewers brought up his arm slot. They're one of the teams that gets respected as like, okay, if the Brewers think there's more in Frankie Montas, there's probably a little bit more in Frankie Montas. Dude, every team is so convinced that they know better. Right.

Every team hires somebody that worked a drive line, somebody that has this education like this guy's going to fix everything and it's like yeah okay you can there's suggestions I don't want to take anything away from those guys because they have changed the game they really have so you know you can listen but

the guy still has to go out and do it and you can say you could say to anybody hey make this adjustment and it's going to make you better it's got to feel right you got to be able to mentally be able to bring it into the game I think we forget about that aspect so much

in this generation we're just like, yeah, if you just do this, the data shows, it's like, dude, great. That's a computer simulation. And are we in a massive computer simulation? We don't know. I have my thoughts, but you still got to play ball.

And I don't want to sound like an old head, but like, dude, like you got, it's not as simple as just, hey, do this, it's an easy fix. Or else everybody would be the best picture in the world, dude. Like, there's so many things that go into it. We just got to pump the brakes a little bit. That's all. Yeah, I think other things on a more positive note than that,

because I, you know, I think there's just a little bit of hitter jealousy that pitchers are getting this kind of money still. I can hear it in your voice. Me? I can hear it in your voice. I want all my brothers. My family.

Getting paid. Yes. And, you know, Frankie and I shared a locker, showered together. I want this guy to get paid. Damn. Montas did go over to the brewery. and his first nine starts.

So he has one outlier start. The snake's got him. September 22nd, obviously, best offense and baseball last year. But his nine starts before that, he had a 355 ERA, and he had 60 strikeouts in 50.2 inning. So when he went over to the Brewers, he was striking guys out more. You mentioned his arm slot.

His sinker rated out really well last year that we've seen a lot of pitchers go from that true four seamer to the sinker. So, hey, there's potential. in that arm. There's potential in that body. I think what's interesting to me, the Mets are coming off of a season where they had a miraculous run. The vibes ended up being immaculate that Louis Severino and Frankie Montas

are kind of comparable that... I don't know. Severino turns down the qualifying offer. Let's see what his free agency turns into because those are kind of going to be guys that get compared to each other at least next year in Metsland. And then the other interesting plot twist of all of this is, you know, Sean Menaia's free agency that, hey, you kind of started it at mid-season last year. Like if, you know,

Manaya has some quotes out there that were a step further than a player hitting free agency about coming back. Like he was really into it. He was about the Mets culture and kind of what he turned into with them. Dude, before each other starts last year, it's, dude, baseball moves so fast and there's some stuff that teams do that other teams, Manaya and Sevi were putting each other's numbers in, uh, eye black on their faces for each other starts last year. So like, let's say if they signed Manaya, and I don't know,

Sevi has similar arm talent build to Montas. I don't know. That's just going to, I feel like for Mets fans, that's got to be in your head. Like Montas is going to bring back Manaya? Is that what you're saying? No, no, no. I'm saying, like say if Manaya does come back to the Mets. You know, depending what Severino gets on the open market,

which maybe he's three years or maybe it's more money. I don't know. I'm interested to see Seve's free agency with the qualifying offer. I don't know. I guess those are just two guys in my head that are going to be compared next year if you're a Mets fan or you're looking back at this free agency. like Sevi and Montas, those are similar guys, kind of. I mean, look, I think you're right,

because there was the three guys that we just mentioned that left the rotation, Mania, Kintana and Severino. At the beginning of the season, what were the expectations for those guys? Like, not high. No. Kind of like, yeah, they're going to eat some innings. And we're going to be trade bait.

That's what we thought. And this transition year. So, and they all looked great. So maybe the Mets do have the super sauce. And maybe Montas is going to be out there throwing bullets and we're going to be like, you guys, we miss this one. I hope that's the case. I really do. And for them, I think that's why this deal in my mind makes sense for them because it's not, it's just the commitment is so low that they can take a chance, man.

