Evan Grant on deGrom’s revival, Jung sent down, Pillar’s comments

00:00:00
Speaker 1: If they're going to be a quote unquote seller, they're not going to sell Jacob deGrom. They're not going to sell Nathan Valde. Chris Young said in flat words to me the other day, we have no interest in trading either of those guys.

00:00:17
Speaker 2: Evan Grant is here from the Dallas Morning News back on FT. Evan, good to see you. I'm gonna give you dealer's choice here to start. Would you like to start with Jacob de Grom glass half full or Josh Young disappointment to go down to the miners.

00:00:33
Speaker 1: I think Ranger fans need some good news, so let's talk about de Grom. Let's start off with Jacob.

00:00:38
Speaker 2: Okay, what do you got for us? How good does he look? And how surprised are you that he's on pace for probably what about one hundred and sixty seventy innings?

00:00:46
Speaker 1: Yeah? I think he is. I think the Rangers feel like one sixty to one point eighty is is a load that they feel like he can carry. I've got my own thoughts that you know, they might want to keep it in the one the area at a max, but they certainly have more more background in this than I do. He looks as good as he's ever looked. Yeah, the fastball is not one hundred miles an hour, but the command is right where you want it to be. He's incorporated the change up again, which he had kind of gone away from during the injury filled years. The body language for me is something that's that's really eye opening because it just feels like Jacob is happy, content and really confident with who he is again. And it showed up what is is. Since June one, I think he's five and oh with a one six oh or one six five e r A, he has been outstanding.

00:01:46
Speaker 3: Uh.

00:01:48
Speaker 1: It's it's Ace type material, you know it is. It's a true number one, and it's something Ranger fans haven't really ever had.

00:01:56
Speaker 4: Evan.

00:01:57
Speaker 3: You mentioned his innings limit, he's already hat of our hundred, one hundred and one right now. If the Rangers are going to get back into this and say they get hot, like they're swinging the back and they continue to this and they get back into the race, let's say they get into the wild card, but then they're like, oh, by the way, da Gram has six more starts, seven more starts. They're going to really shut him down and say, oh, well, guys, we're not going to push it because that's kind of the Steven Strassburg thing, right. The Rangers, I feel like Boachie and them would try to, I don't know, they try to manipulate the innings because they need the innings too.

00:02:27
Speaker 1: I think. Look, since really since the middle of May he had that I think one hundred and three pitch outing, which was the first time he's been over one hundred and like four years. Ever since then, the Rangers have tried to tamp it down a little bit, keeping him in the eighty to eighty five pitch range. Obviously, with the no hitter flirtation last week, they wouldn't they let him go a little bit longer. I think he threw ninety two pitches that in that game at Baltimore. But the one thing that Bruce Bochi and Chris Young have both talked about is, you know, they are monitoring the pitch count, and so that is part of it. I think that they are going to stay true to the rotation with every off day that they have the rest of the way, so that he never, if he ever gets an opportunity to pitch on five days rest, he'll pitch on five days rest, and I think there's there may be a time when the Rangers look at, especially with some of the relief work they've gotten from guys like Jacob Wlatz, who one day has a six inning quality start and a week later has a three inning save, they could drop some guys in here for a spot start here or there to get them a little bit extra ress. So I think that they are aware of all this. I think they understand the situation, but they're certainly not going to let a situation about a rise where he's not able to pitch, like in the heat of the playoff stretch or the postseason.

00:03:54
Speaker 4: You have mentioned earlier that de Gram's not throwing that one hundred miles an hour. He's hit one hundred, he's gone over one hundred. Is there a concerted effort or have you heard anybody say that he has had a concerted effort to pitch, more like to not just say first pitch of the game one hundred and one mile hour cutter.

