All Episodes

October 13, 2025 • 43 mins

In this episode, Scott Coleman and Stephen Tolbert discuss the latest on Ha-Seong Kim's player option, some possibilities for the Braves' designated hitter position in 2026, and an MLB postseason rooting guide.

Presented by FOX One: Start your 7-day free trial today at - https://fox.com/?cmpid=org=one::ag=paid::mc=audio::src=BIGLITTL::cmp=10010071002::add=%ebuy!%7C%e

Download the DraftKings Pick6 app now and use code FOUL – play just $5, get $50 in Pick6 bonus picks.

Get 20% off your first Slab Pack or card purchase by going to https://ArenaClub.com/FOUL and use code FOUL

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Hello everyone, and welcome to episode to eighty two of
the Hammer Territory Podcast, brought to you by Fox One.
I am Scott Coleman, and I am joined on the
show this weekend by the one and only Steven Tolbert Steven.
We are in the very middle of the MLB playoffs.
Football is in full swinging, Hockey is back, Basketball is

(00:43):
almost back. October is maybe the best month of the
sports calendar. How are you on this Sunday evening?

Speaker 2 (00:51):
What's up, buddy? Yeah it is.

Speaker 3 (00:53):
It's a busy time for a sports fan. It's weird
to me that hockey is back because I mean, I
know you live it out nar Zone and here's still
like eighty five degrees every day. Like having hockey back
when it's that warmup, hockey should be like a December
and after sport. But yeah, everything else is back. Obviously,
football is in full swing. Not a lot to talk
about for the Braves. We do have a couple of

(01:14):
topics we're going to get into tonight about shortstop Mark Bowman,
MLB dot Com beat writer released a couple of things.
Alex talked about a couple of things, so there's some
stuff to talk about, But Yeah, we're kind of in
the middle of everyone else doing stuff, MLB playoffs, NFL
college football, our fearless Letterer Brad Rowland will be back
sometime this week, I think so. But yeah, it's good

(01:36):
to be on with you.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
The first topic on the show tonight is maybe not
a full on report, but some interesting notes from Mark Bowman,
who is the Braves beat reporter for MLB dot com.
And Bowman was talking about kind of the big picture
questions for the Braves this winter, and in his very
first paragraph he noted, and I'm going to quote this,

(02:01):
that Hassan Kim is expected to decline his sixteen million
dollar player option for the twenty twenty six free season
and become a free agent, which is what's expected to
be a pretty thin free agent market for shortstops. Now
that being said, that's just Bowman's speculation. We have not

(02:21):
officially heard anything. Sixteen million dollars is a lot of money,
as we have talked about on the show, there's also
reasons for Kim to opt out and become a free
agent because there's just not going to be a ton
So Steven, I guess my take on this, and then
I'll throw it to you is, unless there's someone out
there we are not thinking of at shortstop, the Braves

(02:43):
really need to prioritize Hassan Kim. That might mean you
have to give him an extra year, that might mean
you have to give him a few extra million dollars.
But for me, unless there's just someone out there that
the Braves know about that's available that we don't think
is available, I have a hard time figuring out a
better solution to the shortstop situation. Frankly, this shortstop problem

(03:04):
the Braves have. Then adding has on Kim on some
kind of a contract.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
Yeah, so obviously, Bowman, I don't want to say reported
reported makes it sound like I don't know if it
was speculation. I don't know if he's just straight up reporting.
He said expected to is expected to decline his player
option and become a free agent. You can parse that
down word by word to what that means. I had

(03:31):
a lot of people responding to me because I quote
tweeted and just said that that line was pretty much
the most notable thing in the piece, and a lot
of people responding like, well, not really, it's kind of expected.
We all kind of expected this. I can't say that
I fully just expected it to happen, or as I
sit here now expected to happen. I can see a

(03:52):
world where it happens, and I can also see a
world where it doesn't. Like you just said, sixteen million
dollars is a lot of money and the guy just
came off a injury riddled you know, his production was down,
Like there's a there's a perfectly logical explanation for if
he picks up that option and says, I'm gonna do

(04:13):
one more year on this contract and try to you know,
play my ass off and then hit the free agent
market again, you know doing that Like that's that would
be perfectly normal. So I I don't I don't agree
with people who are like, yeah, it's just an expected
thing to happen.

Speaker 2 (04:29):
I still want to see it.

Speaker 3 (04:30):
But if it does happen, if he does become a
free agent, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (04:34):
What the Braves are gonna do because.

Speaker 3 (04:38):
They're gonna have to be the highest bidder on a
premium free agent. And let's be honest, the Braves aren't
typically the highest bidder on a premium free agent. That's
not the space they live in, nor has it ever
been the space they live in. They've spent their money
on internal extensions. They've spent their money on you know aging,
you know, more value based deals like the Charlie Morton

(04:59):
the sale extension. You know, they do not swim in
the deep waters of like premium free agents and really
never have. And this would be a premium free agent.
Now it's not gonna be a three hundred million dollar
free agent, but it's probably gonna be I don't know,
eighty eighty million something like that. One hundred million maybe
if if teams get crazy. There's nothing out there at shortstops,

(05:19):
so like hus that's you know, the reason Hasike Kim
would the declient's option is that there's nothing out there,
there's no competition, there's teams that need shortstops. He's the
best one by far. You know, he might get paid
a crap ton of money, but we'll see. I just
if he goes to free agency and the Braves aren't
ready to win a bidding war, I legitimately don't know
what they're gonna do with that position because it's a

(05:41):
black hole.

