Blue Jays extend Shapiro, Braves loading up, Freddy Peralta market, Is Boras waiting on Kyle Tucker?
December 12, 2025 • 26 mins
Ken Rosenthal and Alanna Rizzo discuss the Toronto Blue Jays extending President & CEO Mark Shapiro 5 years. (Top of show)
(00:52) Ken and Alanna recap the Braves offseason so far.
(02:57) Ken gives insight into the markets for Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger.
(06:27) Hear from Ken on the pitching market, and specifically Freddy Peralta.
(09:40) Grillin’ Ken answers your questions, including the shortstop market, Ketel Marte trade rumors, possible packages for the Mets if they traded for Willson Contreras, potential Dodger packages for Tarik Skubal, chances the Giants go get Kyle Tucker or Bo Bichette, and which starting pitchers the Orioles could sign.
(20:51): Ken and Alanna crown their dudes of the week.
(23:32): Ken and Alanna crown their dorks of the week.
Subscribe to the FT YouTube channel to watch this show live every week!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition, oh, the Friday edition
of Fair Territory, a special post winter Meetings edition. I'm
Ken Rosenthal here with Alana Rizzo. We already have some
news today, the Blue Jays announcing a five year extension
for team president Mark Shapiro. If you recall, both Shapiro
and his general manager Ross Atkins were thought to be
(00:29):
on the hot seat going into this season. When you
get to the World Series and come within through outs
of winning it, it kind of helps cool off the
hot seat. So we've got a ton to talk about.
Good to see you again. Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, it's great to see you as well on this Friday.
Great job, Ken. Of course, over the course of the
Winter Meetings and we have some more things to talk about,
and we start in Atlanta, Ken.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We do. And the Braves have been active in recent
days and they've had quite an interesting offseason so far.
What we've seen from them is first the signing of
Russ Rachel Iglesias to be their closer. That was one year,
sixteen million. Then they acquired Mauricio Dubon for Nick Allen,
and that was a guy that they feel can play shortstop.
If they cannot get a better shortstop, and then over
(01:14):
the last two days Mike Yastremsky outfielder and Robert Suarez
to be their setup man in front of Aglesias. Now
one thing to note here, Suarez, Iglesias and Yastremsky all
thirty five or over on opening day, older players, but
experienced players, players who should make the Braves better. Certainly,
(01:35):
the back of the bullpen now with Suarez and Iglesias
is really formidable. They still want to do shortstop if
they can get better, if they can get Hashan Kim,
maybe somebody else that we're not thinking of, and they
would probably want to add a starting pitcher as well.
But the Braves right now looking good.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And I tell you what can They also have a
new manager, of course, Brian Snicker still with the organization,
a longtime baseballman, but another longtime baseball man managing again,
Walt Weiss. What do you make of that?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I like it. And Walt Weiss is one of these
guys that I thought deserved a second chance. He was
in Colorado all those years. Of course, we all know
how difficult it is to win in Colorado because of
the ballpark and because of the way. Frankly, the team
has been run over the past I don't know, decade
or so under Dick Montfort, so they seem to be
taking a step forward now with Deeperdesta and Josh Burns
(02:25):
coming in. And Walt Weiss gets his second chance with Atlanta,
an organization where he had been the bench coach before,
and he seems to be a guy to me that
is well suited for that team. Reminds me a little
bit of Rob Thompson, just kind of low key but
yet extremely wise in a baseball sense.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Rob Thompson of course getting an extension with the Philadelphia
Phillies as well, and Walker Montford already making some good
moves for the Colorado Rockies. Let's talk about the next
domino to fall, Ken, if you will, in this free
agency or off season time period. I thought it was
going to be Kyle Schwarber, the big news. It seems like, though,
Scott Boris is perhaps leaking its Kyle Tucker as the
(03:07):
domino that needs to fall before more stuff happens.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Right. Brendan Cuddy of The Athletic wrote a story two
days ago basically saying that Boris might want to wait
for Tucker to sign. He doesn't represent Tucker Excel does,
but he might want to wait for Tucker to go
before he gets to Bellinger. Now it's interesting because if
you look at what happened this week, Alana Kyle Schwarber
signs for one hundred and fifty million with the Philadelphia Phillies.
(03:32):
The next day, Scott Boris with Pete Alonzo signs to
the Baltimore Oriols one hundred and fifty five million. Basically,
Boris waited for Schwarber and then did Alonzo, and it seems,
according to Brendan's reporting, that he would like to do
the same thing here because it will enhance perhaps the
price he gets for Bellinger. If Tucker goes really high,
(03:55):
Bellinger's not the same player, he will not get as much,
but he might get more after Tucker goes. So that's
one way for Scott Boris to go about, and he
of course can sign Ballinger any moment if he gets
the deal he wants. But it's really interesting what we've
seen so far from these opt out free agents. Alonso,
for instance, he signed with the Mets last year, that
(04:17):
two year, fifty four million dollar deal. The first year
was thirty million, then he opted out, ends up getting
five years, one hundred and fifty five. So the total
in his free agency the two years six one eighty
five that is outstanding for Pete Alonzo. Now Gregman opted
out of his deal with the Red Sox forty million,
(04:37):
but really thirty one point seven in present day value
with all the deferrals. What will he get? What will
his final number be? And Cody Bellinger was with the Cubs,
opted in last year but opts out this year, ends
up making two years fifty five million or fifty five
million over two years with the Cubs, and now he
too stands to gain more in free agency. So that
(05:01):
strategy Scott Boris has taken with some of these players
over the years. I've been critical of it at times
because it seems like when he gets those short deals,
you're wondering, well, is he reading the market correctly? But
time and again go back to Matt Chapman was another one.
