Potential 'Under the Radar' Braves Free Agent Candidates

00:00:21
Speaker 1: Welcome one and all to the Hammer Territory product, but Hammer Territory Podcast presented by Fox One. It's a pleasure to be with you once again. A little rusty, but it's good to be back in the saddle here with my podcast partner Steven Tobert. Steven, you know, let's spoiler alert. We don't have much news to really talk about, but we're in the midst of the World series. It's been a good world series so far, but there's still plenty to talk about. Since the off season has started for US and twenty seven other teams. We're gonna get into what I think is a pretty important topic for this Braves offseason. Nothing that's going to make or break the off season, could make it a bit more successful if they hit on some moves we're going to talk about. But it's always Stephen. Good to be with you, sir. How you been Hope all as well? And I'll go ahead and get it out of the way. Congratulations to your Alabama Crimson Tide.

00:01:12
Speaker 2: What's up, buddy. It has been a minute. It's been ten days. I don't know how long it's been since the last time you and I did it. Probably as long as it's been in a couple of years since the last time you and I talked.

00:01:24
Speaker 1: I do I think the first on a Sunday show together. But yeah, it's it's been quite a lot.

00:01:29
Speaker 2: Good sceneing you again, man, Yeah, yeah, so, uh yeah, Bema did beat Tennessee. You were out of town. We didn't get to talk. We've talked a couple of times since, obviously, But it was a good game. You know, I've said it to you privately. I thought it was a better game, uh than there's the final score indicated, But yeah, it was a good game, at least for us. It was a good game. We do have an interesting topic tonight, and there's not a ton of news to talk about. So we decided, you know what, the names that you've been hearing in terms of you know, braves, free agents, potential targets. You know, it's all kind of the big names. That's kind of the the list that everybody dream on, right the you know, Dylan Ceese and Cody Bellinger and you know, Hassan Kim like that's what everybody talks about, Devin Williams. So what we decided to do tonight was go a little bit more under the radar. You know, maybe if those options aren't there, you know, the Braves have to maybe go to like playing B or C. Who are some potential guys that could have value. It's kind of the idea of tonight's show because you do have to have that. You can't just say it's this guy or bust because you might not get him. So you do have to have backup options. And we stuck with free agents because we never know who's available in trade. Of course, trades are always available, but these are gonna mainly be from the free agent list. I've just guys that we like that potentially have some some upside. Maybe aren't that you know, the most expensive guys, but think could potentially help the Braves in twenty twenty six.

00:02:57
Speaker 1: Absolutely, And you know again, you know, shortstop, starting, pitching, the bullpen, those really are the areas where the Braves want to focus because those are the clear needs of this team. And also, as we've discussed previously, you know a few weeks ago, there's likely more area to add value via pitching than there is the position player aspect of the team because you've got so many of your starters locked in long term. But that doesn't mean that value cannot be added because there's two clear reasons why I feel the Braves should be targeting not only specific names potentially under the radar, but specific roles. And those two roles are utility player, you know, a guy that you can rely on to, you know, either play multiple positions within a week or potentially fill one spot for an extended period of time if you were to have injuries. But also that four fifth out filled a role. Some guys who you know could be a starter you know again if you have an outfield injury, or could you know, fill a platoon if you for some reason had to go that route, or just spill a guy or give a guy you know a day off, which you know, I think would benefit the Brave you know, more days off for the starters. But there are two main reasons, two big reasons why these under the radar names should be a bigger priority than some may think for the Braves this off season. And one big reason why. It's a stat that we've mentioned before, but I think it's a stat like if you want to talk about all the stats where the Braves struggled this past season, this one stood out to me the most when you combine the offensive production of center field, shortstop, and second base. For the Braves in the first half of last season, it was a fifty four WRS plus. The only team that had a worst number up the middle in terms of offensive production in the first half was the Rockies, who had an historically bad season last year. You know, we talked all about it, how azi Abi's Nick Allen and Michael Harris at one point, you know, for for months we're among the you know, three, we're three of the fifteen worst offensive players out there. So having another guy that can give those guys a day off, or having another guy who could just you know, potentially fill in for a little bit of time for those guys as they make adjustments. That's what you really need from a potential utility guy, because again, you can't have a third of your lineup being among the worst producers in baseball. So have another option that you could trust to give the to give you know, your starter a day off or a couple of days off would really be beneficial.

