Ken Rosenthal joins FT, 2 PED suspensions, Team USA SP plan debate, Spring Training contract extensions

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Hey, Mets Camp today. Yes, you see the skyline on this Mets stuff shirt loves Mets. Very nice. Thank sure, I'm presenting nicely here, Okay, cool. Just wanted to let everyone know for the podcast crowd, Mets upshop dot com support our Mets Show. But today we are the Mets Show FT at Metz Camp. Looking forward to chatting with Boba Schett, Carlos Mendoza, Sean Manaya and perhaps some more friends will join us as well. Scotty Brown, Aerocrats Aj Prazinski. We're gonna get into the WBC in a moment on the Team USA side before we do. I think the Dominican Republic Exhibition game stole the show last night. Guys. It's like Junior Caminero, Juan Soto, Homers and you would think that a world series was one. And I'm not saying it to make fun of it. I'm saying I'm all for it. Inject that energy into my veins. It's so damn good. And we actually I think have a little clip from the press box which even has a different vibe to it out there. That's Cody staven Hagen. We're showing right now from Tiger Territory and the athletic covering this matchup AJ and experiencing a little bit of a party. There might have been some shots ripped in the press box last night.

00:01:44
Speaker 2: It looks a little uncomfortable. I'm not gonna lie. It looks like he's not in his comfort zone right there, which is fine. But I was wondering did they throw confetti? Because I saw the home runs and those are some long trots. The crowd was going crazy, which is awesome about this whole thing, which is why we love the WBC because the crowds of players get into it all that stuff. But yeah, Cody didn't look like he was in his comfort zone. Looked like he might.

00:02:06
Speaker 3: He just got outside of it by just a little bit. I thought they captured it so well, the winter ball environment.

00:02:13
Speaker 4: I was.

00:02:13
Speaker 3: I was able to like talk to my kids about it, like it was so awesome, Like these are dudes that don't come back.

00:02:19
Speaker 5: A lot of stars come back.

00:02:20
Speaker 3: And play in winter Ball December, maybe even in the playoffs in January. But then they cut it off like now these guys, Juan Soto man, he you know, he's played for US before. And Kutel Marte was out there Vladdie was out there. These guys rarely come back and play. So for the DR fans, for the Dominican Republic fans, it doesn't matter what team it is, they are all out there and this is this was must see event for the DR.

00:02:51
Speaker 1: Yeah, it looked awesome and it's a little precursor of what we're going to get over the course of the World Baseball Classics. So let's dive into it with Charge's charging about Yeah, we're charging the mound and it's presented by our friends over at Fox one. The Fox one app should be very popular. You're gonna hear a lot about it because you should be looking into it to get all of your World Baseball Classic coverage. I'm talking about every single live game from March fourth to the seventeenth, which is the day of the title game. More information after we chat about the World Baseball Classic Team USA starting rotation and the continuing journey that we have in terms of learning what this is going to look like. So it sounds like a j Nolan McLain would pitch in the title game if USA gets there. Now we'll talk to Carlos Mendoza later about McLean, but he did experience vertigo symptoms. I think from in near infection it sounds like he's going to be okay. But that's putting a lot on a guy who hasn't pitched a full season in the BIGS, and there are some other big names there. So I want to dive right into what I think is a bit controversial if it becomes a problem. It looks like from the article I read from Ken Rosenthal, who also will be joining us later, Paul Skeens could have pitched a different game that would have enabled him to pitch in the title game. He just doesn't want to do a seven day layoff, and that's fair. Four works, five works, six works. He's trying to be as flexible as possible, but also prepare himself for the season. If Trek Scouble, who only is giving one outing in about fifty five pitches, pitched in a different game against Mexico, that would have enabled Skeens to pitch against Italy and then again on six days rest in the final, why aren't they doing that. I didn't get the full explanation, but in Ken's article, aj Mark de Rosa just says they went the other route with Schooble pitching against Great Britain. I don't get it.

00:04:54
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, there's a couple things to play. I don't know how their schedules line up for their opening days, so maybe had something to do with it. Remember, you're fighting teams here. Also, you're not just the guys. Can't just pick their schedule. They have to line up for their season opener. I'm very happy Trek Scooble is pitching against Great Britain because I'm calling that game. So I am like, yes, I get Trek scouble for fifty five pitches that could be three to four innings, so we could talk about how great Trek Scooble is on and off the field. Why they didn't do that, I don't know. But listen, I love McClain going in there if they get to the finals and pitch. And we watched this guy pitch big games for the Mets last year. The Mets aren't a small market. They were fighting for their playoff lives, and he went out there and pitched really well. And if I'm Carlos Mendoza, who will speak to you later, I love this. It gets him more experience, it puts him on one of the biggest stages you could pitch on. And if you got to start the finals against who was at Venezuela, Dominican in Japan, whoever they could play in these finals, that's a pretty big deal. And it'll get his adrenaline flowing, It'll get him used to the big stage. He's gonna have to do interviews and all that. So I think this is a great thing. Would you love to have Schemes or Schooble or logan Web. Absolutely, But you also got to think about the teams because logan Web's team starts a day earlier than everybody else for the regular season, so they had to adjust his schedule to where he lines up for opening day. Right. Schemes in schoobl might be a day or two later, so you have to line everything up so it also gets them ready for the regular season.