00:04:15
Speaker 1: I think he said it, Eric, he said he's pitching smarter. He doesn't need to dial up one hundred miles an hour every time, doesn't need to look at the radar readings and listen, Yeah, it's it's ninety eight and a half, I think is his average fastball, and it's got such great late life when he's when he's going up in the zone and that I don't think you can tell much of a difference, and it's certainly working. And so I do think that there's this idea that you know, you don't have to prove to everybody that you throw harder than anybody on the planet. You can you can still be the best pitcher on the planet, as Joonaheim called him the other night, without throwing one hundred and two miles an hour.

00:05:01
Speaker 3: Well, he's going to the All Star Game and he's back. I mean, he's back as long as he's healthy. This is always the Jacob Degram that we knew. So whether he's stowing a hundred or ninety eight, it's not that big of a difference.

00:05:09
Speaker 4: I mean, he's back.

00:05:10
Speaker 3: But let's let's we gotta we gotta talk about a little bit sadder news. Josh Young got sent down. I mean, what do you say about this? Because this guy was the future. He was so good in the World Series. He's kind of had injury problems and now they're talking about giving him a break for a swing in his approach. I mean, he's never really changed his approach. He's always kind of swung in a lot of pitches, he's made contact. So what do you tell him go down there and take walks? I don't really understand.

00:05:38
Speaker 1: I think the biggest thing right now aj for him is, you know, Josh and a number of the Rangers hitters. And I think Boch's perspective on this is that guys that were not getting down on time and because of it, they were trying to catch up, and they were They've been really susceptible to fastballs up and the end and out of the zone. I think the Rangers lead the major leagues in swings at that pitch, and Josh is as bad as any of them. And I don't think the idea is to go down to have him go down to tripa A and learn how to walk. But I do think it is like, hey, let's dial things back a little bit and let us eliminate a couple of pitches that you don't need to be chasing. Let's get you back on time, and let's try and eliminate a couple of pitches that put you in bad situations. Listen, last year when he broke the wrist. He broke the wrist because he exposed himself on a swing on a pitch that was off the plate. And that's a dangerous situation for him. So I think that is one of the projects there. I do think that this is a guy who is swing happy, There's no doubt about that. But I also think you look at Josh, he's a streaky hitter, and so if he's not going well and he doesn't walk, then what you get is what you got in June, which is an absolute zero. The Rangers can't have that. I think they've got to teach him a little bit more plate discipline, not going up there searching for water. I don't expect him to become an on base machine, but I do expect them to try and get him to hone his approach just a little bit.

00:07:08
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00:07:22
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00:08:09
Speaker 4: How is this something that wasn't able to be taught to a to me? I thought a star like aj said in the big leagues? Is it inconsistency from the what he's getting from the hitting staff. I know it is a different hitting coach. Now is it him going outside of the hit the hitting coaches? Is it? Where where is that falling? And who is to blame? Ultimately the players to blame. But the organization needs to be able to teach him this and get this across to him in a big league level.

00:08:43
Speaker 1: Eric, how do I put this? For so many players that I have covered over my career, stubbornness is their greatest asset and it remains their greatest asset because they know who they are, and they know themselves better than anybody else until it becomes a detriment. And I think that's the case with Josh, as it is with so many players. He really does feel like he knows himself pretty well, and I think he's he's gotten himself into a rough spot and now he's going to have to learn how to be able to accept some other voices, accept some other input, and maybe accept some other thoughts a little bit better. And that's a big adjustment to your point, right, This is the guy who came out in twenty three, was really hot the first half of the year. But he he was hot, He was hot at the plate. He didn't walk a ton, but he's never walked a ton. And I think it's now being exposed more that he's been in the lineup every day as opposed to the second half of twenty four or all of twenty four, when he was really out of the lineup. For most of the year and the second half of twenty three when he dealt with that fracture finger.

00:09:50
Speaker 3: Yeah, what are they going to do Is Josh Smith's going to take over at third base every day? Is that there is that kind of their answer? What's their I think.

