Dodgers WBC conundrum + Giants offseason to-do list + Padres players popping up in trade rumors

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what he said.

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Speaker 2: That's what he said.

00:00:03
Speaker 1: That's what he said.

00:00:04
Speaker 3: That's what he said. The second part of the Dodgers news that we're seeing, that's what he said. Quote will come in the second portion of this second part, but we'll start with Bob Nightingale's tweet on Yamamoto and Roki Sazaki. So this applies to anyone rooting for whoever in the WBC the World Baseball Classic, but also Dodger fans who get nervous. We all remember the Edwin Diaz situation and others have gotten hurt. I think Drew Smiley in the one that I called in the WBC ended up getting hurt or never was the same after that. But anyway, Dodgers me, no, not this year, not anymore.

00:00:46
Speaker 1: The commissioners.

00:00:50
Speaker 3: Yamamoto confirmed today he's going to pitch for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic, and reports out of Japan this all from Bob Nightingale, say that Roki Sazaki is not going to pitch in the World Baseball Classic. Both of these tidbits make complete sense to me. We might as well add the Doc Roberts quote about show Hey Otani, because I think these all are tied together to the same WBC team and the same MLB team. Doc Roberts spoke about show Hey at the winter meetings and he said he hasn't talked to him yet about pitching in the WBC, but he is hopeful that Otani will only hit for Japan. I'll add to that Todd Father if he calls Otani and says, hey, dude, I only want you to hit, and O'tani says that's cool. I'm going to do both for my country. Doc's going to say good talk.

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Speaker 2: See as soon.

00:01:48
Speaker 4: He's gonna ask for a trade, That's what it's gonna.

00:01:53
Speaker 3: He's gonna say, thanks for back to back titles in your first two years with us.

00:01:56
Speaker 2: You do what you want.

00:01:57
Speaker 3: I'm just I was just throwing that out there that if you don't want to pitch, you don't have to. But if you do want to pitch, I still love you.

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Speaker 4: Yeah.

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Speaker 5: I think they'll have an easy communication about it, whether one whether he does it or not. And I don't think he'd be like, no, sorry, I don't I want to pitch and do this, you can't say anything about it. I think they'll have a nice dialogue about the whole thing. And we'll see what happens. What happens if all of a sudden they get in these games where it's they're in the final four and all of a sudden, they they're running out.

00:02:28
Speaker 4: Of pitch and hey, Show, Hey, can you throw an inning or two? I don't know.

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Speaker 5: We'll see what happens. They do they take pride in their country, though, they they definitely do.

00:02:35
Speaker 4: He's Doc Roberts.

00:02:38
Speaker 1: He's gonna pitch. He's one hundred percent gonna pitch. But I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go past the uh Edwin DZ because everyone's like, oh, yeah, you know Drew Smiley, Like you just said, Drew Smiley got hurt. Edwin Diz everybody jumping around, You got her jumping around, Like, stop blaming the WBC for injuries, like these guys are ramping it up up. But here's my conspiracy theory. Because you don't always get hurt in the moment that you're playing. Maybe it's the duration. And do you remember who won the WBC and struck out Mike Trout in twenty twenty three?

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Speaker 4: Oh yes, show Hao Tani and then what happened?

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Speaker 1: Do you remember what happened at the end of twenty twenty three to show Heytani's arm with the shoulder, elbow, elbow. It wasn't Tommy Johnathan it was. It was some kind of internal bracing. It was UCL. So was that caused by his speedy ramp up for that spring training WC WBC moment. We'll never know, but you can't definitively tell me it had no correlation.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we'll say.

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Speaker 5: I mean, listen, so you're fearful of that if you're doing But they are thrown in spring training, Yeah, I guess they're not. They're trying to ramp up to get there where you need to be, and then there they're like, hey man, you're going five innings.