00:05:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, And so that's you know, our list of names is essentially going to be guys who play middle endfield or guys who play in the outfield, or slash DH. You know, it's always tricky with centerfield and shortstop because those are those are just such specific defensive positions. You know, it's very hard to find players who can play those positions and play them well. That's why I think Eli White is actually a pretty important piece to bring back for Alex in the offseason. He's obviously arbitration eligible, so they can just tender him a contract, and I really hope they do. I think his I think his contract number is like a million bucks, so I really hope they do, because he can play center and he can actually play shortstop in an emergency like we saw last year. But yeah, I mean this was the Braves just need more infill depth. I mean we've said that for two years, three years now ever since they lost Dansby, Like, they don't have a ton of infill depth in the miners, especially up the middle shortstop specifically. You know, they did draft a bunch last June or last July, but it's gonna be a couple of years before those guys are ready, so the Braves could always use more infield depth. They did go like claim a bunch of guys Videl Bruhan, Nick you know Nick Allen Brett wisely, but you know, even there and I think he probably need another level. Obviously, the goal is to get hass On Kim. That's the goal. But again this show is okay, let's say somebody goes and offers hass On Kim in a crap ton of money. Where can you go to get something serviceable at shortstop? And that's probably gonna be the first guy we talk about. And then just more depth up the middle, and so that's gonna be kind of the the tenor of tonight's show.

00:07:03
Speaker 1: Well, it's not only lack of offensive production, but it's also availability, which maybe the biggest reason of all, because if you look at twenty and twenty four and you look at twenty and twenty five, you look at both those years, you've had your starting third basement, your starting second basement, you're starting center fielder, you're starting right fielder, you're starting left fielder, and one you're starting catcher. All six of those guys for the Braves have missed at least forty games either in one of those seasons or in both seasons. So it's very likely that you're going to see someone that you're expecting major contributions from to be absent for an extended period of time in twenty and twenty five. So if that's the case, either utility guy or an outfielder, someone that could step up.

00:07:52
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:07:52
Speaker 1: I have filled out a dhrow every now and then, maybe not play every day, but someone that you could trust to be at a starter level's worth of production for an extent into period. That's got to be a priority for this Braised team because of all the injuries that we've seen and know many have talked about the starting pitching and you know, the bullpen going through injuries, but our position players injuries. They don't. It's not the reason why, it's not the reason for the underperformance, but it's still a major factor in the Braves following short of expectations over the past few years. So you have to get more trustworthy sources as pivots if you were to lose a guy for an extended period of time.

00:08:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'll say this before we get to the list, there's probably not going to be anybody that we can talk about that's going to be as impactful as Austin Riley turning back into Austin Riley right, and Ozzy Alby's turning back a little bit into Ozzie Alby's. You know, health matters. Of course, those guys have to stay healthy. But when they've been healthy, they also just haven't been hitting at the level that we expect, especially Austin so and in relative to contracts. You know, it really is Austin, right, I mean, he's making twenty these highest payed player on the team, like or he is at this point. We'll see how the off season goes, but like they just need more from their current guys. Like, yes, there's outside guys they can get to help, and that's what we're talking about tonight, but like nothing's gonna help as much as Austin Rally turning back into an All Star and Azzi Alb's turning back onto at least a semi All star, Michael Harris not being the worst hitter in baseball for the first four months of the season, Like staying healthy and getting some of these guys to raise their floors back up to levels that we kind of expect instead of you know this thing where they just drop way, way way below anything we expected them to do, even even when they're in you know, a slump that's gonna be the big part. So yes, we're gonna mention some outside guys they should bring in, but we'd be remiss if we didn't say the big improvement can also come internally from guys just getting back to their talent level.

00:10:00
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and none of the guys that we're gonna mention you know here later on in the show, none of these guys we are expecting to come in and be a major offseason acquisition that is an obvious upgrade for this Braves team. We're putting out a list in this show of guys who can fill in when the guys that you need to be their regular sales just aren't available, or if they're struggling, because hey, perhaps a little bit more rest for our regulars could help lower the chance of injuries or could help keep them fresh to be able to perform at their usual levels. But again, just some guys out there, free agents under the radar name, so guys that probably have struggled, you know, over the past year or two. But the Braves have had a great, great time under Alex and thopless of being able to rekindle some value in guys who struggled, you know, in previous stops before the braves. We're going to get to those names in just a moment. After a word from our partners.

00:10:54
Speaker 3: The NBA season tips off, and so is Draft Kings's newest fantasy game. Draft Kings Pixix is the easiest way to play for big wins. With every esh you can give you a shot at real money. Here's how to play. Just pick more or less on two or more stats. Unlike the Upside, Every game brings. Pixix is available in Texas, California, Missouri, and more. New Draftings customers fifty dollars in bonus picks with just a five dollars entry on your first pick set. Don't just watch basketball cash in. Download the Draft Kings Pick six app now and use code foul. That's code foul. Play just five dollars, gif you your dollars and pick six bonus picks. Make the call, ride the upside and partnership with DraftKings Pick six. The Crown is yours.

00:11:29
Speaker 4: Gambling Problem Call one eight hundred. Gambler help is available for problem gambling called eight eight eight seventy nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot orgon Connecticut. Must be eighteen and over age and eligibility. Restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Void ware prohibited one per new customer. Bonus awarded as non withdrawabal Pick six bonus picks that expire in fourteen days limited time offer. See terms at Pick six dot DraftKings dot com, slash promos.

