Talkin' Baseball (MLB Podcast) - Offseason Breakdown with Jared Carrabis! | 1068

Episode Date: November 26, 2025

Head to gymshark.com and use code JOMBOY10 to get up to 50% off site wide with an extra 10% off  — perfect time to grab your gear to slim down or rest up during the off (OR holiday) seasonWhether you’re just wanting to test an idea out, or you’re getting serious about launching your own brand, it’s never been easier to get started on https://shopify.com/talkinUse our code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TALKIN10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discountTalkin’ Jake is joined by Red Sox faithful Jared Carrabis to talk about the Sonny Gray trade, what Red Sox need to get done this offseason, where Kyle Tucker is going and more!0:00 Intro0:30 Trev meeting Jared Carrabis7:55 Red Sox trade for Sonny Gray16:48 Alex Bregman has to happen for Red Sox27:30 Rest of AL East31:00 Where is Kyle Tucker going45:00 Aaron Judge deserving of World Series 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 big sunny gray trade. Why not bring in the tribal chief? Jared Karavis is here. Let's talk ball. No Trev. It is sad. I know you are excited. Listen, him and I go back.

When was the first time that I met coach Trev? Spring training 2019 maybe? When was he with the Phillies? Do you recall? Uh, 2018. Did he go in 29? I think 2018. Let's look that up. We'll get research on that. Yeah, I want to say it's got it's got to be.

Yeah, okay. All right. Yeah. So how did that exchange go down? It was great. It was very mutually, uh, a complimentary. Yeah. Okay. You know, like it was, uh, I think it was probably in, I'll give him this credit. I want to say like that was the first time that like an active big leader came up. and felt like a normal person. I feel like every other interaction, it was more like, oh man, like this dude's in the big leagues. This is cool.

But like with Trev, it was like, this guy's a guy. He's a dude. Yeah. He, damn it. I hate that we're starting off

on a nice note for Trev. Is he, uh, Bob, maybe we, we get it out now. Jared, I don't know if you saw this,

but he, he pulled up, he's in Japan with his family. Okay. A little offseason trip. Uh, and he posted it on Instagram. He pulled up, he did the MLB. Former MLB player shows up to the local kids playing,

and he just hits a bomb off of this child. Oh, no. Yeah. I don't know what to do with that. Should I be happy for him growing the game, or should I be mad that he hit an absolute missile off a kid? I think you've got to be happy for him. I feel like I did this on a lesser extent. I was in high school and I still had my paper route from when I was in middle school. So I like just got my license. I was like 16 years old driving around delivering newspapers. And then I saw some kids playing with a ball and like a cul-de-sac. And I was like, let me get one at bat.

And they're like eight, nine, 10 years old and just crank one into the woods. And there's no there's no wiffle ball anymore. And you're like, anyways, have a nice day. and then you pop off and go deliver some more newspapers. So I can feel what Trev is feeling in this clip. Like it's very rewarding to just hit a nuke off of an unsuspecting child. And those kids, you hit that with a ball Homer off of grew up to be Peyton Tolly. So that's the crazy thing about that story.

Motivated them every day. Jared, I'm excited. A, we got a nice, nice trade. And, okay, final compliments to Trev. Yeah, man, we were, when we first met him. him a he's an interesting cat like people they listen to this show know like whether it's his lord of the ring side or he's got like a what i always forget not the bean bag is that what it's called hacky sack he's like a hacky sack i mean we're starting off talking hacky sack and newspaper roots

we're starting to age ourselves just a little just a little bit there uh but is hacky sack outdated i think so i feel like it's definitely going to have another moment like if the gen ziers or Jen were at now haven't picked it up. I feel like they're going to like hacky sack because it's a vibe. It's an absolute vibe. So I will, I'll share this as well. We, my friends and I, we loved playing hacky sack, but then we all like had our own. And then we got to the point where we also love baseball.

So we took a hacky sack and we wrapped it in duct tape. And then we would use. this it wasn't like a stick it wasn't like a broomstick it was thicker it was like as thick as a baseball bat but it was as long as probably a rake and you would hold it like this and we would have like a metal folding chair with a blue bucket and that was the strike zone and we called it base hacky ball sack we played it in the driveway and uh it's a good time oh the best time times. So the kid that I played that game with, he sold his, like his family sold the house in 2003. And then like a few months ago, the owners that had it the entire time, they put it

up for sale. And he just went to the open house. And in the basement, we had drawn all the names of the base Hackey Ball Sack teams. And it was still down there. The Alaskan tropical tree frogs, they were still down there. Yeah. They were strong that year too. Oh, two. Oh, two? They were great.

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. We were great. How do you forget a team like that? Right. God, having an imagination and just having fun. What happens to us?

Well, maybe we'll end the episode with that. Yeah. It's good to see you, Jared. It's good to see you. And shout out to baseball is dead. What else are you doing these days? What else should I be hyping up for you? I don't know why.

everything comes back to the scrotum here, Jake, but, uh, I'm, I'm addicted to live streaming. Really? And, uh, so the program is called just the nuts. And so we, it's kind of like our version of like MLB Red Zone. Like we, we got it going in September. Yes. But then it kind of like really took off during the playoffs where, uh, like you just didn't, it was, it was like a variety show. It was like a podcast happening while the game was happening, but it was also a variety show. where it would be like, all right, it's the fourth inning. Who's coming in?

Oh, it's Kenny Maine, you know? Yes. It was crazy. Like Kenny, Kenny stayed on with us. He made hung out with you for two weeks. Yeah, it was the 18 inning game. He agreed to do, I think it was like the second and third inning. He came on in the second and just became pot committed.