These have worked out pretty well for him, and we'll
see how it goes with Bregman and Bellinger coming up.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Ken Is Scott Boris the type of agent that will
allow perhaps a short term deal once for a client,
but not twice for the same guy.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That seems to be the way this goes. Alana, And obviously,
if the market dictates a second short term deal, he's
not going to have a choice. But basically, when you
have the short term deal, and this was the case
for Alonso and Bregman with a qualifying offer, okay, what
you're doing is hedging until the next year when you
(05:52):
won't have a qualifying offer and things are a little
bit freer. Seems that is what happened with Alonzo. To
an extent, I was a little prized Alonso got more
than Schwarber, even though he's almost two years younger. Kyle
Schwarber is coming off a fifty six home run season.
Seemed to have and we don't know for sure, but
seem to have a more active market. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Boston,
(06:13):
So Bellinger and Bregman they're next up, along with Tucker
and along with Boba Schett. Those are the four big
hitters remaining and we will see how this all goes.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, those are the four big hitters. Let's talk about
the pitching market for a moment. Ken, what is the
peralta the Freddie peralta market looking like right.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I wrote this with Will Samon a couple of days ago,
and if you recall Altam, maybe a week ago, the Brewers,
I reported, were cracking the door open for trade discussions. Well,
they've cracked the door open, and as I wrote with Will,
teams are now barging through. The Yankees, the Giants, the
Orioles are among them, and I would expect there are
(06:53):
some other teams as well. Maybe the Mets jump into
this thing. The Brewers are going to get pushed here.
Palta is an extremely valuable commodity, top five cy young finisher.
Not only that, making eight million in twenty twenty six
before becoming a free agent. Eight million is a lot
of money. To the normal person for a starting pitcher
(07:14):
of his caliber, it is a pittance. So they are
going to get pushed and pushed hard on Peralta, and
I would not be surprised to see them trade him,
even though after Brent Brandon Woodriff accept the qualifying offer,
the owner and the general manager, Mark Attanasio and Matt
Arnold talked excitedly about their rotation. We love our rotation,
(07:36):
but if they could perhaps get a young pitcher back
for Peralta. They go into the season with Woodruff, Mazarowski
and Priester as their top three, and they've got some
depth behind them. They could justify it in their heads
in that way.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Ken, who are the teams pushing for Peralta? Who's knocking
on Milwaukee's door? What makes the most sense?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Well, the teams I just mentioned all make sense, and
really a lot of any team that wants starting pitching
makes sense for Freddy Paralta just because of what I said.
The question is which team will be able to or
willing to pay the acquisition cost necessary to get one
year of Paralta and one year of a pitcher is
(08:16):
not going to get you what it might if you
had multiple years of control that you were peddling. So
we saw with Corbyn Burns the Brewers made a good
trade a couple of years ago. It was Joey Ortez,
it was Dale Hall, and it was a thirty fourth
pick in the draft. Now, our Chees hasn't hit much,
but he's a great defensive shortstop. Dale Hall has been
inconsistent and injured, but he's got a lot of promise
(08:38):
and the draft pick. We'll see how that turns out.
But Burns was making almost twice as much as Peralta,
so Paralta in the trade market will be that much
more valuable.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
ID love to see where this is all going to
play out. I still think Ken and you know certainly
more than I, but I still would love to see
Woodroff and Peralta in the same rotation. Just makes Milwaukee
that much more formative. But obviously teams must like what
they're hearing about Freddy Peralta and those sweepstakes. Much more
to come on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal. Get those
questions in for Ken. We're gonna do Grill and Ken
(09:11):
right after a word from our friends at foul.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Hey, when you get a chance, subscribe to Foul Territory
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Speaker 2 (09:34):
Give us a sub all right, time now to I
have all kinds of problems with my headroom, and I
know my director's going nuts right now, but I'm gonna
try to fix my camera. I apologize all right time
now for Grill and Ken. This is where we get
the questions in from you the fans in our chat
(09:55):
to ask Ken Rosenthal a question. So the first one
is on the uh looks like, oh the Bechet market. Okay,
So this from Justin Longhai, justin, how are you who
is the most appealing shortstop available on the market? Assuming
can that most teams view Bo Bashett as a second
basement at this point, some teams.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Do view him as a shortstop, and that's my understanding
from talking to people in his camp, and you can
see why. Even though his metrics were down. Bob Bashett
is an extremely good offensive player and at shortstop he
give you a greater offensive boost than most shortstops will provide.
But if you're looking for a pure shortstop, a guy
(10:36):
who is a gifted defender, it's Hashan Kim and we
haven't heard a whole lot about him. The Braves certainly
would love to have him back. Remember they got him
for the final month of the season. There are other
teams as well, who I am sure are on Kim,
just as there are many teams on Bishett and Bashet's
Market's going to be really interesting. I reported last week
about Boston being in on him. Toronto of course is
(10:59):
in on him two and others. And he is a guy.
When you look at his offensive stats, the underlying ones,
they are really good. He hits the ball hard, he
hits good pitching. He is what you want at the plate.
And with regard to his position, he's certainly open to
playing second base as he did in the World Series,
and perhaps even third base. So that's going to be
(11:21):
an interesting one in the days ahead.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
All right.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Another interesting candidate in terms of trade ken is katel Marte.
What are the what is the likelihood that katel Marte
gets traded? Videos two of seven? Are there any new
rumors regarding Arizona possibly moving him?
Speaker 1 (11:38):
This one is hard to read because Arizona's position is
we will listen on katel Marte because we have extreme
pitching needs and some other needs as well, with so
many of their pitchers actually three of them injured coming
off Tommy Johns, Corbyn Burns, Justin Martinez in the bullpen
and AJ Puck. But they keep saying as well, we
don't really want to trade Marte because he is one
(12:00):
of the best second basemen in the game. That said,
there is a lot of activity on him. Nick Bacoro
of the Arizona Republic reporting that the Rays considered Shane
Boz and Pepio Ryan Pepio in a trade for Marte.
I'm told it wasn't those two exactly. It was one
of them plus more. But regardless the Rais or a
(12:20):
team that has been interested, the Pirates have an interest
in him. The Red Sox have been linked to him.
