November 20, 2025 • 28 mins
Ken Rosenthal and Alanna Rizzo break down some Braves activity: signing closer Raisel Iglesias and acquiring Mauricio Dubón from the Astros. (Top of show)
(2:25) Speaking of reunions, a look at the updated FA closers still available with one big name mulling a reunion.
(4:34) The Astros move Dubón in a cost-cutting move.
Go to MeUndies.com/foul and enter promo code foul for up to 50% off!
(7:58) The hosts dive into the Los Angeles Angels acquiring Grayson Rodriguez from the Baltimore Orioles for Taylor Ward.
(14:08) Ken and Alanna answer your live Grillin’ Ken questions, including D'backs outfielders possibly garnering interest, Cubs adding offense, Lars Nootbaar's status, and if Milwaukee could be a home for Josh Jung.
(19:45) The hosts also crown their Dudes and Dorks of the Week.
(25:28) Ken and Alanna have "White Whales" they have not yet interviewed.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm Ken
Rosenthal and welcome back to Alana Rizzo Alano. We missed you.
Good to have you back and we have a good
deal to talk about, even though it's still mid to
late November.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yeah, Ken, great to be with you. Is always went
to Africa trip of a lifetime. I highly recommend it.
But let's get to baseball. That's what the show is
about and the Atlanta Braves. Ken Rosenthal making some moves.
One that was interesting because it could have been dealt
looks like he's there to stay.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Typical of Alexanthopolis, the Braves president of baseball operations. He
struck quickly two moves last night. The first was a
trade for Mauricio Dubon, who can be in their shortstop mix.
We'll get into that. And the second move, or maybe
it was the first, I can't remember the sequence, but
the signing of Racial Iglesias. The resigning of Racio Iglesias
(00:53):
to a one year, sixteen million dollar contract that is
about the same actually it's exactly the same as he
made in the previous two seasons with the Braves. And
it's an interesting move because if you recall back at
the deadline, the Braves made some trades, and they could
have traded Iglesias. He was certainly available or at least
a guy that people wanted, and yet they chose to
(01:15):
keep him. And Alexanthopolis addressed this last night with reporters,
and I've often talked about this about how when you
trade a potential free agent, you're kind of severing the relationship,
so to revive it and bring him back. It happens
once in a while. Chapman did it with the Yankees
at one point, but it's pretty rare. So here's the
(01:35):
quote from Anthopolis on that very idea. He said, we
always had intentions to bring Glacias back. I think staying
with the same team makes it easier for that to happen.
Sometimes when you cut the cord and people move on
to other places, there's hard feelings. And perhaps this helped
the Braves with their courtship or recourtship of Iglesias and
(01:59):
bring him back, because here is a guy that they kept.
He had a rough start to his season last year.
If you remember first twenty five appearances six point seven
five ERA, last forty five, he had a career high
seventy appearances last forty five one point twenty five VRA
So he is still a really good closer and is
(02:19):
someone obviously that the Braves wanted to target early, did
target early and got done.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah right, Telliglecias is one of the closers. Can It's
an interesting closer market, is it not. I almost feel
like this year, as far as the closers are concerned,
very reminiscent to what it was like about two or
three years when it was the shortstop bonanza.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Is that fair to say?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It is fair to say a lot. It's a really
good point. Actually, when you look at the closers who
are available, I Meangleciers was just one of them. There
are any number of interesting names out there now. Edwin
Diaz obviously is the biggest of those. I would put
Suarez and Devin Williams in the tier right below Ryan Hellsley.
Despite having some troubles with the Mets three bad weeks,
(03:03):
was tipping and had some other issues. He is very
much in demand because teams love his stuff. Emilio Pangan
successful season for the Reds. Luke Weaver can certainly close.
He is a free agent, and ken Lee Jansen back
for more. So sure, there are plenty of options available.
There are plenty of teams that need closers, and it's
going to be interesting to see how this all plays
(03:25):
out with that group, and he could happen sooner rather
than later. I'm not saying necessarily today, tomorrow, this weekend,
but before the winter meetings, I would expect one or
two of those guys, if not more, to come off
the board.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I'm ken Devin Williams and the Yankees apparently discussing a
possible reunion. There's a lot of places besides the Bronx
that Devin Williams would be a good fit. In your estimation,
what's the likelihood he goes back to the Bronx.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Probably not likely, but it's interesting that the Yankees still
want him and he had his rocky moments with the Yankees.
Will Salmon of the Athletic Rule a really interesting story
last week about his season and breaking down just where
it went wrong in certain places. Overall, it's still a
pretty good year for Devin Williams. He's still a guy
(04:11):
who will get you a ton a ton of swing
and miss. So for the Yankees to contact him and
get back in touch, that is notable. Will he end
up there? I don't know. It's going to be really
interesting to see how this all, as I said, shakes out.
He is someone that the Mets, like, the Dodgers, like
a number of teams have identified as a potential target.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Mauricio Dubon interesting with the Houston Astros, Ken, this is
a guy that was a really good utility player. Obviously
he's tremendous defensively. The Houston Astros have elected to send
him to Atlanta. What do you make of that deal?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Well, it's Chandler rome of Astro's territory, if that's what
it's called or whatever. That okay, And he wrote and
reported last night this was a cost cutting move. Duban
is projected to make about five to eight in arbitration
five point eight million. The player that the Astros got back,
Nick Allen, is around a million. So the Astros are,
(05:10):
as Chandler reports here, wanting to stay under the luxury
tax this winner, but they intend to add at least
one starter and perhaps a left handed hitter. So doing
both of those things requires payroll shuffling, as Chandler said,
and here is Duban being the latest example of that.
I like Dubon as a player. He's a two time
utility Goal Glove winner and also he is known as
(05:33):
a great teammate. He was part of the glue in
that clubhouse in Houston. He'll will serve I would expect
the same role in Atlanta. Willly he be their shortstop?
That's the big question. Now I mentioned Alex Anthopolis likes
to strike early. The guy he wants is Hashan Kim.
He took him from Tampa Bay for the final month,
(05:53):
tried to get acquainted with him. But of course free
agency is free agency, and Kim and his agent, Scott
Boris are going to go with their own pace, explore
the market and not necessarily sign with any team quickly.
