Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Jeff Passan Talks Offseason Winners & Losers!

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Start your free online visit today at https://Hims.com/talkin for your personalized ED treatment options. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use promo code TALKIN Jeff Passan joins Talkin' Jake to talk the winners and losers of the offseason! They also talk what makes the most sense for Pete Alonso, if Alex Bregman's price has gone down and if the Yankees can still do 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. We brought in the guy. Brother Jeff is in the building. Not really, but really. Let's talk ball, man. Let's talk ball. I like that idea. We got like spring training is close.

Like, we're there. It's getting within like sniffing distance at this point. I don't know what spring training smells like, but I just feel like it smells good. I was going to say, we were going to wait to talk about sniffing distances, but I'm I'm glad you brought it up. Glad you brought it up early. Hey, I, you know, I think there's something to podcast and YouTube. Hello and welcome, everyone.

Welcome to talking baseball. Trevor's out dead as far as I'm concerned. Jeff is here so we can talk some real ball today. Yeah, I think Trev's on the Cancun on three plan. You know, he's got some new friends. one's name is Matthew and plays for L.A. And so I think when the offseason starts, Trev usually has a nice vacation lined up. So I think he's on that now while we're on the goddamn grind.

And we'll cover it all. We'll talk some ball. I'm always excited to ask you a question I think is uncomfortable and you answer in a tasteful manner and you're not fazed by it at all. But I do. Sometimes we skip formalities. How are you, Jeff? I'm doing great, Jake. How are you?

I'm good, man. It was a grinder of a last year and winter's starting to get to me a little bit, but just did a little sun getaway, so I'm feeling good from that. And you're right, man. I mean, your chiefs are going to play in a couple days, and we're going to wake up to all the, it's baseball season tweets. So I'm excited for that. And I guess, hey, I'll put you to the fires to start.

are we going to get any juicy news between now in pitchers and catchers report? Because there's a couple big free agents. I feel like there's a couple trades that were rumored, like Dylan Sees and stuff, that no one knows what's going on with that team. But do you think we're going to get anything juicy before, I guess, pitchers and catchers report,

or is it going to be all quiet till then? I think we're probably going to get Alex Breggman between now and then. It would not surprise. me if we got Pete Alonzo between now and then as far as the trades go I you know I wish I could tell you there's going to be a star who gets dealt because let's like let's not forget Dylan cease was dealt like around this it was it was March actually he caught he had to catch the later flight to Tokyo yeah I only remember this because I was down in the Dominican Republic

with my son's baseball team and it was you know it was like a a school trip and a baseball trip, but it was also a very service-oriented trip. And we were at a, we were at an orphanage for girls. And we were supposed to be like helping out. And I was off on the side trying to find self-service so I could break the deal and see straight. And I felt like the biggest scumbag of all. Like we're at this place.

It's just like extreme poverty. just the terrible, terrible things that you never want to see. And it's like, wow, we're doing a good thing. We're helping out. And here I am fucking tweeting. And it's like, what are you doing with your life passing? Come on. And so I got the news out.

And then I was able to go back. And I think I did help out. How'd the boys fair? Did they play Dominican kids in baseball? Or was it just like a help? No, no. I mean, what would you expect from like a small private school in Kansas City playing a bunch of Dominican kids? Okay.

And what exactly is you would expect. Okay, that's what I guess, but I just, I wanted confirmation. It doesn't get me wrong. Like, they're a good baseball team, but there were, I mean, there were some kids. They had like, they were like practices. There were, there was no formal game between them. But it was like different games at practices. And, man, it's, it's just.

It's so cool to be down there. Every baseball fan, whether it's for Lidom or for the Caribbean series or for any reason, the WBC, get down to Latin America if you can and see a baseball game. It's just such a different environment down there. And I'm so glad that the Internet exists now because otherwise nobody in the United States would have any idea what Junior Camerra did a couple days ago. and to get to see that and see the reaction and the home run trot and the call and the reaction from the fans and everything that comes with that, I just thought that was such a cool and pure form of baseball and the kind that even if you are oldest in the old school ways,

you have to be able to appreciate that moment. Yeah, yeah, going to have to start adding that to the JM schedule. A, to escape the winter, but B, baseball, I don't know. How do you write stuff off? I still haven't gotten an answer to that, but, like, I think we have people at our company that know. I was going to say, do you have an accountant? We have other humans that know financial stuff, I believe. You believe.