All kinds of teams would want katel Marte. But at
the same time, the Diamondbacks, like the Brewers with Peralta,
are going to ask for a high cost. They want
a high price, and you can understand that when you
have good players, that's what you do. So where this goes,
(12:42):
I'm not sure, but there's one other element here. Ten
days into the season, katel Marte gains ten and five
rights ten years of service, five consecutively with the same team,
and that means he can veto any trade. So if
you're going to trade him, and the Diamondbacks know this now.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, you got to do it now. You can't wait
till the season starts, because then he gains more leverage
as you know, all right, for the Mets, who we've
talked about the Mets a lot this week. What would
a package for Wilson Contreras look like?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Not sure exactly. He's owed two years, thirty six and
a half million. I believe that is the number. It's
that range anyway, and because you're taking on the money,
I would assume that the prospect package wouldn't be extremely great.
It's not like you're going to have to give up
one of your top prospects for him. But maybe you
get or give one of a group of I don't know,
(13:36):
your top ten or fifteen, and maybe a little bit
more than that someone else's too. I'm not sure I'm
reading this right. Maybe I'm selling low or giving the
Cardinals not enough here. But Wilson Contreras is really good.
I don't know that he's going to get you one
of the mets big pitchers, mclean'sprote or Tom maybe someone
(13:56):
from a lesser group, a second tier of prospects.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
All the Mets. What are you doing? More on that
to come? I think and do it in Dork of
the Week. This is a question in regards to Tarek
scooble Ken. I truly feel that Tarek scooble is not
going to get moved right now, and I don't think
he's coming to the Dodgers. What package can the Dodgers
offer for Schooble? This person Young? The twenty seven five
has she and emmitts shean Hope of course, and Dalton rushing.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's an interesting package. And what you're getting in that
package is a guy who's ready to step into a
rotation in emmachine with five years of control. I believe
here Hope is one of the dodgers many fine outfield prospects.
They've got a bunch of them, three or four that
are a couple of years away in some cases, closer
(14:44):
in others. And then who is the third player in
that one? Oh? Russian in rushing guy, a quality bat.
I'm not sure he's going to be a catcher, but hey,
that's a guy that you would want. So the question
would become are the Dodgers willing to do that for
one year of Trerek's Schoobel? You remember the package I
(15:04):
just mentioned for Burns, the one year that the Orioles
got for him, They gave up less than what was
just described now. Trek scouble back to backsiw Young winner
Best Pitcher in the sport arguably right now, along with
Paul Skens, you would give up more for him than
perhaps the Brewers got for Burns. But I don't know
that you would go to that level. I'm sure the
(15:25):
Dodgers wouldn't want to ideally. But what's interesting here, Trek
Schooble represented by Scott Borris. If you're the Dodger, just
like when the Orioles acquired Burns, who also was represented
by Scott Borris, you know that player is going to
free agency. So the idea of getting him and signing
him to an extension right away probably not happening.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
I have said that a thousand times, but because Ken
said it, I know that I'm not crazy. There's no
way he's going to go there for a year because
you know he's going to test free agency because Boris
is his agent. Ken, thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
One more Dodgers doesn't rule out the Dodgers and signing them.
It's just.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
My guess is that they're going to want to sign
him to an extension at that time and they're not
going to be allowed to do so. Although you know
they wanted to do it with Mookie Betts and it
ended up working out.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
But here we go.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Do the Giants change their minds and sign either Kyle
Tucker or Bobashett since there are holes at those positions.
George wants to know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Bobaschett particularly would be a great fit. They are looking
for a second baseman, and they are acting curiously because
Andrew Baggerley of The Athletic Reporter a couple of weeks
ago that they're not in on am I a picture
that they've been linked to a pitcher who would fit
them naturally, and it seems that they're not prepared to
(16:44):
spend at the top of the market, and that's what
it's going to take for either of those players. And
you can understand it. For position players. They've already got
three huge deals on their books, devors A, Damis and Chapman.
But why they wouldn't continue spending on the pitching is
a little curious to me. I expect that they're going
to sign Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer loves Tony Vitello. It
(17:05):
was his pitching coach at Missouri, but they could use
one more and from that perspective, and maybe some bullpen
help as well. I'm a little baffled by the Giants
and they're seeming retrenchment here when they've spent heavily on
those three position players that I mentioned. Now, yes, they've
got big investments there and you can't fault them for that,
(17:27):
but it would seem that when you're at that level,
you'd want to keep going instead of kind of going backwards.
And I'm not sure which way they're going exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Interesting Rhino Thunder sixty eight Ken has a question about
the O's, who obviously just landed Pete Alonso. To who
do you think the Orioles grab in terms of starting
pitching help.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Well, Ranger Suarez is a free agent that they've been
linked to Edward Cabrera. I reported with Will Salmon the
other day that that's a picture they're pursuing in trade.
Freddy Peralta we mentioned as well. I'm sure they're on
virtually every starting pitcher in the market, and with the
Alonso signing, it doesn't necessarily signal that they're going to
stop spending. If anything, they're going to keep going. As
(18:11):
I was just mentioning with the Giants, once you get
to a certain point, you want to make your team
as strong as possible. They have had so far, arguably
the best season of any team. I'm talking about Leot Taveres,
Andrew Kittridge, Taylor Ward, Pete Alonso, and Ryan Helsley. That's
a big haul. And again they're not done, so I'm
(18:32):
not exactly sure where they're going. Maybe they're not sure.
They're probably operating on multiple fronts, but they are going
to come away with a starting pitcher. And keep in mind,
they're not exactly lacking in that area. They've got Trevor
Rodgers who really came out at the end of last season,
Kyle Bradish who came back from Tommy john So they're
(18:52):
in a good spot, but they need one more, if
not two.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I have a question for you regarding that, actually two questions.
They train away Grayson Rodriguez, though, Ken, So why trade
away Rodriguez when you are in need of a starter to.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Get Taylor Award and because you're not sure Grayson Rodriguez
will be healthy. Taylor Award was arguably best right handed
hitting outfielder available. That is a position, and of ten,
it's of great scarcity right now. What I'm trying to
say was right handed hitting outfielders you can't find it.
