Tatsuya Imai in Atlanta? Braves Among Top Suitors for Star Japanese Pitcher

00:00:22
Speaker 1: Welcome one and all to the Hammer Territory Podcast. A little bit close up version of being there to start the show. But you know what, Hey, there's no better way to end twenty twenty five, so you hopefully don't have to experience and again in twenty twenty six. Good to talk with you once again. Happy holidays, Happy New Year. You know what, we got a little bit of a newsnugget here Steven Tober when it comes to the Braves. Not necessarily anything, just you know, substantial, but multiple sources are are kind of linking the Braves to Japanese starter Tatsuya Emi. And with the fact that Emis posting deadline signing deadline is literally two days from now, that kind of makes it a little more substantial than you may feel because of the turnaround time for a signing to actually occur. But good to be with you as always. Hope all has been well. What your thoughts on this news about the Braves potentially locking in on a unorthodox, you know, new source of starting pitcher as they're looking to fill their pitching needs.

00:01:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a buddy, so yeah, we get we We started hearing this last night a little bit and then a couple of other sources mentioned it, and then we heard some stuff privately that the Braves were looking into this, I don't want to say heavily, but looking into this seriously at least, so it was time.

00:01:50
Speaker 3: To at least talk about it.

00:01:51
Speaker 2: So and another factor here is because of the posting rules that Japan uses, when these guys get posted, they have a forty five day window to sign or they go back to their original team. So that just puts a hard deadline. These guys have what no other free agent has, which is a hard deadline. Like, we have to have something, and I think the deal has to be finalized by for Emi, it's Friday at four pm and that's finalized, so that's already with the physical, that's everything. So like in terms of agreeing to a deal, he probably has to agree to a deal in the next twenty four hours or so, so they still have time to get everything buttoned up and have a deal finalized by that four pm window on Friday. So this is fascinating, of course, because this is a this would be a new pipeline, right or at least from the modern perspective of the Braves.

00:02:50
Speaker 3: The Braves did get what was it.

00:02:53
Speaker 2: Kawakami, like Kitschen Kawakam like fifteen years ago. That was like three front offices ago, though, so it's hardly relevant. This would be a brand new pipeline into the Japanese market, which I've I've desperately wanted the Braves to open up, even if it's not about this specific player, even if this guy doesn't end up being great, just having one of these Japanese guys on your team that opens up the pipeline for more players to come after him, I think is important. I don't think the West Coast teams and the New York team should just be the only teams that have access to this pipeline.

00:03:27
Speaker 3: I really want the Braves to open up a pipeline by signing one of these guys.

00:03:31
Speaker 2: We're gonna talk about Emi specifically in a second, talk about like some of his numbers, some of his stuff.

00:03:37
Speaker 3: We'll get into that in a minute. But on the whole, the Braves need starting pitching.

00:03:42
Speaker 2: We've we've covered that at nauseum at this point. I don't think anybody doesn't understand that point. This is somebody who has a hard deadline, which sometimes works to the team's favor. Because the player either has to sign or he has to go back to Japan. And if these guys really want to come over, then oftentimes you can get a decent deal. The posting rules are wild, like how much money goes back to the other team, the team from Japan, how much money goes to the player. It's it's a bit convoluted. I don't love the system they use, but there's a hard deadline and that matters a lot. And then on top of that, what we've heard is that EMI's market has not progressed to the level that maybe some other guys have. Some people have, some people in baseball have some concerns about how he was going to translate. There's no draft pick tied to his name, which is a big deal. So, you know, we'll get into the player specifically here in a minute, but just on the whole, this does make a lot of sense.

00:04:40
Speaker 3: Now, it's still just smoke.

00:04:41
Speaker 2: We don't have anything concrete yet and probably won't until he signs, either with the Braves or somewhere else, which will happen in the next forty eight hours.

00:04:48
Speaker 3: But it does make some sense.

