Astros land Tatsuya Imai, Holiday signings recap, Chandler Rome joins

00:00:02
Speaker 1: Oh, we're back.

00:00:04
Speaker 2: Some people didn't know we're back today. We're back. They're like, you're back. Yeah, it's January second, back to work and crats. We're gonna have to carry the show today.

00:00:15
Speaker 1: That's not true. Yeah, we're gonna have to carry that. And it's okay. I'm here.

00:00:19
Speaker 2: Tod Father hasn't eaten a morsel of real sustenance.

00:00:24
Speaker 1: Sustenance in a day and a half. Day and a half, I'm trying to do three days. I'm hungry just saying it.

00:00:31
Speaker 3: I've been reading on there's some good things. Just reset the body. I'm not trying to lose weight. It's just, you know, reset the whole body, water, electro, lights, and work out again.

00:00:42
Speaker 1: And we're getting after it.

00:00:43
Speaker 2: A New Year's resolution, is that way?

00:00:46
Speaker 1: Yes?

00:00:46
Speaker 3: And no, it just came on that day and it just worked out. The timing was perfect. And yeah, it's been thirty seven hours in counting, so we're moving.

00:00:55
Speaker 4: We're going. You know what helps when you're going through something like that, You look freaking amaze, You look like you're glowing, You look like you have energy. I don't care what you feel. You look like you have. Let's get it.

00:01:09
Speaker 3: Let's get it. I appreciate that, but it's hard. It's tough, man. I don't know how people do it, but there's a lot of good things that come out of it.

00:01:18
Speaker 2: I would say over under at a half for a bathroom break for Todd, father is just guzzling water all day, over the under half.

00:01:31
Speaker 4: I'm setting the over under a bathroom breaks at one and a half.

00:01:34
Speaker 2: Oh, I'll take the under on that. No, I think he can go two hours. I think I'm with just one. Yeah, I'm gonna try my best. Yeah, but and don't mention it much because that creates the problem too.

00:01:49
Speaker 1: Here.

00:01:49
Speaker 2: Let's try and distract Todd then for the next Yeah, don't stay waterfall. So we have the Jason Stark tweet that kind of helps to paint the picture sure of what's happening here.

00:02:01
Speaker 1: He said.

00:02:01
Speaker 2: A friend in baseball once told me it's amazing how far away spring training feels on December thirty first, and how close it feels on jan one, just to prove that the first spring training game of twenty twenty six is seven weeks from today. Do you feel warmer yet? He also posted a nice, crispy, warm spring training picture from I believe it was clearwater.

00:02:23
Speaker 1: When I looked very quickly considering where we're at here, we're.

00:02:26
Speaker 2: More than halfway through the off season. Yeah, well, did you know that from the end of Game seven of the World Series to the start of the first spring training game, we are closer to that spring training game at this point.

00:02:39
Speaker 3: Kratzy, I would always I figured it out. But eventually, I'm like, after in the New Year's it's like, when do I start hitting again? I used to hit before New Year's when I was younger, I used to hit. I take like a month off and get back after, and I'm like, as I got older, I'm like, let's wait until the New Year and now middle of January, and it just got later and later. But at the same time, it's like, you know you're gonna get your swings in, but I never knew that happy medium and when to start swinging again and feel comfortable about it.

00:03:11
Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 4: I mean, there's extremes of guys that like Ichi Row, he takes one day off after the season's over and then he goes back.

00:03:18
Speaker 1: I read that too, Yeah, like I think.

00:03:21
Speaker 4: He probably still hits now. He like owned his own stadium that was abandoned in Japan. But like, and then there's dudes who show up the spring training and they're like, did you guys bring my bats? Because I don't have any of my own. You know, it's hard. It's hard to figure that out. The only thing I ever ironed out was my throwing, because I always felt like I had to come into camp, always on a new team, all that stuff. I have to figure it out. Like December fifteenth is my anniversary. I figured I wanted to throw twice before my anniversary. Figured we go away somewhere, you know, have a weekend trip or something, and then when I got back from it, that next week, I would toss once, throw three times. So that I'm spring training first day, Hey, who's this guy? What's Oh, he's got a good arm. And it's like, okay, then I'm good to go because everybody thought I stunk at hitting. And then you look at my stats and you're like, they're probably like, yeah, you're.

00:04:14
Speaker 3: Right, d that's crazy your anniversaries. Then mine's the fourteenth.

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Speaker 4: It's nuts, that's not the same day Todd doesn't really matter.

00:04:24
Speaker 1: Well, it's close enough.

00:04:25
Speaker 2: Fourteen.

00:04:26
Speaker 4: It's such a baseball thing, remember, such a baseball thing. You gotta have your wedding. You gotta have your wedding in the off season, yep.

