Phillies Season Preview w/Ruben Amaro: Cristopher Sánchez deal details, Painter on Opening Day roster

00:00:02
Speaker 1: We are joined now by our friend, former Phillies general manager and current co host of The Philly Show, Rubin Amaro Junior. Hello, good to see you. Big week for Andrew Painter. He makes the team and he gets engaged. What did the Phillies see about him that led him to break camp with the big club? Rubin?

00:00:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's nice to see you guys.

00:00:26
Speaker 3: And you know what, I probably should be flipping my hat or how come I don't have the backwards hat look on the memo?

00:00:31
Speaker 2: What am I doing?

00:00:34
Speaker 4: You also missed out on on Philly Show on Thursday. You weren't there. Your two cos there, but you weren't there.

00:00:41
Speaker 3: You know, I'm sort of on vacation here in Clearwater, my friend. It's golf and it's entertainment, but I am watching some baseball too, and I really enjoyed watching Andrew Painter pitch this spring. I mean, he handled himself extremely well. Obviously, he's famous, he's been around for a long time.

00:00:57
Speaker 2: Everybody's been touting him.

00:00:58
Speaker 3: Was one of the best pitching prospects since Paul Schemes.

00:01:01
Speaker 2: No disrespect to.

00:01:02
Speaker 3: Paul, but but this kid, he's got great stuff. He's got the body, he's got the mentality, he's got the maturity, and finally he's healthy. I know he didn't have a great season last year, but I think more about it was more about making sure that he was healthy through that that TJ that he had a couple of years back. So I like the way through the ball, particularly in his last outing, faced a very good lineup and through strikes.

00:01:28
Speaker 2: He's command seems better.

00:01:30
Speaker 3: They made a little minor adjustment in his delivery, got him closer and closer to where he was, you know, a few years back before he had the surgery, as far as his arm angle is concerned, and he's feeling confident throwing three or four quality pitches, and you know he's going to be pitching in the five hole for the Phillies. And I think that's one of the biggest strengths.

00:01:50
Speaker 5: They have when they When I saw him pitch before as Tommy John surgery that he had, I saw tall athletic, moved down down the hill really well and was able to command. Was that so easy to watch now that he's back, and then tough to watch because of the fact that he had command issues and were those command issues? Those questions asked or answered this spring training about the command issues against good enough competition, Like you just said.

00:02:24
Speaker 3: Yeah, I was a little concerned about what he went through last year at Triple A because he didn't he didn't get a lot of swing a miss.

00:02:31
Speaker 2: He didn't get there.

00:02:32
Speaker 3: There was something going on, and I think that the folks here in Philadelphia, Caleb Coffam as the pitching coach, and their overall pitching development is very, very good here. They've seemed to pick apart some things that they saw that might get him back to where he was prior when you saw him and when I saw him the first.

00:02:49
Speaker 2: Time getting off the mountain.

00:02:51
Speaker 3: The thing about this kid that I have a lot of confidence in is that not only is he a super mature kid, but for a man this size and of this age, he actually and you guys know this, the better athlete you have, the better chance you have to be able to repeat your delivery and to get back to the command that you've had. At one point, my concern was whether he was going to be healthy enough. But it's clear that he's healthy. The ball's coming out of his hand great now. It's just a matter of him being able to make the adjustments of being a Major leaguer, and you know, that's a big one. It's a big adjustment. But I do think that he's got the poise, that he's got the confidence, and I also do believe that he has the athleticism, which is an important one for me to be able to, you know, to pitch well even when he may struggle at times Ruben.

00:03:42
Speaker 4: Another one of their starters that just was given a huge extension is Jonathan Sanchez. Now Jim Bowden, who I completely disagree with, is like, this is a terrible, terrible move for the Phillies. Why are they doing this? I love this for both sides. I love for Sanchez and I love it for the Phillies because you lock up a guy before a CBA all the things, whether he's a free agent, and he continues to get better and better and better every single year. Plus with who knows what's happening with Wheeler, you know, Nola's getting older. Lozardo signs an extension. So you have two guys locked up for many years. Now, you have Painter coming. What would you have done this as the GM when you were the GM of the Phillies And why is there hate about this? I would think Philly, especially Philly fans, should be rejoicing.

00:04:24
Speaker 3: Absolutely. I totally agree with you, Aja, and yes I would have done this. I mean, this guy was under a great contract, but they didn't really tear it up.