00:04:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, and let's talk for a second about you know, the source that you know first mentioned the Braves Julian Gillarte on X I had the pleasure of speaking with Julian on his podcast a few months ago, and we didn't speak specifically about EMI or anything like that, but a couple of things that I can say in my interactions with Julian. I don't know to what level of sources he has or anything like that, I can say confidently that I don't feel that he's just going to put something out there just for clicks like he's going he has. He is heavily focused on the international front when it comes to baseball in his coverage, and so I feel that hip he's putting something out there linking the Braves to EM, he's heard something. And the other thing that I'll say is this is that he also covers both the Mets and Yankees primarily, and we know that those two teams have been in the market for EMI, likely longer than any two teams have been, so he probably has been tracking what's going on with EMI's market. So that's one of the major sources where this news came from. But to your point, you were talking about the fact that with Imai, you don't have to worry about a draft pick. But what's specifically about Emi is really attractive to teams and a couple of things that stand out. You know, Number one, he has had a track record all the way back to high school. You know, we know that sho he Hotani, for instance, is someone that that had that type of track worker. Now, one thing I want to say is Emi is not to the level of a show. Hey O Tani Yamamoto, you darbish. He's not to that level of talent. And that's nothing against Demai. That's just setting a realistic understanding. But what is attractive about his overall repertoire that would make the teams think he could be successful. He has altered his mechanics significantly to really lower his walk rate over the past few years while increasing his strikeout rate. He also is just twenty seven years old, and though he's been durable in terms of making the expected amount of starts over the past few seasons that you would expect a Japanese pitcher to make, he's just twenty seven years old, so there is significantly more upside. Since he is significantly younger than a lot of Japanese pictures over the past two decades, usually come over at typically you see these guys come over in their late twenties, early thirties. So you the fact that he has made mechanical adjustments to improve his overall approach, and just a fact in general that he would be coming over without a lot of knowledge on his overall repertoire for Major League hinders to study. That's why. That's a couple of reasons why he's attractive to the Braves and other teams.

00:07:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, so the original projection for him was by MLB trade rumors when the offseason started, was six years and one hundred and fifty million bucks.

00:07:50
Speaker 3: And that's big money, especially.

00:07:51
Speaker 2: For a guy who again maybe isn't a slam dunk to come over and dominate the way you know, a guy like Show did or even Yamamoto did, who got you know, three hundred million bucks from the Dodgers. But the reporting has been that his market has softened and that it's not quite that, And I think the Braves are always looking for guys like that whose market has soltened, maybe the market dips below where the Braves think there's value, and so you know, I get it in terms of EMI specifically, like you said last year was his age twenty seven season, so he's twenty eight, so he's on the younger side. He's a mid nineties fastball guy. Fastball slider is the mix that he uses at a really good strikeout rate in Japan the last two years. I think he had a twenty eight percent strikeout rate the last two years in Japan, which I think led all of the in NPB, which is the Japanese league over there. So he's a strikeout guy. Now again, you have to see how it's going to translate to Major league kiders. I think last year at a seven percent walk rate, so high strikeouts, low walks. We've talked about that in the past to formula the Braves like a lot where you have high strikeouts low walks. That ratio matters a lot to the Braves, and we've seen that in multiple moves that they've made the last few years.

00:09:14
Speaker 1: So great. Could his walk great in half in two years thirteen percent in twenty twenty three down to seven percent in twenty five.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, he really had command issues early. He's really figured that stuff out, and I'm guessing that's why the Braves are interested. It's gonna come down to the money. I mean, it's a free agent like anybody else. It's gonna come down to the money. But I get it, I get why you're interested. And again, like you said, most of the time, when you're sign a free agents, you're signing thirty one thirty two year old. It's like Framburg or like Max Freed last year. This guy's gonna be twenty eight. So you could sign him to a four year deal and at the end of the four years, you know he's gonna be thirty one years old.

00:09:50
Speaker 3: He's gonna be the age a lot of the guys you're.

00:09:51
Speaker 2: Gonna be signing would start, you know, if you signed him right now, So that matters a lot. Like the aging curve on pitchers is much more aggress so how old they are when you sign them is a big deal. It's it's probably a much bigger deal than it is with position players. So in fact, the guy's on twenty eight, he has pitched incredibly well in the Japan League the last couple of years, is one of the best pitchers over there. There is concern that, you know, he might not it might not translate quite as well, so you have to factor that in and it's gonna come down to the money. The fit makes a lot of sense, the profile makes sense. But if he's actually gonna get six years in one hundred and fifty million bucks, I don't know the braves are in that. I don't know the braves are winning that, and I don't know that I really want them to. But if he, you know, if he's willing to take like a four year deal, and if I, if I were him, that's probably what I would do. I would try to sign like a four year deal because then I could get back on the market at thirty one, and if I shown that I can handle major league hitters, he could get another big contract on the other side of this, Like Max Free just did he just signed a big contract at thirty one. Franbervaldez is about to sign a big contract at thirty two. You know, EMI could play this where he gets two contracts out of this if he goes shorter on the first one, which is what I would do, because then you alleviate any concerns about how well he's gonna handle major league hitters once he gets over here. So you know it's gonna be fascinating. And again, what makes this great. I wish it happened with more free agents. Is we have a hard deadline, like we're gonna know this in the next forty eight hours.