00:04:35
Speaker 1: And the call the freezing col or.

00:04:37
Speaker 2: You have your anniversary on like Feb fourteen, because half the guys are already gone. And so then they missed Valentine and they miss.

00:04:45
Speaker 3: I used to miss Valentine's Day and then then eventually I was good and.

00:04:50
Speaker 2: You would do right after. Yeah, it's right on that cusp of reporting to spring training. Anyway, there was pretty big news. I mean, of course they're going to be signings over the last week and change that we were not doing a live show. But let's get to the most recent and biggest name. Let's start out. Tatsuya am I signs with the Houston Astros three years. It can get to sixty three million bucks. It's got opt out after each season. So for me, I'm on the high side of what I think he's going to bring to the table in twenty twenty six krats. I treat this like a one year deal for the Houston Astros. The posting fee is about eleven million bucks. He's only going to count eighteen million bucks against the luxury tax, which is big. And we'll talk to Chandler Rome, who covers the Astros every day, about how that folds into the way that the soft salary cap, the luxury tax number, the CBT fits for the Astros the rest of the off season. But let's start with the player. I think Amaia has upside to be a front end starter, a guy who can start a playoff game. It sounds like the industry spoke and said, we don't necessarily trust that and the risk is too high, so the Astros win the bid. It sounded like the Mets and Yanks weren't serious, even though we had heard about them being serious from people in the past. Maybe the Cubs were the second place finishers, or they just wanted people to think that way.

00:06:17
Speaker 1: But what do you think of this?

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Speaker 2: For Houston, you might have Hunter Brown, then him I might be their next best picture.

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Speaker 5: In my mind, I mean I believe.

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Speaker 4: I believe in the Cubs thing, because I mean, look, they've gotten Seya before, they've gotten.

00:06:31
Speaker 5: Monagah, thank you.

00:06:34
Speaker 4: And now for the Astros, like you sit there and you go, okay, they made a splash into the Japanese market here, but at what cost?

00:06:42
Speaker 1: To me?

00:06:43
Speaker 4: It's not a big cost at all. I get it the eleven million dollars posting fee cost but doesn't go against their luxury tax. But eighteen a year for a picture like wait till the end of the off season, see what else guys are getting, Like who else is getting paid eighteen million a year? And I feel like today, without seeing him pitch in a Big League game, I feel like it's a pretty good deal. I didn't have him as high as Yamamoto. But you also have to remember everybody remembers the recency bias of Yamamoto dominating besides his little blip against the Phillies, and he almost lost the World Series coming back out after another dominating performance, but everybody remembers he's the MVP. He didn't pitch half the first year, so for the Astros. When he was with the Dodgers, the first year with the Dodgers, he didn't pitch half of that year because of an injury. If you're the Astros, you're sitting here like, we don't know we're going to get the first year. And I think the industry probably feels the same way. And the fact that he can go out, have a ridiculous first year and opt out is great for both parties because am I can get what he need, get what he wants in the fact that he can show he can pitch in the big leagues, and the Astros say, you do really well, we benefit and then you go out and we don't have any more of your contract on our books.

00:08:13
Speaker 2: Right, it's insurance in case he completely bombed or it gets hurt or something like that. But otherwise, let's bring in Chandler Roam right now, who wrote articles about this multiple d already and has a breaking news spot out on crush Citty Territory where you can check it out. Chandler, your thoughts on this signing for the Astros? Did you see this one coming?

00:08:34
Speaker 5: I did not, and I don't think really anyone around the Astras on'lyk anyone that intently follows them saw this one coming. They were always going to keep searching for starting pitching. There was an internal thought that the gap between Hunter Brown and the rest of the Astros rotation was two wide, and obviously, with when you have a guy that was a cy Young finalist in Brown, there's obviously going to be a gap. But the Astros wanted to work to close that gap a little bit. I you know, everything that we had been told and everything that I had reported this whole winter suggested that, you know, they didn't have a ton of money to spend, that they wanted to be mindful of their luxury tax positioning. But it should be noted that the Astros cut about an estimated sixteen million dollars in payroll by trading Mauricio Duban and then releasing Chas McCormick, Luis Garcia, and ramon Arius. This is the reinvestment of that cutting of the payroll. And you know, I think Jim Crane, I think the Astros wanted to make a mark in the Japanese market, in the Asian market. I don't think it's a coincidence that they renamed their ballpark dyke In Park about a year ago. Todaydike In is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. They wanted to have their footprint a little bit in the Asia market, in the Japanese market, and this is going to help that immensely. Now, they were never going to give Emi the contract that many pundits projected he would get. The athletics. Tim Britton said he would get eight years and one hundred and ninety million dollars. MLB trade rumors had him at six years, one hundred and fifty million dollars. The Ashers were never going to go to that length. But when opinions of Emi were kind of polarizing within the industry, when it became clear that he wasn't going to get that long term deal that a lot of places were projecting, he was going to get Jim Crane and the Ashers are perfectly fine with this a short term, high AAV deal. In fact, that's the kind of free agent deal they have done throughout Gym's entire ownership tenure. So really this one just kind of fell into their lap and they were happy to take it.