And that was the 18 inning game. And he stayed for the entire, whatever it was, seven hours, six hours. And it was tremendous. Like obviously, you know, we're millennials. I grew up watching Kenny Maine on ESPN. And to be able to spend that much time with him was what a treat. What a treat it was. But yeah, no, I'm addicted to the to the live stream game now.

It's a, it's a, as you know, uh, Joseph Solano, aka Joe's McFly. He can't, couldn't stop live streaming. Like we, we've tried at times like Joe's, we need you to. He just can't. He said if he wins. the lottery, you'll know because he'll stop live streaming for 30 days. But then he'll be back. That he'll be back.

That's how much he loves it. Yeah, he's built different. He really, in a lot of ways. Today's episode is sponsored by Seatgeek MLB may be over, sad, but NFL is rolling. NBA and NHL are ramping up. And with Seat Geek, MLB's official ticket marketplace, your tickets are fully guaranteed and instantly fulfilled in your account after purchase. 35 million downloads, pretty good,

make Seekek the number one rated ticketing app. So whatever event you're looking to go to, sports, concerts, wherever there's a seat, seat geek is the best place to go. And we always hook you guys up. Code Talking 10, 10% off your next set of tickets at Seekek. That's 10% off any tickets with promo code Talking 10 over at Seat Geek. Jared, you're Red Sox,

One of the first big transactions of this offseason, they traded for Sunny Gray, returns to the AL East, former Pinsriper. One of the most reliable pitchers in baseball was crazy looking up some of those stats. Was it 24 starts since 2019 in each full season and things like that?

And we know Sunny Gray. I think one of our lines is always ace adjacent. Like he's getting up there in years that that could be landing in a different area. But I guess what's your initial reaction? Because there's a money side to this too and a couple prospect capital out from the socks. Yeah, I had a bunch of thoughts in the immediate. The first was, and I'd be lying to you if I said my first thought was,

wasn't, didn't he suck with the Yankees and he like didn't react well in Yankee Stadium. And it was a whole thing. Didn't he like smile coming off the mound and it pissed off all the fans? And I was like, like I don't know. Does he not like the big market? Like that was my first thought. Second thought was how much money is he making next year?

Then you look that up and it's like 35 million bucks. I was like 35 million bucks. They were giving up the number five prospect. Don't love that. But then you know, you wait a couple minutes and it's like, oh, well, 20 million bucks is coming over to offset that. Okay, cool. Like that works for me.

Then you, I remember he had that really good year with the twins two years ago. and I was like, all right, well, how has he been since then? Because I remember wanting to trade for him two years ago. That obviously didn't happen. There's been, if you go look through my tweets about Sunny Gray, there's been, like, I've been trying to trade for this guy for 10 years, but then it's just kind of like, tails off. Like, you don't want to trade for a 36 year old starting pitcher.

And then the thought process goes to, uh, please tell me this isn't the, the number two that the Red Sox were telling us that they were going after. So I don't know. It feels like that's the case. It feels like that is what it's going to be. But I'm fine with it so long as they bring back Bregman and out of bat. Like you got to bring back Bregman and out of bat. Like if it's just Pete Alonzo, that's not enough.

If it's just Bregman, that's not enough. If it's just a Schwerber, that's not enough. It's got to be Bregman and. But yeah, I can live with it if, if you get two bats now after that. But, I mean, it's, it's only November. We've, we've got time to figure this out. Right.

And that's, you can say with all of these early transactions, like, let's see, let's see where it lands. Is Sunny Gray the fourth move or is it the one move of the offseason? Because that's obviously going to affect how you're feeling. Sunny Gray, 20 million Dick Fits. And then Brandon Clark is the number five prospect. You mentioned, Sunny Gray, waves is no trade. The other funny thing here, I don't know if you've gotten too much into the contracts

stuff, but it looks like Sunny's now getting guaranteed 41 mil this year. So kids grow up to be a pitcher. And by the way, Sunny, 510. All right. All right. 5.10, boy, shout out. You know, like it's hard for us out here. He's 510, 190, you know.

You're telling me. Weight wise, at least. And then, yeah, it seems like they've now changed his contract that it's a 30 million mutual option for next year, which I don't think there's been a mutual option picked up, I think it's like a Ramos Ramirez since 2013 or something like that. That is basically code for this is going to be Sunny Gray for one year. He probably gets bought out, which means Sunny Gray is going to collect $51 million for pitching in Boston next year.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Yeah. I mean, I heard your reaction to it. You said, you know, it's going to make Yankee Stadium lively like Yankee fans. Don't forget. That's for sure. but yeah i mean are the red sox better than they were yesterday morning yeah yes yes i think they

got better with this move i think it's just a little disappointing when you're kind of like hoping for like a framber valdez a joe ryan uh hunter green uh freddie peralta and then it's sunny gray and you're like oh all right like that that's kind of yeah yeah yeah and hey again is Sonny the second starter or the fourth starter coming into the season, and that changes a lot of how you should feel. Because like I mentioned, yeah, the innings, the game started going back to 2019. He's been one of the more reliable starting pitchers. And yeah, there's high points.

You mentioned that 2023 with the twins. I mean, 32 starts at 279. He's still a FIP guy, like the FIP has been low the last couple years with the ERA a little higher. And who knows, man, St. Louis has had some serious. serious funk going on over there. And I will say with the Yankees side of Sunny Gray, that got blown out of proportion. Kind of fun baseball Twitter blowing up.

We don't have to fully relive those days, but Sunny Gray joining the Yankees, and it was kind of rumored he was going to be, you know, joining one of the bigger teams, and then he does. And, dude, it got, I mean, Larry Rothschild was the Yankees pitching coach, and they were telling him to do some things that I think modern pitching would disagree with, or Sunny Gray disagreed with openly. He was beloved by the dudes. I know that's corny talk, and we could say that with 90% of the players.

