Mason Miller’s trade journey from A’s to Padres, Joe Ryan trade error

00:00:01
Speaker 1: Andre's reliever Mason Miller joining us. You've got Pierzinski and Lance Lynn on the show today, Mason, So got a fun crew. Good to have you on. How did that sound when I just introduced you?

00:00:11
Speaker 2: You used to that? You like that padres?

00:00:14
Speaker 3: They're still getting used to it, still getting used to it, but it's got a nice ring to it for sure, And you know, settling in first first three games and we're on the road, so getting getting acclimated.

00:00:26
Speaker 4: And feeling good.

00:00:27
Speaker 2: How was the weekend long for you?

00:00:31
Speaker 3: The weekend was fantastic. I mean it was chaos every second of it, for sure, but I really enjoyed it and felt some things on the mound that I haven't felt, you know, so far in my career.

00:00:44
Speaker 5: Mason, How long do you think until you'll understand when people introduce you? No more Sacramento Athletics. You're now a San Diego padre where they actually sell out every night in Petco with like forty thousand. They sent a new record every single night. They had one person every day, so they're like, oh, yesterday forty thousand to one, today we're gonna have forty thousand and two. Like, how long do you think until you will finally realize that, Man, I am a San Diego Padre.

00:01:07
Speaker 3: Now I felt like getting into the game that first time, you know, was the big hurdle.

00:01:14
Speaker 4: You know.

00:01:14
Speaker 3: Now it's kind of the you know, pinch yourself a little bit when you walk out there and you know the stadium's packed out. You know, there's just energy and buzz, you know, from the moment the first pitch is thrown or even before that. So it's definitely been a Swiss for me. But I'm really loving it.

00:01:33
Speaker 6: Hey, going back to you went from playing your most of your home games in the minor league Triple A Ballpark. Now your home games are going to be there. Does it feel like you kind of made it back to the big leagues a little bit? Or is is it gonna be a little bit more pressure or was just excitement ready to go?

00:01:49
Speaker 2: No?

00:01:49
Speaker 4: I would say excitement for sure.

00:01:51
Speaker 3: It was an adjustment playing playing there this year, But you know, I think after a certain point, you know that adjustment has to be made and it's just playing ball. So uh, the atmosphere obviously is different, but you know, we'd made that mental mental adjustment there in Sacramento, and you know, we were playing big League baseball games, even if the atmosphere didn't feel that way.

00:02:11
Speaker 5: Okay, I have to ask about Sacramento because you know, Savarino's had all his comments other players, Was the mound that bad? Was the mountain? Because other people have said the same thing, like, is the mound really that bad?

00:02:22
Speaker 4: For me?

00:02:23
Speaker 3: I didn't mind it as much. They did do some work on it earlier in the year. It was pretty hard. But when it bakes in the sun all day, even though it cools down at night, it's it's going to be pretty firm. For me visually, just the single level broadcast booths was what threw me off the most. Going from, you know, a big league stadium backdrop to that was was the bigger difference for me. The mound the mountain really didn't bother me.

00:02:49
Speaker 6: Hey, now that you're over in San Diego, have you talked to Shield about what the roles might be, how it might play out, or is it kind of just go game by game? I know Shild usually has a plan in place, and he has always been really good at communicating.

00:03:01
Speaker 4: What do you got forced there? Yeah?

00:03:03
Speaker 3: Yeah, so far, you know, we've we've had discussions, and you know, I think everybody has has kind of came to the same conclusion that everybody has the same goal of wanting to make it to October and make a deep run and compete for a World Series and whatever that role is.

00:03:19
Speaker 4: Uh, you know, I'm prepared to do that.

00:03:21
Speaker 3: I know that these guys have had a lot of success here, so it's kind of figuring out how I fit into that equation while also keeping everybody fresh and and you know, primed for for a nice run this off season or going into the playoffs this year.

00:03:37
Speaker 5: Mason, you know you want to be on the mound in the night and come on, dude, It's okay, It's okay. Listen to is great, but we all know we've you know, the adrenaline. We saw you out on Friday night when you got you got out there, the emotion. So it's okay to say, hey, I want to close. It's okay, You'll figure it out.

