Front Office Unfiltered w/Jim Bowden: Trade talk, Kyle Tucker fits, Skubal situation + LA Wish List

00:00:10
Speaker 1: It is time now for Front Office Unfiltered.

00:00:13
Speaker 2: You can, of course check out Jim Boden's work MLB analyst and insider on CBS Sports. He works for the Athletic MLB Network Radio Sirius XM. He's our Foul Territory contributor. The man has many, many jobs. Incredibly talented.

00:00:26
Speaker 1: Jim. Good to be with you.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: You wrote on Friday at the GM meetings that the future of Skiens and Schooble Orioles are getting calls for Rushman and more. Let's talk about Skeens and Schooble for a moment. Do the Tigers have a chance in heck Jim of signing Scooble to a long term deal?

00:00:45
Speaker 3: ALTA, that's a Chris Ilich question, right, It's not a Scott Harris question. It's not a Seth Greenberg question. It's Chris Ilich. Look, I think we pretty much know where this thing has to land.

00:00:55
Speaker 4: Right.

00:00:55
Speaker 3: Yoshinoba Yamamoto makes three hundred and twenty five million, and were talking about Scooba, who's won back to back cy Young Awards, and he's twenty eight years old, and he's got the competitiveness, the makeup, he's a great teammate, He's the full package. He and Paul's games are the two best pitchers in the sport period. So you know how badly does Chrisilicic won him. I mean, I think you know the next offer they need to make has to start at three hundred and fifty million. You have to come out right away and show Scott Boris that you're gonna respect him and you're gonna make him the highest paid pitcher in Major league history. That's where the offer starts. And then you have to see where Scott goes with that. Does he counter at five hundreds? He countered at four fifty. You know, if you can get him done between three point fifty and four hundred, I think Scott Harris is gonna tell Chris Hillis, let's do it. It's hard to get an ace. He's got everything we want in a superstar player. And then it's up to Chris. And if Chris sits there and tells Scott Harris, I'm not paying four hundred million for a singular player. I just don't think it makes sense. I'm not going to approve doing that, then Scott Harris, to me, has no choice but to trade the player. Because I'm not going to to the trade deadline and get two months rental return on him. And I'm certainly not gonna do what the Angels did with Otani and let him get the free agency and get draft pick compensation. No. So look, this is really a Chris Ilich question more than anything else. I do think s Google would stay there if he was made that type of offer, And I think it's gonna be fascinating to see how it plays out.

00:02:27
Speaker 5: Jim the Tigers when Mike Gilich was alive, We're not afraid to go out and spend the money. Why is the son not acting the same? Why is Chris Ilitch not doing the same. Is it because he doesn't love baseball as much? Is it because because I know he was in Seattle for Game five? He flew out there, he was on the field. So does he not love baseball the way? Does he not desire a championship the way his dad did? Because to me, that was one of the great things about Detroit is once Mike Gilich said, wait, we're turning it on. I mean they went field or they signed MIGGI Now that Meiggie deal at the end was bad, but they made some moves to get guys there and to try to be a competitive team.

00:03:03
Speaker 4: They're competitive.

00:03:04
Speaker 5: They're on the brink of being able to possibly win a series that they haven't done in forty plus years.

00:03:10
Speaker 4: Why is he not doing what his dad did?

00:03:13
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a great question. I guess we should ask the same thing about how Steinbrenner. How come he doesn't act like George does?

00:03:18
Speaker 1: Right?

00:03:19
Speaker 3: But he does? He does.

00:03:20
Speaker 5: He does it more though he's closer to his dad than's George than the ill are he'll still spend I mean he may, he'll spend the money.

00:03:29
Speaker 3: He will, but he's more reserved than his dad. His dad would go get Tucker and Bashett right now, Like, come on, that's what George.

00:03:35
Speaker 4: They probably would. They probably be the favorites for the World Series.