00:10:45
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I want to go along those lines too as well. Understanding that people were thinking he was going to get closer to two hundred even three hundred million dollars and he got sixty three.

00:10:55
Speaker 1: Why do you think that happened?

00:10:57
Speaker 3: And why do you think he took this deal over other deals that had a little bit more money on the table.

00:11:03
Speaker 5: Well, you got to remember that he's represented by Scott Boris. I think Scott Boris wants to get him back out into the free agent market as quickly as possible. I think, you know, why didn't he get that longer term deal. You know, I think there are some questions a little bit about his durability. I think there are some questions about you know, I don't think anyone questions the upside. I don't think anyone questions the stuff and what this guy can bring. I don't think anyone ever projected him to get, you know, to be on the same plane as Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Now Scott Boris at the GM meetings did say that certainly Emi has done everything Yamamoto did in NPB, and that is one hundred percent true when you look at the statistics. So I just think that the market really didn't materialize in the way that maybe Emi thought it would. And I think this is a perfect opportunity for him to prove to maybe some of the naysayers, some of the people in the industry that that were that we're questioning, kind of his upside and what he can bring. You have a year to prove it. You have a year to go out and erase those durability concerns. The innings, pitch thresholds in this contract are very interesting to me. They started eighty innings pitch, so he gets an extra million dollars if he hits eighty innings, another extra million if he hits ninety innings, and then another extra million if hits one hundred innings pitch. Usually you see those innings pitch thresholds for starting pitchers way higher. You usually see in about one hundred and one twenty one forty. So you know, maybe that is indicative of some of the concerns that that are had about his durability, whether he can pitch deep into a season, into a major league season. But this is now, you know, he has all the opportunity in the world now to prove a lot of people wrong, to prove that he is worthy of that long contract, and he can get back into free agency next winter and perhaps get it.

00:12:54
Speaker 4: Will there be a push because of those innings? That was my question was going to be about those innings. It's very rare, and you you highlighted that, but I'm gonna double down on it. Are they going to use him differently? In the sense every Japanese picture that comes over six man rotation, that's what everybody hears. It's durability. It's kind of like a it seems like a cliche, especially after what Yamamoto did this year after a season where he came back, you know, didn't pitch half the season. Is there a way that they're gonna have to deploy him differently because of that? Or is that innings limits? Really just they feel like he's a twenty one million dollars a year pitcher, knowing that he'll get there without an injury.

00:13:38
Speaker 5: I think it's more of the latter. Eric. I don't think they're gonna mess with you know, he's a starter. They're going to deploy him as a starting pitcher. You know, they'll read and react, and they'll obviously have to talk to him and be in communication with him just about all the stuff you usually have to be in contact with with an MPB pitcher coming over. Just the transition kind of what's different about big league life. You know, you mentioned this XP rotation, and I'll tell you this, the Astros opened the season with twenty five games in twenty seven days. It would not stun me that they come out of spring training already in a six man rotation maybe for the first month of the year. And the interesting thing is Emi kind of falls in line with all of the other pitchers that they have acquired this offseason. You look at Ryan Weiss, who they signed out of the KBO, a ton of innings incentives in that contract to somebody with a ton of upside that that really just hasn't proven it at the big league level. You look at Mike Burrows, who they got in the trade, the three team trade with Tampa and Pittsburgh. Another guy that they're very excited about, a guy that certainly has the prospect pedigree and has shown a little bit what he can do at the big league level, but certainly not a proven commodity. He's only throwing ninety innings at the big league level. And then Nate Pearson, who they signed early in the off season. They're going to give him a chance to start, you know, a top prospect that certainly has the stuff, has has a high high ceiling, but they're gonna give so it really kind of falls in line with they've really leaned into a lot of high upside plays with you know, maybe not a ton of you know, guarantees as to what they'll be, but if they can hit on all of these guys, they certainly have the makings of a really good rotation, and if there's one team's pitching development infrastructure and kind of analytics and pitching infrastructure that I would trust to hit on these guys, it's the astros.

00:15:28
Speaker 4: Wait, I gotta go back to something you said, six man rotation, Hunter Brown. Hunter Brown is a cy young candidate. Will he agree to a six man rotation? Because that just that like just that moniker on your name. Oh he's in a six man rotation. It's gonna automatically make people I don't know or is he gonna be the exception? Everyone else goes six and he goes every five and you just get bumped when it's Hunter's turn.