00:04:31
Speaker 2: All they really did was add on a couple of years.

00:04:35
Speaker 3: There was no question in my mind that they were going to pick up that those two option option years anyway. And that's what Dave Dombrowski said, Like, why not tack on a couple of more years at a reasonable price. I mean, this is a guy who's an elite starter right now. Those guys are going for what forty million dollars a year, and so they've already got him at a great price.

00:04:54
Speaker 2: Add on a couple of years. This guy takes care of himself.

00:04:57
Speaker 3: His transformation might be one of the the coolest things I've seen in the history of me watching baseball. This is a guy who came to the big leagues from the Tampa Bay Rays who was basically un armed.

00:05:10
Speaker 2: He was a thrower. M he's a rock thrower. We call him rock throwers.

00:05:13
Speaker 3: He had no idea where the ball was going to throw ninety seven ninety eight miles an hour, didn't really have a lot of you know didn't have any command of a secondary pitch. He now has one of the best change ups in the game, no disrespect to Terrek's scooble. He's one of the best left handers in the game, no disrespect to Terrek's scooble, and he is now developing a better and better slider that he can.

00:05:34
Speaker 2: Use as a little bit more of a put away pitch. He's a three pitch pitcher.

00:05:38
Speaker 3: He's an excellent athlete, he's a great kid, and he continues to strive to be great. I think this is a win win for both sides, and you.

00:05:47
Speaker 2: Don't see that all that often. I don't.

00:05:49
Speaker 3: I guess everybody wants to hate on every move that every team makes. They always have an opinion about it. But in my estimation, great move, and I applaud both Christopher Sanchez and the Phillies on this. It's a great thing. Hey, the best way to win baseball games. Guess what, guys, it's starting pitching. You gotta value that. The Phillies value it. They know that's an important part of what they what is going to make them successful, and they're keeping that window as wide open as they possibly can.

00:06:20
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00:06:36
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00:06:51
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00:07:22
Speaker 4: By the way, I called him Jonathan, sorry before everyone kills me.

00:07:24
Speaker 5: I know it's Christopher. Sorry.

00:07:26
Speaker 4: Sorry, sorry, sorry Phillies fans, sorry people in the chat, and we're talking about seven hundred and eighty million people plus all the guys who are getting sent down. Sorry, if everyone's want to make a mistake, Rubin, I apologize. I should just hear on TV they call their first or last name ain no room. But anyways, so would this mean so they have WIZARDO locked up, they have Sanchez now locked up, they have Nola for a few more years. Does this mean Painter could be next in line for an extension type of thing if he may. I don't know if they'll do it before the season starts, but let's say he gets off to a nice start.

00:07:59
Speaker 3: I mean it's possible. I would think that they're at least discussing it amongst themselves. Again, you know the fact that he's had a TJ and how he comes through that. Now it's been a couple of years since he had it, and it seems like he's going to be healthy.

00:08:12
Speaker 2: But why not?

00:08:13
Speaker 3: Why not you know, build that you know that, build that roster with with quality young arms. I do think that the Phillies value the importance of starting pitching and uh and I think that's something that has been you know, the value of that has been mitigated over the last few years, and I think people are realizing, Hey, if I can cover a little bit more than half the innings with my starters, then I don't have to put the pressure on that bullpen as much. I mean, obviously it's there's danger to it, and there is risk because guys get hurt.

00:08:46
Speaker 2: It happens.

00:08:47
Speaker 3: But I think that the Phillies do a really good job of prehabbing, of keeping guys healthy and and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they wouldn't consider Painter as a guy next in line for a long termers a GM.

00:09:01
Speaker 5: What is that process like for you? You obviously like the player, you know the player? Is it a hey, you know what ownership comes to you when you were there mister Montgomery, and now John Middleton comes to Dave don Browski and says, hey, we have some money to be able to lock up or does Dave den Browski say, hey, we'd like to lock him up based on this like you went to mister Montgomery when when you were the GM. What's that process like before you even get to the player's actual extension.

00:09:33
Speaker 3: Typically we get together with the boys in the office and we start thinking about, okay, long term, what is this guy's make up, Like, is this guy going to continue to try to be the best.

00:09:43
Speaker 2: Player he can be? Is he a winning player?

