September 23, 2025 • 43 mins
Rob(@fadelinez_) and Brandon(@BCX3_TV) from the Pesky Podcast joins us in a two part episode to talk about the Red Sox and the upcoming series with the Blue Jays. Part I we talked about the Red Sox expectations, the aftermath of the Devers trade, Craig Breslow as a GM , and the depth of the Red Sox organization.
Where you can find Rob, Brandon and the Pesky Podcast:
- X: @BCX3_TV
- https://www.youtube.com/@BCX3_TV
- X: @fadelinez
- https://www.tiktok.com/@fadelinez
- X: @pesky_podcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:30):
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. This is a round table edition, a
special edition. This is we have we have two
guests. They're from the Pesky podcast
and we're going to preview a little bit about the Red Sox and
the Jays out and this upcoming series.
And also we're going to talk a bit about the Red Sox.
But I'd like to introduce to twoguys that are part of the pod,
(00:52):
Rob and Brandon. Welcome to the show.
Rob introduced to yourself as well as Brandon right after.
Well, thank you for having us on.
I'm Rob, one of the Co hosts of the Pesky podcast and I'm just
happy to be on here and talk ball with you guys.
Yeah, and I'm Brandon. I also Co host and produced the
Pesky podcast with Rick and OG over there and do a lot of my
(01:14):
own stuff on YouTube as well. So happy to be here and talk
some ball with you guys. Yeah, thanks for joining us
today, man. We're excited to have you and
you know, we're both our teams are are making that push so into
the final week of the season. So we're excited to to see what
makes you guys tick and talk a little bit of Blue Jays and and
the process. So thanks for joining us.
(01:39):
Alright, absolutely. Let's get this thing started
here. So let's talk about the Red Sox
here for one second. The question is, so heading into
spring training, the way the offseason has got you guys
acquired Bregman, Bregman in theoffseason the and then they made
a blockbuster trade of going to get Garrett Crochet.
(01:59):
You guys were in on free. That didn't happen.
And then you guys got Raldes Chapman and so on and so forth.
Heading into the spring training, what were your
expectations? What what was the what was the
channeling of of what the Red Sox organization heading into
the season? Oh man, well, vibes were
definitely higher than most seasons because obviously
entering 2022-2023 and 2024, theRed Sox expectations, fans
(02:22):
especially were kind of mad at ownership for not spending the
money. More preferably.
Everybody was mad kind of like at Heim Bloom, even though it
wasn't his fault. It's more like upper upper
management that wasn't allowing him to spend the money.
But I think that fans were definitely more anticipated of
excitement for this team, especially heading out to camp
because you had guys like Rome and Anthony, Marcello Meyer,
Christian Campbell all running through the pipeline.
(02:43):
Especially Campbell. A lot of people were talking
about him being the next big thing there, which he was in the
beginning in the first month of the season.
And obviously he went through some struggles and has been in
AAA ever since. But one thing that the Red Sox
did, they had Bregman, they had guys, they had Chapman, who
unbelievable year of like this year was I did not see this
coming from a roll, this Chapman.
But definitely like a lot of additions that the Red Sox
(03:04):
needed care crochet. That trade kind of was a big.
It kind of like gave me flashbacks of Chris Sale because
obviously getting a big lefty from the White Sox and obviously
getting an ace for years, which was good to see.
So the team and the fans were very anticipating on being good.
But obviously we didn't know where our holes were.
And that Alex Bregman was like probably one of the biggest
signings of the offseason. Obviously, we weren't on a lot
of guys. And getting Alex Bregman, the
(03:25):
biggest fish on the market at the time, was kind of big for
the Red Sox because it gave him an extra bat that their line-up
desperately needed, obviously. And his leadership has been
amazing this season. But yeah, entering the spring
training, we had high hopes for this team at Knocks back to beat
them, to be as good as they havebeen this year.
But I'm just excited that we have actually postseason talk
for the first. I mean, last year, obviously we
had it until you guys eliminatedus in the last couple games.
(03:47):
So we have actual hopes of making the playoffs for the
first time and actually hope, knock on wood, getting in this
year. So I'm super excited and knock
on wood, we make it to the playoffs because Boston
desperately needs it. Yeah, I think, I think Rob hit
the nail on the head there. The other thing that I always go
back to with the spring trainingtime specifically is we did a
podcast on Pesky and we kind of mapped out what the division
(04:10):
looked like. And it was that realization of
how evenly matched the division was.
And I think, you know, to to a point that's born out.
I mean, you guys are in first place.
And you know, I, I don't know what you guys expected
yourselves this year, but I am really, you know, surprised
without the Blue Jays have done.I've got some takes on that I'll
get to later. But you know, the the Yankees
(04:33):
and the Red Sox and even the theRays and the Orioles all very
evenly matched. And even though the Rays in the
Orioles are where they are, it just seemed like the the
division was going to kind of play neck and neck with each
other and, you know, to, to, to to give some respect to the
other teams. The Rays were just eliminated
and the Orioles, you know, had abad first few months and then
(04:54):
they've played up to expectations.
So we just had a really dogfightdivision all the way around this
year, I think. Yeah, you guys, you know, you're
going to the post there into thespring training and there really
is just a lot of like question marks on certain guys like what
when's Roman Anthony gonna be called up?
And and you know, there was a lot of talk early in the season.
(05:19):
Are they going to move Duran Duran, you know, like a lot of
trade talk with him and you know, and he's had a pretty good
season and you know, and then that kind of calms down.
And then there was other stuff with Rafael Devers, which we'll
get to with the next question. But you guys have had a pretty
(05:40):
good season. Oh, and then you you trade for
Gary Crochet, which which reallyhelps solidify get you guys that
age that you guys needed. You know, you got bells or two
in your pitching was set from there on.
So I, I think you guys have donereally well this year
considering going into the season, having those high
expectations, almost making the playoffs last year, as you said.
(06:02):
So, you know, if you guys can get it done and get in, I think
you know, I think like, like, you know, baseball, anything can
happen once you get in, right. So, you know, hopefully you guys
get Roman Anthony back because he's he's a big part of what you
guys do. But I think you guys have had a
great season so, so far. You guys should be really proud
(06:23):
as Red Sox fans to be where you're at right now.
Yeah, I'm definitely happy, not even I'm definitely happy with
the outcome of how the team has been performing, especially I
think what kind of shifted the Red Sox season.
And I think Brandon could touch on it too.
We touched on it a lot on our podcast is when they traded
Raffield Evers, our first. And I think every Red Sox fans
first reaction was like, WTF were they doing?
(06:45):
Like, you know, why are we training our best hitter, our
star of the franchise? And was just obviously in spring
training. There was comments of him
obviously getting acts of plate their bit.
He he played move over to first base or move to D8 at the time.
And he said, no, I I play third.So they're obviously
miscommunication with the ownership and everything that
went down there. And then once Triston Casas went
down when a knee injury, they hekind of like bashed ownership
(07:07):
and he said, OK, this guy gets her.
What do you want me to do next, play the outfield?
He basically said that and he obviously it's not a good look
when you're facing your franchise, A man who makes
probably the most money on the team is kind of bad mouthing
your owners and kind of talking back.
And then obviously the trade when it happened, it was just
out of the blue. We just swept the Yankees.
We were getting ready to record.And then the all you see is
Devers to the Giants and were like way what it was like a
(07:30):
bombshell was unexpected. But who would have thought that
it would have turned the Red Soxseason around after when Roma
got called up, it was kind of like weird to see how everything
like shifted that in that manner.
Yeah, I, the, the whole divorce thing to me was just, it was
kind of crazy in the moment, right, Because you had the, the
stuff leading up to it. But then like Rob said, like we
(07:50):
were just getting ready to pod. Like I, I, I hadn't even like
been looking at my phone becauseI've been getting ready for the
podcast. And I hopped in and Rob said,
oh, we just traded Rafael Devers, by the way.
And I kind of went ha, ha, Rob, like, you know, good joke.
And I looked up and saw his faceand I'm like, that's not a joke,
you know? And so it was a very raw pod
(08:11):
because we were literally just getting ready to hit record as
it happened. So it was a lot of, you know,
what are we doing? Weird joke.
Why are we doing this? But as the dust settles on it, I
can sit here and look at it and say, you know, I still don't
necessarily agree with it being the best move or handle in the
way it does. But in the wake of it, I can
look back and go, I OK, I understand why they did it.
(08:35):
I just don't necessarily agree with the how they did.
You know, you know, The thing islike I look at this roster and
it's pretty well constructed theway it's built.
Like the sneaky player that never gets talked about and the
guy like how like he's been a contributing factor.
Siday Raphaela. I've been telling people years
(08:58):
about what Siday Rafael could be.
He's a versatile guy. He's speed.
The guy has quick bat speed and I don't know.
What he reminds me of because you don't see players like that,
like especially with the with the Red Sox say they always help
find these nitty gritty left-handed batters.
For example, you could go back from like Johnny Damon or even
(09:18):
even further Troy O'Leary and then you have Trout Nicks.
They like you. The Red Sox always had that
left-handed bat. Also, I've noticed since you
talked about crochet, how many left-handed aces the Red Sox
have. If you want to go back to Chris
Sale, David Price and if you want to go even further, John
Lester. So it seems like there's a track
(09:42):
record with the Red Sox of foundations when it comes to
getting served players in certain positions on a, you
know, on a on a yearly basis, right.
And I think the way the Red Sox are built, they're built really
well. But the one pitcher that kind of
got me lost as a little bit was Walker Buehler.
(10:02):
Like a lot of people voiced their frustration about Walker
Buehler. And it's like, like he could
have had a bounce back here because he was coming off of a
World Series, you know, shut outthe way he closed it series
against the Yankees comes to theALE and it's like, oh, he's
going to be a bounce back candidate.
Didn't get Q old because, you know, the Dodgers were not going
(10:24):
to give him that money because obviously it's going to go
straight to the roof when it comes to the tax.
So look at the rotation now. It's like what?
We'll get to the rotation later.But looking at the team itself,
I think it's well structured, not just for now, but it's, it's
built well for the future. Like there's a lot of
flexibility and there's a lot ofyouth movement with more guys
coming like a Franken area. It's like where you gonna play
(10:46):
him right, for example. So I think this team is built
well. It's, it's how they, how the
pitching is gonna be down the stretch, I think.
And I I, I did predict him as a playoff team.
Yeah, Walker Buehler obviously pitching really well with the
Phillies right now too down the stretch.
