Winter Meetings 2025/2026

Grey and B_Don run through a packed offseason update starting with the Orioles who continue to load up. The big move is Pete Alonso signing for five years and 155 million dollars after a 2025 season with 38 home runs and career best quality of contact numbers. The concern is the park shift going from a top right handed power park to Camden. Baltimore also names Ryan Helsley closer on a two year deal despite a rough 2025. The O’s bolstered the offense with a trade that acquired Taylor Ward, but they trade away a young arm in Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels.

The Mets shake things up by sending Brandon Nimmo to Texas and bringing in Marcus Semien. Devin Williams stays in New York on a three year deal switching leagues. In Toronto, the Blue Jays commit long term to Dylan Cease with a seven year deal buying into the strikeouts and hoping the ratios rebound while Cody Ponce returns from overseas on a three year contract. The Rays add Cedric Mullins on a one year deal hoping for a power speed bounce back sign Steven Matz after strong ratios in limited innings and claim Jake Fraley off waivers.

The Dodgers make a massive bullpen splash by signing Edwin Diaz for three years immediately cementing one of the most dominant closer situations in baseball. The Red Sox overhaul their pitching acquiring Sonny Gray from the Cardinals adding Johan Oviedo from the Pirates trading Vaughn Grissom to the Angels and reshuffling depth in multiple deals.

Elsewhere the Braves strengthen the bullpen with Robert Suarez and add Mike Yastrzemski Seattle and Washington swap prospects in a deal involving Harry Ford the Diamondbacks take a one year flier on Mike Soroka the Angels add Alek Manoah and the White Sox bring Anthony Kay back from Japan. Plenty of fantasy ripple effects as Grey and B_Don break down where the value may or may not be heading into draft season.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:12):
You like fantasy ball, sense a chasm that I shall
not me hear myself stun spans and they can't even
count some of unifor gas I surround. It ain't even.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
Matter be health well, yeah, several charges on everyone.

Speaker 1 (00:28):
Nothing else, and I'm alreadium to.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hear my baby sounds just like your name.

Speaker 1 (00:33):
Was, Mark.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
And it's a ride by podcast. It's a rapp podcast.

Speaker 1 (00:39):
It's a rapp podcast. It's a ride bo podcast.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
It's a rap up podcast. I don't have a rap
up podcast. Got a turn off? It should rap bo podcast.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Hey, everybody, welcome back. It is the Rasball Fantasy Baseball podcast.
I am beat on, joined by the one, the only,
the Fantasy Master, Lithario himself, the spectacled wonder. Right, all right,
going gray, this is our first uh I guess twenty
twenty six themed. Uh no, it's son Oh no, that's

(01:33):
not no. We had our top twenty Well, it's our
first one that's news related then for twenty twenty six. Uh,
the first one we've actually put any thought into. And
then there's news.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
The uh actually on the U on the outline for
the show, it says do an intro that doesn't make
any sense. So we're like we are we are right
into we are like jumping right back. It's like basically
we're April and we have hit the ground running with
We're like yeah, I mean well, I mean more like April,

(02:07):
not Mids. I want to go as far as say
it's Jude oh Man, Hey, how's a how's it going there?
But I was good to see you. I actually so
I have I have some news about my my Between
the twenty twenty six draft that we did, uh and today,

(02:32):
that's the time I went to Ohio in November, I
went to Cincinnati for a wedding. That's actually that's that's
the whole story.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
There's nothing, there's nothing more.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
No, I know, we the party. So the wedding party
was actually at Great American Ballpark, So I was at
I was at the State for the wedding or whatever.
And and then we went for a tour afterwards down
through like the clubhouse and the dugout and all that.

(03:14):
And I was talking to someone. It's funny actually because
like in La, you know, like no one cares about
baseball really, even though we won the World Series two
years around, no one really cares. Everyone's like, uh, you know, Lakers.
Maybe mostly like I didn't get that call back, my
agent's gonna drop me. That's that's more or less what

(03:35):
goes on in LA. But in Cincinnati, like there's actually
like people are really like they're baseball fans, which was
so it was really kind of cool because I don't
have that experience that often. So anyway, so we're in
this we were on this tour and the guy who
was showing us around, I was like, yo, you know,

(03:56):
like what's going on with Llie de la Cruz. Why
didn't he steal that much last year? So that's all
I can think about, and like, no, he actually I
think he heard his he heard his quad sometime in
like May June, and I was like, huh, that's interesting.
And then literally like a week after I get back

(04:19):
to LA and news of La Day La Cruise's quad
comes out like across the wire. They're like people were
actually talking about I was like, oh my god, like
I had that I could have broken broke news. I
could have broke news. I didn't know I did my.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
First time in raspbell history. We could have gray. It
could have happened.