00:09:45
Speaker 3: Is the make up the kind of guy that we want to put this money into long term, because you know, we wanted to develop winning players. And so once we started having those discussions, then we looked at comps, you know, long term deals, what the marketplace is bearing right now, and then try to set up.

00:10:02
Speaker 2: Something that that made some sense.

00:10:04
Speaker 3: And then and at that point we'd probably start to go to our you know, to to the owner to ownership group, whether we John Middleton or or Dave David Montgomery when I was at the Helm and discuss it and you know, basically give them our memo, Hey, these are our thought this is the thought process, this is why we think this is the right thing for this player, and why it was something that we did with several players while I was an assistant GM and a GM.

00:10:31
Speaker 2: Chase Suttley obviously did it with Howard.

00:10:34
Speaker 3: We did it with a bunch of guys, and we thought it was important to be able to lock up our homegrown players that we knew were winning type players. But the makeup was a really really important part of this, because you don't sign Cole Hamil's if you don't think that Cole Hamil's is who he is. And so those were some of the things that we thought were extremely important. Obviously, the health and all that stuff is part of it, and the risk is there, but you certainly don't you feel comfortable more comfortable about a guy who you know wants to win and to be great, And I think that's an important.

00:11:09
Speaker 2: Element here, Rubin.

00:11:11
Speaker 1: I remember when Carl Crawford got traded from the Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Justin was running around the clubhouse at like a seven eight nine year old kid. Now Here we are with the excitement of Justin Crawford making the team. Why should we be excited about this young man that literally grew up before our eyes.

00:11:31
Speaker 2: I think there's a couple of reasons. One the pedigree. There's no question a lot of this is guy.

00:11:35
Speaker 3: I mean, his dad was a really really good player in the major leagues for a long time.

00:11:40
Speaker 2: But not just that this is a great kit.

00:11:42
Speaker 3: This kid respects the game, he plays hard, He's got talent.

00:11:45
Speaker 2: He is a game changer with his legs.

00:11:49
Speaker 3: I had a concern about whether or not he could be an everyday center and fielder. But he did work in the offseason with Eric Davis, who knows baseball and knows the outfield quite well, and the guys here Paco figueroa excellent outfield coach as well.

00:12:05
Speaker 2: He looks terrific in the outfield.

00:12:07
Speaker 3: You know how difficult it is in spring training, either in Arizona with that high sky or here in in Florida where the sun and the wind is will affect the baseball. He's handled himself extremely well. I love his angles. I like the way he throws the ball. He's got a very good arm. He's not one of those speedsters I can't throw. I think his instinct for the game has been very good. I had some concerns about whether, you know, because they didn't bring him up last year and they had sort of had a need, but he got hurt during that time in July and so never got to the big leagues. My concern was whether he's gonna be able to handle being a championship caliber outfielder right now.

00:12:45
Speaker 2: He's showing he can do that.

00:12:47
Speaker 3: As far as his offense is concerned, I wouldn't mess with him at all.

00:12:51
Speaker 2: There's a lot of.

00:12:51
Speaker 3: People who are talking about, you know, making sure that he hits the ball around too much. Well, guess what, that's a that's one of the elements that makes him a you know, very distinctive player. He's got enough pop and will continue to develop his quote unquote man strength. But this is a guy that for me is Gooa got a chance to be a really good quality overall major league player. And guess what, He's hitting in a nine hole in this in this lineup, and they don't really need him to be a three hundred hitter and have an ops of you know, nine p fifty. They just need him to play solid defense. They need him to get on base, create a little havoc on the base pass, and I think this kid's got a chance to be a good one.

00:13:30
Speaker 5: To that point, I have to ask about the batting order if you go a left handed I mean, there was talk about who was gonna hit first, Is it gonna be Tray whatever? With that type of speed, do they fear that they're gonna put him in a bad spot if there's too many lefties at the top of the order. Then they're just gonna bring in a left he to face him. Even though it's, you know, the nine hitter, you're still getting that bad platoon advantage is they talk about possibly shifting maybe somebody that can handle left and left a little bit better, a Bryson Stott that goes into the ninth hole like.

