Trade aftermath: Next moves for D’backs after dealing Naylor, Yankees plans after adding McMahon

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Snake's Territory host Jesse Friedman is here. Great shirt and great episode breaking. Last night the Josh Naylor News, they did a little breakdown on the return for the Diamondbacks. Jesse, good to see. We're gonna get to that. I want to start with Gino Suarez. I mean, this is by far the best available bat at the trade deadline. The Yankees just took their name off the list. So what do you think about Gino Suarez and what he could bring to the table for some of the other teams looking for third base help, potentially Chicago, potentially Detroit, potentially the Mariners. Still, what do you think about where he could go? And what have you seen from him offense and defense this year that stands out.

00:00:45
Speaker 2: I mean the offense is pretty easy to talk about, right, I mean, the man just hits home runs in bunches. It's been unbelievable to watch it recently. He's up to thirty six home runs now for the season, and he's on pace for something like fifty I believe, which would tie a Diamondbacks franchise record if he actually stuck around and did that. So yeah, I mean I think we all know Scott the teams love power this time of year, if you're a contender and trying to put yourself in position to go on a deep playoff run. I think it's well documented at this point that home runs are a really big part of the equation, and if you want home runs, there's really no one better on the market than Gino Suarez, certainly not on the defensive side. I do wonder if maybe that played a role in the Yankees calculus in pivoting to Ryan McMahon. Gino Suarez is by no means a terrible third basement at this stage in his career, but I think it's safe to say that he's slipped a little bit defensively. Just looking at outs above average over on Baseball Savant, he was at positive twelve a couple years ago with the Mariners, he was at plus three last year with the Diamondbacks, and this year he's at minus six up to this point in the season. So you know, I wouldn't necessarily call him a lot ability out there, but the Yankees are definitely getting a better defender in Ryan McMahon at third base.

00:02:06
Speaker 1: If we're playing the prediction game, do you have any thoughts on where you think he could end up sometimes I also do this, and it's helpful. Where have teams made deals in the past because these guys are friends with some of their colleagues or some of their competitors around the game, and that helps lead to trade some of them just see eye to eye better. The Diamondbacks and Mariners have done some dealing, so that makes sense. The one way I'll go against the conversations or the rumors about Gino Suarez also ending up in Seattle is that the Mariners didn't love him. They traded him away, so they are looking for an impact bat in that lineup. They definitely helped themselves out with Naylor, but I do feel like they called him out a little bit. Jerry Depoto was very vocal after that season where the Mariners were a strikeout mess, and then they were the next year as well, so we're talking about after twenty three. He's like, we need to get better. We cannot have this much swing and miss in our offense. And in that ballpark, I felt like he was taking a direct shot at Gino Suarez. Not for the person he is. He's a great dude, he's very lovable in the clubhouse, but for the swing and miss that he has in his game in the streakiness. So why would the Mariners suddenly say, Okay, now we're going to pay top dollar at the trade market to bring this back.

00:03:23
Speaker 2: I'm with you, I think that's a pretty logical line of reasoning there. I too would be surprised if the Mariners were actually the team that made this move. I know there were a lot of reports yesterday that, oh, the Mariners are still in on Gino even though they just acquired Josh Naylor. But it almost feels like those reports always happened. You know, when a team trades for the teammate of one of the players that they're rumored to be interested in. You know, feels like there's always rumors like, oh that you know they're still interested in that other player too. But it feels like we don't normally see that type of thing happen. And yeah, I mean when the Diamondbacks fired Ao Henio Suarez a couple of years ago, he was not a premium asset. I mean, I don't know if it would be totally fair to call it a salary dump, but I don't think it would be all that off base either. I mean, the Diamondbacks only gave the Mariner Sebbi Zavala, who is a backup catcher, and then Carlos Vargas, who was a right handed reliever. Continues to be a factor for the Mariners. He's in their major league bullpen right now. But by no means was a top prospect at the time. His command was way off at that point in his career. More of a lottery ticket sort of sort of player if anything. So yeah, I would be a little surprised if it wound up being the Mariners. As far as some other teams in the mix, it's it's really hard to say. I mean, I know the Cincinnati Reds have had reported interest, and we know that the Reds love Gino Suarez. I think there's probably no secrets there. He has a long history in that ballpark. We know the fan base loves him, and he's pretty far removed from his time in Cincinnati at this point. I could maybe see that happening. And but I mean, there's there's a lot of other teams in the mix here. The Diamondbacks have made some trades with the Brewers in the past, maybe maybe that becomes a thing. The Tigers are here as well, the Cubs. It's it's it's really hard to say, but it looks like the market for Gino is going to be quite a bit more robust than the market for Josh Naylor.

