August 1, 2025 • 8 mins
The Athletic's Chandler Rome joins to talk all things about the Carlos Correa trade and the arrival of two newcomers for the 2025 season from the trade deadline!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
A team. Continuing here as we have one more segment
to go before we gets you into the Astros on
Deck show. No better time than the present, especially considering
what's happened over the past twenty four hours, to catch
up with our good buddy Chandler Rome of the Athletic.
Now you said it, Wex said it. Leading up to
this all important opening game of this series with the
Red Sox at Finway son Way. Carlos Correa is coming
(00:27):
back to Houston. Jim Crane's not going to do that.
How crazy? How stunning was that in your world yesterday?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I mean, yeah, it's obviously stunning, and it's not something
that I would have projected three days ago. But I
mean there's also there's now, I mean, there's precedent for this,
Like if Jim Crane wants someone, if he has his
eye on someone, nine times out of ten, he's going
to get him. And you know, there's been a couple
that have fallen through. I remember in twenty twenty three,
(00:56):
they tried to acquire both Josh Hater and Blake Snell
from the Padres at the deadline. That didn't work, and
guess who they signed next winner Josh hater Jim Crane
wanted Carlos Carea back in Houston. Carlos Korea wanted out
of Minnesota, and he was not going to go anywhere
but here, and it just it just so happened that,
you know, a salary dump came to the right place
(01:18):
that was welling.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Thing.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Deserves a lot of credit for doing something that is
outside of his comfort zone, but he has shown that
when the team give, when the team has a legitimate chance,
and when the team has put itself in a position
like this, he's willing to do that.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
There's so much going to be made about the nostalgia
and the good vibes and the feelings and everything, and
you're in the middle of all that, even with the players.
And that's clearly a fan side of it too. What
do people think Carlos Korea the baseball player is as
he re arrives in Houston three plus years in Minnesota,
he's clearly been inconsistent. He arrives now with the numbers
we've seen, maybe on a little bit of an uptick,
(01:56):
but now you've got him for three more years under contract.
The player, the offensive player, what do you think he is?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, it was interesting to hear Carlos talk today.
He addressed that, and he did say, you know, the
Twins changed hitting coaches over the offseason, and he pretty
much hinted that working with a new group of hitting
coaches that contributed a lot to his slow start, And
he wasn't blaming the hitting coaches he was blaming. He
was basically saying, you know, they did things a different
(02:24):
way and it was hard for him to maybe adjust
to that. And he has gotten better. I mean you've
seen the last month or so. The ops is up,
his hard hit rate is up. I think coming back
and being around Alex Centrone and Troy Snicker, two guys
that he knows very well, it was funny. I actually,
this is gonna be a I'm giving you guys a
little scoop here. It's gonna be in a story I'm writing. Tonight.
(02:46):
Ice talked to Alex talked to Alex Centron, who said
that he was texting Carlos last night and he spent
Carlos a pretty long evaluation of what he saw on
his twain and he said. Correa responded with, I feel
the exact same way. That's That's what I've been thinking
the whole time too, so they're already hitting it off again.
I don't think just you know, coming back to old
(03:08):
friends and hitting coaches is gonna make him the production
go up. But I think familiarity helps. I think having
two guys in Centron and Snicker that know how he
operates and that know him will help. But at the
end of the day, Carlos has to do it too,
and bear in mind too, he's going to be changing positions.
He's going to third base. Everyone I have talked to
(03:29):
just inside the team doesn't think that's going to be
a big issue for him. There's gonna be some stuff.
You know, he's gonna have to the slow rollers up
the line, playing bunts, where he's positioned, the angle of
his throws. It's all going to be a little bit
different that I think. If Carlo's Korea is one thing.
He is an elite defender, and I think that's I
don't think that's going to change.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Going to third base, well, I was more than amused
when I heard Harold Reynolds talk about the fact, well,
he's too much of an alpha. There's no way he's
going to go there and not play third base. And
there he is shagging balls third base, you know, taking
grounders at third base. I'd never Why would the Astros
even do this without at least checking on something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well, it does sound like I mean, Carlos is tough.
He said today and he said it before too, that
he wanted to play third in Minnesota, and he had
he had talked to the front office about it, but
the way the way their team was constructed, it just
didn't work. They were waiting on a couple of short
stops to come up. They have brook a kid named
brooks Lee who's one of the better prospects in baseball.