Speaker 1 (05:42):
Yeah, so I will say I would be shocked if
he comes anywhere near one hundred million dollars at the
end of the day, he's about to turn thirty years old.
He turns thirty years old this week, so happy early
birthday has Hunk Kim. But he's coming off a year
where he was never healthy. He had the offseason shoulder surgery.
He had an eighty two WORC plus on the season.

(06:03):
He had a ninety two WRC plus with the Braves
in that month of September once he came over. So
I am, I could be wrong, but I was gonna
throw out like a four year, seventy six million dollar contract.
So that would be four years, nineteen million a year
for a starting shortstop in his early thirties. Like to me,

(06:24):
that feels not generous, but like I would be very
surprised if a team if Hasan Kim gets more than
four years and you know, twenty million plus a season.
I know there's not a ton out there at shortstop,
but I mean he's a solid shortstop, don't get me wrong,
but he's not that good. Like like the Braves need
him because the options are like absolute dust with Nick

(06:46):
Allen and Vidal Bruhan and the shortstops and the system
are really young. But I mean, I was gonna throw
out four years eighty million dollars is like my cap,
Like I want this guy. But if other teams are
willing to go like five years and one hundred million
bucks on Hassan Kim, I I it would be frustrating,
but I would have to back out. I don't know

(07:06):
how you can give that a player of his caliber
at thirty years old at any position that generally doesn't
age very well. That would be tough for me to
you know, it's not my money, but it'd be tough
to sign that deal.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
Yeah, and you might be right, that might be his cap.
I just always have in my head, like I watched
Hobby Baiez get like one hundred and fifty million dollars
in free agency when everybody in the world knew that
was a terrible contract but it wasn't going to age well.
I watched Dan's be get like one hundred and eighty million.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (07:36):
Turner got like two hundred and three hundred million.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Xander Bogart's got three hundred million. Like shortstops get paid
a crap ton of money. Yeah, every year, and like
it's always more than I expected, and so like, yeah,
I'm expecting like seventy million dollars to get him.

Speaker 2 (07:53):
But if it's always.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
More than I expect and like it, Like if he
signed for one hundred bion dollars, it wouldn't stun me,
Like I wouldn't pay it. He wouldn't stun me because
he's a shortstop and shortstops don't hit the market that often.
But if he goes to free agency, and I do
think it's more likely than not that he does, the
Braves have got to be prepared to win a bidding war,

(08:15):
and I just don't know that they're going to do that.
And if it gets crazy, and listen, Scott Boris as
his agent, and we know what Scott Boris does, He'll
drag this thing through the middle of spring training if
he has to. Like Scott Boris has zero interest in
a November signing, which is Alex's favorite thing in the world.
How many times have we watched Alex at Doppolos signed
five people in November and then not do anything for

(08:35):
three months, Like that's not how Boris operates. He holds
and holds and holds and holds and waits and waits
and waits and waits and waits, and they know sign
some crazy deal with three opt outs and a player
option and whatever. In the middle of spring training with Boris,
you have no I have no clue what to expect.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
So it is going it's going to be fascinating.

Speaker 1 (08:54):
I think the dream scenario if Bowman is correct that
Kim is going to opt out and most players do
opt out of player options, like salaries are only going
up and they're going to keep going up with the
new collective bargaining agreement that's due in a couple of
years ago, and Kim is thirty, so this is like
his last chance to get paid. Now, sixteen million dollars

(09:17):
isn't nothing, and I'm sure the conversation of well, we
could take this sixteen million dollars, put it in our pocket,
have a good twenty twenty six season, and then hit
the market and get another, you know, another four years
on top of that. Of course, the risk though, is
if Kim gets hurt again or isn't as good as
what he's hoping, then he's kind of missed out on

(09:38):
his chance. I'm fascinated to see how this plays out,
and I think the perfect scenario is the Braves workout
and an extension before Kim gets to free agency. But
that's you know, if it was any other agent, I
would be much more confident in Alex's ability to Hey,
let's let's hammer this out. You know what will get
you paid. You can go on a vacation with your why,

(10:00):
your friends, or whoever you vacation with in the offseason
and put a lot of money in the bank. But
because it's Scott Boris, I think that's probably easier said
than done.

Speaker 3 (10:10):
Yeah, the agent matters again. Like, I mean, Scott Boris
has notoriously held on and held on and held on
and held on, and he very rarely lets his guys
sign extensions and like, wait until mid February, beginning of
March and see how the market and trust me, more

(10:32):
teams will get involved and like And that's just not
how Alex operates at all.

Speaker 2 (10:35):
He's trying.

Speaker 3 (10:36):
He tries to get all this stuff done early. Like
the the matchup of Alex and Doppolis and Scott Boris.
There's a reason the Braves don't sign a lot of
Boris clients. Now, I think that has been overblown a
little bit, but I think it's more because Alex likes
to get his stuff done early, and Boris likes to wait,
and you know, if this thing gets to free agency,

(10:56):
the chances of Kim coming back to the Braves go
down signific in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
And I'm curious. So last offseason, Hassan Kim was a
free agent and had like no market. I mean, he
got the the one plus one deal.

Speaker 2 (11:11):
He had the pending was it shoulder?

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah? Torn, he had a torn labor m.