Okay, okay, edit that out. No, we have those people. No, please, please continue to tell me about all of the things you don't know helping run a company. please I might invest in you either the other the other the two things that jumped to my head in that story is growing up in Connecticut it would always be the first like travel team that would go and play a tournament

in like Georgia and they would just get waxed so Kansas City did the Dominican and then our own Joe's McFly I think he um because he has family in the DR I think when he was like 16 he went down there and went to like a baseball camp and he was he was like that was the first time he realized he wasn't going to become a professional baseball player because it's just, it's a different,

wait, that was the first time? I believe me, I've seen Joe's swing. Oh, no. You sure that was the first time? Again, he lives in a different place that I think that was for him the first time. Love you, Joe's. Today's episode is sponsored by Hymns. Man, life is stressful and you have plenty to worry about without adding performance in the bedroom to your list. Hymns, provides access to treatments that can help you stay hard and last longer, giving you that boost of confidence so you can be ready whenever the mood strikes. HIMS is changing men's health care, providing you with access to affordable sexual health treatments from the comfort of your couch. The process is 100% online, so there's no need for uncomfortable doctors' visits.

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See website for details and important safety information. Subscription required prices vary based on product and subscription plan. Did Pete, I don't want to say, I guess we'll see, but did Pete get hurt by such a first base market? Like I mentioned my financial knowledge, but there was a supply and demand with this first base market that a lot of Nathaniel Lowe casually going to the nationals like go look at his baseball card that i don't know did that end up hurting peter i guess is there just an ex maybe a different expectation of pita lanzo the slugger that doesn't translate to front offices yeah that's that more is what i think it is because pita lanzo was in such a different tier than the nathaniel loz Lowe's, the Carlos Santanas, Paul Gulch, you know, even Christian Walker, who ended up getting three years and $60 million from the Astros. Pete Alonzo, if he got paid on his name, would be

a $200 million player. Teams do not pay for names anymore. Like, that just doesn't happen now. And because of that, let's look at what he is in addition to Pete Alonzo feared slugger, who has made his career in New York. He's 30. He is a right-handed hitting, right-handed catching, right-handed throwing first baseman. He's somebody who is power above all, like power tool is two to two and a half grades ahead of the hit tool. With, you know, not a ton of strikeouts for a guy who has the power that he does and a pretty decent plate discipline. but still, it's just not the profile with the body particularly that ages well or that has

aged well on guys in the past. And that's what teams are paying for. They're not paying for what you have done. They're paying for what they believe you are going to do. And this is where I think the emphasis from teams and reliance more than emphasis, the reliance of teams on their models to almost exclusively make decisions for them has actually backfired in a way. If you go and look at what Pete Alonzo has done over the course of his career, yes, there are flaws, there are faults, but the guy plays every day and the guy hits the ball over the fence. And I'm not sure why another team may be one without a pressing need for a first baseman, hasn't jumped into the fray here because i feel like where pita lanzo is at right now there's an opportunity

to get really good value pet alonzo wants six years at 25 30 plus million dollars a year yeah i i get why you're not going to want to give him that because that's taking him into his mid 30s by which point you're probably going to be getting years on the down swing but the next three years i'm very comfortable in saying that peter lanzo is going to have a productive next three years and to get that for 25 million dollars a year uh i'm not going to say it's a bargain but i think it's certainly a fair price and uh if you want to give him opt-outs after the first year then that that feels like something that has good incentives on both sides you know if he does opt out after that one year then all of a sudden you have a one-year deal if you're a team

and there's no such thing as a bad one-year deal uh for peter a lot of Anzo, if you have a good year, then you opt out after the first year. If not, then you either pull a Cody Bellinger or Jordan Montgomery. Come back in, try and do it again. So there has to be a structure that aligns with the interests of some of these teams out there. And the primary team, Jake, has to still, in my mind, at least, be the New York Mets, just because it makes so much sense in so many ways for him to come back. Yeah, that seemed like the team.