But he really is. Like former quarterback, like for the 510, 190 pounds Sunny Gray stature, like, C.C. Zabathia is like, that's my dog. Like, he's a dude. And when you go back and you look at the actual stats of it, you're like, he wasn't. horrific with the Yankees. There was definitely some home road stuff that multiplied it. But yeah, Yankee fans have always held a little too much of a chip on their

shoulder towards Sunny Gray that, yeah, that we talking Yanks yesterday, me and Jim, starting to get lost in the offseason, starting to feel it a little bit. You know, we started looking at the schedule for next year. And hey, Red Sox and Yanks play in April. So that's, it would just be one of those, if the, stadium sees Sunny Gray on the mound. It's going to have a little extra juice. It didn't really have an effect on Chapman, you know?

Yeah. I feel like Yankee fans were like, oh, we can't wait to get all over Chapman. And then Chapman used that as fuel and shoved it right up their keister. Did anyone hit Chapman this year? What the hell was that? Uh, the A's. The A's got to them. Yeah, that was pretty much it.

Yeah. They walked them off like pretty, it's pretty tidy fashion. Um, but yeah, I don't know. Like, I've seen the reaction to my reaction and there's plenty of people out there that are saying, you know, oh, you get paid to talk about baseball. You don't think that Sunny Gray's the number two. And I'm like, well, like, it's not that I don't think he's capable of pitching like a number two, but for all the talk that the Red Sox had, you know, Breslo specifically, it was young cost

controlled. Like, we want to slot a guy behind Garrett Crochet for the foreseeable future, not. a 36 year old one year stopgap number two. Like that's not how they talked about it. So that's why my first impression of it was like this, this can't be the number two. Not that Sunny Gray's not a number two. It's like this can't be our number two the way that we were kind of sold what the number

two was going to look like. Right. And he's, hey, Sonny struck out 200 guys the past couple years. Again, leaving St. Louis,

$51 million. for one year. Maybe that feels good. And yeah, I think he very well could be like the innings eater at for the Red Sox that you, I think you guys are still in play. I'm looking for the Amai team. I don't know what that is yet. Are either of our team is going to get involved in that? I personally don't think so. Or, I mean, Fastball Freddie, like if the Brewers do do that trade. I don't think the socks are out on starting pitching, but I guess you kind of teased it and I did want to ask you a little bit.

So this Bregman has to happen, or is it you just need two big chips? I think Bregman has to happen. He was such a, and I understand like Pete, so I'm sure that some baseball fans kind of roll their eyes at the intangible stuff. Like Jason Veritech actually made like a funny comment about it.

He was on radio here in Boston not too long ago. And the radio, host were asking Veritek about, you know, Breggman's intangibles. And it's like, well, you know, he was making $40 million this year and like talk about him behind the scenes and, you know, are the, is the intangible aspect of it overblown. And he was like, you know, if the coaching part of it was worth $40 million, I'd have a much bigger house. Like, so like, I understand that when you're getting paid $40 million, it's to play great defense, gold glove defense and, you know, slug 500, get on base 400.

But I think for what this team needs, like they've, we've been saying it for three years now, like the phrase like the Red Sox need an adult in the room. And Bregman has been that for them, especially guys like Roman Anthony and Marcel Meyer. And I think when Christian Campbell figures it out or gets back up here, he needs someone like Bregman to instill confidence in him. I think largely that was a confidence issue last year with Campbell. So yeah, I think he's an important piece. I'm fine with however the contract ages when it comes to Breggman. He's kind of like the Dustin Padroia 2.0 where you're the heartbeat of the team and happy to get whatever we get from you. But he can still perform an all-star level. He was an all-star last year. But in terms and the frustrating part about it is, you know, you get to the place. playoffs and you get the Yankees, you get the matchup that you want, you're a fly ball being caught away from

sweeping that series in two. But ultimately, you don't have enough firepower to get it done. And then to hear the Red Sox specifically talk about it after and say, you know, oh, man, like, it'd be nice. You know, if we had a little bit more slug, you know, it's like, well, you had that. You, you had Raphael Devers and you traded Raphael Devers. So I don't think any fan will be satisfied unless the money the Devers was owed is reallocated elsewhere, preferably to someone that can hit homers. Like they don't have that, that power bat. Best case scenario, you know, I was talking to, you know, a few like different writers. And it's like, well, isn't Roman Anthony supposed to be that?

Can't Willier Abrae you be that? Like, all valid. Like, yes, Roman Anthony can pop 30 next year. if he can hit lefties, he can probably pop 30. But wouldn't it be nice to have that pencil I'm in like Pete Alonzo, Kyle Schwabber, like you know you're going to get 30 homers in driving 100 runs and whatever. And like I understand that, you know, the home runs in RBI, like it's not, it's not sexy anymore.

But you need that. Like it's like, all right. So I want like a 140 OPS plus. Like that's what I want. Like, can I? I have that, that would be very nice to add to the middle of the order. Yeah, it's, it's funny, because I don't know, we started off talking about delivering newspapers and, uh, was it the Alaskan cucumber frogs?

The Alaskan tropical tree frogs. Sorry. Um, it's okay. Hackysacking and all that. And I don't know. I, I laugh at us sometimes because I, Jolly Olive was on the other day. And I, this sounds really dumb. If you look up in chunks of three years, five years, 10 years, the, and you look up the leaders in

runs you get the best players in baseball that like RBI is coming back and yes it's opportunity driven and something that Jimmy's actually on that I think we need to do is like an RBI percentage stat of like opportunity meets the runs you you drive in because yes Alonzo's RBI's flew up last year because Wonsoto was in front of them and like there's a math equation to it that I think if RBI had a percentage side to it we would much easily much more easily be like Like, ooh, that guy, that guy is really driving in runs this year. Either way, wins, RBI, runs. These are stats that when you watch your team every day, those are awesome stats.