Speaker 3 (11:16):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 1 (11:17):
So we of course don't know, but how much of
like what does the market think of Hassan Kim and
how much was that surgically repaired shoulder which teams knew
he was likely not going to be ready for opening Day,
Like if you're signing him to be your shorting shortstop
and you aren't going to have him for the first
two months, like, that's tough that that's frankly why the
Braves probably didn't sign Kim, right, So I'm curious to

(11:41):
know what, Like if you if you survey thirty baseball executives,
what do they think of hass On Kim at age thirty,
coming off a down year and there's no guarantee that
he's going to be good? Like, yeah, if the Braves
work out An extension or a deal. Yeah, we're going
to be excited and happy. But this isn't like signing
Francisco lindor who is you know, can addu can't Miss
shortstop or somebody like that. I'm fascinated to see. And

(12:05):
hopefully the Braves can figure this out, because if not,
it's gonna make for kind of a pins and needles
offseason that the Braves are into the new year and
haven't figured it out shortstop, Like everyone's kind of gonna
be looking around getting a little anksy.

Speaker 3 (12:18):
Yeah, and because if it's not Kim, let's just let's
just play that hypothetical out for a second. If it's
not Kim, let's just say we know for a fact
right now, hass.

Speaker 2 (12:27):
On Kim will not be the shortstop. Who's it gonna be?

Speaker 3 (12:31):
I can't I literally can't give you a single name
that I think might be the short I don't think
it's gonna be Nick Allen.

Speaker 2 (12:37):
I don't think they're gonna do that.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
Again.

Speaker 3 (12:39):
One of the more interesting things Alex said in his
exit interview press conference was like they have re kind
of reconsidered the idea of like having you know, you
can have seven good hitters, and a couple of guys
who aren't good because you know, he's always said, well,
if those guys are doing their then it's okay to

(13:01):
have a couple of black holes. And he said they
have had to reconsider that because of how streaky a
lot of their lineup is.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
It doesn't work.

Speaker 3 (13:08):
You know, how often do the Braves have seven guys
going at once?

Speaker 2 (13:10):
It like never happens never.

Speaker 1 (13:11):
Well, never other than the entirety of the twenty twenty
three season, but beyond that, never right or or in
September when you know, they were fifty games out of
first place. So so they so Alex said they've had
to reconsider that option or that idea, and the idea
that like that. You can't just have guys on the
team that can't hit at all. So I don't think
it's gonna be Nick Allen. I literally, I literally people

(13:34):
to have gun him my head. I could not give
you a name of the person I think might be
short top if we know for a fact it's not
gonna be Kim if this player opts out, I think
Trevor's story might be an option because you could probably
get him for a one or two year deal, like
you wouldn't have to commit. I don't know, that's just
a I mean, he is one of the few options.
I don't think Boba Schet is a serious option. Before

(13:56):
people tweet us too much, Yeah, exactly like Alex all
this guy voluntarily had Orlando Orcia and Nick Allen be
his starting shortstop for the last three full years. So
we will see very interesting days ahead. Again, just one
man's opinion, just Mark Bowman's opinion that he anticipates Hasan

(14:20):
Kim opting out becoming a free agent. We will know
more definitively within five days of the World Series ending.
All right, Steven, we are going to take a quick break.
We actually are going to talk about the DH position
on this roster, which is kind of flown under the
radar a little bit in the early days of the offseason.
The first quick word from.

Speaker 5 (14:38):
Our partners, football is back, and so is your shot
at big wins. But Draft Kings Pick six, the official
daily fantasy partner of the NFL. Your game day in
six can score your real money fast. Here's the play.
Just pick more or less on two or more player
stats for breakout rookies to elite qbs and I'm not
the upside that every snap brings the betterer calls the
bigger your payoff, and here's the kickoff. Bonus New Jackie

(14:58):
customers FI fifty dollars and monus picks. Which five dollars
entry on your first pick set this season player player instincts,
dellal Druftkings. Pick six app right now and use code foul.
That's code foul. Play just five dollars, give you dollars
and pick six bonus picks. Make the call, ride the
upside and partnership with Draft Kings. Pick six The crown
is yours.

Speaker 6 (15:15):
Gambling problem called one eight hundred. Gambler Help is available
for problem gambling called eight eight eight seventy nine seven
seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot orgon Connecticut. Must
be eighteen and over age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction.
Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario.
Void work prohibited one per new customer. Bonus awarded as
non withdrawal. Pick six bonus picks that expire in fourteen days,

(15:36):
limited time offer. See terms at pick six dot DraftKings
dot com slash promos.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
Welcome back to the Hammer Territory podcast brought to you
by Fox One and Stephen Retez did a minute ago.
But you actually watched the hour long media availability with
Alex ENTTHOPLSS from last weekend, and you pointed out to
me that in the entire of that hour long media
session the DH position basically wasn't discussed and the name

(16:08):
Marcelo Zuna was never even said by anybody. I don't
know if anybody necessarily expects Marcelo Zuna to be back
with the Braves next year, but that's a notable vacancy.
Like Ozuna has been the Braves DH basically every day
that he was eligible to be since the twenty twenty season.

(16:28):
That's a big hole in the middle of the lineup.
And I know Ozuna was not otherworldly this past season,
but he did hit pretty well, and of course the
years before that he was a really good hitter. So
where are you kind of at with the DH. It is,
of course the most versatile and flexible position a team
can have, because I mean, quite literally, anybody could be
a DH. But it was a good catch on your

(16:50):
part that in an hour long meeting, nobody was like, hey, Alex,
what are you thinking with the DH. What are we
doing here?