00:05:21
Speaker 3: Even with the Yankees out of it, even with one team, by the way twinning today. But we go love it even with the Yankees out of it. Anytime we talk about free agency and the big players are out on a free agent, the value goes down. Have the have the Diamondbacks in past history overvalue a player and then kind of missed out because they didn't keep the market open for everybody.

00:05:48
Speaker 2: That's a good question. I mean, this is almost uncharted territory for Diamondbacks general manager Mike Hazen. I mean, he's been around this organization for for a long time. This would be his ninth season as the general manager of this team. But the Diamondbacks haven't sold a whole lot under Mike Haysen. They've made a few trades here and there. They traded Zach Granky to the Astros back in twenty nineteen. They traded Starling Marte in twenty twenty when he was playing really well at the time. But you know, Granky had a really big contract. The Diamondbacks had to eat a good portion of that in order to facilitate the trade Starling Marte. You know, it was twenty twenty, so you were only getting him for a month at that point. I believe he had.

00:06:32
Speaker 1: A club option after that as well.

00:06:34
Speaker 2: So, you know, the d Backs under Hazen have not done particularly well in cell trades. You look back at that granky deal and really they didn't wind up getting much value in there at all. Josh Rojas was definitely the most productive player, but then they of course traded him to the Mariners as part of the Paul Seawall trade a couple years ago. So the track record here isn't great. I'm not sure we have an exact comparison between, you know, what the Gino Suarez market looks like right now and what a market has looked like for any other Diamondbacks rentals here in recent seasons. But it'll be interesting to see if Hazen can kind of change course a little bit here and do pretty well for himself in some of these deals. Jesse.

00:07:20
Speaker 3: One of the things that Ken Rosenthal, who was just on the show said was he's hearing that it won't be Gallon and Kelly, it would be one or the other. Do you feel like that's a misstep for the Diamondbacks? I mean citing the fact that, yes, they still do have to get through the rest of their games with innings. But do you feel like that's a misstep for a team that, in my opinion, still can compete next year and the next year after that with filling some holes. But getting something for both of those guys, to me, seems like the route they should be going.

00:07:57
Speaker 2: I agree with you Kratz, Yeah, I think that if you're going to sell a little, you might as well sell a lot when it comes to your rental players. I don't really understand the thinking of trying to hold on to some of these guys. I mean, would the Dbacks be a lot less watchable the rest of the season without Zach Gallen and Merril Kelly. Yes, for sure. Pitching depth has been a problem for them this year, and I think you're probably looking at Anthony di scliffani stepping in to a rotation spot. They would probably bring Bryce Jarvis up from Triple A as well. His track record in the majors as a starter certainly has not been great, so it might be a little ugly, but as you said, this is a team that still has the ability to contend I think in twenty twenty six and beyond, and so it feels like you'd want to just get every possible asset out of what's really been a mess of a season for them if you can. The only caveat that I'll give here is that you could give both of these guys qualifying offers. So there's a world where you capitalize on the trade value with one of them, and you move one guy, and then in the off season you give the other guy a qualifying offer. You know, likely they reject it, although I guess with Meryl Kelly maybe there's a world where he would accept it. But if the player rejects it and they signed somewhere else for fifty million dollars or more, certainly would expect Zach Gallen to hit that number at least most likely, then you're getting a draft pick after the first round. So I don't think it's like an egregious decision necessarily. If they don't deal both of these guys, you know, maybe the return just isn't quite what they want it to be and they'd rather just have a draft pick instead. But yeah, I have a feeling, given the state of this market, that they could do pretty well for both of these.