I liked a little of the Toronto smoke. And I don't know, it's just so funny that baseball fans, it hits the point. Or actually, it's just the whole offseason now that baseball fans make up their whole rumors. Like I feel like, it's like, wait, isn't Seattle constantly looking for power? And, well, people went the article the other day that people just can't hit in Seattle, which that's a fun case study that I haven't been able to wrap my head. head around but I guess I'm just surprised in my head all the aging and stuff sure body type very similar to Pete myself not aging great but like I I just don't get how there's not it's tall as

him aren't you stretch me out I just I don't get why still wouldn't be as tall as in if there's a front office if I'm a GM and I'm looking at my board and I'm building my team and I can almost pencil in 35 homers for a baseball You can't, that doesn't happen. Like there's five guys in the league you can say that for. Yeah. And this, and Jake, this is not a Chris Carter 35 home runs either. This is like 35 home runs with walks and with other power.

Like, this isn't just an empty homer guy, like a full three true outcomes guy. That's not who Pete Alonzo is as a hitter. Like, I can name like less than 10 people. in the world who could do what he did to Devin Williams' change-up when the Mets knocked the Brewers out of the postseason this year. It was a staggeringly good piece of hitting, like off of one of the most dangerous pitches in baseball, a backdoor change-up up in the zone.

I understand you don't want change-ups up in the zone, but the fact that the change-up was up in the zone as high as where it was, hitters don't see that very long. So all of a sudden you have this pitch that you don't really get a good look at, And you're probably not going to, you know, when you're when you're in the cage and you're going against the trajectory, you're not going to be asking for a high outside changeup from

Devin Williams. So this is brand new. And Pete Alonzo absolutely squared that thing up and hit the ever-living piss out of it to the opposite field. Guys just don't do that. And when you have that kind of talent, that's special. You bring up Seattle. Of course the Mariners want him.

they just they don't have money and and it's like to me this is the story that we're going to take away Jake from this offseason it's not just what the Dodgers are doing it's what other teams aren't yeah and it's the contrast between the approaches of these two sides where the Dodgers side is we are going to go full board but that's not done in a vacuum that's done in the context of all these other teams saying, hey, we're going to pull back a little bit, whether it's because of RSNs, whether it's because of the CBT, whatever alphabet soup you want as an excuse to not spend major league baseball owners have taken this off season to use it. Yeah, it gets crazy.

And you just mentioned, like, the city of Seattle, one of like the U.S.'s most booming cities of the past 20 years. That's not my specialty, but yeah. And we're talking about them not, you know, a realistic contract offer to Pete Alonzo, a five-for-125, an opt-out after the first year. And like the fact that that's not on the table for Seattle, that's before you get to 11 other cities. So it is wild, and I don't know. I'm scared.

I don't want to open up that can of worms because I feel like that would be the three-hour-long. Jake and Jeff after midnight pod that we would hunt for solutions and we'd find some, but it's a weird spot baseball's in because I'm, Jeff, I've got Yankee fans that are like, we can't keep up with the Dodgers. And that's, that's insane. Was it, is it your tweet today or an article today that it's like the Yankees are the third biggest spending team in baseball? That's insane.

Yeah, I was on Michael Kay yesterday and we were talking about that. and it's it you know I went back and and listened to what I was saying because you don't you know in the moment you never know how things no it's good for you dude you got to like I hate listening to myself oh I don't I don't enjoy it at all like watching myself the only clip of myself I swear to God this is true the only clip of myself that I will watch on occasion um is your ad read I will go back like if I'm in a bad mood. I will go back and watch that because I guarantee every single time I'm going to laugh at that. It's still still my favorite. You got hit by a boner truck. He really did. The shock on your face. That is a great clip. So I went back and listened. And I think one thing that I did not acknowledge is

New York Yankees have historically spent extraordinary amounts of money. So I'm not sitting. here saying that the Yankees aren't spending because they are like they're they're still going to be near the tippy top of baseball but it's it's awfully interesting to see where they are in the landscape of the game right now and and where the riches of owners who have come into the game have allowed salaries and payrolls to go and and maybe this was inevitable that the Yankees weren't going to keep up. But I just, you know, when George Steinbrenner sets a particular standard and it doesn't just set it, but carries it for decades, and then suddenly somebody comes in someone with the same last name, no less, and does not abide by the same standards, it's a shock to the

system. But it also, I think, speaks to where the Yankees are in the marketplace in Major League baseball right now. They want to be seen because of who they have been, because of where they've been, because of what they've done, because 27 championships, because the pinstripes, because the mystique and in the aura, because of everything that comes with being the New York Yankees, they still believe that they are and want to be seen as up here where everyone else is there. Yeah. That's not the case.