00:03:51
Speaker 3: I mean I told I told Mike when we talked, I said, I'm comfortable in the ninth inning, and you know, I've been closing for a year and a half now. But you know, coming to this this team at this time, and you know, in this this playoff push you know, it's not my spot to be disruptive to what this team's got going on, and they have a lot of good things going on, so we want to supplement that. You know, not only myself, but the other trade pieces we got as well. So you know they know that that I am comfortable in that role. But you know I am prepared to pitch the eighth seventh, you know, whenever I can to get us to that get just get us to the ninth inning and get a win.

00:04:27
Speaker 4: You know, that's all that matters.

00:04:28
Speaker 5: You ain't you ain't pitching the seventh. Don't worry, you ain't pitching the seventh. Let's just get that out there right now. You ain't pitching the seventh, all right. So I want to know how you found out about the trade. Did anybody in the athletics come to you and say, hey, this is a real possibility for you and seers or did you just kind of find out like everyone else is a surprise. Did you know this was coming because I was never traded during the season, so I don't know how that goes. But does someone call you in the office say hey, Mason, listen because you missed the game, right you missed the game the night before and Cottsay said, oh, you're a healthy scratch. So is that your first inclination that you were going to possibly to be traded.

00:05:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean the rumors. The rumors are what they are, so you kind of have an idea. You just never know what how much weight they hold. My agent had been speaking with Forced, and we knew that there was a possibility. San Diego obviously didn't seem like the right fit just based on what kind of package they could put together initially, so they weren't something that we expected. But you know, come Wednesday, I didn't find out till the eighth inning that I was a healthy scratch. You know, it's a safe situation, and COT's called our bullpen coach, Hubby put the phone up to my ear and said, you know you're not available tonight.

00:05:41
Speaker 4: I can't pitch you. Sorry.

00:05:43
Speaker 3: And then I spoke with Force that night and he said, nothing's done yet, but that's all I have for you right now. So I felt like, if you're holding me out of a game, there's got to be a pretty good chance that the deals, you know, ninety five percent of the way there.

00:05:56
Speaker 4: And then found out the next morning with a phone call.

00:06:00
Speaker 2: So, you know, with the way the conversations were going.

00:06:04
Speaker 1: And I'll add that the Padres already had one of the better bullpens in baseball, including you know, at least four guys that you could fill in for most teams as an eighth or ninth inning man. Were you surprised when you heard that it was actually going to be San Diego versus any other club?

00:06:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think we've all seen the track record AJ has had at the deadline, and he's not scared to make any moves. So, you know, I consider myself blessed, and you know, I'm really grateful that they thought as highly of me as they did to put together the package they did and get me there. And you know, I'm looking forward to to helping them impact this bush and you know, pitching to the postseason.

00:06:45
Speaker 6: I know. So I have unfortunately been trained at the deadline a couple of times, as AJ was so good they never got rid of him at the deadline, or he was always on a team that was just barely enough in it. I don't really know what he was doing. But what's it like the fans? What's like? Because it's different man you gotta gotta go pack up, You've gotta get all your stuff ready. What was kind of the most chaotic part of getting yourself all packed up and getting out of there.

00:07:10
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, fortunately the A's were off Thursday, the deadline day, as were the Padres, so I kind of got a little bit extra time. It wasn't as chaotic, maybe as some guys have had it, where it's you get traded and you're on a flight in a couple hours.

00:07:25
Speaker 4: I took a flight the next.

00:07:26
Speaker 3: Morning, But really it's just the fallout of it where you kind of just feel like kind of stuck in time, like you know it's happening, but you know you're not leaving yet, and you're just kind of throwing everything in bags, and you know, you kind of kind of felt like and planned that you were going to be somewhere for the rest of the season, obviously knowing there's a chance to be traded, but you know, once it happens, it's just kind of like everything starts speeding up on you. And I just felt like as soon as I got down here and you know, got outside and got the throw and feel like a ballplayer again, you know that kind of kind of put my brain at ease.

00:07:59
Speaker 4: A little bit.

00:08:00
Speaker 3: But it's still just housing all your stuff, family, just just the logistics of all of it.

