New Pirates 2B Brandon Lowe and FanGraphs writer Paul Sporer join FT

00:00:04
Speaker 1: And now we're ready to go with our next guest, Paul Sport is joining US writer, podcaster Fangrafts and a content designer out of the park Baseball so helped me do some construction work for front offices out there. What have you thought about the off season so far? So maybe a favorite move? And then what are you looking forward to with a market that's still full of available names that are going to sign over the next month or so.

00:00:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm I'm really eager to kind of see how the rest of the starting picture market develops with the two left. He's at top right now from our Valdez Rangers Suarez. I've always been someone who's been huge on Valdez. It's coming off of a rough time to be a free agent, had a tough second half, had the issue maybe throwing at his young catcher there that we all saw and I think two a man didn't really like there. How much will that affect him? I don't know. How much should it? I don't know? And then you get to the point where is his volume going to be used again? We talk so much about guys who don't throw innings, don't throw innings. This guy does guarantee you. Some teams are gonna flip it on him, know and say, well, now your damnage good. You have too many innings on you. So guys can't win these days. Suarez is the other way, right, Maybe he doesn't pitch as much Rangers swars. We haven't seen him put on the workload. Apparently he's asking for seven years and we'll see if he gets that. But I'm really interested to see with two guys, neither of whom are true bona fide, unquestioned aces. They're the last two guys standing though, and when there's a lot of money to go around, maybe they end up getting a huge contracts. So I'm really eager from that standpoint. As far as a move I liked, I really like Toronto going out and kind of doubling down on their huge season, and that includes getting Dylan Ces. This guy's remarkably talented. He is one where like the nerd stats versus kind of your surface stats can sometimes disagree and show some issues with him, but his talent is always evident and when you can miss bats the way he can consistently, even with some of the ups and downs that he does have, Dylan Cees is still a super talent. I totally understand why they went out and paid for him. Whenever you're doing a seven year deal, you're not going to get seven great years. But if they get three good ones, including what maybe next year, while they're still in this very much competitive window, I think they'll be fine with it. So I like that move, and it showed that Toronto was very serious about staying in contention.

00:02:08
Speaker 3: I talked about Suarez Valdez, but Tatsuyo and my might be better than the two of them. Absolutely, are teams fearful of that? Or are they less fearful because of what Yoshinobu Yamamoto has done in his short stints so far in the big leagues.

00:02:27
Speaker 2: I think the more certain teams see players from overseas work, the more confident they get. But there are it's organization to organization, their organizations that have a lot of experience with it, and they go in not nervous at all. They confidently buy from the KBO and from the Japanese League without any issue. There are other teams that are still cautious and still worry about landing a dud. The thing of it is, though, is a lot of these guys come over, even the expensive ones come over at a fair at a pretty good market rate. Now Yamamoto is an exception, right, he still came over, he got all the money that you know was basically promise, and then delivered on that promise. But a lot of guys come over at a pretty decent discount, usually because they're a little bit older touch you. Emi is a guy who could be another great stud, maybe not to the level of Yamamoto, but I think he's better than I manauga to use. Another guy who's come over recently and had some pretty good seasons with the Cubs, has a home run issue that I think will continue to plague him as he spends more time in the States. But I do think Imaia has a chance to be better than both Suarez and Valdez, and I wonder how the dominoes are going to fall there. I actually don't remember what EMI's posting window is where, you know, depending on where those three go, maybe jumping out first and getting Emi could be the discount, and then all the money still left on Suarez and Valdez might make them a little bit overvalued. I am most nervous I think about Suarez specifically, Like I said, I believe in Valdez as at least a workhorse stud if not a true ace.

00:03:47
Speaker 3: Paul, Can we go to the top picture list that you are going to be releasing later this week, because the best part about lists are people who are going to poke holes at it. They're gonna be like, well, what I'm gonna And there's explanations that you need, the first one being if you're a Pirates fan, what the heck Trek Scoogle's better than Paul Skeins? How can you even say that? And then you just move on from there.

00:04:12
Speaker 2: Should I block my Detroit hat here while I'm on my showing my bias too much?

00:04:17
Speaker 3: There we go, There we go.