That's not the case anymore. It's just not. And it could be. Now, the Yankees might have to spend themselves into not making nearly as much money as they do. But that is a decision, Jake, that the Los Angeles Dodgers have made. That is a decision that the New York Mets have made. So if you're going to hold yourself to a particular standard and want to be seen in a particular way, then all of the things that come with.

that need to follow, right? Like, you can't be seen as the mighty Yankees, as the evil empire Yankees, as the Yankees who are just bigger and better than everyone else, when other organizations are doing things that are bigger and better than what you're doing. Yeah, I echo a lot of that sentiment, and I think one of the lines I've fallen into while getting nervous,

someone's going to bust down the door to our office, is it's a team that cares so much. about their brand, so much about their brand, that the brand is based on winning and being the best. And it, again, I'm a little too close to the situation now, but it's focus on that and almost everything else falls in place. I've done this on talking baseball a lot, so I won't do the whole thing. But the Kansas City Chiefs are viewed as a class franchise in football because they win a lot. The Golden State Warriors for a while became the class of the NBA. because they won a lot.

So like put the emphasis on that and all the business stuff works out. And your hat is a national, international brand and all of the Yankee things. I'd rather not talk about that right now, Jeff. Now, Jake, Jake, the Yankees are not the Yankees because they're losers. The Yankees are the Yankees specifically because they've won.

Now, the argument, I think that somebody from New York or from Seattle or from Boston or from Baltimore or from the Chicago Cubs or from any of these organizations that aren't spending this offseason. And yes, the Yankees have spent. And by the way, I also think the Yankees have had a pretty good offseason. Right. They have. Like, I think that the pivot, it was pretty well done.

I like Max Reed in New York. I love Devin Williams in New York. I like Paul Goldschmidt at the price. I like Cody Bellinger at the price. Like, I think they've done a generally good job of coming back, but it just could be more. And it's wild to me that Alex Bregman is sitting out there right now and the Yankees aren't in on them. Like, that's the one thing that I look at. And it's like, you know, if you're going to criticize a team for inaction,

at very least be able to say what the moves they could and should make are, right? And the Yankees have a hole right now. It is either at third base or at second base. And if you want to say we're going to put DJ LaMayhew and Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Parraza at these places. And we're going to see who wins and hopefully one of them works. like, okay, that's fine. I get it. But Alex Bregman, you want to talk about a guy who's won.

I understand that first championship is tainted, as it should be. But they came back four years later or five years later and did it again. He has been a guy who has been awesome in the playoffs. He is somebody who is rock solid defensively, who's a phenomenal base runner, who makes a ton of contact. And I understand the offensive numbers are going in the wrong direction right now. But I think you put him at the stadium. And by the way, all of this that we're sorry, it's not going to happen. But I'm just trying to make the argument for it. Like, it's one thing to say no to Alex Breggman in November and December. It's a completely different thing when we're a few

weeks away from spring training. The guy is looking for a job and the opportunity to go in there and poach him at a lower price is eminently available. And so it's just something like that. Look, maybe long-term the Yankees are better off for it. But I look at this club like three years down the road. The only players under contract are Aaron Judge, I believe the only players under contract are Aaron Judge and Garrett Cole, Max Fried, and Carlos Verdon.

There are a lot of offensive holes. to be filled, particularly when you're looking at an offense that doesn't have a ton of young, homegrown guys playing in it right now. You know, you're going to, you're going to see Jazz Chisholm head the free agency before. And Anthony Volpe is going to be on the cusp of it at that point. You know, catcher, who knows, is Austin Wells going to be the guy that they hope he's going to be? Perhaps. Is Jason Dominguez going to be the guy they hope he's going to be? Perhaps. But there are spots to fill long term for this Yankees team on the offensive side. And when you look at free agent classes going forward, Jake, they're not all that great.