00:08:05
Speaker 4: You know.

00:08:06
Speaker 3: Fortunately it's you know, northern California to southern California.

00:08:09
Speaker 4: That could be could be a lot more distance between the two teams.

00:08:13
Speaker 2: That's true.

00:08:14
Speaker 1: Did you get to say goodbye to your teammates or because you had the off day, you didn't really have the time with them in the clubhouse.

00:08:20
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, yeah, it wasn't like an official thing unfortunately, and that that is one of the parts that that's kind of sucked about it.

00:08:28
Speaker 4: But you know, I said by to some guys Wednesday.

00:08:31
Speaker 3: After I got held out of the game, you know, just kind of knowing like, hey, I might see Friday, but if not, you know, thanks for thanks for being a great, great teammate and you know, I love playing with you. Definitely bittersweet for me because I was drafted by the A's, came up with them, played with a lot of those guys for several years now. But you know that's it doesn't compare really to the to the opportunity to go play for post season baseball, and you know that's what we all do is you know, compete and it feels it felt like Opening Day again, like the excitement and you know, the drive and just just the willing you or the willingness and expectation to show up to the field each day and you know, I expect to win. I think that that was something that hit me right in the face as soon as I walked in the door.

00:09:16
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00:09:27
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00:10:16
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00:10:17
Speaker 1: Okay, So then take me through that first, you know, twelve hour stretch. You get into the new clubhouse right with the team, like who's coming up to you and saying what? Right, there's some guys that have been there for a while, some veteran guys too, and then all the way through your appearance, you know, I was glued into that game.

00:10:32
Speaker 2: I think a couple knocks, there's.

00:10:34
Speaker 1: Some pressure, Machado makes a sweet play for the double play. You're fired up. I think you know a rise like did a ten out of ten? Split the whole deal? So what was that whole experience like from entering clubhouse through end of appearance?

00:10:46
Speaker 2: Take a deep breath.

00:10:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, man, I mean really, even since before I got there, you know, everybody's just been so so welcoming and so excited to have us here. So it's it's felt natural. You know, everybody in the club us has been super cool, super welcoming. Yeah, it's a tight knit group for sure, and they have a lot of fun and they played great baseball. So it's a fantastic combination and a locker room that you definitely want to be a part of. So really just dealing with all the meeting everybody one hundred and fifty names, you know, quiz tomorrow that I'm definitely failing type of thing trying to remember everybody's name, but you know, meeting all the.

00:11:26
Speaker 4: Guys and hanging out a little bit.

00:11:29
Speaker 3: You know, I'm handling all the media and trying to go about your day and have some semblance of normalcy, trying to find that before the game. So you had had like an hour before the game where I felt like I could breathe a little bit, chill, get ready for it. And then I was really happy to get in there that first night too, because obviously when you get somewhere near you're you're anxious to get in there and you know, play with the boys and throw up a zero in my case, So working through a couple of hits and fantastic defense behind me, you know, just the atmosphere coming into the game with something I've never felt felt like my hair was standing up. Probably the closest it's felt was my debut just in terms of nerves. But you know, feeling that every time you go in the games, that's a crazy feeling.

00:12:14
Speaker 6: Yeah, that's a beautiful feeling. Back into the bullpen. My question to you, has there ever been or has there been any talk about the possibility and maybe in the future going to starting I know that the Padres themselves have some guys coming off the book. Is that something you would be interested in or is it right now just kind of hey, I'm here doing this right now and then see where it takes me.

00:12:33
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:12:34
Speaker 3: I think all focuses on this year and pitching out of the bullpen. That's not to say down the road we can't can't revisit and have conversations and you know, being being able to think about and say that I'll be here for four and a half years, you know, I think that that's that's super exciting and I think there are possibilities of that, But for the time being, the focus is one hundred percent on this season and having success and in the bullpen down there and being you know, pulling my weight in terms of this this top bullpen.

00:13:04
Speaker 6: Mason.

00:13:05
Speaker 5: How much did it help to have jpcies go with you? How much did that help to have a guy that you knew that you were tight with that went from from I almost caught him Oakland from Sacramento to San Diego. That has to help, right When you have a teammate that's on the same plane and everything with you and then walks into clubhouse with you, it's got.