(04:30):
Ringing between the lines, it sounds like if brooks Lee
was been ready, they would have moved Korea to third base.
Brooks Lee would have been their shortstop. That's in an
ideal world when the Twins are a functional organization. Instead
now they're just selling off every part they have other
than Byron Buxton. But you know, I don't think that's
an issue at all. I think Korea that's something he
(04:51):
wanted to do. He knew for maybe later in his
career as he ages a little, but he was going
to have to get off the shortstop.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
What do you think they get in your eyes in Sanchez.
Sanchez is in the lineup today blaying left field.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, I think you'll see, hey, sus Sanchez pretty much
every day against right handed pitching. The fact that he's
hitting clean up today or not crazing cleanup today, right
sitting clean up today.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I don't Sanchez to are Sanchez three ALTI okay?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
The fact that Sanchez is hitting third in his first
game in a Nastar uniform really just demonstrates to you
what they think of his bat. You look at the
ops numbers, He's terrible against left handed pitching and elite
against right handed pitching. And you look at the rest
of their lineup and it's pretty much the opposite. Everyone
is a leade against left handed pitching and okay against
right handed pitching. And because this lineup had been so imbalanced,
(05:40):
opposing managers could just throw right handed pitchers at them
all the time without any thought. Sus Sanchez is going
to make them second. Guess that Joe said today that
he wants to leave him in either corner outfield spot.
Don't think you'll see him playing a bunch of center,
but yeah, it's gonna be. He's probably gonna be close
to an everyday player when there's a right handed pitcher there.
(06:00):
It's going to help spell Cam Smith a little bit too.
I know they're both in the lineup today, but you
could see a lot of times where you know, Smith
gets some days off, especially as the workload continues to
increase on him. They need to keep him fresh. But
you know, with Orius, I think he's maybe more of
a bench bat, a guy that you know they can
use tonight against a right handed leverage reliever or a
(06:22):
left handed or leverage reliever. You know, can play all
around the diamond. Most of his experiences at third base.
I think they're going to start to really work with
him at second to see how functional he can be there.
But I think he and Mauricio Dubon are kind of
on the same kind of playing field right now. I
think Dubon is a better defender at second and short
(06:42):
than Ourrias's so you'll probably see a little bit more
Dubon until they get a feel of what they have
in Urius. But that's kind of where those two guys are.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
How amusing is this for Alex Bregman, even more so
than maybe it would have been prior to the Korea edition.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Well, it's pretty funny. So again I'm giving a lay
all trade secrets here. So Knox Knox Bregman, Alex's oldest son.
It's his birthday today and they had his birthday party
yesterday in Boston, and just so happened it was on
the Astros off day, so a lot of his Asher's teammates,
former Asterers teammates came to you know, celebrate Knox and
(07:19):
see Alex, and it was pretty funny. That's where some
of these dudes learned that Correa was coming to Houston.
So it's a really kind of it's kind of a
full circle moment. But yeah, you know, Alex, she talked
today and he just kind of he was typical Alex,
you know, just was a pro about it. And you know,
it's gonna be interesting, it's gonna be fun to watch,
you know, who knows. But by the time this thing's over,
(07:40):
he made be back here too in a couple of years.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It's crazy because that the deal doesn't get made if
Alex isn't playing third base in Boston.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I mean, well, the deal doesn't get made if he sacked.
Paradous's hamstring is still intact.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
That's the that's that's the big thing here. I mean
like it, We're not having this discussion if Estak Paratus
doesn't pull up in Seattle a couple of weeks ago,
when you're probably looking at the Hacy Sanchez is probably
still here. That's probably kind of their target guy. He's
probably here, And honestly, you're probably looking at maybe Dylan
c speeding here, maybe a starting pitcher being here, another arm,
(08:17):
because I think that would have increased the urgency for
them to go into the pitching market. If they wouldn't
have gotten.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Korea, would have been exciting. Regardless, heading down the stretch
with roughly a five game lead, it's at four and
a half today, it's going to be even more exciting,
and certainly when they return home. We appreciate your coverage
of all this fast and furious as it was over
the last couple of days, and appreciate the time with
us here on the show.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
All Right, thanks guys, The AD on Sports Talk seven
ninety
A team. Continuing here as we have one more segment
to go before we gets you into the Astros on
Deck show. No better time than the present, especially considering
what's happened over the past twenty four hours, to catch
up with our good buddy Chandler Rome of the Athletic.
