Front Office Unfiltered w/Jim Bowden: Top FA list, Dissecting manager hires, LA playbook, Skubal trade?!

00:00:09
Speaker 1: Front office, unfiltered resident GM. Jim Bowden is here with the Dodger blue sweatshirt, JB.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: Happy.

00:00:17
Speaker 1: What do you call it? Because you say this is this is a big day?

00:00:19
Speaker 3: Happy?

00:00:20
Speaker 2: What is it? Postseason? This is it? Let's go the postseason, after the postseason, the off season, off season of the opening day of the.

00:00:31
Speaker 1: Opening day of the off season. Yes, happy opening day to you. This is a time to shine. So so we're going to get to the manager carousel and we're also going to do the free agents in a little bit. I want to start with this. You're wearing the Dodger blue sweatshirt. Dodgers win. You covered a lot of the postseason. What can other teams and front offices learn from the Dodgers aside from the money spending or if you want to include that, they do some other things well too.

00:00:59
Speaker 2: Yeah. I think when you have an owner that commits the right money, the dollars that it takes to win, and then you have a front office that spends it correctly. And it's when I say spend it correctly, I'm not just talking about building a team that has four number one starters. I'm not talking about just a team that's building with three future Hall of Famers in showy Otani and Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and perhaps even Will Smith someday.

00:01:24
Speaker 3: Who knows.

00:01:25
Speaker 2: We'll have to keep watching. But it's an organization that spends a lot of time and effort on making sure they get the right human beings in the clubhouse, not just the players, but the players with talent that are also elite human beings. They get that. They spend a lot of money on research and development. They spend a lot of money on technology. They spend a lot of time and effort providing the players the best information they possibly can to help them be the best they could be. And when you talk to players, and when I'm on the field at Dodger Stadium, I'm asking players, you know what's different, you know, playing for the Dodgers than your previous team. I love hearing the smiles, and I love hearing about how much effort and money is invested in time in helping each player be the best they can be. And the Dodgers of the model organization. This has been great for baseball. I tell everybody, we'd all love to be the GM or the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They put together the best team. They invest the money, and nobody should be upset. They play within the rules, and they're first class organization from top to bottom. That's just the facts, that's just the truth. And they treat everybody great. So I think we can learn. Everyone can learn from that.

00:02:36
Speaker 4: They have a bunch of good people in that organization too, Jim, I mean players, So I mean Dave Roberts and Freddie Freeman and Show Hey and Mooki, and they're good people too.

00:02:45
Speaker 3: So listen. As much as you want to.

00:02:47
Speaker 4: People want to hate them because they're good, but don't hate them because if you don't know them, you don't you can't. It's hard to It's hard to hate those people once you get to meet them and talk to them. So I agree with what you said. Now now I know, I don't know if you heard what we were talking about before you came on about the Rocky situations. So I want to go to the Rockies of what's going on there. They came they seemed like they were down to two finalists for their front office opening and they're like, no, we're moving on from them.

00:03:08
Speaker 3: What the hell is going on in Colorado?

00:03:10
Speaker 4: Can you explain what is happening, because no one knows what No one knows what's going on there.

00:03:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know for sure what's going on, but I can tell you that any executive that's going to consider that job is going to need a commitment long term because it's gonna take at least seven years to make that franchise competitive. They're in a division where there's four other teams that are built for the next five years that are gonna be playoff contending teams, and the Rockies. It's gonna take a long time. The other thing about the Rockies like an expansion team, right, they haven't spent any money on the analytics, with technology. They're so far behind every other team in that division that the person going in there's got a lot of work to do and a lot of revamping, and they're gonna have to deal with a lot of losing over the next several years. So you know, are you gonna pay someone enough and are you're gonna give them a long enough term contract for them to take it. I've said this before. If I'm the Rockies, there's only two people on planet Earth that I would want to hire to run that team. Number one would be THEO Epstein, and I would give him ownership of the team, and I would give them a checkbook and say, go have fund you a full rang to make all the decisions. I think if you did that, THEO would turn that team as quick as possible into a team that was relevant again. The other guy would be Howie Roseman of the Philadelphia Eagles, who I think is the best GM in sports period. I would bet that he'd be able to come over to baseball, hire the right baseball people around him, and he'd be able to find a way to turn that franchise around. But this hire is extremely important for their future, and they have dug themselves such a hole that the best move that could possibly happen to them is for Commissioner Rob Manford to do what he told me on the field during the World Series when he said the one thing he wants to do before he leaves office besides expansion, is geographic realignment. Rockies need to do every anything they can to get out of having to be in the division that they're in, and that's the best move the next executive should be able to push.

