Robert Murray’s Insider Update + Pontes evaluates Okamoto & Takahashi

00:00:04
Speaker 1: Hey, we've got Robert Murray from Fans Added joining us right now. This is when he thrives their insider and joining us frequently here on FT. Robert, great to see you. You look well rested. That's going to change over the next few weeks. We'll see you down at the Winter meetings too, which I'm excited about. That'll be in my backyard in Orlando. Dude, let's start with Kyle Schwarbert. I just wanted to get your thoughts on what his market is looking like. It sounds like there are a ton of teams interested, but I'm curious how many of them are seriously going to get up to a number that he's good with, and how many of them he's going to consider contenders.

00:00:35
Speaker 2: This is going to be his last contract.

00:00:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, and well, first of all, I want to say thank you for saying that I'm well rested. I literally just got out of the steam room before I hopped on the show here, so I had I appreciate that. Yeah, but no, with Shorebert, like he's my favorite player in baseball, Like, how could you not love Kyle Schwarber. He hits bombs Like shore bombs are like the best thing in baseball. He hits for power, great leader, gets on base pretty frequently, and he's just a total package. And if you're the Philadelphia Phillies, you need to do everything in your power to keep him. If you're the Boston Red Sox, you need to write that wrong when you ended up letting him leave as a free agent when he went to Philadelphia. If you're the Toronto Blue Jays, when you want to take a big swing, why not go after Schwarber or even Kyle Tucker. He's from the Midwest area, so you got to think some of those teams would be involved. He was asked about the possibility that Cincinnati Reds the other day, I believe maybe even it was yesterday, and he didn't shoot that down. I mean, there's so many teams that could use a Kyle Schwarber, that need a Kyle Schwarber. He's going to do very well in free agency. It's going to be like as eventual contract is going to start with a three probably thirty million dollars per year, probably well well more than that. Whether it's three, four, five seasons remains to be seen. But to me, he's the best player in the market. And if I was a GM, which I'm not. I would do everything in my power to possibly sign him, but.

00:02:00
Speaker 4: Couldn't he hamstring a team? I watched him a lot here in Philly. I you know, I watched him when I worked for the Red Sox. Like, he obviously brings that extra value, that extra clubhouse value. But a lot of teams with expire not expiring contracts, but contracts that are getting deeper into their age, aren't they leary of locking up any DH for any amount of time, let alone for four or five years.

00:02:26
Speaker 3: Yeah, that part's tricky for sure. And I think he's an elite enough player that you don't really hesitate in doing so. And I was talking to Craig Breslo and he like he made it clear he can't talk about any specific player because he didn't want to get get in trouble or anything. But he said, when you have an elite player like such as a David Ortiz, like, you don't hesitate. You make him your designated hitter and you don't think twice about it, Like, yeah, he likes flexibility at the DH spot, like rotating guys. There is something that he's definitely open to. But when you have an elite player, in this case Schwarber, that could be the exception to the rule, which is why I think Boston or plenty of these other teams should take that risk, which I don't know if it's necessarily well, I mean, there's always risk with contracts, but with Schwarber, that's like a really good gamble to take.

00:03:15
Speaker 5: And that's what I was kind of getting to my next question. There's always teams lurking, and especially two teams I think of, Well, one, you got always number one guy's always the Dodgers, of what they did last year, what do you see from them? And then you got the Mets and Stevie Cohen over there is not afraid to pull off anything. You know, not only with Swarber, but do you see any of those two teams going after some high priced guys to get them back to where they need to be? Well, the Mets back to where they need to be, not the Dodgers.