Because that means that's what's happening towards your team's winning that, I don't know. I think a lot of baseball people are kind of over that speech. But also, pitcher wins when they're on your team. Those are awesome. That 18 win season feels so good. care about the Sy Young voting. And yes, you know, de Grom on those Mets teams shouldn't be penalized for that. God, 18 wins for your team. That feels good. You ever watch a 20 game winner that sucks? No. No. I'm sure there's a baseball doesn't exist or foolish or jolly video that they could do

something like that. But no, that ends up feeling pretty good and keep Andy Pettett's name out your mouth. That's all I'll say. Yeah, and I'm taking laps on Alonzo a little bit because I couldn't believe he didn't have more of a free agent market last year. Just for what you can pencil that guy in, and then he has the bounce back year this year, along with we get so dumb. It's baseball that like, I just remember his free agency last year. People were like, I don't know how that body ages. And it's like, you would have said the same about Schwaber five years ago. And it's working out fine because he mash his baseballs.

Same with Ortiz. I mean, these guys are built, we're talking about Hall of Famers here, but I'm much more confident in a big boy aging well as a slugger

than any other body type. I know that people like to frown upon, you know, the larger athletes. It's like, oh, they're out of shape, this and that.

Fat guys have been hitting home runs for centuries. Like, that's, give me, give me the juicy boys. That feels like a thesis. That feels like a college paper. Yeah.

I bet, yeah, like Prince Fielder, yeah, Prince Fielder's neck, I guess. Prince Fielder's neck gave out before his body gave out. You know what I'm saying? Body's still there. Every now and then we get to see him at one of the MLB events and you're like, damn, that's Prince Fielder. Yeah. He's still built.

Yes. What, uh, I guess Red Sox offseason other kind of closing notes on it. Duran, like there's, there's been so much smoke there for years. Do we think that happens this off season? or I guess what else should we be looking for? I'm pretty much convinced at this point they're going to deal a singular outfielder. Okay.

I know everyone's honed in on Duran, but I think we've gotten so far on one side of the Duran conversation where we're now just completely undervaluing how good he is. Like he's a very good baseball player. Was he great defensively in left field last year? No.

But the year prior to that, he was excellent in center field. I would rather have an excellent center fielder, obviously than a mediocre left fielder. And he can, he's both. It depends on if you have the opening to put him in center. He's a dynamic player. I really think that as it comes to a trade discussion,

it's whatever that team prefers. Like, what piece are you identifying? And that team might like Willier more than Duran. They might like Raphaela more than Duran. And I'm not really, I'm not taking any outfielder off the table for the right guy. Like if they, I can't even really think of an example because I think now we're at the point where, uh, the trade is probably going to be for a bat. I always thought the trade was going to be for a pitcher.

But let's say the trade is for a bat. If there's a guy out there where I'm like this, this guy just fits the roster better, um, there's not an outfielder, obviously Roman Anthony's out. the table, but there's not an outfielder where I'm like, you cannot deal this guy. If it's, if, if, if it's for the right fit for this team, yeah, sure. But I'm just not convinced that it'll be Duran. There, the, the likelihood is certainly respectable. But I, if you were to, if you were to ask the Red Sox front office off the record, like,

what's the percentage that, uh, this outfield or that outfielder or this outfielder, or this outfielder gets dealt this winner? I think people would be surprised at how. seemingly balanced the probability is. Okay. Yeah. I mean, yeah,

really are a Brayu's numbers. And when you watch that guy sometimes, you're like, what is this? Like he's five tool, you know, has so many years left that, yeah,

I know as you guys are daydreaming the rest of your, whether it's your rotation or a big bopper that, I mean, what those pieces could potentially bring in, you guys aren't trading Raphaela. That I think,

I think your guy, Cora would never want that to happen. Yeah, he obviously values the defense. And I mean, you can make the case that he's the best defender at any position. You know, he's, he's unbelievable. But can he hit? You know, like, right. I don't know.

That ends up being a big factor. Yeah. Don't know if he can do that. If there's an organization that thinks that they can unlock something there, I mean, the Red Sox have tried. The Red Sox have simply just been like, hey, you don't have to swing it. Everything. You know that, right?

And then he'll have like a three week period where he's like, oh, I don't have to do that. And then week four, he's back to swinging at absolutely everything. So even if he makes adjustments, none of them really seem to stick from an offensive standpoint. But I like the player a lot. If I can get a bopper, you know, I'm highly entertaining the idea of including Raphael in a trade.

If that team values Raphael, yeah, sure. Let's talk about it. Today's show is brought to you by Shopify. Shopify, the best place to start and grow up. a business, which is why we partner with them here at John Boy Media. They're a big part of the story, people. And from the start to now our new slash line side. That's right.

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It's time to go over to Shopify. Start your trial today. Click that link. Shopify.com slash talking if you're ready to leave the amateurs and head on over to the big leagues. Let's start zooming out a little bit. A.L. East. I want to do Orioles quick. where are you at with the birds?

Because like they were, this was supposed to be the time. And now they're ALE's team four again. Like, do you think we're going like when Trevor Rogers came back, they started playing above 500 baseball for more than half the season? Like, do you think we should be on Orioles watch this year?

I picked them to win the division last year. So I was pretty high on this group. I think I did too. Yeah. Yeah, I was high on the birds. I mean, I want to like, who is Adley Rushman? What is Adley Rushman?

You know, like, that's the guy. I want to say, what, two, three years ago? He, so like, we have a rule for our preseason predictions where like, we can't pick the favorite. I think it's boring. We put out the predictions every year and it's like, wait, how do you not pick Aaron Judge and Otani? Like, because it's, it's boring.