But at least now, what Anthopolis has done is raise
the floor at that position. They have someone who can
play shortstop. They've got Vidal Bruhan as well, and Brett
(06:15):
Wisely they can fill in. So if they do not
end up with Kim, well, okay, they'll be in at
least a decent position. And the problem in shortstop right
now is the shortage of quality players available. Most teams
do not view Bobashett as a shortstop anymore. They believe
he belongs at second or third base, and then the
question becomes, okay, can you live with less? And as
(06:39):
I wrote today in our notes column with Will Salmon,
five playoff teams from last year the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees, Milwaukee, Cleveland,
and Detroit. They were in the bottom ten in the
sport in F four and they made the playoffs. And
the Toronto Blue Jays had Andres Jimenez for the last
month and into the playoffs when Bobaschet got hurt. Now
(06:59):
him and it has had a great alcs but before
that he was one of the worst offensive players.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So if you have someone who can catch the ball
and give you adequate performance defensively, you can still make
the playoffs. The Braves have enough guys who should have
comeback seasons to be a really good team again, but
they've still got work to do. One more starter, bullpen
help as well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, you don't have to be an amazing a team
with an amazing shortstop anymore to win the World Series,
which is very different, or at least go to the postseason. Rather,
it'd be very different than it was just a few
years back. All Right, you can catch everything you need
to know about the Braves as well as the Houston Astros.
The Foul Territory Network, it never stops. Hammer Territory hosts
Sean Coleman and Steven Tolder put out two emergency shows
(07:43):
last night. They were freaking out Ken. Check them out
on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. And on
the astro side, Chandler Rome and Tyler Stafford all over
it on Crush City Territory. Subscribe on YouTube and rate
the podcast five stars. Of course part of the Foul
Territory Network. Let's talk a little bit, Ken Ros about
the Angels and the Orioles. I remember when Grayson Rodriguez
(08:04):
was coming up, the hype that was associated with him. Well,
he is now an angel. The Los Angeles Angels acquire
Grayson Rodriguez. He's actually coming on FT on Friday, by
the way, in exchange for a good player in Taylor Ward.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
What do you make of this?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
It's a fascinating trade. A Lona and a stunner too.
A lot of people are critical of the Orioles for this,
and understandably so. It's four years of Grayson Rodriguez for
one year of Taylor Ward. A couple things to keep
in mind, and I wrote all about this today in
my notes Calm. The Orioles badly needed a right handed
(08:38):
hitting outfielder. There are very few available. It was really
Taylor Ward, Joe Adell, maybe a few others, but no
one of that great magnitude. So they obviously were willing
to pay a high price for a guy who is
entering his walk gear. That is something that you don't
see very often, trading a controllable picture for rental hitter.
(09:01):
Grayson Rodriguez is an extremely talented pitcher and was one
of the game's top prospects, as you mentioned when he
came into the league. The problem has been he's been hurt,
hasn't pitched in any game at all since July thirty first,
twenty twenty four. As I wrote, there was some frustration
on his part, some frustration on the Orioles part, and
perhaps it was just best for a change of scenery.
(09:24):
We will see how this all plays out. If, as
it appears, the Orioles suspect Grayson Rodriguez is not going
to be healthy anytime soon, or maybe not healthy ever,
then obviously it's a trade that will work for them.
If Grayson Rodriguez, even while having a restricted workload in
twenty twenty six, assuming he's healthy, eventually becomes the pitcher
(09:45):
that the Orioles envision, the picture that he flashed at
times in his Baltimore tenure. Well, then you're talking about
an absolute steal. The Orioles are one of the most
fascinating teams right now. As I quoted an Ale execut
in this column today, they are a team that is
going for it, and Michaelias very aggressive as their president
(10:07):
of baseball operations. He wants to do some things. Perhaps
he is concerned for his job security. Perhaps he's just
frustrated that after back to back appearances in the playoffs
last year, they finished in last place or this season.
So they're going to be a team to watch. And
as I reported in this story as well, even after
getting Taylor Ward, and even though they have Tyler O'Neal
(10:30):
and Colton Kowser and they've signed with the Odie Taveries,
they're still looking for outfield help. Perhaps it will be
in center field, and they're still in the mix at
least for Kyle Tucker. Now, if you get Kyle Tucker,
you make some trades and you figure it out and
you don't worry about any potential surplus. You just do it.
But he was a guy that was drafted by Mike Elias.
(10:51):
Executives often have attachments to players that they draft. I
don't expect the Oriols are going to get Tucker. They
need pitching. We all know that they need a big
time starter to go with Bradish and Trevor Rodgers, and
they also need a closer and additional bullpen help, even
after trading for Kittridge. So I don't expect them to
(11:12):
be there. But the fact that they're not ruling it
out is interesting to me.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Ken When you talk about Kyle Tucker, he's likely going
to come with a very hefty price tag. You said
that the Orioles need starting pitching. Would Michael Lias, that
front office, and that ownership group give Kyle Tucker the
type of money that he's demanding.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Are they prone to do those types of things?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
They're not prone, Alana, And that's a great point. However,
their owner, David Rubinstein has said the money is available,
and now I didn't say it was available for Tucker
per se. He just said they have money to spend.
It would be out of character for Elias. It would
be out of character for the Orioles, but we have
seen with San Diego, a team from a smaller market
(11:53):
make statements like this. Now it's worked for San Diego
to a very real degree. They haven't won a World Series,
I know, but they've electrified the market. They've been in
the playoffs, they've been really good. Are the Orioles thinking
the same way? I would be surprised because the revenues
are down like San Diegos are, and they're later on
Peter Sidler basically said, I'm doing this even though our
(12:15):
revenues don't support it. I don't expect the Oriols to
be at that level, but I do expect them to
spend this offseason. And remember last winter Corbyn burns, they
made him an offer one hundred and eighty million for
four years. Now, Tucker's probably going to cost twice that,
but they have shown that they are willing to do
something big. So even if they don't do Tucker, can
(12:38):
they get fromer Valdez for whatever it's going to be
one sixty one seventy or Dylan cease or Suarez one
of those guys. Yeah, I think that's possible.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Hmm interesting to see. This might be go harder go
home for Michael Layas. A lot of folks think perhaps
he might be on the hot seat depending upon what
the Oriols do in the twenty twenty six season. Much
more to come on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal on
this Thursday. Get those questions in for Grill and Ken.
We'll be right back after.