So maybe they're saving the money this year in order to go after Kyle Tucker next year. Like maybe that's what it is. And that's why I can't be too harshly critical about a single winter unless they're just doing absolutely nothing because all of this fits into the context of a greater picture. that could include more spending in the 25-26-winner 26-27. But a lot of the best players of those classes, guys who would be free agents, have been locked up to long-term deals already.

And so the top-tier upper echelon talent just isn't the same going forward as it is right now. Yeah, I mean, the Yankees don't need Bregman's defense and base running. But they... He's such a smart player, too. Like, that's the thing. He's a good, he's a good coach inside the clubhouse. He's good for, you know, he, and he's a kind of guy who, yeah, he's the kind of guy who will walk up to someone and sit him down, like, shoot him straight. Like, he keeps it real.

And teammates appreciate him for that. I'm unfortunately worried that's part the Yankees aren't super interested in. But again, I think a little too much, a little too much yanks there. Football fans, it is playoff time. We've got exciting games, well, game to look forward to, and you can get in on the playoff action right now with our partners at the Draft King's Sportsbook. Right now, they're offering all new customers $200 in bonus bets instantly after betting just $5 when you use code talking. You love the thrill of live betting.

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In Connecticut, help is available for a problem, gambling called 888-78-98-9-77-7-7 or visit ccpg.org. Please play responsibly. On behalf of Boot Hill Casino-in Resort in Kansas, 21-and-over, age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction, Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire 168 hours after issuance. Four additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash audio. I want to close because we talked Alonzo Bregman. You said Bregman's price may have gone down since winter meetings? Is he entering that, like, Chapman, Bellinger, maybe three year with an opt-out type deal, or is he still going to get, because I think everyone has in their head the Astros original, what was it, five for 160 or six for

six for 156? Six for 156. Is that still in play? Again, this is one of the questions I don't know if I'm putting you in a weird position or not. No, no, no. The six for 156 is still in play. Okay.

So theoretically, would it take more for him to sign some of the same? somewhere else, I mean, one would think, but is a three or four year contract with a higher Aav and an opt-out after years one and two more valuable than the long-term deal. I think we're going to learn a lot about Alex Breggman's priorities here and what's important to him. And the belief is that he wants a long-term deal now, might not need any opt-outs, like he wants to be locked in and he's just not getting those years elsewhere at this point but you know the closer we get to spring training man

I think the more teams start to recognize hey maybe we have this weakness here and we need to take advantage of this opportunity which is why I think at the end of the day Bregman's still going to do just fine yeah I mean at every team can use Alex Bregman that's the thing truth a little if he ends up in Boston Oh, God. That was my Yankee fan coming out. Yeah, I don't know that he's going to end up in Boston at this point. Yeah, I had one of my Bastian friends,

he texted me this morning, and he was like, hey, the Red Sox haven't signed a free agent hitter since Adam Duval. I don't know. Again, I'd have to check some of the stats on that. Hey, I've got a fun one for you. What's like when the beat riders are bopping, the beat rider group chat that you guys keep me out of?

Obviously, the Dodgers have stolen headlines this year. Like you mentioned, the Yankees had a pretty nice offseason. I guess who's the team that people are like bumping elbows and are like, hey, they had a sneaky, really nice off season? I think Texas bringing in Jake Berger and Jock Peterson, bringing Nathan Evaldi back. They're going to get close to a full year out of Kumar Rocker. But the real one is Jacob de Grom.

Right. Like what version of Jacob de Grom are the Rangers going to get? Because if the Rangers get a good version of Jacob de Grom, all of a sudden, 20, 23 Rangers are back in play. You know, I still think Corseiger is an elite player. Marcus Simeon still an elite player. Wyatt Langford, I think, is going to take a big step forward this year. They have to get more out of Evan Carter than they did last year.

And it's just the Jock Peterson effect is not something to sleep on, Jake. Like that guy, I was talking with someone in Arizona last year. And this is when the Diamondbacks, like, had really started hitting. And, you know, they were the best hitting team in baseball last year. It was kind of surprising a little bit out of nowhere. And so I was asking the guy why. and he's like, Jack Peterson is the best clubhouse guy I've been around in my career. And this is someone who's been in baseball for like 20 plus years.