00:03:38
Speaker 3: Jim, Yep, they're absolutely right. And so the answer to your question is a lot of times the sons want to be more responsible than their dads because their dads didn't look at it from a business perspective. Their dad's looked at it. I want to win. This was a hobby for them. They loved it. I mean, you know, George made his money in the ship building, and Mike made his with a little Caesar Pizza and the other things that he was involved in. And the Suns come along, the next generation who inherited a lot of the resources, and they tend to know not be their dads, and they're gonna be more responsible. I think Scooble is that exception though. And look, if you can afford Miguel Cabrera in his prime like they did, then you certainly can afford Schooble in the prime. I mean, look at their roster, aj Eric and Alana for a minute. There's a lot of payroll flexibility there. They're not loaded with stars. Sure, Riley Green is gonna make a lot of money at some point, but look, your next best player is gonna be Kevin McGonagall, who's gonna be Rookie of the Year in twenty twenty six, and you're not gonna have to pay him for three years. So to pay Schooble forty million a year for ten years, the budget has to scream I can afford it. So you know we're gonna find out. I think we're gonna find out without a doubt. But Chris, as you pointed out, yep, not his dad. He operates differently and so I think this is gonna be the biggest decision that Chris Ilich has made since he took over as the control person the Detroit Tigers. And I'm fascinated to see how this plays out, because if he's not willing to do it, then again, we're gonna see the biggest trade we've seen in a long time. This winner.

00:05:17
Speaker 4: That's what I want to get to.

00:05:18
Speaker 6: What's a comparable return Because people are like, oh, well, Juan Soto got this and all this stuff. We're talking about guy who single handedly took his team to the playoffs and made his team go as far as they could in the playoffs because if he could hit, he probably would have helped a little bit more too, because they didn't get any runs. He did everything possible.

00:05:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, a great, great point, Eric, And I think when you look at it, there's not a lot of teams that are gonna match and anyone that's gonna give up a load to get him are going to want to be able to sign him long term and are going to be willing to say, hey, I'll pay the four hundred million dollar bill when it comes. And so, you know, I kind of identify five teams where I think there's a possible fit. Let me go through him quickly for you. Since you asked the Dodgers, the Dodgers could offer Emmett Sheehan, Justin Robleski, Jackson, Ferris Zayer, Hope. Pretty good package. You get three young starters, you control inexpensive, you get a future All star outfielder. That's a pretty strong package. Now you want to get more creative. What about Tyler Glass now is part of the return. He doesn't have a no trade clause. That would give the Tigers at least the top of the rotation type starter back. Have him be part of the package. Oh, you can look at the Red Sox right. They could do a package of early for their rotation, Christian Campbell for the infield, Garcia for the outfield. You could run a package around that. The New York Mets could offer a package led by Brandon Sprout and Jonah Toong, two starters back throwing their Jet Williams and maybe Ronald Mauricio. That might work. Seattle may want to offer one of their young starters, say a Bryce Miller, and then maybe their best pitching prospect in Sloan throwing their ford, one of their top prospects Ad Morales. That might work. The Yankees with Spencer Jones and Will Warren could start a package, but that's the type of return that you're gonna get. You're not gonna get a superstar back, You're not gonna get equal value back, but you might get enough quantity where you can compete in the future if you're not gonna spend the money on Schooble. The best move the Tigers can make, though, it's really simple. It's to sign them long term and try to get it done. But if you can't, don't get stuck with draft pick compensation like the Angels did, because that will set you back years.

00:07:30
Speaker 6: You said, not many match up, but I mean we're not talking. You don't have to sign this. You don't have to sign them to an extension. And if you trade here, like you're giving up a lot. I get that, but you're getting a guy, like I said, what he can do, but you're also getting the draft pick compensation at the end of the season if he gets traded now. So why do other teams not match up because they don't have enough or they don't have enough big league ready where they're like, okay, well we get this guy, and we can still the Tigers can still make it to the playoffs.