00:05:08
Speaker 3: Well, that's a week that's a week out that's a cop out, Jim. That's a cop out by the Rockies.

00:05:13
Speaker 4: They've been to the playoffs in this division before playoffs, but not anytime soon, all right. I want to go to some other things, some other news here. The Gabe Kapler, first of all, is the new GM. This guy's nine lives. I mean, he didn't do very well as a manager. He was the Dodgers guy. Now he's GM, which is cool. He can maybe he can show us him getting dressed all the time like he does on Instagram, where he's like I'm getting rid of the day and he's putting his strike well whatever. And then the age of some of these managers, especially Breutera, right, and then a one year deal for Suzuki and then a thirty three year old manager. The game is changing fast right in front of our eyes.

00:05:47
Speaker 2: Yeah it is. You just threw a lot at me right there.

00:05:50
Speaker 3: I know. I'm sorry, Jim. I'm fired up today. The World Series over. I got nothing to you.

00:05:55
Speaker 2: I love this version of AJ I do. Yeah. So, I mean look for Gay Kapler. Peter Bendix is making all the decisions and he will going forward. Gabe Kapler can do a lot of the work between Bendix and the clubhouse, and Bendix and the coaching staff, and he can talk to the other gms for Peter. So look, don't misunderstand what this means. Andrew Freeman runs the Dodgers, not Brandon Gomes. Dave Debrowski runs the Phillies, not Presston Mattingly. But the gms in those jobs can take a lot of the load off of the president, like Peter Bendix. So that's kind of the Gabe Kapeler role there. But he's not gonna have carp Blanche to make any baseball decisions. Peter's going to continue to make, is what I was told. Now. In terms of what you threw at me, I love the Alburnez signing in Baltimore. I thought it was a good signing. I like the fact they went outside the organization. Albrenez has a tremendous reputation from a lot of people. I love the Skip Schumacher signing with the Rangers. Watching him with the Marlins that first year and he was manager of the Year in the National League. He can developed players, communicates well, very good at strategy, handling a pitching staff. I think that was a good hire. We knew when they hired him a year ago that he was manager and waiting, but when Bruce Bochi's contract was up, and so that wasn't a surprise. Kurtsuzuki on a one year deal, Like why did you take it? I mean, we're gonna be doing this a year from now when Perry Manassey and then Suzuki are fired at the same time. And the reason we were given that it's a one year deal is because that's all Perry signed for. I mean, what does that have to do with it? Like, you know, I just it's embarrassing. It is. Sorry, don't like it. The blake, but terror one is the one that caught me completely off guard. And I'm open minded. Look, there was a time where I was the youngest GM in baseball at thirty one, so I think you have to keep an open mind and give him a chance. I think the one part that would be concerning for me is you're having a rookie GM and a rookie manager, two of the youngest in those roles. I know, my first year was a huge learning experience. I thought I was ready. I wasn't ready. I had a rookie manager at the time. That's a tough formula to have and now nationals, it won't be high expectations, but at the same time, you know that's the one I'm gonna be watching closely. And in terms of the giants hiring of I Tello, I actually love it. I don't know if it's gonna work. I'm fascinated to see how it plays out with zero professional experience. But the one thing I've learned in the last year I trust Buster Posey. I trust his decision making. I like the adamis signing. I like the Devor's trade. I like the trade with the Mets. He's won three world championships. He knows what it takes to manage. And if Buster thinks that that's the right guy for him, I'm gonna just trust it. But I am really looking forward to seeing how that plays out.

00:08:52
Speaker 3: Ft FAM.

00:08:53
Speaker 1: If you want more information about Superpower, I have real life customer Eric Kratz with us right now to explain how you're basically getting the pro experience available for everyone.