00:09:41
Speaker 1: Guys, Jesse last one. For anyone else. We're missing in terms of pieces that could be dealt big or small by the Diamondbacks. I listened to the full episode last night. Was great. I heard you guys lightly sprinkling a Lord of Scuriel conversation, but I haven't seen anything from insiders, so I think d Backs fans can take a big breath. But I'm not sure anyone else or do you think that there's a chance he could be moved.

00:10:06
Speaker 2: I think there's a chance Lordis could be moved at a local reporter here, John Gambadoro, who has definitely has some sourcing. He did say that some teams have asked about him, but you know, he's not a premium ass set. He's not Gino Suarez. He really has not had a very good season. He's been basically a replacement level player, and his contract situation is interesting. He could opt out after this season, in which case is just a two month rental, or he could opt in for next year as well, and then whatever team acquired him would be paying him. I think it's around thirteen fourteen million dollars in twenty twenty six, and he hasn't really played up to that level this year. So the Diamondbacks might like to move Lordis Guriel Junior just to get off of the money for next year. I'm not sure if they're going to find a taker on that. As far as other players go, there are some some more expiring contracts here. Randall Gritchik has a mutual option for next year, which we don't really ever see those come to fruition on both sides. So I think Gritschick is a team as a player that teams could look at and then in the bullpen, Theoretically they could get Shelby Miller and Jalen Beeks back from injury here pretty soon, and both of those guys also have their contracts up at the end of the year. I don't think you're getting a ton necessarily for either of them, but Shelby Miller has actually had a really good season for the d Backs in the bullpen, so you know, relievers certainly in high demand this time of year. Wouldn't shock me if a team made a run at him as well.

00:11:35
Speaker 1: Jesse great stuff dude, really appreciate it. On the way out here, everyone give love to Snake's Territory. It's awesome. These guys are working their butts off. The info's great and this is the time of year to listen to them, even if you're not a fan of the Diamondbacks, because you're gonna listen to all of the players that are getting dealt away here, including Josh Naylor who just got dealt to the Mariners. Snake's Territory shop is also wide open for you. There's the QR code and for many in this company, it's their favorite logo. Just throwing it out there. It's really good. Jesse, you're the man. Thank you got you again after another deal?

00:12:10
Speaker 2: Okay, all right, sounds good, guys, Thanks for having me.

00:12:14
Speaker 1: Joining us right now. You gotta be all over your Pinstripe Territory and his channel dedicated to the Yankees covering this Ryan McMahon news, but we get him for a few minutes on FT. Derek, good to see you. Are you happy? Am I getting a smile out of this deal? What do you think?

00:12:28
Speaker 3: You know?

00:12:29
Speaker 4: First of all, shout out to Jesse Freeman a Snake's Territory, Your previous guest fabulous chairs, stylist chairs. But this move I don't think it catapults the Yankees to the top of the standings, but I think it does move the needle a little bit in the right direction.

00:12:43
Speaker 1: Right.

00:12:43
Speaker 4: He's better than both Oswald Parrazza and youor but Vivas offensively.

00:12:47
Speaker 1: Right.

00:12:48
Speaker 4: I know fans aren't going to be excited about the two seventeen average, but he's got sixteen home runs, he's approven major league hitter, and defensively he was very good. The Yankees played the Rockies in Colorado and they played Hi at Yankee Stadium, and both times he looked good defensively. To me anyway, I don't get a chance to watch him every day, but I'm excited to I know fans are not super pumped about the offense, but defensively, a big play from a slick defender can kind of be like a red bull for a couple of innings. Every time Bellinger makes a big play, seems like the Yankees pick up a little bit of momentum. So maybe you're adding a little bit of that factor.

00:13:23
Speaker 3: Okay, are you upset about his home road splits As a left handed hitter.