Speaker 3 (16:57):
Yeah, I mean, you know, and in defense of everybody,
the Braves do have a crap ton to do this.
This winner and obviously you know Alex. At the first
thirty minutes of that press conference with Alex, it was
all about the manager, so you know. And then they
got to the rotation, and then they got to the bullpen,
and then they got to shortstop, and then they got
to the closer. Like, there's a lot to talk about,
but I did.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
I was watching.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
I was like, no one is talking about DH, and listen,
the Braves have never had to go find a DH.

Speaker 2 (17:23):
Ever. The DH was introduced.

Speaker 3 (17:25):
In twenty twenty two when the new CBA was signed
and Marcel Zuna was already under contract. Remember they signed
him to that one year deal in twenty twenty He
hit like a maniac, was like third at MVP. They
signed him to the four year deal at the end
of that year for twenty twenty one, twenty twenty two,
twenty twenty three, twenty twenty four, with the option for
twenty twenty five, and then in the middle of that
in twenty twenty two, the DH was in the National League.

(17:48):
Was brought in by the new CBA, and so they
just kind of shifted him to DH and it actually
worked out beautifully for the Braves because by that point
he couldn't throw, he couldn't run, he couldn't throw, He
wasn't a left fielder anymore. I mean, we don't talk
about it a lot, but that was a godsend for
the Braves that the DH was introduced when it was
because they had the guy, you know for it.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
But the Braves have never.

Speaker 3 (18:08):
Had to get this position field because they've just always
had Marcelo Zuna.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
And this is the first offseason they're gonna have to
do it.

Speaker 3 (18:14):
And you know, you and I have talked about it,
and and Brad and Sean like we we want an outfielder.

Speaker 2 (18:21):
We want somebody who can rotate with guys.

Speaker 3 (18:23):
But again, the Braves have so much to do this winner.
They have to fortify starter, they have to ford it,
they have to get a closer, they have to fortify
their bullpen. They've got to find a shortstop. Like you know, yeah,
I want like a Cody Belger level hitter, but like
it just it might be too far down the the
need list to expect somebody that good. And so if

(18:44):
you're not gonna do that. Again, Let's play another hypothetical.
If you're not gonna do let's say you let's say
they don't have they don't care about our idea, they
don't want an outfielder. They're just gonna go find somebody
else for DH.

Speaker 2 (18:55):
Then what do you do?

Speaker 3 (18:56):
And you know, I don't think it's gonna be Kyle Schwarber.
I don't think it's gonna be I don't think they're
gonna spend that type of money with all this other
stuff to do. So I'll throw it to you. I'll
ask you what if it's not gonna be an outfitter?
Like we've said, what do you think they do?

Speaker 1 (19:11):
If I was a betting man? And of course it's
the second weekend of October, so this can this can change.
We also have no idea how much money they are
or not going to spend this winter, But all that aside,
my guess is that they are going to run the
catcher DH platoon can't tandem. It's not necessarily what I

(19:32):
would do. But the fact is is that unless they
trade one of them. Sean Murphy still has three years
left of control on his contract, they're not going to
just bench Murphy. I know Murphy has his fans and
his haters and the fan base, but he is a
solid major league catcher, maybe not great. I think if
we had Troop Serum and could ask Alexanthopolis live on

(19:53):
the show, he would all he would take back that
trade and have Bill Contreras on this roster instead of
Sean Murphy. But guess man like general managers don't bat
a thousand. That kind of drives me nuts when I
see fans talking about that. Yeah, of course he wants
to hit on every deal, but you're not going to anyway.
I'll get off that soapbox. But we know how good
Drake Baldwin is. You want Baldwin's bat in that lineup

(20:16):
every single day. But with the heat of the Atlanta
summers and just the physical demands of being a catcher,
I don't think you can necessarily have Baldwin catch one
hundred and fifty games next season and expect him to
continue to hit the way he did. I mean, even
cal Rally, who had like the greatest season of all
time as a catcher, openly said down the stretch that

(20:38):
he was kind of wearing down. And that's in Seattle like,
that's a much milder climate than what Atlanta is during
the summers. And of course then you're not gonna bench
Sean Murphy, assuming you don't trade him. You're not gonna
just sit Murph on the bench six days out of
the week when he has three years and you know,
fifteen million dollars a year left on his contract. So
my guess as of today is that they will do

(20:59):
the Murphy when tandem hopefully keeps him fresh. You could
always rotate in somebody else. If you add a lesser outfielder,
then you could still have Profar Dh. You could have
a Kunya Dh if you need to. It's not like
sitting Murphy or Baldwin for a day or two is
going to be the end of the world. But that
that is my guess because of the other more glaring
holes they have on this roster.

Speaker 3 (21:22):
Yeah, so obviously the you know, the the hip tear
that Murphy's sustained, well, we don't know when, we don't
know how long ago he sustained it. We found out
about it in September. He said he's been dealing with
it for years, which was wild. But he had the surgery,
so you know what his timetable is going to be,

(21:45):
how good he looks is probably going to affect that conversation.
If they did that, then you have to reserve. If
you're going to use both catchers every day, then you
have to reserve one of your bench spots for a
third catcher. Obvious, so you have to factor that into
your roster building. It's one less bench spot because you
do have to carry a third You can't play both

(22:06):
your catchers every single day and not have a third
catcher somewhere. So that's one. If they're gonna do that. Two, well,
you and I have talked about that. I think you
and I specifically have talked about this before about how
a catcher at DH is just less valuable. It is
because they're just not the same level hitters. But again,
if you've got other needs, I'll say this, I don't

(22:31):
think the Braves, I don't want to put my foot
in my mouth. I don't think the Braves are gonna
go spend a bunch of money on an outfielder or
a DH. I do think there's a world where they
trade for somebody who maybe doesn't make a ton of money,
who can play outfield, maybe even infield, like like a
Brandon Law type of player who makes you know, I

(22:53):
think he makes like twelve million a years, nothing crazy.
But the trade market is always available, and I kind
of forget that in my head. I always think, like, well,
they got to go sign somebody, they spend a bunch
of money.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
They don't have to do that.