And it just like he just didn't have anything working for him
with the Red Sox. And it's sad to see because
(11:07):
obviously at the time when we signed them, we gave them the
money that basically so Nick Pivetta obviously didn't get
that qualifying offer. And then basically what had
happened without the money, the same amount of money that is
usually for a qualifying offer, the Red Sox offer to walk
Bueller, he accepted it. And obviously he had a couple of
glimpses of and where he pitchedreally well.
I think the highlight of his RedSox career is him getting
(11:27):
ejected against the Mets that one game.
But a lot of stuff went down with him.
But it's, I'm glad to see him doing good.
And Philly, obviously, because Iwish I wanted him to be
successful. And it seems like he is doing
good in Philly, but it just didn't work out in Boston.
And obviously, yeah, the young rotation right now, he got
Crochet as the ace. Obviously Bayo has been a solid
#2 this year, Giolito has been pitching really, really above
(11:49):
what he was supposed to. And also now he has an option
where he can opt out or he couldtake that team mutual option to
opt back into his contract with the Red Sox and an early spend
great in that four spot. And then obviously the number 5
is kind of like a rotating door.But I think this Red Sox
pitching rotation has been stepped up definitely where we
need it the most because pitching was always our weak
point. And now just be having that
(12:09):
death and missing guys like heart.
We missing out on guys cut across for Patrick Sandoval,
who's been out for the year. A lot of those guys too, who
were supposed to be anchors in that rotation.
Tanner how got with Tommy John surgery.
And it's like a lot of those guys have stepped up big for the
Red Sox. Yeah, absolutely.
And I want to touch on what you said too, about Rafaela.
Yeah, definitely nationally, I think he does not get a lot of
(12:31):
the attention that yeah, he should.
And we talk about him a lot on our podcast.
I mean, our founder of the Rich calls him the human highlight
reel. And I'll be real with you guys.
See, he is my absolute favorite player right now.
And that's been the case since midway through last season.
I mean, what the kid does defensively is just on another
level. And obviously with the bat,
(12:51):
you're going to get your ups anddowns.
And there's a lot of people thatare down on him because the bat
doesn't play consistently. But when you look at it right
now, I was just looking at some of these numbers.
I believe he has the fourth highest war on the team if you
guys want war. And I'm like, so he's your 4th
best player and you're saying weshouldn't be playing every day
because of his bad? It's like, no, I don't agree
(13:12):
with that. He needs to be in centre field
every day because I could care less what the bag gives you when
the defence is that good. And you know, you said you were
looking for a comp. I think he's a better version of
Jackie Bradley Junior, which is absolutely absurd to say because
Jackie Bradley Junior was prettygood at himself within his own
right. But I think Sedan Rafaela is
that but better. And I do think that because he's
(13:32):
so young, I think the bat will continue to improve.
But that defence for 25 years old is insane.
Let me ask you that you guys this question cause you guys
brought up, well, we, we talked about Rafael Devers and what
went down there a little bit. What would you say that the,
the, I got 2 parts this questionactually, what would you say?
(13:54):
First of all, is the biggest difference between when you had
them to now? Because it seems like you guys
just got better down the stretchshot playing with, without him.
And, and I'm not sure it's really helped out the Giants
like they thought it would. And talk about the return a
(14:14):
little bit on what you guys got back.
I think you guys got James Tibbs, which you guys ended up
trading for, for dust in May at the deadline.
Um, what do you think about that?
So and then Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, etcetera.
So you can elaborate further. I think the one thing about the
Red Sox return, it's something about like the Red Sox getting
(14:34):
returns and trades. Sometimes they don't pan out.
I mean, this is another trade. At first when I saw it, I was
like, OK, this is going to be like another.
It's similar to the Mookie Bettsstraight.
You're not getting as much as you can for what you were
offered. Obviously, I made a tweet a
couple days ago and I just said because Bryce Eldridge obviously
made his debut for the Giants. And I was like, oh, the Red Sox
have gone on for Devers, not thinking, just numbness,
(14:55):
mindlessly tweeting. And who would have thought that
it would have blown up in everybody?
You know, Red Sox Twitter is kind of toxic.
Well, everybody's coming at me and I'm just like, hey, I just
tweeted out something. But anyways, Bryce Eldridge was
a guy that I wanted the Red Sox because I needed a first
baseman. And obviously they the Red Sox
and this was kind of like a salary dump because the Giants
paid the whole contract. So that's one thing you gotta
look forward to be appreciate from the Giants because the Red
(15:17):
Sox ended up using that money that they had freed up to extend
guys like Roman Anthony and thenextend some other guys as well.
So that actually ended up helping the Red Sox also
extended Chapman with that extramoney.
So it looks like they're using it wisely.
But the return, James Tibbs obviously for Dustin May, who
was a rental. And I mean, that's kind of
confusing. It confuses me.
It's a head scratcher because the Red Sox said they wanna
controllable arms if they were to make any trades.
(15:38):
So the fact that they ended up getting 2 rentals at the
deadline, it's confusing. Obviously James Tips I thought
was pretty solid, but I did not expect them to give up that much
for Dustin may have one or half a season of Dustin May, who
probably will be in the bullpen during the playoffs.
So it kind of confuses me there.But Jordan Hicks also, Oh my
God, he has been atrocious out of the bullpen and he's on the
(15:59):
injured list right now. He's we're going to put air
quotes. He's injured, AKA fan of my L
stint because he's just been that bad.
But honestly, like I think at the deadline, I think Red Sox
had done a little more. Obviously we know we had Joe
Ryan for like 20 seconds and then obviously that tweet went
out and then obviously that didn't.
Happen, yeah. Maybe in the offseason will grab
them, but it's just like, oh man, that return was pretty that
(16:21):
it looks like it's working in the Giants favor right now.
But I mean, maybe if Dustin May can come back in the playoffs
and pitch well and see how that goes, maybe the Red Sox can
offer him like a A1 year contract, maybe approve a deal
in the offseason. Yeah, I'll kind of rapid fire a
few things to build on that. And I I looked at that and I
thought, well, I don't know why you trade for mid season.
(16:44):
It was kind of a head scratcher.I think it was more of a panic
move to me and some of these panic pivots, I guess, if you
will, because we didn't get Ryan, we didn't get Kelly,
things like that. But looking at the diverse
things, specifically the return there that is most interesting
to me is Kyle Harrison because Bailey was with the Giants.
Bailey knows Harris and Bailey wants Harrison here to prove
(17:07):
what he can do in a sense. So that's the piece that I'm
going to be watching, you know, for years to come unless we
trade him in the offseason to see what that really bears out.
And I I don't want to say Deverswas a clubhouse cancer or is,
but because I was really againstthat notion when all that stuff
started coming out before we traded him.
But I look at that as like, whathe what has he shown recently
(17:33):
to, to, to, to show that that's not the case because he the
Giants are doing with the Giantsdo.
And then my thing that I look back on too, is that, you know,
Deborah told you, I'm not a first baseman.
I've never played first base. And when he first started
playing first base with the Giants, it it showed.
So I'm like, yeah, he kind of told you he couldn't do that and
he can't. So that's where I kind of stand
(17:55):
on it. Well, the moment Devers was
traded, I think it was Robert Murray that posted that trade.
I was like no flipping way because one, the fact that he's
under control for what another eight more years thinking that
he was a day one guy. And I believe it was been
Sharington when when he was at GM that signed Devers and he's
(18:17):
been through a plethora of GM's during that span.
And you can't blame him. It's like you go through
Breslow, you go through Dombrowski, you go out through
Mike Hazen and Ben Cherington. That's and I think even no Theo
Epstein was already gone by then.
But like, even though it's like,can you play devil's in that
whole process? He's been through a lot of GM's
(18:38):
and not to and he's been in thatorder.
And he was willing to give that get get that extension, which
Kyle Bloom being the GM at the time like, but now it's looking
like now I think it's benefits both the Giants and the bread
socks, the Red Sox. I'll say this.
At first, I was extremely shocked that I thought that
could have been more of an offseason move then a regular
(19:00):
season move and thinking that with debris, there will be more
teams that would be on him. But there was like, I think
three or four teams that were inlike Padres, Jays, Braves, I
think were the other ones. But looking at the the the
financial flexibility, the Red Sox are pretty built well, given
the fact like they're starting to give contracts that so you
(19:21):
guys have crochet sign long-term, you got sedan
Raffaella sign long-term, you got romantic.
I think that's a pivotal one in my opinion, getting that guy
locked. So I loved her because if you
let him play year to year, I think he's gonna get extremely
expensive. And Christian Campbell, which I
think will, I mean 60 million. It's like today's baseball.
It's nothing. So it's like they're they have
(19:43):
room to improve. Like if they want to go get a
starting pitcher, they could go get that.
If they want to go get a big batlike this is to say like a tile
Tucker, But I mean, they alreadyhave enough bats.
It's also, I don't know if they target Tucker, but I could see
more pitching, right? Like let me ask you this.
This is a different a different way of saying this because you
guys claimed Carlos Navas and he's been a great fight.
(20:07):
Is he the long term catcher? Or do you think you guys go
target a catcher, let's just saylike a Shaun Murphy?
You guys have been linked to himfor years.
Ohhhhh, I I think the Red Sox really do like Carlos Novaes
behind the plane and he's had a pretty solid rookie year towards
the middle of towards the end ofthe year, kind of he's been kind
of slowing down with the bat andobviously his knee still
bothering him. So I would assume that he might
(20:29):
have an offseason surgery or hiscase scenario.
But yeah, the catching platoon of him and Wong, I mean Wong,
Connor Wong. Let's be honest, it hasn't been
a pretty season for him. But as of late, like down the
stretches, man, getting a very good at bats, quality at bats
and helping the red socks out. And he actually taught a couple
pitchers, I forget the story, but he like changed the whole
(20:49):
you'd like taught starting pitchers like a change up about
pitch tunneling like Connor Wonghas.
They call him, they call it likeobviously crochet and all them
the pig, the war pig and then the piglets.
He's basically the the bar, the barkeeper basically because he's
so he teaches them how to throw their pitches and does very
well. And Connor Wong obviously is the
personal catcher for Brian Bail as well.
And Brian Bale has had a great season.
(21:10):
He and even Crochets thanks Connor Wong for what he has been
able to do when he did catch him.
So I do think Carlos Navas is the catcher of the future as a
starting catcher. But I do think there is an
opportunity to go after some catching depth in the off
season, maybe even a trade or signing a guy like Shawn Murphy.