00:11:24
Speaker 3: Guaranteed we know that for a fact.

00:11:27
Speaker 2: We're probably gonna learn about it long before that deadline because remember, the deal has to be finalized by that deadline.

00:11:32
Speaker 3: It doesn't have to be announced.

00:11:33
Speaker 2: It has to be finalized, which means physicals, all the paperwork signed. So we're gonna learn pretty soon what is what he's gonna decide. I think I read that he's taken final meetings with teams in Los Angeles today. He is a Scott Boris guy, so that does matter. But the Braves just signed a Scott Boris guy when they signed Hasan Kim, so I don't think that, you know, I know people think the Braves don't talk to Scott Boris agents. Hopefully people realize now that's just not true. I think that stuff's been overblown and obviously they just signed a Scott Words agent in Hassan Kim, So well, no for here pretty soon, but it does make sense.

00:12:08
Speaker 3: I get the interest.

00:12:12
Speaker 1: One other factor that is, you know, new to the Braves coming into this year that could potentially play at least a minor part in this is that you know, of course, we've got Jeremy Hefner from the Mets as a pitching coach. Now, Jeremy Hefner just had experience with Cody Sanga of the Mets and in translating his talent from Japan to the major league level, and I think Sega has you know, met or exceeded expectations. So Hefner himself in terms of bringing over a Japanese talent and converting them to success at the major league level, the Braves have someone in Hefner who has had direct experience in that in recent years. So that could make the Braves in Alexandapolas a bit more comfortable this time around wanting to invest in a Japanese pitching when they may not necessarily know much about him as they would you know, other you know, potential pitchers who who they you know, seen you know closer up for longer periods. So the the the the the existence of Jeremy heft as the Braves pitching coach could also play a factor into this and could play a good factor into helping Emi be comfortable and have a better shout of translating successfully to the majors.

00:13:22
Speaker 3: Yeah, and.

00:13:25
Speaker 2: It's very important to remember that with a guy like Emi, who you're not sure, you're not sure the level he's gonna come in at, the Braves don't need him to be an ace like if the Braves, if the Braves absolutely needed a top of the rotation guy, I don't like the gamble of one of these Japanese guys being that guy. But the Braves don't need that guy. The Braves have Chris Sale. The Braves just need innings. They need somebody solid, and you know it's gonna come down to money, So we'll see what they do. I do get it. I I'm fascinated to see what happened. I think there's a chance he signs like tonight. I think we could get an answer to this pretty quick. I would not put the Braves in pole position, you know, if I was betting on it, I certainly wouldn't. I wouldn't think the Braves are favorites just because they haven't really opened up that pipeline in a number of years. But I want more than the players specifically, I want them to open that pipeline back up so that you are in the mix as these players come over every year like you're a team that gets talked about your team. That makes sense because we already have a couple of these Japanese born players on the team. It just helps you get more and more players. So you know, yes, I want the player, I want the pitcher. The Braves need more pitching. But I maybe even more than that, I want the pipeline reopened to that talent, because it's a ton of talent coming over. I mean, the Dodgers built their team around Yamamoto and around Shoheo Tani and have won two World Series doing it, So like it's a big deal to get access to that talent, and you know, the Braves get this deal done, it's a big step in reopening that pipeline.