00:03:41
Speaker 3: No, for sure, And I feel like both of those teams should never be ruled out. Like Steve Cohen he spends on like almost any owner in baseball, and the Dodgers their ability to stockpile of talent and be competitive year in and year out. Is admirable, and with the Dodgers, I'm not ruling it out, but for them, they're probably are clear, uh they want to add to the bullpen, and whether that's a Devin Williams type, which I believe Faby and Ardaya of The Athletic reported that first that he's interested or that they're interested in in Devin Williams. Even a guy like Pete Fairbanks would make a lot of sense for the Dodgers too, And you would think maybe they end up looking for an outfielder of some sort. Whether that could be just speculating, but I think a Harrison Bayer type would be a great fit for the Dodgers and really add to that outfield defense. But they're also evaluating their internal options there as well. But you can never roll out of splash with them the Mets. They they need to figure out the pitching side, and they also need to figure out defensively as well, what like how they can upgrade that that defense, and those are two things that David Stearns is really known for. He thrived with that in Milwaukee. I expect him to do so. I just don't know the caliber of player that they're that they're gonna be able to go out and sign. But that being said, with Steve Cohen, you can't. You can't really rule anything out there.

00:05:00
Speaker 4: I danced around it a little bit. The Dodgers are good at DH, so Schwarber ain't it for them? The Guy Show show, Hey, I think it's Otani otanny. I'm not sure how to get Maybe he's probably he's probably good unless they can make another rule for the Dodgers where they could have two d hs in the lineup, which Major League Baseball already makes rules for the show. Hey, Dodgers, So that's that's totally fine. But I want to go back to one of the teams that was actually in on Schwarber, and that's the Pirates. I don't necessarily need to talk about them being in on Schwarber because that's laughable to me, but supposedly they were in with a much lower offer on Naylor, on Josh Naylor. So are the Pirates really going to be spenders? And if so, why and what level are we going to? Are they just doing this to like make sure major League Baseball knows that, Oh, it's so tough for these small mare teams to even compete, so they have to make these piss poor offers.

00:06:06
Speaker 3: Like I love that the Pirates are actually willing to go out and bolster their offense because I've been I've been hoping for this for years now. And they have the pitching staff. You have Paul Skean's, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, Bubba Chandler. I mean, they have the pieces there in the rotation, and it's they're young, and they're they're signed cheap too, with the exception of Keller, and then offensively, they traded key Brian Hayes at the deadline. They saved a good amount of money and my indications then were that they were going to reinvest it back into the roster. And the early indications this offseason are yeah, like they're going to go out and do that. And Ben Cherrington told me at the at the GM meetings that they have more flexibility now than they've had in most off seasons there in Pittsburgh. And we saw that with Josh Naylor, who is definitely a player they coveted there in Pittsburgh. Obviously did not get him. He went back to Seattle. But they're going to be fishing its different waters than they've been in previous years, and like, yeah, like the Shoreward thing, I have a pretty hard time seeing that as well. Like that would be that'd be a big surprise. But the fact that they're even mentioned of those kind of players is a really cool thing. But if I'm looking at Pittsburgh, I would imagine like a Ryano Hearn type or someone along those lines could be a really good fit and maybe a more realistic match. But obviously they signed Tommy fam last offseason. They had a great experience with him. I would not rule out a reunion there, but Fam is not going to be would not be the last of their last of their moves there. They're going to be in the market for offense, meaningful offense, and maybe it gets to the point when we can talk about them being a playoff team, which would be really exciting.

00:07:46
Speaker 4: Robert, I'm gonna put you on the spot, and this might be being putting you on the spot. Do you remember their last multi year free agent contract? Yeah, because that was one of my first stories ever, broke Francisco Lariano three years for thirty nine million. Yeah, I'll never forget it.

00:08:01
Speaker 2: There you go.

00:08:02
Speaker 4: So what about what about their last free agent position player multi year deal. Russell Martin.

00:08:11
Speaker 3: Oh, I was gonna say, James Russell Martin, Wow.

00:08:14
Speaker 4: So what year was that? You know, the thirteen, thirteen and fourteen. I think you got a two year deal. So if you're if you're telling me this is what's going to happen, all I have to say is prove it from the Pirates. Yeah, prove it. Don't don't don't, don't give me. We were in on him. We called Kyle Tucker and he actually talked to us. It was amazing, Like, to me, I needed to be proved. That's it.