00:11:54
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Hammer Territory podcast presented by Fox one. So let's get into some of these names some free agent names. Again, this isn't Plan A, this isn't Plan B, not even Plan C. These are just some free agent names that potentially they're out there later in the off season. They could be brought in at a pretty cheap contract. We know Alexanhopolis loves opportunities that he feels has a good chance of adding value. These are some names that could be at the right price to do exactly that. Now, were first going to talk about some utility guys, Guys who have shown the ability to be able to handle multiple positions during seasons in their careers, you know, outfield, infield. What have you a big caveat to this of what type of utility guy the Braves may go after is can he handle shortstop? And a lot of that will hinge on whether or not the Braves sign Hassan Kim. Even if the Braves do sign Hassan Kim long term, I still think these three guys make sense to bring in again, to give guys a day off, or to be there when the likely occurrence of an injury happens. Well, Steven, let's get into some of these names. If I were to throw out a few boxes to check for a potential free agent signing, a guy that could play multiple positions, a guy that's had some offensive success in the past, maybe struggled last year but has shown signs that he could be rekindled, you know, could be regain some value in Atlanta. And someone that you know is a veteran who doesn't need to play every day, but we'll be ready to step up in a starter's role if needed. Who's a guy out there in free agency that you think meets the meets that criteria?

00:13:32
Speaker 2: Yeah, So the first guy I kind of brought to this discussion is I'm gonna lay out the scenario. First, Hassan Kim gets paid a crab ton of money by somebody, and your Braves lose him, and they don't want to run back. Nick Allen in his fifty WRC plus shortstop is just a wasteland of you know, just not a lot of talent out there. Let's just say hypothetically, there's no trades. You know, Colorado has no interest in trading their guy. You know, Trevor Story does an opt out of his deal, Boba Schet signs a monster deal somewhere else. There's just nobody. Where do the Braves go? And the guy I thought of first is Isaiah Kiner Felifa. So he's played with Toronto this year and is he great? No, he's not great, but he is going to be a free agent. He is a really good defensive shortstop which checks the firks. That's the first box that Alex Is gonna want. If I'm not gonna get a premium hitter, then I better have somebody that can field. And ikf can field his position, he can play shortstop offensively. He's not good, but he's not Nick Allen bad. And I want to make sure we make that clear, like because oftentimes we group bad hitters together. There are levels of bad. Nick Allen is the worst hitter in Major League baseball, Like, that's the level Nick Allen legitimately hits at the same level that like Max Freed used to hit when pitchers were still hitting in the National League, like he's legitimately the worst hitter in baseball. IKF is not a good hitter, but he's not that He's not Nick Allen like the last two years. If you look at twenty twenty four twenty five, IKF has an eighty five WRC plus between those two seasons. Again, not good, but a guy that can play that position, can play short, is not gonna cost a ton of money. That's still like thirty thirty five forty percent better than Nick Allen in terms of offensive production. Now, again that's not where the Braves should aim. This is not who we think the Braves need to go after. Primarily, this is Plan A and Plan B. Fall through the you know, fall through, the plans don't work out. Where do we go from here? I think Ikf makes a lot of sense for this team. He's just a really good defender and he can hit. He's not a complete nothing at the plate. You can dream on a little bit like you know he had in twenty twenty four, he had a ninety three WRC plus. In twenty twenty, he had a ninety three WRC plus, Like you could actually get a season where he could be around, you know. And if you get that with a guy who's playing good shortstop, you take that all day long, all day long. What you can't have is the guy who's the worst hitter in baseball. So that's the level we're trying to get. So is is he better than has On Kim? Absolutely not. The Braves need to go hard, you need to go aggressively after has On Kim. But again, if somebody just blows his contract out of the water and the Braves have to go somewhere, I want to hear what you think about it. But I think IKF could be interesting.

00:16:49
Speaker 1: No, I think that that's you know, it would be an excellent signing. And then again, IKF, you know, even if they do sign has On Kim, IKF can play in the outfield. He could spell Ozzie Alby's at second base, because let's don't forget Ozzy Alby's. I know that he had a good second half to the season, but he's out with the same injury that's spilled over it. With the same injury that was likely a factor in him struggling so badly in the twenty twenty five season. What if Ozzy Albi's comes back again and struggles in the twenty and twenty six season as well due to the injury that he had at the end of this year. Ikf is the type of guy that can you know, doesn't have to play every day. You plug him in, you know you're gonna get decent to good defense, and likely you have some tools that you can work with to make the offense better. So I think it's a very very good potential signing for the Braves that they were to get Ikf. A name that I like and someone that you and I have discussed multiple times before when it came to the Braves clearly needing to upgrade their shortstop position. Is Willie Castro. He played with the Twins for much of his career, and then I believe that the trade deadline this year was traded to the Cubs, someone that can handle shortstop pretty well. His range fell off a bit this year. Definitely had one of the better arms in terms of infielders in baseball, but someone who has also kind of fallen off a bit when it comes to his offense, he had over one hundred WRC plus and twenty three and twenty four drop down to a ninety two in twenty twenty five. But again, if the Braves just simply had someone that can handle shortstop on occasion, but also could just again have that ops in the six fifty to seven hundred range have an eighty plus have an eighty or better WRC plus, that is so much of an upgrade from what they had in Nick Allen. But Willie Castro can play all around the diamond. Again, he can handle shortstop. I think that he definitely has shown that he has some hit tools that you can, you know, re up some value in his overall offensive approach. And another thing with Castro, he can add some value on the base pass as well. So I think that AP's you know, in the market potentially for a proven deal on one year deal, I think that he would be a good signing. I think that he potentially becomes more of a focus if for some reason the Braves don't signed. But I would not at all mind the addition of Castro this offseason.

