Ken Rosenthal on Roman Anthony, Basallo's O’s Deal, Astros Offense + Sticking with Padres in NL West

00:00:07
Speaker 1: Hey, we're back with Ken Rosenthal Live. Ken, how are you? How are you? From some hotel room in America.

00:00:15
Speaker 2: It's basically how Can lives his life as he goes from game to game.

00:00:19
Speaker 3: Here exactly, I'm in San Diego getting ready for FS one tomorrow night. San Diego Padres hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers.

00:00:29
Speaker 1: Should be an excellent series. Ken. We'll get into that more or later.

00:00:33
Speaker 2: But you wrote about Roman Anthony and obviously had a big home run last night.

00:00:37
Speaker 1: We talked about him earlier in the show, his maturity when.

00:00:41
Speaker 2: You look at a guy like this, Ken, I mean I mentioned this in the show, but like, how important is it for him to be the total package if he's going to come up and not just have the physical tools, but you know, the mental tools and being able to really embrace everything that goes along with being a big deal to the.

00:00:58
Speaker 1: Boston Red Sox, which is a very tough market to survive.

00:01:01
Speaker 3: In, Britt, it's always important to be that kind of person, and he seems to be the kind of player, the kind of young man who was just utterly unfazed by anything that's going on around him. So when I wrote that column, that was leading into the series. It was about kind of how he's met every challenge so far in a big way, and here he is going into Yankee Stadium, a centerpiece of the rivalry for perhaps the next eight or nine years, because he signed long term, and I didn't expect that it was going to be a problem based on everything people told me. I'm not that much of a soothsayer that I can tell this myself. So he goes into the Yankee Stadium last night, Game one, draws a walk, has a game tying single, and then of course the home run, which was an absolute dagger in the ninth inning, a two run shot to make the score six to three. I would say he looked unfazed.

00:01:57
Speaker 4: All right, Well, let's stay with some young guys in the American League East Sami Basio just sign an extension. Obviously we can look at the numbers. Obviously we can look at the player, But can you hit on more of the long term ramifications and just the overall picture of the Orioles who are doing bad this year but are still expected to win.

00:02:21
Speaker 3: A couple of things here, Eric, First off, the implications for the industry when you see young players like bassioh like Roman Anthony, like Jackson Merrill sign these deals. I always see both sides of it. Certainly, if it's my son and somebody's way of one hundred and thirty million at them, or even sixty seven million, as Basio just got, it's really tempting and you never know what will happen in life, and that money is obviously guaranteed it's going to set you up for a long time. The other side of this is when these young guys sign these extensions, they are sacrificing the chance to earn even more, much more money at a later time. Now, Basillah was a guy who would have been a free agent, I believe entering his age twenty seventh season. Roman Anthony the same. And those are young ages for free agents. We've seen how free agents can benefit when they enter the league so young, and then of course reach their six years and go to free agency, and who knows, in the next CBA it might not even be six years, maybe it's five. So all of that is clearly a concern for the Union as they try to push the salary structure forward. And I know most fans sit there and say, well, what's the difference, man? The guy's making one hundred million, the guy's making five hundred million. There is a difference, and it does matter. But again, I see both sides of it. I get torn on it, Eric, because in my mind Roman Anthony is probably going to be a five hundred and six million, six hundred million dollar player if he becomes a free agent Pisia. I'm not so sure about the position. It question makes it a little bit different. Of course, Jackson Merrill center field, and my goodness, he could have hit the jackpot. But these guys made their choices, and I'm sure they're comfortable with their choices. Now. From the Orioles perspective, I heard Andy Coska earlier talk about how this is a statement by ownership. I don't buy that this contract is a deal any club would have wanted to do with a player as promising as Psio. I don't care what position he plays. He's going to hit. We've seen that already. He's one of these guys who looks like he was born to hit. So eight years, sixty seven million, sign me up. The real question for the Orioles will be, as Andy mentioned, what they do in the off season, because they do have a lot to do, and hey, they made a representative offer to Corbyn Burn's last offseason four years, one hundred and eighty million. It was representative, but it was also bound to lose because they knew everyone knew he wanted six years or seven years. So it's a huge offseason for them. Obviously, this is a good step. And people might say, well, what about Henderson and what about Rushman and what about Westburg all these other guys, Well they're all different. Henderson represented by Scott Borris, as is Jackson Holliday. Scott Bors' clients generally go to the open market. Doesn't always happen. I know Scott might be listening. It doesn't always happen, but more times than not it does happen. And with Rushman, he obviously did not sign extension. And now there are questions about what Adley Rushman is, what he's going to be. So passioh was the guy. He was the guy who was willing to take a deal and good for the Oriols in getting it done.