00:13:29
Speaker 4: I actually haven't dug two deep into his splits because the trade just happened and I had to hop on the show real quick. But I feel like Colorado feels like a place where you can, you know, if you get the ball in the air, hit the ball out of the ballpark, and Yankee Stadium is the same way. So I'm not sure how much he's going to be effective both. You know, both places are offensive spots right for a left handed hitter, But I haven't had a chance to dive into his numbers yet.

00:13:55
Speaker 3: Okay, go ahead, Scottie Kratz.

00:13:58
Speaker 1: I just wanted to see the classic question and I was bringing up here at Jim Bowden, who's our resident gym on this show, really pointed to how the Yankees were not that hot on Gino Suarez. They were super focused on improving the defense, even if that means getting a far less effective bat and powerful bat. Do you agree with that decision?

00:14:18
Speaker 3: I agree.

00:14:18
Speaker 4: I mean, the problems that the Yankees have faced this year have not been necessarily offensive, although they've had stretches where the offense hasn't been great. The problems have been the same thing that plagued them in the World Series, which is fundamental baseball defense. Base running in Ryan McMahon, they're getting an above average base runner. He's in the seventy third percent tile and base running run value according to Baseball Savant, and in fielding run value who's in the eightieth percent tile. So this is a guy who metrically fixes a couple of areas where they've shown that they're deficient. Now Suarez, yeah, he's a big bat. He might win you a playoff game with a big home run, and obviously he would be further protection for Aaron Judge. But he you know, he doesn't move the needle defensively. He's not a good defender. So I think that the Yankees are trying to address an area of weakness for once rather than just, oh, let's go out and get the guy who has the most home runs. And I think that's a smart move.

00:15:13
Speaker 3: Does this help Anthony Volpi play better defense at short because my argument is when you have a little bit of lackluster defense a third your shortstop has to cover, whether it's subconscious or it's actually conscious, least you know you're shading more towards third base. Is there a hope that it improves his defense?

00:15:37
Speaker 4: I mean, maybe Oswald Piazza wasn't necessarily known as being a bad defender. He's a good defender. He's made some tough plays, you know this year that in big spots where they were errors or he's thrown the ball away or whatever. But his problem is not range. I think he's a superior defender to Anthony Volpi in fact, but anything that you know, Ryan mcmahonn bring to the table in terms of range, so that Volpi can maybe slide to his left a little bit or you know where he doesn't have to throw it as far. Maybe that that helps, because the throwers have been the majority of the issues for Volpi.

00:16:11
Speaker 3: All right, where's the rest of the wish list? You're not sitting on even though it is it is Christmas in July today, July twenty fifth, you're not sitting on my lap for a wish list. Okay, what is the rest of the Yankees wish list?

00:16:25
Speaker 4: You know, I've seen people talking about O'Neil Cruz lately, but I don't think that's the move. I think you got to focus on the pen. You know, any relievers that you can get out there, and it's not necessarily the big name guys. I was really into Felix Bautista, but he's apparently had some injury problems. So maybe they'll just pick up somebody like a Mason Miller and just empty the farm. I don't know, but I think they need a flame thrower in the bullpen. I think they need somebody who can shut down some of these rallies that they've been giving up. You know, if you get more strikeouts, you don't have to rely on defense as much. Jonathan Lowisega has not been good since coming back. Weaver's been a little bit up and down.

00:17:06
Speaker 3: You know.

00:17:06
Speaker 4: Devin Williams Era is still over four, so how much can you really trust him this year? You know, and he was better for a little bit, but then he had a rough patch last week. I would focus on the bullpen. I know that they're interested in adding a starting pitcher. Also, you know, we lost Clark Schmidt. We obviously haven't had Garrett Cole all year. We are getting Louise heel Back, and Cashman is known to view that as a basically a trade deadline type of acquisition adding him in. But I think they're going to focus on pitching.

00:17:37
Speaker 1: Okay, Derek, good stuff, Thank you. For hopping on and again a big reminder to everyone to check out Derek's channel, especially right now, for much more on the Ryan McMahon acquisition. He'll be on postgame after Yanks two and a lot more conversation about this. Derek, thanks for the time, dude. There's the pretty promo and the beautiful, beautiful graphics that are on the show every day. Good stuff, Derek, appreciate you, man.