00:06:17
Speaker 3: We're supremely focused on the final. There's no final if you don't get there. And when you're playing tournament baseball. When I played for Team USA, these are discussions that I was privy to be a part of because like, hey, what do you think it takes. You're not leaving chop liver for the finals. This isn't like a kid's travel ball tournament where you're like, oh, if we can just you know, we're gonna run out of pitching at the end. They still have Nolan McLean pitching in the finals. That is awesome. You have to fight, like Aj said, all the different scheduling and everything. But to me, you don't get to the finals if you don't throw Logan Web, if you don't throw Paul schemes in those games, If you save Paul Skans for the finals and Nolan McClain doesn't do well in the semi finals, there's no finals. So to me, you throw the guys in the best scenario possible for each of their seasons, clearly. But then also the quarterfinal game is going to be just as tough as the final. The semi final game is going to be just as tough as the finals. So to me, you got to win those games, and if it works out with their schedules, I have no problem with this at all.

00:07:31
Speaker 1: Okay, So we'd have Logan Web pitching in the quarterfinals for USA skiings in the semis and then Nolan McLain in the final. There's a chance Joe Ryan could be used in the final as well. It sounds like he's more of an emergency situation. They still have to see how the back recovery goes. What we do know is teams can add four pitchers after pool play and then two more pitchers after the quarterfinals. So the pitcher pool includes Joe Ryan for Team USA, Strom, Tyler Rogers, and Will Vest among the pitchers in the pool. There could be more.

00:08:07
Speaker 2: So those are some n Tyler Rogers, Tyler Rodgers the right of the lefty.

00:08:14
Speaker 1: Everybody gets confused. Tyler Rogers is the rich one on the Blue Jays, now right, right, that's true. Yeah, they're pretty close in career earnings. Tyler Rogers is currently the high paid man on the high paid twin on the Blue Jays who signed this offseason. Yeah, your side arm extraordinary who was a very hot number as a free agent. And that gives you a very different look out of your bullpen. Aj Will Best would be nice to add to the bullpen, and so would Matt Strom later on in this tournament.

00:08:46
Speaker 2: I mean, if you go Yarborough throwing from over here and then Rogers throwing from over here, you go from here to here, that's pretty big difference they have. And Strom's pitching big games with the best pitching huge games for the Tigers last year, Joe Ryan would be a great starter. I think once you get to the finals, then you bring in your two extra guys and you say we're just gonna use Johnny Hoolstaff and piece this together with whoever's left. So I think this is a great thing. I think it's a great tournament and I just can't wait to get it started tonight on Fox one at ten o'clock. Who was at Type AI in Australia. I might actually have to stay up to ten o'clock to watch this.

00:09:23
Speaker 3: Ay, j would you rather have funk like you're talking about all the funk of Tyler Rogers, matt Strom Yarborough, or would you rather have what the Dominican through out there last night? A hundred from the left side, a hundred from the right side.

00:09:36
Speaker 2: Well, you always take stuff over funk, But at the same time, funk can just be just as effective because guys don't see it all the time. What do you think Rogers was such a commodity? Why do you think matt Strom and Yarboro have stuck around for so long because they have different angles and different stuff and different things they're good at. So I love funk. I mean, you always take stuff over funk, but sometimes stuff gets hit and funk doesn't. So don't you know what's it?

00:09:59
Speaker 3: Don't fake the funkunk on a nasty dunk, you know, like, so don't let's not mess with the funk.

00:10:06
Speaker 1: Hey, you want funk. The Team USA lineup was rolled out for their exhibition against the San Francisco Giants, and I felt bad for Adrian Hawser to start the game. There was a lot of action against him, and it wasn't just him. I mean they consistently were putting up runs over the course of that game, adding up to fifteen total. It's an exhibition game, but the lineup looks pretty good. I think one thing is pretty legit and fair to say, aj there have been really good players for Team USA. Position player wise. It's gotten better as we go, but now we're really at a status where this should be their best lineup ever.