00:05:34
Speaker 4: He talked about the broader picture. I want to talk about the broader picture of those three contracts. Merrill, rom and Anthony and Bassio. Does this can this give fans an idea of how much money teams I don't want to say wasting, are, but when a guy has very little time in the big leagues, the uncertainty of how he's going to make adjustments in the big leagues and actually have a successful career, shouldn't it give fans an idea of when your team says, ah, we don't want to spend forty million dollars, but they're giving contracts to guys who are just barely in the big leagues that are over eighty six, you know, eighty to one hundred million dollars. Shouldn't this give fans an idea like, hey, it's really not that much money in the scheme of things for teams.

00:06:21
Speaker 3: It's not if you look at it on a an annual basis. Excuse me, So, yes, it's sixty seven million for VISAIOH, but it's over eight years. It's one hundred and thirty million for Roman Anthony over eight years, one hundred and thirty five for Jackson Merrill over nine years. When you break it down like that, it's very club friendly. And obviously, if these players went year to year then went to arbitration, where their salaries would rise and then to free agency, the potential for more is there. At the same time, teams will say these contracts can be gambles too, because there is no certainty in the game. Maybe visioh is a bust. I don't believe that is a very high likelihood, but it could happen. We've seen this kind of thing happen before, so there is a bit of risk on the club side to commit that much. And there is also, Eric, I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this, the possibility of complacency for certain players after they get their money. I don't know that it happens very often. Most players are extremely driven, but there is that, and there's been some talk. I know my colleague at Fox, John Smoltz, has mentioned with the Braves, he gave all these guys money and now, well, it's not necessarily all working out in your favor. Injuries occur, as with Spencer Streider in their case. So Eric, I wonder what you think about that trend. Just from that perspective, ft.

00:07:44
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00:08:44
Speaker 3: No.

00:08:44
Speaker 4: I can hear that. I can hear what you're saying. But we started this out talking about the talking about the article that you wrote about Roman Anthony. They all of a sudden, they didn't just find Samubisaio and like, oh, we didn't even see this guy. They've known him, they've had him since he was sixteen years old. So if you're a player out there that's not getting a contract extension, and you're that type of player, maybe they're worried about that and so they wouldn't go that route. So but I see it as a player's point of view, there's so many guys that get extensions and actually play better because they're not worried about where their next contract or getting hurt is going to come from.

00:09:23
Speaker 3: Eric, it's actually a good point. And when I wrote that story about Anthony, I talked to his agent, Mark Rogers, and Mark said to me that he thinks in part Anthony wanted the deal because he doesn't want the distraction. He just wants to go play, and there's value in that. Let's face it, if Roman Anthony did not sign that deal, what would happen in a city like Boston, where there was such intense focus on the team, They would be talk of the extension year after year after year up until he became a free agent, as there was with Mookie Betts and Xander Bogart's and others. So he eliminates that, and he can now just go play and he's not going to be impoverished. We all know that. So that's another angle to this that definitely is worth considering.

00:10:08
Speaker 1: Ken I want to stay in the Al East.