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Speaker 2 (14:13):
All right, welcome back to fair territory. Time to get
these questions in for Ken Rosenthal. The first one is
in regards to left handed hitting Ken Ryan Sprouse seventy
four to fourteen. What impact does the glut of left
handed hitting outfielders have on the trade market for Alec
Thomas and Jake McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It doesn't make it more difficult for the Diamondbacks, at
least early on maybe to move one of those guys.
And it's going to be really something to follow here
what the Diamondbacks do in centerfield. Those two players, Jake
McCarthy and Alec Thomas are players who can obviously play
center field and have played center field for the Diamondbacks.
But the Diamondbacks do have something of a duplication and
(14:51):
a surplus in the outfield. And most interestingly, they're playing
Jordan Lawler in center in winter ball, or at least
he had been playing center in winter ball, So if
he is going to be the guy they commit to,
and they do want to get Jordan Lawler established as
a Diamondback, He's not going to be the shortstop. With
Perdomo there, then maybe it becomes more likely they are
(15:12):
willing to move one of those guys. They are willing,
there's no question about that. The question becomes timing and
do they need to wait for the free agent dust
to settle with some of the left handed hitting outfielders
that are out there. I don't know that Jake maccarthur
or Alec Thomas interferes with Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker.
They're not the same level of player, but maybe those
(15:35):
teams that miss out on those guys would be more
likely to take one of them. It would be a
huge step down for either if indeed they miss out
on a Bellinger or a Tucker. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I think the only body and the only person that's
solidified in that Diamondbacks outfield is Cordin Carroll. Mike G
fifteen has this question for you, Ken Rosenthal, Cubs deed pitching.
What Hoyer did say they need to also improve against lefties.
Any whispers of them targeting a player like Rober Snyder
to platoon and right field with Casey Yeah, keeping a
(16:07):
say a Suzuki as the DH.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Actually that's a really good thought. And because the Cubs
are breaking in Casey and it's a guy that is
not established yet, you can certainly see a ref Snyder
appealing to them. Ref Schneider crushes lefties. We know that,
and as I mentioned earlier on the availability of right
handed hitting outfielders is not great. Ref Sneiner is actually
(16:32):
one of the better ones available, and he's not really
a regular player. He's a platoon player. So yes, I
can definitely see that particular thing kind of happening with
the Cubs I can see them being interested in Ref
Snyder in exactly the scenario that you just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I love this next question just because I get to say,
Lars Newtbar, how fun is that name? For a hot second,
Lars Nutbars in regards to him, Ken, if you want
to bring this up, Pudge Richardson says large, Lars Nubar
seemed to have trade interest prior to his recent surgeries.
Is the interest still there?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
What are you hear? And would Saint Louis be better
off just keeping him?
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Saint Louis is open for business, and they're going to
talk about Sonny Gray, They're going to talk about Arnato.
They want to move those guys. They also have a
glut of left handed hitting options, and Nutbar is one
of them. Brendan Donovan is another. They have some others
as well. Newbar's value is down a bit because of
(17:28):
the injuries and the surgeries and all of that. I
don't know that it's the right time to move him.
But with Heim Bloom now running the Cardinals, they're going
to listen on everything. They're going to be in on
everything as far as players that teams have interest in.
So I don't know what to expect exactly, but I
do expect them, whether it's Gorman or Nutbar, Donovan someone else,
(17:51):
I do expect them to trade at least one of
their left handed hittings hitters.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Next question regarding the Texas Rangers, specifically Ken Rosenthal Josh Young.
Let's see, I think this might be our last question.
Ricky Schaeff fifty seven fifty eight has this to say, Hey,
can there is talk that Young from Texas is definitely available,
perfect fit for Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
What say you?
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I like the idea and I am a Josh Young fan.
When he was first coming into the league, he made
a huge impact and then for whatever reason, it has
not continued there. And I don't know what the problem
is there in Texas with Young and why they seem
to have soured on him a little bit and why
he's gone backwards. And it seems to me we talked
(18:35):
about Grayson Rodriguez as a change of scenery, guy Josh
Young might be the same type. And yes, for Milwaukee
relatively low salary, it would be an the kind of
addition that they probably should be looking at.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yes, Yeah, and with Brandon Woodruff coming back, even less
to spend on other players. Ken Rosenthal, all right, thanks
for the questions you guys, We appreciate it very much.
Coming up, Ken and I are going to discuss our
dude and Dork of the Week after these messages from
foul Hey.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
An easy way to support the show and wear super
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out a hat, a T shirt, and a lot more
(19:23):
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problem or concerned, there's help called one eight hundred gambler. Dude, Dude, dude,
(19:52):
all right?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Time now for dude and dork of the week. Can
you have honors on your dude?
Speaker 6 (19:57):
All right?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
It's Josh Naylor and it's also the Mariners, both of
them for coming together on a deal that made all
the sense in the world once the season ended. Even
before that, as much of an impact as he had
on that team, free agency in baseball tends to drag.
We know that. And yet when you have a player
and a team that want to continue their relationship, it
(20:21):
should happen. It should happen quickly, and it happened quickly
with these two parties, Nayler signing a five year, ninety
two and a half million dollar deal with the Mariners,
a deal that most people considered fair for both sides.
It's eighteen and a half million free each year for
a guy who is still only twenty nine. That's where
the five years comes in. So good for the Mariners,
(20:42):
good for Naylor. They both decided they wanted to continue
being together and they got it done quickly.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And also Ken and tell me if I'm wrong on this.
I mean, Seattle's not the easiest place in the world
to hit, so Naylor could have gone other places. So
for a position player to want to be someplace in
a park that doesn't necessarily lend itself to position players,
that says something too about the atmosphere and how good
he felt there.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yes, and the president of baseball operations in Seattle, Jerry Depoto,
said one of the things that struck him about Naylor
right away when they acquired him in that trade from
Arizona was Naylor's saying, I'm not worried about the ballpark.
I like gidding here, So he was not afraid. He
obviously succeeded there. This is a guy. We've talked about
him a lot. He has a lot of savvy for
(21:28):
a player. He has great instincts on the field, and
he is also someone who plays with a certain edge
and brings that to his team. He's not the most
garrulous guy with the media, but in the clubhouse, very
much respected and in some ways beloved.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
You know who else is very much respected and beloved
in that Mariner's clubhouse, Ken Rosetal, Well, I'm going to
tell you because my dude of the week is not
a biped, it's a quadruped, and that's Tucker, the Mariner's dog.