00:10:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, this lineup, this whole team is really good. You see the importance, especially in the United States, of how this is growing every year every time they do the WBC because more and more stars want to jump on board. Last year, Mike trow is the captain this Sharon Judge is the captain. You get Skien, you get School, you get Logan Web, three of the best pitchers in the planet. And then you get the lineup with cal Rawley and Harper and Schwarber and Judge and all these unbelievable superstars from their teams coming together trying to win this thing for USA. So it just shows you the importance and how much guys love this event and how much they want to win this event. But then also you get all the other countries. Dominican we talked about, Japan has won this thing three times. Korea is really good at this Venezuela can be really good in this tournament. Italy is better. I think the people think the only thing we're missing, guys is a team Poland, because can you imagine how good Team Poland would be if we could get all the Pollocks together to challenge USA.

00:11:37
Speaker 1: If we get you to come out of retirement, that would be lovely.

00:11:41
Speaker 2: But instead, I'll get my I'll get my son to play, not me, I'll get my son to play forget me. Austin, Oh no, thank you, no, thank you.

00:11:52
Speaker 3: I saw that stuff coming out of Dominican bullpen last night.

00:11:58
Speaker 5: No thanks it anymore exactly.

00:12:02
Speaker 1: Hey, you will be able to listen to AJ and Ken on some World Baseball Classic games. They're all on Fox and the Fox one app. So start your seven day free trial today. Scan that QR code on the screen or go to foxwe dot com. It's not just baseball, it's really sports, year round, football, college football. With Fox one you get it all live. So go get your seven day free trial today. If you haven't done so already. Offers are subject to change, go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one streaming Now it's the Inside Scoop with FT senior insider Ken Rosenthal. Ken, let's get right to the ped suspensions. We don't hear about them very often these days, but when we do, we got to hammer this. So Jerks and PROFI up first. This is number two, one hundred and sixty two games. But there's an appeal process going on right now.

00:12:58
Speaker 4: There is, and it's kind of common implicated to explain. Scott and I don't know that it's going to be successful, but usually with a first time offender of the Joint Trug Policy, we don't hear about an appeal. We just hear the announcement, and at that point the appeal has been heard with a player accused of violating the policy a second time. Like PROFAR is, they can make the announcement they being major League Baseball right away and not have what they call a stay a delay in the process. They can simply go forward with it and then the appeal gets hurt. It's going to be expedited. I imagine it will be in the next couple of days. But that's why this got public before the appeal was heard. So there is an appeal. They are fighting this the Players Association on behalf of PROFAR. Where it goes from here, I don't know. But at the same time, that's why this was a little bit different than usual. When the announcement is usually made, it's all done, the appeal's done, everything's done. In this case, the announcement came without that stay, that delay, and now they go forward.

00:14:03
Speaker 3: How does this get out? Can that's go ahead? How does this get out?

00:14:07
Speaker 2: Can? Because I thought this was all supposed to be secret until it was finished. The team's not supposed to know. No one's supposed to know except for I think the player, right, So how does this get out before this process is done. And then with Rojas, isn't it the same thing, Like he's not officially suspended, but it got out. So how did these things get out if it's not. If it's not, it's clearly not from the PA because they don't know. So there has to be a leak somewhere in the MLB offices to let this get out before it's done.

00:14:35
Speaker 4: Ange, I didn't break this story, so I can't tell you for sure how it got out, and even to speculate would be wrong to do because as a reporter, I know that we find out things in all different ways and it's not always what people think. So I would imagine that in party got out because of the process.

00:14:53
Speaker 1: I just explained it.

00:14:54
Speaker 4: Was going to get out even before the appeal. This had been a decision that was essentially made. They were going to suspend him for a second violation and didn't have to wait for the appeal to be heard. So as for that and what the Players Association might feel about that, I don't know, But I'm not going to speculate or even begin to think about how it got out.

00:15:16
Speaker 5: I'm not sure.

00:15:18
Speaker 3: Do you have any idea what the appeal like on what grounds of appeal, because they usually do before they have a test.

00:15:24
Speaker 5: Positive test, don't go further, don't go further.

00:15:27
Speaker 4: I don't know what the grounds of the appeal are. I don't know what exactly they are bothered by. Is it the test itself? Is it something with the test?

00:15:37
Speaker 1: Is it the.

00:15:39
Speaker 4: I don't know. It's probably the test. I would think it has to be the test, and they're disputing the result of the test. So that is what leads to the discipline, the results of the test. I imagine that's what it is, but I don't know exactly where that comes from.

00:15:53
Speaker 1: Where that stands ken. Where do the Braves go from here? I know profar wasn't with the fact that he was going to get a good chunk of DH time. Luckily they did sign your strum Ski. So where do they go from here? Offense? And again the question is going to come up from fans, Hey, you're going to save eighteen million dollars reported with the luxury techs money that they'd have to pay added on.