00:08:39
Speaker 3: No, I totally agree, like talk is cheap. But this year they seem more serious about it than they have in previous offseasons, so like, we'll see. I'm more optimistic about it. But yeah, the proof is in the pudding. And you gotta you gotta talk the talk, you gotta walk the walk, you gotta do all that stuff. And I hope that happens because Pirates fans deserve a playoff team. They are a very passionate fan base, and they were constantly hitting me up asking like what's my team doing? And hopefully this offseason I can say they're doing a whole lot.

00:09:07
Speaker 2: So we'll see.

00:09:10
Speaker 5: I want to go over a little more to the right side. On the East coast, they were talking about the Yankees a little bit. Jazz Chisholm, really good player, thirty thirty. What do you think about him signing back with the Yankees and moving forward with that situation. I know the Yankees aren't usually the ones that hit right away, but what do you think about that?

00:09:31
Speaker 3: Yeah, if I was them, I would definitely explore it. Like he was an All Star last year. He's a tremendous player. He's really been a great fit in New York and you talk to people around that team and they love them. And Brian Cashman did not shoot down the idea of a possible extension when he was asked about it at the GM meetings or on a conference call at the GM meetings. But they typically don't extend players before they reach free agency because Cashman prefers his players to reach the market so they can establish the values there. But he could be an exception to the rule. But that being said, he's a year away from free agency. He had a great year this year. If he has another great year next year, he can really just turn that into a like a very strong contract in free agency. So my guess is they poke around, they see what's going to take, but my feel is it's probably unlikely and that he becomes a free agent after the twenty twenty six season.

00:10:28
Speaker 1: Robert, We're getting some fan questions about some other starters, so I'll bring up Ryan here. He asked about Diamondbacks pitchers. First off, he said, what do you see Zach Allen landing in terms of money? He said, over under fifty million dollars. I know where I'd go there. And then he also said, is there signing order for starting pitchers? Like do you have to wait for a few to sign before you get to maybe the second tier of a Gallon and a Kelly.

00:10:55
Speaker 3: Yeah, as as far as Gallon goes, like the Diamondbacks, they have not rolled out a union there. And I also think Kelly has a very legitimate chance of going back to Arizona as well. But their markets are overall going to be pretty strong. I know Gallon if you would have asked me even a year ago, his contract would have ended up being one of the biggest in baseball in terms of free agency. Well for this offseason, I should say not overall, but he's coming off of a down season, he still showed some signs of being a really good pitcher there in Arizona, So I'm like, I still expect him to get a fairly sizable contract this offseason. So I'd take the over on fifty million. But as far as the rest of the market goes, it's always you got to wait for the top names of the market to go and then we can kind of see the other options end up coming off of the market. But all it takes is one team, and even Jed Hoyer was talking about this at the GM meetings, is all it takes is for one team to valuate a starting pitcher way more than the other teams to the point where they're aggressive with signing that picture and they go out and get him early in free agency. So maybe that has depens with Kelly, maybe that happens with Gallant. I don't know, but we'll see.

00:12:06
Speaker 4: That is funny that you brought that up, because I was thinking about that with Devin Williams. Devin Williams had a tumultuous Yankees campaign last year after being traded over I think he was maybe used improperly the pitch calling, but that's here nor there. Are the Yankees truly going to go back after him or is it more of like a posturing of, Hey, we had this guy, we really liked him, everybody else should like him, and then the market kind of blows up the Devin Williams train, and then they kind of pivot and go with one of the other two guys that are that high end closer role.