They have plenty of room, plenty of room to still sign guys. Obviously they're after Soto. And then after that, they still need to go out and get another, you know, at least like a lot. a two or a three type starter, you know, if they don't, if they get soda, are they going to go after burns or freed or whoever, I don't know, but you bring like an Iivaldi or a Flaherty or somebody like that in, like they have a lot of moves to make the Mets. And I think they're going to make them. I do. I think we're going to see, in my opinion, I think we're going to see the Mets and the Red Sox absolutely splurge this off season. Well, that's, I think that's going to be the other

interesting thing with Montas looking back, that he, him, being one of the first moves of this offseason means the Mets had him circled, right? Like, we've talked about all the pitching that's available. The Mets weren't doing, hey, let's see what's available at the end of all this, and we'll try to get a value guy. Like, they've targeted Manta. They said for that price tag, we want this guy. The other thing that's had me in circles a little bit, Trev,

is that it's a player option for next year. So if the Mets think that Frankie Montas is this, guy, which clearly they do, then they pretty much think he's going to opt out after one year. Or they try to extend him during the year. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. Interested to see where the rest of this Mets offseason goes, obviously.

And the pitching market is starting at least the, should I say, the second tier pitching market? Is that rude? Well, I think that we've seen over the last, and I've mentioned this before on the show. over the last couple years guys that wait and don't have spring trainings are straight up what does that guy say?

Just not having a good time. Yeah, that was a little more, I think that was more Ronald Reagan than that guy. I think he crosses him. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was I am not a crook.

Whatever. You guys know what I'm talking about. They want a spring training, dude. They want to get healthy and face major league hitters before the major league baseball season. It makes sense, dude. Yeah. Like, so I think

pitchers will move faster or want to move faster in the off season than a position player. I don't think a position player really cares that much about spring training. Position players always say, we need two weeks. Like, we need two weeks to see some live pitching. After that, we're ready to go. Pitchers are like, oh, my gosh.

I'm not going to talk about a pitcher anymore. You know what I'm saying. I know what you're saying. And as I talk about the pitching market developing, we had one break pretty much right before we were start to record. Matthew Boyd signs a two-year deal, $29 million. So kind of in the same ballpark here to the Chicago Cubs in that signing is brought to you by Hymns. Today's episode is sponsored by Hymns.

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Prices vary based on product and subscription plan. So, Trev, the Cubs. that I'm feeling bad for our Cubs fans. I love Chicago. I love, you know, the Cubs, Wrigley in the summer. It's what it's all about. I do think there's some Cubs fans

that feel whatever emotions we've been feeling that I, you know, I was doing this whole thing where I haven't found the right place for Corbyn's that I was like, ooh, if the cubbies put the chips in and put them at top with Imenaga and steel and you have that lineup, that may be a pipe dream. Maybe there's more moves to come.

I don't know. But they signed Matthew Boyd. We saw him actually have a pretty nice postseason at the end, working his way back. And this is, I don't want to say similar to Montas, but lefty, righty, Matthew Boyd, his best seasons. You know, I'm looking at a post right now that says they're looking for him to find his 2019 form. It's going to be 2025.

I'm looking to find my 2019 form. I guess what was your instant reaction to this one, coach? It is similar. You know, a guy that, you know, ended the year on a positive note. And again, this is a guy who's, you know, he's done it at the big level before. And you're looking at a team that's looking for rotational depth. And they found the guy. I mean, that's kind of what this is.

It's a depth move. He's, you know, he's come out of the bullpen before. He's obviously started more than that. So I think it's a guy they can look to for a couple different positions, depending on what their rotation ends up looking like. He was striking guys out in the postseason. And I think that, again, it's a low risk, you know, with potential for some upside signing for the Cubs.

I think the Dodgers have done this to a different degree and been successful at it. Like you can't have five pitchers. That just doesn't work. Like you need a stable of pitchers in today's day and age to get you through a season. So this is, you know, part of the stable. I think that's, I think it's a good signing for them. It's not going to change their season or anything like that.

But it's just part of their rotational depth with a chance to move in the bullpen. Again, they saw some flashes last year, you know, especially in the playoffs where, like I said, he was striking some guys like he was walking a lot of people, which was interesting. But he, can you tinker with some stuff? Can you do this? Can you do that? Again, I think this is very much a rotational depth. And it didn't get me as jazzed up as the Montau's deal.