Josh Naylor said that one of the reasons that he
signed with the Seattle Mariners for that extension was not
only because of the amount of love that he felt,
(22:05):
but because of Tucker. Tucker rolls that clubhouse. Ken Rosenthal,
you know that better than anybody. And I'm telling you what.
Tucker was a big reason that Naylor is in Seattle
at least.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
For the next five years. He's such a good boy.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Good choice. A lota I like it. Yes, I have
seen Tucker rolling the clubhouse. It is quite a sight.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, anytime there's a dog involved, I am in. All right,
it is time now for the dork of the week.
All right, Ken, who do you have this week?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
All Right, I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here, perhaps a lota,
but I'm going with all the people who are complaining
about East Coast bias helping determine the American League MVP vote. No,
that is not what happened here. I've talked about this before.
And when voters vote now, they have plenty of information,
(23:03):
and they've seen cal Raley as much as they've seen
Aaron Judge. And if they haven't seen him as much,
they certainly have access to the information about what he
has done. And a lot was written about cal Raley
and what he has done. And if you saw, there
was a tweet from Greg John's retired Mariners baseball writer,
and he said bum that cal Raley didn't win al VMVP.
But this wasn't an East Coast bias thing. Of the
(23:25):
ten Al East voters five to five split between Raleigh
and Judge Al West. Also a five to five spot
difference came from Ale Central voters seven to three for Judge. Hello,
there it is now. I will say this, Not every
voter lives in the same spot where he's voting, for instance,
or she I am in the Baltimore chapter. Still, that
(23:47):
is where I started, even though I have not lived
in Baltimore for quite some time. The reason for that
is there would not be enough voters in the Baltimore
chapter to choose from. So they kept me there. The
BBWAA did that said still, it's just not a bias thing.
Does Aaron Judge get more publicity than cal Rawley, No question.
Does it influence the people who are voting, No, it
(24:08):
does not stop it. With that Dorks of the Week,
all of you, that's great.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
I don't need anything else. I don't even need to.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
Do a door of the Dorks of the Week, all
of you. You heard it from Ken Rosenthal talk about
that left handed reliever market. Ken Rosenthal, it feels like
it'll be at a premium now. Yankee struck in early
signing with Ryan Yarborough. What do you make of that
and how do you see this playing out in terms
of the left handed bullpen arms.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yarborough was a successful swingman for the Yankees last year,
if you remember, he started for a while before he
got hurt and did well. He is a guy that
is valuable to any staff, kind of like Eric Lauer
who replaced him in Toronto. So I don't necessarily consider
him part of the left handed relief market, but it
is going to be something to watch here because left
(24:58):
handed relievers are always in demand. Matt Gelbo of The
Athletic has reported that Matt Strom of the Phillies, a
quality left handed reliever, could be someone who is traded
in the weeks ahead. Now, we talked about the closers
in the first segment and how there's going to be
a lot of action on them. I believe all of
them are right handed, so we're talking mostly about setup types.
(25:20):
But yes, a lot. And these guys are always players
who do fairly well in free agency considering their specialists.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, there was a somebody was talking about it in
terms of their white Whale interview. Ken was the Mannings
on the Manning cast, So Peyton and Eli Manning were
talking about it, and Eli's was basically every defensive back
that picked off Peyton or something that's who he wanted
on his on his white whale list. Do you, Ken Rosenthal,
(25:49):
who has had thousands and thousands of interviews, is there
somebody that you would love to have a conversation with.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
In baseball? I don't know that there's anybody. I've talked
to pretty much everybody. Guys like Eddie Murray and Albert
Bell didn't talk. But because they didn't talk and their
careers are over. I'm not so interested in talking to
them anymore as I once was. But when you look
outside of baseball, I'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan, as
a lot of members of the BBWA R. It's a
(26:19):
running joke among the younger writers. Okay, but I've always thought,
do I really want to meet him? Do you want
to meet you a hero? Because sometimes it's disappointing you
always hear, oh, he's a great guy. Maybe he is,
but that would be someone I'd like to ask a
lot of questions to. I'm not sure i'd want to
do it necessarily in purpose, And maybe that would be
what I'd like to do on Zoom Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Or maybe you can just like go out to dinner
with them and just have it more of a you know,
a free casual conversation. What's the one if you only
had one question for the boss? What do you think
it would be?
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Actually, I'm not sure. I don't know. I've got a lot.
One would be on the dynamic ticket pricing that he went.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
To two years ago, upset a lot of people, and
the guy that's got a lot of money, and what
would be the logic for that he didn't have to
do that that would be one, and that's.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Really not going to ask of him because he doesn't
do many interviews, so that would be one for sure.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Okay, mine is also outside of baseball, but it's with
an artist that also has a lot of baseball ties.
It is not Bruce Springsteen, but it is Morgan Wallen,
and the reason being is because not only am I
obsessed with his music and will follow him anywhere, even
though that's a little odd, I'm not the only one,
by the way, and yes, I will be in Gainesville
next year for that concert. He is a big, big
(27:43):
baseball fan. Ken he grew up playing baseball, blew out
his arm, was not able to play anymore, pursued music.
Obviously it's worked out for him, but he has a
great song called the ninety eight Braves. John Smoltz is
actually in one of his videos for the ninety eight
Braves talking about losing to the San Diego Padres. He
has a lot of baseball references in his music and
I'm I just love his stuff. There's not a song
(28:05):
out there that Morgan Wallen sings that I don't enjoy.
So that would be my white whale interview. If anybody
out there would like to help me with Morgan Wallen
and help Ken with Bruce Springsteen.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Wit appreciate that very much.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
All right, that's gonna do it here for Fair Territory,
Don't forget. Foul Territory is next. Some really good guests
today on Foul Territory, of course, So who is it?
Todd Fraser, Arik Kratz, Scott bron They're going to welcome
Trek Scooble have you heard of him? Jake Berger of
course of the Rangers, and Robert Murray Dodger's Territory with
myself and Clint Pasias. Follows that, we're gonna have Baseball
(28:37):
America's Josh Norris and he's going to join the show.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Ken.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Great sounds great good lineup today.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
All right, guys, don't forget. Fair Territory returns Monday at
ten a m. Eastern with Ken Rosenthal. Have a great week, everybody,
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Fair Territory. I'm Ken
Rosenthal and welcome back to Alana Rizzo Alano. We missed you.