So I picked Adley Rushman a couple years ago. And it's like, that's, that's where I was on this guy where I think he's MVP caliber. obviously he's not he's not even if there were to if you were to power rank MVP favorites on the Orioles he's not even going to be the lead contender he's probably not even like what top is he top three like if you were to power rank the the odds for MVP candidates coming out of the Orioles is he top three Orioles MVP candidates here we are uh I mean it's Ivin gunner and and again that that doesn't have to be shots at Adley um I think Kaiser has MVP potential. I think Kouser's

MVP potential is higher than Adleys right now. Tyler O'Neill, give me a full season. Oh, God. I don't know. I think that game starts to get icky quick, but I think you're also right. Like, when the Orioles were churning, uh, A, I was developing a theory that like catchers matter more than we're counting. And like if you went around, I think it was all the 22, 23 playoff teams. It was, it was literally like all of the best catchers in baseball. And it, again, you need much more than that on a baseball team.

but yeah, man, like where he was the guy. He was, how many times have we watched the McCaffrey tackle? Like, and it just felt like there was an injury, and then he hasn't had his lefts, like left-handed swing that, you're right. I, it's a big year for Adley. And I guess it's the ridiculous thing with baseball that, um, if Adley bounces back and Gunner's Gunner,

well, now you have two top players in the league. Who else is going to contribute for them? I think it's a big year for Jackson Holiday. Yeah. And I think he's like he's, he still looks so young. And he is. So like he has that going for him. But yeah, it's just so weird that now, now with the Blue Jays.

And I don't know how much we need to do with the Blue Jays because I, hey, I mean, snaps for them and all of that. But, you know, between Bo Bichette and maybe Kyle Tucker, like, I'm so, so interested to see where their free agency lands because, you know, there's people out there that are like, oh, yeah, you know, I think Bichette comes back and I think they're a Tucker team. Well, that's 700 mil. So, like, if that happens, yes, go Blue Jays go, but I'm very interested to see where they go with their offseason. And I don't have the Kyle Tucker team.

Do you? No. I mean, I've been, I guess, campaigning for the Jays to be the Tucker team. I think I'm curious if the Mets are now a Tucker team because of the Nemo trade. But it would be nice if the Blue J, because I had so much heartache for the Blue Jays after that game seven loss because my first thought was, man, they're not going to, they're not going to get this close again. If they were to say, you know what, screw it.

Let's go sign Tucker. Let's get back there. I would have so much respect for that. So in a way, yeah, like I hope they have their redemption story. Kind of how like 2010, 2011, like those Texas Rangers teams, I really wanted them to get that World Series in 11. And it was almost more catastrophic than the year before. I think the Giants dusted them in five. And then obviously the Nelson Cruz and all that and David Freeze in 11.

but not everyone has their um kansas city royals redemption arc where you get there and you're like well it's the royals like that stinks like they lost they're never going to get back there then they get back there the next year and then they win it so i don't know i'm a sucker for you know a team like you can't call the blue jays you know the little engine that could they were fifth in payroll they spent a ton of money they have stars they have they have a ton of talent but they come from the ALEs where everyone talks about the Red Sox and the Yankees and you and I pick the Orioles to win the division. Like no one was talking about the Js going into 2025.

So I do hope that they get their redemption story. But I think that that kind of has to start with a somewhat aggressive offseason, whether that's bringing back Bo and adding on top of that. Like they're in a similar situation as the Red Sox. Red Sox need to bring back Bregman and add someone. I feel like the Jays. They have to bring back Boba Chet and add someone. Their situation is a little bit more expensive.

Like, Bregman's not as expensive as Bo Bichette. And the and for the Red Sox, let's say it's Kyle Schwerber, even Pete Alonzo, not as expensive as a Kyle Tucker. So their redemption offseason is going to, like you put 700 million. I think it'll be a little bit less than 700, but it's going to be a lot of money. Like we're talking, I think the starting point is at least half a bill, you know, so we'll see how that goes. Yeah, and you add that with Vladdy.

That's a billion dollars worth of the contracts giving out. You're right. It wouldn't be a little engine that could. It would just be huge for Toronto baseball and just the mindset, because we do get caught up in Yankees Red Sox, as you and I know, that what Toronto did this year. And yeah, I've been stewing a little bit because, you know, I don't know if you get this.

Toronto fans really don't like Yankee fans. I don't know if you get any of the Red Sox side of that or if you guys just kind of buddy up and. Yeah, we buddy up because we hate you guys. Yeah, that's fine. That, like, it's a really hard sport to repeat in, although we just saw it. But with a kind of a special team that everyone thought like, well, this might be the team that does repeat. That, like, for Toronto to get back is really hard for any team.

But, you know, even the Dodgers. Like, they almost did not. That, like, I don't know. just dreading talking about Toronto coming up just because, hey, maybe their hitting approach is something that's going to fully revolutionize baseball. And maybe they- Right. How about that?

Brother Jeff Passon summed it up best. How can something that is so rewarding for pitchers not be penalizing hitters? And it's like, yeah, the strikeout, somehow we lost that on the offensive side of the ball, which is just insane. Yeah, hey, maybe Toronto and David Popkins, they're hitting, who became the most mentioned coach on this show. Maybe they are going to break baseball and we'll be talking about them. We just, a lot of teams don't break baseball.

But I guess the Royals kind of did with that bullpen and that kind of revolutionized the game a little bit. So maybe that's where we can be landing Toronto. Are there any big free agents? I don't want a hot take. Hot takes with Jake. We filmed that before this show. I guess is there any, like,

like the big free agent that you're looking at that again it doesn't have to be a hot take but it's bachette to Atlanta or it's a my to San Francisco is there one you're looking at that you're like I think I see this one yes okay so I I can't give you the team but I could give you this situation okay perfect I think Framber Valdez is going to sign with the team that we're all like what okay what you know what I mean? Like, I feel like if he's walking around the GM meetings trying to get in the good graces of all these teams because I think he's he has sullied his reputation. I think that there are teams that are a little bit concerned about the behavioral issues and whatnot. I think that there's a chance that there's a team out there that's like, you know what?