I'll say that. Interesting. It's, I mean, besides the lefty, righty part of it, Matthew Boyd, I mean, last year when he was pitching, he pitch strongly. Yeah, pitch well. Eight good starts in the regular season to the tune of a 272. and then in the playoffs,

I think it was 11.2 innings, one earned run, with a lot of strikeouts. And, yeah, there's some walks, but I think that's playoff baseball a little bit. Like, you're not going to, you'd rather give a walk than give in and give a guy a cookie. That, yeah, it feels like Boyd, I was going to say pitching-wise,

he might have more upside than Montas, but maybe not. I guess the scary thing with me for Boyd, He hasn't thrown over 78 innings since 2019. These are since 2020. He threw 60.1 innings in 2020, 78.2 and 21, 13.1 and 22. 71 and 23, 39.2. So with Montas, you know, you have similar potential upside.

Frankie's career numbers are a little bigger. he did throw 150 innings last year. So Boyd hasn't put in that inning work, you know, coming up on five, six years now where Montas has. But if you're looking at just last year and who pitch better, you would point at Boyd and like when he was out there, he shoved. I'm looking at some splits right now because the Cubs do have like a lot of guys that are at that stage of they're at the baby level.

Can they sit? Can they be in our rotation? Kind of a bunch of back end guys where I don't know if he's guaranteed a spot in the rotation. Are they thinking about him as a guy they can put in the bullpen, a swing guy, spot start type guy? I'm looking at the splits here. And through his career, yeah, I mean, obviously he's been better against lefties. I wonder if last year was more of an outlier year for him as far as splits. because if they do see something like that,

then you can really start to think about how they're going to use him. Because right now, if you're looking at what the Cubs have, you know, towards the back end of the rotation, Ben Brown, Javier Assad, Wix, West Nesky. Yeah. They have a bunch of guys there. So, like, they are following that model of a bunch of guys that can be in the rotation when need be, or you can possibly, you know, option them.

if the rotation is full. They have a lot of guys there. So let me look at these splits here last year. Treve, that is interesting, man. I didn't realize how good their, quote-unquote, ride the bus guys really were last year. Like, Hayden was Neski, put together a really solid season.

So did Ben Brown. That, yeah, I mean, it's either, hey, they're going with the pitching depth approach and, you know, they're laughing at me saying, bring in club and burns, man. And they're saying, hey, we need eight, nine starters. to get through this year, and we, you know, Matthew Boyd can help us do that. Or the other thing that just went through my head,

and Cubs fans maybe just send me to the asylum with you, but, you know, that's some depth in pieces that, you know, they've been talking about trading Bellinger. Like, if you can shuffle around the money and you also have young arms available, like, God, Cubbies, let's go. last year against left-handed batters 143-226-357 for the 583 OPS I mean right-handers only had a 641 OPS against him

but you can see the discrepancy there a little bit where I'm not saying he's going to turn into a lefty specialist I'm just saying like there's different ways to use Matthew Boyd throughout the season starter reliever you know most likely during if you're in the postseason a guy like him would go to the bullpen like he did with the the Guardians this year.

Okay, so I said I'm more excited about Frankie Monta's. I think I am because I'm curious to see what they're going to do with him and I think the power arm still intrigues me. But this is, look, if your team signs a capable big leader, you should be happy about it. That's what you want your team to do.

This guy has done it, showed it last year, he's going to be a debt piece. It's not like the end-all B-LT rotation. So Cubs fans, you can get happy about this. I like their team. I said I'm out on the Cubs because I want them to take the leap. I had a teammate back of the day named Matt McCree, Notre Dame grad.

He was an infield that we played in the Arizona fall lead together. And during that time, we shared a house. And he would, we'd have these arguments. We'd talk about politics. We talk about simulations, space, all these things. And I was, you know, I'm a high school grad. So we'd talk about things and he'd always tell me, he goes, Trev, you need to dig deeper.