Speaker 2 (04:40):
Oh man. I was like, I can't. I was like,
this is why I could never be a reporter, because
it's like someone tells me something, I'm like, oh cool,
that's it. I don't tell I don't tell anyone. I'm
just like, oh cool, man, thanks for telling me. I
don't know. Why wouldn't I tell that to people? I
don't anyone anything anyway. Yeah, so I went to Ohio.

Speaker 1 (05:06):
You've been to Ohio. You you've been to my uh
my former stopping grounds, and you've been to Great American Ballpark.
That's you know, that's a that's a solid few months
recap Gray of your your activities. Let's go ahead and
get into it. Gray, I don't you know, usually these
first podcast, even though I don't feel like we have
that much to cover, still tend to go rather long.

(05:30):
So let's just jump into it. We're here to talk
about everything that's happened since the end of twenty twenty five,
that includes winter meetings. Let's start in Baltimore where the
ools are out there, just just filling out the roster,
Gray addressing everything they need to. Pete Alonzo signs there
five years, one hundred and fifty five. Last year he
had thirty hour runs, a stolen base eighty seven runs

(05:52):
and twenty six RBIs. He hit two seventy two, three
forty seven, five twenty four. He had a twenty two
percent strikeout rate eight point six percent rate. He had
a career best barrel hard hit average ex velocity hit
for his best average. There's the park change where you're
heating expectations as as Pete Lonzo moves from New York

(06:14):
to Baltimore.

Speaker 2 (06:16):
Uh, well, I mean the park changes. It would have
been like last year Camden, they moved the fences in,
and if I would have heard that with Pete Alonzo
going there, if they would have changed the fences like
this year and Peter Alonzo would have signed there, at

(06:38):
that point, I would have probably been like, always gonna
hit sixty homers. But because like I mean, we know,
the fences moved in, and then Gunner Henderson basically became
Adam Fraser. So I don't really don't. I don't know
what park changes mean anymore. It's basically what I'm saying.
I feel like I'm at sort of the it's like

(07:00):
you look at a stack cast where it's like, oh,
this guy would hit so many homers if he called
this park home, and like that really never does anything.
It doesn't really make any sense. Ever, It's kind of
it's like a fun, little like tidbit that doesn't really
mean anything. But anyway, I you know, I was like

(07:21):
Pete Alonzo leaving the Mets was really I'm not a
Mets fan, but it really kind of annoyed me because,
like I felt like Steve Cohen, the Mets owner, was gonna,
you know, spend all this money and it was gonna
be like, oh, We're gonna build a contender. Instead they're
just like, well, we have Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor
and let's see what happens. So I don't know, man,

(07:44):
I don't know what what's going on with the Mets.
Maybe by the time people listen to this, you know,
they will have signed like Kyle Tucker or someone, and
you know, maybe maybe they have a bigger plan in mind.
But uh, you know, with Pete Alanza going to the Orioles,
I will say it's probably like you know, I would say,

(08:05):
it's probably like he's the kind of guy where it's
like forty Homers is basically his projection for no matter
what park he's going to, right, Like, he's not gonna
He's not gonna dramatically change because he's going to a
different park unless he was going to like bing Bong
Stadium and sack Town where the A's play, and then

(08:28):
he's probably gonna hit sixty homers. But in Camden, I
would guess forty homers, you know, give or take three
on each side is probably around what you should project
him for. You know, I think the hard hit was
nice last year, and you know, I do think that
could potentially lead to a well, it led to a

(08:48):
better average last year. It could potentially hold on that
better average, But I wouldn't necessarily expect that. I'd probably
expect him to fall down to, like, you know, not
not necessarily where he was like two years ago when
he hit two seventeen. But you know, if he's gonna
hit two fifty five, two sixty, that's still fine for

(09:11):
a power hitter. Cornerman. I'm I'm fine with Pete Alonzo.
I think he's you know, totally like uh, you know,
he is what he is, really, I think no matter
where he plays, I'm I'm good with him In Baltimore.
I'm fine with him as my first basement. I would,
you know, be happy to take a forty homer one