00:19:05
Speaker 2: Yeah. Castro, so he obviously was with the Twins. He got traded to the Cubs at the trade deadline, had a brutal stretch with Chicago his last two months really drugged down his overall numbers. Other than that, he's been a really good player. This is the guy that you and I talked about last offseason when we were trying to figure out shortstop. Yet again, I will say he played a lot more shot shortstop in twenty twenty four and played it better than he did in twenty twenty five. I think he only played like six games at shortstop at twenty twenty five. He can't do it. He just had a better year last year. And listen, that's the same with Ikf. I need to mention that, like I think Ikf was a negative two outs above average at shortstop last year, I think Castro was something similar. But again, Cashro didn't play shortstop much in twenty twenty five, so you'd have to project a little bit, and the Braves could do that. He's still young enough where he could play the position. But again, when you're talking about your Plan C, you're playing D option, it's not bad. I mean, that's that's not a bad place to go. And again, he had such a bad stint with Chicago that that might suppress his market, that might suppress his free agent market. You might be able to get him at a good price. You need to be able to get these guys at a good price if you're gonna be, you know, on your third option at that position for the offseason, at the very least, you need to get him at a good price. So I think Castro is a decent name for something like that.

00:20:36
Speaker 1: And then to say, the brains, do you know, get one of their big, if not their biggest need taking care of, And they signed Hassan Kim you know here in the coming days, maybe weeks, you know, the sooner it happens, the better, obviously, But a name that doesn't necessarily, you know, come into play for shortstop because I think that of these three names you mentioned, he's the least reliable there. But someone that can you know, at least adequate, adequate, adequately filling around the infield and the outfield. But I think also has clearly the highest upside with the bat as a utility option for the Braves to bring in. It's Luis Rnngfo of the Angels, someone that has done really well at the plate. Twenty twenty two, twenty twenty three twenty twenty four. All seasons he had one hundred WRC plus or above twenty three and twenty four one hundred and fifteen or above WRC plus more contact than power, but does hit for a little bit of power as well. Had a bad year in twenty twenty five, fell off seventy three WRC plus. But someone who I think clearly does His expected stats were clearly better than his actual results. He has those type. He is the type of target for the Brazen free agency, where like Ramon Loreano being the latest example, once the Braves bring him into the fold, he's someone that could really improve, even to the point of potentially being a DH option on occasion as well. So Luis Rangpo I think probably is my favorite target out of these guys because of the offensive upside, but also the ability to feel in as needed if to give the Braves worked to see a significant contributor or starter falter or a succumbity injury for an extended time.

00:22:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is my favorite name as well on this list. Again, this kind of assumes that you take care of shortstop with Kim, because Renngifo is not a shortstop. But I'm going to read you off what positions Frangifo played last year. Played seventy six games at third base, He played seventy four games at second base, He played seven games at right field, two games in left field, one game at shortstop, one game at center, one game at DH. So they moved him all around and he did not have a good offensive year. Last year he had a seventy three WRC plus, but again his expected numbers, so in twenty twenty four, Renjifo had a one to eighteen a WRC plus. In twenty twenty five he had a seventy three WRC plus. He obviously had a big drop but in twenty twenty four, so Rengifo actually had a better expected numbers in twenty twenty five than he did in twenty twenty four, even though his twenty twenty four results were better. So three oh five expected OBA in terms of the expected numbers, which is solid for like a utility type guy. Like there's something you can I'm not gonna say dream on because it's not like it's a prospect, but there's something that you can kind of believe in if you sign him. It's not gonna cost a ton of money to sign him. He plays all over the diamond. Again, this signing Renjifo would assume that you saw shortstop somewhere else. But I think this guy is just better than like the Brett Wisely, Videl Bruhan, Nick Allens of the world. You know, he's just got more It's just there's more potential. He's a switch hitter, which helps you know, everywhere, just helps the line help balance the lineup. You can move him all over the place when you have inevitable injuries like you were talking about at the beginning, Sean, the Braves do not have the most like trustworthy collection of players in terms of staying healthy. So having guys like this that can play all over the diamond and can switch hit and have at least enough offensive upside to dream on, I think this is something that Braves need to look at pretty pretty substantially. And out of these three names, again, this is not a shortstop, so you have to solve that elsewhere. But in terms of fit to the roster, being able to play everywhere, being a switch hitter, Ren Gifo is is probably the guy I like the most out of these three guys.