00:09:06
Speaker 5: One ninety nine is the price, and that is that's a discount from Superpower, that's a discount from everywhere. You get so much information from your lab test results. Christmas is coming up here soon. You can give this gift to somebody else. Health is the gift that keeps on giving.

00:09:20
Speaker 1: Your blueprint activated with Superpower. Not only did Superpower reduce that price to what Kratz is talking about, just one hundred ninety nine dollars, but for a limited time, FT fam gets an additional twenty dollars off with code take twenty. Head to superpower dot com and use code tak E twenty at checkout for twenty dollars off your membership. After you sign up, they're going to ask you how you heard about them and make sure you mentioned FT to support the show. Stop only reacting to health problems and start proactively improving your health based on real personalized data.

00:09:51
Speaker 5: With Superpower, I dove into the Blake Butterra part of it because you are you are a thirty one year old GA, you had a rookie manager. What are some of the problems they're going to run into that they have to learn from your experience?

00:10:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, I mean the first part is just when you're sitting in the GM seat for the first time and everything is on you. That's a big enough job as it is. You combine that with a manager who isn't ready to be a major league manager, who's dealing with everything, that's even more of a burden that's put on top of you. And there's just so much to it. And as you guys know, that first year you're a big league manager gains fast. I mean, you better have experienced coaches near you, and you better hope they're in your helping you. But it goes fast, a lot can go wrong, and it's it's kind of just overwhelming. And I just, you know, my own personal opinion, if I was an owner, if I'm going to have a rookie GM, which not opposed to it that you have the right guy there, I would like to have an experienced manager that's won before so that you don't have any development issues for that person in that job. It's just it's very tough to develop both of those positions at the same time when you're running an entire franchise. It's just there's too many mistakes that can happen. And in this day and age, you know, there's so much to do. They're really hard jobs. And look, I'm not saying it's not gonna work. I hope it works. I'm fascinating to watch it, but I'm not sure that that was the right higher for where they are right now.

00:11:26
Speaker 5: Last off season we were talking about, hey, you know what, they need a Jason Worth type of signing. You know, maybe it's Pete Alonzo, maybe whatever it is, hiring both of these young guys. Doesn't that just completely preclude them from having any kind of free agent presence, because what free agent is like, hey, you know what, unless they give Jason Worth type of excessive money that no one else is getting. Obviously you can go anywhere for the extra money. But doesn't that just keep them off the board for any of these free agents who are like, yeah, I'm looking to definitely make make my mark.

00:12:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it does it. Also, remember I think the owner has it off the board anyway, I'm not sure the Learners are ready to invest in free agency again. So I think what Paul Tiboni's plan is, from what I understand, is, you know, he's looking for controllable young pitching, and he's looking for catching help from what I can understand, and he's going to be listening to offers on Mackenzie Gore, probably going to trade him in this offseason, and so you know, I think they're looking at it as a developmental year rather than going out there. You know, and you mentioned Alonzo, so let me follow that. I mean to me, you add Alonzo. It takes pressure off James Wood, It takes pressure off Dylan Cruz and c j Abrams. All of a sudden, you have an adequate offense. You know, you make a big move like that, it matters, it does. I don't think there's any question about it. I don't think ownership's ready to do that, and I don't get the sense that the GM is planning on doing that, at least for this offseason.

00:12:57
Speaker 3: Jim, you you forgot one. You forgot Derek sh Elton. Oh, yes, we forgot to talk about him.

00:13:03
Speaker 4: And how I mean I said the other day, is this just Rocko part two because he worked under Roco?

00:13:06
Speaker 3: Whatever?

00:13:07
Speaker 5: There?

00:13:08
Speaker 3: I mean, that's what it seems like for the Twins, like, oh, we can.

00:13:10
Speaker 4: Just get this guy as Roco part two and we won't make waves and just do whatever we want Derek.

00:13:15
Speaker 3: Fallavi and we'll move on.

00:13:16
Speaker 4: But that's fine, that's we can get into that another time when because the Twins aren't trying to win anyways. They're trying to ship payroll and save money, so the pollouts can sell the team.

00:13:24
Speaker 3: But we'll get into that another day.

00:13:25
Speaker 4: But I want to know about the work stoppage and everything that's been talked about coming up after this year.