00:16:16
Speaker 4: So what do you think I would expect they would get another outfielder, either through trade or free agency. Tommy fam is out there as a free agent. Still, you also have guys on minor league deals around the game. Randall Gritchick is won, for instance, if he's not going to make the Yankees, maybe he becomes available. Then you have in Mets camp Mike Taalkman. He probably hasn't out as well. I'm just throwing names out there. These are guys not on major league deals. You may be able to get them. Talkman might very well make the Mets. You're there today. He's competing with Carson Benje and it's an open competition. But there are avenues to pursue. And also we've talked about this at length. They still need a starting pitcher and now they have increased financial flexibility if they want to go sign Lucas.

00:17:00
Speaker 1: Or Zach Lttel.

00:17:01
Speaker 4: And it would seem to me that it would behoove them to do both those things. And it's funny you mentioned Profar not seeming to be happy about being a d Age. At least in his public comments. He had told the Braves he was fine with it. He should have been worried about other things.

00:17:17
Speaker 3: Put it that way, what about Johann Rojas, how because he wasn't going to be a starter for the Phillies. Do you see the Phillies making them move in a lesser mode or do you see them still saying, Okay, we have a spot to fill.

00:17:30
Speaker 5: We can make a big trade for an outfielder.

00:17:33
Speaker 4: Oh. I don't know they're going to make a big trade based on this news. They were going to play Justin Crawford in centerfield. That was their plan from the beginning. I don't know that this really changes anything for them. They too, of course, could add to their depth out there. They're down one. But a major trade for a center field or at this stage of spring training, so close to opening day, that is unlikely to happen. I will never say never, but I would expect that that would not be the case.

00:18:00
Speaker 2: Ben, You're gonna be a WBC with me? Correct, Wow, we get to work together. I'm so honored. What are you thinking about this Usafeteam? What are you thinking about the USA team? Is this the best roster of talent ever assembled on one team?

00:18:16
Speaker 1: Aj?

00:18:17
Speaker 4: First of all, the honor is mine?

00:18:19
Speaker 2: True? That's true. That actually is the truest thing you probably have ever.

00:18:22
Speaker 5: Said in your life.

00:18:23
Speaker 4: As far as the best roster ever assembled, I would say the best US roster for sure, But I would encourage you, Aj, because you're a man of worldly views, to examine the Dominican Republic's roster because it's pretty unbelievable and as good as the US looked yesterday fifteen to one over the San Francisco Giants, and it was every bit that the Dominican offense is going.

00:18:45
Speaker 1: To be crazy too.

00:18:47
Speaker 4: Japan is always going to be competitive in this tournament. That's just the nature of it. That's what has happened over the years. Those three, I expect would be the best teams in this the favorites Venezuela will also be good, Mexico will be good good. I'm sure we'll see other teams Baby jump out. We've seen this in the past. But the Dominican roster Flad Junior, Tatis Soto, Marte Perdomo, Julio Rodriguez and on. You can say, Okay, who's gonna pitch Not maybe as strong as you would like, but it's not bad. It's Severino Bao al Contra and at the top Christopher Sanchez. So if I was picking a favorite, I don't know that I would pick the US over the Dominican Republic. Both teams look really really good.

00:19:35
Speaker 1: Ken, can we go over the pitching plans. You wrote about this in The Athletic yesterday, and as you're explaining it, the one question I did have was why DeRosa decided to go with Skins in the semi final versus the final. And I did feel like I get what krat said. Kratz basically explain, Hey, you got to get there first. But also, isn't Derek Scooble more valuable pitching against Mexico than Great Britain? I feel like the US is gonna be okay against the Brits well.

00:20:02
Speaker 4: As I wrote, when it comes to pitching plans for the WBC, logic is part of the equation, but only part, and keeping starting pictures on their routines their schedules is an equally important, if not more important part, because, as Mark de Rosa said to me yesterday, these guys, the pitchers are already manipulating their schedules. You have to be as respectful to them. You have to honor them as much as you possibly can. And the way this lined up, and I explained it the story better than I'm going to explain it here, I'm sure I hope so anyway that Skeins he really wanted to pitch on either four days rest or five days rest, and he said he'd be willing to pitch on six days rest. He said he'd really be willing to do anything but to pitch against Mexico as he is scheduled to do, and then pitch in the final. That would be seven days rest. And DeRosa said, no, too much. It takes him out of his routine. Again, we're going to respect the pitcher. Now, how could scoople have changed this? Schooble If he had pitched against Mexico on again extended rest, I believe it would have been seven days, then Skeens could have lined up for the next game against Italy and lined up for the championship game. But it just didn't fall that way because of the different schedules these pitchers are on. And that is why at this point you're looking at should they advance Logan Web in the quarterfinal, Skians in the semifinal, and then Nolan McLain from the New York Mets, the rookie who's coming off a little bit of a vertigo situation. He is scheduled to pitch the final and as DeRosa explained to me yesterday, they will swap out pitchers. After the pool play they can add four, and after the quarterfinal they can add two more. And when I say add, exchange is what I'm talking about. So we're gonna see different faces in the knockout round than we see in the pool play round, particularly in the bullpen. There are three names that he mentioned to me that are on the designated pitcher pool that's kind of an alternate roster. It's Tyler, Rogers, will Vest and Matt Strom. They will likely be added others removed for the knockout round, should again the US advance.