00:04:19
Speaker 2: I am a Tigers fan, and I always make that bias very clear. We all have biases, folks. Nobody's unbiased. Anyone telling you they're unbiased, they're lying. You haven't hearing biases there? But listen, I think almost harder on the Tigers to make sure that I'm not going to, you know, to light with them and boosting up the guys on my favorite team. But anytime you're going for the two times, cy Young, I think you're in pretty good standing to put him number one. I really do think it's a Skien Scooble one too. Take them how you want them. I think the Tigers are a bit better club, and when it comes to fantasy, we do care about the win potential, even though that is something that's maybe a little bit out of the player's control. So it's not necessarily against Scheens that it's not his fault he's on the Pirates, but when you're coming into fantasy, you've got to pile up wins. And I do think Skiing Scooble has the edge there being on the Tigers, who are at least in a competitive window right now. Pirates aren't trying to get there, though, and I did like that three way deal they did.

00:05:05
Speaker 3: I'm so glad you brought up fantasy because now I'm gonna go straight to your number eight, who finished second in the cy young in Christopher Sanchez.

00:05:15
Speaker 4: Are you are you?

00:05:16
Speaker 3: Are you playoff bias by putting yo Yoshinoba Yamamoto so high up on this list or do you feel like he's gonna have a much better year and give you more Fantasy points.

00:05:27
Speaker 2: I don't think I'm playoff bias and I will say this only because I was making the case for him, for Yamoto as the bankable four the fantasy world. At the end of the season, said scooball Skiins, Crochet are the top three. Take them how you want them. That's the lock. That was the consensus. The door was opened for four, according to a lot of analysts. I said, at the very beginning of the playoffs, no, no, no, Yamamoto is the clear four, and then you can go from five on. So I was kind of playing in my flag a little early. Admittedly, we all knew he was good. I didn't think he was going to be as amazing as he was in the playoffs. But I was ready to be on Yamamoto as a top five bankable guy right away. The playoffs certainly helped, and again on the best team in baseball.

00:06:05
Speaker 5: Now.

00:06:06
Speaker 2: Part of that is actually a little bit of a detractor in fantasy because of the way they manage their pitchers, because they're always working toward October. They don't care about your fantasy wins. They don't care about your fantasy innings. And I understand that, right I'm not one of these dweds that's gonna go yell at a manager on Twitter or anything like that, but you have to be mindful of that. I do think that that maybe discounts Dodgers a little bit. I think Yamamoto is a bit of an exception, though. I think they're paying all this money for him to be a true ace, to be there all throughout the regular season and the playoffs as well, So I think he's somebody who bank on for thirty plus starts of high quality work. I think he is the number four, maybe even the number three. I wanted to put him up above Crochet push come to shove, though I still kept Crochet at three.

00:06:45
Speaker 3: All right, Well, part of fantasy can kind of go over into a little bit of a line line setting and Cy Young when you're looking at cy Young picks at the beginning of the year or your sleeper sleeper fantasy pick, m hmm to me, I go down into your ten, eleven and fourteen range where you have where you have Cole Reagan's, Brian wu and George Kirby. Are there any other picks for you that could be a Cy Young type of year this year, just based on how things kind of went last year and how they could trend or they could continue to trend up for next year.

00:07:29
Speaker 2: If we had talked this time last year or sometime in the spring, I'd been killing this team for their pitching or lack thereof, and all of a sudden a year later, the Baltimore Orioles I think have two sneaky candidates in both Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rodgers been really pleased with their offseason. I was kind of wondering where this was last year, because we know they got the check book was open for Elias and they didn't really go out and get anybody. Maybe he just didn't like the market, you know, he didn't go for Burns. Obviously, that blew up in Arizona. Pitchers get hurt. That just happens. I don't think they knew he was going to get hurt or anything, but I was like, what are they doing with their pitch? Well, Rodgers blew up for them and looks like a stud. Bradish came back, and I think both of those guys could be in contention, especially if this is a team that is playing to their max. I heard you guys talking about Alansa before I came on. I totally agree that he could surprise some folks in that park. He has everywhere power. And I'm not even so sure about the yosemity part there where you said he couldn't hit it out of there. I think we need to test that theory because maybe the polar Bear could. But I really really like what Baltimore's doing here. I like Bradish, I like Rodgers. I think both of them could be sneaky ale guys in addition to the guys you mentioned Reagan's Wu, Kirby. The thing of it is you never go for a favorite in a sy Young or MVP type bet that just burn your money at that point. That's so boring, it's lame. There's no sense in doing it. You're trying to look for the guy who's really going to rise up. And I think those five Reagan's, Kirby, Wu, the three that you mentioned, and then Bradish and Trevor Rodgers both for the Orioles. I think those are five really interesting candidates that could be in that Cy Young talk all year.