00:08:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, a lot of teams don't have the young starter that you definitely have to have back if you're going to trade Schoogle. They a lot of teams don't have those guys that are on the doorstep to get to the big leagues. So, you know, when I looked at it, and I'm writing an article on this on The Athletic that'll be published later this week, you know, I looked at all twenty nine teams and kind of put together, if I'm the Tigers, what would make sense and where the fits would be and where they wouldn't be. And I just found those were the teams that matched up. You know, I have to start with I need young pitching back, or I have to have a rotation guy ready back along with a very strong package. And those were the five teams that I felt matched up best for Detroit that doesn't need other teams can't match up and can't make you know, competitive offers. I just kind of took it from the Tigers perspective.

00:08:53
Speaker 7: Holiday shopping season is here, and we have you covered from head to toe.

00:09:00
Speaker 6: Let's take to talk about an area that's not quite close to the toes. Let's get crazy with this holiday season. Yeah, that's me Undies I'm spinning around, but the holiday season. Now, you can get me undies with some holiday prints on them.

00:09:13
Speaker 7: That's right, ridiculously soft fabric holiday prints, matching holiday prints with your special person. Or you can coordinate pjs for the family photo. And right now you can get up to fifty percent off with the code foul. We rock me Undies. You should too. We're talking over thirty million pairs sold. Knock out all your holiday gifting needs today with me Undies. To get exclusive holiday deals up to yep I said it, fifty percent off, go to meundies dot com slash foul and enter promo code foul. That's m e U N D I e s dot com slash f o u L promo code foul for up to fifty percent off.

00:09:53
Speaker 2: All right, Well, Tarrek Scoogle has some to say in it, but obviously still under control. So we'll have to see what happens with him in terms of the Tigers, whether they trade him or not. A guy that has a lot of say, Jim and you wrote about it and talked about it is Kyle Tucker. I would be very hard pressed to say he goes back to the Cubs. What do you think is the market for Kyle Tucker? And who would realistically is a good fit for him?

00:10:17
Speaker 3: You know, you know, I found this kind of fascinating talking to so many different front office executives about what is the value at Tucker? What do you think he's going to get? You know, I had some guys say between four hundred and five hundred. I had some guys say between three hundred and three and fifty. I had some guys say high AAV but shorter term to let him go back on the market. It's interesting because it's a widespread and I don't know what Kyle, you know, what he's going to prioritize. Is it going to be the most years and the most money, or is he going to be flexible and taking high AAV and going back in the market and you know, four or five years, or having a bunch of opt out clauses. You know, I don't know how he's going to play this out. I think it's going to be very interesting. But in terms of teams, where he fits, I mean he fits the Blue Jays put him in right field. You know he fits exactly what they like. Thirty homers, thirty steels plus defense plus runner plus arm. Doesn't have to be the face of the franchise. That's Vladimir Guerrero Junior. I think it's a really good fit, and I hear that they're really interested in him. I think he fits with the Yankees. If I'm Brian Cashman, I want everything to do with him. I want him over Bellinger, I want him over Grisham. I want to have him in Judge together, in that lineup. And again, doesn't have to be the face of the franchise because Aaron Judge does that. If I'm the Dodgers, I can't watch t O in right field anymore. It makes me sick every time the ball sit up there. I love his power and I love the personality, but can we just go hide him in left field and let's put Tucker in right field, the PAHs and center. I feel a lot better the Dodgers. They got eighty million coming off the books. Why can't I invest in Kyle Tucker? Complete player? Quiet will fit in nicely. Doesn't have to be the face of the franchise because Otani and Betts and Freeman are that you know other teams says he fit yeah, Mets in right field, but Sodo dh, I'd feel better about my team defensively, that's not going to happen. The Phillies would be a great fit in right field instead of Costianos, but Dave Dombrowski's focusing on Schwarber and Ranger Suarez first. But I like the fit in Philly, and I love the fit in San Francisco. But Buster Posey goes, no, no, no, I'm spending all my money on pitching, pitching and pitching. I'm not getting another bat, So that's what he's going to do. So I think at the end of the day, Blue Jay's, Yankees Dodgers are the best fits. And I think if you had to pick a favorite right now, it's probably Toronto.