00:22:12
Speaker 2: And how come we only talk about this with the USA. We're not talking about the pitchers lining up for the Dominican We're not pitcher talking about pitchers lining up for Japan or any of the other favorite teams. Is it just because we maybe know the names a little bit better? Why are we not? Everyone's like, oh, Schemes isn't going to pitch the final? Well, how do the Dominican lineup? Because they have the same problems, right, Japan has the same issues. Where's Yamamoto gonna pitch? Right? So how come we're just talking about the USA, not the other teams, also because the other teams have to pitch too.

00:22:42
Speaker 4: AJ. The only way I can answer that is because right now I'm covering Team USA. I'm not covering those other teams, and I haven't delved into it the same way I have with Team USA. I would imagine, Yes, you're right that the other teams are running into similar issues. All teams that have made league players run into these issues because the Major league teams have influence here, or at least try to have influence. They have in some cases the ability or the inclination to set conditions on how their players can be used, pitchers in particular, and it does affect things. We learned this in the last WBC. We've learned that actually every WBC now guys want to play more than they did in the past now, and that's a great thing and for all and any criticism school has received. My goodness, this guy is entering his free agent year. This guy, there's no way he would have pitched in this thing twenty three in seventeen. Players want to be a part of it, and that's the extent he can be a.

00:23:41
Speaker 5: Part of it.

00:23:42
Speaker 4: Okay, they'll take it so it's one of these things. Now again, I have not looked at the Dominican Republic rotation or the japan rotation as extensively as I've looked at Team USA, But just off the top of my head, AJ, I would imagine they're running into the same things.

00:23:58
Speaker 2: Ken. You know, we have Brazil on Friday night. Right, who's pitching for Brazil on Friday Night?

00:24:02
Speaker 4: I do not know yet, aj can Ken.

00:24:05
Speaker 2: Can't be so one sided and these things.

00:24:09
Speaker 1: He's doing that.

00:24:10
Speaker 4: Scott, it's Wednesday and he's asking me about Friday. We got Wednesday, check into Thursday, then get to Friday, and aj A, you on the Friday.

00:24:19
Speaker 2: Broadcast, I am and Saturday, all right, we'll.

00:24:21
Speaker 4: Be ready for both games.

00:24:22
Speaker 5: Okay, we'll be ready.

00:24:23
Speaker 2: Okay, because I hope Joseph. I hope Joseph Contrera's pitches, because he does. It'd be kind of cold to broadcast, you know, the son of a guy who played for for a long time. It'd be awesome. He's in high school. This guy's in high school throwing ninety five and hopefully you know, he goes and pitches against USA and well baseball class. It would be pretty incredible for those who.

00:24:44
Speaker 4: Might not know what AJ's talking about, because I don't think he gave you a frame of reference there. Joseph Contreras is the son of Jose Contreras, AJ's former teammate with the White Sox. He is nineteen, he's committed to Vanderbilt. And because his mom, I believe, grew up in Brazil, she was fifteen years old, she's Brazilian. He is pitching for Brazil in this tournament. I actually met him the other night. We were on the same flight from Atlanta together, and it would be really cool, yes, to see him pitch against the US. That's the extent of my Brazilian preparation.

00:25:13
Speaker 5: So far, Aj.

00:25:14
Speaker 4: But again, two days remain until the first pitch is thrown.

00:25:19
Speaker 1: Ken, let's finish with this. Were you at the exhibition yesterday?

00:25:23
Speaker 5: Yes?

00:25:23
Speaker 1: The exhibition?

00:25:24
Speaker 5: Yes?

00:25:24
Speaker 1: Okay, So what was it like just for people to watch all of those superstars in one spot, many future Hall of famers playing together. That's part of the really cool aspects here is that you get to see that as well, and like who looks like a leader, and just how they all mesh together.

00:25:41
Speaker 4: Absolutely, and one thing DeRose has made a point of really going back to January and even before, he has wanted to put a team together that is a team that is cohesive, that is together. Now. I know fans sometimes say stuff is doesn't matter, it's all bunk. You can't measure it.