00:08:51
Speaker 5: Next year.

00:08:52
Speaker 3: I'm going to argue this one because of the fact that that's what we do with lists. We argue about him, not necessarily that you know, this is who's next to each other, but Freddy Peralta I feel like should be higher on this list. Chris Sale has him by one by one, Stitch, I think you had Sale at sixteen, Freddy p at seventeen. I felt like the moves Freddy May last year moved him up into the top ten range. Do you have a reason why you kept him out of the top ten?

00:09:21
Speaker 2: I think because we still haven't. I mean, I try not to judge guys too harshly on not having huge volume because that's not the game we're in anymore. So I don't really bad guys that too much. But when it comes to my top ten, I want to have seen a two hundred inning season, and I know that that is becoming increasingly rare, and he's really been more of that one to seventy five type. I will say this, and not to take myself off the hook. I appreciate the pushback here on Parolta, but I am a little bit higher than the industry right now on him. So I am on the Parolta train, but maybe I move him up a little bit higher because I'm a per innings guy. We can't predict health, and we cannot predict the guys that are gonna, you know, stay healthy all year for thirty two plus starts. There's a few guys each year that can do that. So give me the most talented guys. That's why I have somebody like Bike Snell ranked twelfth. I understand that he has like, you know, eighty innings the last three years in the regular season, but he's so good when he pitches. Peralta's a case like that, So I really do think you can make a strong case to move him up right there with Reagan's woo and Snell in that ten eleven twelve range, and I will take that an under invisement before these go out later this week.

00:10:23
Speaker 5: I love that, Paul. I love that.

00:10:26
Speaker 1: I love the energy and the analysis there, and then I'm excited to get the feedback. You know, it's always a super kind and just full of appreciation from everybody that reads it. But really you look inside and you know, hey, at least they read it and there's interest there despite what they say.

00:10:41
Speaker 5: It's good debate.

00:10:42
Speaker 1: On our way out, I just want to reiterate this too. You love playing out of the park baseball, so do I again, just to remind everyone eighty percent off running right now, there it is plus a perfect points sale. It is nine to ninety nine, as Paul said, for at least one night, but for many people, many many nights of entertainment. So, Paul, can you just tell us either your favorite part of OTP twenty six Because they update each year pretty significantly, That's why some people are like, well I have twenty five. No, no, you got to get twenty six. So can you tell us one of your favorite parts of why you play? I know, for me, I always wanted to do the GM.

00:11:23
Speaker 5: Be like a GM, but obviously not actually be a GM.

00:11:27
Speaker 1: And also I wanted it to be so realistic that things pop up that really do happen, even though they seem crazy.

00:11:33
Speaker 5: And you know what I'm talking about.

00:11:34
Speaker 1: Every scenario you can ever think of pops up in OTP, which is just like real life.

00:11:41
Speaker 5: You know, I, Hey, your player got caught in.

00:11:44
Speaker 1: A betting scandal or hey, like everything happens, and that's how real life is it is.

00:11:51
Speaker 2: I mean, I had Lad Junior leave for the NBA one year in a SIM in an OTP twenty four sim he left to become a point guard in the NBA was pretty hilarious, except the fact that I lost lat Junior. It was not that funny to me, but yeah, they've got everything.

00:12:03
Speaker 4: That's the base.