00:04:03
Speaker 4: We're trying to get eighty five.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's not they're not playing travel ball. They're not going to go there and be like, oh we got to the finals. We ran out of pitching. No, this isn't you know, this isn't kids travel ball. But I think I think that it is a legitimate discussion. There's injury concerns, there is insurance concerns as far as cash all that stuff to get these guys to play. But hey, Yamamoto literally pitched more than everybody for the longest time at the end of the season, and then they say, okay, you can go pitch. If you're a Dodgers fan, if you're Doc Roberts, You're like, I'm the biggest Yamamoto fan. Does this mean I'm losing a start from him on the season? Especially after he had more starts than he ever had. He blew past it. By the middle of September, he already had more starts than he ever had in his career. And then they went to the end of October. It was a month and a half of extra starts.

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Speaker 4: It's what the All Star break is for. That's why it's called a break.

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Speaker 1: Oh, just one, just one.

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Speaker 4: He'll probably be on that though. Yep.

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Speaker 3: I just think you have to be careful with the Japanese superstar in trying to prevent him from representing his country. It's a different culture. Tell me I'm wrong, krat or top Father. The players are like, yo, I'm repping the country. I'm doing what I'm gonna do, and you gotta just worry about the consequences. And if anything, I think show Hey might not pitch early in the WBC, but as expected, they should get to the semifinals and then he's going to be up and at him. Now, maybe it's just a bullpen dude like we saw last time around. But if you give me over under half an inning, that show, Hey is going to pitch in the WBC. I'm smashing the over.

00:05:47
Speaker 1: I you faced Japan in the finals of the Olympics dress I faced Japan in fourteen in the MLB All Stars Tour, which was in the middle of November. A lot of those guys season had been done, and all those guys had kept it ramped up, just playing just for that. Then I faced them in the qualifier in the beginning of November again in twenty nineteen. All those dudes kept it ramped up for that. So I think it. I think Scott's spot on your spot on Scott in the sense of like these guys play for their country. It is, it means, it means more. It's like the SEC it means more.

00:06:43
Speaker 3: Hey, we're hitting the Giants off season to do list with our friend and star of Splash Hit Territory FP. Santangel are joining us right now.

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Speaker 4: FP.

00:06:52
Speaker 3: Always great to see you.

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Speaker 6: Man.

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Speaker 3: The way we do this is you lay out your three Hey, this is what the Giants need to do the rest of the way here in the wintertime. And and we'll come back at you with follow ups.

00:07:03
Speaker 7: Well, I mean my three right now? Or how does Tony Voytello fit in?

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Speaker 2: Is number one?

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Speaker 7: Number two they need to add to starting pitching. I'm looking at him right here on the side. And then you know, there's some players that on the current roster that could could do.

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Speaker 2: A little bit better.

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Speaker 7: Buster always says there's more meat on the bone with some of the players they have.

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Speaker 1: All right, well, let's go right to Tony fitting in, Tony Botello fitting in, Like you gotta be careful. You're a next big leaguer, you can't. You know, we gotta be nice to the guys who have never played in pro ball, have never been in a big league, you know, big league bench to even say I was on the bench in the big league. So you got to be careful. So how's he got to fit in?

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Speaker 7: You know, I think he's smart, and I think you got to be transparent. You guys know, more than anything in today's game, it's about what the manager can do for the players, Right, How could I increase your value in the industry? What can I do for you, and so just have that open door policy. He's saying things right now like I'm overwhelmed, and you know he seems overwhelmed. So it's understandable, right, all of a sudden, you're a big league manager from the University of Tennessee.

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Speaker 2: But I think he's a quick learner, and there's probably gonna be some hiccups. You guys. You know, like if you've never.

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Speaker 7: Been in a big league at clubhouse and you haven't talked to grown men. Now there's twenty six general managers on every team that know everything about everything. And back when we played, I feel like it was what we could do for our manager. And when you're at the University of Tennessee, whatever he says is gospel.

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Speaker 4: Right.

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Speaker 7: These are eighteen to nineteen year old kids, and they're just like worshiping the ground he walks on. But like in the big leagues, you know, we sit back and we're on the plane, we're having a pop and we're can you believe what happened today?

00:08:48
Speaker 2: I mean, we should do that stuff.

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Speaker 7: So I think there's gonna be some initial hiccups, But man, what a dynamic personality.

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Speaker 2: I've gotten to spend some time with him, and I'm really rooting for him.