Good to have you back and we have a good
deal to talk about, even though it's still mid to
late November.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Yeah, Ken, great to be with you. Is always went
to Africa trip of a lifetime. I highly recommend it.
But let's get to baseball. That's what the show is
about and the Atlanta Braves. Ken Rosenthal making some moves.
One that was interesting because it could have been dealt
looks like he's there to stay.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Typical of Alexanthopolis, the Braves president of baseball operations. He
struck quickly two moves last night. The first was a
trade for Mauricio Dubon, who can be in their shortstop mix.
We'll get into that. And the second move, or maybe
it was the first, I can't remember the sequence, but
the signing of Racial Iglesias. The resigning of Racio Iglesias
(00:53):
to a one year, sixteen million dollar contract that is
about the same actually it's exactly the same as he
made in the previous two seasons with the Braves. And
it's an interesting move because if you recall back at
the deadline, the Braves made some trades, and they could
have traded Iglesias. He was certainly available or at least
a guy that people wanted, and yet they chose to
(01:15):
keep him. And Alexanthopolis addressed this last night with reporters,
and I've often talked about this about how when you
trade a potential free agent, you're kind of severing the relationship,
so to revive it and bring him back. It happens
once in a while. Chapman did it with the Yankees
at one point, but it's pretty rare. So here's the
(01:35):
quote from Anthopolis on that very idea. He said, we
always had intentions to bring Glacias back. I think staying
with the same team makes it easier for that to happen.
Sometimes when you cut the cord and people move on
to other places, there's hard feelings. And perhaps this helped
the Braves with their courtship or recourtship of Iglesias and
(01:59):
bring him back, because here is a guy that they kept.
He had a rough start to his season last year.
If you remember first twenty five appearances six point seven
five ERA, last forty five, he had a career high
seventy appearances last forty five one point twenty five VRA
So he is still a really good closer and is
(02:19):
someone obviously that the Braves wanted to target early, did
target early and got done.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Yeah right, Telliglecias is one of the closers. Can It's
an interesting closer market, is it not. I almost feel
like this year, as far as the closers are concerned,
very reminiscent to what it was like about two or
three years when it was the shortstop bonanza.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Is that fair to say?
Speaker 1 (02:41):
It is fair to say a lot. It's a really
good point. Actually, when you look at the closers who
are available, I Meangleciers was just one of them. There
are any number of interesting names out there now. Edwin
Diaz obviously is the biggest of those. I would put
Suarez and Devin Williams in the tier right below Ryan Hellsley.
Despite having some troubles with the Mets three bad weeks,
(03:03):
was tipping and had some other issues. He is very
much in demand because teams love his stuff. Emilio Pangan
successful season for the Reds. Luke Weaver can certainly close.
He is a free agent, and ken Lee Jansen back
for more. So sure, there are plenty of options available.
There are plenty of teams that need closers, and it's
going to be interesting to see how this all plays
(03:25):
out with that group, and he could happen sooner rather
than later. I'm not saying necessarily today, tomorrow, this weekend,
but before the winter meetings, I would expect one or
two of those guys, if not more, to come off
the board.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
I'm ken Devin Williams and the Yankees apparently discussing a
possible reunion. There's a lot of places besides the Bronx
that Devin Williams would be a good fit. In your estimation,
what's the likelihood he goes back to the Bronx.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Probably not likely, but it's interesting that the Yankees still
want him and he had his rocky moments with the Yankees.
Will Salmon of the Athletic Rule a really interesting story
last week about his season and breaking down just where
it went wrong in certain places. Overall, it's still a
pretty good year for Devin Williams. He's still a guy
(04:11):
who will get you a ton a ton of swing
and miss. So for the Yankees to contact him and
get back in touch, that is notable. Will he end
up there? I don't know. It's going to be really
interesting to see how this all, as I said, shakes out.
He is someone that the Mets, like, the Dodgers, like
a number of teams have identified as a potential target.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Mauricio Dubon interesting with the Houston Astros, Ken, this is
a guy that was a really good utility player. Obviously
he's tremendous defensively. The Houston Astros have elected to send
him to Atlanta. What do you make of that deal?
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Well, it's Chandler rome of Astro's territory, if that's what
it's called or whatever. That okay, And he wrote and
reported last night this was a cost cutting move. Duban
is projected to make about five to eight in arbitration
five point eight million. The player that the Astros got back,
Nick Allen, is around a million. So the Astros are,
(05:10):
as Chandler reports here, wanting to stay under the luxury
tax this winner, but they intend to add at least
one starter and perhaps a left handed hitter. So doing
both of those things requires payroll shuffling, as Chandler said,
and here is Duban being the latest example of that.
I like Dubon as a player. He's a two time
utility Goal Glove winner and also he is known as
(05:33):
a great teammate. He was part of the glue in
that clubhouse in Houston. He'll will serve I would expect
the same role in Atlanta. Willly he be their shortstop?
That's the big question. Now I mentioned Alex Anthopolis likes
to strike early. The guy he wants is Hashan Kim.
He took him from Tampa Bay for the final month,
(05:53):
tried to get acquainted with him. But of course free
agency is free agency, and Kim and his agent, Scott
Boris are going to go with their own pace, explore
the market and not necessarily sign with any team quickly.
But at least now, what Anthopolis has done is raise
the floor at that position. They have someone who can
play shortstop. They've got Vidal Bruhan as well, and Brett
(06:15):
Wisely they can fill in. So if they do not
end up with Kim, well, okay, they'll be in at
least a decent position. And the problem in shortstop right
now is the shortage of quality players available. Most teams
do not view Bobashett as a shortstop anymore. They believe
he belongs at second or third base, and then the
question becomes, okay, can you live with less? And as
(06:39):
I wrote today in our notes column with Will Salmon,
five playoff teams from last year the Seattle Mariners, the Yankees, Milwaukee, Cleveland,
and Detroit. They were in the bottom ten in the
sport in F four and they made the playoffs. And
the Toronto Blue Jays had Andres Jimenez for the last
month and into the playoffs when Bobaschet got hurt. Now
(06:59):
him and it has had a great alcs but before
that he was one of the worst offensive players.
Speaker 4 (07:04):
In the league.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
So if you have someone who can catch the ball
and give you adequate performance defensively, you can still make
the playoffs. The Braves have enough guys who should have
comeback seasons to be a really good team again, but
they've still got work to do. One more starter, bullpen
help as well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Yeah, you don't have to be an amazing a team
with an amazing shortstop anymore to win the World Series,
which is very different, or at least go to the postseason. Rather,
it'd be very different than it was just a few
years back. All Right, you can catch everything you need
to know about the Braves as well as the Houston Astros.