00:24:24
Speaker 1: And let's not you know, you know, throw it to the side here. He's played for the Angels for his career so far. You know, if there's a team that the Braves know will it would be the Angels for all the moves of perryman Iason and Ron Washington there, So you probably would expect that this name has come up at some point, you know, with the Angel So I'm sure that the Braves you know, know who he is. But yes, so if we were to see later on in the offseason or even early in the offseason, we were to see the Braves, you know, potentially sign you know, we're in GFO to a deal and you're thinking, how this guy be excited because he's the type of guy that I think he's the type of underrated signing that could come in and you could really see the Braves create value in him because of the offensive upside that he has shown. But it's not just utility players where the Braves are hoping to put. Where the Braves could hope to potentially find new sources of value, new sources of success. The outfield could also be an option as well, and we'll get to those in just a moment, but before that, we want to talk about a new source as well. It is the sponsor of our show, and that is Fox One. Of course, Fox one has been the sponsor of our show throughout much of October, and one thing is definitely true when it comes to Fox One, It is the best place for you to watch what we have all been waiting for, and that is the World Series. Two teams take the field, but only one will leave as champion. Every swing could change the game, every play could make history. And there's no better place to stream the World Series live than Fox One. Of course, while we're recording this show on Sunday, the World Series will resume in LA on Monday, Game three on Monday, Game four Tuesday, Game by Wednesday, Game six is Friday, and Game seven, if needed, will be Saturday. And Steven. When you're looking at this World Series, are there any headlines that are really standing out to you? Series tied at one going back to Los Angeles, What stands out to you so far from what we've seen in the World Series?

00:26:19
Speaker 2: Yeah? Really fun two games in Toronto. I watched them both from start to finish. Obviously, the Blue Jays Bats just dominated Game one. Barjar At Day Grand Slam. Blake Snell was not sharp Game two was a completely different story with Yamamoto. He was just dominant. I mean, you just shut that lineup down. The Dodgers finally got off the board with some homers I think Will Smith homer, Max Munsey homered. You know, it hasn't been like the Big Show. Hey, Tany's been awesome, But like Freddie Freeman Rookie Betts, I think are both having pretty pedestrian playoffs. It's been kind of the other guys, and it's been the Dodgers pitching when they've been right. Of course, Blake's now had a rough Game one, but yeah, going back to LA three tied one to one, it's now guarantee that we're going back to Toronto at any point. Obviously, there's three games now in La. If LA wins all three, the series is over. It would be kind of funny if it did go back to to Toronto for Game six or Game seven, because that would mean the season didn't start or end in America obviously, because the you know, baseball plays those early games overseas now and then obviously Game seven would end in Canada. But yeah, it's been a fun series and I can't wait. I really hope Toronto does what they did in Game one and just beats the piss out of the Dodgers. That's what I'm rooting for. But Dodgers are very good. Dodgers pitching is so deep, and of course they've got Otani and so when you've got those things, it's gonna be tough. But yeah, next three games are in LA, and yeah, we'll see what happens. Yeah.

00:27:50
Speaker 1: And the thing is is that you know, again, now I know everybody you know talking about the Dodgers root in baseball and all that different stuff. LA is a great postseason setting, and it's because the Dodgers are so consistently there. But man, if you want to talk about postseason settings, Toronto in that Game six and Game seven in the ALCS was incredible. Going back there with Toronto having a chance to win the World Series at home would be awesome for many reasons. And so that's what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping that it goes to a Game six and hopefully a Game seven and for you, beyond the World Series, which is what we're talking about, Fox one is still a great source because you can check out Big New Kickoff NFL on Fox and much more on Fox One. As we show down here in the banner start your seven day free trial today offers our subject to change. Go to Fox one. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. And again, of course this is Hammer Territory presented by Fox One. Thank you so much for joining us. We're in the midst of going through a list of some underrated, under the radar free agent candidates when it comes to the Braves and so want to switch now to to really the outfield. And again, you know, we talked in the first segment about you know how the Braves struggling up the middle in the first half of last season, the Braves struggling with injuries. That's why it's so important to have a utility option. But there also is ways that the Braves can go about potentially lowering the risk for injuries, especially when it comes to Ronald Acunya Junior. And as Steven and Scott talked about a few weeks ago, with Marcelo Zuna now a free agent, the Braves bringing in just a traditional you know bat only DH probably isn't the smartest thing for this lineup, because it's going to be smart to use that DH position to have some of your regular position players get a little bit of rest by feeling that DH position themselves, like Ronald Acunya Junior. So another focus for the Braves when it comes to under the radar targets is an outfielder, some of that may not be able to play every day, but could play one hundred or so games during the season as an outfielder of DH would have you. And there are some names out there that I think could make some sense, some familiar names, but also some names that I think if they come to Atlanta could regain some offen value as well because to improve their production.