00:14:02
Speaker 3: That, You know, I think they I think they're gonna stay with him in the ninth hole because I think they have the confidence and he can handle left handers. I mean, he's a guy that stays on the ball, he tries to make contact. He doesn't not a big strikeout guy. He'll strike out just like everybody else. But I think he hangs in there pretty well. I mean, obviously you got a chance to go and the ninth hole, you'll probably go with him. They're gonna lead off with Trey anyway, so it's gonna be Trey and probably I think they have the lineup out here today that's gonna be the opening day lineup where it's gonna be Schwarber and then Harper and then Alec Bowman. Then they're gonna go left right all the way down. The line against the right hander, so I think that they'll be fine with him in the ninth hole. Trey will probably be hit in the one hole. Imagine those two guys on the base path at the same time. You got, you know, Crawford, who can really run. Trey Turner obviously one of the fastest guys in the game. That could give them the Phillies a little bit different element.

00:14:58
Speaker 2: They run the.

00:14:59
Speaker 3: Bases o and they do steal some bases, but this will give him this team a little bit more of an element, not just power.

00:15:07
Speaker 5: Well, I'm gonna take a Charlie Manual quote, Well, well, well, schwar Schwarber can drive him in from the parking lot. I don't. I don't want them to steal bases. So there's a little bit of that that you got to be able to make sure that you know you're not out so that Schwarber can drive you in. My last question on the Phillies lineup, everybody's gonna say, all they just ran it back. Is this still a good lineup?

00:15:30
Speaker 2: It's still a good quality lineup. I mean they're not.

00:15:32
Speaker 3: They were fifth in in all of baseball in most categories. I think this is a team that that with the overall development of two very very important guys. One is Bryson Stott you mentioned them early. The other is Brandon Marsh. Those guys in the second half of the season had excellent number.

00:15:51
Speaker 2: Look him up.

00:15:52
Speaker 3: Uh, you had Bryce and Stott with a you know from the from the last half of the season. On made a hand adjustment in swing. He's more direct to the baseball. He had like an eight to fifty ops from the from the second half on. Same thing with Brandon Marsh. He started to gain some confidence in his stuff. I do believe that they'll protect him by not having him face a ton left handers, but he's a guy that I think is also developing.

00:16:17
Speaker 2: If they both.

00:16:19
Speaker 3: Swing the bat closer to what they did in the second half next year, this team's got a chance to be a number top two or three lineup in all the game.

00:16:28
Speaker 1: Rubin Philadelphia is a wonderful place. It is also a place with high expectations. If there is any sort of pressure on Rob Thompson, what is it.

00:16:38
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, obviously to win, and there's no question about it. These guys are built to win and they want to win. But Rob Thompson, he understands it. I mean he's been in New York, he's been in Philadelphia. He understands the big markets. But he's going to be the same guy. I think he's continuing to learn. I think the addition of Don Mattingly in that dugout is an outstanding addition. Addition, I don't think he cares about it.

00:17:02
Speaker 2: I think that phases him.

00:17:04
Speaker 3: People think that, well, they hired Don Manningly that in case, you know, they have to fire Rob Thompson, they get off to a slow start. I don't think Rob Thompson gives two craps about it, to be honest with you. I think he cares about being a good manager, being able to manage his team to the best of his ability, and got a lot of respect for him. If there's a lot of pressure there in Philadelphia, there's no question about it. But hey, you'd rather have pressure rather have a good team and the expectation of being a good team.

00:17:31
Speaker 2: And I think Rob welcomes that.

00:17:34
Speaker 5: We had Donny baseball on just the other day when we were at Clearwater Camp and just hit a little bit for me on what he brings to that staff that they were lacking in the last few years.

00:17:48
Speaker 3: I think it's just credibility, man. I mean, listen, they have a really great coaching staff. I mentioned Caleb Cotham, Dusty watt In at third base, Popco Frigueroa on the base pass at first base, in the outfield.

00:18:03
Speaker 2: I think that they have a very very strong staff.

00:18:06
Speaker 3: What they did not have is someone who had been there and done it at the major league level. So not a lot of those guys on that staff were major leaguers and were established major.

00:18:17
Speaker 2: Leaguers as players.

00:18:19
Speaker 3: Donnie's done it all. He's managed, he was as a Hall of.

00:18:23
Speaker 2: Fame type player. He has a great demeanor.

00:18:26
Speaker 3: I loved watching him manage the Miami Ball Club when he was with the faller of Florida Marlins. They played the game right, and I used to talk to him a lot when I was either broadcasting or in the front office or what have you. It was great to watch him work because his players played and they respected him and respected the game. And anytime you can add a Hall of Fame person and a Hall of Fame player to your staff, that's just gonna make you all that much better, and hopefully you know it, just it makes Rob Thompson even better. And I'm sure he welcomed that. He's had a great relationship with him over the years from New York to now, and uh, I think it's just a terrific addition to this ball club.