00:12:46
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I think their interest in keeping him is sincere. But if you look at it, there's so many teams that have been connected to Devin Williams already. We've got the Red Sox, the Reds, the Dodgers, the Marlins, the Mets, Tigers, and Giants, Like I believe those are all the teams that have been linked to him in reports. So like that's that's a lot of teams that are that are in the game right there. And like he obviously did not have a good go of it in New York, Like that was a really tough season overall for him. And my thinking is that a change of scenery would be really good for him. And maybe it's going back to a smaller market, or maybe it's going to even the Dodgers, or it's going to something like just going to a different environment where he has a chance to write a new chapter. And we like, because you caught him in Milwaukee, didn't you.

00:13:32
Speaker 4: I did not. I missed him.

00:13:34
Speaker 3: Oh okay, okay, that's not bad. But yeah, like he's he's one of the most talented young pitchers in baseball. He is, he's going to bounce back, Like I'm going to bet on the talent and just bet on his overall success and wherever he goes, like, I count on him being way closer to the version that he was with Milwaukee rather than what he was in the Bronx.

00:13:58
Speaker 1: One more for you, Robert finish line. We've got the non waiver or not the non waiver, the non tender deadline coming up tomorrow. Is there anything that we should be on the lookout for over the next twenty four hours. I mean, Dubon looked like one of those deals where Houston wasn't going to keep him, so they end up moving him and getting Nick Allen for some infield depth. But anything else to keep an eye on in terms of trades or a big name that could get cut.

00:14:27
Speaker 3: Yeah, there was one name that I thought could be possible, but I kind of had some cold water thrown on. It was Jason Adam with the San Diego Padres. He's got a bigger salaries coming off of a I believe a ruptured quad, but his recovery is going very well, and I have not got any occasions as of this point that he is a non tender candidate. I mean, we'll see, but like my feel is, especially with Robert Suarez now a free agent, potters are going to value him and he would make more on the open market than he is on his current deal, so I think he's probably safe. The other team, Like, if you would have asked me this question yesterday, I would have definitely said Mauricio Dubon. I had a pretty good idea he was going to Atlanta, but I could not get it across the finish line, which that's kind of sad. But Houston is Houston is definitely a team that is trying to shed some payrolls so they can add to the rotation, so I wonder, or just add to the pitching overall. So I wonder if they can end up being a candidate there where maybe you got guy like Jake Myers or or someone along those lines can end up being a candidate for a trade, so we'll see. But those are those are a couple that I've I've kept an eye on. But again, I don't expect Adam to get contented.

00:15:36
Speaker 2: Didn't you break the rice Elglacias news.

00:15:40
Speaker 3: I was right there with the Braves, the brave dude. The Braves are tough man like. They run a pretty pretty tight operation there.

00:15:46
Speaker 4: But we're I think Ryan.

00:15:47
Speaker 3: Arborough though, So we're on the board for the off season.

00:15:50
Speaker 2: There we go, There we go.

00:15:52
Speaker 3: He Braves operator. What Eric is doing right there?

00:15:55
Speaker 2: That is right undercover Braves.

00:15:57
Speaker 1: But don't overlook that left handed pitching market is going to get paid, right, even a guy like Ryan Yarborough. I think that's a bump from what he was making previously. Robert, good stuff, man, Thanks for coming on. Good to see you again, and uh yeah, we'll catch after your next little what is it your steam room session?

00:16:16
Speaker 2: Yeah?

00:16:16
Speaker 4: Steamroom.

00:16:17
Speaker 3: I feel like a million bucks, you say, I'm well rested, so it's clearly clearly it's working, baby. But I appreciate you guys as always. You're the best.

00:16:23
Speaker 2: Yeah you do. We'll see in Orlando coming.

00:16:26
Speaker 3: Up there you go, as as Kratzy said, go Birds Baby.

00:16:29
Speaker 1: Hey, Jeff Ponce joining us and a last minute joined because we got some news before the show started that there are more players from Japan being posted and available as free agents to sign this off season. You can catch Jeff's coverage, of course in Baseball America Baseball America dot com on Hot Sheet with me every week on that show on the BA YouTube channel.