And what you said about Roman. I think yeah, it's a great
signing. Like, you got them for 100,
almost $230 million because he'sgonna get rookie of the Year
(21:32):
voting. So even after missing all that
time, and then he's just a guy that's gonna be a superstar in
the league for years to come. Like, that's a steal because
he's he doesn't chase a lot. He gets on base and him in the
leadoff spot. He's been amazing in the leadoff
spot for the Red Sox when they need had him out there when he
switched them out. But I do see the Red Sox, yeah,
going after a bad, maybe even a pitcher like Dylan Cease taking
a flyer on him in the offseason.But it's definitely a good
(21:54):
problem to have when you have the flexibility with the
finances. Yeah, so I'll to to build on
that. I do think Carlos Narvaez is the
vision of the future. You know, I was very big and
still am on, you know, trading with the EMS for Harry Ford.
But that was back before we didn't have Narvis and Wong,
despite the year he's had. There's been a lot that's come
(22:16):
out recently about what he meansto the pitching staff.
So he kind of again, it's I'm starting to look at him in the
same way that I look at Raphaelaof I don't really care what the
bat does if he continues to do what he does for the pitching
staff and for behind the plate. Because those stories that Rob
was talking about, I think the two most prevalent are before.
(22:40):
I think it was Andrew Bailey andConnor Wong.
I think it was Baio. Just thought a change up was
throwing a fastball slower. And then I think the the other,
the biggest one, which has got some controversy between John
Boy and Buster only is the Chapman not realizing until
Connor Wong said something to him in spring training that you
(23:00):
can actually locate a fastball, which might sound crazy on the
surface of like, yeah, right. Like a roll.
This Chapman has never tried to locate a fastball.
He's just throwing it as hard ashe can.
But look at how wild he used to be.
When you when you look at when you look at some stuff that that
actually kind of tracts. So, and I don't know if that's
just a language barrier when guys come over from the Latin
(23:23):
areas where maybe there's something lost in translation
about certain pitch types. You know, obviously you know
what a slider is, you know what a curveball is, you know, it's
like that. But when it comes to fastballs
and changeups, there might be some misperception from
depending on where you are in the world.
So I don't know where those cross ups happen, but Connor
Wong has taught these pictures alot and is definitely very, very
(23:45):
fluent in that regard. And I think, yeah, I do think
they're going to target a bat this offseason.
As far as what bat, no idea. My person that I wanted back in
spring training, obviously we can't have anymore cause you
guys locked him up and that would have been flat.
That was my, my life. The whole thing was like.
(24:06):
And wanted him, man. Yeah, I, I wanted him bad, if
we're being honest. Kind of broke my heart a little
bit when you guys signed him long term.
But I am happy for him and you guys to, you know, for, for you
guys to actually get the generational franchise player
for once and, and for him to getthe bag that he did is, is
pretty, you know, good for the money he got.
But that would, that would have been my target.
(24:26):
Now that's off the table. So I, I don't know who they
target because I, I look at what's available and I don't
look like anything out there better than what we have.
Yeah, I I wanted to touch on what you said about wouldn't it
be amazing if Connor Wong was the guy that fixed Chapman at 37
(24:47):
years old? Yeah, you know what I mean?
Like 37 years old. You're throwing wild your entire
career. You come to the Red Sox and you
listen to Connor Wong and he just fixes you.
That's great. Actually, aim the fastball had
no idea. Yeah, after all these years,
they like, but yeah, you like when you talk about Narvaez and
(25:11):
and and Wong duo, it's a pretty damn good duo.
I mean, getting their bias in there.
He he was looking like that rookie of the year candidate for
so long possibly, you know, and I, I mean, his, his defensive
metrics are really good too. I think he's going to get Gold
Glove votes, like he'll be in that that Gold Glove
conversation. I think.
(25:32):
So you know, and the that's justbeen good, you know, So I mean,
and Connor Wong has been you know, he's proven he can hit
too, right, even though he's hadit down here, you know, in the
past, he's always been able to get it done.
So I like what you guys got a catcher.
Um, you know, like Rocky said, getting and you guys talked
about with getting your, your young stud locked up, their long
(25:58):
term is, is paramount, especially to get him out of
such a, you know, a Braves type deal.
I'll say, you know, get him on one of them cheap long term
contracts that you know, they love to get done so.
Yeah, and I've said it before, Ithink you're going to see a lot
of those type of contracts throughout the league in this
next year. You know, we saw it with Basalo
(26:20):
on the Orioles. We've seen it with some other
guys and with with the impendingNess of what 2027 does or
doesn't represent. You know, are we going to have a
lockout? Is 2027 going to be a season
when, when we do resume, will there be a salary cap or a
salary floor? And if there is, these type of
deals are imperative for every team.
Because if you want to go out and sign the the Vlad, the Soto,
(26:43):
the Otani to that mega deal, you're going to have to have the
rest of your stars tied up on deals like this to have that
financial flexibility. So I feel like these deals,
you're going to see more and more of them as offseason and
into 2026 leading right up to the collective bargaining
agreement. I agree.
Let's talk about Craig Breslow here.
(27:05):
So he was hired I believe two years ago, right, the moment
Kaboom was fired, I think September of 23.
And now that Brazil has the fulloperation, it's Sam Kenny, I
believe is still the president of this team, right?
But he's he's focused on other stuff.
But like with Brazil now he seems like he's trying to do a
(27:26):
different transformation of thisteam and talk about him as a as
a GM itself because he came fromthe Cubs organization now with
the red side. Now he's here for the
foreseeable future and perhaps longer.
We'll see about that. But what what are your thoughts
about Brazil as a GM so far? It's interesting to see,
especially like what he does andhe's proven he can put his balls
(27:49):
on the table and make big trades, which I really like
cause High bloom didn't make many of those trades.
And obviously right now as the president of the baseball
operations for the Red Sox, he'sdoing an amazing job.
The Red Sox actually announced acouple weeks ago that, well, not
them themselves, but there was rumors going around that the Red
Sox will search for an actual GMin the offseason, which is good.
Kind of takes the pressure off of Craig Breslow's hands and
kind of gives it more shifted focus towards someone who can be
(28:12):
a GM for the Red Sox. I don't know who that would be,
but I do know that Craig Breslowwas felt basically filling both
roles in right now and he's doing a good job.
He's doing things that he needs to do, assigning important guys
like Roman Anthony, obviously Aroldis Chapman, Christian
Campbell and I obviously we werehoping for an Alex Bregman
extension, but he doesn't reallydo extensions in the regular
season. So maybe in the offseason he
(28:32):
opts out of that contract and kind of tries to restructure
that deal. Or you might that you might see
that word that you might see a headline that says Alex Bregman
opts out of his contract and then maybe breaking news right
after he re extend like you've seen that happen before in other
sports where players leave theirdeal and restructure to deal
right away to stay with the team.
So I mean, he's been doing good signing guys, making some
important trades. Some of the trades are like head
(28:53):
scratchers, though, some of themnot all, but some of the trade
is obviously the crochet trade. Obviously that big, that devours
trade was kind of offsetting, but some of the traits that he
had to make made him and he's made some solid trees.
And if he did get that Joe Ryan trade done, a lot of people
would probably be praising him even more than they already are
now. Well, he's 5050.
A lot of fans, some fans love him, some fans hate him.
I'm indifferent. Like I like Craig Breslow, he
(29:14):
want us a World Series. So I can't be really mad at him
as a pitcher and as a player, but as a as a GM and a guy who
runs the team, think he does a pretty solid job.
Yeah, I, I, I would agree with that.
I think he does a really good job of, of what he does.
I know there's a lot of people that are really down on him.
My push back to that is he's doing the best that he can with
(29:35):
what he's been given from the front office or from yeah, from
the ownership. And and I mean, to be fair, so
was high in bloom, right? This it really comes down to
ownership. But I think that Breslow,
especially this year, has shown some, some real stones and what
he can go out and do. Whether you agree with the
demonstrator or not, you know, it, it takes balls to do
something like that. It takes a gutsy move.
(29:57):
You know, even the, the, the head scratcher moves like the
Dustin may trade. I look at that as well.
That was a panic move because hecouldn't get Ryan or Kelly and
he kind of maybe looked at me and said, well, this is a guy
that we might target in the offseason because he fits the
pitching lab. Let's just get him here early so
that we can say we did somethingbecause when you look at the
deadline, the reports that are out, you know, that Holly and
(30:23):
Garcia were in a potential Ryan deal.
For some reason, the Twins said no to that.
And then when you would go to the Diamondbacks and you ask for
Kelly, they wanted Conley early and Breslow said for Kelly,
forget it. You know, so I think there's
there's some misconception, I think around the league with how
we as Red Sox fans and Red Sox for an office value some of our
(30:44):
prospects compared to what the rest of the league does.
Obviously we're very high on guys like early and totally,
obviously totally is showing that his secondaries aren't
ready and he might have been brought up really too quickly.
But you know, we're high on those guys and for some reason
the rest of the league isn't. So when I when I thought about
(31:07):
Kim Broom Bloom being fired, I said to myself, it's so he must
have been the scapegoat of that team and knowing that they've
been having unsuccessful seasonsfor those couple of years.
And, and, and The thing is that in my mind, I was like, he's
trying to rebuild the farm coming from the race
organization. So he has that philosophy
(31:27):
philosophical mind, right? And now that the way the Red Sox
are being structured and Brazil being another analytically
driven in a different way, thinking that, OK, Black Bloom
Bloom was the one who revamped the farm and Brazil's going to
be the guy who's going to try tosucceed this team, right, for
(31:48):
the foreseeable future. So in my mind, it was like I I
thought that with blue, I thought that maybe he should
have been fired maybe a year later if it fails, another
failed season. But I mean, what are you gonna
do at that point? Because it's Boston we're
talking about. It's a big market team.
There's always under pressure, especially when you have the
history between the Yankees and the Red Sox.
(32:10):
The Yankees are always going to the playoffs every year, right?
And and now that the way the allleases, which we'll get to later
on, it's like Boston needs to find one.
But the one thing Craig Breslow,like I said, like you like he's
done well when it comes to giving extensions.
I think that was smart part. Like I think there were some
(32:31):
contingency with crochets contract, like if he gets
injured, the Red Sox can opt out, which is kind of clever to
think the way contracts are being given now in today's
baseball. So it's important with with
that. And also I agree with the whole
thing when it comes to making trades.
Like, for example, like, why would you trade Chris Sale for
(32:52):
Von Grisham, who hasn't been a factor of this team, right?
So like, that's one example. Or giving up James Tibbs in that
may deal. Like, yeah, some of the trades
is a little bit questionable. Does it?
If you think about it, it doesn't have to do with the
assistant gems because the one guy that's been thrown out there
that could be on getting a job, it's Eddie Romero.