The Foul Territory Network, it never stops. Hammer Territory hosts
Sean Coleman and Steven Tolder put out two emergency shows
(07:43):
last night. They were freaking out Ken. Check them out
on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. And on
the astro side, Chandler Rome and Tyler Stafford all over
it on Crush City Territory. Subscribe on YouTube and rate
the podcast five stars. Of course part of the Foul
Territory Network. Let's talk a little bit, Ken Ros about
the Angels and the Orioles. I remember when Grayson Rodriguez
(08:04):
was coming up, the hype that was associated with him. Well,
he is now an angel. The Los Angeles Angels acquire
Grayson Rodriguez. He's actually coming on FT on Friday, by
the way, in exchange for a good player in Taylor Ward.
Speaker 3 (08:17):
What do you make of this?
Speaker 1 (08:18):
It's a fascinating trade. A Lona and a stunner too.
A lot of people are critical of the Orioles for this,
and understandably so. It's four years of Grayson Rodriguez for
one year of Taylor Ward. A couple things to keep
in mind, and I wrote all about this today in
my notes Calm. The Orioles badly needed a right handed
(08:38):
hitting outfielder. There are very few available. It was really
Taylor Ward, Joe Adell, maybe a few others, but no
one of that great magnitude. So they obviously were willing
to pay a high price for a guy who is
entering his walk gear. That is something that you don't
see very often, trading a controllable picture for rental hitter.
(09:01):
Grayson Rodriguez is an extremely talented pitcher and was one
of the game's top prospects, as you mentioned when he
came into the league. The problem has been he's been hurt,
hasn't pitched in any game at all since July thirty first,
twenty twenty four. As I wrote, there was some frustration
on his part, some frustration on the Orioles part, and
perhaps it was just best for a change of scenery.
(09:24):
We will see how this all plays out. If, as
it appears, the Orioles suspect Grayson Rodriguez is not going
to be healthy anytime soon, or maybe not healthy ever,
then obviously it's a trade that will work for them.
If Grayson Rodriguez, even while having a restricted workload in
twenty twenty six, assuming he's healthy, eventually becomes the pitcher
(09:45):
that the Orioles envision, the picture that he flashed at
times in his Baltimore tenure. Well, then you're talking about
an absolute steal. The Orioles are one of the most
fascinating teams right now. As I quoted an Ale execut
in this column today, they are a team that is
going for it, and Michaelias very aggressive as their president
(10:07):
of baseball operations. He wants to do some things. Perhaps
he is concerned for his job security. Perhaps he's just
frustrated that after back to back appearances in the playoffs
last year, they finished in last place or this season.
So they're going to be a team to watch. And
as I reported in this story as well, even after
getting Taylor Ward, and even though they have Tyler O'Neal
(10:30):
and Colton Kowser and they've signed with the Odie Taveries,
they're still looking for outfield help. Perhaps it will be
in center field, and they're still in the mix at
least for Kyle Tucker. Now, if you get Kyle Tucker,
you make some trades and you figure it out and
you don't worry about any potential surplus. You just do it.
But he was a guy that was drafted by Mike Elias.
(10:51):
Executives often have attachments to players that they draft. I
don't expect the Oriols are going to get Tucker. They
need pitching. We all know that they need a big
time starter to go with Bradish and Trevor Rodgers, and
they also need a closer and additional bullpen help, even
after trading for Kittridge. So I don't expect them to
(11:12):
be there. But the fact that they're not ruling it
out is interesting to me.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
Ken When you talk about Kyle Tucker, he's likely going
to come with a very hefty price tag. You said
that the Orioles need starting pitching. Would Michael Lias, that
front office, and that ownership group give Kyle Tucker the
type of money that he's demanding.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Are they prone to do those types of things?
Speaker 1 (11:32):
They're not prone, Alana, And that's a great point. However,
their owner, David Rubinstein has said the money is available,
and now I didn't say it was available for Tucker
per se. He just said they have money to spend.
It would be out of character for Elias. It would
be out of character for the Orioles, but we have
seen with San Diego, a team from a smaller market
(11:53):
make statements like this. Now it's worked for San Diego
to a very real degree. They haven't won a World Series,
I know, but they've electrified the market. They've been in
the playoffs, they've been really good. Are the Orioles thinking
the same way? I would be surprised because the revenues
are down like San Diegos are, and they're later on
Peter Sidler basically said, I'm doing this even though our
(12:15):
revenues don't support it. I don't expect the Oriols to
be at that level, but I do expect them to
spend this offseason. And remember last winter Corbyn burns, they
made him an offer one hundred and eighty million for
four years. Now, Tucker's probably going to cost twice that,
but they have shown that they are willing to do
something big. So even if they don't do Tucker, can
(12:38):
they get fromer Valdez for whatever it's going to be
one sixty one seventy or Dylan cease or Suarez one
of those guys. Yeah, I think that's possible.
Speaker 2 (12:48):
Hmm interesting to see. This might be go harder go
home for Michael Layas. A lot of folks think perhaps
he might be on the hot seat depending upon what
the Oriols do in the twenty twenty six season. Much
more to come on Fair Territory with Ken Rosenthal on
this Thursday. Get those questions in for Grill and Ken.
We'll be right back after.
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Speaker 2 (14:13):
All right, welcome back to fair territory. Time to get
these questions in for Ken Rosenthal. The first one is
in regards to left handed hitting Ken Ryan Sprouse seventy
four to fourteen. What impact does the glut of left
handed hitting outfielders have on the trade market for Alec
Thomas and Jake McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
It doesn't make it more difficult for the Diamondbacks, at
least early on maybe to move one of those guys.
And it's going to be really something to follow here
what the Diamondbacks do in centerfield. Those two players, Jake
McCarthy and Alec Thomas are players who can obviously play
center field and have played center field for the Diamondbacks.
But the Diamondbacks do have something of a duplication and
(14:51):
a surplus in the outfield. And most interestingly, they're playing
Jordan Lawler in center in winter ball, or at least
he had been playing center in winter ball, So if
he is going to be the guy they commit to,
and they do want to get Jordan Lawler established as
a Diamondback, He's not going to be the shortstop. With
Perdomo there, then maybe it becomes more likely they are
(15:12):
willing to move one of those guys. They are willing,
there's no question about that. The question becomes timing and
do they need to wait for the free agent dust
to settle with some of the left handed hitting outfielders
that are out there. I don't know that Jake maccarthur
or Alec Thomas interferes with Cody Bellinger and Kyle Tucker.