Now you said it, Wex said it. Leading up to
this all important opening game of this series with the
Red Sox at Finway son Way. Carlos Correa is coming
(00:27):
back to Houston. Jim Crane's not going to do that.
How crazy? How stunning was that in your world yesterday?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
I mean, yeah, it's obviously stunning, and it's not something
that I would have projected three days ago. But I
mean there's also there's now, I mean, there's precedent for this,
Like if Jim Crane wants someone, if he has his
eye on someone, nine times out of ten, he's going
to get him. And you know, there's been a couple
that have fallen through. I remember in twenty twenty three,
(00:56):
they tried to acquire both Josh Hater and Blake Snell
from the Padres at the deadline. That didn't work, and
guess who they signed next winner Josh hater Jim Crane
wanted Carlos Carea back in Houston. Carlos Korea wanted out
of Minnesota, and he was not going to go anywhere
but here, and it just it just so happened that,
you know, a salary dump came to the right place
(01:18):
that was welling.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Thing.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
Deserves a lot of credit for doing something that is
outside of his comfort zone, but he has shown that
when the team give, when the team has a legitimate chance,
and when the team has put itself in a position
like this, he's willing to do that.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
There's so much going to be made about the nostalgia
and the good vibes and the feelings and everything, and
you're in the middle of all that, even with the players.
And that's clearly a fan side of it too. What
do people think Carlos Korea the baseball player is as
he re arrives in Houston three plus years in Minnesota,
he's clearly been inconsistent. He arrives now with the numbers
we've seen, maybe on a little bit of an uptick,
(01:56):
but now you've got him for three more years under contract.
The player, the offensive player, what do you think he is?
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know, it was interesting to hear Carlos talk today.
He addressed that, and he did say, you know, the
Twins changed hitting coaches over the offseason, and he pretty
much hinted that working with a new group of hitting
coaches that contributed a lot to his slow start, And
he wasn't blaming the hitting coaches he was blaming. He
was basically saying, you know, they did things a different
(02:24):
way and it was hard for him to maybe adjust
to that. And he has gotten better. I mean you've
seen the last month or so. The ops is up,
his hard hit rate is up. I think coming back
and being around Alex Centrone and Troy Snicker, two guys
that he knows very well, it was funny. I actually,
this is gonna be a I'm giving you guys a
little scoop here. It's gonna be in a story I'm writing. Tonight.
(02:46):
Ice talked to Alex talked to Alex Centron, who said
that he was texting Carlos last night and he spent
Carlos a pretty long evaluation of what he saw on
his twain and he said. Correa responded with, I feel
the exact same way. That's That's what I've been thinking
the whole time too, so they're already hitting it off again.
I don't think just you know, coming back to old
(03:08):
friends and hitting coaches is gonna make him the production
go up. But I think familiarity helps. I think having
two guys in Centron and Snicker that know how he
operates and that know him will help. But at the
end of the day, Carlos has to do it too,
and bear in mind too, he's going to be changing positions.
He's going to third base. Everyone I have talked to
(03:29):
just inside the team doesn't think that's going to be
a big issue for him. There's gonna be some stuff.
You know, he's gonna have to the slow rollers up
the line, playing bunts, where he's positioned, the angle of
his throws. It's all going to be a little bit
different that I think. If Carlo's Korea is one thing.
He is an elite defender, and I think that's I
don't think that's going to change.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Going to third base, well, I was more than amused
when I heard Harold Reynolds talk about the fact, well,
he's too much of an alpha. There's no way he's
going to go there and not play third base. And
there he is shagging balls third base, you know, taking
grounders at third base. I'd never Why would the Astros
even do this without at least checking on something like that.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Well, it does sound like I mean, Carlos is tough.
He said today and he said it before too, that
he wanted to play third in Minnesota, and he had
he had talked to the front office about it, but
the way the way their team was constructed, it just
didn't work. They were waiting on a couple of short
stops to come up. They have brook a kid named
brooks Lee who's one of the better prospects in baseball.