00:12:28
Speaker 6: Can you walk us through the closer market, because it's deep. There's a lot on the free agency market. Do you see one? Do you see any of the teams that are in for a closer currently have a closer and say, you know what, we can double down? Or is it a case where it's like, hey, because this team X has this closer already, they're not going to be in on this high end. When I say high end, Robert Suarez, Devin Williams and Edwin Diaz and then obviously you know you have Pete Fairbanks and you have the next level.

00:12:59
Speaker 3: Yeah no, I think if you already have a closure, you go get another one, right. I mean, that's that's what I want. I want as many as I can to shorten up that game. You know, if I'm the Padres last year, I loved having Mason Miller and swore as late late in the games. I felt really good about my chances if I had a lead late. You know, if you're the New York Yankees, I know David Bennar was great for them. Let's go at Edwin Diaz to that. You know he could pitch in New York. You know he can handle it. I absolutely want that to close. If I'm the Yankees. If I'm the Dodgers and I'm Dave Roberts, I'm so sick and tired of having to mix and match and look Sasaki they want him to start. So if he's gonna start, who's gonna close. It's not gonna be Blake Trinin. I know they went through a lot of injuries. And they tried Tanner Scott. Sorry it didn't work. It should have it didn't. I get it. But if I'm them, I want Diez or Suarez or Devin Williams or Fairbanks or Iglesias. So I think both of those teams. The Cubs and Twins have both told me their priority this entire offseason is to rebuild their bullpens because they don't have anybody. Pelatios is the only one back with the Cubs. The Twins traded their entire bullpen at the deadline, so they're gonna be playing. The Tigers are gonna be playing. The Braves have to play after losing Iglesias. Michaelias says, the Oriels are gonna play. Mike Casen says they're gonna play, The Giants are gonna play, the Rangers are gonna play, and the Reds are gonna play. They're all after that, and there's not enough to go around. By the way, I think the closers market, I think they're gonna get paid.

00:14:22
Speaker 1: Now.

00:14:23
Speaker 3: I'm not saying I'm not saying they're gonna get the Josh Hayter deal, but I think Diaz wants it. I think he wants that fifth year, and I think he wants to beat hater, and I don't know, maybe someone's gonna pay it. I don't know. And I was guessing more like four years eighty eight million for Diez and four and eighty for Suarez. But you know what, I always try to overshoot and I end up undershooting. I thought Naylor would get ninety million. He's gonna get close to one hundred million, So you know, you know how these things work. But yeah, it's a fun closers market, for sure, closers.

00:14:54
Speaker 5: One thing that doesn't need a closer is the Boston Red Sox with what a role as Chapman did. What do you see them doing? Are they gonna get Bregman back? Are they gonna go for another starter? Are they gonna find a bat? Is Pete Alonso maybe in the lick mix for Boston? What do you see Boston doing? Because they were close, but they still have some big holes.

00:15:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I can only tell you exactly what Craig Reslo says. Number one goal is to get a number two starter, and the second goal is to get a right handed hitting corner infielder and then add some bullpen depth. So you know that's what he's telling other gms, So one hundred percent believe that that's what they're gonna do. Now, what does that mean? I think, could they play for schoobl Sure, they've got enough to get it done. Could they play for Freddie Peroult if he's traded, Sure, again, they have enough to get that done. Or do you just go to free agency and try to get Dylan Ceese or fran Beervaldez or one of those top end starters. They certainly have the income and the revenue and the payroll flexibility to do that. And then in terms of the corner infielder, you know, if I were them, and this is not coming from them, it's just me, I would want Bob Baschette to play third base. That's my first goal. I love the bat, I love the hitter, I like the kid. I like him at third base or second base. You could put him at second and Marcelo Meyer at third base, with Story at shortstop. And in terms of first base, you know, I think Pete A. Lonzo would be phenomenal there. I know he doesn't fit what they want because they want to improve defense. Run prevention very important to Creig Breslo, But imagine Alonzo because he plays every day, one hundred and sixty two games each of the last two years, one hundred and fifty two games of war five years in a row, averages thirty five home runs a year. Great clubhouse guy, can handle the big market. Can you imagine how many dense he'd put in the Green Monster. They probably have to replace the Green Monster by the end of the year. And what would he do to Roman Anthony? What would he do for a break, what would he do for the middle of that lineup? Take all the pressure off. I think it would be a great fit for them. I know they don't love him defensively, but look, even when he ends up being a DH in three or four years, you're gonna have the D eight spot open. So I think that makes a lot of sense. And if not, you know, bring Bregman back. So, whether it's Bashett, Alonso or bregnant I love any one of those three choices for them, But they're going to get that number two starter. That's the one thing I'm totally convinced of.