00:25:59
Speaker 1: Well.

00:26:00
Speaker 4: The entire team stayed for the entire game in uniform in the dugout yesterday. That's something you don't see in spring training, and that to DeRosa spoke volumes. It showed the commitment and the commitment to each other that you would want in any team. So as far as how they look on the field, it's every bit as imposing as you would think when you have a lineup of Judge, Harper, Schwarber Wit. I'm not going in the right order. Roman Anthony made a strong impression yesterday with a big home run. He is going to start for this team. He's not going to be Alex Bregman in seventeen or Bobby Witt Junior in twenty three. This guy's going to play a meaningful role. He's not the Christian Latner. So it is impressive to see how they're coming together and how they all have a great passion for playing for their country and maybe winning this tournament, trying to win this tournament. It's a greater level of commitment than we saw, certainly in the first years of the tournament.

00:26:57
Speaker 1: And it's grown.

00:26:58
Speaker 4: And it's grown because Team USA one in twenty seventeen had a great tournament in twenty three and of course that was a dramatic tournament with an incredible finish. Players have gotten more into it and you're seeing that not just in the participation but in the way that they're going about it.

00:27:15
Speaker 1: Okay, great info and save travels. Then good luck with your buddy in the box above you. We will be anxiously awaiting and listening to that broadcast. Have fun.

00:27:27
Speaker 5: Thanks guys. That's what he said.

00:27:28
Speaker 1: That's what he said.

00:27:31
Speaker 2: That's what he said.

00:27:32
Speaker 1: That's what he said. That's what he said. Is engineered by Fastenall, where industry meets innovation. This is one of my favorite topics during this time of year. Spring training extensions. Jim Bowden on GM territory is going to be our that's what he said. To give us some names. But before we do that, let's run through some names of our own. Eric Kratz, do you have one or two names that you think need to get Spring training extensions done with their teams.

00:28:00
Speaker 5: I mean the obvious.

00:28:02
Speaker 3: I think it's the team's need to get the extensions done, not players that need to get it done. To me, the obvious one is Connor Griffin. I mean, I think you have to look at Roman Anthony's number, and I think if you go over that, if you go one to fifty five, I think Roman Anthony got.

00:28:18
Speaker 5: Eight years one fifty.

00:28:20
Speaker 3: If you go over that to like one fifty five, now it stays under twenty million a year because Bob Nutting doesn't want to go over that. But I think just his makeup and everything, I think that's kind of the obvious one that I feel like the Pirates need to get done. I think another one that was a guest on just the other day, Bryce Terrank. I think he showed what he can do. I think he made some adjustments. His power numbers are I think going to grow. He's got platinum glove defense at second base. To me, if you lock him up right now before he hits twenty five to thirty homers and is a perennial All Star, now you're getting a cheaper price and you're kind of transitioning from the Yelich time. When I think Yelly's done in twenty nine, I think is his last year. Let me actually just triple check that. Twenty twenty nine. There's a mutual option, so twenty eight and you know, you kind of transition it to the next guy.

00:29:17
Speaker 5: And I think Bryce Terraang is the guy to.

00:29:18
Speaker 1: Do it cool. I like those And by the way, Roman Anthony's extension last year was eight years, one hundred and thirty million dollars. There's club option and the whole deal max escalators. Club option can make a nine, one sixty. Max escalators can get it all the way up to the to thirty range, but you'd need to be racking up some big awards to do that. So just to give some parameters for what Connor Griffin might be looking at. A couple more names.

00:29:41
Speaker 2: Aj Well, a couple that we've talked to in the last two days. One was sitting next to me not long ago. And Freddy Peralta. I think he's he makes all his starts, He's had quality starts. David Sterns knows him well. You saw how happy he is, what a kind of guy he is.

00:29:54
Speaker 5: In the clubhouse.

00:29:56
Speaker 2: Everyone talks about the presence he has. I think Freddy Peralta would be an awesome candidate for an extension in these New York metropolitans. And the other one is someone we had on yesterday in the same division. That's Kyle Stowers with the Marlins. Why because you saw the numbers he put up last year thirty homers, one hundred RBIs was an All Star. He just exudes confidence and he's a guy that the Marlins I think could get and keep him around for a while. I think he would be a perfect extension candidate for the Miami Marlins.