Fine. Like we'll be the we'll be the Framber Valdez team. And they're just like super aggressive. I'm not saying it's going to be the Pittsburgh Pirates or something like that. But I do think there's a chance that we see Framber end up with a team where we're like, really? Them? I just,

I can't quite figure out what team that is. It becomes so tricky with the starting pitchers because any team makes sense. Like at the end of it, you're like, oh, yeah, they could use him. Yeah, I don't know. For a second I looked at Atlanta, because I just feel like they need to do something, something different. And then, but he, I don't know, he didn't seem to fit. Like, if you told me Framber, Dylan Sees to the Braves, I'd be like, oh, Dylan Sees

like get Strider and the mustache gang going, like, they'll be good. Someone mentioned Toronto and I was like, okay, like, let's say Kyle Tucker doesn't happen. Would Framber be a nice ad to their pitching staff and they could probably offer the top dollar? I think Berrios is coming off the books after this upcoming year and he was a non-factor for them in the playoffs. Hey, what happened with years? Burrios, it felt like he signed a seven-year deal two years ago.

And then when the Simeon trade went down, I was like, how does he have three years left? Yeah. What happened, man? Yeah. I want to say we were in spring training. I want to remember I was like in like a Dix when they announced that. And yeah, the time flies, huh?

Like that's a little crazy. But I think it's even crazier that they were able to get to the World Series without him and Boba Chet. Yeah. Like that's what should make them scary is that signing at the time, it was like, oh, man, like the Js are for real. And then he was a complete non-factor. And yeah, I don't know. I'm not sleeping on the Jays right now. I know a lot of other people are.

It's like, oh, that was a nice little run you had. But, you know, back to the basement for you. I don't feel that way. No, I mean, definitely, definitely not the basement. It's just, it's a sixth sport, as we all know, that two players have a great year or one player has a horrific year and two injuries. It changes your whole formula. That it can happen to basically any of our teams except the Los Angeles Dodgers. Is there anything one of a line that's been a good one for me is do what the other team doesn't want you to do?

I think it's probably the easiest shown in football. if you have a really good O line and a really good running back, the other team comes into the game saying like, oh, I hope they don't run the ball 30 times because that's what they're good at. And we don't like that. Is there anything that you're looking at the Yankees off season and you're like, please don't do that?

Please don't do that. Or are the Yankees just out of sight out of mind, which they could be, Jer? They're never out of sight out of mind for me. I would be really upset if the Yankees were able to. able to find a way to trade for Joe Ryan. Like after all, like, you know, obviously the, the, the Morosi thing, like, at the deadline and, yeah, thinking that, oh, like, they'll just pick those talks right

back up in the winter and they'll figure it out. Like, they got close enough. They can, they can dot the T's and cross the eyes. I would be very upset if the Yankees ended up with Joe Ryan. Like, I don't know. If there's, like, do you think that you guys have the pieces to pull off something like that? I don't.

So I think we actually do. We have a couple pitching prospects that are like real. Like I know every team has their pitching prospects. Formerly your guy, Elmer Rodriguez Cruz, now Elmer Rodriguez. He just dropped the cruise. He's like an actual pitching prospect. There's two other younger guys that, yeah, I think if the twins, like what are the Yankees going to do with Jason Dominguez, Spencer Jones? Like the Yankees actually have some young bodies that have value and they kind of need to move to shuffle this team.

I don't know if it's Joe Ryan. You just made me start thinking about it and I like it. But yeah, the Yanks, the Yanks, it's honestly one of the more fun ones and scary as it goes with baseball fans. Because, okay, so Cole and Rodon are supposed to come back, let's call it middle of May, middle of of June. But, okay, so that's your one and your three pitcher that you're not going to have for half the season. So how do you build a rotation while doing that while also living in fear of more

pitching injuries? So the Yankees need to do some serious work on their pitching side where they've already invested three massive contracts in Cole, Rodon, and freed. And the offense clearly needs a shake. But I'm worried they're not going to because if you look at their year-end stats, the Yankees' offense landed in a good spot that it feels like the Yanks are going to do a funky cashman, a team gave up on a player with a big contract or something like that. Like kind of the Simeon trade that came out of nowhere.

Everyone is Ian Seeger. There's going to be a funky offensive trade and they need to add pitching, but it also can be kind of gap stop pitching for the start of the year. It's a weird one. Like, we did pretty good last year because it was either like Soto in a couple small pieces or it was Cody Bellinger and Max Reed and like, like it actually mapped out pretty decently. The Yankees roadmap is not out there. Like Yankee fans are kind of looking at each other.

Like, is Seeger available? Like we're like the daydreaming stuff. fear is kind of real right now. Yeah, I mean, I think for me in terms of like what would really set me off is if the Yankees were somehow able to, I don't think it's going to happen anytime soon, but the Paul Skeen's thing, the Scoobel thing, that would really upset me a lot. Like not being able to root for those guys or enjoy their starts would really upset me. But that's, I don't know, it's kind of a high bar. Like I don't see the Yankees adding either of those guys. Knock on wood.