00:16:50
Speaker 2: Jeff, Great to see you. I'll get right to business here.

00:16:52
Speaker 1: Alkamoto is getting posted by the Immuri Giants of NPB. There are some people that think that he has a significant higher floor than Murakami, who's the current big name that is going to be signed by a team this offseason.

00:17:07
Speaker 2: Your thoughts on him.

00:17:09
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think that's probably a pretty accurate assessment of the two players. You know, when you're looking at a player like Murakami, you're looking at potential forty home run power if he's able to make enough consistent contact here, there's some questions as to whether he does that or not. He's a very limited defender. On the other side of the coin. With Akamoto, you're talking about a guy that is a very polished contact hitter with approach. There's some power. I think at least from like a like a data perspective. He catches a lot of clean barrels. I don't think it's all that different from like a Kyle Manzarto in terms of how he gets to his powerware, like the top end exit velocities. You're not going to see him hit a ball one fourteen, but he'll consistently hit the ball between ninety five and one hundred and five at good angles. Doesn't miss in the zone all that much. Good approach, and he's a better defender than Murakamia. It's been a few years since he won a Gold Glove over there, but was a Gold Glove third baseman in twenty one and twenty two. Talking to folks that have scouted him over there, I was getting fifty five's in the gloves, so an above average defender at third base, and I was getting seventies at first base. He did play first base in WBC. I think it's because they didn't necessarily trust Murerkami to play first base. But he was really good over there, was one of the better hitters in the tournament. You can argue is probably their best hitter in that twenty twenty three tournament, and had a huge home run. I think people forget he had the go ahead home run in that deciding game against the US and the WBC Finals, so he has hit against big leaguers before. I do think the floor is a lot higher. He's a lot older at twenty nine years old. But at the same time, this is a guy that kind of is plug and play for any team that signs him.

00:18:54
Speaker 4: I saw Akamoto in two thousand and nineteen when he played for Team SAM. I thought he was a very polished hitter. And now he's obviously coming off in a tremendous platform year where he hit three thirty ish, which will definitely up his value. Is there fear that that power will be exploited in Major League Baseball only because away from home, I think he had like a two percent home run rate, Like it was two home runs every hundred at bats. It wasn't much outside of Giant outside of the Tokyo Dome in for the Giants, Like, is that a Is that a fear that they're just going to hit the bat out of his out of his hands essentially in the big leagues here?

00:19:43
Speaker 2: Yeah? I don't think so.

00:19:44
Speaker 6: I mean, I think there's still enough consistent power, like his average EV's like ninety two point five, and I think if you watch the bats pretty consistently, he catches up to velocity. Like they don't see a ton of ninety five plus over there, but they see enough. There's enough of a sample size over the last however many years to kind of look at that. The other thing is he had an elbow injury to begin the season this year, so he missed some time, which is why like the overall numbers, maybe like counting stat wise, home run totals, et cetera, don't meet what he had done in previous seasons.

00:20:15
Speaker 2: But I think you look at the.

00:20:16
Speaker 6: Overall slash line, strikeout rate, contact rate, all that sort of stuff, the quality of the abats was getting a lot better, and I think some of that stuff, you know, splits from year to year can be kind of fluky. You know, one year a guy is putting up you know, granted there are like D D. Gregorioas and like Yankee Stadium type of things. We're like, sure that plays to his swing. He has enough power and enough skills, But yeah, I don't think he's gonna hit forty home runs like he did in Japan over here. But I think putting him in the like eighteen to twenty five bucket with like a two seventy five average and good on base percentage, you can play him and expect above average or better defense at both in field corners, Like it's a pretty valuable player.

00:20:57
Speaker 1: I know murk Comy's gotten hit with the oh you know, he might struggle against tay v Lo. I actually was looking at Akamoto, Yeah, hitting better lately against high velocity. Just trying to make comps here back and forth. Since Murakami is getting so much attention, do you think there is any chance that Akamoto actually ends up with a better deal. I know Murakami is younger, but maybe more of an average annual value to what he signs, or Murakami is still more coveted in the market.