And I was like, okay. But what he meant was a lot of my arguments would be surface level. I needed to go a little bit more. I think that's where the Cubs are at. I like their roster. Like they're right there. Like they're getting the point. Like what they're doing makes sense.

But they just need to take that one more step, man. And I don't know what that means. If that means going out and getting a Corbyn Burns, if that means, I guess, trading Bellinger and getting something back in return. I don't know what that next step is for them. or what they plan on doing. But I think if you're a Cubs fan, you know what I'm talking about. They just push a little bit more.

Dig a little bit deep. Yeah, there was a, I forget who it was. There was a Cubs fan in my replies that I think there was one of our clips being tough love on the Cubs. And they were like, they were kind of on our side. And they said that, you know, every Cubs player is the 10th to 20th best player at their position. And it's like, so you like them. And you're like, yeah, they're a good ball player.

but that high-end what might move the needle during the season, it feels like they're missing one or two of those. And yeah, I mean, they've, again, they've got this farm that's on the way. Like, they're top three prospects. Like they have four prospects in the top 100 that are supposed to be kind of show guys this year, that that's either, okay, so are those guys going to be guys and that's how you guys are going to take the next step? Or, you know, some of these trades we're talking about,

that Luis Castillo contract. Like, God, he'd look good on the Cubs. And could they send a hitter prospect or even? They need a banger, dude. They need a banger in that lineup. Move that belly. I agree with you. They need a team identity.

Like, it was kind of like, hey, we play strong defense, which that's cool. But the brewers outbreweries you on that front. and I don't know. I want to see the next move for them. And this is kind of rude, but you set it at first and then you walked it back. Like when you see these two contracts,

Montas and Boyd, your initial lien seemed to be Montas, but I don't know. Yeah, I think so just because of like the, maybe I just have my vision of him from back on the day. But a power pitcher, a guy that did throw 150 innings last year, which is maybe we'll call that the new 200 innings, 150? I don't know. I think he's going to be more involved in the rotation,

possibly than Matthew Boyd is. But I guess that's to be seen. Yeah, the other thing that's in my head, and I don't know if this is fair or not, this feels very similar to the Drew Smiley signing. That, you know, Drew Smiley gave them some good innings. He gave them some not as great innings. And I guess what else is around it?

So, again, the Cubs, they have the ammo, man. God, those top prospects, those AAA pitchers that, hey, maybe that's what's going to help them make the turn or be more consistent. Maybe this is the answer to the bullpen help or one of the answers or one of the beginning of the rearrangement of the bullpen. like those are some that's like an important area of a baseball team that really gets overlooked a lot but you need a bullpen man always need a bullpen I keep looking at their lineup and I'm like okay

it's it's pretty good freaking lineup it's like right there everyone's good yeah this is the team they wanted we talk about that all the time this is the team like they made this team and these guys are here like they're not going anywhere like this for the most part like this squad is locked up. That's where if I was a Cubs fan, kind of like we said with Montas, like the Mets clearly had him circled, they paid their price, they got him. The Cubs felt that way about Matt Boyd, and maybe they're right, and maybe we're going to look back. And kind of like Imanaga, like that was one of the best signings of recent pre-agent history that, hey, maybe we look at Boyd and say that and maybe they deserve that credit. If I'm a Cubs fan, I'm a little

nervous that, again, I think this is a front office that really likes themselves and they're confused why it's not working and that maybe Matt Boyd is going to be a continuation of that. I don't know. I don't know. I could see them using a big bat too like you, Trev. Like you said, Treve. And maybe that's at JustBats. Meet JustBats, the largest online bat store. You won't find a better selection with brands like DeMarini, Easton, Louisville Slugger, Marucci, and more. So shop today to find your next baseball or softball bat. At just bats, they've got what you're looking for. All the top brands, over a thousand

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There's no better online shopping experience than the one you'll receive with them. So head on over. Justbats.com today. Get your next gamer or some new lumber. There's a link in the description. Trev, I want to talk some Tommy Edmund quick because I think it's It's interesting just to see where the Dodgers are at with their free agency. They're going to be one of the teams.