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Speaker 1: Can a manager in this day and age really get in the way of a postseason berth? Because I you know, I don't think we're looking at the NL West, But can what you said, it's your first thing on your list, Tony Vattello fit in. Can he get in the way of a postseason berth? Because you have Logan Webb, you have Robbie Ray, you have Raphael Devers in the lineup, you have Matt Chapman's platinum glove at third, Like, can he really get in the way?

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Speaker 7: I mean, if you're saying like game time decisions, I don't think so. I think the only time a manager ever gets in the way, and you've probably experienced this is when he loses the clubhouse, right, and all of a sudden, you got guys over in one corner talk, and you got guys over in another corner talk, and then all of a sudden, you know, things start to go south in a hurry, and it gets ugly. So I think he's gonna learn on the fly. And he's got he's got Dusty Baker around him, He's got Bruce bot You around him. He's got Ron Washington on the staff now, so he's been insulated with some baseball royalties, so if he has any questions, I mean, his president of Baseball Operations is a future Hall of Fame two, so he's surrounded by good people and I think he's humble enough to ask questions and to learn.

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Speaker 5: And as we know number two here, we're talking about pitching always. Everybody needs at a starter, especially this team, talk about maybe what they're thinking about. Do they have anything in the work, So have you heard anything about getting that starting pitcher that they need?

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Speaker 7: Yeah, you guys, I'm pretty disconnected in the off season, just doing the podcast, so it's not like I'm in the clubhouse that I'm getting some dirt right now. I know Giants fans in general, if you read the comments on our episodes, they're starting to panic a little bit. And I think a great addition in one of Williadomas's best friends is Freddy Peralta, and I don't know who you trade for him. I don't know if you sacrifice Bryce Eldridge, one of the top prospects in all of baseball for Freddy Peralta, who would be a rent to player, because you know he has a year left on his contract, you probably have to sign him to a long term deal. But when you have Logan Web and Robbie ray Man, it would be nice to.

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Speaker 2: A guy like that in.

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Speaker 7: But then you have to ask yourself, like, if we do go out inside a lot of guys, are we just throwing a pebble into the ocean when you compare yourself to the Dodgers and what they're doing right now, and.

00:11:10
Speaker 2: So, yeah, do I want to spend money because I don't know if we can compete with.

00:11:16
Speaker 7: The Dodgers, but we could be a playoff team and then once you get in, so that's a trick.

00:11:21
Speaker 2: They're in a tricky situation right now.

00:11:23
Speaker 7: I think all the baseball is in a tricky situation when you talk about what the Dodgers are.

00:11:27
Speaker 1: Doing, smoking like a true giant, all the Dodgers, all the Dodgers. The Dodgers care about the padres. They don't care about the giants. My question is like Todd when he goes to Texas Roadhouse and he's looking at the stakes through the through the glass and says, I want that one which bone has the most meat on it? Which which player has the most meat? Left on the bone that Buster Posey's kind of like, Hey, I'm looking at this guy to really step up? Is it Patrick Bailey? Because of the kind of down year that he had.

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Speaker 2: It could be Patrick Bailey.

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Speaker 7: You know when you talk about Patrick like should be a platinum glove catcher. I mean what he does behind the plate is magical, the way he handles the staff. I know you're gonna have the automated strike zone this year and that that could a few things. But there's a guy that struck out three hundred and thirty three times the last three years. So for me, Patrick Bailey doesn't have to hit two seventy to eighty, but just like be a tough out, put the ball and play a little bit more grind some at bats out there's a question whether he should be a switch hitter, and that's for them to decide. Jung Whu Lee's another guy, by the way, jun I think he had thirteen stolen base attempts last year and stole ten, And to me, he's kind of a prototypical leadoff hitter that where if he plays the game a little more aggressively, whether it's taking charge in the outfield on balls in the gaps, whether it's stealing bases and being more aggressive on the bases.

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Speaker 2: He doesn't bunt at all.