Mike Petriella wrote a great article on MLB dot com
(19:28):
last week about this. They're just extremely scarce, so they
took a chance with Grayson Rodriguez. But that was the
choice that they made.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
In all likelihood. Do you think their starting pitching help
can comes via trade or is there someone on the
free agent market you see fitting in?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
My guess is trade. They've made their big free agent
signing with Alonso. They've also signed Hellsley much lesser deal,
but a significant deal, and they have players to trade.
Kobe Mayo is one. Perhaps Ryan Mountcastle is now expendable
with Pete A. Lonso coming aboard, so they can do
some things from a trade perspective. They've got other prospects
(20:05):
as well. I would expect that's the way they would
prefer to go. Now, whether it's the way they actually go,
I don't know. Maybe they feel they can get range
of Swarz on a great deal and they go in
that direction. Maybe they do that in trade for a
starting pitcher. Kind of the world is their oyster.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Right now, the Orioles, they have been busy. Great questions today, guys,
Thanks so much for participating in the chat with Ken Rosent.
Thought we're going to be right back after this with
our dude and dork of the week.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Bet, I'm jam account holders today. How about in any
sport parlay boost token you can score a bigger payout
if your wager with that token. Hits tokens can be
used on parlays and on same game parlays. Gambling problem,
We're concerned. There's help called one eight hundred gambler.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
All right, it is time to give some praise. I
appreciate you having my self and Hazel May as the
dudets of the week last week. Thank you for that.
Who is your dude of the week.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
More award winners Alana and I've got Joe buck Ford
Frick winner and Paul Hoynes the Baseball Writers Association of
America Career Excellence Award winner. And these two guys were
honored this week or named to win those awards this week. Joe,
of course, I worked for with Fox for many years.
He called twenty four World Series. I know some people say, well, hey,
(21:28):
he's still young for this. Come on, He's the second
youngest since Vin Scully to win this award, and there
are some other broadcasters quite deserving, but this vote is
conducted among basically his peers, thirteen Living Frick Award recipients
and three broadcast historians columnists. So those are the people
(21:48):
who chose Joe Buck, and they could not have made
a better choice. He's one of the all time greats.
I used to laugh all the time when people would say,
ken Joe Buck suggs Man. Really Fox kept him out
for twenty four World Series and ESPN wanted them to
cover football for them, And seems to me he's done
okay for a guy who supposedly sucks. Paul Hoyins. We
(22:10):
all love Paul. He is one of the great characters
among baseball writers and he's covered the Guardians and Indians
for more than four decades and done it with his
usual work, ethic and humor and all of that and
a most deserving winner. Baseball Writers Association Award is a
little bit different. It's comprised of a voting block of
(22:31):
all of us. All the baseball writers who are eligible
to vote can do that, and Hoines was the selection
this year. Very deserved.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Yeah, congratulations to both Joe Buck and Paul Hoyins. What
an honor I mean to be able to be in
Cooperstown and memorialized in that way is quite the honor,
So congrats to them. My dude of the week is
Michael Lias. I think this is a guy that has
been a little bit on the hot seat and we
were wondering what his tenure was going to be, of
course with the Baltimore Orioles, but they've had a very
(23:00):
oppressive off season. I think obviously the feather in the
cap is the signing of Pete Alonzo. I don't know
that Alonzo wanted to leave New York, but the Mets
are very questionable. So congratulations to Michael Lias making some
good moves, making the Orioles incredibly relevant in what is
a very competitive Al East. So all right, so there
you have it as far as our dudes of the week.
(23:21):
Time now for our dork of the week. All right,
I'll go ahead and take honors on this one. The Mets.
What are we doing? Ken? What are we doing? David
Stearns goes over there from the Milwaukee Brewers and is
treating the Mets like the brew Crew, And obviously Steve Cohen,
(23:43):
with all of the money known to man more than God,
really just got the licensing rights for casinos in that
area and has gotten rid of the core. Brandon Neimo
is in Texas obviously, Edwin Diaz welcome to Los Angeles,
and pet alan is an Oh what are the Mets doing? Ken,
I just don't understand this. One of the richest owners
(24:06):
in the game is getting rid of and now you
just have this albatross of a contract of Juan Soto
and nobody else around him.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Well, it's a great question what they're doing. I wrote
a column about it, and granted it's only December twelfth,
the off season is far from over, but they have acted.
In my views, I wrote with a confidence that borders
on arrogance even indifference regarding these players. And I know
certain Met fans are saying, well, we didn't win with
these guys. They didn't win with those guys. True, but
(24:35):
not because Peter Alonzo and Edwin Diaz in particular were
poor performers. They were elite performers for the Mets, so
they weren't the problem. Now, my dork of the week, Alana,
it's someone near and both of us you worked with
him at MLB Network very closely on the same show.
So I'm going to exempt you from the conversation I
(24:55):
know you don't want to maybe crush him. I will
crush him. I worked with him at MLB Network two.
Look at mad Dog Russo and watch this amazing feat
of athleticism as he tried a half court shot. Go ahead, Doggie,
here comes? What is this?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
He also look like it also looked like he pulled
a hammy. Not only is he one handing it up
there and completely missing it, he's like he looked like
he pulled a hamstring in this process.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Alana, you just asked the question with the Mets, what
are we doing? I have the same question for the dog,
what are we doing? And really what we saw there?
Merritt's one of his classic rants on ESPN, but we're
not going to see it. The dog's not going to
rip the dog. But he's the dork of the week.
He is the dork of the week.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
We appreciate it very much for all of you that
are watching and listening. Foul Territory is coming up after this,
but I have to tell you what a time to
be with you. Ken have a great week. You're awesome
at the Winter meetings. Don't forget everybody Their territory is next.