(33:12):
And talk about Eddie Romero a little bit, because he seems
like he's been a popular name that's going to be available in
the offseason. Yeah, so I'll, I'll touch on a
couple of those things you just said there.
I think with the Grissom Sale trade specifically, I don't look
at that as a head scratcher. In hindsight, you do.
But when you look at like the time that the trade was made,
(33:32):
for example, at the beginning oflast year, Chris Sale had not
pitched well for the Red Sox in quite some time.
And there was a very there was aconsensus of the fans of like,
get this guy out of here. He's not what he used to be.
And obviously he then went on tobe a saying with with the
Braves. And you bring in a guy like John
Grisham, who didn't have a spot on the Braves at the beginning
(33:54):
of 2024. Christian Campbell was nowhere
to be found in terms of like, wedidn't know who this guy was.
He like rocketed through the system.
So it was very much a Von Grissom, the second baseman of
the future air apparent to Dustin Pedroia, who we haven't
had a a regular second baseman since 2018.
And to be fair, because of all the ups and downs this year, we
(34:15):
and last year, we still don't. That to me was a very smart move
at the time. In hindsight, it kind of looks
like why did we make that trade?I 100% agree.
And touching on the high bloom thing, he was 100% scapegoat.
You know, he was brought in to replenish the farm system that
Dombrowski tore down and he did exactly that.
Granted, it led to some losing seasons, but he did what John
(34:37):
Henry brought him here to do. And then they tossed him out
like he was the scapegoat. So I 100% agree on that.
Yeah, it was kind of confusing and I agree I I wasn't the
biggest bloom guy, but I do I did appreciate some of the moves
that he made as president of baseball operations.
I do think I agree to extend, I think they should have waited
another year and gave him an opportunity to sign players
(34:58):
because obviously that offseasonthere was a lot of big names on
the free agent market show. Hey, Otani was one of them that
I really thought if like, and it's funny to see the Red Sox.
I mean, obviously we knew he wasa given Dodger.
There was no way he wasn't goingto go to the Dodgers.
It was like Brennan and Stone essentially, but the Red Sox
made a good offer and obviously you can't be mad at that.
But I think that Heim Bloom, if he had opportunities to spend
(35:21):
money, I think he probably wouldhave made the team even better
than what it was obviously in 2022 and 2023.
And given obviously him getting the rear end of the stick was
kind of sucked to see him go. But I think obviously now he's
doing good at Saint Louis. I think the Cardinals are going
to in the upward right direction.
Obviously, like Nolan Arenado might be a guy I think we might
see circling around a possible trade with the Red Sox.
(35:43):
So a lot of people are saying still in the offseason they can
make that deal. Obviously depends on Bregman
staying. But I think that, yeah, given
what he was given, I think I'm Bloom did a good job.
I just think that he got the shit under the stick.
He should have stayed a little longer in my opinion to be
honest. Should at least give him another
year. So let me ask you guys this.
Question, um, looking at the depth of the team right now
compared to when the season began, what would you say is the
(36:05):
biggest differences? And would you say the team's
gotten better with regards to the depth that they have all
over the place, not just in the minors but on the big league
roster, the future? Of this team and the way it is
now, obviously minus the injuries, if you take out the
injuries to Marcella Meyer with his wrist and obviously
Christian Campbell being in the Miners and stuff like that.
(36:26):
I think the depth of this team is very good, especially in the
outfield. I always say at the Red Sox at
the best outfield in baseball, even Roman Anthony is healthy
too, because I mean Willie Abreuis an elite player, elite
defender in right field. Jared Durant has been heating up
with the bat a little bit, but he's been great in that leadoff
spot filling in for Roman Roman obviously when he's healthy he
proven that he's going to be a stud and then you say Don and
centre field. I mean, you've got a lot of
(36:46):
death in that outfield. Then you also guys who are just
good pieces like Rob Refsnyder and and you have guys like Romy
Gonzalez who are elite left-handed hitter, elite
hitters off of left-handed pitching, I should say, and have
been really stepping up for the Red Sox in those moments.
And then the death is just there.
You got guys who can fill positions, play different
positions, move things around. You got Bregman at third base,
(37:07):
obviously who's been a good leader in that clubhouse and
also at first base has kind of been a revolving door.
You just got Nathaniel Lowe, whohas been playing pretty good for
the Red Sox, and then also Romy,who could play first base as
well. That's another thing that might
be up in the air to see what happens there because I don't
know what the Red Sox want to dowith Tristan costs.
They've been wanting to trade Tristan costs.
But I do think that death in that lineup is really good.
(37:28):
And obviously you got a rotatingdoor at DH.
A lot of times the Red Sox, that's the one thing.
Once they got rid of Devers, they've been kind of doing a
rotating door at DH, filling guys in there just so you can
keep that hot stick in the lineup.
And then the pitching obviously has been great.
The starting rotation has been very solid, though.
All the young guys coming up andtotally moving to the bullpen,
obviously, But then Connolly early coming up, guys in that
bullpen. And also you got Cooper Criswell
who can spot start from Worcester, who might be added to
(37:50):
maybe to the playoff roster intothe bullpen.
So you got a lot of good depth with pitching.
And just like in the lineup in general, there's a lot of good
ways to like flip flop your lineup too.
Yeah, I agree. On that, with that.
Completely, I think that it's the depth really comes down to
guys who can be versatile. You know, to get 2 guys that Rob
didn't mention, their Sogard andEaton, I mean, you know, what we
(38:12):
have right now is guys that can play where you need them to play
and, and fill in if somebody's hurt.
I even feel like Von Grishin could come up in a pinch and be
a serviceable big league defender, big league at bat
either, you know, at second basein the outfield if we absolutely
needed him to. And there are other guys.
Well, but the biggest to me, thebiggest surprise this year has
(38:34):
been the pitching. We're seeing that Andrew
Bailey's pitching regime, that pitching lab come to fruition.
We're we're starting to see a lot of these young guys and
we've had the privilege to interview a lot of these young
guys on our podcast and the offseason.
We're we're seeing this, you know, come up.
I think I said that the last podthat I was on, I said it.
It's surreal to me to look at the, the Red Sox big league
(38:55):
roster right now and see four guys that I've interviewed and
that I've, you know, met personally and interviewed on
this roster. And, you know, you see these
young guys come up and it's like, OK, the Red Sox actually
have homegrown pitching, which is something that we have sucked
at for basically ever since the Red Sox have been around.
I mean, I I bring this up all the time if you don't count.
(39:18):
Babe Ruth as a pitcher and. Obviously, Roger Clemens is not
getting into the Hall of Fame because of the steroid issues.
The Red Sox have one Hall of Fame pitcher that was homegrown
their entire existence. You know, and we'll see maybe
what happens with John Lester because, you know, John Lester
is a pretty good example of that.
But we typically don't see that,and we're starting to see that.
(39:38):
So I'm ready for that change forus to actually develop pitching.
Yeah, I think. I think it's just that with the
like you guys brought up the whole pitching talent, like the
pitching crop, like I think it'sbecoming more and more of a
factor, not just for the Red Sox, but in today's baseball.
If you look at the way the league is going, right?
(39:58):
And I think it's so important todevelop talent within the
system. And the Red Sox are starting to
do that right. And you look at the way it's
structured. I think they're well built
pretty well overall. Like, like I told you, like you
got, you got. Franklin area it's like he's a
guy that could be in the system.You got the young kids in the
system. You guys called up here and told
(40:20):
Connolly early telling you like they're not waiting on service
manipulation. This is a right now team right
and some teams are really prettyshy away when it comes to
situations like that. And let me ask you guys just a
question here and you talked about the outfield depth here
and this is something that you know I look into it all the
time. You guys have a Jared Durant.
(40:41):
You gotta sedan, Rafael. You gotta Wilmer Braves getting
activated tomorrow. We're going to talk about the
preview later this episode. You got what's his name about?
Roman Anthony, right? So you got a plethora of
outfielders and Yoshida. That's another guy.
So how does this outfield work out?
Because I know that the Red Sox were trying to trade Yoshida.
(41:03):
That was a common bloom signing.Then it hasn't really worked out
at all today. Raphaela, great signing.
Jared Durant's names been thrownaround throughout the trade
deadline and he's still with theteam could get circulated again
in the offseason. And then you got Roman Anthony.
Just like how do you look at theoutfield depth itself?
So yeah, the outfield depth is. Very interesting.
(41:24):
Obviously what will your brain will be back?
He was actually activated yesterday, which is good.
But DH for us. So I'm assuming he's gonna play
the outfield and those in the Toronto series.
But it's always one of those things that you look at and it's
always an it's not a bad problemto have, but it's also a kind of
like a weird situation that we talked about and like the spring
training too. What are we going to do with
that outfield? You got Rob Refsnyder, Masako
Yoshida fella, but he's been DJing a lot, which is good.
(41:46):
But then you also got like you said, Roman say Don Jarren
Duran. That's like 5-6 outfielders.
So it's a lot of, it's a little bit of a crowded outfield.
I do see a trade probably happening in the offseason.
I a lot of it it's a lot of people are speculating is
between Duran or Willie or Abreu, who had the highest value
right now in the trade deadline for Yandy Diaz trade.
The raise wanted say Don Rafael and the Red Sox straight up said
(42:08):
no. So there was one of those things
that you knew how valuable he isin the outfield for us.
So it's yeah, it's between Duranor will your brain who would do
that. And then the only thing with
Yoshida, I mean, he started hit the ball really good now, which
is good because we need his bat,especially down the stretch.
But it's going to be one of those things where you got to
find a team that's willing to take that contract because
obviously for DH makes a lot of money.
(42:29):
Yeah, I. I mean.
To me, Yoshida, and it sucks to say this because I, I loved him
with the Buffaloes. I'm big, a big NPB guy, but it
just hasn't worked out here. And he I, I wouldn't be
surprised if he's still here though next year unless we can
find someone to take that contract.
I know our co-host OG really thinks.
That he might be an. Astro next year and I could see
(42:50):
that because that would that would fit, you know, with with.
You know they need a left. Handed Bat his swing would fit
the Crawford boxes. I could see if they're willing
to eat some of that money. But when I look at this
outfield, I think your your outfield is locked up for the
foreseeable future. And to build on what Rob said I
think both Duran and Abreu are gone.
(43:12):
I think the 2026 outfield is Roman Anthony Sedan Raphael and
Christian Campbell and you got all three of those guys on long
term deals. I I do think that you move Duran
in a Brave for pitching because Christian Campbell has shown
he's not a second baseman and when you look at his defensive
tricks, he profiles best as a left fielder.
