Padres winter report w/Kevin Acee: Overblown Tatís trade rumors, Darvish’s future, Luis Arráez’s market

00:00:09
Speaker 1: Here comes Kevin Acey from the San Diego Union Tribune, back on ft big part of the offseason and breaking news out there in San Diego, the Darvish story. Mike Schildt, we'll get to all of that, Kevin. Great to see you. I actually want to start with the topic that came up in our conversation with Ken Rosenthal yesterday. Does everyone hate Luisa Rise around baseball? Not the person he's very fun loving, but his game. We haven't heard a peep about him. He's one of my favorite players. I know his flaws, but he also has a significant strength. Your thoughts on him and what you see happening.

00:00:40
Speaker 2: Here, well, since you opened the door, I'll say, one of the most joyous people that.

00:00:45
Speaker 3: I've ever covered.

00:00:46
Speaker 2: And I don't think he'll be back for the Padres though clearly Luis is going to have to decide what kind of contract he wants, and so I guess maybe the Patres could be an option at a certain price. But I will miss him. He brings incredible value to a team when he is Luise A Rise. Last year, he was not Luisa Rise. That's just a fact, and they kept him in the number two hole.

00:01:09
Speaker 3: And it hurt them.

00:01:11
Speaker 2: Now the year before, they probably don't make the playoffs without Luise a Rise.

00:01:17
Speaker 3: So the guy definitely has value.

00:01:20
Speaker 2: But clearly what MLB thinks about him is probably is reflected, not only in the fact that you know he did win those three batting titles with three different teams, and then this offseason certainly somewhat predictable, but slower probably than anyone did imagine that it would be for a guy who has accomplished what he has.

00:01:40
Speaker 4: What he does is incredible and it's not appreciated in the game. But you watched him. He played one hundred and fifty four games last year, what did you see his deficiency? As obviously we know about the power, but how like he came up in spots and he didn't win a batting title, and I guess you don't have power. People think you have to win a batting title. But he hit two ninety two, So I'm pretty sure that's okay that last I checked. But when you watched him come up to the plate in the situation around all the other guys that they had in that lineup, what did you see other teams do like, ah, we got this guy, this is an out and he might get it hit, but this is fine.

00:02:18
Speaker 2: I think that they they had and I hate to break it down like this. I mean, I wrote like ten different stories on what's wrong with Louisa Rise or what's right with Louisa Rise, and I think I came to the conclusion the guy didn't have the same kind of good fortune. I didn't use the word luck on purpose because I don't want to make it sound like he was just this lucky player.

00:02:38
Speaker 3: Clearly he wasn't.

00:02:39
Speaker 2: He has an amazing skill, but they maybe they played him better though I didn't notice that in particular in terms of but they were where the ball was for Luisa Rise. Now the guys and I forget what it was. But his on base percentage was extremely disappointing, and so the batting average was whatever, that would be twenty points lower than his career or than the previous couple of years. The on base percentage was probably twenty thirty points lower than it was.

00:03:08
Speaker 3: So he's not when he's not hitting, he.

00:03:12
Speaker 2: Is not providing the value that you need, especially near the top of the order. But honestly, you don't track Luise Rise by that speed. You don't track him by play discipline, you don't track him by exit velocity.

00:03:29
Speaker 3: So he's just this sort of unicorn.

00:03:32
Speaker 2: And when he had a bad year and Mike Schuldt continued to have that faith in him, one of the strengths of Mike Shilt as a manager, and that that faith ultimately.

00:03:42
Speaker 3: Was not justified.

00:03:45
Speaker 5: Kevin News on you, Darvish. Is he retiring? Is he not retiring? Or the Padres buying him out? I mean, I played with you, Darvis in twenty thirteen, and I know he's been great in San Diego, not only on the Mount when he's been on the mound, but also in the clubhouse.

00:03:59
Speaker 6: Is he retiring?

00:04:00
Speaker 5: And then I read something where oh, he might take the year off and accept a bio maybe then come back in twenty seven and renegotiate what the heck is happening with you, Darvish.