00:13:30
Speaker 3: Cursuzuki.

00:13:31
Speaker 4: People are saying he only signed a one year deal because already doesn't want to, you know, pay a manager, possibly through.

00:13:36
Speaker 3: The work stoppage. I don't think that's it. I think it's more of what you said.

00:13:39
Speaker 4: But as far as player's salary goes, we're here and we're gonna dig into some free agents. We have some opt outs today, Bregman, Edwin Diaz, Cody Bellinger. As a GM, were you ever a GM at during the threat of a work stoppage and did it affect how you signed free agents going forward because of that? Did you try to get shorter term deals? Did you try to get guys that were good after the workstops? How does that affect the front office?

00:14:01
Speaker 3: All?

00:14:02
Speaker 2: Right? So I've been involved in a lot of work stoppages over the years. The ninety four ninety five was the biggest, the biggest ones that's sitting in the GM seat there, But every single work stoppage that I was in there was always a threat and there was always going to lock them out or they're going to strike. Every single time since Commissioner Manford has been in that seat. Though we you know, we haven't had a work stoppage, right and so we had one for the pandemic, but we didn't have one for this. The threat of it is always a huge part of negotiations. We want a salary cap, but if we don't get at the'bino baseball and there's always baseball. Baseball is in such a strong position financially right now, and I think in time the revenues are gonna spike when they all figure out better way to get the streaming revenues. But eventually that's going to come around in time. It's very healthy and a workstop page ruins that. I don't think it's going to happen. I think it's going to be threatened. I talk to people, you know all the time when I was, you know, at the LCS and World Series, and everyone's talking about, oh, you know, there's gonna be a work stoppage in twenty seven, and yeah, why why are you saying that, Like, come on, would the game can't afford it? I don't think there's any question there's a lot of owners that would like to see the salary gap close and make it a little bit fairer for some of the smaller market teams. And there's no question that, you know, we got hardcore people now in terms of answering your question aj about signing that. There's gonna be several gms that are not going to pay any attention to it, Like the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees thought off the affillies. They're gonna spend the money, they're gonna go sign their free agents. There's gonna be some owners that are not going to do it because they're going to be scared of the work stoppage. And so there's there's some teams that are just not gonna be involved this winner and and that's kind of who they are, right, I mean, they tell you are.

00:16:03
Speaker 3: You know.

00:16:04
Speaker 2: My feeling is it's business as usual. Be very careful because we got really smart agents. They're gonna wanna backload contracts. They're gonna want to take salary from twenty twenty seven and they're gonna want to push it to twenty eight twenty nine and thirty. They're gonna want to push move it up from twenty seven to twenty six. And you're sitting in the GMC going no, no, no, no no, we're gonna do the AAV. We're gonna have twenty seven be the AV. So if there's a workstop much on either side, you know you're not getting paid with the contract is I'm not gonna pay you more money because there might be a workstop. But so that could be a negotiating problem at some point, and negotiating some of these, I mean, you know the Bors Corporation. You know, Scott, who is sitting there with ten ridiculous free agents like he normally has, is gonna work very hard at making sure he protects his players the best way again. And I think from the club side, you gotta, you know, be strong and uh try not to fall for that kind of negotiating ploy.

00:17:02
Speaker 1: Hey, we told you about Hewels new Daily Greens ready to drink can, but also we do not want to forget about the og.

00:17:11
Speaker 4: Your favorite love that chocolate peanut butter you an krats love that chocolate peanut butter flavor.

00:17:17
Speaker 1: That's the favorite one. M It's so breakdown.

00:17:21
Speaker 3: The vanilla also good.

00:17:24
Speaker 5: But when they send me a chocolate peanut butter, oh, it's like a dessert, but it's not.

00:17:29
Speaker 1: Thirty five grams of protein, no added sugar, gluten free for your boy, under five bucks per meal because it's meal in a drink, six grams of five or twenty seven essential vitamins and minerals. HUEL makes healthy eating simple. They also just launched into Target stores nationwide. Try both products today with fifteen percent off your purchase for new customers with the exclusive code foul at heel dot com slash foul. Use that code fill out the post checkout survey to help support FT Get After It FT Fan back with Jim Bowden, who just put this out, Top fifty MLB free agents this offseason contract predictions, team fits for Tucker, Schwarber and more. So, right now, we're going to go one through fifty. We'll do one minute each. I'm totally kidding. We're just going to pick some standouts here, JB. But let's start at the top. Kyle Tucker is going to get the most money in the offseason. That's accurate, right.