(43:33):
So Campbell and left a Brayer, Raphael and Centre and Anthony
and Wright I feel like is the outfield for the foreseeable
future and you flip Duran and a Brave for pitching this
offseason.
Welcome to another edition of the Blue Jays Ave.
Podcast. This is a round table edition, a
special edition. This is we have we have two
guests. They're from the Pesky podcast
and we're going to preview a little bit about the Red Sox and
the Jays out and this upcoming series.
And also we're going to talk a bit about the Red Sox.
But I'd like to introduce to twoguys that are part of the pod,
(00:52):
Rob and Brandon. Welcome to the show.
Rob introduced to yourself as well as Brandon right after.
Well, thank you for having us on.
I'm Rob, one of the Co hosts of the Pesky podcast and I'm just
happy to be on here and talk ball with you guys.
Yeah, and I'm Brandon. I also Co host and produced the
Pesky podcast with Rick and OG over there and do a lot of my
(01:14):
own stuff on YouTube as well. So happy to be here and talk
some ball with you guys. Yeah, thanks for joining us
today, man. We're excited to have you and
you know, we're both our teams are are making that push so into
the final week of the season. So we're excited to to see what
makes you guys tick and talk a little bit of Blue Jays and and
the process. So thanks for joining us.
(01:39):
Alright, absolutely. Let's get this thing started
here. So let's talk about the Red Sox
here for one second. The question is, so heading into
spring training, the way the offseason has got you guys
acquired Bregman, Bregman in theoffseason the and then they made
a blockbuster trade of going to get Garrett Crochet.
(01:59):
You guys were in on free. That didn't happen.
And then you guys got Raldes Chapman and so on and so forth.
Heading into the spring training, what were your
expectations? What what was the what was the
channeling of of what the Red Sox organization heading into
the season? Oh man, well, vibes were
definitely higher than most seasons because obviously
entering 2022-2023 and 2024, theRed Sox expectations, fans
(02:22):
especially were kind of mad at ownership for not spending the
money. More preferably.
Everybody was mad kind of like at Heim Bloom, even though it
wasn't his fault. It's more like upper upper
management that wasn't allowing him to spend the money.
But I think that fans were definitely more anticipated of
excitement for this team, especially heading out to camp
because you had guys like Rome and Anthony, Marcello Meyer,
Christian Campbell all running through the pipeline.
(02:43):
Especially Campbell. A lot of people were talking
about him being the next big thing there, which he was in the
beginning in the first month of the season.
And obviously he went through some struggles and has been in
AAA ever since. But one thing that the Red Sox
did, they had Bregman, they had guys, they had Chapman, who
unbelievable year of like this year was I did not see this
coming from a roll, this Chapman.
But definitely like a lot of additions that the Red Sox
(03:04):
needed care crochet. That trade kind of was a big.
It kind of like gave me flashbacks of Chris Sale because
obviously getting a big lefty from the White Sox and obviously
getting an ace for years, which was good to see.
So the team and the fans were very anticipating on being good.
But obviously we didn't know where our holes were.
And that Alex Bregman was like probably one of the biggest
signings of the offseason. Obviously, we weren't on a lot
of guys. And getting Alex Bregman, the
(03:25):
biggest fish on the market at the time, was kind of big for
the Red Sox because it gave him an extra bat that their line-up
desperately needed, obviously. And his leadership has been
amazing this season. But yeah, entering the spring
training, we had high hopes for this team at Knocks back to beat
them, to be as good as they havebeen this year.
But I'm just excited that we have actually postseason talk
for the first. I mean, last year, obviously we
had it until you guys eliminatedus in the last couple games.
(03:47):
So we have actual hopes of making the playoffs for the
first time and actually hope, knock on wood, getting in this
year. So I'm super excited and knock
on wood, we make it to the playoffs because Boston
desperately needs it. Yeah, I think, I think Rob hit
the nail on the head there. The other thing that I always go
back to with the spring trainingtime specifically is we did a
podcast on Pesky and we kind of mapped out what the division
(04:10):
looked like. And it was that realization of
how evenly matched the division was.
And I think, you know, to to a point that's born out.
I mean, you guys are in first place.
And you know, I, I don't know what you guys expected
yourselves this year, but I am really, you know, surprised
without the Blue Jays have done.I've got some takes on that I'll
get to later. But you know, the the Yankees
(04:33):
and the Red Sox and even the theRays and the Orioles all very
evenly matched. And even though the Rays in the
Orioles are where they are, it just seemed like the the
division was going to kind of play neck and neck with each
other and, you know, to, to, to to give some respect to the
other teams. The Rays were just eliminated
and the Orioles, you know, had abad first few months and then
(04:54):
they've played up to expectations.
So we just had a really dogfightdivision all the way around this
year, I think. Yeah, you guys, you know, you're
going to the post there into thespring training and there really
is just a lot of like question marks on certain guys like what
when's Roman Anthony gonna be called up?
And and you know, there was a lot of talk early in the season.
(05:19):
Are they going to move Duran Duran, you know, like a lot of
trade talk with him and you know, and he's had a pretty good
season and you know, and then that kind of calms down.
And then there was other stuff with Rafael Devers, which we'll
get to with the next question. But you guys have had a pretty
(05:40):
good season. Oh, and then you you trade for
Gary Crochet, which which reallyhelps solidify get you guys that
age that you guys needed. You know, you got bells or two
in your pitching was set from there on.
So I, I think you guys have donereally well this year
considering going into the season, having those high
expectations, almost making the playoffs last year, as you said.
(06:02):
So, you know, if you guys can get it done and get in, I think
you know, I think like, like, you know, baseball, anything can
happen once you get in, right. So, you know, hopefully you guys
get Roman Anthony back because he's he's a big part of what you
guys do. But I think you guys have had a
great season so, so far. You guys should be really proud
(06:23):
as Red Sox fans to be where you're at right now.
Yeah, I'm definitely happy, not even I'm definitely happy with
the outcome of how the team has been performing, especially I
think what kind of shifted the Red Sox season.
And I think Brandon could touch on it too.
We touched on it a lot on our podcast is when they traded
Raffield Evers, our first. And I think every Red Sox fans
first reaction was like, WTF were they doing?
(06:45):
Like, you know, why are we training our best hitter, our
star of the franchise? And was just obviously in spring
training. There was comments of him
obviously getting acts of plate their bit.
He he played move over to first base or move to D8 at the time.
And he said, no, I I play third.So they're obviously
miscommunication with the ownership and everything that
went down there. And then once Triston Casas went
down when a knee injury, they hekind of like bashed ownership
(07:07):
and he said, OK, this guy gets her.
What do you want me to do next, play the outfield?
He basically said that and he obviously it's not a good look
when you're facing your franchise, A man who makes
probably the most money on the team is kind of bad mouthing
your owners and kind of talking back.
And then obviously the trade when it happened, it was just
out of the blue. We just swept the Yankees.
We were getting ready to record.And then the all you see is
Devers to the Giants and were like way what it was like a
(07:30):
bombshell was unexpected. But who would have thought that
it would have turned the Red Soxseason around after when Roma
got called up, it was kind of like weird to see how everything
like shifted that in that manner.
Yeah, I, the, the whole divorce thing to me was just, it was
kind of crazy in the moment, right, Because you had the, the
stuff leading up to it. But then like Rob said, like we
(07:50):
were just getting ready to pod. Like I, I, I hadn't even like
been looking at my phone becauseI've been getting ready for the
podcast. And I hopped in and Rob said,
oh, we just traded Rafael Devers, by the way.
And I kind of went ha, ha, Rob, like, you know, good joke.
And I looked up and saw his faceand I'm like, that's not a joke,
you know? And so it was a very raw pod
(08:11):
because we were literally just getting ready to hit record as
it happened. So it was a lot of, you know,
what are we doing? Weird joke.
Why are we doing this? But as the dust settles on it, I
can sit here and look at it and say, you know, I still don't
necessarily agree with it being the best move or handle in the
way it does. But in the wake of it, I can
look back and go, I OK, I understand why they did it.
(08:35):
I just don't necessarily agree with the how they did.
You know, you know, The thing islike I look at this roster and
it's pretty well constructed theway it's built.
Like the sneaky player that never gets talked about and the
guy like how like he's been a contributing factor.
Siday Raphaela. I've been telling people years
(08:58):
about what Siday Rafael could be.
He's a versatile guy. He's speed.
The guy has quick bat speed and I don't know.
What he reminds me of because you don't see players like that,
like especially with the with the Red Sox say they always help
find these nitty gritty left-handed batters.
For example, you could go back from like Johnny Damon or even
(09:18):
even further Troy O'Leary and then you have Trout Nicks.
They like you. The Red Sox always had that
left-handed bat. Also, I've noticed since you
talked about crochet, how many left-handed aces the Red Sox
have. If you want to go back to Chris
Sale, David Price and if you want to go even further, John
Lester. So it seems like there's a track
(09:42):
record with the Red Sox of foundations when it comes to
getting served players in certain positions on a, you
know, on a on a yearly basis, right.
And I think the way the Red Sox are built, they're built really
well. But the one pitcher that kind of
got me lost as a little bit was Walker Buehler.
(10:02):
Like a lot of people voiced their frustration about Walker
Buehler. And it's like, like he could
have had a bounce back here because he was coming off of a
World Series, you know, shut outthe way he closed it series
against the Yankees comes to theALE and it's like, oh, he's
going to be a bounce back candidate.
Didn't get Q old because, you know, the Dodgers were not going
(10:24):
to give him that money because obviously it's going to go
straight to the roof when it comes to the tax.
So look at the rotation now. It's like what?
We'll get to the rotation later.But looking at the team itself,
I think it's well structured, not just for now, but it's, it's
built well for the future. Like there's a lot of
flexibility and there's a lot ofyouth movement with more guys
coming like a Franken area. It's like where you gonna play
(10:46):
him right, for example. So I think this team is built
well. It's, it's how they, how the
pitching is gonna be down the stretch, I think.
And I I, I did predict him as a playoff team.
Yeah, Walker Buehler obviously pitching really well with the
Phillies right now too down the stretch.
And it just like he just didn't have anything working for him
with the Red Sox. And it's sad to see because
(11:07):
obviously at the time when we signed them, we gave them the
money that basically so Nick Pivetta obviously didn't get
that qualifying offer. And then basically what had
happened without the money, the same amount of money that is
usually for a qualifying offer, the Red Sox offer to walk
Bueller, he accepted it. And obviously he had a couple of
glimpses of and where he pitchedreally well.