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Speaker 7: And apparently he's a really good bunner, and Itchi rows his hero So when you talk about how Itchiro is kind of laid the butt down and then in one of the best bunters I've ever seen. So there's there's more to his game. But he just played his first full season as a major leaguer and he's facing guys for the first time playing in ballparks he wasn't familiar with. You know, he only played thirty something games his first year as a Giant, So I think there's a lot of meat on the bone because when he's good, they win. It's like Hugo Ego kind of a thing. So that's one guy in then Elliott Ramos, when you talk about, you know what he did last year and in his defensive problems in left field, he had confidence issues, he was bobbling ground balls, he was throwing. He threw a ball into left center field last year from left field because he held on to it and just threw it to left center field. He's a great offensive player, he's a great kid. He works hard, but if he needs to get better for the Giants to be better.

00:13:49
Speaker 4: I'm very interested, you said.

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Speaker 5: Dusty Baker and Ron Washington two of my all time favorite guys.

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Speaker 4: What do you expect from both them?

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Speaker 5: I know Ron might have a little more going on because he's going to be closer, But at the same time, is Dusty going to be there all the time?

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Speaker 4: Like?

00:14:04
Speaker 5: Talk to me, do you know the ins and outs of both of those guys and what their job entitles?

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Speaker 7: No, I Todd, I'm with you, man, those are two of my favorite favorite ever. I played for Dusty and we're still really good friends. Markay things like I don't know what I'm doing here, I don't know my role is, but I think this year it's going to be a little more defined with a rookie manager. I mean, you have two Hall of Fame managers and Bruce Bochi and Dusty Baker right at your disposal. And you know Wash, I mean Todd, I don't know how he influenced your career, but you know, in Oakland my last year playing second base, he taught me things at thirty five years old, and I was like, where have.

00:14:42
Speaker 2: You been all my life?

00:14:43
Speaker 7: Just like opening up on a ball to your right and backhanded it instead of like trying to work around it and throwing on the run going into left field away from the play. Just little things around the bag and turn a double plays, you know. I mean, he's he's just a joy to be around, and.

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Speaker 2: He keeps it real.

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Speaker 7: He's always pos He's probably the hardest working coach I've ever been around. Man, he'd get you out there at noon and doing all your groundball drills. And he managed in the Big League. So I mean, their assembling what seems to be kind of an all star staff, and it makes sense with who your new manager is, having those three guys around. Dusty's my all time favorite. Wash is my all time favorite coach. I think, Todd and you might disagree with me. I think Wash is better as a coach than a manager. Not that he's a bad manager, but he was born to get out there and work and to coach and to teach.

00:15:32
Speaker 1: All right. So you said about the starting pitching Batsuya and my when we talk about Japanese pitchers or Japanese players, you pretty much go down the West Coast. You're like, I know, Seattle, Holy crap, it could be the Dodgers padres No, they're kind of, you know, they're kind of landlocked with their money a little bit. So the giants fall in. There are the giants willing to go. Is Buster Posey willing to say, yes, I would commit that much to a starting pitcher that's not a known commodity. I get it, he's probably going to has Yamamoto comps. But is Buster Posey going to be able to or be okay sticking his foot in that water just like he kind of did with Willia Doomas.

00:16:20
Speaker 7: Yeah, I think Buster Posey's fine with it because it's not his money.

00:16:23
Speaker 2: You have to go to Greg Johnson.

00:16:25
Speaker 7: You got to go to Greg Johnson, the owner and see if he's he's fine with it. I'm sure Buster wants to go out and get him. I think he got to be careful that everybody's not Yamamoto. And I've watched this guy pitch on just like on highlights on YouTube, and his split's dirty and his fastball is kind of a short arm upshoot fastball that gets on you.

00:16:44
Speaker 2: I mean, look at the numbers. Incredible.

00:16:46
Speaker 7: The thing I like about him, you guys, is he said he didn't want to be a Dodger and he wants to beat the Dodgers. And I don't know if that was a bargaining ploy but if he's got that kind of swagger with the mullet and he wants to be on a team that takes down the Dodgers, I mean, what better team that designed with the But they've said they're not going to sign pitchers to big contracts, and that could be a bargaining employe too. We all don't know what's going on right now, and you guys are players. I always wonder what the players are thinking right now, like what's going on? Are they all texting each other in the group check going? Are we getting anybody? Are we just staying at What are we doing? I always go to that mode, like in the offseason, what are those guys thinking right now when they're seeing all the moves going on around baseball?