Speaker 3 (23:05):
They could go trade for someone who makes no money.
Get trade for a guy who's only in the first
couple of years of his career and it makes league minimum.
It can still, you know, rotate around different spots. I
don't know, it's another position. I don't have a good
feel for it all. It's like short stung. You put
a gun in my head right now and said, who's
gonna be the DH next year? I have zero clue.

(23:26):
I have no feel for this onsoever. I don't even
know what position they're gonna even try to target. Catcher
makes sense just because it's inertia, it's already on the roster.
It's you don't have to do anything. You can just
go sign a random third catcher somewhere and call it
a day. But yeah, it's gonna be interest to see
because there's there's a ton of ways there's a ton
of different ways they could do it.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
Yeah. Well, and I was just thinking as we talk.
So let's say hypothetically they put all their money into
a starting pitcher, a closer, another bullpen arm, and a
shortstop and we feel good about the roster. But they're
just kind of adding money, whether they should be or not.

Speaker 2 (24:05):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (24:06):
Well, with Sean Murphy coming back from this torn hip surgery,
we don't know exactly what his timeline is going to be.
And then, just like any other catcher, Murphy could get
hurt again, or God forbid, Drake Baldwin could get hurt again.
If you go into the season with those two is
your dhs and one of them get hurt, and the
likelihood is one of them is probably going to get

(24:26):
hurt over a six month season if you don't add
another bat, who is your DH, like yeah, Eli White
or I mean maybe Jake Frayley if they bring him
back an ORB for like four million dollars like that,
that's not good enough. I mean that you talk about
holes in your lineup. Now, if it's a minor injury,
if Baldwin's out for three weeks, the season is probably

(24:47):
not going to be determined. In those three weeks where
you know it's do or die. But there's even more
risk built in with dhing your catcher tandem, and that
feels like it kind of blow up on the braves,
especially without knowing exactly what Sean Murphy is gonna look
like after a pretty serious surgery that he underwent.

Speaker 3 (25:08):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's fair.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
It's a fair question.

Speaker 3 (25:12):
Like and that's why I wanted another outfielder was because hey,
it'll let you rest your catchers when they're not catching,
so you actually get the benefit of the rest.

Speaker 2 (25:20):
B it's another.

Speaker 3 (25:21):
Depth piece for your outfield who you've never.

Speaker 2 (25:23):
Been able to keep healthy.

Speaker 3 (25:25):
See, it gets either a Cunya profar or you know,
brand new acquisition you know off the field, especially a
Cunyan profar, like in that scenario you just laid out.
I'm assuming if like Murphy got hurt, then Eli White
would go to like left field and profar with DH.
I don't know, I have no clue what they what

(25:45):
they would do, but then you got Eli White as
your left fielder, and so you know, yeah, they they
probably do need to add a bat of some you know,
you could probably argue for a guy like Jake Frayley.
You could you could even platoon it with a righty
lefty combo on your bench somewhere, find a right handed hitter.
That's kind of the you know, the inverse of Frehley.

(26:05):
We'll see if they end up tindering Frehley a contract.
But there's a lot, there's there's a lot of ways
they can do.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
And then you start to run out of roster spots. Yeah,
you do, because as we just said, if you're carrying
the catcher tandem thing, then you have to have a third.
But even if it's Sandy Leone, you got to have
a backup infield there. You got to probably have Eli White,
who I mean, Eli White had a fine season, but
I don't think we want Eli White to have four
hundred plate appearances next season, correct, And that's a possibility.

(26:32):
So again, it's very early. I mean, technically the offseason
is still three weeks away. But it was interesting when
you noted that DH basically wasn't brought up, and it's
kind of off to the side with good reason. I
think they can address DH somehow. Anybody can be a
DH right, Like, they're not trying to find a second
basement on top of everything else, or we don't anticipate

(26:53):
them looking for a second basement on top of everything else.
But nonetheless keep an eye on DH. There's some options here,
whether it's internal options or if they go out there.
I like your trade idea, especially if there's somebody who
you could add and then have money to add a
starter and a shortstop and some bullpen help, because those
are in my mind higher up on the totem pole.

Speaker 3 (27:13):
And I'll add this or I'll finish with this, we'll
move on. There was a valid report that the Braves
were interested in Byron Buxton. Now he's not, and he's
he doesn't want to leave Minnesota.

Speaker 1 (27:24):
He made that very clear.

Speaker 2 (27:25):
He's going to veto any trade. So it's not gonna
be Buxton.

Speaker 1 (27:28):
But like he says that, but if if they sell
off Joe Ryan and Pablo Lopez, maybe to the Braves,
Like if those guys get traded, and he's looking around
now he has like a big family, Like he may
not want to move his kids. That that's why you
have no trade clauses. But he might come back on
that at some point.