00:17:15
Speaker 2: From Boston to San Diego, Jim, let me ask you this. We have a fan asking this question. Owl of Minerva wants to ask you what's going on in San Diego. They think that they're going to blow up the team. Obviously, it has been said that the team is looking for new ownership. Perhaps, what do you think happens there? What does AJ Prelo need to focus on.

00:17:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, they're not blowing the team up right now. They're not going to blow it up for twenty six. They're going to run back as much as they can, and AJ Preller is going to spend the winner trying to get enough starting pitching that's affordable that can allow them to, you know, be in the playoff hunt, make it as a wild card and see if they can't run the table in October. So they're not trading tatisse. I saw a roomer out there somewhere. That's not happening. They're not trading. Oh, they can't trade boguards because no one's gonna ever take that contract. So you know this is going to be the team. I think they'd like to get one more bat, but they need at least two starting pitchers and they don't have a lot of money to spend to get those pictures. So AJ's got to be creative. This farm system isn't what it once was, so he doesn't have the trade assets that he used to have to make a lot of the trades that he's made. But you know, I trust Aj. He's a wheeler, a dealer. He never sleeps. He'll outwork everybody. Literally, I think he gets three hours sleep a night. So I think you'll figure out a way. But the Padres are not going to blow it up. They're going to go back and win. And yes, I think the team at some point is going to be sold and hopefully someone will come in with enough financial wherewithal to handle all of the financial exposure. They're going to inherit on the books and hopefully treat it as a hobby and be able to spend more money.

00:18:51
Speaker 6: You're in Preller's position, exact position they've just explained. You need a starter. Do you go to Mason Miller and say, do you want to be our starter? Because we have Jeremiah Strada already that could be a closer. Whether they think that or not, I don't know. But do you, as a GM make a suggestion or do you need Mason Miller to come to me and say I'd like to be a starter, knowing how much value that is for him as a start to be a starter well.

00:19:18
Speaker 3: As a former gm AN evaluator. I'll tell you Mason Miller would be a starting pitcher if I had to say to it. I remember talking to Mason Miller during the All Star Game, not this year, the year before in Texas, and I asked him about starting, and he basically said that he wanted to close. He doesn't want to start. He said, I tried that it didn't work, And I said, yeah, but you didn't really give it enough time. You have the stuff. There's no doubt in my mind, you can develop into an ACE, a number one starter. I do believe that. So I think if I had Mason Miller and I was AJ Preller and Craig Stammon, I would be doing everything possible to try to convince him to start and develop, because I do believe that he could become that ACE, and that's what I would try to do. But you have to keep in mind that the pitcher doesn't want to do it. You know, a lot of times it won't work.

00:20:06
Speaker 6: You know.

00:20:07
Speaker 3: We interviewed Craig Stammon the other day on MLB Network Radio and it sounds like that he's gonna be his high leverage laden and guy, and it doesn't sound like starting it's going to be something they're going to consider. But I'm with you one hundred percent, Eric, I would start him if it were up to me. I love this stuff.

00:20:25
Speaker 5: One thing you had on your column was about Adlei Rutchman. What the Orioles think about trading him for real? And is it because Basiya was there and they signed him to the long term deal and they're going to pick the guy who they know has already signed because this would be a large shift for the Orioles to make a move like this.