00:12:03
Speaker 2: Game, where you can take a team over, you can go back in history if you want, you can go from today forward. But I also focus heavily on the perfect team aspect, which is similar to Diamond Dynasty if you're familiar with MLB, the show where you collect cards based on historical players, put your team together and go against other people. This year, the expansive content that we've had with the art team bringing in more and more licensing so we've got actual pictures of guys has really been at our best level yet. So every year we're trying to improve that and leverage the licenses that we have so that we can show more and more player faces and just kind of create more flair for the cards because the aesthetic value, like it's cool to show off that you got the cool looking card too, right. It's great that he plays well and he simulates well and he's helping you win tournaments in league, but it's also neat that it looks cool, because we like things that look cool in video games. So I've been really really impressed with how well our art team has done this year. Our tournament suite, like what we offer for you to be able to do in the Perfect Team game is just so expansive. So whether you're new to OTP or you've been playing the Bass game and want to come over to Perfect Team, there's so much to do. It's a lot of fun. The discord, all the people on Twitch. Great, great community too, that's always willing to help newcomers because it is a lot to take on. It's a deep, rich game of baseball nerddom. But the people once you get in and start meeting the community, so many people willing to help you because we want the friendly competition of it all. It's not like, oh I don't want to make somebody better because they might beat me. It's like, hey, we want everyone to be good because it's fun to having a competitive environment in Perfect Team.

00:13:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's probably the friendliest environment out there community out there in like the baseball space, right, like just super supportive. Yeah, it's a great community.

00:13:40
Speaker 2: I mean they're always Yeah, the way they build up like for the base game, like the mods that they do for stadiums and rosters and face gen like some like aftermarket stuff. Basically we're talking here. People create faces for the entire Negro leagues or the entire MLB history that you can load in and play with. So there's so much great stuff I can't I couldn't even do an hour with y'all to get in everything. That wouldn't even be enough time. That's how rich the game is. But ten bucks, you will not regret it because again you'll at least get one solid night out of it, and that's worth ten bucks any day.

00:14:14
Speaker 5: Yep, exactly.

00:14:15
Speaker 1: My thing was, Yeah, I'm not in and on an everyday basis like you are, but when I do jump in it on certain special occasions, you feel like you're part of the group, which I love, and it's hard to do that.

00:14:26
Speaker 5: Most groups will be like, who are you?

00:14:27
Speaker 1: You're just stopping by here, you know a few times a year to do some type of you know, live twitch sim or something like that.

00:14:33
Speaker 5: But it's been awesome. So I just wanted to shout out the community there and.

00:14:36
Speaker 2: Call you the glad that we keep it inviting y'all in and we love that. Y'all have had me on to talk about the game a few times too. I really do appreciate that.

00:14:43
Speaker 5: Guys. Thank you. Anytime, man.

00:14:45
Speaker 1: We'll do it again next year, okay, So have a great holiday, Happy New Year to you, and good luck when your list comes out, we'll be looking at the article and the comments.

00:14:55
Speaker 2: Thanks, gentlemen, Take care.

00:14:56
Speaker 1: The newest member of the Pittsburgh Pirates is here, Brandon Lau joining us right now, just a few days after the tradeover from the Rais and a great run with Tampa Bay. Brandon, good to see you man. Happy holidays. And what was your reaction when you got the phone call?

00:15:11
Speaker 4: Yeah, thanks for having me on.

00:15:14
Speaker 6: A lot of mixed emotions on it, honestly, you know, we're kind of expecting it. We got a little bit of the heads up from Eric, so you know, absolutely didn't have to do that, and so it was a great thing on his part to do. But yeah, it was just you know, closing a chapter in Tampa. But on the flip side of things, going to a team that's you know, showing a whill to go get guys and really kind of get into that win.

00:15:37
Speaker 3: Now, what is a heads up? What is it like, Hey, in two hours, this could happen. Hey we're talking and a week out, a week later it happened.

00:15:48
Speaker 6: It was more of hey man, it's talks are really starting to kick up a little bit. And I mean, you know how things work. It's I've been around the Rays for a while. You understand the big this model and how things work over there, and you know, you start to play GM in your own head, so you kind of understand that this makes too much sense to move me now. So it kind of it just all kind of came together and you kind of started putting the puzzle pieces together yourself. It was more of a of a you know, a couple of days of you know, this really started ramping up. I would you know, be prepared look into something happening.

00:16:28
Speaker 3: Do they tell you? Do they tell you what teams are are asking? And did you think it was going to be the Pirates when Eric called you? You're talking about Eric Neander for anybody?

00:16:40
Speaker 5: Does he doesn't.