00:10:10
Speaker 2: I want to go to the Blue Jays, who Shann Bieber's making his first start tonight, and he I think is a great acquisition and certainly.

00:10:18
Speaker 1: Didn't cost an arm and a leg because he hasn't pitched. He's coming off Tommy John. So the Blue Jays were lied very heavily on their scouts in Ross Atkins in addressing a need because you look at this rotation right now for the Blue Jays, they've got five guys, so now you have a little bit of a competition. You had Bieber into the mix.

00:10:34
Speaker 2: They're twenty seventh and f four, their twentieth in era and during today. Could this be a potential big impact deal because we don't often see starting pitchers of Bieber's caliber moved at the deadline And could this really, in your mind, if Bieber is even close to Bieber of old, could this catapult Toronto into like a real legitimate World Series threat that.

00:10:58
Speaker 3: Is the best case scenario. No, doubt, Britt. Now, they did give up a good prospect for him, because he is Shane Bieber, former Cy Young Winner, a guy who when he is healthy, is as good as there is in the game. The only concern I have here, and I mentioned this, I believe in the column I wrote recently. He's coming off Tommy John surgery. I know he's looked great on his rehab assignment and from that perspective, from that angle, you look at it and say, well, why wouldn't he translate it to the big leagues. Because it's not that easy. That's the reason. And we've seen Spencer Strider, albeit a very different situation, coming off a second major elbow surgery. But it doesn't always take imediately, and there might be issues, control issues, command issues, whatever the case might be with Bieber as he transitions back to the major leagues. But the way you described it, Britt, if he is indeed on track to becoming anything close to the Shane Bieber of old, great move by the J's, and yes it can be a catapulting kind of move. The Jays are really interesting. I wrote about the Brewers this week and the way they go about it and the high contact low, strikeout, all the things that they do offensively. The Jays are the American League version, and you look at them and you wonder, Okay, vlad Bashett Springer's having a great year. But all of these other players, Barger and all the rest, they're not exactly household names, and yet they do good things offensively to score enough runs. So I am not only intrigued by Bieber and how he might fit into that rotation, but I'm intrigued by this team in general and just what they're going to be. They're like Seattle to me. They've got to prove it. And we've talked about Seattle for years on the verge of contention. We've talked about the Jays for years, how talented they are. Here, these teams are on the doorstep of playoff berths. Well, they've got to go grab them and then let's see what they do in October.

00:12:54
Speaker 4: Right Another team on the doorstep or going out the doorstep, Houston Astros, Josh Hater. Their bullpen is depleted. They just signed Craig Kimbrel. But what I will ask you about is not their bullpen being depleted, which you thought over the last ten games would have been Oh, this is tough. How can we get through games? Their offense? They scored seven runs last night and that eclipsed what they had scored in the previous six Is there a sense of maybe some of the pieces that we have that we picked up a Haesus Sanchez who went five for five last night, But before that, I think nine hits aren't necessarily fitting into the cog yet of the offensive system that the Astros have, or is this team just not that great at hitting on a consistent basis.

00:13:43
Speaker 3: They're fine and they're going to be fine, and once jord On Alvarez comes back, his presence alone is going to transform that lineup, which is too right handed, has been too right handed, and Sanchez was one of the reasons, or one guy that they brought in for that reason. Right, So I expect that they're going to be a good offensive team again and now perfect. No team is, but Alvarez alone because of that presence, could be transformative for them. And they were a relatively decent offensive team from most of the year until the last week or so or last two weeks or so, not a dynamic group entirely, but what's happened recently is kind of shocking. My bigger concern is the bullpen without Hater. Kimberl's bounced around now. I don't know that he is much of a solution. Maybe he is, and the rotation, it's healthier and it should be rounding into form with Javier back and Arragetty and all that. I think they're going to be okay. And I'm wondering though, if Seattle, as I just mentioned here, you are Josh Hater is down. Houston is not what we've seen in all recent years. Right, No Bregman, no Tucker. We can go on and on and on. Korea is back, but there's an opportunity here for Seattle, and are they going to grab it? Yeah?