00:20:41
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think he's gonna get moved. I think the reason they're fielding so many calls is there's a surprising number of teams that are chasing catchers right now. Usually don't see this kind of demand, and so those teams that need a catcher, they make the call of Baltimore because everyone saw the contract that Basio got and they all also understand the Oriols are not going to be able to extend Rechmond long term and he's going to get to eventually get the free agency. So you know, by kicking the tires and calling and trying to get him now I think makes a lot of sense. I don't think Retchman has even touched what he's capable of doing. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I think he has a chance to be an MVP caliber player in time. I don't think he's been developed right, and I think he's still going to get there. And I think there's a lot of GMS that I think the same way. But I think Michael Ayas job probably on the line this year, and I would tend to think the only way he would trade him is if he got so much pitching back in a trade that he felt like he had to do it. I think more likely he holds on to his position players and then just puts all his time and effort into starting pitching and relief help. And I think he's going to commit at least one long term, expensive free agent starter this offseason. I think he learned his lesson last year, as David Stearns did in New York. You can try it out smart people by these short term, high risk starters, it normally is not gonna work out. So I think it's focused is going to be on that. But I don't blame teams for calling him on Retchman, I would too.

00:22:14
Speaker 7: AJ, We're gonna do things a little bit differently here. I am wearing the Perfect Gene and I remember seeing ads for the Perfect Gene like most comfortable fit ever, perfect fit on your body, and I was like, I'm not buying it. Now I'm buying it, and we're showing it off on FT.

00:22:33
Speaker 5: Please please get off my desk. First of all, Scott, Second of all, I was with you. I was skeptical about Perfect Gene and then I got a pair and the fitting was perfect and my body's not hard to fix is I got a big old rear and big old legs from Lars of Squatting and they fit perfectly. They're stretchy, they're comfortable, they're fashionable. They're everything I look for in a gene. And now I have an extra pair and I'm gonna wear them all the time.

00:22:54
Speaker 7: Foul fifteen is the code at the Perfect Gene dot NYC. FT listeners get fifteen percent off your first order, plus free shipping, free returns, and free exchanges when you use code foul one five at checkout. That's fifteen percent off for new customers at the Perfect Gen dot n i C with promo code foul fifteen after your purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about them. Please support the show and tell them Foul Territory sent you.

00:23:14
Speaker 1: All right, guys.

00:23:15
Speaker 2: The Los Angeles Dodgers seek to become the first team since the nineteen ninety eight to two thousand New York Yankees to win three consecutive titles. Are they gonna do it?

00:23:24
Speaker 3: Aj?

00:23:25
Speaker 1: And if so?

00:23:25
Speaker 4: How?

00:23:27
Speaker 3: Oh?

00:23:28
Speaker 4: I don't think they are? Don't. I don't.

00:23:29
Speaker 5: How do they do it? I mean, they just continue to build on the roster they have. Do I think they will. I think they won't. I think their starting pitching is going to be beat up. They got to find some bullpen. Hell, they're a year older on the position player side. Sorry Ilana, but I don't think they're gonna win three in a row. They maybe should have won two in a row. The Blue Jays kind of had them made some critical errors which the Dodgers don't do. But I think with another year, another long postseason run, I think they're not going to be They'll make the playoffs, of course, but I think somebody will figure out a way to take them out.

00:24:00
Speaker 2: I understand that's fair. I mean, listen, I'll take back to back. I don't expect a three pet It's difficult to do in any sport, certainly in baseball. You guys know that, Eric, if you are the Dodgers, it seems like LA is the destination for Japanese top pitching prospects. Do you go after the two prospects in terms of I guess I have to learn some new names, right Munataka Murakami and is it.

00:24:25
Speaker 1: Am I email? How am i? Okay?

00:24:28
Speaker 2: Do you go after either of those two guys to join Shohei Otani and Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto am I?

00:24:36
Speaker 4: Yes, am I.

00:24:38
Speaker 6: I would go after him because of the fact that you can always use pitching.

00:24:41
Speaker 4: Clearly they showed that this year. Clearly everybody was like.