I mean, they're the team in baseball right now, if we're being honest about it. I did want to say in that just bats ad, they mentioned returns. I got pretty excited Black Friday. It was time to get a new TV. I went for it. Went two sizes too big. Just doesn't fit. Like legitimately doesn't fit?

or you just think it's too big? Legitimately does not fit. I live in an apartment. And you didn't measure, huh? I didn't. So we were away with Jess's family, and I got excited. So I was guessing which size.

The current TV was, I don't know, man. I just, I went for it. I went for it and I missed. So my whole upcoming week is trying to figure out how to properly return that. It looks like it fits.

I don't know. You could technically hang it on the wall, and it would work. So why don't you do that? One of my buddies's got a good joke off about, you know, pretty big flex having a jumbo-tron in your living room. Treve, I live in an apartment, man. You can hang it on the wall. You can hang it on the wall. Hanging on the wall?

That's where those TVs are supposed to go, dude. TVs don't sit on anything anymore. They're on the wall. I'm going to size down, and it's going to be okay. Um, uh, size down. Tommy Edmund, kind of a, one of baseball short kings.

Uh, he gets that next Dodger contract, uh, extension. So there's two more years on his contract. Uh, they buy those out to make it a five year, $74 million deal.

Uh, you know there's some deferred money. You know there's a signing bonus. It's, this, this is the future of baseball or Dodger ball. Um, And I think for me, Trev, this is truly one of the perks of being one of the big market teams right now. You can sign this Tommy Edmund contract, and he might play center, he might play short, he might play second, you're going to see him everywhere.

And, you know, his OPS over the course of a season, it might not wow you. And for a lot of teams, if you're paying 15 mil for a guy, you might need them to be a quote unquote impact piece in the lineup. and Tommy Edmund will be defensively, speed, and some clutch hits, as we saw in the NLCS. But this is truly a Dodgers. It allows them flexibility over the next few years, and it just gives them a really good ball player. Yeah, they're just stockpalling good ballplayers over there.

But they have, they've had guys like this on their team over the last, whatever, 10 years, whether it's Kiki, whether it's Chris Taylor. C.T. Yeah, like, you know, this is something that they value and, you know, you brought this up before the show. Like, where the heck is he going to play? It's, it's an interesting situation they have going on out there because they are stockpiling good baseball players. And Muky Betts, they're saying he's going to move back to the infield. So that means to me, second base, which means what do you do with Gavin Lux?

What do you do with McGee-Rohas and what do you do with Tommy Gavin? Is it as easy as you saying Tommy's going to be in center field? and he might play shortstop on some days. I think that's probably where they'll go with it, but this whole Mookie Bet situation is crazy. Crazy to me. It's crazy. It's crazy.

They kind of don't have a shortstop, but they have four shortstop. Yes. So I don't know, man. I do like this deal. You know, you mentioned Tommy Edmund, OPS, whatever it is. All that guy has to do is be a round league guy. average and with the base running with the defense mostly like he's that's where his value lies like

just let him be in a league average hitter and he is going to provide a ton of value for you because he is a guy that can go patrol the outfield he can come in and play the infield when need be and I think he just fits man and he mentioned the deferred money and a signing bonus people are so upset at the Dodgers and they're saying it's cheating and like I get all the all these mentions on my on my X feed all the time. It's cheating what the Dodgers are doing. We have to do something about this. I can't believe Major League Baseball is letting this happen.

This has been going on for so long. You can point to a bunch of different teams that have been doing this. Like Max Scherzer is a prime example. He deferred like half of his contract and nobody really bad at an eye at that. In fact, they probably said, well, that's stupid of Max Scherzer. Why would he do that? the thing that's different about the Dodgers, and I think why people are so upset is they convinced,

they didn't convince, I don't know, it happened where Shohay Otani deferred almost 100% of his contract. But he can do that because of the money he's making off of the field. That is where they have the advantage. The rest of these things are deferring some of Snell's money, some of Edmund's money, that's just all kind of typical stuff that happens now,

but it's the fact that Showhead deferred so much of it. That's where they have the advantage over teams. But the rest of the, we've got to stop with that deferred money stuff that's been going on for years, for years. Your team can also defer money. Yeah, this is not cheating. It's just, I don't know,

I don't know why it's gotten that label as of late, but it has, and I just want to dispel that rumor. Hey, I don't, you know, we're, well, you're a player's guy, I'm an owner's guy, obviously. Yeah, obviously. The different crews we roll with. But it's funny that this is becoming more and more chic because the player has to agree to it.