00:17:30
Speaker 1: What's your opinion, but also the organization's opinion of the twenty eight bat twenty eight at bats that we saw from Bryce Eldridge last year? Is this a power hitter? That crap? Nobody hits for power in San Francisco, but Willie hit thirty homers and Rothie's probably gonna hit thirty home runs for the Giants this year. So is it something that they were fearf or they didn't know how the twenty eight at bats was gonna go, and it just kind of it didn't go well right out of the gate.

00:18:04
Speaker 7: I think it's not the numbers or the results per se. It was it was how he handled those at bats. And I think Buster will tell you he's gone on record saying I like that he wasn't scared. And he's twenty years old, man, and your first go around the big leagues and he was dinged up. There is one giant power hitter that the park couldn't hold. I think we all know his name. And you guys like guys like Schwarber come in there and they hit balls in the cove and if you have pop, you have pop. Like it's not so much as the ball doesn't carry there. Baseball, you know, we're used to playing in like ninety degrees in humidity, and when the ball's flying, it's cold a lot of nights there, and it's tough.

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Speaker 2: It's tough to hit in the cold.

00:18:43
Speaker 7: So it's more about that. But I think he's got line to line pop. You watch his videos from Triple A's going out to left center field, and the ball does carry that way at Oracle Park, and so yeah, I wouldn't judge anything off that. I think it was just a kind of a recruiting trip. Hey, this is what it's like. This is what the clubhouse is like. This is what the planes are like, this is what the charters like. These are what the hotels are like. He does have like size sixteen seventeen feet and I don't know how he improves his footwork around the bag.

00:19:13
Speaker 2: He's kind of heavy footed, but a great kid man.

00:19:16
Speaker 7: You talk to him, you fall in love with him in two seconds, and you're rooting for him. I don't know if the Giants trade him. We did a whole podcast on that. Do you trade Bryce Eldridge? Not for me to I think he's a forty home run guy even in that ballpark.

00:19:31
Speaker 1: Wait, what did Buster say that he wasn't scared of the moment? Is that what you said about when when.

00:19:38
Speaker 7: He just like the way he handled the at bats, And I'll call he was and you know, he went deep into counts and foul pitches off and maybe it always didn't end up in a hit, but he liked his he liked how he went about it, and it's hard to judge a guy in twenty eight at bats and you know, had the risk thing going on and he wasn't healthy. So I, yeah, I'm with you, man, I would love to see more of them because I don't know either.

00:19:58
Speaker 1: Well, that's that's kind of what I was going and on that. I just wanted to make sure I got the quote right, because don't you feel like the Giants played him a little scared? Like he's up there, he's up there one of the first nights. Oh left, he's going, We're not gonna we're not gonna throw him out there. Like if this guy is the guy and you you know you want him to just ride on big league planes, I guess that's one thing. But like, if you're that guy, if you're a forty home run guy, you're protecting him? Is that? Is that the way to go? Is that the way you're like, hey, we're not gonna put you in against lefties, you know, right right out the gate, we're gonna we're gonna kind of move you into the big league experience. Is that? Am I? Am? I off on that?

00:20:38
Speaker 4: No?

00:20:38
Speaker 7: I think there was some health issues that we didn't know about at the time, so that that might have played into it.

00:20:43
Speaker 2: But I'm with you, man.

00:20:44
Speaker 7: I was around Bryce Harper when he was nineteen and they threw him right in the fire. I was around Juan Soto when he was nineteen, and he threw him right in the fire. And it was there was no platoons, there was no matchups. It was like, you know, throw them off the end of the dock and hopefully they figure it out. And I think, you know, there could be another year of seasoning for Bryce Eldridge at the Triple A level.

00:21:04
Speaker 2: I don't know.

00:21:05
Speaker 7: I guess we'll see how the risk fares in spring training and you know, how he fits in with Devers at first And do you want to dh a twenty year old twenty one year old? Now, I guess, and that's something that the organization has to decide. But I'm with you, Mandy, Hey, you get your day in the sun. Let's go get y up. But also, like I didn't know there was health issues at the time, and I was kind of seeing the same things you guys were seeing.