They're not the same level of player, but maybe those
(15:35):
teams that miss out on those guys would be more
likely to take one of them. It would be a
huge step down for either if indeed they miss out
on a Bellinger or a Tucker. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
I think the only body and the only person that's
solidified in that Diamondbacks outfield is Cordin Carroll. Mike G
fifteen has this question for you, Ken Rosenthal, Cubs deed pitching.
What Hoyer did say they need to also improve against lefties.
Any whispers of them targeting a player like Rober Snyder
to platoon and right field with Casey Yeah, keeping a
(16:07):
say a Suzuki as the DH.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Actually that's a really good thought. And because the Cubs
are breaking in Casey and it's a guy that is
not established yet, you can certainly see a ref Snyder
appealing to them. Ref Schneider crushes lefties. We know that,
and as I mentioned earlier on the availability of right
handed hitting outfielders is not great. Ref Sneiner is actually
(16:32):
one of the better ones available, and he's not really
a regular player. He's a platoon player. So yes, I
can definitely see that particular thing kind of happening with
the Cubs I can see them being interested in Ref
Snyder in exactly the scenario that you just mentioned.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
I love this next question just because I get to say,
Lars Newtbar, how fun is that name? For a hot second,
Lars Nutbars in regards to him, Ken, if you want
to bring this up, Pudge Richardson says large, Lars Nubar
seemed to have trade interest prior to his recent surgeries.
Is the interest still there?
Speaker 3 (17:05):
What are you hear? And would Saint Louis be better
off just keeping him?
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Saint Louis is open for business, and they're going to
talk about Sonny Gray, They're going to talk about Arnato.
They want to move those guys. They also have a
glut of left handed hitting options, and Nutbar is one
of them. Brendan Donovan is another. They have some others
as well. Newbar's value is down a bit because of
(17:28):
the injuries and the surgeries and all of that. I
don't know that it's the right time to move him.
But with Heim Bloom now running the Cardinals, they're going
to listen on everything. They're going to be in on
everything as far as players that teams have interest in.
So I don't know what to expect exactly, but I
do expect them, whether it's Gorman or Nutbar, Donovan someone else,
(17:51):
I do expect them to trade at least one of
their left handed hittings hitters.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Next question regarding the Texas Rangers, specifically Ken Rosenthal Josh Young.
Let's see, I think this might be our last question.
Ricky Schaeff fifty seven fifty eight has this to say, Hey,
can there is talk that Young from Texas is definitely available,
perfect fit for Milwaukee.
Speaker 3 (18:11):
What say you?
Speaker 1 (18:14):
I like the idea and I am a Josh Young fan.
When he was first coming into the league, he made
a huge impact and then for whatever reason, it has
not continued there. And I don't know what the problem
is there in Texas with Young and why they seem
to have soured on him a little bit and why
he's gone backwards. And it seems to me we talked
(18:35):
about Grayson Rodriguez as a change of scenery, guy Josh
Young might be the same type. And yes, for Milwaukee
relatively low salary, it would be an the kind of
addition that they probably should be looking at.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Yes, Yeah, and with Brandon Woodruff coming back, even less
to spend on other players. Ken Rosenthal, all right, thanks
for the questions you guys, We appreciate it very much.
Coming up, Ken and I are going to discuss our
dude and Dork of the Week after these messages from
foul Hey.
Speaker 4 (19:02):
An easy way to support the show and wear super
comfy clothing is by heading to foul territoryshop dot com. Yes,
foul Territory Shop dot com is loaded with foul territory
gear and lots of fair territory gear. If you want
to give some love to Ken and Alana, go check
out a hat, a T shirt, and a lot more
(19:23):
coffee mug in the morning, Foul territoryshop dot com is
the spot bet I'MGM account holders today. How about in
any sport parlay boost token you can score a bigger
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be used on parlays and on same game parlays. Gambling
problem or concerned, there's help called one eight hundred gambler. Dude, Dude, dude,
(19:52):
all right?
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Time now for dude and dork of the week. Can
you have honors on your dude?
Speaker 6 (19:57):
All right?
Speaker 1 (19:58):
It's Josh Naylor and it's also the Mariners, both of
them for coming together on a deal that made all
the sense in the world once the season ended. Even
before that, as much of an impact as he had
on that team, free agency in baseball tends to drag.
We know that. And yet when you have a player
and a team that want to continue their relationship, it
(20:21):
should happen. It should happen quickly, and it happened quickly
with these two parties, Nayler signing a five year, ninety
two and a half million dollar deal with the Mariners,
a deal that most people considered fair for both sides.
It's eighteen and a half million free each year for
a guy who is still only twenty nine. That's where
the five years comes in. So good for the Mariners,
(20:42):
good for Naylor. They both decided they wanted to continue
being together and they got it done quickly.
Speaker 2 (20:48):
And also Ken and tell me if I'm wrong on this.
I mean, Seattle's not the easiest place in the world
to hit, so Naylor could have gone other places. So
for a position player to want to be someplace in
a park that doesn't necessarily lend itself to position players,
that says something too about the atmosphere and how good
he felt there.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yes, and the president of baseball operations in Seattle, Jerry Depoto,
said one of the things that struck him about Naylor
right away when they acquired him in that trade from
Arizona was Naylor's saying, I'm not worried about the ballpark.
I like gidding here, So he was not afraid. He
obviously succeeded there. This is a guy. We've talked about
him a lot. He has a lot of savvy for
(21:28):
a player. He has great instincts on the field, and
he is also someone who plays with a certain edge
and brings that to his team. He's not the most
garrulous guy with the media, but in the clubhouse, very
much respected and in some ways beloved.
Speaker 2 (21:45):
You know who else is very much respected and beloved
in that Mariner's clubhouse, Ken Rosetal, Well, I'm going to
tell you because my dude of the week is not
a biped, it's a quadruped, and that's Tucker, the Mariner's dog.
Josh Naylor said that one of the reasons that he
signed with the Seattle Mariners for that extension was not
only because of the amount of love that he felt,
(22:05):
but because of Tucker. Tucker rolls that clubhouse. Ken Rosenthal,
you know that better than anybody. And I'm telling you what.