And I wonder if Shohei kind of opened up more people's eyes to that or, you know, hey, come play for the Dodgers and we'll do this. But, you know, this is for the money these guys are making, this is supposed to be exhibit A of like a financial thing you're not supposed to do. It's like if you get this money now and you invest it, where it's also kind of funny, the old, and I just pointed at myself on the YouTube, make sure you're subscribed.

You know, I always thought deferred money was awesome. It's almost like a safety net. Like, hey, if I blow all this, I can still get my Bobby Bonilla money, but that's kind of not how the financial world actually works. No, but there are other like, I am the financial guy here. There are other benefits of,

guys doing this, especially if you're playing in California, dude. Like if you're not earning this money where you're getting taxed 13% on top, like Shohei Otani, when he gets all that money, he's going to be back in Japan. I don't know what the tax rate is there or what, like, what the income tax is like there. I do. I'm guessing it's less than 13%. I'm guessing that. So, you know, Blake Snow, he gets a signing bonus of $52 million, but that's from,

he's going to be in Seattle when that happens. that tax rate is lower. There's a lot of stuff going on. The deferred money, yes. Would you want to lump sum of money right now to invest? Sure, I get that. But like, dollars we're talking. Doesn't make any difference.

These guys, they're rich. They're fine. Tommy Edmund opening day center fielder? That's the early lean. Especially if mookies at second base. Hey, man, what? It feels like we're sniffing around something. Gavin Lux.

Yeah. It sounds like... He bawled out. He bawled out at the end of the season for the Dodgers. It sounds like they really want Mookie at second, which we did the debate what's easier on your body, second or right field. I think people lost 10 minutes of their life with that combo.

I think it's just easier to find a bat that can play outfield. It's true. They're trying to, you know, take that advantage. Like, hey, we got this guy that's going to have a 900 OPS at second base, which you can't find literally anywhere. Yeah. And we can put a guy out in the outfield that can give us that too.

So I think that's their thought process. But yeah, Gavin Lux is... We'll see, man. I mean, if people are already mad at the Dodgers for what they're doing, go watch what they bring back for Gavin Lux. God. Seattle.

Yeah, it's going to be... It is, you know, copycat. Copycat leagues, copycat sports. Man, this Dodgers team always having the Chris Taylor's and the Kikaze and now Tommy Edmund. It's like, hey, there's everyone around the league, there's something to that. Whether it's just being able to plug and play with better players at other positions. Like, it just allows you such different versatility. And Trev, as much as I was giving you crap for, or fake giving you crap for these pitchers getting paid,

hey, you can play defense all over and run. And I don't want to say lightly switch hit because that puts what Tommy Edmund does. Hit said to league average, you can still get paid a lot of money. Especially in today's day and age where they can really, or they feel like they can really pinpoint your value

from your defense. Like that's change for those guys, man. Like, you know, I think back even in as early as, like, 2000s, maybe even early 2010s, like some of these guys that could really go get it, like they didn't get paid the way they could get paid now because they weren't really tracking defense the way they can now.

So shout out Jamie Carroll. Shout out to Jamie Carroll. How much did he make? I think JJ Hardy did he did good. I think he did good too, but I think he's probably undervalued. Or maybe... Is he one of those guys that people thought was a great fielder

and maybe wasn't, I don't know. Short stops have always been valued and he was a Gold Glove shortstop with some power. So I think he did. I watched that guy play, three-time Gold Glover. I watched that guy play

and I always talk about Gunner Henderson and Bobby Wood. These are the guys I want to be like. Like, J.J. Hardy might have been my first. Kaleel Green was number one. Right. And then J.J. Hardy. Like, J.J. Hardy.