00:21:25
Speaker 4: You know.

00:21:26
Speaker 6: I struggle with that because I think when you're looking at just the player, like in a vacuum, like the next two years, like you probably do prefer Akamoto. But I do think the age difference and just we know how that impacts models in the draft, let alone in free agency, there just aren't a lot of guys with eighty raw power and the ability to consistently get to it with some track record against higher level pitching. Not a lot of those guys get to the market very often. So I think you're going to see more years with Mori Kami. The anual value might be a little bit closer than people expect. I still anticipate more Kami getting more And you know, maybe this isn't something that fans necessarily want to think of, but I do think when these guys are signing over here, there's almost like a marketing factor to it, like you're getting yourself into that Japanese marketplace that we know can be incredibly profitable. And you know, a guy like Maurakami, I mean, you know, his nickname is more or less like God over there, so I think he's one of like the three or four biggest stars in Japan. So there's probably like some of that coming into it too, that his dollar and his ask is probably just going to be higher.

00:22:41
Speaker 5: So for Akamoto and Mirakami, who do you think, like, what teams do you think are going to go after both of these guys? Is there any teams you have in mind? Or is it like, hey man, this is they can work out for any team right now?

00:22:54
Speaker 6: You know, I think there's obviously a lot of teams that these guys would potentially be a great fit for. You know, I wonder about Akamoto maybe being a potential Red Sox option, just based on where they're at with a third base position. I don't know how much they necessarily believe in Marcelo Meyer going in next year. They could, it's going to depend on whether he can actually finish a full season healthy for the first time in his life. That hasn't happened yet, So I don't think that that's an absurd one. Certainly. I think the Yankees could be in play on either of these guys. We've heard the Blue Jays kind of kicking around some of these names. The Rangers are always in on these guys. I've heard that the Dodgers are out, but we also hear the Dodgers are out, and then two weeks later, all of a sudden, they're in the running. So I think there'll be a I would be surprised if at least half of the teams in the league don't take meetings with these guys. And it's kind of the same with with you know, Tetsuya and my who's the top pitcher that's coming over that like, for my money, based on my evaluations and the calls and the things that I've done with scouts that have worked over there, I think he's actually the top player that's coming over in terms of what his impact could be. So it'll be kind of interesting. I would imagine at least half the teams are going to be on this. Obviously, there's going to be some teams that probably aren't going to meet the asking price on the big three big free agents coming over, you know, the Pirates, those sort of teams that just don't break past those thresholds. The Guardians, I'd be really shocked if they're in on them, but you never know.

00:24:18
Speaker 1: I'm with you on a Maya. I'm on the high side there. From what I've read and what I've seen, I think he's a one or two. I've seen some people throw at his career walk numbers. I'm like, yeah, I'd rather look at the last year or two where the command's gotten better. So I ask about him because the other news that broke is Kona Takahashi, and Takahashi also will likely link with a major league club over the next month or so, So what do you think about him? We can mix in some comps about how much better obviously Amaya is in the upside brain, But what do you think about Takahashi first of all, who's now officially fresh on the market as well.

00:24:52
Speaker 6: Yeah, so this is a case of I've actually heard some people bring up that they think the reason Amy was posted when he was was because they held the bag too long on Takahashi. This is a guy that I think would have commanded a lot more a few years ago. The stuff is kind of ticked down. He doesn't have swing and miss stuff. The only pitch in his arsenal that had a thirty plus percent misrate across the four primary pitches that he throws was a slider, which is a pretty decent pitch over there. It's a little bit like a sweepere curveball. It's got a little bit of drop, a little bit of tilt. So like when I look at a player like this who throws ninety three miles an hour, doesn't ride it a whole ton, doesn't have interesting release traits. A lot of it is pitch ability, and historically we've seen players like this come over from Japan and typically not have.