00:09:58
Speaker 1: Josh Smith is going to get a of time at third base, you know, against lefties. I think they will play Ezekiel Durant at third base. They'd like to get a Zeke. They'd like to get Zeke a little bit more runway. He's still a guy that they feel like there is real talent there. He's just not had much every day play for the last two years, and I think the Rangers would like to get him in a little bit of a groove. And they've played him a little bit more regularly over the last week. So I think those would be two options. But I don't think that this Josh Young situation is going to be a long term deal. I could see this last thing until the All Star break and he's back when they when they face Detroit and his brother Jase in the middle of the month. But that's I think that is the intent right now. Is it's it's a very much along the lines of what they did with Jake Berger early in the year, where Jake had gotten himself into a position where he was not who he should be and he was chasing far too much. They sent him to round Rock. He was there ten days the absolute minimum, came back and he's been a much better hitter since he came back. Sometimes you just need to step away a little bit, right.

00:11:06
Speaker 4: That's always good. Stepping away is always good. Are they just step away from any of their players at the trade deadline?

00:11:13
Speaker 1: God, you become such a master of the segue.

00:11:17
Speaker 4: It was your words. I used your words, it's not mine.

00:11:19
Speaker 2: He's an everyday host.

00:11:21
Speaker 1: Words and turned him into a segue. Do I think though? I look, I think there's still a lot to be determined. They are a game under five hundred right now, but only two and a half games out of that last wildcard spot. I don't know that they have proven to anybody exactly who they are unless it's a team that's not nearly as offensively talented as they thought they were. The last three or four games have been nice, but it's also been against a team that fired its manager and is really not going anywhere. They've got this tough road trip that starts with San Diego on Friday. They finish up with their first three games against the in Houston, and at that point in time, I think they'll have a better idea at the break which way they're going to go. If they're gonna make trades, If they're going to be a quote unquote seller, They're not going to sell Jacob deGrom. They're not going to sell Nathan Avaladi. Chris Young said in flat words to me the other day, we have no interest in trading either of those guys. So and with Tyler Mallley out and probably out at least until the first September, that's a pitching arm that they don't have much ability to move. So I would look if John Gray gets back at the All Star break or shortly thereafter, and they get a couple of outings from him, maybe he's a guy they could move. I think there would be some thought if this team continues to fall that maybe they'd consider moving a Doley Scarcia, though I don't know what kind of value he would get at this point in time, and they've certainly got a number of veteran bullpen pieces who have been really effective this year from Hoby Milner, who would be a nice left handed fit for a lot of teams, to Sean Armstrong and Jacob Webb. I don't know if they would trade Robert Barcia at this point in time, but I think they'd certainly Listen.

00:13:07
Speaker 3: Okay, we don't have time right now, but I was going to ask you what's going on Jonaheim and Higashioka, because neither one of them and we thought was going to be a star, and he hurt his wrist and he has him in the same sense. It's been all year now. So we'll have to get into that. Because since you're leader in all time appearances as a reporter, next time we'll we'll get you on like a week or two. I'll have to ask you about those guys. But what I want to talk about is you mentioned Chris Young. Chris Young's been in the newspaper a lot more than he wanted to, especially the last twenty four hours with what Kevin Palar said. Now, I was sitting there when Kevin Plar said it. He didn't mean anything bad about by what he said at all. He was just giving his thoughts on basically what he thought was going on there. And I've heard this from not only him, but other teams too. Guys don't take VP, Guys don't stretch together. Guys don't really do anything together except for that nine innings when they're on the field, and then as soon as the game's over, everyone breaks up. It's not just a Rangers thing, It's kind of an MLB thing and the way guys are brought up. Chris Young had to answer. Then the Rangers won, they did. Rangers social media kind of trolled Polar like, he didn't mean this mean, he was just given his observations. What are your thoughts? And I saw you wrote an article about it.