Yeah, I don't know. There was a there was a there was a scubel powwow in the office amongst the Yankee fans yesterday about, you know, what it takes to get it done. And then the one year and then it's, I don't know. So the Yankees the past like four years before last season, the offense was the problem. Like you looked back at the box scores and you were like, okay, like the pitching kind of held up.

was just, okay, Soto and Stanton needed help. And then Judge did it last year, the other years, you were able to piece it together. Coming out of last postseason, and maybe this is just, hey, the Blue Jays were on God mode last year, but the Yankees pitching got bullied and they're hitting. So it's like, okay, so how are we going to address this? And I don't know, man. You could kind of tell I don't have a good poker face sometimes with the tone in my voice. not my most exciting.

Don't get me wrong. When that trade drops and I start talking myself into Brian Reynolds or whoever it is, I'll get there. But yeah, the roadmap is not clear. And that's a little scary. Today's episode is brought to you by Jim Shark. Jim Shark's Black Friday sale is live. Jim Shark is the brand built for every type of workout, whether you're a lifter, running, however you get it done.

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Thank you, Jim Shark. You would acknowledge that the Yankees are going to open the season as the favorite in the ALE East, yeah? Let's see what happens, man. They're going to open as the favorite. You know that. If the Blue Jays spend another 500 mil after coming off the world, series, they're going to have an argument. You just told me about Bregman and Kyle Schwerber.

If that happens, I'm going to be having a not good time, man. We had Bregman last year. Like, we're only adding Schwerber. Right. But Roman Anthony is as real as a young player gets. And I don't know. Like, where's, what is the other move for the pitching staff? Like, the Red Sox could win, win back to back off seasons.

while also having this young core actually come to fruition. Like, I love Marcel O'Mair. Like, that guy is going to, if he's healthy, he's going to figure it out and it's going to be there for him. Yeah, I don't know. You're right. It's Yankees fans offseason. The Yankees, they had the same amount of regular season wins as the Toronto Blue Jays.

That's what the front office will tell you. It's true. It's true. And they're going to be there. They're the Yankees. Judges putting together a run that we've never seen before. But that is becoming the scary part, Jared, because I know, you know, you're on baseball reference.

You know Judge's age and Cole's age are going up each year that, yeah, the Yankees are in their second longest World Series drought ever. For those podcasts only, Jared just got an erection. I sure did. Did you watch the A-Rod doc? So I watched Ep 1 and then I went on vacation so I haven't I'm behind So the reason I ask is because I watched it I thought it was excellent and it reminded me

So on like Facebook like you have like I don't know like you're a millennial like me Like I have like Facebook memories so it has all my posts from I don't know 2007 on and I remember I posted a lot during that that 09 World Series. A lot. I had a lot to say in 2009 about the Yankees. Different time on the internet, different time in Yankees Red Sox.

Yes. I was disgusted. There was a lot of, you know, congrats on buying the World Series and payroll this and that. But there was something where I definitely acknowledge

it would have been weird if Arod didn't get one. Right. And I'm starting to feel like for, you know, from 2017 until, I don't know, probably like this year, I was more than fine with Aaron Judge just losing the playoffs. It's like, all right, yeah.

But at some point, I think I will get to a point where if the Yankees were to win a world series, I'd be like, all right. Like it's like I hate that, you know, the fans are going to get their opportunity to celebrate and brag and be just awful on Twitter. But I would be very happy for Aaron Judge. because he deserves it. Like I understand like he didn't have like the best of post seasons. Basically from the boom box game in 2018 until this past October.

But it would be weird if he went out with all the numbers that he would put up in the regular season and to not have a ring with the Yankees. Like I would feel there would be something that would feel missing inside of me almost. Like that's that's weird. right? Like that shouldn't, I shouldn't feel that way. No. No. Um, no. I don't think you should, but the problem is the fact that you're even accepting those thoughts. A, 2007, Jared would like pop your tires or something. Like that's. So 2007, Jared, it was 18. He was on TV. And this was, uh, we did the debate for. So I've always been open minded like this. We did a debate for red Sox nation president. And this is. And this is a, uh, we did a debate for red Sox nation president. And this is. like the heat of Red Sox Yankees and they're trying to ask us these questions to prompt anti-Yanky

rhetoric. And two questions were asked. If Alex this was before he famously opted out during the World Series. If Alex Rodriguez opted out, would you want him on the Red Sox? Everyone was like, boo, I don't like A-Rod. And I was up there being like, yeah, I want a

shortstop that hits 50 home runs and drives in 130 and has an eight wins above replacement. So that was that one. Then there was another question. It was like, you know, what are your thoughts on Derek Jeter? And everyone was like, uh, Derek Jeter, I don't like him. He stinks.

I was like, uh, yeah, he's the man. He, uh, he's, he's, uh, made a ton of money. He's a captain of the New York Yankees. Uh, he's won X amount of World Series titles. He's dated every supermodel. Mariah Carey made a song about him that's basically like a tribute to his sex god status. So yeah, I've never been like, I'm a huge Red Sox fan. I do hate the Yankees and their fans, but I've always, when I needed to separate it,

been able to do that. And I feel like in the case of Aaron Judge, I'm going to be able to do that if he ever is on a World Series championship team with the Yankees. I will not be happy for their fans, maybe some fans that I'm friends with like, obviously you, Jimmy. But I feel like, oh, Joe's for sure. but like there's just something about judge where I'm just like drawn to his legacy and I need it to be capped off. Yeah. Hey man, you're saying all the words I kind of like. By the way, where is

Jimmy today? Where is Jimmy? He might be in the office. It might be Thanksgiving time. Yeah, Wednesday before. I think he's going to be in. Yeah, and he's a last last talking Yanks episode where we got the sunny gray news live. Yeah, again, we're not in the, we don't see the light right now. And like Toronto went to the world series. Boston should be better. Judging Cole get older. This is sad, man.

Hey, hey. You guys are in such a rough spot. Like, I grew up with Yankee fans holding their heads high, knowing that, uh, Like, you know, I'm from the Boston area. And this is what Patriots fans were like. Like, we couldn't, we couldn't get locked in until the AFC championship game. Yankee fans for my entire childhood, it was like, yeah, you know, I'll walk regular season. But I can't really, you know, get turned on until October.