(04:30):
Ringing between the lines, it sounds like if brooks Lee
was been ready, they would have moved Korea to third base.
Brooks Lee would have been their shortstop. That's in an
ideal world when the Twins are a functional organization. Instead
now they're just selling off every part they have other
than Byron Buxton. But you know, I don't think that's
an issue at all. I think Korea that's something he
(04:51):
wanted to do. He knew for maybe later in his
career as he ages a little, but he was going
to have to get off the shortstop.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
What do you think they get in your eyes in Sanchez.
Sanchez is in the lineup today blaying left field.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah, I think you'll see, hey, sus Sanchez pretty much
every day against right handed pitching. The fact that he's
hitting clean up today or not crazing cleanup today, right
sitting clean up today.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
I don't Sanchez to are Sanchez three ALTI okay?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
The fact that Sanchez is hitting third in his first
game in a Nastar uniform really just demonstrates to you
what they think of his bat. You look at the
ops numbers, He's terrible against left handed pitching and elite
against right handed pitching. And you look at the rest
of their lineup and it's pretty much the opposite. Everyone
is a leade against left handed pitching and okay against
right handed pitching. And because this lineup had been so imbalanced,
(05:40):
opposing managers could just throw right handed pitchers at them
all the time without any thought. Sus Sanchez is going
to make them second. Guess that Joe said today that
he wants to leave him in either corner outfield spot.
Don't think you'll see him playing a bunch of center,
but yeah, it's gonna be. He's probably gonna be close
to an everyday player when there's a right handed pitcher there.
(06:00):
It's going to help spell Cam Smith a little bit too.
I know they're both in the lineup today, but you
could see a lot of times where you know, Smith
gets some days off, especially as the workload continues to
increase on him. They need to keep him fresh. But
you know, with Orius, I think he's maybe more of
a bench bat, a guy that you know they can
use tonight against a right handed leverage reliever or a
(06:22):
left handed or leverage reliever. You know, can play all
around the diamond. Most of his experiences at third base.
I think they're going to start to really work with
him at second to see how functional he can be there.
But I think he and Mauricio Dubon are kind of
on the same kind of playing field right now. I
think Dubon is a better defender at second and short
(06:42):
than Ourrias's so you'll probably see a little bit more
Dubon until they get a feel of what they have
in Urius. But that's kind of where those two guys are.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
How amusing is this for Alex Bregman, even more so
than maybe it would have been prior to the Korea edition.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Well, it's pretty funny. So again I'm giving a lay
all trade secrets here. So Knox Knox Bregman, Alex's oldest son.
It's his birthday today and they had his birthday party
yesterday in Boston, and just so happened it was on
the Astros off day, so a lot of his Asher's teammates,
former Asterers teammates came to you know, celebrate Knox and
(07:19):
see Alex, and it was pretty funny. That's where some
of these dudes learned that Correa was coming to Houston.
So it's a really kind of it's kind of a
full circle moment. But yeah, you know, Alex, she talked
today and he just kind of he was typical Alex,
you know, just was a pro about it. And you know,
it's gonna be interesting, it's gonna be fun to watch,
you know, who knows. But by the time this thing's over,
(07:40):
he made be back here too in a couple of years.
Speaker 1 (07:42):
It's crazy because that the deal doesn't get made if
Alex isn't playing third base in Boston.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
I mean, well, the deal doesn't get made if he sacked.
Paradous's hamstring is still intact.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
That's the that's that's the big thing here. I mean
like it, We're not having this discussion if Estak Paratus
doesn't pull up in Seattle a couple of weeks ago,
when you're probably looking at the Hacy Sanchez is probably
still here. That's probably kind of their target guy. He's
probably here, And honestly, you're probably looking at maybe Dylan
c speeding here, maybe a starting pitcher being here, another arm,
(08:17):
because I think that would have increased the urgency for
them to go into the pitching market. If they wouldn't
have gotten.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Korea, would have been exciting. Regardless, heading down the stretch
with roughly a five game lead, it's at four and
a half today, it's going to be even more exciting,
and certainly when they return home. We appreciate your coverage
of all this fast and furious as it was over
the last couple of days, and appreciate the time with
us here on the show.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
All Right, thanks guys, The AD on Sports Talk seven
ninety
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