00:15:07
Speaker 1: Absolutely, and so it'll definitely be worth seeing. But again, you know, the thing that we want to emphasize is that the turnaround, the you know, this will come to a conclusion within the next twenty four hours more than likely. So that's why we wanted to take a bit of time to discuss it. But again, again, why specifically might the Braves feel that Emi would be the particular talent to as Stephen says, open up that pipeline. There's a couple of big reasons from the Braves perspective. We've talked about why Emi may be attractive on his side of things, but why could he make sense for the Braves more than others. More on that than just a moment after a word from our partners. So, Stephen, we've been doing some mail bags over the past four to six weeks and about one of the first mail bags that we did, one of our listeners, you know someone on social media I apologize for not knowing the name he hasked a really good question, or the person asked a really good question. You know, why has Alex not dipped more into the Japanese market? And Scott and I discussed this on a recent mailbag episode. I've discussed it with you directly. I feel a couple of factors as to why Alex and Topless is not dipped into the Japanese market. It comes down to two things. Number one, he typically doesn't wade into those waters of spending big money over significant time frames when it comes to roster construction. He just doesn't give out big free agent contracts. The other thing is is that as much as it's known as thorough as Alex goes into really delving into a player, knowing everything about them that he can before adding them to the roster. It's probably a bit more of a challenge doing that with someone whose career has been in Japan than someone whose career has been you know, in the US. That you know, you naturally you probably know more about you know, the players that you know have got to college here, played in the majors here, and things like that than a Japanese product. So I think those two factors are kind of why Alex has not yet dipped into the Japanese market, but a big reason I feel as to why Emi makes sense for the Braves more than other pictures in the past may have made sense. Number One, it's his age and the fact that he's going to be entering his prime when he comes over to the majors. But if EMI's market has softened to where he's willing to potentially take on that three to four year contract instead of that seven to eight year contract, that's really attractive because you typically see these Japanese pitchers most effective in their first two to three years in the majors because major league hitters are not used to their overall repertoire that they're bringing over. Once major league hitters, you know, get used to it after you know, a couple of years going through the majors. Those Japanese pictures are not effective. You know, had Deo Nomo Dice came out, Suzaka, Mashiro Tanaka, I believe Takashi Saito, the Japanese pitcher who pitched, I would believe it was Ira Kerma. He finished like second in the sim for the Mariners in twenty thirteen. All of those significant names that come from those middle tier names, not your you darvishes or your sho Heyo Tommy's or your Yamamoto's. Those those middle tier Japanese talents, they typically are most effective in their first three years because major league hitters are not used to their overall arsenal. So if you can get a three to four year deal when that picture most likely is going to be his most effective, that is a big reason I feel why Emei specifically makes sense as a target for the Braves.

00:18:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, Alex just doesn't sign these six seven year deals for pictures like we've just never seen it now, you know that's true, Right up until the moment that he does it. So it's not evidence that it won't happen, it's just evidence that it hasn't happened. But if you're betting on it, I just don't I don't see Alex signing one of these like six, seven year, one hundred and fifty million to Innermant deals for a pitcher.

00:18:52
Speaker 3: I just don't see it. Now.

00:18:53
Speaker 2: I could be wrong, but like you said, if EMI's market is softened and it's now a four year one hundred million dollar deal or four year one hundred and twenty or whatever the number ends up being, it's just much more palatable. Even if what you the point you just made is an excellent one about Japanese pitchers and how they translate to the MLB game. But even if that wasn't the case, you just want pictures on three or four year deals versus six or seven year deals anytime you can get it. I don't care who they are. It's just the nature of pitching and the nature of the injuries and the aging curve is different with pictures. You know, you just always would prefer a four year a three or four year deal. Hell I would prefer a two year deal. But you know, four is certainly better than six or seven. So yeah, I'm sure as his market's softened, the Braves' interests went up and up and up, very similar to Hassan Kim. You know, if has On Kim was gonna get a four year, twenty million dollar year deal, the Braves were not going to sign that deal. I'm almost one hundred percent positive based on what we've heard the Braves were not going to be in that space. But his market really didn't develop like that. He was interested in a one year deal, try to get back out on the market next year, and the Braves jumped all over. It would not be surprised at all if it's the same logic that gets us to a deal with EMI. But if the market picks back up at the very end as his posting deadline approaches and the numbers go back up, then I'm guessing the Braves are going to be out. So, you know, I don't want people to get their hopes up. This is we haven't gotten like the level of smoke around this that it would make me think the Braves are favorites. I do want to kind of manage expectations here.

00:20:28
Speaker 3: I think they're in it. I know they're in it.

00:20:31
Speaker 2: I think they're interested. But if that interest, you know, leads to the money going back up to where he was projected at the start of the offseason, I'm guessing the Braves are out so and there's some very very very wealthy, big spending teams that need starting pitching. There's one in the Braves division, in the New York Mets, who who have done mostly subtracting this offseason and are going to make some splashes here at some point. So I certain wouldn't call the Bridgs favorites. But the profile, the potential deal that you could get, it does the Braves connection, the fact that Rays need to start a picture, the connection does make some sense.

00:21:10
Speaker 1: Yeah, and as you see his contracts soft and just like it makes more sense for the Braves, it probably leads to you know, some dark horse gudits we heard, it.