Like, that's when I really lock in. And listen to you, Jay. Yeah. Listen to you. This is sad. This is beneath you. Jared, that's because that Yankees team, I enjoy baseball. That the Yankees were known for what?

Winning or going to World Series. Yeah. And signing all of the best players, right? If I ask you to name that team right now, you don't say the Yankees. Nobody does. No. So, hey, like I, my thing that I come back,

and I keep saying was like, you know, Yankee fans, we still get the hate, or I don't know, we live online and we don't have to do that part right now. But the hate used to come with winning. And like, that made it fine. Now it's just like one world series attended since 2009 and they shat down their leg attending that world series. They lost two games on defensive throws, relays,

or catches in the World Series. Yeah. Not that I think about it. And yeah, do more people need to talk about Mariah Carey's song My All? It's a great song. We talked about, you know, Taylor Swift, track nine, Travis Kelsey, and some of the correlations to the number nine. Do we need to be talking about Mariah Carey willing to risk her life to feel

Jeter's body next to hers? I feel like not enough people talk about that. It's like pre-social media. And Mariah Carey is now kind of just known as the Christmas song girl. There was a long stretch of time where she was on top. And if like imagine, I don't even know. I don't even know if like Taylor Swift is because like Taylor Swift is just more poppy. She's not like a sex symbol.

Like Mariah Carey was a sex symbol. And when she was at her peak, Jeter was at his peak, and she was writing love songs about Jeter. Is that not like the pinnacle of masculinity right there? You know, it's not a topic that's my strength. Normally my, my landing area. But yeah. Like I mean, like, I guess like, what's her name? Sabrina Carpenter.

Is that her name? Oh, no. What's her name? I don't, I don't do. You send me her clips on Instagram all the time, Jared. I do. You're right. So Tate McCart.

Like if Tate McCray was writing a song that she was like obsessed with Aaron Judge, like, that's like, wow. Right. You know? I think she's with the hockey boys. I believe so. Yeah. I get. Jack Hughes.

Oh, that's the new. Your devil's, Rob. Wow. Yeah, they were just seen on a date together. Big for the devil. Why is and I know her name. Yeah. Well, we landed where we need to.

Jared, I asked you, I sent over some baseball questions. questions. I said, is there anything else you need to talk about? You said, I'd love to discuss Christmas shopping anxiety and how it needs to shop. So I land the plane. Yeah. So here's the thing, right? I, I feel like as I'm getting older, the, the date where I feel like I need to complete my Christmas shopping gets closer and closer. Like, Halloween ended. November 1st, the Christmas decorations are going up. And I'm like, oh my God, I haven't bought. any Christmas gifts yet. I shouldn't have to feel like that on November 1st, second, third. That's crazy to me. Now, as Thanksgiving is quickly approaching here tomorrow, I feel like if I don't

have at least half of my shopping list completed by tomorrow that I am so far behind the ball that I don't think I'll be able to recover. Like one of my greatest fears and anxieties is showing up on Christmas morning being like, sorry guys. Like, I just didn't get around to it this year. I didn't have time to complete the list. I didn't have the creative process to come up with the ideas to buy you guys gifts that you would love. So maybe next year.

That what a fear. There's no greater feeling of, there's two great feelings of relief for me, Jake. I'll explain them to you. Number one, when the Yankees get eliminated and I know that they can't win the World Series that year, I'm like, who, okay. Number two is when I complete my Christmas shopping list and I know I did a good job. I know that I'm going to show up on Christmas and I'm like, I can't wait for you to open that

because I know that you're going to love it. And it's like, you're just sitting there being like, yep, open that paper. You're about to experience greatness. What a great feeling. But I'm stuck right now. I don't, I don't, I think I bought one thing, a couple things. Like, I'm panicking. And it's, I shouldn't feel that way.

Like Christmas shopping used to begin black, black, Friday, Cyber Monday. That would be like the start of it. That hasn't even come yet. And I'm already freaking out. Yeah, I've, I've committed to becoming a Cyber Monday person. Like I, at a certain point, you just got to be honest with yourself. I don't really enjoy the process of shopping and in a location. Um, so, hey, we've advertised this day as the day to shop online. They're like, I, I'm just going to do it. I, I don't even care if I'm really getting a deal. Um, but like, that's, that's, that's just the day for me. That's what I'm going to get it done. Yeah. Yeah. Man, that's the thing is, you know, I feel like I'm in a spot where I also set the bar really high for like immediate family. And the bar can only get so high. Right. At a certain point, you got to cap yourself. Otherwise. Right. Right. You know. Yeah. I'm, I'm more stressed out than I need to be about this. So. Well, I guess we'll see how it goes. At least you can not have the stress of not. Not. Not.

now knowing that you're going to get to see 175 sunny gray endings this year. Yeah, that's going to be fun. That's going to be fun, especially at Yankee Stadium where, you know, Yankee fans are going to be super rowdy because he had like a couple bad starts. A couple bad starts in 20. Yeah. That's baseball, baby. That's the beauty of it.

It is. Jared, thank you so much, man. Enjoy Thanksgiving. I always enjoy yuck and ball with you. going back to, you know, the days when I didn't know you. Just the Red Sox guy online, you know? Yeah. This was fun.

Those are dark times not knowing each other. I'm glad that we know each other now. I'm glad we have the light now. Next time we'll get you and Trev linked up. Please. But again, that's sometimes we get complaints about the testosterone levels normally. Yeah. Yeah.

There's a lot of man meat when we get together. The beards, the hair is just. a little more dialed. I don't know what's happening with me. You look great. Thanks.