I think the highlight of his RedSox career is him getting
(11:27):
ejected against the Mets that one game.
But a lot of stuff went down with him.
But it's, I'm glad to see him doing good.
And Philly, obviously, because Iwish I wanted him to be
successful. And it seems like he is doing
good in Philly, but it just didn't work out in Boston.
And obviously, yeah, the young rotation right now, he got
Crochet as the ace. Obviously Bayo has been a solid
#2 this year, Giolito has been pitching really, really above
(11:49):
what he was supposed to. And also now he has an option
where he can opt out or he couldtake that team mutual option to
opt back into his contract with the Red Sox and an early spend
great in that four spot. And then obviously the number 5
is kind of like a rotating door.But I think this Red Sox
pitching rotation has been stepped up definitely where we
need it the most because pitching was always our weak
point. And now just be having that
(12:09):
death and missing guys like heart.
We missing out on guys cut across for Patrick Sandoval,
who's been out for the year. A lot of those guys too, who
were supposed to be anchors in that rotation.
Tanner how got with Tommy John surgery.
And it's like a lot of those guys have stepped up big for the
Red Sox. Yeah, absolutely.
And I want to touch on what you said too, about Rafaela.
Yeah, definitely nationally, I think he does not get a lot of
(12:31):
the attention that yeah, he should.
And we talk about him a lot on our podcast.
I mean, our founder of the Rich calls him the human highlight
reel. And I'll be real with you guys.
See, he is my absolute favorite player right now.
And that's been the case since midway through last season.
I mean, what the kid does defensively is just on another
level. And obviously with the bat,
(12:51):
you're going to get your ups anddowns.
And there's a lot of people thatare down on him because the bat
doesn't play consistently. But when you look at it right
now, I was just looking at some of these numbers.
I believe he has the fourth highest war on the team if you
guys want war. And I'm like, so he's your 4th
best player and you're saying weshouldn't be playing every day
because of his bad? It's like, no, I don't agree
(13:12):
with that. He needs to be in centre field
every day because I could care less what the bag gives you when
the defence is that good. And you know, you said you were
looking for a comp. I think he's a better version of
Jackie Bradley Junior, which is absolutely absurd to say because
Jackie Bradley Junior was prettygood at himself within his own
right. But I think Sedan Rafaela is
that but better. And I do think that because he's
(13:32):
so young, I think the bat will continue to improve.
But that defence for 25 years old is insane.
Let me ask you that you guys this question cause you guys
brought up, well, we, we talked about Rafael Devers and what
went down there a little bit. What would you say that the,
the, I got 2 parts this questionactually, what would you say?
(13:54):
First of all, is the biggest difference between when you had
them to now? Because it seems like you guys
just got better down the stretchshot playing with, without him.
And, and I'm not sure it's really helped out the Giants
like they thought it would. And talk about the return a
(14:14):
little bit on what you guys got back.
I think you guys got James Tibbs, which you guys ended up
trading for, for dust in May at the deadline.
Um, what do you think about that?
So and then Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, etcetera.
So you can elaborate further. I think the one thing about the
Red Sox return, it's something about like the Red Sox getting
(14:34):
returns and trades. Sometimes they don't pan out.
I mean, this is another trade. At first when I saw it, I was
like, OK, this is going to be like another.
It's similar to the Mookie Bettsstraight.
You're not getting as much as you can for what you were
offered. Obviously, I made a tweet a
couple days ago and I just said because Bryce Eldridge obviously
made his debut for the Giants. And I was like, oh, the Red Sox
have gone on for Devers, not thinking, just numbness,
(14:55):
mindlessly tweeting. And who would have thought that
it would have blown up in everybody?
You know, Red Sox Twitter is kind of toxic.
Well, everybody's coming at me and I'm just like, hey, I just
tweeted out something. But anyways, Bryce Eldridge was
a guy that I wanted the Red Sox because I needed a first
baseman. And obviously they the Red Sox
and this was kind of like a salary dump because the Giants
paid the whole contract. So that's one thing you gotta
look forward to be appreciate from the Giants because the Red
(15:17):
Sox ended up using that money that they had freed up to extend
guys like Roman Anthony and thenextend some other guys as well.
So that actually ended up helping the Red Sox also
extended Chapman with that extramoney.
So it looks like they're using it wisely.
But the return, James Tibbs obviously for Dustin May, who
was a rental. And I mean, that's kind of
confusing. It confuses me.
It's a head scratcher because the Red Sox said they wanna
controllable arms if they were to make any trades.
(15:38):
So the fact that they ended up getting 2 rentals at the
deadline, it's confusing. Obviously James Tips I thought
was pretty solid, but I did not expect them to give up that much
for Dustin may have one or half a season of Dustin May, who
probably will be in the bullpen during the playoffs.
So it kind of confuses me there.But Jordan Hicks also, Oh my
God, he has been atrocious out of the bullpen and he's on the
(15:59):
injured list right now. He's we're going to put air
quotes. He's injured, AKA fan of my L
stint because he's just been that bad.
But honestly, like I think at the deadline, I think Red Sox
had done a little more. Obviously we know we had Joe
Ryan for like 20 seconds and then obviously that tweet went
out and then obviously that didn't.
Happen, yeah. Maybe in the offseason will grab
them, but it's just like, oh man, that return was pretty that
(16:21):
it looks like it's working in the Giants favor right now.
But I mean, maybe if Dustin May can come back in the playoffs
and pitch well and see how that goes, maybe the Red Sox can
offer him like a A1 year contract, maybe approve a deal
in the offseason. Yeah, I'll kind of rapid fire a
few things to build on that. And I I looked at that and I
thought, well, I don't know why you trade for mid season.
(16:44):
It was kind of a head scratcher.I think it was more of a panic
move to me and some of these panic pivots, I guess, if you
will, because we didn't get Ryan, we didn't get Kelly,
things like that. But looking at the diverse
things, specifically the return there that is most interesting
to me is Kyle Harrison because Bailey was with the Giants.
Bailey knows Harris and Bailey wants Harrison here to prove
(17:07):
what he can do in a sense. So that's the piece that I'm
going to be watching, you know, for years to come unless we
trade him in the offseason to see what that really bears out.
And I I don't want to say Deverswas a clubhouse cancer or is,
but because I was really againstthat notion when all that stuff
started coming out before we traded him.
But I look at that as like, whathe what has he shown recently
(17:33):
to, to, to, to show that that's not the case because he the
Giants are doing with the Giantsdo.
And then my thing that I look back on too, is that, you know,
Deborah told you, I'm not a first baseman.
I've never played first base. And when he first started
playing first base with the Giants, it it showed.
So I'm like, yeah, he kind of told you he couldn't do that and
he can't. So that's where I kind of stand
(17:55):
on it. Well, the moment Devers was
traded, I think it was Robert Murray that posted that trade.
I was like no flipping way because one, the fact that he's
under control for what another eight more years thinking that
he was a day one guy. And I believe it was been
Sharington when when he was at GM that signed Devers and he's
(18:17):
been through a plethora of GM's during that span.
And you can't blame him. It's like you go through
Breslow, you go through Dombrowski, you go out through
Mike Hazen and Ben Cherington. That's and I think even no Theo
Epstein was already gone by then.
But like, even though it's like,can you play devil's in that
whole process? He's been through a lot of GM's
(18:38):
and not to and he's been in thatorder.
And he was willing to give that get get that extension, which
Kyle Bloom being the GM at the time like, but now it's looking
like now I think it's benefits both the Giants and the bread
socks, the Red Sox. I'll say this.
At first, I was extremely shocked that I thought that
could have been more of an offseason move then a regular
(19:00):
season move and thinking that with debris, there will be more
teams that would be on him. But there was like, I think
three or four teams that were inlike Padres, Jays, Braves, I
think were the other ones. But looking at the the the
financial flexibility, the Red Sox are pretty built well, given
the fact like they're starting to give contracts that so you
(19:21):
guys have crochet sign long-term, you got sedan
Raffaella sign long-term, you got romantic.
I think that's a pivotal one in my opinion, getting that guy
locked. So I loved her because if you
let him play year to year, I think he's gonna get extremely
expensive. And Christian Campbell, which I
think will, I mean 60 million. It's like today's baseball.
It's nothing. So it's like they're they have
(19:43):
room to improve. Like if they want to go get a
starting pitcher, they could go get that.
If they want to go get a big batlike this is to say like a tile
Tucker, But I mean, they alreadyhave enough bats.
It's also, I don't know if they target Tucker, but I could see
more pitching, right? Like let me ask you this.
This is a different a different way of saying this because you
guys claimed Carlos Navas and he's been a great fight.
(20:07):
Is he the long term catcher? Or do you think you guys go
target a catcher, let's just saylike a Shaun Murphy?
You guys have been linked to himfor years.
Ohhhhh, I I think the Red Sox really do like Carlos Novaes
behind the plane and he's had a pretty solid rookie year towards
the middle of towards the end ofthe year, kind of he's been kind
of slowing down with the bat andobviously his knee still
bothering him. So I would assume that he might
(20:29):
have an offseason surgery or hiscase scenario.
But yeah, the catching platoon of him and Wong, I mean Wong,
Connor Wong. Let's be honest, it hasn't been
a pretty season for him. But as of late, like down the
stretches, man, getting a very good at bats, quality at bats
and helping the red socks out. And he actually taught a couple
pitchers, I forget the story, but he like changed the whole
(20:49):
you'd like taught starting pitchers like a change up about
pitch tunneling like Connor Wonghas.
They call him, they call it likeobviously crochet and all them
the pig, the war pig and then the piglets.
He's basically the the bar, the barkeeper basically because he's
so he teaches them how to throw their pitches and does very
well. And Connor Wong obviously is the
personal catcher for Brian Bail as well.
And Brian Bale has had a great season.
(21:10):
He and even Crochets thanks Connor Wong for what he has been
able to do when he did catch him.
So I do think Carlos Navas is the catcher of the future as a
starting catcher. But I do think there is an
opportunity to go after some catching depth in the off
season, maybe even a trade or signing a guy like Shawn Murphy.
And what you said about Roman. I think yeah, it's a great
signing. Like, you got them for 100,
almost $230 million because he'sgonna get rookie of the Year
(21:32):
voting. So even after missing all that
time, and then he's just a guy that's gonna be a superstar in
the league for years to come. Like, that's a steal because
he's he doesn't chase a lot. He gets on base and him in the
leadoff spot. He's been amazing in the leadoff
spot for the Red Sox when they need had him out there when he
switched them out. But I do see the Red Sox, yeah,
going after a bad, maybe even a pitcher like Dylan Cease taking
a flyer on him in the offseason.But it's definitely a good
(21:54):
problem to have when you have the flexibility with the
finances. Yeah, so I'll to to build on
that. I do think Carlos Narvaez is the
vision of the future. You know, I was very big and
still am on, you know, trading with the EMS for Harry Ford.