Yeah, you played shortstop and hit fucking taters, dude? That's, um, man, I'm doing a money guess in my head, and I feel like... I haven't looked yet. I feel like he had to get one free agent bag. I'm going like, I'm going like 85,

but I think that's light. It's also a different era of money. Like, I'm mentally below that. I would throw out like a 60. Okay. And we are at 80.3. Okay. Did you nail that?

I was 85. So I lost in the prices, right? Right. Go check out, just Google J.J. Hardy baseball field and just have yourself a time with that. Oh, is that the Arizona situation? Yeah. He's like building a baseball field. He's got like, he's like surrounded by a development, but he owns his own land so he can do whatever he wants with it. He's like putting lights and like a net. It's like, okay. So it's an incredible, it's worth the Google. I'm remembering it now. Trev, let's wrap it up with a new segment alert. We're going to spin the Reddit wheel with our guy Rob Sorocco and dig into the depths of what some of the fan bases are talking about.

And it's all brought to you by Corona. Today's episode is sponsored by Corona. You know what? I always try to be the fan that never loses. God, no one went well with Thanksgiving. Corona. that goes well with Christmas Corona

And hey, if your team is missing out On some of these free agents Boyd, Montas You could still be winning If you've got a Corona in hand It's the best beer to pair With baseball We were with them all postseason long

We're going to be with them all off season long And there's going to be a day When it's spring training Oh, and there's that coronavirus. Corona in your hands. Ooh. On a berm. It's just a different feeling.

So, cheers to everyone who loves the game beyond the scoreboard. Corona for the fans who never lose. Get yours at order corona.com. 21 plus. Relax responsibly. Imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, Illinois. All right, Rob. What do you got for us?

Okay, so we got the wheel of free agents slash trade hopes. and dreams from the Reddit faithful. We, Dalton and I kind of scoured the, the old Reddit subreddits of all the teams and everything like that and kind of came up with a nice list. And so we could spin this wheel. And then, you know, see, see, get your thoughts on it. See if you like it.

You don't like it. Yada yada. You know, the whole cabat and caboodle. The one you teased us with was a San Francisco Giants thing that I'd never heard before. Yes. I'm interested to see what else this. wheel has. Yeah, there are a couple crazy ones

and so it was fun. It was fun to put together. So here we go. You ready? First spin. Strangely colored wheel. It is a little strange. Very retro. Oh, our bread and butter. Here we go. All right. Astro fans don't mind if Alex Bregman gets overpaid and leaves. Wow.

I mean, I could see that thought process with them because they've done that before. They've let guys go. They've let George Springer go go they let Garrett Cole go the list goes kind of like on and on with that they think that they have a system that can just plug and play i think Alex Breggut might be a little bit different though i don't know i know Jose Altuve gets so much credit and he's like the captain heartbeat statue guy there but bregman's kind of been there every step of the way as as well there's there's something about him and you and i did share yeah a photo of Alex Breggman

where I don't know if you want to go look this up, Rob, but he has a photo on Instagram where the outfit to me was just outrageous, and then Jake said, well, he's channeling his inner Paul Wall, which makes a lot of sense. You know, he's been Houston for a while now, and he's got to embody that.

It depends, you know, I think the wheel said extreme overpay. Like, yeah, if a number comes out and it's daunting, and we, hey man, Houston, we kind of did it with Jose Abrae. Obviously different age and everything. But when we saw it was three years for Jose Abrae, everyone was like, wait, how old is he? What's going on?

If the numbers for Bregman come out and it's eight, nine years or there's, you know, whatever it starts with, I think Houston, they believe in what their front office has done enough that they can move past it because they've moved past guys. But, dude, that, that's, that's. lineup and team is starting to look like completely different. It's right now it's Altuve, Tucker, Yordon, and Yiner Diaz. He deserves some love as a young breakout player. But like, you know, Jeremy Payneau offensively hasn't landed in a special spot.

Like right now the second half of their lineup is listed as our guy John Singleton, Jeremy Pena, Shea Whitcomb, Chaz McCormick, and Jake Myers. So like, you know, go go look at those Houston teams that were winning. It was seven or eight deep that if Breggie goes, they're going to feel them. I'm going to say something right now. Okay. What do we talk about with Breggman? He's going to play forever, right?