00:15:03
Speaker 2: Houston we have a problem, is all I keep thinking every time somebody brings.

00:15:06
Speaker 1: Up the Astros. Can we talked about the Padres Dodgers. I'll be there this series as well.

00:15:11
Speaker 2: I know recently on your show Fair Territory you said that you thought the Padres would win the NL West. The Dodgers obviously swept them just last week they meet again for three more.

00:15:22
Speaker 1: I'm giving you an opportunity here, Ken does your what do you think happens here?

00:15:26
Speaker 2: And are you going to change who you think wins the NL West based on what you saw the last time these two teams met.

00:15:32
Speaker 3: First off, Britt, you know this because we work together. My predictions are awful, always awful, and they're worth nothing. So whatever I say, I mean, I'm going off my gut or whatever or whatever seeming intelligence I might have. But I never can predict baseball. No one can. I still like the Padres, and I like the Padres in Park because of what the Dodgers just did in Colorado, which was kind of face plant again. They split that series, and that shouldn't be happening. They are a team that, yes, got up for San Diego last week, but all season long, I've just kind of questioned, coming off a World Series title, if the same it's not desire, But there's something there that I don't see that we've seen from the Dodgers in the past. You see it in the Padres. They're out to attack, They're out to slay the dragon. That's the phrase I often use with this kind of situation. They're ready to take the next step. Now are they good enough? That's gonna be a question. And I still wonder about their rotation. I still wonder about their offense, which doesn't hit enough home runs. These are all fair questions, and the Dodgers are the team to beat until proven otherwise. But the Dodgers had a chance this week to maybe at least hold the two game cushion, and it's now back to one game and anything goes from this point on. They've got defensive questions with Taoscar Hernandez. They've still got injuries that they're dealing with. We're gonna see Tanner Scott tonight, We're gonna see Kirby Yates maybe tomorrow. Their bullpen is getting healthier, which is great. The rotation is healthy, which is great. But there's been something missing here the whole year. And it's understandable when you're coming off a championship one. You're physically extended because you played deep into October and it's going to cost you with injuries. We've seen that with Evan Phillips and others. The other thing is, hey man, they went so hard to get what they wanted. Once you get it, not that they don't want to win, of course they want to win, but it's a different psychology and we've seen that this year.

00:17:39
Speaker 4: All right, real quick. This series is obviously close and every team is but home field advantage, home field advantage. I expect a Ken Rosenthal article about why only two teams are are above five hundred by more than two games. It's the Brewers and the Tigers. I think the Tigers are five games up at on the road and the Brewers are eight games up on the road for their road records. These two teams are playing. Home field advantage seems like it's going to be the deciding factor for the playoffs. So whoever gets that is going to win.

00:18:17
Speaker 6: Right to write that article just yet, Eric, not a bad idea, Always welcome for any ideas that come my way, or grateful I should say home field with Peco.

00:18:30
Speaker 3: Park, Yeah, that's meaningful because that place is electric and Dodger Stadium. Certainly last weekend they like beating the Padres, the Dodger fans do, and they got their wish. I do expect Peco to be really alive this weekend because again, it's this whole little brother thing that they don't like hearing about, and I understand that, but they want to beat La. It's the whole thing, and last year just amplified it because they had them, They had them to one of the division series at home the Dodgers on a bullpen game, and they couldn't close it out. So here they are. They've reinforced themselves in the deadline. They've got their course still intact with Machado and Tatas and everyone else. I expect it to be really electric and really kind of an unusually fired up atmosphere, even for Petco this weekend.

00:19:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely get to feel probably like a playoff atmosphere.

00:19:24
Speaker 1: Ken thanks for joining us.

00:19:26
Speaker 2: As always, check out Fair Territory Mondays and Thursdays