00:18:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so. I mean, he's twenty eight years old, they'll play next year at twenty nine, So you know, I think realistically he gets a ten year deal. You know, the thing that Tucker does is he's thirty homers, he's thirty steals, he's plus defense and right field. He's a really good base runner. He's a complete player. Now, he's not the franchise player, right. You don't want to sign him as the face of your franchise. You want to put him on the team where he's going on a team that's got a loaded lineup, and then there's real value there, right. I mean, if you put him on the Dodgers, you put him in right field, moved to O to left, and now you got a plus defender and right field that you haven't had all year, and another thirty homer, thirty steel guy in that lineup. He's a perfect fit for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's a good fit for the New York Yankees. Put him in left field and that short porch in right field. Let him eat, Let him eat. You know, I also like him with the Phillies, the Mets, and the Giants, but I think the best spot for him is Dodgers or Yankees. But yeah, he's he's gonna get paid. I originally thought before the season start he might get five hundred. I don't Now I've got him at ten years, four hundred and twenty seven million over ten. But really good player and a complete player.

00:19:42
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm digging through this list. I looked at it earlier.

00:19:44
Speaker 4: There's some there's some names on here to me that are are that are very interesting. Brandon Woods if you have way down the list right, he showed he could do a lot of things, and then he goes and gets hurt. What's he gonna get right? Some of these some of these other names are big name guys, like especially even I'll go to your top ten that you have on here. I mean obviously Tucker Schwarber, you know, Pete Alonzo.

00:20:05
Speaker 3: But what's he gonna get again, right?

00:20:06
Speaker 4: Because he went through it last year and now he's And then the one that pops out to me, though, is your number four guy from ber Valdez. Are the Astros gonna poney up and keep him? You put San Francisco. He seems like the perfect guy to compliment Logan web right at the top of that rotation, But is Buster Posey into the whole catcher? Where he crosses up his ketcher on purpose, although he didn't do it on purpose, right, And then there's the up and down, like there's so many things with him, like he should get if you just go off talent, a huge contract, but then there's so many things where people like, ah, I don't.

00:20:37
Speaker 2: Know, Yeah, great, you threw a lot of b again. I love that ag. So let's start with Woodrift. It all depends on the medicals, right, I mean what he gets paid is gonna all depend on what does the MRI say, what is the health risk? Is it a one year prove it deal, right? Or is it a two year with an opt out kind of deal? Kind of like Jack Flaherty Flairity signed John Flair with the Tigers. So you know, Wood's a tough call, like Zach Allen's a tough call.

00:21:07
Speaker 3: Right.

00:21:07
Speaker 2: Does he get a baldise three at seventy five or the way he pitched an August? Does he get better? Getting back to your Peede, Alonzo, Yeah, I think he's gonna get the long term deal this year, and if the Mets are going to do short term again, I think he leaves. I do Alonso plays every day, That's what he does. He plays one hundred and fifty played on hundred and sixty two this year, but he plays a posts. He's forty homers every year, and it's okay to give him a six year deal even if he's your DH, right, I mean, it's okay to pay that. He's a difference maker, right, and he's a good teammate. So I think so the Valdez one's fascinating. I overshot Baldez on purpose just because I think pitching sorry to get by. I think the San Francisco Giants is a great spot for him. I do. I think that what happened with the catcher is something that you're gonna have to explain. You're gonna have to have us understand it. But at the same time, with that kind of sinker and that track record and being able to pitch the big games in October, you know, there's just only so much pitching out there. I mean, it's him, it's Ranger Suarez, it's Dylan Cease, it's Zach Gallen. You know, there's only so many starters out there, and every GM you talk to, what are they looking for a starting pitcher? So yeah, he's gonna get paid. I do love the fit with the Giants, And I know one thing. As much as I think the Giants need one more bat buster, Posey's making it clear to agents and the GMS that pitching, pitching, and pitching is what his goal is. This offseason, you brought Pete Alonzo.