00:21:31
Speaker 3: Pee you're the man. You get a lot more of this on splash It Territory, which is off to a banger beginning. I know we texted about it, but for real, there was a need in the marketplace and this thing just wait till the season starts will take off. But already, I mean, we're just seeing a ton of great feedback, as you can see probably in the comments at It's really cool. So keep doing your thing, man, this is just the start.

00:21:55
Speaker 7: Thanks you guys, Thanks for having me on. Happy holidays everybody.

00:21:58
Speaker 3: Hey, we're back and so is Glazer with us the star of Friar Territory talking all about the San Diego Padres, and I think it'll be another interesting offseason. Aj Probler always keeps it exciting for us, that is a fact. He certainly lit it up during the trade deadline. Kyle, good to see you, and I want to go right to the names that have popped up that not only affect the Padres, but it affects fans across the game. We've seen names like Nick Pavetta and Jake Cronenworth pop up in trade rumors from legit reporters. So what do you have for us on what that could look like and what those players could bring to the table for other teams too.

00:22:33
Speaker 6: Absolutely, the reason the Potters are even having these discussions is because they are in a serious payroll crunch. The Padres have said they're going to try and keep payroll around last year's level, and look, they're exploring sale teams. Exploring sales don't raise payroll. So with that, they only have about ten to twelve million dollars to play with, and they have to try and fill two starting rotation spots and an everyday first base spot at minimum, so they need to clear payroll and that's where the these conversations are coming from. Jake Croninworth is owed a little over sixty million dollars over the next five years. Nick Pavetta hasn't opt out after this year, but again he's going to make about nineteen million this year. So it's really just going to come down to are the Padres going to get the kind of trade offers that allow them to fill most of their holes. They're not going to do a one for one trade for Nick Poveta. It would have to be a situation where they get a major league ready young starter, another player who can help them this year, and then they can use the payroll savings to go sign another player, Jake Croninworth as well. It's going to be a situation where they're going to be looking for multiple pieces back, So both of them are going to attract interest and have attracted interest. We just have to see if ultimately the price is met where it makes sense for the Padres to move them.

00:23:44
Speaker 1: Who's a higher value sell now type of thing, because we've heard Jake Croninworth ever since he signed his seven year contract, it was like they're looking to shed, They're looking to shed the entire seven years. And I was like, Jake. I texted Jake, I'm like, did you sign it? Did you sign it with Major League Baseball? Or did you sign it with the Padres? So whose value is higher from where I get it? Pavetta's making more this season, but whose value is where they're going to get the most or be able to dump more of the money is kind of what I'm what I'm asking here.

00:24:17
Speaker 6: There's no question Nick Pavetta is the more valuable player. Teams always need frontline starting pitching, and Nick Pavetta took the leap last year with the Padres. He'd always had great stuff, great peripherals, but it never really worked out consistently for him. We saw long stretches of he'd look great for six or seven starts, and then stretches where he would look terrible for six or seven starts. Last year, he took the leap and was consistent pitching like a frontline starter from Game one to Game one sixty two. The tricky part with Nick Pavetta is he hasn't opt out at the end of this year. So are team's going to look at him as a pitcher that really only has one year left on his deal because Hoole realistically opt out, or are they going to look at him as a pitcher who is under contract for three more years and there's always the possibility that something goes wrong and he stays in the deal. Whether teams view him as a one year rental versus a pitcher who does have three years left on his deal is going to make a huge, huge, huge difference in what they're willing to offer the Padres. Realistically, all things being equal, he's going to bring back more, but a lot of it's going to depend on how teams view him and his contract.

00:25:23
Speaker 5: Right the best player on that team is Fernando Tatist Junior In my opinion, I think he's an absolute stud. Have teams gone out and try and seen if there's a possibility of him being moved or is he untouchable right now?

00:25:36
Speaker 6: At this point, Teams at this point in the year are always having conversations and reaching out talking about any number of players. Yes, teams have reached out to the Padres to just kind of gauge where they're at, and the Padres have been definitive, both publicly and privately. They are not trading Finante Taste junior. They have no interest in trading Finance Tatist junior. They have no intent to trade Finante. They view him as the folkrum a round which this entire team is built. They want him to be the centerpiece of the Padres in twenty twenty six, twenty twenty seven, twenty twenty eight and beyond. At this juncture, there is zero chance he gets moved. Now, we'll see what happens six months from you out now, a year from now, if new ownership comes in, there's all different dynamics at play. But this offseason, he is not getting moved.