But that was back before we didn't have Narvis and Wong,
despite the year he's had. There's been a lot that's come
(22:16):
out recently about what he meansto the pitching staff.
So he kind of again, it's I'm starting to look at him in the
same way that I look at Raphaelaof I don't really care what the
bat does if he continues to do what he does for the pitching
staff and for behind the plate. Because those stories that Rob
was talking about, I think the two most prevalent are before.
(22:40):
I think it was Andrew Bailey andConnor Wong.
I think it was Baio. Just thought a change up was
throwing a fastball slower. And then I think the the other,
the biggest one, which has got some controversy between John
Boy and Buster only is the Chapman not realizing until
Connor Wong said something to him in spring training that you
(23:00):
can actually locate a fastball, which might sound crazy on the
surface of like, yeah, right. Like a roll.
This Chapman has never tried to locate a fastball.
He's just throwing it as hard ashe can.
But look at how wild he used to be.
When you when you look at when you look at some stuff that that
actually kind of tracts. So, and I don't know if that's
just a language barrier when guys come over from the Latin
(23:23):
areas where maybe there's something lost in translation
about certain pitch types. You know, obviously you know
what a slider is, you know what a curveball is, you know, it's
like that. But when it comes to fastballs
and changeups, there might be some misperception from
depending on where you are in the world.
So I don't know where those cross ups happen, but Connor
Wong has taught these pictures alot and is definitely very, very
(23:45):
fluent in that regard. And I think, yeah, I do think
they're going to target a bat this offseason.
As far as what bat, no idea. My person that I wanted back in
spring training, obviously we can't have anymore cause you
guys locked him up and that would have been flat.
That was my, my life. The whole thing was like.
(24:06):
And wanted him, man. Yeah, I, I wanted him bad, if
we're being honest. Kind of broke my heart a little
bit when you guys signed him long term.
But I am happy for him and you guys to, you know, for, for you
guys to actually get the generational franchise player
for once and, and for him to getthe bag that he did is, is
pretty, you know, good for the money he got.
But that would, that would have been my target.
(24:26):
Now that's off the table. So I, I don't know who they
target because I, I look at what's available and I don't
look like anything out there better than what we have.
Yeah, I I wanted to touch on what you said about wouldn't it
be amazing if Connor Wong was the guy that fixed Chapman at 37
(24:47):
years old? Yeah, you know what I mean?
Like 37 years old. You're throwing wild your entire
career. You come to the Red Sox and you
listen to Connor Wong and he just fixes you.
That's great. Actually, aim the fastball had
no idea. Yeah, after all these years,
they like, but yeah, you like when you talk about Narvaez and
(25:11):
and and Wong duo, it's a pretty damn good duo.
I mean, getting their bias in there.
He he was looking like that rookie of the year candidate for
so long possibly, you know, and I, I mean, his, his defensive
metrics are really good too. I think he's going to get Gold
Glove votes, like he'll be in that that Gold Glove
conversation. I think.
(25:32):
So you know, and the that's justbeen good, you know, So I mean,
and Connor Wong has been you know, he's proven he can hit
too, right, even though he's hadit down here, you know, in the
past, he's always been able to get it done.
So I like what you guys got a catcher.
Um, you know, like Rocky said, getting and you guys talked
about with getting your, your young stud locked up, their long
(25:58):
term is, is paramount, especially to get him out of
such a, you know, a Braves type deal.
I'll say, you know, get him on one of them cheap long term
contracts that you know, they love to get done so.
Yeah, and I've said it before, Ithink you're going to see a lot
of those type of contracts throughout the league in this
next year. You know, we saw it with Basalo
(26:20):
on the Orioles. We've seen it with some other
guys and with with the impendingNess of what 2027 does or
doesn't represent. You know, are we going to have a
lockout? Is 2027 going to be a season
when, when we do resume, will there be a salary cap or a
salary floor? And if there is, these type of
deals are imperative for every team.
Because if you want to go out and sign the the Vlad, the Soto,
(26:43):
the Otani to that mega deal, you're going to have to have the
rest of your stars tied up on deals like this to have that
financial flexibility. So I feel like these deals,
you're going to see more and more of them as offseason and
into 2026 leading right up to the collective bargaining
agreement. I agree.
Let's talk about Craig Breslow here.
(27:05):
So he was hired I believe two years ago, right, the moment
Kaboom was fired, I think September of 23.
And now that Brazil has the fulloperation, it's Sam Kenny, I
believe is still the president of this team, right?
But he's he's focused on other stuff.
But like with Brazil now he seems like he's trying to do a
(27:26):
different transformation of thisteam and talk about him as a as
a GM itself because he came fromthe Cubs organization now with
the red side. Now he's here for the
foreseeable future and perhaps longer.
We'll see about that. But what what are your thoughts
about Brazil as a GM so far? It's interesting to see,
especially like what he does andhe's proven he can put his balls
(27:49):
on the table and make big trades, which I really like
cause High bloom didn't make many of those trades.
And obviously right now as the president of the baseball
operations for the Red Sox, he'sdoing an amazing job.
The Red Sox actually announced acouple weeks ago that, well, not
them themselves, but there was rumors going around that the Red
Sox will search for an actual GMin the offseason, which is good.
Kind of takes the pressure off of Craig Breslow's hands and
kind of gives it more shifted focus towards someone who can be
(28:12):
a GM for the Red Sox. I don't know who that would be,
but I do know that Craig Breslowwas felt basically filling both
roles in right now and he's doing a good job.
He's doing things that he needs to do, assigning important guys
like Roman Anthony, obviously Aroldis Chapman, Christian
Campbell and I obviously we werehoping for an Alex Bregman
extension, but he doesn't reallydo extensions in the regular
season. So maybe in the offseason he
(28:32):
opts out of that contract and kind of tries to restructure
that deal. Or you might that you might see
that word that you might see a headline that says Alex Bregman
opts out of his contract and then maybe breaking news right
after he re extend like you've seen that happen before in other
sports where players leave theirdeal and restructure to deal
right away to stay with the team.
So I mean, he's been doing good signing guys, making some
important trades. Some of the trades are like head
(28:53):
scratchers, though, some of themnot all, but some of the trade
is obviously the crochet trade. Obviously that big, that devours
trade was kind of offsetting, but some of the traits that he
had to make made him and he's made some solid trees.
And if he did get that Joe Ryan trade done, a lot of people
would probably be praising him even more than they already are
now. Well, he's 5050.
A lot of fans, some fans love him, some fans hate him.
I'm indifferent. Like I like Craig Breslow, he
(29:14):
want us a World Series. So I can't be really mad at him
as a pitcher and as a player, but as a as a GM and a guy who
runs the team, think he does a pretty solid job.
Yeah, I, I, I would agree with that.
I think he does a really good job of, of what he does.
I know there's a lot of people that are really down on him.
My push back to that is he's doing the best that he can with
(29:35):
what he's been given from the front office or from yeah, from
the ownership. And and I mean, to be fair, so
was high in bloom, right? This it really comes down to
ownership. But I think that Breslow,
especially this year, has shown some, some real stones and what
he can go out and do. Whether you agree with the
demonstrator or not, you know, it, it takes balls to do
something like that. It takes a gutsy move.
(29:57):
You know, even the, the, the head scratcher moves like the
Dustin may trade. I look at that as well.
That was a panic move because hecouldn't get Ryan or Kelly and
he kind of maybe looked at me and said, well, this is a guy
that we might target in the offseason because he fits the
pitching lab. Let's just get him here early so
that we can say we did somethingbecause when you look at the
deadline, the reports that are out, you know, that Holly and
(30:23):
Garcia were in a potential Ryan deal.
For some reason, the Twins said no to that.
And then when you would go to the Diamondbacks and you ask for
Kelly, they wanted Conley early and Breslow said for Kelly,
forget it. You know, so I think there's
there's some misconception, I think around the league with how
we as Red Sox fans and Red Sox for an office value some of our
(30:44):
prospects compared to what the rest of the league does.
Obviously we're very high on guys like early and totally,
obviously totally is showing that his secondaries aren't
ready and he might have been brought up really too quickly.
But you know, we're high on those guys and for some reason
the rest of the league isn't. So when I when I thought about
(31:07):
Kim Broom Bloom being fired, I said to myself, it's so he must
have been the scapegoat of that team and knowing that they've
been having unsuccessful seasonsfor those couple of years.
And, and, and The thing is that in my mind, I was like, he's
trying to rebuild the farm coming from the race
organization. So he has that philosophy
(31:27):
philosophical mind, right? And now that the way the Red Sox
are being structured and Brazil being another analytically
driven in a different way, thinking that, OK, Black Bloom
Bloom was the one who revamped the farm and Brazil's going to
be the guy who's going to try tosucceed this team, right, for
(31:48):
the foreseeable future. So in my mind, it was like I I
thought that with blue, I thought that maybe he should
have been fired maybe a year later if it fails, another
failed season. But I mean, what are you gonna
do at that point? Because it's Boston we're
talking about. It's a big market team.
There's always under pressure, especially when you have the
history between the Yankees and the Red Sox.
(32:10):
The Yankees are always going to the playoffs every year, right?
And and now that the way the allleases, which we'll get to later
on, it's like Boston needs to find one.
But the one thing Craig Breslow,like I said, like you like he's
done well when it comes to giving extensions.
I think that was smart part. Like I think there were some
(32:31):
contingency with crochets contract, like if he gets
injured, the Red Sox can opt out, which is kind of clever to
think the way contracts are being given now in today's
baseball. So it's important with with
that. And also I agree with the whole
thing when it comes to making trades.
Like, for example, like, why would you trade Chris Sale for
(32:52):
Von Grisham, who hasn't been a factor of this team, right?
So like, that's one example. Or giving up James Tibbs in that
may deal. Like, yeah, some of the trades
is a little bit questionable. Does it?
If you think about it, it doesn't have to do with the
assistant gems because the one guy that's been thrown out there
that could be on getting a job, it's Eddie Romero.
(33:12):
And talk about Eddie Romero a little bit, because he seems
like he's been a popular name that's going to be available in
the offseason. Yeah, so I'll, I'll touch on a
couple of those things you just said there.