(09:31):
hundred and ten RBI two fifty five season from him,
which is, you know, around what I projected him for.
So yeah, I'm I'm good with it. I don't think
you should expect more. I don't think you should, you
know less. I wouldn't expect less either, but I feel
like he's as reliable as you're gonna get. So yeah,

(09:53):
I mean, I I like pet Alonzo though, as you know,
as a early round cornerman for sure.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, I like him too. Even with the you know,
not getting forty or more home runs, he was still
a top first baseman. Will I will say, Gray, he
hasn't gotten to forty home runs since twenty twenty three.
That's that's been a couple of seasons, and there's a
clear change in the fly balls and the launch angles
from you know, the twenty twenty two to three in

(10:21):
twenty twenty three season where he hit forty and forty
six homers to the last two where he hit thirty
four thirty eight respectively. So I will say, I don't
know that he's necessarily guaranteed forty home runs, but you know,
thirty five two forty is still a good range, and
you know, more than happy to have him on your team. Well,

(10:41):
we'll get to first base rankings, you know, when we
get to positional previews, and that'll be early to mid
January for anybody who's looking forward to that, And of
course you can always go to the Patreon and get
those early as Gray releases them. In regards to the ballpark,
I will say last year after the ballpark, Baltimore did
play more middle of the road instead of like bottom

(11:04):
five in regards to right handed power. But it's definitely
a at least a small step back in regards to
park for Peter Alnso as well, But he is a
a large Manuwitz bomb, so I don't think it's that
big of a deal.

Speaker 2 (11:18):
It was also, yeah, you know, it was actually kind
of interesting. I might I could be remembering this wrong
because I don't have the page open in front of me,
but I think the thing I was talking about before
with like stack cast and like who which park were?
How many homers would this guy hit? And if he
called this park home?

Speaker 1 (11:37):
That that thing that stat.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
I guess it's a stat, not really a stat, but
it's a stat. I guess. Yeah, it's kind of a fakesta.
But it's kind of interesting though that I believe it
said that he would have hit more homers if he
called Camden home last year than if he called City
Field home. I believe that's what said it did.

Speaker 1 (12:01):
It did actually say that, So I don't know if
that is, you know, something in regards to the setup
of the field. So maybe he hits the to like
left center where the Mets left center is ridiculously deep,
So maybe it was just kind of like him being
in that more center area. But you know, if he
can get back to pulling home runs, I'm sure that

(12:22):
will will help as well.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
Right, Yeah, no, totally, I think, you know, And that's
a I feel like, why that's kind of like a
bit of a silly status, like you know, where a
guy hits like the guy hits a three hundred and
ninety foot homer, you know too, and it just gets
out and then he hits like, you know, or he
hits like a three hundred and eighty eight foot homer

(12:46):
excuse me, three hundred and eighty foot fly ball out,
Like how much how much difference is it making whether
or not he's in you know, Like it's it's nice
if it goes out for a homer and it's basically
the same the same long ball. But it's not like,
you know, a guy's hitting something like in Baltimore three

(13:07):
ninety to get it out versus three eighty eight.

Speaker 1 (13:09):
For an out.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
It's like, it's not like a hitter is not controlling
the ball that well. I mean, it's like, you know,
it's lucky. It's basically lucky or not lucky. Is I
guess what I'm saying, Yeah, it is.

Speaker 1 (13:22):
I mean that's just kind of the way that it
works sometimes. Let's move on. The Oils also brought in
around Ryan Helsley for two years. Last year he had
fifty six innings, four to five oh ERA, one twenty
five percent, strikeout, nine point nine percent walk. Not exactly
pristine numbers, but he has already been given the closer role.

(13:43):
What do you think about Ryan Helsley, Gray, Well.