00:19:08
Speaker 5: Do you have an opening day tradition, like you go and get like some type of some type of barbecue in the stands, or now there's Manco Manco pizza, you get some Manco Manco. Do you have a opening day tradition? Or you're gonna be across the street with Ben Davis or Barkan or one of those guys.

00:19:26
Speaker 3: I'm across the street with the boys, Ricky bo, Ben Davis, Michael Barkan, Noble, we'll we'll do it in quadraphonic sound. I pretty much wear the same dark blue suit with a red tie and my little pee pin, the pledge pin. Pledge pin, remember that guy's anyway, that's that's the one that I use pretty much every single opening day.

00:19:50
Speaker 2: Having been with the Phillies for so many years.

00:19:54
Speaker 1: Pledge pin, remember that Ruben Amar Junior. Of course you can check him out. We appreciate you very much. We'll see you soon, my friend. Have a good season. Best of health to your pills. Don't forget guys, subscribe to The Philly Show on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcast to the entire Foul Territory network more ft in just a moment, Hey, it.

00:20:18
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00:20:33
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00:21:24
Speaker 1: All right, it is time now for our bet MGM segment and we are responsible guys for picking the American League division winners. You can take a look at the bet MGM futures al East Division winner Yankees at plus one to eighty, going all the way down to the Rays at plus twenty five hundred. So let's start there with the East Division winner. Eric, what say you?

00:21:48
Speaker 5: I said, there's just not enough value here, unless unless you go with the Orioles, which I don't think they have enough to win the division. I think they could be a playoff team. Just not enough value. I don't think. I don't think the Red Sox have enough have enough offense for me, I guess at plus three hundred. If they were giving me the Red Sox at plus four hundred, I would definitely take it. But I still think it's the rede I think it's the Blue Jays or Yankees division here.

00:22:17
Speaker 1: AJ should the Blue Jays be ahead of the Yanks With what we talked about at the top of the show, days.

00:22:22
Speaker 4: Did win the division last year? No, the Yankees are getting back. Garrett Cole at some point. They're gonna get Rodon back at some point, I mean. But also let's not forget. You know, they're trying to entice people. They don't want to put the Yankees too high because then they'll if the Yankees do win the division, they lose money. So let's also not forget how this works.

00:22:41
Speaker 5: But I think that, yes, the Blue jay.

00:22:43
Speaker 4: Should be ahead of them, but they're not, And that's fine. That's fine, But I kind of agree with there. There's not a ton of value on this list. The Blue Jays would be, for me the one because they did win the division last year. The Red Sox aren't high enough. The Oriols maybe, but I still I don't know that the Orioles are better than the third best team in this division when all is said and done, just because I still worry about their pitching a little bit. So I mean, if I had to take one, I would take the Blue Jays and throw one hundred to win two sixty. That's still a nice little payday.

00:23:13
Speaker 1: Okay, Yankees, Blue Jay's, Red Sox, Orioles raise in that order. Al Central Division winner Tigers. I guess, no real surprise here, guys. At plus one ten, the Royals at plus two twenty five, going all the way down to AJ's White Sox at plus three thousand. That seems high for the White Sox.

00:23:33
Speaker 5: What say you, e K, I'm gonna go Royals here, Okay. And I'm not saying. I'm not saying I'm locking it in that the Royals are going to win it, but I think it's close enough to say they would win it at plus two twenty five. Yes, the Guardians came out of nowhere because of the Tigers collapse. To me, I think the Tigers. If you're making me choose a team, I'm taking the Tigers. But again, when I look at some of these numbers, I gotta I gotta find value, and I think I looked it up. The Royals were paying out at plus one hundred, so straight even money to make the playoffs, So I'll take that. I think it's going to be the Tigers and Royals all year. I think both teams improved. I think the Tigers didn't you know, are they going to make the adjustment that they didn't make in the second half offensively, because it's it was a good offense in the first half. Probably after even you know, even a little past the first half. It was a good offense, but they collapsed. Are they going to take that collapse or their new pitching rotation additions and Valdez and and Verlander going to help them? I think so. But the value is definitely there for me to put something on the Royals.