He's going to play forever, rat. He's a rat, bodies in good shape. Yeah. He's got one of those bodies that's getting snuck. He's not going to, I can't imagine a little bowling ball shaped Alex Breggman. I just, I can't. No. Usually I can do that.

as elk, I can't wait to this guy put some LBs on, is a D.H and hitting homers. I don't see that for pregnant. The numbers this guy's put up, let's say he does get an eight-year deal. I believe we have, I don't think this is like, hey, he's got five solid years

and three shitty years. Like, I think this guy could put together, continue to just like find value. He's already at 39.6 war. Got 191 career homers. Like, is he knocking on the door of the Hall of Fame. Yes.

If he continues. I think so too. And that's where, hey, maybe, what does he have to do? What does he have to do? Um, like does he have to, he had an eight, nine season.

So it gets a little tricky. Uh, because, you know, another talking baseball favorite, our guy Evan Longoria is one of those, you know, borderline,

Hall is he, isn't he? The internet likes to debate that more than us because Evan Longoria is my Hall of Fame of life, not necessarily baseball. It's the most exchanged Instagram, but between me and Trevor is Evan Longoria. He's very interesting. You know, Evan Longoria's age 31 season,

he had 51.2 career. Okay. So I don't know. It's all how you maintain and how your body holds up so that, you know, thrown up four war seasons. And especially if he,

there's something with staying with one team. I know we like to not think that, but there is. He did not get the MVP. He got MVP two. Like if he had an MVP in the bag, plus these numbers and say he got to, say he gets to 400 homers,

which I don't know if he can. That's kind of a lot. I don't know. It's something to think about. Well, and I, I didn't have him on that list. level. There's all I'm saying.

There's something to fandom that's gotten ignored. Jimmy actually opened my eyes up to this. That, like, you know, having your guys be your guys is a big part of fandom in your team. That, dude, there's something, too, if Bregman stays the next six years in Houston, you know, the number's retired. And it's Houston forever. Like, that's cool. That's kind of what sports are supposed to be that we've just lost a little bit of that with free agency and trading. but I don't know.

That lineup would look a lot better with Alex Bregman in it, but so would a lot of other teams. I think Houston fans are saying we want to sign Framber, we want to sign Kyle Tucker. That's kind of that thought process, right? That Kyle Tucker number might be a lot more scary than the Alex Breggman. Hey, let's do one more from the Reddit fan wheel of life.

All right, what do we got? Oh, gee. Yankee fans should be worried if Juan Soto goes to the Red Sox. Yes. I want to get into this, maybe on another episode. Because I just watched the, what's that thing, the comeback on Netflix with the Red Sox. Oh, how was it?

I'd recommend it. Okay. I think it's good. I was like in Fort Myers with all those guys right after I got signed. I signed in 04. Obviously they win the World Series that year. We share a spring training talent. So I'd see Johnny Damon and Big Poppy out at Blue Sushi or, uh, there was like a,

not a Tommy Bahama restaurant, something like that. And these guys were walking around like freaking kings, dude. Um, is Juan Soto, him going to the Yankees and then saying, nah, and signing with the Red Sox. Is that like the curse of the Bambino, but opposite? it. Like, would that usher in an era of Red Sox winning and the Yankees feeling like little brother? Don't tell me there's not a lot of truth to that. Like, don't tell me that's not like, that sounds like a story that would make sense. I regret spinning the wheel again. And Trev, I don't think you even realize this on the way by, but one of, you know, some of these

player nicknames have gotten ridiculous and aren't nicknames. One of Soto's like kind of legitimate ones from when he was a kid or younger was childish Bambino because it was when Childish Gambino was big and it like bit him. Yeah, the curse of the Bambino.

I'm not thinking about that on my Monday. Dude. Hit the music. I thought about that while I was watching the video. Me and Kevin Millar, same person? Uh, Eskimo brothers Probably Chris Ross

It always ends up there Me and Johnny Danan for sure That guy, man Caveman Johnny Those guys were kings, bro They were, they are They are! Oh, twins players, come on

I'm like, what's that poppy?