Tod Frazier Eric krat Scott Braun. They're going to walk
FP Santangelo Ferries back Monday at ten am. Have a
(26:04):
great week, everybody,
Welcome everyone to the Thursday edition, oh, the Friday edition
of Fair Territory, a special post winter Meetings edition. I'm
Ken Rosenthal here with Alana Rizzo. We already have some
news today, the Blue Jays announcing a five year extension
for team president Mark Shapiro. If you recall, both Shapiro
and his general manager Ross Atkins were thought to be
(00:29):
on the hot seat going into this season. When you
get to the World Series and come within through outs
of winning it, it kind of helps cool off the
hot seat. So we've got a ton to talk about.
Good to see you again. Let's get to it.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Yeah, it's great to see you as well on this Friday.
Great job, Ken. Of course, over the course of the
Winter Meetings and we have some more things to talk about,
and we start in Atlanta, Ken.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
We do. And the Braves have been active in recent
days and they've had quite an interesting offseason so far.
What we've seen from them is first the signing of
Russ Rachel Iglesias to be their closer. That was one year,
sixteen million. Then they acquired Mauricio Dubon for Nick Allen,
and that was a guy that they feel can play shortstop.
If they cannot get a better shortstop, and then over
(01:14):
the last two days Mike Yastremsky outfielder and Robert Suarez
to be their setup man in front of Aglesias. Now
one thing to note here, Suarez, Iglesias and Yastremsky all
thirty five or over on opening day, older players, but
experienced players, players who should make the Braves better. Certainly,
(01:35):
the back of the bullpen now with Suarez and Iglesias
is really formidable. They still want to do shortstop if
they can get better, if they can get Hashan Kim,
maybe somebody else that we're not thinking of, and they
would probably want to add a starting pitcher as well.
But the Braves right now looking good.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
And I tell you what can They also have a
new manager, of course, Brian Snicker still with the organization,
a longtime baseballman, but another longtime baseball man managing again,
Walt Weiss. What do you make of that?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
I like it. And Walt Weiss is one of these
guys that I thought deserved a second chance. He was
in Colorado all those years. Of course, we all know
how difficult it is to win in Colorado because of
the ballpark and because of the way. Frankly, the team
has been run over the past I don't know, decade
or so under Dick Montfort, so they seem to be
taking a step forward now with Deeperdesta and Josh Burns
(02:25):
coming in. And Walt Weiss gets his second chance with Atlanta,
an organization where he had been the bench coach before,
and he seems to be a guy to me that
is well suited for that team. Reminds me a little
bit of Rob Thompson, just kind of low key but
yet extremely wise in a baseball sense.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Rob Thompson of course getting an extension with the Philadelphia
Phillies as well, and Walker Montford already making some good
moves for the Colorado Rockies. Let's talk about the next
domino to fall, Ken, if you will, in this free
agency or off season time period. I thought it was
going to be Kyle Schwarber, the big news. It seems like, though,
Scott Boris is perhaps leaking its Kyle Tucker as the
(03:07):
domino that needs to fall before more stuff happens.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Right. Brendan Cuddy of The Athletic wrote a story two
days ago basically saying that Boris might want to wait
for Tucker to sign. He doesn't represent Tucker Excel does,
but he might want to wait for Tucker to go
before he gets to Bellinger. Now it's interesting because if
you look at what happened this week, Alana Kyle Schwarber
signs for one hundred and fifty million with the Philadelphia Phillies.
(03:32):
The next day, Scott Boris with Pete Alonzo signs to
the Baltimore Oriols one hundred and fifty five million. Basically,
Boris waited for Schwarber and then did Alonzo, and it seems,
according to Brendan's reporting, that he would like to do
the same thing here because it will enhance perhaps the
price he gets for Bellinger. If Tucker goes really high,
(03:55):
Bellinger's not the same player, he will not get as much,
but he might get more after Tucker goes. So that's
one way for Scott Boris to go about, and he
of course can sign Ballinger any moment if he gets
the deal he wants. But it's really interesting what we've
seen so far from these opt out free agents. Alonso,
for instance, he signed with the Mets last year, that
(04:17):
two year, fifty four million dollar deal. The first year
was thirty million, then he opted out, ends up getting
five years, one hundred and fifty five. So the total
in his free agency the two years six one eighty
five that is outstanding for Pete Alonzo. Now Gregman opted
out of his deal with the Red Sox forty million,
(04:37):
but really thirty one point seven in present day value
with all the deferrals. What will he get? What will
his final number be? And Cody Bellinger was with the Cubs,
opted in last year but opts out this year, ends
up making two years fifty five million or fifty five
million over two years with the Cubs, and now he
too stands to gain more in free agency. So that
(05:01):
strategy Scott Boris has taken with some of these players
over the years. I've been critical of it at times
because it seems like when he gets those short deals,
you're wondering, well, is he reading the market correctly? But
time and again go back to Matt Chapman was another one.
These have worked out pretty well for him, and we'll
see how it goes with Bregman and Bellinger coming up.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Ken Is Scott Boris the type of agent that will
allow perhaps a short term deal once for a client,
but not twice for the same guy.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
That seems to be the way this goes. Alana, And obviously,
if the market dictates a second short term deal, he's
not going to have a choice. But basically, when you
have the short term deal, and this was the case
for Alonso and Bregman with a qualifying offer, okay, what
you're doing is hedging until the next year when you
(05:52):
won't have a qualifying offer and things are a little
bit freer. Seems that is what happened with Alonzo. To
an extent, I was a little prized Alonso got more
than Schwarber, even though he's almost two years younger. Kyle
Schwarber is coming off a fifty six home run season.