00:30:24
Speaker 1: Nice, Okay, And then I'll give you a couple others. By the way, before we get to GM territory's choices, Mariner's starting pitching, I'll throw that out there. So pick a name, Brian Wu, Logan Gilbert, anyone Gilbert's a free agent after twenty seven, who is a free agent after twenty nine? Those are probably the two most likely candidates. Kirby can go on that list to. I guess Bryce Miller can go on that list. Yeah, So anyone that's interested I think would be good to pursue. I think the As should continue down their line of success of getting extensions. It's the best to spend their money right now versus recruiting. It's difficult to recruit and you're gonna massively overpay to get someone there who might not want to be there. So Nick Kurtz, Shay Langaliers, those should be the next two on their list, and then one more guys to throw your way. I wanted to get your thoughts here, AJ Hunter Brown top three Cy Young, he said recently on Crush City Territory, one of our shows, our Astros show, that he wanted to try and get an extension done. It didn't sound like there were many combos yet. I know Hunter Brown is a Scott Boris client. It's not like Boris has never done these. If you actually look at the Astros, do you know who Boris reps on that team who has racked up a couple extensions before ever hitting free agency?

00:31:43
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:31:44
Speaker 1: No, Altuve, Altuve your done. I think's got a different rep Al Tuovey's done it twice. So this is a guy who could have cashed out multiple times in free agency, especially during his first go round, and Houston pushed something in his way that he was into. Hunter Brown's a pitcher to AJ you always say get your rich first, and especially if you're someone who has something that's a taking time bomb and it's called a major league arm for.

00:32:06
Speaker 3: Anyone, I would love to hunt Hunter Brown was my guy last year. I rode him hard in the bed MGM segments last year, so I was in the strikeout totals because he was just nasty and dominant. I would love for the Astros, if I'm an Astro fan, to get a Hunter Brown extension to keep him around for the long term, because he's durable.

00:32:24
Speaker 2: He looks he's a big man. He's durable, and he can go out there and take the ball every fit day and give you quality innings. They went Verlander to Fromber and now it's Hunter's turn to kind of lead this rotation.

00:32:35
Speaker 3: I think Jim Crane's relationship with him plays a little bit to do with it too. I think at teams I've been on and watching Jim Crane, how he interacts with players, it's the I mean a little bit that I was there. You could see how he interacted with Korea, you could see how he interacted without Tuve, and when I was there, George was there. Like I think those things kind of sometimes supersede the whole Scott board, so he doesn't do extensions. Boros will do an extension when it's good for his player, he'll advise him not to and allow them to make their own decision.

00:33:09
Speaker 1: And the closer you get the free agency, your percentage chance of hitting the market and getting a bigger payday happens. So for Brown, what are you going to do over the next few years. It's easier to do these sometimes with a guy who's really early on and you don't even know what this success is going to look like. Now we're getting a good body of work suddenly from Hunter Brown. Okay, let's get some other names GM territory with the Bowdens.

00:33:32
Speaker 5: What he got other players?

00:33:35
Speaker 6: The Cincinnati Reds, I think with La Day of the Cruz, they've already offered him a Joey Botto type of deal that didn't get it done. If I'm the Reds, I wouldn't stop trying to get Dela Cruz done right now. I wouldn't wait until a year from now, because I think the price is just going to go way up, So I would try to get that done this spring. I think in Washington's camp, I think leftfielder James Wood is a guy that I lock up now before he is able to hit his prime. And to be honest with you, if I'm the Tigers, knowing I'm probably gonna lose Trek Scoogl in free agency, I also don't want to lose my superstar outfielder Riley Green. So I kind of feel like I would try to get Riley Green signed to a long term deal now instead of waiting a couple of years. They've got three years of control left. I wouldn't want to wait a couple of years on Riley Green either. I think he's a forty home run perennial All Star kind of player here. So I would say, to answer your question, the Oriols with Gunner Henderson and Adlee Rritchman, the Rays with Junior Camenero, the Reds with lad and the Cruz, the Nationals with James Ward, and the Tigers with Riley Green. All of them makes sense to me. And if you're going to do it, this is the time to do it right now. March of twenty six.

00:34:42
Speaker 1: I like Junior Kamanara on that list. They showed at the back end the only thing and great stuff from Jim Bowden, longtime former GM pops up on this show all the time as a resident GM plus is sentre running point on Jim Territory. Go check it out on Riley Green, AJ. Do you think there could be a discrepancy. The Tigers are one of the more analytical focused teams in the game, and just playing off a public stat that has its own proprietary metrics for many teams behind the scenes Baseball Reference War two years ago, he was a five point four number. Last year he was at two point two. He did hit a ton of dangers, thirty six homers, and slogan percentage was close to five hundred eleven RBIs. I don't think anyone's doubting the power, but there could be on base percentage questions and some other parts of his game that the Tigers might dispute. I love the player, but the Tigers might say, hey, you know, he was more of a two win player and he's like, nah, I'm more of a five plus win player. And that's a huge difference in how you value somebody.