00:14:11
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, look what Kevin said was all when you have a guy talking about the makeup of the club, that's obviously a news story. And I didn't think Kevin meant anything in terms of ripping anybody in particular. But yes, the Rangers do have some guys who do have their own hitting coaches and who do their own routine before games, and that when it's successful, great, When it's not, you know, people start to look for is that a problem with makeup? We look at did this team having a fun when it went? When it wins? In twenty three, the narrative was, Hey, this team is all business, doesn't get too high, doesn't get too low. When you don't win, or when you're not winning as much and you don't show a whole lot of emotion, then it's are they flat? Do they not have good energy? Do they have bad body language? So I think it all the narrative changes. I don't think anything with the circumstances has changed significantly much. I do think that Chris Young, and he's been on record, he told me this last week that he wants to see more connectivity in the offensive approach. You know, I think this is as you said, Aga, it's something that goes on throughout baseball now. Right, Guys take there at bats, they go back to the dugout, they get right into the iPads and they're analyzing their swing. And there is not that ability for guys to talk basictions, or to read pictures, or to have some feedback for everybody else because they're so involved with themselves. And I think, you know, Chris Young is kind of an old soul. I think he wants to see that team element function a little bit better. And so I think that's something that Kevin talked about that that is real, and it's real for every team. That is the thing that I think that needs to be reiterated here is I think this is something. This is why we've seen offensive approach dwindle and offensive numbers dwindle. I think because there isn't a better approach throughout the game to game situations and peam oriented bats and doing what you need to do to make sure you maximize run scoring opportunities.

00:16:22
Speaker 2: From a fan perspective, yeah, it is crazy to actually hear someone say I don't see most of my teammates until I step on the field for game time. And again, that's something that I know spans all of Major League Baseball, although there are some teams that have a lot more of this than others. My follow up here is does Brett Boone help this at all? Have you seen any change like that since he took over, Because he was on our show after a few days of getting the job and brought up what you're talking about. So again I'm like, okay, cool, a team that's playing five hundred ball can use something like this as motivation. But really he showed up and was like, guys, you need to watch the game a little bit more.

00:17:04
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's I think that's part of the reason that Brett was brought in here was bring in that player's perspective, bring in that guy. Look, Boone Booney told me the story the first week he got here that he related about in a situation with Edgar Martinez when they were both together in Seattle, and Edgar talking about a team approach to a bat that he took when he didn't need to take one, and he's related that to these players, and I think that is all part of the message and part of the reason the Rangers wanted to bring in somebody who had significant major league playing experience so that they could talk to the players at the same level that they are dealing with, who has dealt with the same issues that they are dealing with. I don't I would take some exception of the to the note that you know, you don't see anybody until game time. There's still plenty of guys out there taking VP. There's plenty of guys out there taking infield. They have they have hitter meetings. I don't know if they're doing hitter meetings every game at this point in time. I think you can also over meet a little bit, and I think you can in some ways paralyze your hitters with too much information. But I do think that yeah, to your point, Scott, that Brett was brought in here to help create that level of hey, we're all in this together. And I think that was something that Chris Young saw early on that he wanted to address.

00:18:30
Speaker 2: Having good stuff. Always great to have you on and confirmed. I think you are tied right now or one up and now I got to look back.

00:18:37
Speaker 1: I think I'm taking a lead over Trent again today.

00:18:41
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there you go. Yep, one up over see Trent for most non insider you know, Ken Rosenthal type appearances, that's that's different. But I think lucky number thirteen having good to see you, man.

00:18:52
Speaker 1: It's great seeing you guys. And I'll just point out Trent and I both University of Georgia fans top of the list. You know where to go for information.

00:18:59
Speaker 4: Oh there, worry.

00:19:04
Speaker 3: I'm coming to Texas twice in the second half, so I'll expect the royal treatment from you.

00:19:09
Speaker 1: You will get it. After I finished this wrestling story that I'm working on for aw's big show in Texas next week.

00:19:15
Speaker 3: Oh exact glovelife too.

00:19:17
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like that. We'll be on the lookout.

00:19:20
Speaker 2: Dallas Morning News Evan Grant give him a follow on Twitter as well. Evan, thank you.

00:19:25
Speaker 1: See y'all. Take care of peace.