00:13:22
Speaker 4: To be a huge Yeah, one hundred percent. Yeah.

00:13:24
Speaker 3: You know, JP and I had lockers next to each other and and Sacramento, so I've definitely known each other for.

00:13:30
Speaker 4: A couple of years. Good friends.

00:13:33
Speaker 3: Very reassuring for me, but but more so I think for both of our wives also, just you know, being being in it together a little bit, and you know, having spent these past couple of seasons together and you know, you pick up and move your life, and you know, for us it's kind of easy, just lean into the game and you know, uh, it kind of sorts itself out. Sometimes for your families it's it's a little bit more challenging. So I think having having the two of us come together was was really a blessing, especially for me and my wife, being our first time getting traded.

00:14:04
Speaker 5: Yeah, people forget this awesome involves wives and kids and families and not just the players. So yeah, shout out to wives who help you, you know, move now. By the way, two quick things before you let you go. One, it was super awesome the picture you took with the kid with type one diabetes. That was an awesome photo. So kudos to you for doing that. People that don't know your story, they can google it. We're not going to get into We've got into it a year before. So that was awesome you did that. And then lastly there's the picture that's pretty awesome. You did that, and you know, good luck to that kid and with everything. But before we let you go, I have to ask this question. We had Nick Kurtz on last week. Who's the rookie of the year, Jacob Wilson or Nick Kurts.

00:14:44
Speaker 3: And it's going to come down to these last two months for sure. That's the exciting part about that team. You know, if Nick keeps hitting home runs, I don't know. I don't know if Jacob can keep up with that. But you know, both of them are having just such fantastic season at such you know, young ages, you know, removed from from the draft and you know, just learning so much and what it takes to to take the field each day and and stay on it. You know, I know Jacob got hit with a pitch and you know it was kind of grinding through it a little bit. But you know, I hope he comes back and be able to finish up the season strong. You know, both those guys have really bright futures and you know, not I'm looking forward to pitching to the A's, but you know, maybe maybe not to those guys, especially Nick.

00:15:28
Speaker 4: So we'll see.

00:15:30
Speaker 5: Nick is ridiculous the way, By the way, what a veteran what veteran answers Mason has? By the way, He's like, you know, I hope they both can win and split the award because they.

00:15:39
Speaker 6: Time, there's a lot of ball left, you know, a lot of ball left. Who how did you know? You just answered it? Though he just answered who he does want to face, so that might who?

00:15:50
Speaker 4: The answer is, I gotta guard. I gotta guard the homer, you know, I hear you.

00:15:55
Speaker 6: Yeah, you can get to one nothing real quick? True?

00:15:58
Speaker 5: How did you not win Rookie of Year?

00:15:59
Speaker 4: Was it?

00:15:59
Speaker 5: Because twenty three counted as your rookie year.

00:16:02
Speaker 6: Is that why you weren't?

00:16:05
Speaker 3: I think I was Rookie of the Year eligible last year I finished fourth.

00:16:10
Speaker 5: I think kind of mind boggling to me that you were.

00:16:13
Speaker 3: I think I think there's I think there's always, like you know, pre arbitration, pool war, all that stuff. You know, there's a little bit of disparity just in terms of you know, everyday players and relievers. You know, it's it's hard to value a guy that's throwing one inning versus the guy that's playing nine. You know, but I think everybody that knows the game knows that. You know, as you come down this stretch and you get into the postseason that you know, I think championships are oftentimes won and lost by what a bullpen can do. But you know, those guys oftentimes, just in terms of statistically devaluing, just just doesn't seem to necessarily line up. But that's kind of the way it is. And you know, it's just my opinion.

00:16:55
Speaker 1: I guess, no, your spot I mean, I think you're spot on, Mason. I mean, you know a lot of front offices have their version of war right, which we use publicly, but that is used very often in front offices. I know that for a fact, or their proprietary version of it, and it often doesn't give as much credit to relievers. And then what's the most popular phone call last week? Hey, we need a high leverage arm and thirty believers that moved, so we can do the math there in terms of who actually is commanding a ton of prospects, I'm with you.