Speaker 3 (27:46):
Well see, but the whole point is the Braves already
had three outfielders on the contract when they were talking
to the twins about Byron Buxton. So like this idea
of an outfielder, a four starting caliber outfielder is not
something they have not thought about. I know they've definitely
thought it now again.

Speaker 2 (28:03):
Byron Bucks. That makes a lot of money. I think
he makes like fifteen to sixteen minutes. It's not a
lot of money. Actually that's it's pretty good.

Speaker 3 (28:08):
But I could see them trading for somebody. It doesn't
make do it. You don't have to go out and
pay a ton of money for and kind of kill
two birds with one stone here. I think I think
it should be an outfielder. I've said that from the
beginning that Braves have not been able to keep Acuna
pro form or Harris healthy at all.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
Go get another outfielder.

Speaker 3 (28:25):
But even if it's like a third basement maybe to
help with Riley or second basement help with Ozzie. You
can go a lot of ways. But I would not
be surprised at all to trade.

Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yeah. Yes, so we will see what the next couple
of weeks, a couple of months hold the Braves have.
I guess some different roadways they could take and maybe
Steven and I don't feel super confident where they're gonna
go with with how they're gonna improve this roster. But
let's hope they spend some money. They have some prospects
they could trade. Let's get this roster back to where

(28:53):
we want it to be, and let's get some depth
on this roster, because I feel like the last couple
of years, the Braves depth has just been.

Speaker 2 (29:00):
Wait, so real quick, do you think it's gonna be Ozuna?

Speaker 1 (29:05):
No?

Speaker 3 (29:05):
Yeah, I don't either.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
I I say no. I think if they got to
like February and Ozuna was like, you know what, guys,
I'll come back on a one year, eight million dollar deal,
six million, ten million, as long as the other spots
on the roster have been addressed, I think I'd be
cool with that, just to see if maybe he can
bounce back. But I I don't know. But then you

(29:29):
know what I say that. But you talk to anyone
around the Braves and they all rave about Ozuna in
the clubhouse. The players love him. He's kind of like
a big brother to a lot of the young guys
on the team, like Matt Olsen has publicly credited him
for fixing his swing a couple of years ago. Like
so I said no as my first reaction to that,
But I'm talking myself off it a little bit. Where

(29:50):
are you at with Ozuna?

Speaker 3 (29:53):
I don't want it to happen. I think it's very
possible that it could happen.

Speaker 2 (29:57):
I don't want to.

Speaker 3 (29:57):
I don't want to somebody on the roster who can't
play defense. Were we talked about that before. I think
it's too restrictive. So I have zero interest in and
Marcelo's inna coming back at any price. That's my personal feeling.
If you said, do you think it could happen? One
hundred percent, I think it could happen. I think the
scenario you just laid out into the it's end of
the off season. He's got no offers. You know, no

(30:21):
one knows what to expect with the hip. He's got
his own hip problems, the age. You know, he didn't
have a great season. He's put on some weight. You know,
he's got no market. The bra is like, you know,
would you come back for five million bucks? Yeah, with
some incentives on there or something like that, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
One hundred percent.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
I could. I could see what We'll give you an
extra three million dollars like that kind of thing.

Speaker 3 (30:41):
Yeah, a game, Yeah, games played, incentive homers. Yeah, yeah,
it's something like that. I can one hundred percent see
that happening. I don't want it to happen, but I
could see that.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
We are in lockstep there. All right, Stephen, we are
going to go to another quick break to hear a
word from our partners. But after that we're actually going
to talk a little about the baseball playoffs. We have
the alc An NLCS going on, and then the World
Series is right around the corner. Be right back after
a quick word from our sponsors.

Speaker 4 (31:07):
That's it.

Speaker 7 (31:07):
This week's Arena Club Slab pack pull.

Speaker 1 (31:10):
We opened a Ruby.

Speaker 7 (31:11):
We went big. They're two hundred and fifty dollars pack.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
That was you know what the nerves got me.

Speaker 4 (31:17):
I think it was so exciting because the motion and
waits about four or five seconds for the card to
come up. Card that I got was over three hundred
dollars a prospect from the Mariners, and for me, I
love the card. I thought it was great. Guess what
I sold it back? Yeah, and I got a little
more money and now I can go buy another one.
You have to wait a couple of minutes afterwards, and

(31:37):
this is the excitement, the whole thing. Put your money
where your mouth is and have fun with Arena Club.

Speaker 7 (31:42):
You can see that big smile on todd Father's face.
Lazarro Montes, who's supposed to be good. He's Baseball America
Top three, he's in the Mariners organization. But Todd Father
sometimes thinks prospects or suspects sometimes going back to the well,
and we'll see what he gets next time. Use the
code foul foul at arena dot com slash fal if
you want to get it on the first slap pack

(32:02):
experience and get twenty percent off or twenty percent off
your first card purchase.

Speaker 1 (32:09):
All right, Stephen, we are going to wrap up the
show with a little bit of baseball playoff talk. We
had an all timer on was it Friday night between
the Tigers and the Mariners fifteen innings? I mean it
was if somebody said the name Chris Burke on that broadcast, who,
of course hit the homer against the Braves. I think

(32:29):
in the eighteenth inning for the Astros back in five.

Speaker 2 (32:33):
It was late Yeah, something like that.