00:04:09
Speaker 2: Well, I want to be upfront and say that I should not have used the word retired in my original story. I knew better you Darvish is not ready to say that that he's retired. You know, there's a difference between other people saying, you know, yeah, you's retiring and a guy officially retiring. And so I aired in being definitive about that, which I quickly corrected the rest of the story, and I was to some extent purposely vague. But I said, you Darvish is walking away from his contract, and that will prove to be true. That is true, what form that comes in, And that's where I was purposely vague. No one either can or will tell me. And it does seem that there still have to be some decisions made on what that looks like. The unions involved, Joel Wolf and Wasserman his agency are involved, but Potters are involved. You Darbish obviously as the guy who gets to make the decision. But what is clear is that you Darvish, who by the way, gave back or you know, didn't get paid I think four million dollars in twenty twenty four when he voluntarily went on the restricted list because he did not think it was right that he was taking money when he was attending to a personal matter. He does not believe that this money, this forty three forty six million bad with numbers today it's still the off season, thankfully, But this forty something million that he is due over the next three years, which is one hundred percent his right to collect and plenty of guys have done it, and plenty of guys will do it, but you does not think that he, if he doesn't play, should collect that that money. And so you, darbish, will be giving back or forfeiting or avoiding his contract. Now what that means, buy out restructure of some sort, I don't know. But the fact is that you, Darvish, is going to walk away from this contract.

00:06:03
Speaker 4: When you said you're purposely being vague, can you explain that a little bit more? Is that the whole premise of purposely being vague?

00:06:11
Speaker 3: Thank you for that. Yes, it was because we don't know.

00:06:15
Speaker 2: I certainly don't know, but the people I'm talking to claim to not know exactly what this is going to look like.

00:06:22
Speaker 3: And look, I didn't want to work on Saturday. I was playing pickleball. This is something I'd been.

00:06:28
Speaker 2: Following for a couple months, as you sort of went back and forth and gathered his information, talked with his people, talked with the padres, and suddenly it came that on Saturday morning, it was Okay, this thing that you know we've been talking about, it's going to happen. And but all that we really know is you, Darvish, is walking away, the potters will realize the savings, which is something by the way that they've been budgeting for.

00:06:52
Speaker 3: I mean, like that's you.

00:06:53
Speaker 2: Darvish has let them know this is what he's doing. So whatever moves the pottery's ULTI make before spring training, probably during spring training, be that bolster their rotation sign that first basement designated hitter that will partially come from you, Darbus's money.

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00:08:14
Speaker 4: All right, well you kind of answered it, but can you give us a little bit of the background of like, when you have a conversation, you had it directly with you.

00:08:22
Speaker 2: Correct, I have talked with you a few times about this. I did not talk to you on on Saturday.

00:08:29
Speaker 4: How how is he communicating his next steps in the sense of like, is it oh man, like, yeah, it's just done? Or is it I'm done, Like I don't have. I don't have what it takes to rehab this like and I'm totally content with it because we rarely get to see inside a player's thought process as the final days of his career are coming.

00:08:55
Speaker 2: I don't think i'd be speaking out a turn to say that that you is not like at peace with being done because of clearly his social media posts and the wake of my story and what he has said, which is that he is I believe. In a Japanese session with fans, he said that he was going to forfeit at least twenty twenty six, but he in his ex post he said that he's leaning.

00:09:22
Speaker 3: Toward avoiding the contract.

00:09:24
Speaker 2: Whatever the semantics of that is, it's clear that you and I've been told.

00:09:29
Speaker 3: Look, i'll phrase this, this was on the record. You and I talked that.

00:09:34
Speaker 2: You said he can't think about playing baseball right now. He needs to get his body right, not just the elbow, but his body's thirty nine. He has been doing this a long time. He's compensated for some things with the elbow on. He needs to get his body right. He has seven children. His son's about to start playing at UCSD. He needs time with the family. He can't think about playing baseball right now. But he's not willing to say that it's over because he knows himself and this is what he's been doing for his whole life, uh, virtually, and that he knows that at some point that eight will come back to play, and so if his body is able, he may want to play. And I've had some people and look, there's a small circle of people that really know what you's thinking. And I've had some of those people talk about all sorts of possibilities including you darbish, you know, uh coming back to MLB on a on a minor league deal in spring training in some future years, and that no one really does think that that you. Darvish has said to himself, all right, that's it.

00:10:33
Speaker 3: I'm done. I think you has actually made that clear.

00:10:38
Speaker 6: Can they get the money back? I don't.

00:10:40
Speaker 5: I mean, if he says I avoid can I mean when they want the Padres wanted him to do this sooner than later, because I'm not exactly the number he's making, but I'm assuming it's around twenty ish million, if not more than the.

00:10:54
Speaker 6: Okay, so then they can say, hey, we can use that towards.

00:10:57
Speaker 2: Oh no, no, that's something that they have have sort of unofficially budgeted for twenty twenty six and beyond. Is this money. This has been an ongoing thing where you know, it's a big decision for you. So it's not like you know, he has I don't know if I want to say, gone back and forth or whatever, but he has not been definitive to them and tell recently that this is definitely going to be the case that they are going to get money back.

00:11:27
Speaker 6: Wow.