00:17:22
Speaker 5: Give me a guy those one hundred and my ninth inning. I'll take my chances more than more than not. Give me a guy with a ninety mine our slider and one hundred and two mon our heater that can throw it over the plate. I'll take my chances to win a lot of games.

00:17:34
Speaker 3: I agree, And we got we got a couple of guys that can run it up there. So yeah, I think we're gonna be thrown up a lot of zeros.

00:17:42
Speaker 1: Mason, last one, are you gonna have you been taught already to snarl at the Dodgers? I mean, you're entering what I think is the biggest rivalry in the sport right now in terms of two teams that actually have like serious juice with some track record to it even this year.

00:17:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I know, they told me he told me right away. You know, obviously you know there we we don't like those guys a whole lot. I haven't had a I haven't really had a rivalry to that extent.

00:18:08
Speaker 4: You know.

00:18:08
Speaker 3: You know, they's play play the marriage, play the Astros a lot, and you know a lot of close games, and you know we want to win those more than others. But you know, not not a rivalry to the sense of you know, the Padres and the Dodgers. So I'm excited to experience that. You know, definitely gonna be a lot of eye opening experiences going forward, just just with playing in front of all these fans and playing these big rivalry games that that means so much.

00:18:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, mid August coming soon, AJ's calling one of those games, so you'll see him then, right AJ the second series, there's.

00:18:39
Speaker 2: Two in August, the one in San Diego. Yep, Yeah, so twenty third, you'll see him the way because.

00:18:46
Speaker 6: JP is starting night.

00:18:47
Speaker 5: We didn't even ask I mean, we asked you a little bit. But how excited to see it's his first start tonight against Arizona.

00:18:53
Speaker 4: Yeah, yeah, he's excited.

00:18:55
Speaker 3: You know, he obviously similarly didn't know exactly how he was going to fall fall, getting here and kind of getting getting down here, throwing a bullpen, figuring out when he was going to start, So similarly to me getting in my first game.

00:19:07
Speaker 4: I'm sure he's amp to do that tonight.

00:19:10
Speaker 3: And he's said he's had some relationships with guys, you know, dating back to his days with the Yankees. So I definitely excited to be here, and you know, we're both with super pumped for this.

00:19:20
Speaker 4: This next push here.

00:19:21
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's going to take off. I'm excited.

00:19:23
Speaker 1: He's had good stuff, so this will be cool. Mason, This was fun, man, Thanks for catching up with us. Fans really appreciate. It's great to talk to a guy once the dust settles after a few days. Bringing on post trade, we'll catch you down the road. Okay, sounds good, guys, Thank you, Lance. Tell us more about what Mason's going through. Right, So you've, I think you mentioned, been traded at least a couple of times from a non contender to a contender.

00:19:46
Speaker 2: Are you first off, besides.

00:19:48
Speaker 1: The annoyingness of the move going, hell yeah, I got to make a playoff push here and try to get one of those fancy rings.

00:19:55
Speaker 6: Yeah, No, it's exciting it's exciting, right, You're usually coming from a team that's not going to and that is I went to New York one time and went to the Dodgers in the next. So both big markets, both expect a lot from you. Both kind of hectic, but you know, you get everything kind of packed up, you ship everything you need and make sure you can get the wife and the kids there. So there's sense of being so excited, but there's also being a sense of like, all right, how am I going to get everybody where we need to go? And then how am I going to get ready to pitch? So it can be really hectic but really exciting at the same time.

00:20:31
Speaker 2: Not asking you a JA, you don't know, you don't have experience with this.

00:20:37
Speaker 6: Oh I don't, Oh I don't. The worst part of any of my trades was I had to shave my beard that one year when I was going to the Yankees. They were like, hey, you got traded to the Yankees, and I was small at or told me. I was like, damn, I got to shave. And then I went and got a shave and got packed up and was rolling a God did I look terrible? But yeah, that was probably the probably the worst part of that trade for.

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00:21:59
Speaker 2: Go for it. I love that open spreading rumors.