00:22:39
Speaker 5: Your prediction for Kyle Schwarber was five years one fifty at thirty a year. Pete Alonzo, who's two years younger at six years one eighty, So thirty a year. Well, you said one eighty two, so you gave him extra two million. Do you feel like they are comparable players even though there's a two year difference and you're essentially getting more out of Alonzo.

00:23:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, so, I mean had an extra year at twenty two, So you know, I don't you know, I don't know if you know you're taking a lower AAV. But look, I have Shober ranked right behind Tucker ahead of Alonzo. That's how I view it. I'll tell you why view it that way. I think Kyle Schwarber on a scale scout of the scale of twenty to eighty is an eighty teammate. I think he makes everybody around him better, He makes rookies better, he makes veteran players better, He makes managers better. Everything he does, those intangibles is why he's second on this list outside of the Dodgers who have Otawni and the Yankees who have Stanton's contract, they're stuck with. I think every other team in baseball should try to get Kyle Schwarber to be the guy now in terms of you know why I put the money where I put it. Everything I'm understanding is again, this is information that I'm getting that it sounds like five years, one fifty to one seventy is where this thing is gonna land. That's what I've been told by everybody. Now with Scott Boris representing Pete Alonzo, just knowing Scott over the years, there's certain plateaus that he looks for, and if he gets a bidding war, he's gonna get that six year for Alonzo, and I think I think he's proven enough. I mean, look, if you're the Red Sox, how great would Alonzo look on that in that lineup right? That power? If you're the Seattle Mariners who are that close to the World Series, how are those forty home runs look in that lineup?

00:24:36
Speaker 3: Right?

00:24:37
Speaker 2: If I'm Texas, how great would he look at first base for them. So I just think there's a lot of fits there, and I think he's been so consistent in playing and hitting homers that Look, I'll take Schwarber or Alonzo either one. I love them both. I'm getting forty homers from both of them. I just think Sharber's gonna get five years and Alonzo is gonna get six.

00:25:00
Speaker 3: Okay, that's fair, that's fair.

00:25:03
Speaker 4: My next question is again on this list the relievers, Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Palm Rants, Brad Keller. I mean, Diaz is kind of in a different class in those, But what do you look at more if you're in the front office, You've been through this before. Palm Rance has done some good things. Devin Williams was many considered the best relief pitcher in baseball until this year. Right, Luke Weaver had a great year last year, fizzled a little bit this year. What do you value when you go into free agency and you say, all right, these are the best relievers out there.

00:25:28
Speaker 3: Who do I give my money to? And how do I judge how much to give them to?

00:25:33
Speaker 2: Yeah? So I like getting relievers at the trade deadline, and I like developing relievers from within or trading for set up relievers that haven't closed before. You know, and my history as a GM you know, I traded for Jeff Shaw and Jeff Brantley and I just Danty Graves and all three closed and all three one row leads for me. I like creating my own and not spending the money. You know, a lot of times when you get closers in the off season, it doesn't work out. As the dodge about Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates and ask them where they are right now when they got to the postseason, right, I mean not that they you know, and ask the Yankees about Devin Williams when they needed the most. I mean, unfortunately the way you know, the Mariano Rivera's and the Trevor Hoffins were exceptions. Historically, relievers are tough to guarantee. Now looking in this market, Look, there's two relievers that really stand out, right, you mentioned Edwin Diaz and Robert Suarez. Those are the two impact closers. I think they get paid and I think, you know, if you're the big market team that's ready to win, right, if I'm the Yankees, I'm the Dodgers. I'd like to have those guys. Sure, let's let's go give a shot. If it doesn't work, it's okay. We have enough money to you know, overlook it. If they get injured or all of a sudden can't perform, and then you got to get creatd Look, you know, I'd like to take a chance on Luke Weaver based on what I saw a year ago. You know, can I get them back to there? But you know, you really, when you talk about relievers, you got to do your homework on thats and MRIs and make sure that the arms are good. Because the way all these relievers are used, they're being used to blow out. Right, We're taking the starters out early after they face the lineup twice. We're pitching them all the time. We're trying to break them, and we are breaking them, and we're doing a good job of it as an industry, so I think you got to be careful. I think, you know, as a GM, I think you're better off concentrating double A, triple A on other teams. Where can I have guys where you know, maybe they're starting for them and I can trade for them and I can put them on the back end of the bullpen. But I I'd rather spend my money on starting pitching and impact bats and try to find other ways to get relievers. I mean, you look at the Dodgers, the World champions, and you know, at the end of the day when they got to the World Series, all those veteran relievers, you know, weren't there. It was Robleski, and it was em At Shean, and you know they had signed Roki Sasaki in the off season, But I mean, it wasn't all the relievers they were planning on back in November, December, January, February and March. None of those guys were there.