Seemed to have and we don't know for sure, but
seem to have a more active market. Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Boston,
(06:13):
So Bellinger and Bregman they're next up, along with Tucker
and along with Boba Schett. Those are the four big
hitters remaining and we will see how this all goes.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, those are the four big hitters. Let's talk about
the pitching market for a moment. Ken, what is the
peralta the Freddie peralta market looking like right.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
I wrote this with Will Samon a couple of days ago,
and if you recall Altam, maybe a week ago, the Brewers,
I reported, were cracking the door open for trade discussions. Well,
they've cracked the door open, and as I wrote with Will,
teams are now barging through. The Yankees, the Giants, the
Orioles are among them, and I would expect there are
(06:53):
some other teams as well. Maybe the Mets jump into
this thing. The Brewers are going to get pushed here.
Palta is an extremely valuable commodity, top five cy young finisher.
Not only that, making eight million in twenty twenty six
before becoming a free agent. Eight million is a lot
of money. To the normal person for a starting pitcher
(07:14):
of his caliber, it is a pittance. So they are
going to get pushed and pushed hard on Peralta, and
I would not be surprised to see them trade him,
even though after Brent Brandon Woodriff accept the qualifying offer,
the owner and the general manager, Mark Attanasio and Matt
Arnold talked excitedly about their rotation. We love our rotation,
(07:36):
but if they could perhaps get a young pitcher back
for Peralta. They go into the season with Woodruff, Mazarowski
and Priester as their top three, and they've got some
depth behind them. They could justify it in their heads
in that way.
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Ken, who are the teams pushing for Peralta? Who's knocking
on Milwaukee's door? What makes the most sense?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Well, the teams I just mentioned all make sense, and
really a lot of any team that wants starting pitching
makes sense for Freddy Paralta just because of what I said.
The question is which team will be able to or
willing to pay the acquisition cost necessary to get one
year of Paralta and one year of a pitcher is
(08:16):
not going to get you what it might if you
had multiple years of control that you were peddling. So
we saw with Corbyn Burns the Brewers made a good
trade a couple of years ago. It was Joey Ortez,
it was Dale Hall, and it was a thirty fourth
pick in the draft. Now, our Chees hasn't hit much,
but he's a great defensive shortstop. Dale Hall has been
inconsistent and injured, but he's got a lot of promise
(08:38):
and the draft pick. We'll see how that turns out.
But Burns was making almost twice as much as Peralta,
so Paralta in the trade market will be that much
more valuable.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
ID love to see where this is all going to
play out. I still think Ken and you know certainly
more than I, but I still would love to see
Woodroff and Peralta in the same rotation. Just makes Milwaukee
that much more formative. But obviously teams must like what
they're hearing about Freddy Peralta and those sweepstakes. Much more
to come on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal. Get those
questions in for Ken. We're gonna do Grill and Ken
(09:11):
right after a word from our friends at foul.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
Hey, when you get a chance, subscribe to Foul Territory
on YouTube. We are getting very close to three hundred
thousand subscribers on the channel and love all of them,
so we'd love you to join us on that channel
as we break down everything going on across the sport.
It is baseball the way it should be covered at
Foul Territory.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Give us a sub all right, time now to I
have all kinds of problems with my headroom, and I
know my director's going nuts right now, but I'm gonna
try to fix my camera. I apologize all right time
now for Grill and Ken. This is where we get
the questions in from you the fans in our chat
(09:55):
to ask Ken Rosenthal a question. So the first one
is on the uh looks like, oh the Bechet market. Okay,
So this from Justin Longhai, justin, how are you who
is the most appealing shortstop available on the market? Assuming
can that most teams view Bo Bashett as a second
basement at this point, some teams.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
Do view him as a shortstop, and that's my understanding
from talking to people in his camp, and you can
see why. Even though his metrics were down. Bob Bashett
is an extremely good offensive player and at shortstop he
give you a greater offensive boost than most shortstops will provide.
But if you're looking for a pure shortstop, a guy
(10:36):
who is a gifted defender, it's Hashan Kim and we
haven't heard a whole lot about him. The Braves certainly
would love to have him back. Remember they got him
for the final month of the season. There are other
teams as well, who I am sure are on Kim,
just as there are many teams on Bishett and Bashet's
Market's going to be really interesting. I reported last week
about Boston being in on him. Toronto of course is
(10:59):
in on him two and others. And he is a guy.
When you look at his offensive stats, the underlying ones,
they are really good. He hits the ball hard, he
hits good pitching. He is what you want at the plate.
And with regard to his position, he's certainly open to
playing second base as he did in the World Series,
and perhaps even third base. So that's going to be
(11:21):
an interesting one in the days ahead.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
All right.
Speaker 2 (11:23):
Another interesting candidate in terms of trade ken is katel Marte.
What are the what is the likelihood that katel Marte
gets traded? Videos two of seven? Are there any new
rumors regarding Arizona possibly moving him?
Speaker 1 (11:38):
This one is hard to read because Arizona's position is
we will listen on katel Marte because we have extreme
pitching needs and some other needs as well, with so
many of their pitchers actually three of them injured coming
off Tommy Johns, Corbyn Burns, Justin Martinez in the bullpen
and AJ Puck. But they keep saying as well, we
don't really want to trade Marte because he is one
(12:00):
of the best second basemen in the game. That said,
there is a lot of activity on him. Nick Bacoro
of the Arizona Republic reporting that the Rays considered Shane
Boz and Pepio Ryan Pepio in a trade for Marte.
I'm told it wasn't those two exactly. It was one
of them plus more. But regardless the Rais or a
(12:20):
team that has been interested, the Pirates have an interest
in him. The Red Sox have been linked to him.
All kinds of teams would want katel Marte. But at
the same time, the Diamondbacks, like the Brewers with Peralta,
are going to ask for a high cost. They want
a high price, and you can understand that when you
have good players, that's what you do. So where this goes,
(12:42):
I'm not sure, but there's one other element here. Ten
days into the season, katel Marte gains ten and five
rights ten years of service, five consecutively with the same team,
and that means he can veto any trade. So if
you're going to trade him, and the Diamondbacks know this now.
Speaker 2 (13:01):
Yeah, you got to do it now. You can't wait
till the season starts, because then he gains more leverage
as you know, all right, for the Mets, who we've
talked about the Mets a lot this week. What would
a package for Wilson Contreras look like?