Tucker was a big reason that Naylor is in Seattle
at least.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
For the next five years. He's such a good boy.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
Good choice. A lota I like it. Yes, I have
seen Tucker rolling the clubhouse. It is quite a sight.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, anytime there's a dog involved, I am in. All right,
it is time now for the dork of the week.
All right, Ken, who do you have this week?
Speaker 1 (22:41):
All Right, I'm gonna ruffle some feathers here, perhaps a lota,
but I'm going with all the people who are complaining
about East Coast bias helping determine the American League MVP vote. No,
that is not what happened here. I've talked about this before.
And when voters vote now, they have plenty of information,
(23:03):
and they've seen cal Raley as much as they've seen
Aaron Judge. And if they haven't seen him as much,
they certainly have access to the information about what he
has done. And a lot was written about cal Raley
and what he has done. And if you saw, there
was a tweet from Greg John's retired Mariners baseball writer,
and he said bum that cal Raley didn't win al VMVP.
But this wasn't an East Coast bias thing. Of the
(23:25):
ten Al East voters five to five split between Raleigh
and Judge Al West. Also a five to five spot
difference came from Ale Central voters seven to three for Judge. Hello,
there it is now. I will say this, Not every
voter lives in the same spot where he's voting, for instance,
or she I am in the Baltimore chapter. Still, that
(23:47):
is where I started, even though I have not lived
in Baltimore for quite some time. The reason for that
is there would not be enough voters in the Baltimore
chapter to choose from. So they kept me there. The
BBWAA did that said still, it's just not a bias thing.
Does Aaron Judge get more publicity than cal Rawley, No question.
Does it influence the people who are voting, No, it
(24:08):
does not stop it. With that Dorks of the Week,
all of you, that's great.
Speaker 3 (24:17):
I don't need anything else. I don't even need to.
Speaker 6 (24:19):
Do a door of the Dorks of the Week, all
of you. You heard it from Ken Rosenthal talk about
that left handed reliever market. Ken Rosenthal, it feels like
it'll be at a premium now. Yankee struck in early
signing with Ryan Yarborough. What do you make of that
and how do you see this playing out in terms
of the left handed bullpen arms.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
Yarborough was a successful swingman for the Yankees last year,
if you remember, he started for a while before he
got hurt and did well. He is a guy that
is valuable to any staff, kind of like Eric Lauer
who replaced him in Toronto. So I don't necessarily consider
him part of the left handed relief market, but it
is going to be something to watch here because left
(24:58):
handed relievers are always in demand. Matt Gelbo of The
Athletic has reported that Matt Strom of the Phillies, a
quality left handed reliever, could be someone who is traded
in the weeks ahead. Now, we talked about the closers
in the first segment and how there's going to be
a lot of action on them. I believe all of
them are right handed, so we're talking mostly about setup types.
(25:20):
But yes, a lot. And these guys are always players
who do fairly well in free agency considering their specialists.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Okay, there was a somebody was talking about it in
terms of their white Whale interview. Ken was the Mannings
on the Manning cast, So Peyton and Eli Manning were
talking about it, and Eli's was basically every defensive back
that picked off Peyton or something that's who he wanted
on his on his white whale list. Do you, Ken Rosenthal,
(25:49):
who has had thousands and thousands of interviews, is there
somebody that you would love to have a conversation with.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
In baseball? I don't know that there's anybody. I've talked
to pretty much everybody. Guys like Eddie Murray and Albert
Bell didn't talk. But because they didn't talk and their
careers are over. I'm not so interested in talking to
them anymore as I once was. But when you look
outside of baseball, I'm a big Bruce Springsteen fan, as
a lot of members of the BBWA R. It's a
(26:19):
running joke among the younger writers. Okay, but I've always thought,
do I really want to meet him? Do you want
to meet you a hero? Because sometimes it's disappointing you
always hear, oh, he's a great guy. Maybe he is,
but that would be someone I'd like to ask a
lot of questions to. I'm not sure i'd want to
do it necessarily in purpose, And maybe that would be
what I'd like to do on Zoom Yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:40):
Or maybe you can just like go out to dinner
with them and just have it more of a you know,
a free casual conversation. What's the one if you only
had one question for the boss? What do you think
it would be?
Speaker 1 (26:54):
Actually, I'm not sure. I don't know. I've got a lot.
One would be on the dynamic ticket pricing that he went.
Speaker 7 (27:02):
To two years ago, upset a lot of people, and
the guy that's got a lot of money, and what
would be the logic for that he didn't have to
do that that would be one, and that's.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Really not going to ask of him because he doesn't
do many interviews, so that would be one for sure.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
Okay, mine is also outside of baseball, but it's with
an artist that also has a lot of baseball ties.
It is not Bruce Springsteen, but it is Morgan Wallen,
and the reason being is because not only am I
obsessed with his music and will follow him anywhere, even
though that's a little odd, I'm not the only one,
by the way, and yes, I will be in Gainesville
next year for that concert. He is a big, big
(27:43):
baseball fan. Ken he grew up playing baseball, blew out
his arm, was not able to play anymore, pursued music.
Obviously it's worked out for him, but he has a
great song called the ninety eight Braves. John Smoltz is
actually in one of his videos for the ninety eight
Braves talking about losing to the San Diego Padres. He
has a lot of baseball references in his music and
I'm I just love his stuff. There's not a song
(28:05):
out there that Morgan Wallen sings that I don't enjoy.
So that would be my white whale interview. If anybody
out there would like to help me with Morgan Wallen
and help Ken with Bruce Springsteen.
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Wit appreciate that very much.
Speaker 2 (28:16):
All right, that's gonna do it here for Fair Territory,
Don't forget. Foul Territory is next. Some really good guests
today on Foul Territory, of course, So who is it?
Todd Fraser, Arik Kratz, Scott bron They're going to welcome
Trek Scooble have you heard of him? Jake Berger of
course of the Rangers, and Robert Murray Dodger's Territory with
myself and Clint Pasias. Follows that, we're gonna have Baseball
(28:37):
America's Josh Norris and he's going to join the show.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
Ken.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Great sounds great good lineup today.
Speaker 2 (28:44):
All right, guys, don't forget. Fair Territory returns Monday at
ten a m. Eastern with Ken Rosenthal. Have a great week, everybody,
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