00:15:55
Speaker 5: Yeah, that's why I was gonna bring up Eric. They can they can read and react on these things like it's this is a good problem to have. It is a good problem to have a lot of starting pitchers that they're gonna have to find kind of figure out what to do with. This is a problem that quite frankly, they didn't have the last couple of years. So yeah, it could be a situation where maybe they they talk with Hunter and see if he wants to pitch every fifth day, but they can make if Emi needs some extra rest or if they're bullpens kind of short, maybe they can figure out a way to finagle to get Hunter to pitch every fifth day. But I'll say this, you know Hunter Brown was they ran six man rotations last year at points of last season at Hunter Brown, at least publicly, never never begrudged it, never never spoke out against it. Internally, you know, speaking to him, he's a he's his team first of a guy as it comes. I don't think it's going to be that big of a deal, but because mainly because he's done it already. He has been part of a six man rotation as a cy young candidate before he did that last year. I don't envision it being much of a problem. But they will have that flexibility to be able to kind of do with him what they please.

00:17:02
Speaker 1: The Astros fans, man, they got to be really excited about this.

00:17:05
Speaker 3: First off, he's coming to the team, and second off, he said he wants to beat the Dodgers.

00:17:09
Speaker 1: How do you perceive all this?

00:17:11
Speaker 3: And are the fans just falling in love with this guy already not even seeing him throw one pitch yet.

00:17:18
Speaker 5: He could not have endeared himself better to this fan base just based off of those comments he gave to Dice, came out Susaka on that show in Japan. But I found his entire kind of outlook on this whole thing really fascinating. That he didn't want to go somewhere where there was a large Japanese presence where he wanted to maybe go see if he could confront kind of these struggles that are inherently going to come just of the transition, just of coming to a new league, coming to a new country. He wants to battle those on his own. He essentially said he'd be taking the easy way out by going to a team with a big Japanese presence where he can rely on, you know, a guy like Yamamoto or a guy like Sasaki, or even if he went to the Cubs relying on Shota or relying on Saya Suzuki. Like, I think that's a refreshing perspective to have, and I think it's certainly something. I think we're going to get to talk to Emi next week. I think they're going to do a press conference here. It'll be interesting to hear kind of more what he has to say about that. But just reading up on that and not being afraid to be different, not being afraid to be the only guy kind of on the team. That's Japanese and that comes from that culture. I think that's a really interesting and a really kind of enlightening viewpoint and way to view things.

00:18:33
Speaker 1: Chandler.

00:18:34
Speaker 2: I like the Kikuchi angle too. I know Scott Boris mentioned how he was paying attention to the fact that Kikuchi goes over to the Astros they seem to get him clicking, and then it turned into sixty three million bucks for him with the Angels. Of course, the comedy in it for me is that Kikuchi goes to the Angels and those two yes, I have similar contracts in terms of guaranteed money. The ass Joe's have a deal with a Japanese h back company. Kikuchi complaining about AC with the Angels, and so my ends up with the Astros. They have good AC and good backing behind it. So I read that, and that's where my brain was twisting.

00:19:16
Speaker 5: Yeah, and I want to make this clear too, Like it's not as if you say Kakuchi and Tatsuya Emi are identical. Like Kakuchi is left handed, Emi is right handed, they are not the same pitcher, Like, they have different things, different ways of getting hitters out, but they've got some similarities in their arsenals. They've got some similar ways in the way they do things. And you know, I I I talked to Scott Morris when you say was still with the Astros, talk to him in Anaheim kind of. I think that last series of the year when when Kokuchi was going to pitch and he raved about what the Astros did to Kokuchi, and it was more about kind of simplifying what Yusai Kakuchi was doing, and I think Scott said something to the effect of, you know, they're letting him pitch like he did. He was an amateur when he was coming up in Japan, before he came over to the States and before he posted. So I can't sit here and say they're going to do the exact same things with Emi that they did with Kakuchi. But at the very least Scott Boris had a baseline to where he could go to Emi and tell him. Look, they have had success with some with a Japanese pitcher, granted not someone that came over straight from MPB, but they have had success with guys with similar arsenals. To what you have and what you do like this is a place where I think they all felt comfortable that he could come here and really maybe realize that potential that some people are questioning within the industry.

00:20:42
Speaker 4: Let's talk about next moves for the Astros after this. They're still slightly under and once they trade away Jose Abreu's salary, I mean, I mean Christian Walker's salary, were just rinsing and repeating the same story. Is that something that's going to happen. Do they have to the Astros have to or will they look at moving possibly Estoc Paradis or Christian Walker.