00:16:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, he kind of gave me just like a list and he's like, hey, these are the teams. Like I can't tell you one is going to be the thing, because you know, I mean the Pirates could have offered one thing and then you know another team swoop in with a better deal and they would have done that one. So it's more just hey, these are some of the people that are you know, searching around for to trade for you, and you know, we just want to give you that heads up.

00:17:08
Speaker 7: Have the pirates talked to you about you know, where you're going to play, what positions and you know what what they think about you and where you're gonna where you're gonna be pretty much?

00:17:17
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean there's been there's been a lot of phone calls the past few days. I've been, uh, probably used up my words for the next month and a half all the talking I've had to do. But yeah, I mean, it's it seems that second base is going to be the primary focus and then you know, whatever else they ask of it. But you know, I'm excited to get out there and be in a position that I'm comfortable with.

00:17:39
Speaker 3: Can you tell us the other teams that Eric told you about that Eric Neander told you about when during that process.

00:17:45
Speaker 6: I don't want to get on any anyone's bad side or anything that way.

00:17:50
Speaker 4: I don't know if he would want me to share that or if the other teams would.

00:17:53
Speaker 5: I don't.

00:17:56
Speaker 3: That's fine, No, I'm not. I'm not gonna press you, but I want to press you about one thing. You said, you know how the Rays go. You know how you don't even need to listen or read MLB trade rumors or anything like that. You knew where you were at in your contract. You knew how the Rays deal with guys and at the end of their contracts. How does the end of the season go for you? Because it's really all you've known. You know, you've only hit dangers for the Rays. Do you start pat Well, you always have to pack your stuff up because you guys weren't gonna be in Steinbrenner again. So that's a good thing. But is it Is it a different end to the season when you guys made like a little mini run right at the end to try to make the playoffs, and then when it's over, do you have it? Was it a different kind of ending to the season than other years?

00:18:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean I think it's it was a very similar to the way that things ended in the previous year. You know, we did make that little run, but it wasn't sustained enough for it to really get really interesting there down the stretch. I mean, we started playing some you call it garbage time ball games there at the end. You know, we were out of it, and we were just kind of playing baseball at that point, which it's not upset about.

00:19:08
Speaker 4: But you know, it's just.

00:19:10
Speaker 6: You knew that you weren't playing for the postseason, so you know, those games are always not as much fun.

00:19:19
Speaker 2: All Right.

00:19:19
Speaker 3: You said you've used up all your words, so you can use up more of your words here. Well, I want to know what the pirates talk to you about, because some people think it's just oh man, they traded for Brandon Lao. Okay, Brandon you're on the team seeing Bradenton in a few months. Like, what do they talk to you about? And are you kind of like, why did they call me to tell me this?

00:19:42
Speaker 2: No?

00:19:42
Speaker 4: I mean it's all been extremely helpful stuff.

00:19:44
Speaker 6: I mean, I've talked with Sharon Ton, I've talked with DK, the manager, the hitting coaches, you know, I just had a trainer reach out, you know, the clubhouse guys. Everybody's trying to get in touch with you to you know, not only make their introductions, but you know, try to get you settled in any way possible, you know, try to get any questions that you have answered anything like that. So, I mean, it was everything's been extremely helpful, trying to get us ready, But you know, it's nothing's going to be normal until you actually get there in person and start, you know, building that relationship.

00:20:22
Speaker 1: Hey, Brandon, I want to talk recruiting for a moment. This didn't have to happen because you were traded, but it has been reported that the Pirates might tap into one of the best pictures on the planet. Paul schemes to make some phone calls to make the team better. Sounds like that makes a ton of sense to me, as long as the money can back it up for the free agent to want to be there in the fit the whole deal. So, first off, have you spoken to Paul at all yet? I'll go on that one first and then i'll give you the next one here, But have you spoken to him? And at the very least, how excited are you to be teammates with him? He's pretty business like with how ridiculously good he's been so far in his first couple of seasons.

00:21:01
Speaker 6: Yeah. Absolutely, I've not talked to Paul yet, but speaking on, you know, being a teammate with.

00:21:08
Speaker 4: Him, I mean, it's.