00:21:18
Speaker 3: Makes more sense for a lot of teams.

00:21:20
Speaker 1: Yeah, all the big markets are in it as well. You know, the both New York teams, the Phillies, the Cubs, White Sox, all those teams have been tied to him. I know that he's pretty infamous for comments about you know, not necessarily what to join the Dodgers.

00:21:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, I saw that. I saw it.

00:21:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, So so it'll be interesting to see what occurs. But what final thing to look at, you know, we talked about from the Braves perspective, the fact that you don't have to give up a draft pick, the fact that you may not necessarily have to pay as much as you would these other established allers were qualifying offers. The fact that you're going to be paying a guy who still has upside in terms of he's still got his prime ahead of him and still be in thirty like the other big level starters. So the upside that EMI could offer could potentially put him in line on a smaller contract. Then what's going to be in the future for some of these other starters like Valdez or Galion or you know, Scores or something along those lines. But another big thing that this does, Stephen, if the Braids were to sign EMI, one major thing that it does for me, It gives you so much depth of not only reliable options that you could work through a lineup once or twice in the playoffs, but so many different looks. Right because if you put EMI in the rotation, that allows for you to potentially put you know Lopez or rend A Lopez in the bullpen. You potentially could put Grant Holmes in the bullpen. You could see, you know, you can mix and matches you need them. Emi, as we mentioned, has been very fastball slider heavy versus right handed pitchers, utilizes a change up splitter combination a bit more against left handers. That profile of fastball slider changeup very similar to Spencer Strider. I'm not saying he's to that level. I'm not saying that their utilization of those pitches are similar, but at the very least the pitches that they mainly use to get the job done. That's something that could be familiar to the Braves. So there are connections as to what wy Yeah, he may not have the track record that would make you think would make the Braves rotation even better moving forward, but the versatility, the diversity, the fact that he's a bit of a hidden you know, quantity or entity in terms of what he can offer. Since he's coming from Japan, he would add a new aspect to this Brase rotation and also would add a lot of depth and versatility potentially to the bullpen. We've seen the Braves prioritize that on the offensive side of things, This type of signing would allow for that to be true for the pitching staff.

00:23:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's I mean, that is the you know, if you're going to write a thesis on why we want another picture, you just laid it out.

00:23:52
Speaker 3: That's why. It just it opens up everything.

00:23:54
Speaker 2: It's more depth, more availability for you know, the versatility that's our aready built into the roster. And like you said, you would have gotten through the entire offseason adding a really good starter, to really good relievers, a legitimate shortstop, and still kept that draft pick.

00:24:14
Speaker 1: And you know, I know the draft pick is prospects. You wouldn't have to trade prospects.

00:24:20
Speaker 2: Kept your entire farm system attact, and kept both of those first round picks.

00:24:24
Speaker 3: So you know, there's a lot of upside there. Now it has to get done.

00:24:28
Speaker 2: And if it doesn't get done, if we find out in twenty minutes that the Mets are signing Emi, then I don't the Braves are still looking for a starter.

00:24:35
Speaker 3: I know that for a fact. So it's not the end of the world if the Braves don't get in.

00:24:39
Speaker 2: But there was enough smoke in the last twenty four hours where we needed to at least talk about it because we are going to get a resolution to this very soon.

00:24:52
Speaker 3: You're muted.

00:24:53
Speaker 1: You're so beautiful about that. Hey, it's been a few weeks. Had to eat it had to in two thoy and twenty five.

00:25:00
Speaker 2: But there's no let in twenty five and sean.

00:25:03
Speaker 1: New Year's resolution. Make sure that button is clicked. But but over all the things is to Stevens point again, I would not I would put it less than fifty percent that the Braves are in it just because of our old team.

00:25:15
Speaker 3: I would put it like.

00:25:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, but at the very least, again, what's adding to the intrigue of this is again we're gonna know what's going to happen. We have to know what's gonna happen in forty eight hours. Likely we'll see what happens within the next twenty four hours. Yeah, And I will again say, while the Braves might not necessarily be the favorite in the clubhouse, there's probably not too many teams where it makes more sense to go this route than the Braves. And as Steven mentioned, you would open up a new aspect of adding to this roster in the future when it comes to Japanese free agents, because that is one thing that we see, there's consistently, consistently Japanese free agents. And while everybody may think that, you know, not necessarily everybody. While a lot of times those Japanese players may come over and not necessarily reach the ceiling that many thought they would, more often than not they're going to be some type of productive Major leaguer. And we know that the Braves are a good organization when it comes to making the most of talent. So I think that that's a very that's a great point, Stephen. If we were to sign Emi, it would open up that pipeline potentially for the future. And it again when it comes to ems overall repertoire, we laid out the reasons why. It just makes a lot of sense. Again, it may not happen, but it makes perfect sense as to why the Braves have had a heightened interest, especially if that contract becomes a bit more attractive in terms of years and dollars.