00:30:03
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we're gonna start this list with a familiar name, somebody that I've talked about on this show probably probably a probably too many times of the count actually talked about a bunch last year, and that's Michael Conforto. So Conforto did not have a good year results wise in LA. He had an eighty three WRC plus this year, which is obviously well below average and certainly well below his standard. He was actually left off the World Series roster. I tells you what kind of year he had, but I'll say this his expected numbers were about sixty to seventy points higher than his actual numbers. He had a three forty one expected OBA last year, which is very high. He's still very talented, He's got a ton of pop. I've always thought that Conforto in Tru's Park is a tremendous matchup, very similar to Profar. Actually, I just think he could really take advantage of that short porch. Now, listen, Conforto is not a good defender, neither his Profar, of course, and that didn't bother them at all. I think, like, and I've said this before, I think rotating. I think the Braves should aim higher than Conforto. Again, I want to make that point again. This is not our plan A for anybody. This is options dwindle. You need a plan and see where do you go to Nforto had a rough year with the results should be pretty affordable. The expected numbers were really good. He still got power, he still takes walks. I think he'd be a great fit in truest and I think that the Braves could rotate him Profar and Acuna and right left in DH, which I've talked about a bunch on this show. I think that's the way the Braves need to go to not only help out DH, but to protect Acunya in profar, keep him healthy, keep him out of the outfield so much. And I think Conforto could be a low cost, high potential pick. I just think he's talented. And it is a little biased because I've always wanted the Braves to go after Conforto. But when I you know, and I knew that he had a bad year in LA, but when I saw those expected numbers, it's like he still got it. Somebody is going to take a chance on Conforto at a really cheap contract, and I think he's going to have a big bounce back here, and I would hope. I kind of wanted to be the Braves. I want the Braves to aim higher than Conforto, but if they ended up with Conforto, I would actually get pretty excited. Expected numbers aren't everything, of course, it's not a prediction of what's going to happen in the future, but it's again something you can kind of it's something you can kind of hope for, Like there's there's actual tangible things there that like, all right, there's there's potential that this guy could still still have it a little bit in terms of the bats. So it's it's an interesting name to me.

00:32:40
Speaker 1: You know, we were talking about these guys. It feels like that were redoing a podcast, you know, from a year ago, and that we're talking about two of the same guys. Of course, Michael Conforto sound a one year, seventeen million deal dollar deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers before the twenty five season. Another guy who was there as well, I believe he sounded either a one year eight meion or one you're timmion dollar deal with the Philadelphia Philly was Max Kepler. And Max Kepler actually had a pretty decent season. It is sub seven hundred ops, a ninety plus WRC plus eighteen home runs. Though for the Phillies someone that could play the outfield still is pretty decent defensively, but I think he's someone that can make a lot of sense. Probably is looking again for another one year deal, trying to put together a really good season to maybe get a multi year deal, one last big multi year deal like Conforto. There's a lot of similarities between a Max Kepler as well as a Michael Conforto, and one of the biggest reasons why it would make sense is just look at the difference that Drake Baldwin and Jerkson Profar made at the top of the Braves lineup from their ability to consistently put together good at bats, whether it's taking walks, whether it's taking pictures pitches, making adjustments, being able to fight off pitches, what have you, just consistently putting together good at bats. Both Conforto and Kepler take walks, they can work counts. Taking that type of option and putting in the bottom of the lineup before you turn over to the top of the lineup, that would be another valuable audition for this Braves team. So I think Max Kepler, still in his early thirties, if he could come in on a one year deal potentially put together you know, maybe somewhere between an eighty one hundred WRC plus twenty homers. We know the Braves need more homers and you know give you know Jerksen and Ronald off days in the corner Ott Filk spots. I think that would be a very valuable signing for the Braves. And again we talked about these guys just a year ago. The Braves once again saw that type of guy is needed for this roster. Why not go out and ad at least one of them.

00:34:33
Speaker 2: Yeah, Kelpo is another guy that his expected numbers were just substantially higher than his actual numbers. He had a ninety WRC plus like you said, but again, he had kind of a forty point underperformance in terms of what he should have done. And I know I keep using these expected numbers. I don't use them just because I like them. I use them because Alex and Doabolos has shown in the past that they care about these numbers. And anytime you see big underperformance relative to what was expected, did the Braves consider that value? And they consider that interesting. And they've actually gone down and acquired players for that very reason because they had, you know, a season that was probably less than what their expectors numbers said they should so they were going to be cheap, but there was high upside. Kepler, Conforto or in Gifo like these guys have that profile, which Alex has shown in the past that he likes. So it's not just us saying this. You know, the front office has just done this in the past. And Kepler is another guy. Kepler is a better defender than Conforto, So Kepler would certainly help more. Neither one of them are good defenders, but Kepler is better at Conforto is very close to a DH player, like you would have to live with some bad defense on the days that Conforto's and left. Kepler is much more similar to probably probably Akunya. Maybe profile profile is pretty bad though. I mean, honestly, the Braves have shown they don't really care about corner outfield defense. I don't really care that much about corner outfield defense. I've gone on that before. As long as you hit at a certain level first base, left field, right field, Like I can live with some bad defense out there. It's it's up the middle. You got to be careful. So yeah, Kepler's another name that I like. They I think there's upside there with the expected numbers he had in twenty twenty five.