Speaker 1 (13:13):
Not sure exactly. He's owed two years, thirty six and
a half million. I believe that is the number. It's
that range anyway, and because you're taking on the money,
I would assume that the prospect package wouldn't be extremely great.
It's not like you're going to have to give up
one of your top prospects for him. But maybe you
get or give one of a group of I don't know,
(13:36):
your top ten or fifteen, and maybe a little bit
more than that someone else's too. I'm not sure I'm
reading this right. Maybe I'm selling low or giving the
Cardinals not enough here. But Wilson Contreras is really good.
I don't know that he's going to get you one
of the mets big pitchers, mclean'sprote or Tom maybe someone
(13:56):
from a lesser group, a second tier of prospects.
Speaker 2 (14:00):
All the Mets. What are you doing? More on that
to come? I think and do it in Dork of
the Week. This is a question in regards to Tarek
scooble Ken. I truly feel that Tarek scooble is not
going to get moved right now, and I don't think
he's coming to the Dodgers. What package can the Dodgers
offer for Schooble? This person Young? The twenty seven five
has she and emmitts shean Hope of course, and Dalton rushing.
Speaker 1 (14:23):
That's an interesting package. And what you're getting in that
package is a guy who's ready to step into a
rotation in emmachine with five years of control. I believe
here Hope is one of the dodgers many fine outfield prospects.
They've got a bunch of them, three or four that
are a couple of years away in some cases, closer
(14:44):
in others. And then who is the third player in
that one? Oh? Russian in rushing guy, a quality bat.
I'm not sure he's going to be a catcher, but hey,
that's a guy that you would want. So the question
would become are the Dodgers willing to do that for
one year of Trerek's Schoobel? You remember the package I
(15:04):
just mentioned for Burns, the one year that the Orioles
got for him, They gave up less than what was
just described now. Trek scouble back to backsiw Young winner
Best Pitcher in the sport arguably right now, along with
Paul Skens, you would give up more for him than
perhaps the Brewers got for Burns. But I don't know
that you would go to that level. I'm sure the
(15:25):
Dodgers wouldn't want to ideally. But what's interesting here, Trek
Schooble represented by Scott Borris. If you're the Dodger, just
like when the Orioles acquired Burns, who also was represented
by Scott Borris, you know that player is going to
free agency. So the idea of getting him and signing
him to an extension right away probably not happening.
Speaker 2 (15:47):
I have said that a thousand times, but because Ken
said it, I know that I'm not crazy. There's no
way he's going to go there for a year because
you know he's going to test free agency because Boris
is his agent. Ken, thank you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
One more Dodgers doesn't rule out the Dodgers and signing them.
It's just.
Speaker 2 (16:04):
My guess is that they're going to want to sign
him to an extension at that time and they're not
going to be allowed to do so. Although you know
they wanted to do it with Mookie Betts and it
ended up working out.
Speaker 1 (16:14):
But here we go.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Do the Giants change their minds and sign either Kyle
Tucker or Bobashett since there are holes at those positions.
George wants to know.
Speaker 1 (16:23):
Bobaschett particularly would be a great fit. They are looking
for a second baseman, and they are acting curiously because
Andrew Baggerley of The Athletic Reporter a couple of weeks
ago that they're not in on am I a picture
that they've been linked to a pitcher who would fit
them naturally, and it seems that they're not prepared to
(16:44):
spend at the top of the market, and that's what
it's going to take for either of those players. And
you can understand it. For position players. They've already got
three huge deals on their books, devors A, Damis and Chapman.
But why they wouldn't continue spending on the pitching is
a little curious to me. I expect that they're going
to sign Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer loves Tony Vitello. It
(17:05):
was his pitching coach at Missouri, but they could use
one more and from that perspective, and maybe some bullpen
help as well. I'm a little baffled by the Giants
and they're seeming retrenchment here when they've spent heavily on
those three position players that I mentioned. Now, yes, they've
got big investments there and you can't fault them for that,
(17:27):
but it would seem that when you're at that level,
you'd want to keep going instead of kind of going backwards.
And I'm not sure which way they're going exactly.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Interesting Rhino Thunder sixty eight Ken has a question about
the O's, who obviously just landed Pete Alonso. To who
do you think the Orioles grab in terms of starting
pitching help.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Well, Ranger Suarez is a free agent that they've been
linked to Edward Cabrera. I reported with Will Salmon the
other day that that's a picture they're pursuing in trade.
Freddy Peralta we mentioned as well. I'm sure they're on
virtually every starting pitcher in the market, and with the
Alonso signing, it doesn't necessarily signal that they're going to
stop spending. If anything, they're going to keep going. As
(18:11):
I was just mentioning with the Giants, once you get
to a certain point, you want to make your team
as strong as possible. They have had so far, arguably
the best season of any team. I'm talking about Leot Taveres,
Andrew Kittridge, Taylor Ward, Pete Alonso, and Ryan Helsley. That's
a big haul. And again they're not done, so I'm
(18:32):
not exactly sure where they're going. Maybe they're not sure.
They're probably operating on multiple fronts, but they are going
to come away with a starting pitcher. And keep in mind,
they're not exactly lacking in that area. They've got Trevor
Rodgers who really came out at the end of last season,
Kyle Bradish who came back from Tommy john So they're
(18:52):
in a good spot, but they need one more, if
not two.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
I have a question for you regarding that, actually two questions.
They train away Grayson Rodriguez, though, Ken, So why trade
away Rodriguez when you are in need of a starter to.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Get Taylor Award and because you're not sure Grayson Rodriguez
will be healthy. Taylor Award was arguably best right handed
hitting outfielder available. That is a position, and of ten,
it's of great scarcity right now. What I'm trying to
say was right handed hitting outfielders you can't find it.
Mike Petriella wrote a great article on MLB dot com
(19:28):
last week about this. They're just extremely scarce, so they
took a chance with Grayson Rodriguez. But that was the
choice that they made.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
In all likelihood. Do you think their starting pitching help
can comes via trade or is there someone on the
free agent market you see fitting in?