00:22:08
Speaker 1: So Joe Ryan is the last remaining Minnesota twin everyone else got traded. Even Griffin Jackson requested one. We'll get to that in a moment. Joe Ryan fell for some news. It started to circulate quickly on social slants that he had been dealt, but that actually was not to the case. So I first off feel bad when the actual human being that sees this thinks they've been dealt and then find out that they actually haven't been dealt. It's not like it was a crazy thought because forty percent of the roster was traded the other day.

00:22:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, obviously, when everybody starts to go and you feel and you hear your name or something comes out, you automatically think that it's true. It's not the first time I've seen someone hear about it on line or on TV or something like that. I was having breakfast with Alan Craig years ago when he got traded to Boss and him and Joe Kelly, and we found out on the bottom of the TV. It just came across, so I'm but obviously it wasn't true. So you know, you got to there's so many rumors out there, a lot of things flying off the table, so you know there's one And when I was in Chicago, I thought I was getting traded to the race, and I had a no trade to him, so I was like, hey, am I getting traded and They're like no. But everyone was texting me like hey, welcome to the race, and I was like, I've not been traded. So it does happen. It is and it's and it's definitely weird when you have to go into the team and be like, I guess I'm not traded.

00:23:35
Speaker 5: I was there for the allin Craig Joe Kelly, I was. I told that story many times. So it's crazy.

00:23:40
Speaker 4: Though.

00:23:40
Speaker 5: We've gotten to the point where players now found out find out on their phone and on Twitter rather than from the manager and the general manager. That that to me is insanity. So I don't know how we fix this. I feel like there's got to be a better way to do this. I don't know what it is, but yeah, finding out on your phone or finding out through Twitter or whatever, and then people getting it wrong. Here's the other problem. People are trying to jump the gun so much because of Twitter and because of social media that they don't actually get the stories right and they just want to be first. And that's why when you see guys like Ken Rosenthal that usually are almost always two three sources before they confirm something and put it out there. That's why they might not be first, but they're usually right. So we need to figure out a way to also be right before things because it's going to affect people. And Joe Ryan was probably as shocked as anybody that he didn't get traded because, like you said, Scott, the whole team went by by pretty much except for him and Buxton and Pablo Lopez is on the IL.

00:24:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, fans aren't necessarily paying attention the way that we are, at least some aren't. But there are certain people insider wise that you feel really good about, and there are others that you wait on for confirmation from the big boys. Let's be real here, there are some superstars in our industry on that front, just like there are in basically anything right, some that are i would say, seriously more talented and more connected than others.

00:25:05
Speaker 2: That's part of it.

00:25:06
Speaker 1: But as far as the solution, AJ, I don't know if we're gonna find one because the big boys, the ones who break news, are so good at getting it so quickly that it's almost impossible for a GM to get a deal done and make phone calls to everybody that's involved in the trade.

00:25:24
Speaker 5: Yeah, but at least call the players. You can't call you call the players first.

00:25:28
Speaker 1: Right, Yeah, But my point is, sometimes, dude, sometimes trade gets how least money and insiders crack it right away.

00:25:35
Speaker 2: How is he supposed to make five phone calls and trade deadline? Wait?

00:25:39
Speaker 1: Think about this trade deadline the Twins, they would have had to spend a day making phone calls to everybody that they traded.

00:25:45
Speaker 5: Scott, you have more than one person in the front office. You don't just have the front office. It takes thirty seconds to pick up the phone. Like when Joe Kelly and Alan Craig got traded, right, it take five seconds for John Mozilla to call Mike Metheni and say, hurry up, get Kelly and Alan Craig in office. We're trading them. It would have taken five seconds telling they're traded to Boston and I'll call them later. We're too busy, right. They understand that. Players understand that, but like, don't let you shouldn't have players finding out? How did and centers find out before the teams before players? That shouldn't happen I'm sorry it should not happen.