00:26:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, so we'll see, well know, very quickly by the time you listen to this, you might already know, depending on how quickly you listen to it. After we post it, just to time stamp it It is four eighteen Central time on December thirty first, as we're recording this now, so you know again, because he has to get the entire processing, have it finalized by four pm on Friday, and tomorrow is a major holiday. Don't do not be surprised at all if we get news on this tonight, which is another reason we wanted to record now. But yeah, it's a it's it's noteworthy. The Braves are We've said it a bunch because we've heard about it. We pretty much confirmed it at this point. The Braves are heavily looking for a starter. They want another starter that is crystal clear. Will it be Emi, will it be somebody else?

00:27:28
Speaker 3: We have no idea. We'll wait and see what happens. But the Braves are not done. I know.

00:27:32
Speaker 2: I saw some comments like, you know, after the Braves spent big money on Suarez and their payroll is already higher than it's ever been, that they were probably done. I can promise you the Braves are not done trying to add. Now, they might be done adding. They might not be able to get stuff to the finish line, but they are trying to add.

00:27:48
Speaker 3: So we'll just see. We'll see if it gets done.

00:27:51
Speaker 1: And again, if this sounds a bit odd in terms of, you know, Alex and Thopless go in this route or route, but he's not really gone in the past with in the past with the Braves, you know, the Braves signing Emi. While it may not be likely, you could definitely say that, you know, stranger things than this have occurred in the past. And if the Braves need to basically shift, if they need to basically you know, turn upside down their usual way of being able to get things done, to be able to make their contention go the right side up, then that definitely could be a reason why they go after Tatsuya Emi. Yes, that was an absolute nod to stranger things finale shall ustu. Hey, hey, you know what, I'm here for it. I'm here for it. And that's the thing, you know, it's just you know, we we can we could spend eleven minutes or we could spend two hours, you know, talking about to Emi. I'm gonna stop with the references, but hey, can't thank you enough for joining us. This may or may not be our last episode of twenty twenty five, but if it is, do want to end on this note. Cannot thank you are listeners enough via YouTube, all platforms everything else.

00:28:59
Speaker 2: Even with it, I do want to give a shout out. He just announced it publicly. It's something we've known for a few days, but Dave O'Brian just announced publicly that is retiring. Did Dave ol brian of course, was the beat writer for the Athletic before that, the AJAC been on the braz beat for Yeah, I mean it's been a long time, as long as I can.

00:29:21
Speaker 3: Remember, basically.

00:29:22
Speaker 2: Anyway, he just announced on Twitter he's retiring. You know, we had heard whispers of that in the last few days, so but he made it officially. Weren't obviously gonna say anything until he made it official, and he announced on Twitter that he's retiring. So congrats dB Joe retirement. It was you know, thirty years on the beat is an insane accomplishment. I know, I know, people, Dave is one of those guys people either love or hate, you know, whether you love or hate him. Spending that long on the beat, you know, for one organization is an accomplishment. So congrats to dal Be on his retirement.

00:29:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, hats off to you, d ob sir to a great career. Wish you nothing but the best in retirement. Certainly know that your bravest fandom will go nowhere, but hey, that's the thing. Things are happening in twenty and twenty five that you wouldn't have expected. Again, Hats off to a great career, Dob, Best of luck to you, and we though, are gonna be here no matter what, covering you to in twenty and twenty five, going into twenty twenty six and beyond, and you know what, perhaps in the next twenty four to forty eight hours we'll talk about a new arm that could again make the Brave staff one of the best in baseball. You can find Stephen Tolbert at be Underscore Outliers on x slash Twitter, myself at Stat's Sac on x slash Twitter. Foul Territory happy to be a part of the family of Foul Territory podcast across all forms of social media Hammer Territory as well. Happy New Year. Hope your twenty twenty five ends in great fashion. At that twenty twenty six get started off and even better fashion. Until next time, go braves. We'll talk to you again soon here on the Hammer Territory podcast

00:31:01
Speaker 2: That Stat