00:26:24
Speaker 1: All right, Well, let's go to somebody that did get moved because of free agency. Robert Suarez got moved and he signed. He signed with the Braves. What are they getting? You watched him day in and day out. The numbers, I feel like speak for themselves. But what are the Braves getting? And is there a chance of some regression? And if the Padres had the money, would they have resigned them themselves?

00:26:50
Speaker 6: What the Atlanta Braves are getting is a lockdown, end of game reliever. Robert Sworez was one of the best closers in the National League each last two years, and prior to that, he was one of the best set up in the National League for two years setting up Josh Hater. He's someone that can fill both roles and not just be good at both, but dominant and both. He had a sub three ERA in both look it's a fastball he can run up to one hundred and one oh one, one oh two. His changeup when he throws it as a really really good pitch. Ice in his veins. Nothing phases him. He is everything you want in a late game reliever and closer. There's a tremendous amount of mental toughness there as well. In terms of whether the Padres would have resigned him just given the Podreis needs, and their fundamental need for years now has been they need more impact on offense. Given the strength of their bullpen, even without Robert Swoz, they were always going to need to reallocate this money toward bringing back an impact bat. So, on the one hand, you understand Robert Swores is a tremendous talent who will give the Atlanta Braves a lockdown end of game option in whatever role they choose to use him in. Reports are will be a setup man and a backup closer to start. But for the Podreys, bringing him back just given their other needs just just never made lot of sense. They really, really really have to address the starting rotation and the lineup much more than the bullpen.

00:28:06
Speaker 1: You glazed over it a little bit, but he was People think he's been a closer his entire career. The run with the Padres, or the run where the Padres almost made it to the World Series and lost to the Phillies where Bryce Harper hit the home run against him was arguably, in my opinion, statistically stuff plus all that stuff, his best season. Did you see a difference in Robert Suarez because he was Hey has never been as dominant as he was that season. Is he better in the eighth inning? There is there a difference that you saw from when he became the setup guy to the closer.

00:28:44
Speaker 6: Not really. Again, he's been so good pretty much every season. You're still talking about eras under three, you know, three of his four seasons, you're still talking about strikeout rates. You're still talking about premium stuff. It's small margins. So realistically, he's someone that you feel comfortable putting in either situation. And look, yes, people are going to remember him serving up the home run to Bryce Harper. What they don't remember is Robert Swarez throw an absolutely ridiculous change up the previous pitch that Bryce Harper held up on. It was incredible that Bryce Harper held up on that pitch, and it's more about Bryce Harper being amazing than any failures of Robert Swarez. So, Robert Swarez again, from the moment he came over from Japan, has been dominant in whatever role he's been asked to fill, and I expect that to continue with the Braves.

00:29:26
Speaker 3: We have a super chat fan question appreciated from Scott Farr. He said, anyone are free to the Jays talking with the Padres for a Mason Miller deal Brios and Ricky Tiedeman. This is exactly what Toronto needs to take over for Jeff Hoffman. Well, even if you want to entertain that, I will step in before you've been jump in and say that ain't gonna get it done.

00:29:54
Speaker 6: Again. The Padres just given the situation they're in. And look, aj Preller has always been most aggressive GM in baseball since he took over. He is someone that will talk about big packages, marquee names, tens of millions of dollars changing hands like it's nothing, a lot of the kind of trades that most presidents of baseball operations and gms shy away from. He embraces that said, whether you're talking about Mason Miller, Nick Pavetted, Jake Cronaworth, the Potters are not going to trade them without getting significant value back. And I'm talking multiple players who help them fill multiple holes in one fell swoop. So again, while Jose Barrios has obviously had a great career, he was also demoted from the Blue Jay's rotation at the end of last year. Ricky Tineman has tremendous stuff. He has never stayed healthy that's not close to what would get a Mason Miller trade done. It would have to be impact big leaguers who are controllable and cheap right now, plus top young prospects.