00:25:46
Speaker 2: A lot of success.

00:25:49
Speaker 6: So you know, I don't know how much money he'll even command. If it might be a short term deal, maybe you know, a couple of years. I'd be surprised if he's anywhere even in shouting distance of you know, moto Ami or Murakami.

00:26:04
Speaker 1: Okay uh Do you have any comps for the four guys that we're talking about? Major league guys for any of them? Have you written up any comps at BA for Murakami or Takahashi or a my Alkamoto, et cetera. And I ask it in two ways. One is any comps from current big leaguers that we're looking at or former big leaguers. And also, like you said, with someone like Takahashi coming over and that particular profile not playing well, have we seen other players from overseas come over with that profile and that success in another league and it not play well here because of the stuff.

00:26:40
Speaker 6: Yeah, so you know we're looking at comps. You know, I think the the Murakami comp and I think you got to sort of look at it with a scale, right, like there's probably a high end comp of like this is what the ceilings? If things go well, maybe he's you know, you Hennioswarez, which you know, big power, kind of fringy defense at third base, but can play it, And I think that's an area where Murakami really needs to improve. So I think that's that's kind of like what the high end outcome is the lower end outcome, I think just in terms of like the bat, I think is very similar to like Joey Gallo, where there could be big home run stretches where he carries your team for a few weeks, and there could be really low lows where you know, he's hitting a buck four a month and he's just not connecting and the strikeouts are ugly. Joey Gallo was a very good athlete, of course, I mean he's made the transition now I was trying to to make the transition to pitching. What was a good outfielder like Murakami doesn't have any of those sort of skills to fall back on. So I think that's kind of the range of outcomes, Like I think there's going to be some strikeouts here, there's going to be home runs, but just you know, how how much contact can he make ultimately is going to decide what his ceiling is.

00:27:51
Speaker 2: When I look at Akamoto.

00:27:53
Speaker 6: It's a it's a little harder, you know, the name that kind of came to mind, and this is like a throwback name. It's kind of like Bill Miller, where like he was a really reliable defensive third baseman, was a really consistent hitter and made contact, good approach, but it was probably like mid teen's power. I think there might be a little bit more power here then there was with Bill Miller. But Bill Miller obviously was a was a very good player. So that's kind of the first one that comes to mind. Like currently, I'm trying to think about somebody off the top of my head that's, you know, in above average third baseman that maybe doesn't have thirty home run power, and you know, nothing's coming to mind. I think like Alex Bragman is probably a little bit too rich.

00:28:35
Speaker 4: Evan Longoria.

00:28:37
Speaker 6: I don't think, Leah, I don't think like outside of like, no, not MVP Evan Longoria. But yeah, I think that's that's not a terrible come up in terms of what he can do.

00:28:47
Speaker 2: Let me ask this off season, Oh go ahead, you donad.

00:28:53
Speaker 5: I interrupted you there, but yes, it seems like this offseason there's more Japanese guys being posted and wanting to come over here. Do you think it's been been a smoother transition for them to come over here into the big leagues, into the United States. I mean, I feel like this is going to keep continuing as we see a guy like Shoho Tani and you know, the Yakamotos and all the other guys.

00:29:15
Speaker 2: Of the world that are going out there and dominated.

00:29:18
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think, you know, we've seen some of the biggest stars come over here, and you know, I don't know if there's kind of been a standard established over the last we'll say, almost ten years of like if you're one of the best players in the world, you have to come over here and kind of prove yourself. Every time I talk to folks over there or scouts over here, it is always sort of a concern in terms of like the initial touchdown in.

00:29:46
Speaker 2: Major League Baseball.

