Episode Transcript
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Opportunity to now to catch up withChandler Rome Astros writer for The Athletic as
the Stros get set for a ninegame home stand beginning with the La Dodgers
tonight. Chandler and a few othersposting this not just a few minutes ago,
regarding tonight's game, Freddie Freeman,his wife Chelsea dealing with a pretty
serious illness with one of their sons, Max, and he is now flying
back to LA to be with hisfamily, obviously not taking part in tonight's
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game and likely not at all thisseries. Hopefully everything will be all right
with them. I've changed their lineupa little bit tonight, but the concern
certainly is not on the diamond.With that, you also had a chance
Chandler, along with others to catchup with the Astros first round pick Walker
Yannick, whose deal is now done, and Dana Brown also there to field
questions about a number of different thingsfrom a trade deadline standpoint. What do
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you think you gleaned from Dana today? Not much that we didn't already know.
They need a starting pincher, startingfishing as their foremost priority. One
thing that did get gleaned is thatit doesn't sound like there's any payroll restrictions.
You know, depending on which outsideapproximation you look at, the Ashers
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are two point two million dollars awayfrom that second luxury tax and they were
never I don't think they were evergoing to find any a legitimate starter that
could have kept them under that text. Now, as I reported a couple
of days ago, and I'm stillhearing, you know, they are trying
to offload Rafael Montero's contract in anytrade package. They're trying to see if
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they can get that done. Butthat's gonna be difficult to do a because
it's such a bad contract, andthe usually when you do that you have
to include better prospects. It's essentiallythe team you're trading with is buying better
prospects, and the Ashers don't havea ton of good prospects to give.
So that that was probably the biggestthing, was that you know, there
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are gonna be no payroll restrictions.And look, I know you've seen a
lot of stories from the athletic fromother people about who's interested to do.
Let mean, it's suffice to saythe Actions are interested in every starting pitcher
out there. They have they havemade they have They are interested in everyone
because they shouldn't be. It wouldbe a dereliction of duty not to be,
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because they that is their priority,and they are scouring the market and
canvassing the market. They're interested insome more than others. But just know
that they have checked in on andhave inquired about almost every started with it.
That has to be two separate transactions. Right. You can't get better
and get rid of Montero at thesame time. Right, that's just too
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good to be true. I mean, who's gonna I don't know who's gonna
pitch the ninth inning of these gamesand they're down seven to one to be
a tough role, tough role tofilm, but they'll find someone, I
think. Yeah, I mean,I we've been saying all week and I'm
kind of using the phrase it notsexy on paper, But that doesn't have
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to mean that the team doesn't getbetter. What are I guess, what
are realistic options? And you know, are you gonna end up being a
bridesmaid and never of bride and alot of these potential deals because someone else
has something better to offer. Well, I mean, and again, this
doesn't break the news or anything,but I mean they were they were at
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Zach Eflin. But you look atZach what the Baltimore Orioles gave the Rays
for Zach Eflin like they weren't goingto be able to match that package because
you look at the prospects they gaveup. I think Baltimore, I think
it was their eleventh ranked. Otherthree prospects, one of them was ranked
eleventh in their system. One ofthem was ranked twentieth in their system.
The eleventh and twentieth ranked guys inBaltimore system would probably be like top five
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guys in the Astros system if youcan't. It's not a direct kind of
map sort of thing. But youknow, I've heard that they're intrigued by
Yusse kah Kuci with the Blue Jays'sa rental. I think JP Morosi had
a couple of minutes ago that theyhad talked with Tigers about Clarity. I'm
not dismissing that either. I thinkthey discussed that he's a rental as well.
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You know, I reported, alongwith Ken Rose and Doll and Patrick
Mooney Esjay that they they had acquiredby Jamison ty Owen with the Cubs,
and I thought I thought, youknow, when I when we reported that,
in some of the responses I got, I kind of underscored I think
what fans have to brace themselves for, because I was inundated with responses of
oh, he's mad, he's notany good. But in a sub three
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era, after one hundred innings,pitch and his pitched into the sixth inning
and thirteen of his seventeen starts toshoot like they're not getting Terrence Scruball.
There is no prime justin Berlin oron the on the market available. There
is no prime heart hole, Likeyou're gonna have to kind of resign yourself
to like this isn't going to beat least unless something transpires in the next
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three days that shocks everyone, likethey're not going to have one of these
blocklisters that they've become pretty known forfor authoring, whether it was drinking,
whether it was Verland or twice.I just don't think that happens because there's
just not that guy available, andif and if he is, if there
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is that guy available, the teammaking the team more teams, making them
available, or doing a good jobof keeping it quiet so they don't need
a they don't need an ace.They don't need a guy to come in
here and be ready to pitch gameone of a wild Card series or to
go like a top their rotation.Like they feel comfortable about Valdez, about
Hunter Brown, this version of HunterBrown, about reneld Blanco, and about
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Justin Berlin, Like they need someonethat they can slot in the middle of
those guys to give these dudes abreak, Like I mean, Stana Brown
said today he's not worried about RenelBlanco's workload, but he did say he'd
like to give him a breader inlike the lesson a work one. Same
with Hunter Brown. They need toget to a six man rotation soon.
They don't have the bodies to doit. And these games are too important
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to keep running. Spencer Arraghetti andJake Boss out there two out of every
five days, and so that's that'swhat they're looking to do. They're just
looking to get some reinforcements to supplementthe rotation rather than maybe, you know,
just go Blockbuster top of the rotation. Kind of back Chandler Rome joining
us here on Sports Talk seven ninetyA name you had mentioned, I think
in our last visit. I wonderedif you did include him in that group
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you just did, Eric Fetti,do you think their interest and opportunity to
get him is roughly the same.And do you believe what Tampa has now
done trading two key pieces away alreadyis a sign of things to come from
a team in Tampa that has manyother desirable players. Yeah, Look,
the Astros really really like Usock Paratus, and you att Fisher, he's he's
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obviously their corner and fielder. Wouldplay first base on this team, but
probably could switch over to third thenext two years. Winn f Alex Redman
leaves. I'm just hereing to thatthat the Astros really really like him,
and I'm not saying they're going totrade for him, but they are very
interested to Besock Paradas. It wouldtake a lot, It's going to take
a haul to get him. Hewould fit in perfectly and minute made park.
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I'm sure you've seen this spray chartby now. Every one of his
seven or so career home runs hasbeen hitting the pull side. He's a
right handed hitter. He would pitperfectly, and then it made with the
Crawford boxes, and he would solvean issue going into next year when they'reverything
to find the fair basement. SoI don't know if it gets done.
I don't know that they have theprospect capital to think to really get that
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done, but they are interested inEsop paradus. Eric Beetty fits the bill
of what I just said. Aguy that's you know, he's not gonna
the numbers aren't gonna allow you,the name's not gonna llow you. But
he can come in here and bea confident, durable big league starter that
can get them into a six manrotation and give these guys break. It's
Chanler Rome of the Athletic. Hejoins us each and every week here on
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Sports Talk seven ninety. Appreciate thetime and the nuggets of information as always,
should be interesting from here on out, and we'll catch up with you
again next week. Chandler. Allright, thanks guys. Chandler Roam of
the Athletic here on Sports Talk sevenninety