00:28:01
Speaker 3: All right.

00:28:01
Speaker 5: One of the things you've said about almost everybody out there in free agency, it's uncertainty. We're uncertain And as a GM, I'm sure you go into it. There's uncertainty about this or that or health or whatever. So is there more of a slam dunk than Alex Bregman to go back to the Red Sox. One they took three hundred million dollars off their books. Two, there's no uncertainty, you know exactly. You've heard stories, But he came and played for you last year. You kind of undercut him with a little bit of Okay, maybe it was a good deal, not a good deal, opt out. Whatever is feeling is you saw it. Is there more of a slam dunk than him back to the Red Sox.

00:28:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's not a slam dunk at all. Yeah, they're fine with putting Marcelo Meyer at third base with story and shortstop. You know, look, it's not that they don't want Bregman back. It's not that they don't want him at third base. It's not that they don't appreciate and respect the influence he had on Roman, Anthony and all Meyer and all the young players there because he did I get it. He's represented by Scott Boris, one of the best agents in the business who breaks records with contracts, and Bregman didn't get that long term deal he had last year, and he wants a long term deal and he wants to be paid. So unless the Red Sox change their tune and are willing to go, you know, give him the six years that long term contract. He doesn't have to worry about his next home. I think he can be out there for play. And if I'm the Detroit Tigers, I'm going to make a run at him. If I'm the Phillies, I'm going to make a run at him. If I'm the Yankees, I'm going to make a run at him. I mean, Alex Bregman's an October player, right, I want Bregman on my team. So I think Boston's a great fit. If I were Boston, I'd love to bring him back. But I get I don't get the sense that that is the number one priority. I wouldn't be surprised if starting pitching in first base ended up being the two biggest moves at Craig Breslo.

00:29:52
Speaker 4: Makes Hi Jim time for one more question. It's a yes or no question. Okay, kerk Scubele and Detroit Tiger next year?

00:30:00
Speaker 2: No? No, I mean, look, I have to add something that I can't just say yes or no. He won't be because they won't be able to sign him. The offer they made him was embarrassing. You have to know that Schooble is the second best pitcher in baseball to Paul Skiings, and he's gonna be the highest paid pitcher in baseball history. Your first offer has to make him the highest paid pitcher in baseball, and you're hundreds of millions off with your initial offer, and you can't go into the season knowing he's going to be free agent of nothing for him, So you've got to be sitting here and spend the whole offseason trying to find out who is the best farm system, and who's willing to make a run and trade their farm system for him, and what team's gonna be able to step up and pay what it's going to take to get him. I find a hard time to believe that the Illitch family is going to commit it to Schooble. So that being said, I think he's going to be traded between now and the beginning of spring training.

00:30:58
Speaker 1: That's good stuff, Crochet. Last year, he was a pretty big deal for Boston this season. Now pictures schoobl in another rotation for twenty twenty six. That's a segment all in itself.

00:31:11
Speaker 4: Those playoff changing moves right there, Those are the types of moves that jams can make and change their future Rockies.

00:31:16
Speaker 3: And then when they get a GM Rockies.

00:31:19
Speaker 1: And maybe he goes to a team that locks him up long term, and then he does a Yamamoto and pitches Game six and seven. We know Schooble is certainly capable of doing it if he's got, you know, the place that's telling him you're here no matter what. JB.

00:31:31
Speaker 2: Good stuff.

00:31:32
Speaker 1: I really appreciate the extended time we'll be talking.

00:31:34
Speaker 2: Talk to you soon. Thanks guys,