Speaker 1 (32:35):
Yeah, I think you're right, very bad memory, deep play.
Sorry for the Chris Burke mention here on the pod,
but the ALCS is said, it's actually going on this
very moment as we record. By the time people listen,
they will know one of those teams will be ahead.
But of course it is the Toronto Blue Jays and
the Seattle Mariners and boy Alive, Stephen. If I put
some serious cash on those two teams being in the

(32:58):
ALCS seven months ago, I'd be doing okay. But should
be a fun series. Two teams that have I mean,
Seattle has never won it. Blue Jays back in the
day were involved, but I mean it's been a long
time for both of those franchises and hopefully a fun series.
As a baseball fan, I just hope for a good, fun,
competitive series.

Speaker 3 (33:18):
Yeah, I mean it's you know, it's new blood, right,
I mean, these are two teams we haven't seen. Toronto
is such a fun baseball town, you know, and there's
Braves tyme like Alex and Thopolos was the GM back
when they had their run with you know, Jose Bautista
and Edwin and Carnacione and Troy Tulowitzki was on Josh
Donson was on those teams.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Like it was a fun team.

Speaker 3 (33:39):
And you know when we were watching the the NL,
the arm Sorry, the Alds with the Yankees those first
two games in Toronto, it was just like, man, this
place is an awesome baseball Like this place goes nuts
for baseball. And the Blue Jays beat the crap out
of the Yankees. For the Yankees finally got one of
the game in Game three, but you know, the Blue
Jays outscore them about like thirty runs in that series.

(34:02):
So really fun series. You know, that fifteen inning game
with the Tigers and the Mariners was some of the
most fun I've had watching like all of all of baseball.
Twitter was like watching that game together. Everybody was online.
It was hysterical, like they kept no one could score
and people might not know this or maybe maybe not

(34:23):
remember there's no ghost runner in the postseason. You have
to just score like you used to have to score,
just create it all on your own. And these two
teams for the I mean, they had base runners everywhere.
I felt like I was watching a Brais game. In
the first half they had base runners, ever could not
score a run.

Speaker 2 (34:39):
It was wild.

Speaker 3 (34:40):
Finally the Mariners broke through. I'm really happy for Seattle.
That's a town that has gone through some miserable times,
especially in baseball. They lost their basketball.

Speaker 1 (34:49):
Team, Like did you see the clips of like lifelong
Mariners fans like balling their eyes out either at the
stadium or in like their living rooms, and like, like
I mean, probably what a lot of Braves fans were
doing four years ago when they won the World Series,
like just in pure euphoria of finally getting to the Alcs.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
Yeah, and and like, you know, the Braves, you know,
we're pretty spoiled, Like we go to the playoffs all
the time.

Speaker 2 (35:14):
Like the Mariners, they do not live that life.

Speaker 3 (35:16):
They they live a lot of like they you know,
they're a lower payroll team, a lot of five hundred
and below seasons. They finally put it all together. They
got a really fun team. Of course, you know Big Dumper,
one of the greatest nicknames in the history of the sport. Yeah,
I'm rooting for Seattle. I really want Seattle to win
the whole thing, but it's gonna be fun. And then
obviously on the n L side, you've got you know,

(35:36):
the Brewers and the Dodgers.

Speaker 2 (35:39):
The Brewers went.

Speaker 3 (35:40):
Six and o versus the Dodgers this year, which I
think I knew that, but I guess I had forgotten it.
I saw that stat yesterday. They played six games, the
Brewers won all six. The Dodgers are going to be
heavy favorites. I think I saw their like minus two
twenty in the series, which is wild. It's considering the
Brewers went six and oh against them in the regulars'
that's how much freaking talent the dodge the Dodgers roster

(36:03):
is and somehow they got them all to the postseason
like healthy. They weren't healthy for all season, but when
they got to October, everyone's back. They got Otani pitching,
they got Yamamoto pitching, they got you know, they got
Eat Blake Sneill pitching. They got all their pitchers back,
and of course the lineup is just disgusting. So that'll
be a fun series. It'd be you know, the Brewers

(36:24):
have home field advantage. They had the best record in baseball.

Speaker 2 (36:27):
I'm excited.

Speaker 3 (36:28):
I love playoff baseball, which the Braids are in it,
but they're not, and I'm gonna watch it.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
It's gonna be fun.

Speaker 1 (36:32):
Yeah, the Brewers have become a player development machine. It's insane.
Like I knew they were kind of doing it with
a bunch of ragtag guys and all you know from
all over and every off season it feels like the
Brewers lose one or two really good free agents, like
they lost Willie Damas last offseason. You know, like how
many teams lose franchise shortstops and just keep on going.

(36:55):
And they've lost pitchers over the years.

Speaker 3 (36:56):
They lost out like Corbyn burn they lost their ace.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
That's right, Corbyn Burns. I was trying. I'm like, I
knew they lost somebody else. Yeah, like the beat goes on.
They don't have a big payroll, but they are just
a player development machine. I mean, if you asked one
hundred baseball fans who are not Dodger fans and are
not Brewer fans, what percent are rooting for the Brewers
in this series? Like ninety seven percent, ninety eight percent.
I mean, it's it is. It is David vers Goliath

(37:23):
in that sense.