00:29:47
Speaker 6: I think for a lot of these guys can be a little bit rough because of that, you know, cultural divide and just getting yourself sort of settled into a new country and a completely different culture, and even just in terms of like how how their workout days go, like their baseball days, game day, all that sort of stuff. All that sort of things are very different from what probably what a lot of them had even experienced in Japan, so obviously the language barrier, all that sort of stuff. Do I think it's getting a little bit easier. Sure, I think, you know, teams are more cognizant of it in terms of making sure that all these guys have their resources to have the smoothest possible transition. And you know, I think that modern technology probably help helps out with some of the translation stuff that you know, in nineteen ninety five just wasn't available or easily accessible. So I think some of all that stuff is probably getting baked into it a little bit more now, and we're seeing more and more of these players come over.

00:30:45
Speaker 1: Jeff, good stuff, Thanks for hopping on informing us. I mean, a lot to know with some of these guys, and a lot more that you can digest over at Baseball America Baseball america dot com, get yourself a subscription, great for holiday season. They're the best in the basic covering stories like this. Jeff, thank you. I'll see you on Monday on Hot Sheet.

00:31:01
Speaker 2: See you then, Scott, Thanks guys, Yeah, appreciate that.

00:31:04
Speaker 6: Dude.

00:31:06
Speaker 1: All Right, we've got Trek Scoogle joining us soon on FT. But before that, here another reminder, hot sheet. We talk about topics like this every single Monday. It is part of the FT network. It's over at the Baseball America YouTube channel. If you don't subscribe to their channel, it would be cool to do. So they work their tails off. Hey we're back, do you guys. I'm gonna bring something up from the chat? Do you guys ever hear a baseball name who didn't play that long ago and you're like, oh my gosh, I forgot about his entire assistence. So I just saw one in the chat. Yeah, yo's Mani Tomas. Do you guys remember you was Mani Tomas common Backs.

00:31:46
Speaker 4: Common Back's got probably like thirty or fifty million dollars.

00:31:50
Speaker 5: Yes, he signed early too, right.

00:31:54
Speaker 4: He's tubing guy. I think Okay, I love playing that game. I love I love playing the Do you remember I even played that game from like college, like it was that second heasman that transferred in our sophomore year and they're like, oh, yeah, you know Jimmy Pollard And you're like, what what a name? I love that when guys, when guys do that, like Susdorff. Uh. You know guys that get called up for like one day or something like that and they play, you know, they play one big League game. Like Todd doesn't remember those guys because he's not a good teammate.

00:32:29
Speaker 2: I remember them all, man, I remember.

00:32:31
Speaker 1: Those Remember we got an influx of Cuban talent, right, like we had a real Golden era to an extent of Cuban talent. Jose Bray, you Pueague in his prime, Saspadae right, go down the line. So and hey, there were some misses too, Rusen Castillo for the Red Sox. But Thomas six years, sixty eight and a half million bucks with his contract at a Cuba Look at that, and then you know the career lasted four seasons, really played less about two seasons worth in terms of games played. And was it bat and one year with it bat was above average and he hit thirty one home runs, but that was it.

00:33:13
Speaker 2: League figured him out.

00:33:15
Speaker 1: Donzo last game was I think he made six played appearances in twenty nineteen, but really it was twenty fifteen to twenty seventeen. Just to blast from the past, we see that in the chattel.

00:33:26
Speaker 5: We should make that a part of one, Like every couple of days.

00:33:30
Speaker 4: Remember a random name. Just bring a random name up.

00:33:35
Speaker 2: Yeah, I like that. Remember him and then you just chat.

00:33:38
Speaker 1: I would love that, you know, and then we could like rack a bunch of them in a playlist on you remember me.

00:33:43
Speaker 2: I'm in. I'm in.

00:33:45
Speaker 4: Cubans. Cubans. Something that's fun about Cuban players. They always smell so delicious when they come into the box. I mean, I played against a Cuban dude that sprayed the bottom of his cleats before every game that it smelled like bottom of his cleat's, not inside his cleat's to the bottom. I asked him to smell him one time when he was in the box.

00:34:06
Speaker 2: He's thick. Yeah,