So hearing that and knowing that he's going to bring whatever verve he has down to Texas and go into that clubhouse and really, I think, invigorate it, I like the Rangers a lot. And we're going to wait and see. We're going to see what spring training looks like. but I am tempted to pick the Rangers to win the American League West right now. Yeah, Jock has always gotten to me a little bit because it's like, wait, you can set this and forget this against right-handed hitters

and have a 900 OPS guy year over year. Right-handed pitchers, but same. Yes. And yes, he's going to DH, but that's what you want. That's what you should be looking for. Absolutely. Like, and I just look for productive players. It's not a hard concept.

Let's find guys who do well, and let's put them in our lineup. Hey. Yes. I guess on the other side, and unfortunately there's probably a lot of, like we talked about just with baseball and the problem with a lot of the smaller market teams not getting in the dance. I guess in the beat writer group chat who are people elbow and be like, what are these guys doing? I mean, unfortunately, the Padres jumped to mind. I was going to say San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago. In Boston, it might be a little unfair that there and there because they went out and traded

for Garrett Crochet. They signed Walker Bueller. They've gotten better, but we've just seen the Red Sox spend more. Same with Chicago. They went and traded for Kyle Tucker and they went and traded for Ryan Presley. But again, we've seen them spend more. So with the reticence there. And these are, you know, Tom Ricketts has asked about this and he says it's tough to compete with the Dodgers.

I mean, the Chicago Cubs. Right. Like the team that for years and years and years was absolutely horrible and still managed to sell out its ballpark, the team that owns real estate around that entire area and has turned it into an absolute cash cow, the team that started its own regional sports network and has been successful suddenly the Chicago Cubs want to be like the little sisters of the poor you want like John Belushi walking in and the door automatically closing and the building blow it like I mean the Cubs they're crying poor now right how do the Marlins feel how do the rays feel I mean it boggles

the mind that the Cubs are treating things like this, but the reality is, Jake, they are. And look, ownership is going to give the front office a budget in 30 organizations. And sometimes there's a little bit of wiggle room. And sometimes you have an owner, you know, Ken Kendrick has done this a couple of times with Jordan Montgomery last year and with Corbyn's this off season, where he'll go in and say, you know what, this is something we need to do because we're competing. against this Los Angeles Dodgers juggernaut, not just in our league, not just in all of Major League, like we're in the division with them.

And so we gotta compete. And I give the Diamondbacks a lot of respect for what they have done this winter. And they're another team on the list that's gotten better, but Seattle has signed one player, Donovan Solano, the Padres have not signed anyone at this point. Elias Diaz, Jeff. Oh, that's right, they got Elias, Jeff.

yesterday. Thank you. My apologies. It's a shame I forgot that one. There's just been no significant moves to get better. And if you're the Padres and you're competing with the Dodgers and the Diamondbacks, you kind of need to get better. Isn't that what the postseason taught you? Like you can't run it back with what you've got, particularly with some free agents leaving already. and the Padres are in a very unfortunate situation right now because they have got the they're getting dinged a couple ways. They've got a nasty fight over ownership of the franchise, which is always the sort of thing that can destabilize the product on the field

because, you know, if you don't know where the future ownership is going to go, the likelihood of getting spending okayed is a whole lot lower. And they've also got Dylan Seeson Michael King going into their walk year with you, Darvish and Joe Musgrove, who's out right now really being the lone holdovers in that rotation. You can look at Randy Vasquez as well or Matt Waldron, but in reality, those are more back end of the rotation type guys. When you're talking front end starters, you know, Musgrove in his 30s, Darvish in his late 30s. Like, this is not a group of pitchers that's getting any younger. and they've traded away so many of their top-end guys, top-end prospects, that the notion that they are going to suddenly be bringing up this groundswell of pitching from the minor leagues,

it's not realistic. And so the Padres, it's a real rock and a hard place right now for them. I guess I'm initially surprised that you threw the Cubs and the Red Sox into the mix because, like you kind of mentioned, I think there's parts of their offseason that you can love. I mean, Kyle Tucker is probably the best Cubs player since Bryant Rizzo, even a couple of those Bayez peak years. The Red Sox kind of finally brought in the pitching that we've been asking for for a couple years. Is there something to them just not closing the loop?