00:24:44
Speaker 6: How can you have nine or ten quality starters to start the year? Like you see how you can do it? So, yes, I see them going after am I, and I think that's probably their easier get if you're saying one of the two, because Munataki more COMI kind of plays the positions they've already had. Whether you believe like aj like that they're getting older. You don't need a you don't need somebody to be to replace Max Montcy at third base. Yet he's you know, he's gonna coming up on one more year deal. He'll probably sign some kind of extension like he keeps doing. Obviously, Freddy has not lost a beat as opposed to what Dombrowski said. But you know, I think they're they're locked in and you can't bring in a dh because of what Showhy does. So more kami no, but am I I mean worst worst comes to worse, like the guy slides to the bullpen. You need six starters, So essentially you probably need about eight to nine starters to start the season because very few of them. I mean, I was super impressed a Yamamoto got to thirty starts. You might they might want to back that down a little bit, so you need more guys. And I have a hard time believing that his teammates on Team Samurai would not be would not at least give a ringing vote of confidence to the Dodgers.

00:26:07
Speaker 2: By the way, Yoshiobu Yamamoto just adopted a dog out of an LA shelter by the name of Carlos. So not only is he the greatest picture on the face of the planet ever, to live. He also adopts his pets, but that's neither here nor there. Aj Pierzinski, let me ask you this baby. And Ardaya, who writes for the Athletics, said that Devin Williams was emerging as a Dodgers leverage reliever target. We just talked to Jim Bowden about it. In terms of the closer market. Do you think Devin Williams makes sense in LA?

00:26:37
Speaker 5: It makes sense everywhere, especially as a bounce back candidate. I think he was better towards the end of the year. I think the Dodgers figure stuff out that a lot of other teams haven't figured out. I think he would be a great guy, you know, if he'd be your closer.

00:26:48
Speaker 4: I don't know.

00:26:48
Speaker 5: They're hoping Tanner Scott comes back from his butt surgery, like trying to bounces back after a down year, you know, And they have a lot of options down there.

00:26:56
Speaker 4: So do I think he'd be a great fit.

00:26:58
Speaker 5: Yeah, there's about fifteen other teams too be a great fit for So it's nice to be a reliever in this market. And yeah, I think you fit in l A and and a lot of places.

00:27:08
Speaker 1: Is the closer market this year?

00:27:09
Speaker 2: Aj and Eric the shortstop market two years ago seems like there's a lot of good closers, but there was a lot of really good shortstops.

00:27:18
Speaker 1: A couple of years ago. We were kind of wondering who was going to go first? At what price and where? Is it kind of similar to that anybody?

00:27:31
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think so, No, I think I think you're right.

00:27:33
Speaker 5: I think it's who's going to go where and who's going to be the first dominant of fall.

00:27:36
Speaker 4: That's the thing.

00:27:37
Speaker 5: And then once it once a team like LA reaches their the guy their guy then and then the next guy going the next team will go in the next team. I mean, I guess the top guy would be Edwin Diaz. Right where does Edwin Diaz go? Does he go back to the Mets? He's going to kind of set the market, and then once he's off the board, it's going to be like pew.

00:27:50
Speaker 3: Pew pee pee pee pee pee pee pee.

00:27:52
Speaker 5: Pew, because then there's going to be a run because then whoever think, whoever you think the next guy is is going to say, well, if Edwin Diaz got this, and then the teams will come to him. Right, So it starts off with if you think Diez is the top guy, then the next guy, the next guy, the next guy, and teams, and then as they start getting more and more in their price range, teams are gonna start picking these guys off pretty quick.

00:28:12
Speaker 6: Yeah, that was a big that was a big shortstop market. I was trying to think who all was on that market.

00:28:17
Speaker 1: I mean, that was your story, Korea.

00:28:22
Speaker 4: Da Xander. I get it.

00:28:25
Speaker 6: But here's the thing with the closer market. I'm not saying this is gonna happen, but people were up in arms about it last year when the Dodgers just kept getting every good closer or every good bullpen piece that was out there, Like, teams have to move. You can't like, this isn't musical chairs and say, oh well, I'm out, Like, if you need a closer to me, you gotta move. They're out there. You have three, you have three high end elite choices. Yes, Devin Williams had a bad year this year, But to me, I think it's it's very simple to just look at his usage and how it compared to what he was doing, and what counts with the Brewers compared to what he was doing and what.