00:26:17
Speaker 6: Yeah, there's a lot of a lot of leaks, which I think that's the number one way to clean it up. Right, If you clean up those little leaks, whether it's in organizations or with with agents and stuff like that, then you can clean that up to where where no player gets uh gets blindsided. And then Alan Craig thing, I remember Lacki's saying he knew the night before that it was probably gonna go down. So somehow, some way, certain things got to be passed through physical wise and stuff like that, that other teams are a little bit ahead of another team and stuff like that. So, yes, it needs to be cleaned up. And I think a lot of it has to do with leaks. League sources, front offices, they've got they've you know, they've got their little people. They try to get things out so they might write some nice things about them. So if you can clean that up, then you won't get the false story coming out or the jump the gun story as some things might happen.

00:27:10
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to the other rumor about the Twins from the past week that is a in my mind, feel good story.

00:27:20
Speaker 2: Griffin Jacks requested a trade. This according to a story.

00:27:24
Speaker 1: From Dan Hayes and the Athletic and the twins were like, okay, so they traded him to the Rays. They got TODJ. Bradley. Do you think this was the right thing aj to listen to Griffin? I don't know if they had plans to trade him anyway, because they traded almost everyone.

00:27:42
Speaker 2: I mean some people were like Louis Varland, he's under control for twenty thirty.

00:27:46
Speaker 1: He cost nothing right now, they just cleared house. So do you think that if they weren't going to trade him and Griffin Jacks talked them into it, it was the right call based on what is going on with this franchise and now hopefully they're going to be sold and things are going to kind of kick back into gear again for them.

00:28:03
Speaker 5: Well, I also think that remember the rock O Griffin Jacks confrontation they had. Remember he took him out in the middle of an inning and they're like, oh, he's getting traded, and then he gastled three runs. Someone came in and lit the fire for I think three of his runs, So I think that had something to do with it. Jackson is probably frustrated and then he saw, Hey, this guy's gone. This guy's gone, this guy's gone. You get a twin, You get a twin, You get a twin. Everybody was getting twins. He's looking around in the bullpen and going, I don't even know the guy's names down here, So hey, will you guys trade me too? And they're like, sure, go to Tampa. Enjoyed Tampa. So do I think this was the right move?

00:28:34
Speaker 2: Sure?

00:28:34
Speaker 5: If the guys if someone's unhappy there, then get him out of there. And if Griffin Jackson went to them and they and the Twins obliged and sent him somewhere else, good for the Twins man.

00:28:42
Speaker 6: That's listen.

00:28:43
Speaker 5: That's all you can ask for players, honesty. You want the organization to be honest with you. And he went in there and said I'm not happy here, and they said, okay, we can get some for you.

00:28:50
Speaker 6: Audios.

00:28:52
Speaker 4: Yeah, I don't blame you.

00:28:53
Speaker 6: Right, if everybody's everybody starts falling off and you're you're the last guy standing, you don't want to be sitting in the bullpen where you're the only name anybody knows anymore, especially if you're not going to be in a playoff push and you don't even know what next year is gonna look like because everybody's gone, you got a sale of a team, There's a lot of different things going on. So for his sake, it's like, hey, if you're trading everybody, don't forget about me. And he has every right to do that. They have every right not to trade him, but I think it's for them. I think it was cool that they did trade him, since they traded everyone else to get as much you can for everybody if you're doing a full rehaul like that, and don't leave anybody out, because that sucks to be the last guy left. For sure. He made sure he wasn't, So I give everybody credit for doing the right thing and doing what they thought was right.

00:29:39
Speaker 1: Lance, where are you on the Twins and what just happened there? Because it was kind of crazy. I know we touched on at the top of the show, but were you surprised? I mean, you were on this team, what six seven years ago?

00:29:49
Speaker 4: Yeah?

00:29:49
Speaker 6: So I think we had eight guys traded that year and it was a Nobody played the will with the way that they were expecting to or wanted to. So I've seen him kind of do it, but most guys were going on expiring contracts, so you're always surprised when you see guys get dealt with multiple years of control. But also that might be the time when you can hit on your best package. They got rid of some money with Korea and stuff like that too, so maybe their idea was get as much as you possibly can back for the organization, and then let's figure out how we can spend in free agency to build around. So for me, it's see what the plan is, see where they go and free agency and stuff like that to see where they can jump back into it. And then they also mind us, all, hey, we're not going to catch Detroit in the next two years, so this is our best time to grab as many players and prospects as we can and then we'll see where we're at after that. So it's a wait and see. Surprised by it, yeah, but it's a wait and see.