Speaker 1 (19:44):
My guess is trade. They've made their big free agent
signing with Alonso. They've also signed Hellsley much lesser deal,
but a significant deal, and they have players to trade.
Kobe Mayo is one. Perhaps Ryan Mountcastle is now expendable
with Pete A. Lonso coming aboard, so they can do
some things from a trade perspective. They've got other prospects
(20:05):
as well. I would expect that's the way they would
prefer to go. Now, whether it's the way they actually go,
I don't know. Maybe they feel they can get range
of Swarz on a great deal and they go in
that direction. Maybe they do that in trade for a
starting pitcher. Kind of the world is their oyster.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Right now, the Orioles, they have been busy. Great questions today, guys,
Thanks so much for participating in the chat with Ken Rosent.
Thought we're going to be right back after this with
our dude and dork of the week.
Speaker 3 (20:32):
Bet, I'm jam account holders today. How about in any
sport parlay boost token you can score a bigger payout
if your wager with that token. Hits tokens can be
used on parlays and on same game parlays. Gambling problem,
We're concerned. There's help called one eight hundred gambler.
Speaker 1 (20:48):
Dude, dude, dude.
Speaker 2 (20:56):
All right, it is time to give some praise. I
appreciate you having my self and Hazel May as the
dudets of the week last week. Thank you for that.
Who is your dude of the week.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
More award winners Alana and I've got Joe buck Ford
Frick winner and Paul Hoynes the Baseball Writers Association of
America Career Excellence Award winner. And these two guys were
honored this week or named to win those awards this week. Joe,
of course, I worked for with Fox for many years.
He called twenty four World Series. I know some people say, well, hey,
(21:28):
he's still young for this. Come on, He's the second
youngest since Vin Scully to win this award, and there
are some other broadcasters quite deserving, but this vote is
conducted among basically his peers, thirteen Living Frick Award recipients
and three broadcast historians columnists. So those are the people
(21:48):
who chose Joe Buck, and they could not have made
a better choice. He's one of the all time greats.
I used to laugh all the time when people would say,
ken Joe Buck suggs Man. Really Fox kept him out
for twenty four World Series and ESPN wanted them to
cover football for them, And seems to me he's done
okay for a guy who supposedly sucks. Paul Hoyins. We
(22:10):
all love Paul. He is one of the great characters
among baseball writers and he's covered the Guardians and Indians
for more than four decades and done it with his
usual work, ethic and humor and all of that and
a most deserving winner. Baseball Writers Association Award is a
little bit different. It's comprised of a voting block of
(22:31):
all of us. All the baseball writers who are eligible
to vote can do that, and Hoines was the selection
this year. Very deserved.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Yeah, congratulations to both Joe Buck and Paul Hoyins. What
an honor I mean to be able to be in
Cooperstown and memorialized in that way is quite the honor,
So congrats to them. My dude of the week is
Michael Lias. I think this is a guy that has
been a little bit on the hot seat and we
were wondering what his tenure was going to be, of
course with the Baltimore Orioles, but they've had a very
(23:00):
oppressive off season. I think obviously the feather in the
cap is the signing of Pete Alonzo. I don't know
that Alonzo wanted to leave New York, but the Mets
are very questionable. So congratulations to Michael Lias making some
good moves, making the Orioles incredibly relevant in what is
a very competitive Al East. So all right, so there
you have it as far as our dudes of the week.
(23:21):
Time now for our dork of the week. All right,
I'll go ahead and take honors on this one. The Mets.
What are we doing? Ken? What are we doing? David
Stearns goes over there from the Milwaukee Brewers and is
treating the Mets like the brew Crew, And obviously Steve Cohen,
(23:43):
with all of the money known to man more than God,
really just got the licensing rights for casinos in that
area and has gotten rid of the core. Brandon Neimo
is in Texas obviously, Edwin Diaz welcome to Los Angeles,
and pet alan is an Oh what are the Mets doing? Ken,
I just don't understand this. One of the richest owners
(24:06):
in the game is getting rid of and now you
just have this albatross of a contract of Juan Soto
and nobody else around him.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Well, it's a great question what they're doing. I wrote
a column about it, and granted it's only December twelfth,
the off season is far from over, but they have acted.
In my views, I wrote with a confidence that borders
on arrogance even indifference regarding these players. And I know
certain Met fans are saying, well, we didn't win with
these guys. They didn't win with those guys. True, but
(24:35):
not because Peter Alonzo and Edwin Diaz in particular were
poor performers. They were elite performers for the Mets, so
they weren't the problem. Now, my dork of the week, Alana,
it's someone near and both of us you worked with
him at MLB Network very closely on the same show.
So I'm going to exempt you from the conversation I
(24:55):
know you don't want to maybe crush him. I will
crush him. I worked with him at MLB Network two.
Look at mad Dog Russo and watch this amazing feat
of athleticism as he tried a half court shot. Go ahead, Doggie,
here comes? What is this?
Speaker 2 (25:13):
He also look like it also looked like he pulled
a hammy. Not only is he one handing it up
there and completely missing it, he's like he looked like
he pulled a hamstring in this process.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Alana, you just asked the question with the Mets, what
are we doing? I have the same question for the dog,
what are we doing? And really what we saw there?
Merritt's one of his classic rants on ESPN, but we're
not going to see it. The dog's not going to
rip the dog. But he's the dork of the week.
He is the dork of the week.
Speaker 2 (25:42):
We appreciate it very much for all of you that
are watching and listening. Foul Territory is coming up after this,
but I have to tell you what a time to
be with you. Ken have a great week. You're awesome
at the Winter meetings. Don't forget everybody Their territory is next.
Tod Frazier Eric krat Scott Braun. They're going to walk
FP Santangelo Ferries back Monday at ten am. Have a
(26:04):
great week, everybody,
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The Burden
The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.