00:35:40
Speaker 2: Well. Also, the contact I think is one thing they're worried about with Riley Green. I know at the end last year, especially in the postseason. In some of the second half, he had some contact issues and they would really like to see that improve a little bit. Doesn't He did have a really nice year and did a lot of really good things for the Tigers last year, but they really, I know, talking to people, they would love for to see his contact rate go up just a little bit because if he puts more balls in play, there's more chance for damage. So they would love to see that. And if that happens, maybe this is a mid year extension kind of guy.

00:36:12
Speaker 1: Hmm, that's a good call. And then one more team that would probably be smart to figure out some extensions at some point beyond the Halo. Taking this from the La Times, the Angels did not make zach Netto a form a long term contract offer this offseason, according to Cia, his agency Krats. At this point, I actually still am under the I don't even know if you call conspiracy theory, but belief that Ardi Moreno is going to sell the team soon. And with that being the case, it just feels like they're trying to keep everything short. Now. I don't know why that would necessarily have a ton to do with selling a team, but he does seem lost at the moment with the whole winning versus the fan experience aspect. If I want to buy a team and I knew that there were a few core players locked up long term, I would think there's more value. But often a group will look at their books and say, as clean as the books are, the better off we are to sell this team. I disagree. I think a few guys core wise that don't cost a ton actually helps. But that's just me.

00:37:17
Speaker 3: I mean, I feel like you can just put all the names and pictures on the dartboard and you can just throw one in there. Do you want to give one to Joe Adell? Do you think his defense and left field will just be serviceable and not below average like it wasn't centered. Do you think Zach Netto is going to continue to make the moves? Do you think Nolan Shanewell would be a guy that well, he's not going to hit for a lot of power. Could anchor your your team at first base? I think there's a lot of options because of how young these guys are. Christian Moore just got called up last year. But to me, what you said about Nedo, you're talking about a five plus war player this past year. You might be too late. He might have already started to show his value in the big leagues and be like, wait a minute, I can just ride this out for another four years and become a free agent. It's going to cost a big number. It's gonna cost a big number. And if they're not willing to go that big, I think they may have waited. I think the value was there before, when he was still getting his feet wet in the big leagues. And now you're gonna pay. You're gonna pay a lot if you're an angel, if you're if you're a argrenum.

00:38:24
Speaker 1: Right, it was only now a few years away from free agency anyway, Good talk. Thanks to Fastenal Industrial Supplies Innovative Solutions. Want to learn more, visit Fastenal F A S T E n A L dot com. Next couple of weeks, we got to do WBC, BET, MGM, Futures, World Baseball Classic, Pool C and Pool D craft. You can go first here you think there's any value, I know you might not be the most well versed on Pool C in Japan is at minus one minus five, Korea plus eight hundred. Everyone else is above twelve to one odds and then Dominican Republics minus one sixty five in Pool D plus one sixty five for Venezuela. Likely that'll be decided by the matchup between these those two teams and everyone else is further away. Netherlands at thirteen to one odds.

00:39:16
Speaker 3: What do you think easy value? Korea is the easiest value. Don't don't sleep on the Korean team. I've seen them beat Japan head to head. I was at the game. I was at the game in Tokyo, and like gave they gave them a run Chinese Taipei. I think they're just going to be too short to be able to win the division, to be able to win that pool and Venezuela plus one sixty five they could do it. But I have the Dominican winning the entire thing. I already locked that in on bet MGM appreciate that plus four hundred that I locked it in at. But to me, Korea, Korea is the easy easy bet here because you can beat Japan and then run the rest of the table and not win the entire thing. But at plus eight hundred, there's a ton of value there. AJ thoughts the list, It's Korea for me, all type.

00:40:09
Speaker 1: Aj who's pitching for each team, Well.

00:40:14
Speaker 2: Is going to pitch one game. Korea. There's probably a Kim that's gonna pitch some game because right, and I mean that because every time I watch it, there you have h and then other than that, I don't really know the check. The check guy probably is going to strike out show Hey throwing sixty five again, so that's probably good. Other not, I don't really know. But because I'm not covering this, Like Ken said, I'm focused on the USA because I have two USA games, but I love Listen, I love Korea. If you're gonna bet on any of these, it would be Korea. Japan lost their exhibition.

00:40:49
Speaker 3: Game the other night, I think to the to the I don't know who they played, Yokohama maybe.

00:40:53
Speaker 2: Based Oars I think it was, but doesn't mean anything. Australia doesn't have enough check doesn't have enough. Venezuela is not a good enough value. So yeah, it's Korea or bust here. Good boys and girls, if you're betting on these pools.

00:41:06
Speaker 1: Okay, there you go, and you can use in any sport parlay boost token during this little run to score yourself a bigger payoff for more information, go to betmgm dot com or open up your account in the bet mgm app. Gambling problem or concern, there's help. Call one eight hundred gamblers