00:11:27
Speaker 5: Okay, Well, then didn't ask this question, what did the Padres need with the money?

00:11:32
Speaker 6: What do they need?

00:11:32
Speaker 5: Is this team enough with Musgrove coming back and Mason Miller at the back end and some of the other things. Is this team good enough to compete with or without the money from you, Darvish?

00:11:45
Speaker 2: I think that they could be a playoff team, but what is that even saying anymore? Right, Like, they're a contending team. Six teams make the playoffs in the National League. So I think that with Joe coming back, with Nick Pavetta, with Michael King coming back, Randy Vasquez is a guy that you're gonna end up talking about at some point this year because like he's a really good three or four starter he is.

00:12:07
Speaker 3: Now that leaves, they got.

00:12:09
Speaker 2: Depth problems, both starting pitching and position player. I mean, like I probably have as big a reservations about this team in terms of their depth, and they you could argue that they've had depth issues every year. Of course, I guess you could argue that everyone but the Dodgers has depth issues. But like, I wonder, where is this going to come from? And you have two guys that are facing legacy years and Fernando Tatis Junior and Manny Machado. I think they're two of the best players to ever play this game, but like they need to step up and have the kind of years that they're supposed to have that they're being paid to have.

00:12:44
Speaker 3: There's a lot of questions about this team. Who is behind them.

00:12:48
Speaker 2: And who's behind you know, Xander Bogart, Jake Cronaworth, Gavin Sheets. Well, you need another first basement and you need a designated hitter.

00:12:56
Speaker 3: Are those the same guy?

00:12:57
Speaker 2: Okay, well, then you need another extra outfielder so they have a power deficiency unless obviously Fernando and Manny have those types of years that I've talked about, and they do not have a first basement right now because you're not going to as good as he was and what he proved. You're not running Gavin Sheets out there every day to play first base.

00:13:21
Speaker 4: All right. Every I feel like every off season or even part way through the year, you hears some rumor and I think it's started by other teams, But can you confirm that there's zero or one chance they would have shopped Fernando Tatis.

00:13:35
Speaker 3: Zero for now?

00:13:37
Speaker 2: You notice that that's been basically the caveat is for now, Like first off the team is for sale. Whether that comes happens or not, it depends on who you ask right now. But let's assume it's for sale, so you know, we can't say what's gonna happen in the future. But the fact is they they have boxed themselves to a certain extent.

00:13:58
Speaker 3: Now. Whenever I say that I got to give the asterisk of aj.

00:14:01
Speaker 2: Preller, he finds a way to build this team and fit it within whatever budget you've given. But the fact is that they're going to be paying Xander Bogarts and Manny Machado some big money in the future, and those guys are probably unmovable for Nano.

00:14:16
Speaker 3: Tatis Junior is very movable. If there's a.

00:14:19
Speaker 2: Piece in the future where this team has to and this is a gigantic if. All right, it's like capital if italicize bold, if.

00:14:28
Speaker 3: They have to do that.

00:14:30
Speaker 2: Fernando Tatis Junior is the guy that goes and yes he has no trade. Those are those those can be worked out, should be noted, but those can be worked out, zero zero chance. Believe me, I have embarrassed myself how many times I've asked people in the organization because this rumor comes up so often and you just can't rule anything out. So even though I knew it was zero, like I've asked until we're less than zero like that, he was not going to be traded this offseason.

00:15:02
Speaker 7: It doesn't That doesn't mean after opening days, Okay.

00:15:08
Speaker 3: How about this, I'll give you. I'll give you trade deadline. I doubt it.

00:15:12
Speaker 2: Gosh, I hate doing this because in today's day and age, you know how these things take off.

00:15:16
Speaker 3: I'm not saying it will happen. I do not think it will happen.

00:15:19
Speaker 2: I think that what they have built in San Diego, with the fans like that's a precious thing.

00:15:25
Speaker 3: I think that that when.

00:15:27
Speaker 2: You're building a team, you've got to make it the best team you can, regardless of what the fans are gonna think. Fernando Tautist Junior is like the guy in San Diego. Yes, Manny Machado, people love him, Att Jackson, Merrill working his way up there, Joe Musco, But Fernando Tatis Junior is the guy there.

00:15:46
Speaker 3: Would what the.

00:15:47
Speaker 2: Padres have built in this small market, with the fans, with the sellouts, with the passion that is unprecedented in this town for the Padres, that is all at risk if they get rid of Fernando Tatis Junior.

00:16:01
Speaker 3: I do not believe Fernando Tatis Junior will be moved.

00:16:04
Speaker 2: I am in the business of it doesn't really matter what I believe.