00:21:08
Speaker 5: Kratzy. I just don't know where they're gonna have the every day at bats for these guys, because Joaspot has said at the winter meetings he wants Jordan Alvarez to d h most of the time and he wants Jose al Tuova to play second base a majority of his time. Now they can both play some left field, but judging on what Joaspot has said, he'd like those two guys to be entrenched in those positions. You got Carlos Korea at third base, you have Jeremy Pana a second at shortstop, excuse me, you're gonna have Jose al Twove at second base. I don't know where the at bats come for Estoc Paratus and Christian Walker of the everyday variety, with the DH being clogged up with Alvarez, Like, I just don't know how you get both of those guys every day at batch. You know, Christian Walker, he sat out a pivotal game in September last year. Joe Spott has said it was due to matchups. He was scuffling at that point, and I talked to Christian Walker that day and he said, I'm an everyday player. He said, I want to play every day. He understood why the move was made, but made no bones about it. He wants to be an every day player.

00:22:08
Speaker 1: He saw.

00:22:08
Speaker 5: Paratus is currently an arbitration. He's going to be an arbitration next year. How do you get paid in arbitration? You get paid by accumulating stats, accumulating games played things like that. They may look, they could go to spring training with this glut of infielders, and I'm sure they could make it work. I'm sure they could set up a schedule to where all these guys get, you know, enough at bats to feel good, and we're all fine and dandy, but Kratch, you've been in a big league clubhouse, same thing with Todd Like it's I don't think it's going to sit well with these veteran guys being told like, hey, you're not an everyday player anymore. And they may say everything right publicly. You know, we did this song and dance when the Astros acquire Josh Hater to when they signed him two years ago, Ryan Presley everything publicly, he was on board. You know, he did nothing in the clubhouse to create acrimony, but they traded him a year later, in part because his relationship but the organization had deteriorated, in part because they signed Josh Hater. Now, you know they as far as the payroll goes, they are about four million dollars under the luxury tax right now. They need a backup catcher. I think they'd like another left handed hitter, and I think they'd like another reliever. You can't do that without spending money, so I would imagine, you know, you start to look at who makes money. Essock Paradus is estimated to make about ten million dollars in arbitration. Christian Walker is going to have twenty million dollars salary, it's going to be really hard to move. You have Hayesus Sanchez in the outfield, who's estimated to make about six and a half million in arbitration. He's certainly a trade candidate as well. But if the Ashers want to get the most value back, if they want to make a trade that gets them, that helps their farm system, that maybe helps their major league team. I think Essock Paradus is the most valuable guy on their team that they could trade. It would help to clear payroll space, and it would help it would give them the most value back in return. Didn't they know all this?

00:24:01
Speaker 4: Didn't they know all this last year when they traded for Carlos Korea And I know they're going to say, unbelievable. Any chance you get an opportunity to bring Carlos Correa back, you do it, especially since the Twins are paying some of that contract. But didn't they know this? Like when they've had your Don Alvarez this whole time and he is locking up your DH spot, I get it, you've been putting him in left. So who's to blame for this maybe logjam that they're sitting at right now.

00:24:32
Speaker 5: I think they went into the twenty two I went they went into last year's trade deadline just saying, we need to make the playoffs this year. We need to help ourselves this year get to the playoffs. And remember, at the time of the trade deadline last year, Estak Paradis was thought to be done for the season. He had sustained a severe hamstring strain. They needed a third base, like they needed a third baseman to compete last year. They went and got Carlos Korea again, a situation where it kind of fell into their lap. Of the Twins just completely fire sailing and being willing to eat some of that contract. It fell into their lap, and Dana Brown and Joe Spot have both said that they needed some leadership that obviously Carlos Korey is going to provide that, but Cratsy thing new like they knew they were getting questions about that, like the day after the trade deadline last year, and it was all just, oh, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Well, you know, we're worried about this team, this year's team, and it was easy then. It was easy to kick the can down the road and just say we'll address this when we have to. Well, now they're here, and it's going to be a difficult one to address because Estoc Paradus is it's better for the twenty twenty six asters of Estoc Paratus is on the team. The pole power, the patience, being able to work at bat's work, played appearances, the sort of offensive profile they don't have in their lineup, like he is the best fit to say on the team. But I just don't know if they're going to be able to move Christian Walker. He's got a limited no trade clause that allow in the block of trade to six teams. He's got a twenty million dollar salary that I can't envision any team is going to take on in its entirety, so I'll have to eat some of it. It's going to be far more cumbersome to move Walker. Could they do it? Sure? Maybe there's a team that you know, when we get to the end of January that has missed out on some of its free agent targets, has missed out on some of the offensive free agents out there, and say we need a right handed power hitter. Christian Walker still did hit twenty seven homers last season. He's not you know. I know it may have been tongue in cheek cratzy, but I don't think this is a Jose Brady situation. I mean, Walker still hit twenty seven homers last year. He had a seven ninety nine ohps after the All Star Break. Like, I don't think this is a situation where he has just completely lost it and it's irredeemable. Like he's got value at that price. You know, I don't know if any team's going to take him on at that price. He's on in his contract, but he's got enough value to where he could move. But it may come later in the off season, maybe after a team has done and settled, they've missed out on some targets and they're like, hey, like we need it, we need another bat in of our lineup. Then maybe they pivots Christian Walker.