00:24:45
Speaker 1: Aj Pierzinski. What if the Chicago White Sox shocked the world.

00:24:51
Speaker 4: I just did Barstool Chicago podcast saying and they were talking about that, and it would be a shock, that's for sure, especially in this division. But the Guardians to me, are the team that they won the division last year, didn't they? I'm pretty sure the Guardians.

00:25:05
Speaker 1: Won after the collapse by the Tigers.

00:25:08
Speaker 4: And by the way, how are the White Sox so far behind the Twins? What if the Twins for this offseason and they traded away like Ano their team last year, and the White Sox are behind the Twins in this That's what's funny to me. Other than that, Yeah, I mean, I guess the Royals would be the one. The Tigers are the favorites clearly, but why not The Guardians always seem to find a way. And Steven votes going for the three Peters, manager of the year.

00:25:32
Speaker 5: If the White Sox Alana, if the White Sox do win this division, the money, the money that AJ is going to get after putting one hundred down and winning three thousand, is not going to is gonna be the least of our issues. It's still not going to pay for meals. Two. We're gonna have an entire year of hearing look at the White Sox. I knew it this whole time. And then AJ is going to be going to Chicago showing us.

00:25:59
Speaker 1: If you want to you want a World Series where and donning that uniform, you get that ring, You get the right to be insufferable when your team in which you helped win a World Series.

00:26:12
Speaker 5: Even if the team doesn't want him back. Just the fans, Oh.

00:26:15
Speaker 1: They want him back. They want him back. They're not a vocal about it, but they do.

00:26:20
Speaker 2: Who doesn't want it?

00:26:21
Speaker 1: Look at this guy. Look who doesn't want this guy back?

00:26:23
Speaker 5: That's Susan Schlusser said, prickly, prickly.

00:26:29
Speaker 1: That's all right, prickly, I think you need to be pretty.

00:26:32
Speaker 5: Ten years I wasn't that prickly. Nah, all right, and your two thousand hits, your two thousand hits, say say you keep it around for nineteen years.

00:26:43
Speaker 1: Last division in the American League the West Marin Mari Narros Marinaidos minus one oh five, Astros plus two seven five all the way down to the Angels plus four thousand, so even worse odds than the White Sox. Like this, not like this, This one's fine.

00:27:06
Speaker 5: This one's good.

00:27:07
Speaker 4: That the Mariner should be heavy favorites in this division. And I would almost I would. I would almost put the Rangers that Rangers are the one to me for for the money, that have a better show. I would put the Rangers above the Astros just because again other than after Hunter Brown and the Astros rotation, who you got the biggest thing for me? And you know Altove was on the bus column. Jeremy Peney is hurt right, what is what is Alvarez gonna give him? Carlos Korea coming off his thing and that all you know that we just learned about. Yeah, I would almost want to put the Rangers with the Graham Ivaldi Mackenzie Gore to start out the season, start out a rotation, and that's skip. Schumacher has been known to take teams with lesser talent and lesser things and make them pretty good. See the Marlins before they let him go for No, only god knows why. Uh, but yeah would for me. The Rangers are the one in this But I mean, I think the Marriners win this division. But if you're gonna, if you need need to bet on a team in this division, it's the Rangers.

00:28:02
Speaker 1: What is more likely that the Angels win the division or the White Sox win the division?

00:28:08
Speaker 5: More more unlikely, more unlikely? Oh, the Angels, They're in a much better division. I mean the White Sox. I think both teams just are are short. They're short on the season. The Angels, I think I have a more talented team, but they're in a tougher division. To me, I think the best value of any of these three boards that we just had up is exactly what AJ said. The Rangers. It's a team that underperformed last year. It's a team that was still kind of in it at certain points. And do I think they're going to take the Mariners? No?

00:28:43
Speaker 1: Do?

00:28:43
Speaker 5: I think the Astros have so many question marks in their rotation. Like AJ said after Hunter Brown, you know my come you got you got guys coming off of injuries. You have just question marks still a winning team. I think those top three teams are going to be over five hundred. Can the Rangers do enough? Can the change in bringing Nemo in and you know, having a little bit more of a younger athletic infield, is that going to help? Well, you lose Marcus Simion's defense, So to me, it's the Mariner's Division. But I think there's the most value of any of these division winners that we're picking in the Rangers.

00:29:22
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