I think with the Grissom Sale trade specifically, I don't look
at that as a head scratcher. In hindsight, you do.
But when you look at like the time that the trade was made,
(33:32):
for example, at the beginning oflast year, Chris Sale had not
pitched well for the Red Sox in quite some time.
And there was a very there was aconsensus of the fans of like,
get this guy out of here. He's not what he used to be.
And obviously he then went on tobe a saying with with the
Braves. And you bring in a guy like John
Grisham, who didn't have a spot on the Braves at the beginning
(33:54):
of 2024. Christian Campbell was nowhere
to be found in terms of like, wedidn't know who this guy was.
He like rocketed through the system.
So it was very much a Von Grissom, the second baseman of
the future air apparent to Dustin Pedroia, who we haven't
had a a regular second baseman since 2018.
And to be fair, because of all the ups and downs this year, we
(34:15):
and last year, we still don't. That to me was a very smart move
at the time. In hindsight, it kind of looks
like why did we make that trade?I 100% agree.
And touching on the high bloom thing, he was 100% scapegoat.
You know, he was brought in to replenish the farm system that
Dombrowski tore down and he did exactly that.
Granted, it led to some losing seasons, but he did what John
(34:37):
Henry brought him here to do. And then they tossed him out
like he was the scapegoat. So I 100% agree on that.
Yeah, it was kind of confusing and I agree I I wasn't the
biggest bloom guy, but I do I did appreciate some of the moves
that he made as president of baseball operations.
I do think I agree to extend, I think they should have waited
another year and gave him an opportunity to sign players
(34:58):
because obviously that offseasonthere was a lot of big names on
the free agent market show. Hey, Otani was one of them that
I really thought if like, and it's funny to see the Red Sox.
I mean, obviously we knew he wasa given Dodger.
There was no way he wasn't goingto go to the Dodgers.
It was like Brennan and Stone essentially, but the Red Sox
made a good offer and obviously you can't be mad at that.
But I think that Heim Bloom, if he had opportunities to spend
(35:21):
money, I think he probably wouldhave made the team even better
than what it was obviously in 2022 and 2023.
And given obviously him getting the rear end of the stick was
kind of sucked to see him go. But I think obviously now he's
doing good at Saint Louis. I think the Cardinals are going
to in the upward right direction.
Obviously, like Nolan Arenado might be a guy I think we might
see circling around a possible trade with the Red Sox.
(35:43):
So a lot of people are saying still in the offseason they can
make that deal. Obviously depends on Bregman
staying. But I think that, yeah, given
what he was given, I think I'm Bloom did a good job.
I just think that he got the shit under the stick.
He should have stayed a little longer in my opinion to be
honest. Should at least give him another
year. So let me ask you guys this.
Question, um, looking at the depth of the team right now
compared to when the season began, what would you say is the
(36:05):
biggest differences? And would you say the team's
gotten better with regards to the depth that they have all
over the place, not just in the minors but on the big league
roster, the future? Of this team and the way it is
now, obviously minus the injuries, if you take out the
injuries to Marcella Meyer with his wrist and obviously
Christian Campbell being in the Miners and stuff like that.
(36:26):
I think the depth of this team is very good, especially in the
outfield. I always say at the Red Sox at
the best outfield in baseball, even Roman Anthony is healthy
too, because I mean Willie Abreuis an elite player, elite
defender in right field. Jared Durant has been heating up
with the bat a little bit, but he's been great in that leadoff
spot filling in for Roman Roman obviously when he's healthy he
proven that he's going to be a stud and then you say Don and
centre field. I mean, you've got a lot of
(36:46):
death in that outfield. Then you also guys who are just
good pieces like Rob Refsnyder and and you have guys like Romy
Gonzalez who are elite left-handed hitter, elite
hitters off of left-handed pitching, I should say, and have
been really stepping up for the Red Sox in those moments.
And then the death is just there.
You got guys who can fill positions, play different
positions, move things around. You got Bregman at third base,
(37:07):
obviously who's been a good leader in that clubhouse and
also at first base has kind of been a revolving door.
You just got Nathaniel Lowe, whohas been playing pretty good for
the Red Sox, and then also Romy,who could play first base as
well. That's another thing that might
be up in the air to see what happens there because I don't
know what the Red Sox want to dowith Tristan costs.
They've been wanting to trade Tristan costs.
But I do think that death in that lineup is really good.
(37:28):
And obviously you got a rotatingdoor at DH.
A lot of times the Red Sox, that's the one thing.
Once they got rid of Devers, they've been kind of doing a
rotating door at DH, filling guys in there just so you can
keep that hot stick in the lineup.
And then the pitching obviously has been great.
The starting rotation has been very solid, though.
All the young guys coming up andtotally moving to the bullpen,
obviously, But then Connolly early coming up, guys in that
bullpen. And also you got Cooper Criswell
who can spot start from Worcester, who might be added to
(37:50):
maybe to the playoff roster intothe bullpen.
So you got a lot of good depth with pitching.
And just like in the lineup in general, there's a lot of good
ways to like flip flop your lineup too.
Yeah, I agree. On that, with that.
Completely, I think that it's the depth really comes down to
guys who can be versatile. You know, to get 2 guys that Rob
didn't mention, their Sogard andEaton, I mean, you know, what we
(38:12):
have right now is guys that can play where you need them to play
and, and fill in if somebody's hurt.
I even feel like Von Grishin could come up in a pinch and be
a serviceable big league defender, big league at bat
either, you know, at second basein the outfield if we absolutely
needed him to. And there are other guys.
Well, but the biggest to me, thebiggest surprise this year has
(38:34):
been the pitching. We're seeing that Andrew
Bailey's pitching regime, that pitching lab come to fruition.
We're we're starting to see a lot of these young guys and
we've had the privilege to interview a lot of these young
guys on our podcast and the offseason.
We're we're seeing this, you know, come up.
I think I said that the last podthat I was on, I said it.
It's surreal to me to look at the, the Red Sox big league
(38:55):
roster right now and see four guys that I've interviewed and
that I've, you know, met personally and interviewed on
this roster. And, you know, you see these
young guys come up and it's like, OK, the Red Sox actually
have homegrown pitching, which is something that we have sucked
at for basically ever since the Red Sox have been around.
I mean, I I bring this up all the time if you don't count.
(39:18):
Babe Ruth as a pitcher and. Obviously, Roger Clemens is not
getting into the Hall of Fame because of the steroid issues.
The Red Sox have one Hall of Fame pitcher that was homegrown
their entire existence. You know, and we'll see maybe
what happens with John Lester because, you know, John Lester
is a pretty good example of that.
But we typically don't see that,and we're starting to see that.
(39:38):
So I'm ready for that change forus to actually develop pitching.
Yeah, I think. I think it's just that with the
like you guys brought up the whole pitching talent, like the
pitching crop, like I think it'sbecoming more and more of a
factor, not just for the Red Sox, but in today's baseball.
If you look at the way the league is going, right?
(39:58):
And I think it's so important todevelop talent within the
system. And the Red Sox are starting to
do that right. And you look at the way it's
structured. I think they're well built
pretty well overall. Like, like I told you, like you
got, you got. Franklin area it's like he's a
guy that could be in the system.You got the young kids in the
system. You guys called up here and told
(40:20):
Connolly early telling you like they're not waiting on service
manipulation. This is a right now team right
and some teams are really prettyshy away when it comes to
situations like that. And let me ask you guys just a
question here and you talked about the outfield depth here
and this is something that you know I look into it all the
time. You guys have a Jared Durant.
(40:41):
You gotta sedan, Rafael. You gotta Wilmer Braves getting
activated tomorrow. We're going to talk about the
preview later this episode. You got what's his name about?
Roman Anthony, right? So you got a plethora of
outfielders and Yoshida. That's another guy.
So how does this outfield work out?
Because I know that the Red Sox were trying to trade Yoshida.
(41:03):
That was a common bloom signing.Then it hasn't really worked out
at all today. Raphaela, great signing.
Jared Durant's names been thrownaround throughout the trade
deadline and he's still with theteam could get circulated again
in the offseason. And then you got Roman Anthony.
Just like how do you look at theoutfield depth itself?
So yeah, the outfield depth is. Very interesting.
(41:24):
Obviously what will your brain will be back?
He was actually activated yesterday, which is good.
But DH for us. So I'm assuming he's gonna play
the outfield and those in the Toronto series.
But it's always one of those things that you look at and it's
always an it's not a bad problemto have, but it's also a kind of
like a weird situation that we talked about and like the spring
training too. What are we going to do with
that outfield? You got Rob Refsnyder, Masako
Yoshida fella, but he's been DJing a lot, which is good.
(41:46):
But then you also got like you said, Roman say Don Jarren
Duran. That's like 5-6 outfielders.
So it's a lot of, it's a little bit of a crowded outfield.
I do see a trade probably happening in the offseason.
I a lot of it it's a lot of people are speculating is
between Duran or Willie or Abreu, who had the highest value
right now in the trade deadline for Yandy Diaz trade.
The raise wanted say Don Rafael and the Red Sox straight up said
(42:08):
no. So there was one of those things
that you knew how valuable he isin the outfield for us.
So it's yeah, it's between Duranor will your brain who would do
that. And then the only thing with
Yoshida, I mean, he started hit the ball really good now, which
is good because we need his bat,especially down the stretch.
But it's going to be one of those things where you got to
find a team that's willing to take that contract because
obviously for DH makes a lot of money.
(42:29):
Yeah, I. I mean.
To me, Yoshida, and it sucks to say this because I, I loved him
with the Buffaloes. I'm big, a big NPB guy, but it
just hasn't worked out here. And he I, I wouldn't be
surprised if he's still here though next year unless we can
find someone to take that contract.
I know our co-host OG really thinks.
That he might be an. Astro next year and I could see
(42:50):
that because that would that would fit, you know, with with.
You know they need a left. Handed Bat his swing would fit
the Crawford boxes. I could see if they're willing
to eat some of that money. But when I look at this
outfield, I think your your outfield is locked up for the
foreseeable future. And to build on what Rob said I
think both Duran and Abreu are gone.
(43:12):
I think the 2026 outfield is Roman Anthony Sedan Raphael and
Christian Campbell and you got all three of those guys on long
term deals. I I do think that you move Duran
in a Brave for pitching because Christian Campbell has shown
he's not a second baseman and when you look at his defensive
tricks, he profiles best as a left fielder.
(43:33):
So Campbell and left a Brayer, Raphael and Centre and Anthony
and Wright I feel like is the outfield for the foreseeable
future and you flip Duran and a Brave for pitching this
offseason.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
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