00:36:19
Speaker 1: And there's familiarity as well. Right. You know, Conforto, you know, played a lot of his career with the Mets. Max Kepler last year was with the Phillies. So the Braves have seen up front how these players perform, and that familiarity. We know that Alex likes that familiarity. So I think that either one of those guys makes sense. One other name that I've mentioned before and that you know, I feel could make sense, not even to the level of a Comforto or a Kepler, because he was he was bad in twenty twenty five. That's Lane Thomas. Lane Thomas, again, another former NLIES guy, was with the Washington Nationals, was traded to the Cleveland Indians at the twenty twenty four trade deadline. Jeff Pisan had mentioned himself before he was traded that Lane Thomas was someone that the Braves had had interest for multiple seasons. And you know, we've seen the fact that Alex If there's been you know, reporting out there that he's had guys that he's been interested in in the past, couldn't get them in the past. You know, as their value goes down, maybe he picks them back up in time. So that's something that surely could happen with Lane Thomas. But again, Lane Thomas is a guy who I think could make some sense for this Brave squad. Not a lot of hope with the expected numbers, but perhaps he could come in and be a reclamation project. However, there's a strong arm in the corner outfield that he can provide. And he also again, could be an excellent, excellent addition on the base pass lank game pitch running option. Incredibly fast guy in the nineteth percentile when it comes to sprint speed. So again, this maybe not a minor league signing, but this is like playing, you know, ijk if a lot of other things don't fall in place. But the praise have had pass interest, he's had pass success. I think he's someone that could feel some needs for the Braise. So Lane Thomas is another guy who I would not mind the Braves kicking the tires on later in the offseason after they've either already checked a bunch of boxes with needs that they have, or perhaps a need that they weren't able to address, maybe they feel he could address it.

00:38:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm gonna read you Lane Thomas's results over the last five years. In twenty twenty one, he had a one to oh four WRC plus very good. Twenty twenty two had a ninety eight WRC plus. Twenty twenty three had a one to oh nine WRC plus. Twenty twenty four he had a ninety nine WRC plus. Twenty twenty five he had a forty eight WRC. I don't know what happened last year, like a dude that had just consistently shown that he's like a league average or even slightly above hitter just fell off the planet. And so if you go get Lane Thomas, what you're kind of hoping is twenty twenty five was the outlier and we're gonna return back to twenty twenty one through twenty twenty four production, where he is a league average or slightly above league average hitter with really good speed. He's not gonna kill you in the outfield. You just got to hope maybe he was hurt in twenty twenty five, maybe he didn't like Cleveland. You know, you're you're banking on twenty twenty five being kind of a mirage and that he's gonna return back to form. It's not a terrible bet because we do have like a four year chunk of sample of him being a really good hitter, not really good hitter, but a solid hitter, a decent hitter, and then we have one kind of outlier season that says he's not. So that's not a bad gamble, especially since you're probably gonna get him at like league minimum or maybe even a minor league deal. Like you said, like there's strong value there, there is upside play, which is what we're looking for here. We're looking for guys who aren't gonna cost a lot of money but still have upside play. With the other guys we talked about, they had really good expected numbers last year, the results just weren't there. With Adams, it is literally just he was terrible last year. Maybe that was just an outlier. In the four years before that were really good, and we're gonna bank on that. But it's not gonna cost a lot of money. So I could see it, like I could see I could see the Braves doing Lane, you know, I could see him doing him. Just I just keep saying Adams Thomas, Lane Thomas. I I do that every single time I talk about this guy. I say Lane, Adams, Lane Thomas. His name is Lane Thomas. There are different people. Lane Thomas had a really bad twenty twenty five, but he had really good four years before that, So we'll see. I could see them doing that. I could see them doing a couple of these combined. Actually, now that I think about it, like I could see them doing like Rangifo and Lane Thomas. Again, it's not gonna cost a lot of money. That's kind of why we went with these guys. That's what under the radar means. It means not these guys are not gonna get headlines if the Braves sign them. No one's gonna like, you know, we'll talk about it, but no one's gonna like freak out. But there's there's hidden value with all these guys. Thomas just happens to come from. You have to ignore twenty twenty five and go twenty twenty one through twenty twenty four. Lane Thomas people, his name is Lane Thomas. I apologize to the Thomas family. I don't know why I call you Laye Adams. I've done it my whole life, ever since you got into the league. I call you Lane Adams, Lane Thomas.