00:27:14
Speaker 1: Yep, good call.

00:27:15
Speaker 2: So maybe that curse that Kratz is talking about gets a raised here. And I agree, Yeah, it's not like it was a bad year this past season. It's just the irony of them already shopping the first baseman that they signed to a long term contract. And I agree, paratus is built for Houston. So I hope that he gets to do one more season there. I'm sure he feels the same way because he's entering his free agent year. But anyway, Chandler, great catching up, appreciate it, great hustle. The last couple of days Krush City Territory episode out there now for much more detail on this signing. There it is. It's Chandler, it's Tyler, it's Josh Reddick, it's part of THENE network. And Chandler's got multiple articles out there in the Athletic on am I and what's next for Houston. Thanks Chandler.

00:27:54
Speaker 5: Happy New Year, Bud, Thanks guys, Happy new Year.

00:28:00
Speaker 1: Here we go.

00:28:01
Speaker 2: Hot corner signings that happened since we've been gone from a live show. Tyler mally San Francisco Giants ten million dollars in guaranteed cash over one year coming up.

00:28:14
Speaker 1: He was great.

00:28:15
Speaker 3: That'll be about three point five million guaranteed California.

00:28:21
Speaker 2: Uh hey, he was.

00:28:26
Speaker 1: He was really good.

00:28:27
Speaker 2: In about half a Season's where it starts. Miley hasn't been able to stay on the field consistently. He had TJ two at one point, but he had sixteen starts this past season at two one, eight ERA and eighty six and two thirds innings, low strikeout numbers though sixty six punches in eighty six and two thirds.

00:28:42
Speaker 3: Imagine getting signed there like say, like my last year, they signed me for three million, I'm like, can I get two point nine nine nine to third?

00:28:50
Speaker 1: So I don't have to.

00:28:51
Speaker 2: Say, well, that's what guys do nowadays, at least some of them do. They say, hey, can I get at the third? Back to when I'm in Florida or Texas whatever it is. So this pair with I don't think we really got to this at one point when it happened, because it was maybe a few days before our final show of twenty twenty five. Adrian Houser also signed with the Giants. The temperament from Giants fans on social media is not good right now, Kratz. They're pissed. They think that these are little uh spots and dots moves. Two years twenty two mil for Hawser, one year ten mil for Tyler Molly. That's not little money like Howser and Molly. You're getting twenty two million bucks, you know. That's that's like what AMAI is getting this coming season for Houston. So would you rather have a may or Hawser and Molly I'll take a mind.

00:29:42
Speaker 4: Well yeah, I mean everyone will take you may but I think they already have their Emaid. If they think he mine is going to be, you know what, they're paying him to be. The Astros and another reization believes that they already have Logan Webb, they already have Robbie Rain. Those are the guys that have to carry the tour for this team, and I think you kind of that is a place where I think the Giants can get a lot of value. We need guys that throw strikes, guys that are in the zone and let people make contact. Because it's a large park. You're not gonna get hurt by that long fly ball. You're not gonna get hurt by the fact that a ball on the ground is going to get through. Because their defense, they built their team for defense. I know they got Willia Doomas, but he came in, you know more for the offense. They got defense up at in center behind a dish one of the best, Matt Chapman. So I don't hate this for the Giants. Because of how Oracle Park plays and because of how they've built their team, I think they'll find more value in these signings than maybe some other teams.

00:30:47
Speaker 3: Would have Zach Eflin known fact, well it is known because I was it. My thousand ten was off Zach Eflin.

00:30:56
Speaker 2: Oh really yeah, Oh well, he's just transitioning us right into the next starter signing.

00:31:00
Speaker 1: That excuse me, shall we? I thought we were talking about them already.

00:31:03
Speaker 2: No, you're confusing your housers with your Efflin.

00:31:06
Speaker 1: That's what.

00:31:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're getting a little pile on me.

00:31:11
Speaker 1: You grit a little peal on me.

00:31:13
Speaker 2: I need Crats here to give them a little smack. But okay, crats I I'm doing. Yeah, I'm not criticizing that the Giants moves as much as you know, fans expecting more of a heavy hitter signing. But they're they're signing around the margins and that's actually what was written about them at the start of the off season. Don't expect the Giants to lay the hammer down. They're going to do more of these depth deals. So okay, excuse me, but now let's get to mister one thousand.

00:31:39
Speaker 1: Zach Efflin.