00:30:49
Speaker 2: Yeah.

00:30:50
Speaker 1: I mean there's still talent on that team, so it's not like it's a full rebuild. And aj I do think they've done a really nice job of building bullpens lately, and they've got a pretty good pitch development machine. So that's one spot where probably some of the guys they acquired are going to be major bullpen pack factors for them, you know, next year. I just kind of felt like they were stuck in the middle lately. They weren't allowed to do much to add to the team. We've talked a lot about how hopefully they're going to be sold, and so that's the most important thing. If clearing a little bit of book money is going to help you, then fans are rooting for that over everything else.

00:31:26
Speaker 5: Yeah, of course. And what did Jim Bowden say the other day, I can find relievers anywhere. I can find relievers of any I can look at my minor leagues and five five relievers. Right, He's like, I traded this guy for this guy, and this guy for this guy. So relievers are one of the most volatile markets because one guy I have great year one year, and the next year they're not as good. It's weird, and then the next year they'll be great again. So it's a strange thing with the relievers. But if you're trading them and the Twins are redoing their bullpen, but they're also certing the message they're not competing this year probably next year. So yeah, it's an interesting dilemma they're in. What are they going to do? They need to sell the team. Is the team going to be sold? I mean we're hearing it might be sold pretty quickly, but we haven't heard any rumors. We thought it was the issue as they gone, they're going to White Sox.

00:32:09
Speaker 4: I don't know.

00:32:09
Speaker 5: Target Field's a great place. Minnesota fans are great fans, and they deserve something better than what they've been getting, which is not a great product the last couple of years.

00:32:19
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I do think that you can reload quicker in the American League Central than most other divisions.

00:32:26
Speaker 2: There's a lot of up and down. It's just how it is.

00:32:28
Speaker 1: You don't have these big money, big market teams out there. So you know, Cleveland can take a small step back this year and then be really good again last year or next year, just like they were last year.

00:32:38
Speaker 2: You know the Twins.

00:32:38
Speaker 1: Maybe it only takes another year or so and then they feel like they're a contender again.

00:32:43
Speaker 2: You know you've seen that aside.

00:32:44
Speaker 1: Sorry guys, his answer away.

00:32:49
Speaker 5: Nope, So Scott, you want a salary cap is what you're saying. So Central just making sure Bryce Harper has words for you.

00:32:55
Speaker 4: Thanks.

00:32:55
Speaker 6: Hey, I know when Detroit was Detroit back in the day with Furlier and everybody, they weren't to spend some money. So everybody needs to watch out what what Detroit's owner does. He's not afraid to go for it when he thinks it's his time. With the young players they have, and they're kind of a touch ahead of what I think they thought they would be, So you never know with them. They could they could do. They could get get ahold of that central and run with it for a while because he's not afraid to throw some money at it.

00:33:20
Speaker 4: When it's time.

00:33:22
Speaker 1: Aj how many teams in the AL Central made the playoffs last year?

00:33:27
Speaker 2: Exactly?

00:33:28
Speaker 1: And for the people listening on the pod later, that would be three. Three teams made the playoffs in the AL.

00:33:34
Speaker 2: Central last year.

00:33:35
Speaker 6: I mean he made it from the.

00:33:39
Speaker 2: Was it one or two? One? One two Yanks? Nobody else? Right?

00:33:47
Speaker 7: Uh?

00:33:47
Speaker 2: No, Orioles made it? Orioles, Yanks and Orioles.

00:33:50
Speaker 5: How many teams in the ale least one playoff games last year?

00:33:54
Speaker 2: One?

00:33:55
Speaker 6: One? The one that was at the end there there at the end, that's all it matters.

00:34:01
Speaker 5: How many how many teams in the Central loss of the Yankees Three, I'm just skidding. Two with the nkestick out the whole Central.

00:34:09
Speaker 2: Last year, that's true. That's true, as.

00:34:12
Speaker 6: They would do if they were in the division.

00:34:15
Speaker 1: Yes, Quin's Quinn's have a ugly past with the Yankees for a long time.

00:34:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a sensitive subject.