And maybe I should throw my Yankees back in there that with the new playoff format, our teams being like, well, why do we need to bring in Bragman or Pete to close the loop on this team because I think right now we're going to be 87 to 91 wins hopefully and that gets us in the dance and then we think it's a crapshoot so why should we even spend the extra 25 minutes? I hate to do this to you for the last 30 to 45 seconds I haven't been listening to I know is there something juicy on that phone yeah that yeah there is really yeah I don't know if it's true though so I can't say it right now it's it's very juicy though Jeff. Jeff, I was delivering a well-spoken, beautiful question.

And you left the planet. And now you are back. So do you want to walk us through your life and what just happened there? Yeah, yeah. Like, people ask what's your job like? My job tends to be that I will get information. thrown in sometimes that information is like oh shit right like i i got to i got to drop everything i'm doing and this this was one of those but i i will say this the difference between journalists and if you want to call them citizen journalists or uh people who are trying to play act as journalist? No, no, because you don't like, I don't just, yeah. Well, you don't, you also don't

just throw things out there because, like, if, if I had thrown this out there, just based on the sources who were reaching out to me saying that something's happening, and it's not true, then it's really, really bad. So I had to, and I apologize for being so rude there, but, you know, duty calls sometimes, as you said. And, uh, I had to. And I'd, you know, I'd, go chase this down and it turns out it's not true. At least the first reports are not true. So if it comes to fruition, if it actually is true, you will see it on the ESPN app first, which is where I am breaking all of my news now before X. So if you want it first, go sign up for alerts there and you'll get them before you see it on it.

interesting how how how how much earlier do you have to wait to put it on x i usually just put it on right after okay it's you know we're we're this is a new thing like we just started this last week so uh we're you know i i think after like a month i'm probably going to get together with with Schepter and Thamel and Shams, and we're going to go over what's worked and what hasn't. And see what's best for fans, because that's what we're here for. That's who we're here for.

We, you know, whether it's baseball or football or college sports or basketball, uh, you guys are the reason that we do this. The sports news Avengers. That, God, I, part of me wants to, be a flying that wall part of me doesn't at all i'll be honest with you that's that's scary company no it's not scary company like look at us how scary are we yeah maybe like if ever i get in the fight i'll get my ass kicked i'm not scary like you got to know what of the beauties of being in your 40s is

you start to realize like you are who you are and know thyself right and And one thing, I am, I am many things. Scary's not one of them. Like the only scary thing about me right now is how tall my hair is today. Yeah. Like it's alarmingly up there at this point. We, we had a good laugh. We did, we had a good laugh, he said.

We did like a leadership type meeting or something. So I'm just trying to survive that. And we have a big, like, head of sales guy who's literally like a big guy. And he was talking about apparently during his. interview. I arrived late and I didn't realize this at the time because this is how I'm wired, but everyone else was sitting on one side of the table and he was on the other. And so I sat on the other side just to balance it out. And he said he was so intimidated by that. And I was like, dude, that is the opposite of everything I am. Hey, the question I asked you that we can just

wrap on this was I was surprised you opened mentioning the Cubs and the Red Sox. I guess when you explained it, I'm not because the Cubs brought in their best player since the Bryant-Rizzo-Bias Times and Kyle Tucker. The Red Sox brought in the pitching that everyone's been asking for for the past couple years. That is it just, it's just not closing the loop? And that was kind of the Yankees conversation before of being like, wow. And is that, I guess my extension of that is is the problem the expanded playoffs that all of these front offices are like well these are 90 win teams and we can bolster at the deadline yeah yeah that's i mean that that's that is an entirely reasonable read on the situation that the baseball playoffs are the thing that

have kept parity in meld right it's the fact that if we end up with a five seed and a six seed in the World Series, like we did a couple of years ago, it's really not all that surprising to anyone because short series tend to level out the gap in talent between these teams. But I think what this winter, or really like the last 15 months from the Los Angeles Dodgers have shown, is that they are playing a full measure game. And if you're a team that's going to go only half measures, it's not going to work out great for you. And that's where I think the Cubs and the Red Sox fall into at this point. They have had a half measure winner. The half with the trades has been phenomenal. Like getting Garrett Crochet and I understand Kyle Thiel's going to be a good player. Like I like