Speaker 3 (37:24):
And that's the funny thing is that, Like that's how
everybody's gonna see it. That's how the that's how the
odds makers see it. Again, the Dodgers are massive favorites,
but the Brewers went six and oh against this team
in the regular season. No, the regular season is different.
It is a very different game. The the pitching in
this series is gonna be nasty. The Brewers pitching staff. Yeah,

(37:45):
I mean I think you. I can't remember if it
was you. You and I are you and Sean talking
about like these teams have these random guys you've never
heard of throwing one hundred miles an hour. The Brewers
are like the poster child for this. Yeah, everybody they
bring out of their pulpit those ninety nine miles an
hour with the nasties you've ever seen, every reliever, every somehow,
I'm like, who is this guy? It's it's crazy, Like

(38:06):
I couldn't I don't know that I can name another
starting pitcher outside of Freddie Peralta off the Brewers team.
Ms Rosky, I know, but he's in the bullpen now.
Like they've just got a just a army of pictures
that all through just the nastiest stuff you've ever seen,
and then they kind of piece it together with a lineup.
You know, Christian yellick Is is the biggest name in

(38:27):
that lineup, but he's not even like, you know, Bill Contreros.
Of course Brace fans know him, but it's like a
it's like a one through nine lineup, Like they don't
have a ton of like superstars. Yeah, it's they really
are a player development monster. And so it's gonna be
it's going to be fascinating to watch that series the
whole I mean the whole playoffs. I would love to
see the Mariners win it all. But it's gonna be

(38:48):
funny the way.

Speaker 1 (38:50):
So with all of America watching and tuning in live, Stephen,
your official prediction, what is the World Series and who
wins the World Series? I?

Speaker 3 (39:00):
I mean, I think the Dodgers are gonna win it
because their Dodgers' roster is just the nastiest roster I've
ever seen, and somehow they're all healthy right now. I
have zero interest in that. I want the Dodgers to
get swept by the Brewers. I would love to see Brewers, Mariners,
and Mariners win it. My heart is saying Mariners, my
head is saying Dodgers. I don't know how you beat

(39:20):
this Dodgers team. Like Otani had a horrible NLDS. I
had one hit I think it was one for twenty two.

Speaker 2 (39:26):
Didn't matter. They still won.

Speaker 3 (39:28):
And like what if he has a normal one, but
if he has a normal like even like Mookie and
Freddy had very average in LDS and they still won.
So I think the Dodgers gonna win an Inle's lame.
I would love the Mariners to win it.

Speaker 1 (39:39):
Though, Yeah, anybody but the Dodgers is kind of where
I'm at with it. I do think La gets past
the Brewers unfortunately, and I don't know. I kind of
think home field is gonna matter for the Toronto Seattle series.
I'll say that the Blue Jays are gonna win a
close one, but man, I mean that that's gonna be
really fun Baseball and Blue.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
Jays would be like I love the Blue Jays.

Speaker 3 (40:01):
Blue Jays Dodgers would actually be a really fun I
mean honestly, any any combination of the four would be
a really fun one.

Speaker 1 (40:08):
Yeah. World Series and to be a fly on the
wall in the Fox executive suite when it is the
Brewers and the Mariners in the World Series, I think
baseball fans would enjoy it. Like fans who are gonna
watch it could be any any of the thirty teams
like you and I, people watching the show listening, people
who are gonna tune in. No matter what. But you know,

(40:28):
Joe and Middle America's probably not turning in nor you know,
tuning in for a Seattle. Well maybe Milwaukee. I don't know.
We'll see, all right, Steven, that's probably enough. On this
weekend edition of the Hammer Territory Podcast, again a couple
of weeks out from the offseason, the Braves are also
fully looking for a manager. I know we didn't really

(40:48):
talk about it on the show, but who knows. Maybe
his teams have gotten eliminated from the playoffs. That opens
up the door for some candidates for the Braves. I'm
sure that Alexanthopolis has talked to numerous people at this point.

Speaker 3 (41:02):
Oh, I will say this one thing, because we did
talk about this on the show. One thing he did
say in his exit interview was if you are interviewing
somebody who is currently in the playoffs, the team, the
teams he.

Speaker 2 (41:15):
Talks to, they will always work with you to like
on an off day.

Speaker 3 (41:21):
Have that so you don't have to wait until they're
eliminated from the playoffs to Like I was thinking, like
if the if the Braves wanted to talk to, you know,
somebody on Chicago or LA or whatever, they had to
wait till they were eliminated, and Alex said, no, that's
not the case. Teams work with you on the off
days to let those guys do that in the middle
of the playoffs, so just FYI.

Speaker 1 (41:41):
Yeah, And that's the beauty of like, like a bench
coach is obviously busy. I don't want to pretend like
a bench coach is sitting around eating ice cream on
the days off. But it's you know, it's not like
an offensive coordinator in an NFL game or something like that,
where it might be a little harder to get a
couple hours of time. But yeah, so we'll see. I mean,
it wouldn't shock me. I mean, ony, we could get
an announcement and the braves go fast, or it could

(42:03):
be two or three weeks and we're like, all right, boys,
anytime now, who's the higher. We'll see how it plays out. Yep,
all right, Stephen, this was a pleasure. As always, Again
a big thank you to people for checking out the show,
whether on YouTube or on audio wherever you get your podcasts.
We'll be back with a couple more shows this week.

(42:23):
As always, if there's breaking news, we'll get an emergency
show on. If there's no breaking News. I guarantee you
we will find something to talk about with the Atlanta Braves.
If you want to follow Steven on Twitter slash x,
you can follow him at b Underscore Outliers. If for
some reason you want to follow me, I am at
Scott Coleman at fifty five again has always a big

(42:45):
shot out to everybody for tuning in. We'll be back
with more shows this week and we will see everybody
next time.

Speaker 8 (43:05):
Today, day today, Let today, Let today the copy
Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

24/7 News: The Latest

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.