00:29:10
Speaker 4: Counts with the Yankee.

00:29:12
Speaker 6: So I think he's up there with the other two guys, and I just think you have to move. You have to move, don't. I don't think it's quite as deep, but there is a It's easily the deepest position this offseason by far.

00:29:27
Speaker 2: Yeah, the carousel of closers in Los Angeles is a pain in the ass. No pun intended with what Tanner Scott's going through. Kile af both of you guys. This next question though, Dalton Rushing is now the backup catcher to Will Smith and Los Angeles. Ben Rtvett was claimed off of waivers by Cincinnati. Are you okay with Rushing as the backup to Will Smith?

00:29:47
Speaker 3: AJ?

00:29:48
Speaker 4: Yeah, he did it this year. He proved it.

00:29:49
Speaker 5: That's what they think he's going to be, apparently, because otherwise they, you know, try to trade him and move him. Maybe that's they still will But the bigger question is Rortvett. He's gonna be the third catcher in Cincinnati because they have Stevenson int who's signed to a deal. So where's the work that fited for Cincinnati? I guess if one of them gets hurt. But that was more surprising to me than anything.

00:30:09
Speaker 1: What about you, Eric, I don't think he should.

00:30:11
Speaker 6: And I've said this for a while, I don't think Dalton Rushing should be the backup. I think he's much better than the backup and then then a backup situation. But it's where he's at right now. The Dodgers have a have one of the best, if not the top three catchers in the game and Will Smith, and they yes, I get it, they need to give him days off so he doesn't wear down at the end of the season. But you saw this year he wasn't wearing down at the end of the season. His numbers were great. A freak injury, and to me, if they had the ability to upgrade with Dalton Rushing, I think it would be great for him, and I think it would also be great for the team to say, yes, we can go get a backup catcher in some type of role and we can get something, in my opinion, pretty huge, because if you end up having Dalton Rushing be the backup for the next two or three years, it is really tough to put up numbers, and as a player you can still become a starter later, but as a team, his value will just decrease because right now he's a dude that was in the minor leagues, prospect a lot of hype, played all the time, and you're going to the big leagues and you're just not playing very much. So you're just not going to get the same value years from now or even a year from now, if he continues to amass one hundred and eighty to two hundred at bats when I thought what he did in the minor leagues was enough to be a starter in the big leagues.

00:31:41
Speaker 2: Let me ask you this, though, Is it better to be a starter on the Pittsburgh Pirates or a backup for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

00:31:50
Speaker 4: Depends if you want to get paid or not. Okay, I think if you're a starter, if you're.

00:31:56
Speaker 5: The starter, you're always going to get You're always want to be the starter because you're i That's how you make your money and establish a career. How there are guys that are backups, but they usually don't get paid the amount that the starter gets. And if you're good enough to be a starter, like most people believe Dalton Rushing is, it'd be better to go be a starter. But right now the Dodgers ain't doing it, So you know what he happy as a backup and try to win another ring because he had some big at bats and he had some big games for the Dodgers.

00:32:22
Speaker 6: Totally, that's what that's what his mindset has to be. And it doesn't mean he doesn't want to win. If he would say, if his answer would truly be no, I want to be the starter for the Pirates because early in your career, rarely do you get a chance to you know, see winning. And now he's in winning, but early in your career you're also like, I want to maximize what my career can absolutely be. And so to me, if it were up to him, which it's not, I would say I want to be a starter, just the same as I was talking about with Mason Miller. Mason Miller is a tremendous all star closer, but if you want to maximize what you can do, being a starter is a challenge, which players love challenges. But it's also so much more value for him if he becomes successful, and no players like, well, I don't know if I'll be successful or not. No, of course, you like, that's what you're gonna do, so you might as well go to the position that would make would make you the most money. And have the best career you can have because your careers are short.