00:31:42
Speaker 2: A one year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, and the Orioles continue to strike. They're pissed. A year ago Todd father said, you're not making the playoffs.

00:31:51
Speaker 1: Guys.

00:31:52
Speaker 2: We didn't like your off season, and neither did anybody who we thought they were exactly this time around one year, ten million bucks, four million with bonuses tied to start so he could make himself up to fourteen million bucks to be part of an Oriole's rotation that needed a facelift, and they're getting it right now. Suddenly you've got Shane Boss zach Eflin. Trevor Rodgers was brilliant for the Orioles. Hopefully he can continue that for them. What's his face? Just came back towards the end of the year. As I'm pulling up, Bradish just came back towards the end of the year. Now we're talking, or are we?

00:32:31
Speaker 1: Guys? Are we talking now?

00:32:32
Speaker 2: Are we feeling a lot better about the rotation heading into this season?

00:32:37
Speaker 1: Yeah? I feel good about it for sure.

00:32:39
Speaker 3: They're making these moves to win, and I think this is a good one here. He's still a really good picture. He knows how to throw well. I didn't know he was thirty one. I thought he was older than that.

00:32:48
Speaker 2: Is he only thirty one zach.

00:32:49
Speaker 1: Eflyn or thirty two? Maybe excuse me. Yeah, he's thirty.

00:32:55
Speaker 3: Two season. I mean yeah, still doing it. Stay healthy, get out there. Yeah, show him what you really are, Bro, You're a really good pitcher. He's got a nasty breaking pitch, his fastball's got some movement to it, and he's a tall stature. Another good pickup for Baltimore, another check mark.

00:33:11
Speaker 1: I love it.

00:33:12
Speaker 2: But for me and I know where Kratz is probably going one more, poor Fovar one more. It could be like our prior segment, a Ranger Suarez. It could be a friend Rivaldees, it could be one of the mid tier guys. There's actually a number of mid tier guys still available on the market. Of course, if you're an Orioles fan, you want one of the big boys that's left. But there are quite a few starters in that mid tier range. Nick Martinez, Lucas Giolito, Chris Bassett, Zach Lateel, the zackly Tel sign.

00:33:43
Speaker 4: Yet I'm not one hundred percent on that.

00:33:49
Speaker 2: Anyway, there's quite a few left that I think would make Oriols fans feel a little bit better from the depth department, Because if you're one of those fans that said, hey, last year was a mess because injuries. Okay, well then that's something that occurs all the time in the pitching department, So you better stack up this year. And I think that's part of what they're doing here, Crafts. If they can get one more starter, I think they're in the playoff mix.

00:34:12
Speaker 4: Or I think this is really setting up for them to get Ranger Suarez. I get I guess I'm you know, really pushing that forward. But what have we always said about Ranger Suarez? You know, one hundred and thirty, one hundred and forty innings. He's gonna spend a little bit of time on the il, and then he's gonna ball out in the playoffs. That's what he's done in his career, and that's what you're paying for in free agency. So what the Orioles think that's worth. You know, it's worth. Let's get some other guys around them. Let's get some other guys to If he can only make twenty five of his starts, how can we subsidize those other seven starts? The issue if you don't get a Ranger Suarez, and you do and I love a Nick Martinez, I would like that signing too, because I think he goes out there and gives you that Swiss army knife kind of pitcher. The issue is your on a guy like Bradish to say you have to make your thirty two starts, you have to be the guy you were before you got hurt. That's tough and I think that can put too much pressure on a guy to fight through the issues that some pitchers have coming back from Tommy John surgery. I know he came back at the end of the year and he pitched really, really well. I just would like a little softer landing with a guy in the rotation like a Ranger Swarz. I think it vaults the Orioles to a new level if you have a Ranger Suarez, Trevor Rodgers, and a Kyle Bradish. Because of then those other pieces Shane Boz, you have e Flynn, and then you're able to mix in Tyler Rose, You're able to mix in just other guys and you have more of like a seven man rotation that looks really clear going into the playoffs because one of those top three guys Falter. Now one of those other three guys steps up and is that guy coming into playoff time, and Zach Eflin he doesn't need, in my opinion, isn't need to apologize for what he did with the Orioles. If you look back when he got traded over the nine starts he made in twenty four, he was lights out. So there's clearly a track record of them liking him and him liking Baltimore. And to me, I think they're gonna get closer to the twenty twenty four guy they traded for than what happened in twenty five.