00:21:10
Speaker 6: Probably the best picture in the big leagues right now. So he's a it's a pretty good guy. To have on your team. So I'm excited to kind of see the behind the scenes work of it all. You know, playing against him and seeing it on TV and stuff like that, you understand that, you know, he's got electric stuff and you can throw it where he wants to. But being a baseball player and understanding the process of everything, you understand that stuff doesn't happen just overnight with with no work. So I'm excited to see everything else that kind of goes on, you know, see the hard work that he puts in, you know, see what he does to truly get out there and be that dominant and understand that he's not just waking up every fifth day and going out and throwing seven Shetty.

00:21:54
Speaker 1: My next question on the recruiting front, do you have it in you to help the pirates? They ask you for a phone caller too. I know you're new to the party, but you're one of the veteran bats here, and specifically it could be a phone call for a former teammate, like a potential high leverage, you know, reliever out there, like like you know someone that's named rhymes with Tearbanks something like that, right, Just would you be able to make phone calls like that comfortably to help a team that is hopefully on the rise, hasn't seen much playoff success or really appearances in general in a while, and are trying to convince the them base like, Hey, we're in this. We just brought in Brandon Lound, We've got some money to spend on some other guys.

00:22:34
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't.

00:22:35
Speaker 6: I think that would be difficult for me to speak on the intricacies and everything that works within the Pirates organization and stuff, you know, for me to try to call somebody that rhymes with that name and tell him that, you know, the pitching staff is incredible, and you know, the pitching coaches are great. Like, I can't speak on any of that. I've not been around it. I don't know what they're going to be talking about. So, I mean, I think Paul and probably Reynolds are your best guys to to be out there. I'm by all means, if somebody wants to talk to me and you know, one wants to hear my two cents on everything, I'll absolutely share it. But right now I feel like that that comes with a grain of salt. You know, it's I've not truly been around it. But you know, I've been welcomed in with open arms, and you know, the fan base has been great so far, and I'm excited to see what it all all takes in when we get up to to Pittsburgh this year.

00:23:32
Speaker 3: What do you know about Pittsburgh? What do you know about the fans? What do you know about like, what have you thought about the stadium when you've when you've come into the city to play, Because something people don't know is the Troup was not the most friend hit or friendly place to hit, and yet you've hit a ton of dingers. People look at it and they go, oh yeah, but he gets to play in Yankee Stadium. Like when your home field is the trop and you were left handed, it actually squat power and you look at P and C Park and they got that nice little Clemente wall for you. And I honestly believe right center is a joke because it's short and it's straight across. But what do you know about the fan base, the the field, the you know, the things that you've liked or disliked when you've come in to play against the Pirates.

00:24:23
Speaker 6: Yes, I mean I've played three games total in the stadium, in my career, which uh so I don't have much of a feel of a whole lot of things of it. But I mean it's one of the best stadiums in baseball. Like you go in there, the back drop of the city, I mean, it's gorgeous, the playing surface, everything about it's a really cool place to go play. So that in and of itself is is really exciting. And then you just you know the city of Pittsburgh, you know, the way they support the Steelers, and just like the way that the fan base is, you know, they're they're they're just waiting for the team to be good. And you know, I think there's a real opportunity for them to make this team pretty good and get those fans out there and you know, make that place really loud and rocking.

00:25:08
Speaker 4: And I'm excited to hit there.

00:25:10
Speaker 5: You know.

00:25:11
Speaker 6: It seems like a very good spot for a left handed hitter to go play.

00:25:17
Speaker 5: Oh oh, we're good.

00:25:20
Speaker 4: I'm sitting on a table right now and one of the.

00:25:23
Speaker 3: One of the turkeys shoot back at you. Is that what happened? And shut your phone.

00:25:26
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's just getting really loud in here.

00:25:29
Speaker 5: I love it.

00:25:31
Speaker 1: So do you know about the I mean, I guess this is all new to the party, but do you know about one of the top prospects in baseball in Connor Griffin. I know it's been reported he might have a shot to crack the team out of spring training.

00:25:46
Speaker 5: I'm sure you'll get to know him.

00:25:47
Speaker 1: But you've had a lot of experience with young players coming through the Rais system. I mean, it's no secret that they churn out prospects and they often have to create a lot of turnover to open up a spot for someone else based on budget restriction stuff like that.

00:26:03
Speaker 5: So you know, how.