00:41:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, and again, we're talking about signing these guys for one year and nodded a lot of money.

00:41:25
Speaker 3: Either.

00:41:25
Speaker 1: We're talking about signing these guys for proven deals and hey, it could work out like Ramone Loreano did. The Bras didn't even sign Ramone Loreanna before the twenty twenty four season. They signed him in the midst of it. They should have picked up his option, they declined it. He signs a two year, twelve million dollars deal last offseason, plays with the Orioles, then goes to the Padres Ramone Loreano because of the retooling that he did in Atlanta. I'm not going to say that stuff sole reason, but his time in Atlanta clearly clearly made him a much better player than before he was Last year among players before one hundred played appearances, he was top twenty in WRC. Plus he killed the baseball for much of the season, So it could work out that way. It also could work out like Alex Rdugo did in the twenty five season. But again, because it's not a lot of money involved, nor is it long term contract, it's okay to take that chance. And that's why we're mentioning these names. So if you see the Braves sign a Willie Castro or Luis Fringipo, or a Lane Thomas or a Max Kepler, again, it's not The expectation is not for this guy to all of a sudden turn into twenty twenty three Marcelo Zuna. It's just making the options better. It's giving the Braves an alternate source that they can go to in the case that there's underperformance or injury once again from the starters, and then this person can step up and hopefully deliver better than where they had in previous stops because of the success the Braves have had in helping hitters re up their value in time.

00:42:54
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you said it like sometimes you get Ramon Loriano, sometimes you get wet and Merrifield, and then sometimes you get Brian Day La Cruz and sometimes you get Alex Radugo. Like, you know, it is a it is a bit of a crap shoot, but that's why that's why teams do it because there's so little risk because you're signing these guys to very very manageable contracts. It's not you know, there's no one hundred million dollar deal here. There's no five year deal here. Almost certainly one year contracts. You know, a couple of them will command more than league minimum, but a couple of them will sign for league minimum or sign up. Laine Thomas is probably gonna not a minor league deal, to be honest with you, I called him Million Thomas that time, so that was a win. So yeah, it's very low risk, and that's what Alex loves all teams so many things in baseball are high risk. These kind of moves are low risk. Teams love them. So you know there's value here, and there's potential value and there's potential upside, and that's what you got to look for when you're you know, when you're at Plan C, Plan D, Plan E, you don't maybe have the guy you want, you at least have to try to aim for some some sort of upside. And I think all these guys we talked about tonight have some sort of upside. You can look at something in their numbers that says, all right, if the stars aligned perfectly, we could get a Ramon Loriano out of this situation. And it doesn't work all the time, but it's not a bad it's not a bad bet to make.

00:44:19
Speaker 1: And we're labeling these guys is under the radar. Maybe you could label them as undervalue. Maybe you can rate them as underrated. For some that may be underwhelming. We get that. But if there's one thing to potentially better, it's the Braves track recording. And I know we've mentioned this ad nauseum at times in some of our podcasts, but it should stand out. The Braves have had a very good track record. One of the better track records over the past decade of bringing in guys who had past success elsewhere, but in recent years it's struggled. But once they came to Atlanta, they were able to re up some of their offensive value. If the Braids could get one or two of these guys to come in and do that once again, that's the type of development that could really help the odds of your returning to where you want to be as a contender next year. These are the type of signings that to hope you do that if they work out. Stephen, anything else from you? As we wrap up this edition of the Here a Territory podcast presented by Fox One. Wrap up this edition of the podcast, Anything Else from You?

00:45:11
Speaker 2: Ser No, just you know, we're at the pretty much the last week of the season. The World Series is probably gonna wrap sometime this week. I think even Game seven would be It might be Monday, Sunday. Yeah, so very good chance. This is the last week of the baseball season and the just remember five days after the World Series, boom, everything gets going and we will get plenty of news. So this could kind of be the last. This this upcoming week is probably gonna be the last week where we're still kind of in wait and see mode. After that, the off season is gonna get going, So there's gonna be plenty to talk.

00:45:47
Speaker 1: About and there and there, and there's gonna be more than likely plenty to talk about because you got more needs for Alex and thopplss the manager, plus plenty of additions to the team that need to be addressed. You know, he likes to act quickly. Of course, in mid November, we're going to be on awards watch, especially when it comes to NL Rookie of the Year. Obviously Matt Olsen as well in the running for some awards, so plenty to look at when it comes to the Braves. One more week than hey, the content should be up and roaring and we will be here to cover it for you. As always for Steve on Tolbert, my name is Sean Coleman. You can find both of us on x slash, Twitter, Hammer Territory and all forms of social media, part of the Foul Territory family of podcasts. Until next time, Go Braves. We'll talk to you again soon here on the Hammer Territory podcast.