00:36:36
Speaker 2: And Lettel, by the way, is still a free agent for all of you Lttell super fans out there, but yeah, one more, one more for Baltimore. But giving them a ton of credit, they've been maybe the most aggressive team so far this offseason. They had a lot of bullpen to remake and they've been working on that as well, which moves us right to a team that has solely focused on remaking their bullpen. Since most of their guys from this past season were free agents, the Chicago Cubs snuck in with a Hunter Harvey contract. Harvey's always a big stuff guy. I just can't stay consistently on the field. Cubs sign him up to a one year deal. They've done a lot with their bullpen, one year six million bucks by the way for Hunter Harvey. But I say all that with the caveat that the Cubs are playing in the kiddie pool for the most part this year, to use an aj Bruzinski term, they have not only not landed a big boy, but it doesn't seem like they're in on any of the big points. So, like, we have a resident Cub super fan in the chat, Mike g who's just been on fire today, and he said one of his comments. I copied it down so I could read it to you for this segment. He said, Cubs now quote in on Bashett, cubs in on Bregmant, cubs in on Okamoto, cubs in on Suarez, cubs in on trademarket for starters, cubs in on eg McMuffin before seeing the shocking price. His point is they are sticking so hardcore to their model, like, hey, this is what we have you valued at. If you want this number, we'll give it to you otherwise, And that's just not how you win free agents over So, for example, if they really wanted to Mie, they easily could have gone the distance to bring them in, right if it took three or seventy five mil or whatever it is. But in the meantime, I'll give them credit for their reliever signings and a big fat incomplete on their report card for the twenty twenty six campaign. I mean Game five against the Brewers, it was a bullpen game starter, their season on the line.

00:38:33
Speaker 1: Come on, guys, figure it out. Yeah, bullpen.

00:38:37
Speaker 2: Though I like Palencia, he was great for them, emerged last year. Philm Aiton was signed this offseason. Hunter Harvey, Caleb Theobar, Holby Milner like cool. We think Porter Porter Hodge has big potential. I'm fine, We're good there right Krats, But starting rotation wise, do we feel like the group they have right now is going to get them to October and then in big games in October? I mean they'll probably lose one or two via injury and there's not a lot of depth there. Steele will come back hopefully late this season, got Boyd Hopefully Kate Horton puts together a really strong sophomore campaign. Injuries got him towards the end of last year. See what in a MONOGAA looks like? Is it the first or second year in Monaga? Tie On's more of a back end guy. Colin Ray I'd prefer as more of a swingman spots start kind of situation at this point.

00:39:29
Speaker 1: But your thoughts, I.

00:39:32
Speaker 4: Mean you posed two questions there, and the one was does this start in rotation get them to October? Yes? Yeah, I think it does. I think it showed that does they have their position player core intact? Oh wait, besides Kyle Tucker, they still need that guy. I think they made the right decision last year in Matt Shall. Matt Shall's value to the team was almost equal to the same war as what Alex Bregman brought to the Red Sox. So yeah, they made the right decision. But they can't go it to me. They can't go into this end of this offseason the beginning of the season saying, well, you know what, we made that right decision and now we're going to do the same thing. We're going to kind of stay status quo because they didn't stay status quo last year and they got a Kyle Tucker who is the Cubs Kyle Tucker. Whether you can say he faded down the stretch, you know he wasn't worth it as a Cubs fan, that's fine. You watched him every day. I'll let you be to your own opinions, but the dude produced for a majority of the season and you need to replace that. You need to replace that if it's not in the starting pitching. If you're not going to sit there and say, well, we'll see it bounce back from Tyrone and Steele will be our number one starter even though he's coming back from Tommy John surgery. When we'll make it to the playoffs, you still need somebody in a position, player or to say I'm the man, And right now, I don't see that with the Cubs lineup.

00:41:07
Speaker 2: I don't see that with the rotation. And yeah, I'm not scared there. So I think Cubs fans are pretty pissed right now. One more in the division. The Reds added JJ Bleda and Dane Myers. Okay, the real spark is I mean, no offense to the guys, but they you know, they haven't I don't think they're going to be. They shouldn't be starting outfielders. And if they want to, you know, have them platooning or whatever. Right now. I mean that's I think the real goal for the Reds is they've been chatting with the White Sox for like a year and a half. Now about Luis Robert and either the Reds or the Mets are going to get him at some point. Is the trade going to happen this offseason? If it's Cincinnati, they're probably gonna eat make the White Sox eat more of the contract. So we'll see what happens. But if you're a Reds fan, you're probably like, Hey, remember how promising we were this past season and then we made the playoffs and then you guys made a bid for Kyle Schwarber. Are you gonna do anything else because you didn't get Schworber. So if I'm a Reds fan, I'd be like, let's go. We'll tell him at Reds Fest. Hey, I like the I like the change of scenery for Luis Robert. Someone's gonna do it and give that a shot.

00:42:19
Speaker 1: Yep.

00:42:19
Speaker 2: But yeah, those were just little moves that we didn't get to. I think we got to everything that we missed in the past week and a half.