00:26:04
Speaker 1: Would you handle working with someone who could be one of the youngest players in Major League Baseball? And it's not just mentoring, which I know you've done really well with the race. This might be your double play partner.

00:26:14
Speaker 6: Right yeah, I mean, if he's the guy at shortstop, I mean, it's first off to begin this whole I've heard nothing but incredible things about who he is as a as a player and as an athlete. So I mean, that's it's pretty exciting stuff when you hear, you know, people that are very respected or that that I hold very highly. You know, the words that they say about certain players and for them to speak so highly of Connor. I'm excited to see exactly what it looks like in person and on the field. And you know, as for you know, a guy being young in the big leagues or anything like that, I don't. I don't think that age is your defining factor. You know, there are definitely multiple things that go into it. You know, you don't get to this position in baseball and be a highly talented prospect the way that he is without an extreme work ethic and a drive to be one of the best players you know in baseball. So that's really, you know, all you really need to hear and really need to see out of a guy. You know that he's going to work his tail off to be good. And you know, as for anything that I can do, I can just truly, I could probably just answer questions for him. He's probably an extremely good hitter, an extremely good defender, and there's a reason he's the number one prospect in baseball. You know, I'm just there to put up some guidelines for him.

00:27:33
Speaker 7: Maybe that's all that's all you can ask. My last question would be, like anything you want to say to the Tampa fans that you were there for a while. You know, he had a good time there. I know you did and you played well. So anything you want to let them know about.

00:27:49
Speaker 4: I mean, just from the bottom of my heart, thank you guys.

00:27:51
Speaker 6: I mean it's it's never easy, you know, going in somewhere and not knowing the city, not knowing the fan base or anything like that.

00:28:00
Speaker 4: But they made it very easy.

00:28:01
Speaker 5: You know.

00:28:01
Speaker 6: They took me and my family in from from the start and we called it home. Man. That was everything we knew and we loved it. And I'll always be thankful to Tampa Bay and and everything they've done.

00:28:17
Speaker 3: You have to pick because other shows are like, well, you know, I can't pick. You got to pick who are you going to miss the most? Besides Chad Mattola, the hitting coach there in Tampa, who are you going to miss the most? And then everyone else can shoot you a text and be like, are you serious, bro? You miss Yandi the most?

00:28:37
Speaker 6: No, I mean there's so many, so many of the guys that are gonna miss. Honestly, I gotta say the Rasmussen's, the and the family as a whole. Man. It's that's that's the part that really makes this the most difficult is not is understanding that my son and their son aren't going to be playing with each other every day. You know, they everywhere that they went, Man, it was like there's two were attached to the hip. So that's that's the toughest. Toughest part of this whole move is understanding that they're not going to see each other every day.

00:29:10
Speaker 3: How hard? How hard is it on your wife? How hard? I mean, obviously your son is how old is he three?

00:29:15
Speaker 4: Now? He's about turn three?

00:29:17
Speaker 3: Okay, how hard is it on your wife? We rarely get into it because it's players talking to players, but you mentioned it, so I have to ask when that call came in, how hard was it? And who was the first text or phone call that she got from one of her friends.

00:29:36
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean it's extremely tough. That's the hardest part honestly about the business is you know, it just it rips friendships away from you. And you know, you can you can do whatever you want to keep that friendship going and talking with people and you know, over phone and stuff like that, but you know, when you're not with them every day for seven months like you usually are, you tend to drift a little bit. So those are difficult because you make those relationships, you have those friends for the better half eight years. But I think the first phone call that she got was actually Blair Reynolds like called her and was like, you're with the Pirates, Like, I can't wait, I'm so excited. So I think Blair actually broke the news to her because she didn't have her phone with her when I was texting her.

00:30:28
Speaker 5: Wow, that's good, that's good. Hey, that's what happens. You know the speed game, Brandon.

00:30:34
Speaker 1: I mean, it's suddenly it's a thing, it comes out, it's fast, and then everybody knows about it. So I'm glad man, I'm glad to see you end up in a spot that I think you know, has a lot of promise. It's coming season, depending on what they do the rest of the off season, so we'll look forward to seeing in spring training. But thanks for joining us, dude, and also enjoy the trip you're on and have a great holiday.

00:30:56
Speaker 4: I appreciate you guys. Thanks for having me on