00:30:50
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:30:50
Speaker 5: I was gonna go a little bit on Jake Croninworth, but you kind of hit that one perfectly. My question to you is you look over at the other side. The Dodgers just picked up Edwin Dias Padres a product. I mean, just tell me your thoughts. And even even as the guy who covers them and talks about him, like you see something like that, what goes on through your head?

00:31:09
Speaker 4: Is it like, oh God, here we go again.

00:31:13
Speaker 6: Look, you know my nearly you know, decade as a national writer for Baseball America and continuing to cover, you know, league wide. You understand that the Dodgers have tremendous financial resources. They spend them wisely, which is something a lot of other teams with tremendous financial resources cannot say, and they draft and develop incredibly well. Again, the Dodgers have been the beast of the NL West for over a decade. Now you know that they are a force. You're going to have to deal with them at some point if you are attempting to compete in the National League. So on the one hand, yes, you see them sign Edwin Diaz and you go, yep, they just add another superstar. At the end of the day, though, that's kind of the mo for them, and you just understand that's how they operate. That's what you have to deal with if you're a team trying to compete with them in the National League. Now, it's just about trying to make your roster the best it can possible be so that you have a shot to maybe beat the Dodgers in a short series in the playoffs. That's really where you have to get them. Trying to beat them over one hundred and sixty two game season. Look, almost no one has done it in the NS since twenty thirteen. The only team to do it was the Giants in twenty twenty one, when the Dodgers won one hundred and six games that year. So you understand that in order to take down the Dodgers, it's more about building a team that can hopefully catch them in a short series because doing so over one sixty two Look, the facts are, no one's been able to really do it consistently for over a decade.

00:32:32
Speaker 3: Hey, Kyle last one, Oh, go ahead, go ahead?

00:32:35
Speaker 4: Kay?

00:32:37
Speaker 1: How about the manager situation Craig stamens Obviously everybody hears you know, Manny Machada was like, oh, we love this guy. Everybody's come out and said we love this guy. But I feel like that was kind of said about Shilt too until Shilt was Shilt was out. So is this more of a Okay, Craig Stamon's gonna work because he's already worked with Aj Preller. You know, it's it's clearly the aj Pereller effect of the drama that comes with and you know, his constant hovering over. But this Craig Stamon thing, is there tangible wins and improvements from a Craig Stamen hiring.

00:33:20
Speaker 6: So Craig Stamon and Mike Scheldt are two very very different personality types. And I think it's important to point out Mike Scheldt did work in the Pattery's front office and working a couple different roles before taking over as manager. So in terms of Craig Stammon, the pluses are he is a tremendous communicator. He is someone that took on a leadership role in the Pattery's clubhouse for years, especially during COVID, he really was the spokesperson for the team in a time of great uncertainty. He is a natural leader in a lot of ways, has all the personality traits you look for as well as the baseball mind. At the same time, a first year manager, there are going to be things that you have to learn on the fly, especially when you have ever coached or managed at any level of professional baseball. Mike Schultz was an established manager in the big leagues who had years and years and years as a coach and manager throughout the Miners. He didn't have the learning curve that Craig stam is going to have. So there's no question there are going to be some things early on, especially that might not be the smoothest just in terms of game strategy bullpen decisions. But the hope is Craig Stammond, being as humble as he is, as smart as he is, that he will figure it out quickly enough that it doesn't hurt the Padres for any considerable amount of time as they attempt to make the playoffs for the fifth time in seven seasons.

00:34:36
Speaker 3: Kyle, great insight. You know we love you. And Friar Territory. You want to let everyone know just a little bit more about how the team expanded. I mean, we've talked about it a touch, but just give everyone a taste of how big the Friar Territory team is getting.

00:34:49
Speaker 6: Absolutely, it's still me, Heath Bell and Mike Cameron. We recently added Marty Caswell, a long time radio host in San Diego. She's tremendous. I encourage everyone come check it out. We've got a lot to talk about. This is a very fascinating team. Really they always are, but especially true now just given potential impending sale. Aj Prowler still has yet to sign a contract extension, first year manager and Craig Scammond. Maybe some big trades. This is a great time to subscribe. I encourage everyone to check it out.