Kyle Teal and I think Braden Montgomery could be a good player and Chase Midroth and Wickleman Gonzalez. Like it was a really good package that the White Sox got back. But the Red Sox got a potential front line starter who's super cheap in arbitration for the next two years. So that's the price that you have to pay for that. And a team that needed pitching as much as the Boston Red Sox did, I like that move for them. I think it's it's the right move. And I think adding Bueller to like on a one year deal, the upside there is absolutely enormous with the Cubs, another team that was sort of on the Cusp of the playoff spot last year. And they go out and, you know,

get one of the 10 most talented players in all of baseball on Kyle Tucker. But you got to add to that. It's got to be more than Ryan Presley. Like, it has to be more than these little incremental moves. Like, you want to get, like, leaps and bounds bigger, not just go sort of slightly. Like, you want jumps, not steps. And this was not a jump kind of winner in free agency for either of those teams.

Yeah, the Cubs were originally my Corbin Burns team because I didn't see a Corbin Burns team. And I was like, God, wouldn't this jump them to the front of the line, essentially? 100%. Yes, of course it would. But look, it always goes back to ownership. That's where all of this lands. Because, you know, I think Andrew Friedman is a perfect example of this. He came up in Tampa Bay learning. how to win without spending a whole lot of money. Like executives know how to do that. A lot of them

take pride in doing that. And understandably so in this game that has some inherent unfairness because of the disparity in payrolls. You still can win in baseball with a low payroll. Like you can. You can still build a good sustainably winning team with a low payroll. Your margin for error is just minuscule at that point. And what these large market teams don't seem to they understand it but they don't seem to embrace it is that the beauty of being a large market is that it buys you that margin for error buys you the ability to screw up on a contract or two and have dead money and have it look ugly in pursuit of something greater now not all free agent contracts as we know and in fact you could argue the the majority do not work out

for the team but that doesn't mean just because a market is in a efficient that you shouldn't go into it and try and find those efficiencies there. And, you know, you do that enough times and it buys you the ability to go out and take a risk. And I'm always, Jay, going to take a risk on guys who have been there and who have done that. Because being an elite player at the big league level is an extraordinarily difficult thing to do. And the sort of thing that doesn't just, you know, grow out of nowhere. And if a guy has done it, that's someone who, if I have playoff aspirations, if I have World Series aspirations, that's someone who I want on my team.

Yeah, I could talk myself in a circles about having playoff experience matters, and then it goes into small sample side. And it's just like, I don't know. Something feels off about it and I, you know, it makes me want to root for Bregman. It makes me want to root for like make that matter because that's what's supposed to matter. I remember the last thing I want to ask you And this is the one that I don't know if it crosses the line But again, you always find a brilliant way of answering that

Is from this off season, is there a The closest move that almost happened? Like, again, I don't know Because I don't know if that gets in your way with like agents or anything like that I have no idea but like I mean, hey, seriously, Lizardo to the Cubs, like almost. Okay.

Okay. Okay. That was, that was, I was pretty convinced that that was going to happen. And then it didn't, and then the Phillies got them. So, you know, there are some guys who are bound to be traded and he was one of them. And I am, I don't know that the Miami Marlins are going to be the Chicago White Sox this year, but it's going to be awfully out of there, man. Yeah. that's a that's a roster resource page that really um it's eye popping for maybe yes it is

maybe the wrong reasons and hey that's how the movie major league started so that's what the marlins i don't think so i don't think so um jav i man i uh there's so many other ball questions we could talk all day i know and i i got it dude i got to be i got to be honest okay i'm a little disappointed right now. Let's talk about it. Where's the ad read? So, it's a great question.

I, you know what, Jeff? I pre, we've started pre-recording them to not, to not get in the way. You sell out bitch. Unbelievable.

You know, normally, normally we have some formalities and a thank you, but I, I think that a sellout bitch will do. That's a great talking about you, that's perfect. Jeff Passon,

thank you so much, brother Jeff. You're the best. We'll cross paths soon, hopefully. I'll see you in Tampa, I think. I'm starting off with the Yankees this spring. I'm excited, though. I'm excited for that. Oh, yes.

Okay. All right. Well, I'll turn on my ESPN app notifications. Please do. And I'll see you there. See you, Jackie. Thank you, Jeff.