00:16:09
Speaker 3: The facts are. He could be moved at some time. I don't think it's gonna happen.

00:16:14
Speaker 5: Okay, just so you know how media works in social media, Kevin, Now we're gonna clip this, and we're gonna clip it, and then the headline that's gonna say Kevin Acey says Fernando Tatis will be moved at trade deadline. Now we're not gonna be year. We're not gonna put what year. It could be twenty thirty, but you said it. So congratulations. You're the first guy to say the Padres. Now everyone in San Diego hate you. But now, so that's why I spoke the way I did.

00:16:39
Speaker 3: I was all over the place, and I was doing.

00:16:42
Speaker 6: But purpose the while knowing that all.

00:16:45
Speaker 3: That many people would see is the headline.

00:16:48
Speaker 7: So you're purposely vague, right, isn't that your word? Purposely vague?

00:16:51
Speaker 3: I love that strategy.

00:16:53
Speaker 6: That's small part. It's smart.

00:16:55
Speaker 5: Now, two guys that the San Diego people love, maybe more than Fernando Tatis is dog Don Orcillo in Mud Grant, okay, and they have a bubblehead coming out of them. Two in Don's miniyacht, as he calls it. Can someone explain to me where they got the picture of Don Orsilo because that does not look like Don Riscilo. I am sorry, that is way too young for Don. I text him the same thing. I said, I need one of these. But who did they get to stand in for your model? Can we talk to the patres and find out who modeled for Donalrisilo?

00:17:25
Speaker 2: Yeah? And I'm looking close like both Don and Mud have you know, trimmed up.

00:17:30
Speaker 3: They really have. They're taking care of themselves.

00:17:33
Speaker 2: Okay, but that's pretty spelt there for for Donna as well for being honest.

00:17:38
Speaker 7: Right, I mean, come on, just I'm looking at it.

00:17:41
Speaker 3: Wow.

00:17:42
Speaker 5: And by the way, that miniacht has a weight limit. That's why Donal'll never take me in it. And if he puts him in Mud in it, it might sink still because I think the weight limit is like two hundred and fifty pounds, so they maybe should have made the boat a little bigger.

00:17:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's why I'm saying I did.

00:17:56
Speaker 2: I was unclear that Mud had ever been on there because of that particular thing. But I'm telling you I saw Mud on Sunday. Mud looks great. Uh so, yeah, far better than Dawn. I mean, I can't believe that they let him get away with that.

00:18:10
Speaker 3: That bubble head.

00:18:13
Speaker 6: I love it. I love it.

00:18:14
Speaker 5: It's amazing, it's amazing, It's gonna be awesome. They're the best, They're one of the best. I'm not gonna say they're the best duo that happens in Major League Baseball, but they are definitely at the top. They have fun, they laugh, and I've done many games with Don Ricillo. I only have one complaint. Scott knows my complaint. Padres broadcast booth and Crats is gonna be like, what are you talking about? Is the only one in MLB where it's backwards. So in every broadcast booth, the play by play guy sits to my left, okay, And in San Diego, for some reason, the play by play guy sits to your right. And now I'm like Zoolander. I'm not a very good Ambi turner, so I can't go right right. So I'm always like, oh, and there's a wall there, so I don't know why they did it that way, But it's the only one that I know of an MLB words backwards.

00:19:05
Speaker 3: I'll look into it.

00:19:06
Speaker 5: Okay, thank you. Next column, Why is the San Diego Broadcast booth backwards?

00:19:11
Speaker 6: Is that just for TV? Yeah?

00:19:15
Speaker 4: Because radio? When I did radio, play by play guy was always to my right. But I guess that doesn't matter. You just set up wherever you want.

00:19:22
Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know. It's weird just San Diego, Scott.

00:19:27
Speaker 5: I think you've done games there, and I think it's because the stat guy, the way they built the booth has to be on the right, otherwise he's reaching over you with his cards for the play by play guy.

00:19:35
Speaker 6: But it's just strange. I don't know.

00:19:38
Speaker 1: Actually I haven't. I've done sideline there, I have not done play by power there. I didn't do any games there, so I don't even remember if I went up to the booth. Probably not, but that's good to know. That would have made me super confused.

00:19:49
Speaker 3: Maybe it's Arcillo's good side. Maybe he's the one who started this.

00:19:52
Speaker 6: That's a good point. I didn't know that.

00:19:54
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:19:56
Speaker 1: Well, Kevin, always a pleasure catching up with you. We love your info. Really great cracking into some news this offseason. Love reading it, so thanks for joining us. Appreciate the time. We'll catch it soon.

00:20:07
Speaker 3: Thank you, guys. Take care,