Speaker 2 (13:47):
I think, yeah, so I've my two main thoughts on
him is like, I don't really care if he's getting saves.
I'm happy to draft him because Sagnoff and you know,
says or whatever saves or saves, who cares really, And
the other thing my thought is like I feel like

(14:07):
he was a bit of a mess. It was a
bit of a mess last year, and I'm and I'm
a little worried that he'll be a mess again because
the command was so awful. But you know, the I
mean the sample size of a closer, it's you know,
sixty innings ish, you know, give or take a few

(14:28):
that if he you know, if he leaves a couple
extra men on, he'll be fine. And you know, if
he gives up a home run and a bad slot,
then the era jumps up. So I feel like he's
gonna be okay. He was really difficult to like. I
rostered him in NL only where I held on to

(14:48):
him after he was traded to the Mets last year,
and he was awful. I mean, he was awful. It
was really really painful. But you know, saves are saved,
so I am willing to get back on him.

Speaker 1 (15:01):
I do.

Speaker 2 (15:02):
I do feel like he could be fine, Like I
do think like even though last year was so bad,
I do think he can be okay.

Speaker 1 (15:12):
Yeah. No, I tend to agree with report that he
was tipping his pitches as well, which would lead to why,
especially once he got traded, he got hit so so hard.
So I am willing to give him a pass, and
he's going at least early on in a in a
pretty acceptable ADP range, So that'll obviously change as we

(15:33):
get closer to the season, but if he stays in
that range, I could definitely see grabbing Chares, And like
you said, I, for whatever reason, I do kind of
trust him, and part of it I think is probably
just the park helps him out a little bit as
he moves to Baltimore from Saint Louis as well. The
last kind of big move the Oriels made was a trade.
They traded Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels and Taylor War

(15:57):
came back to Baltimore. The Ward had thirty six home runs,
four stone bases eighty six one oh three. He hit
two twenty eight, three seventeen, and four seventy five last season.
Let's talk about both these pieces of the trade. Taylor
Ward to Baltimore, Grayson Rodriguez to the Angels. I think
guys that we've liked at their respective ADPs at different

(16:18):
times and then maybe not so much at other times.

Speaker 2 (16:22):
Uh, yeah, no completely, I you know, I think, uh,
Taylor Ward, I believe was a sleeper for me about
two years ago, maybe two or three years ago. Uh,
I've liked them for a while.

Speaker 1 (16:33):
I uh.

Speaker 2 (16:34):
I Also, I think the Orioles in a lot of ways,
Orioles are building a roster a lot like I draft
a fantasy team. Completely. They're just like, what do we
need pitching for? Really pitching?

Speaker 1 (16:49):
Look at the Dodgers, They've spent a ton on pitching.
They never have them for the postseason.

Speaker 2 (16:52):
Yeah, yeah, it's like, come on, so what so the
Dodgers have nine nine young among their starters. That doesn't matter. Yeah,
the Orioles are the Oriels are a very funny team.

(17:13):
How you you're training one of your big arms for
another bat, which you know it did. That did happen
before the pet Alonzo signing. But I mean they must
have had an idea where they were going. I don't
think it was I don't think it was a shock.
They They definitely had an idea. I you know, I'm
a little bit concerned with the Grayson Rodriguez thing because

(17:35):
I do like him in general. I think you know,
he's got he well, he had at least really good stuff,
and he was, you know, he was one of the
top prospects in the game for you know, when he
first came up, and and he looked amazing early on
in his career. I do I am a little bit

(17:56):
concerned because the Angels like a team you can put
one over on a little bit. So I am a
little bit concerned if the Orioles are like here here,
how about Grayson Rodriguez, and the Angels are like, well,
you know what we did with Reed thatt Mers, We're
gonna do that the extreme Crason Rodriguez.

Speaker 1 (18:16):
You know what.

Speaker 2 (18:18):
The Angels have the history of the Angels pitching development
is like Jared Weaver twenty five years ago and then
no one.

Speaker 1 (18:28):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
They're like, I don't know, they really can't develop pitching
at all. So you know, I mean Grayson Rodriguez has
developed already technically. I do worry a little bit though
about the injury. You know, I think I don't know, man,
I mean there was it was an elbow thing, So

(18:49):
it's like that's always a concern. I feel like Grayson
Rodriguez is like probably a good flyer for like the
back end of like a twelve team mixed league draft,
like maybe in the you know, the two twenties overall,
possibly Taylor Ward though on the other hand, Tailor Ward,

(19:11):
I think, is like, you know, a bottom like maybe
a top twenty five outfielder in that range, like top
twenty five to thirty, so you're looking at like bottom
of the of the top one hundred for Taylor Ward.
I have no problem with Taylor Ward at all. I
think you know, last year the average was a bit low,

(19:32):
but I think that was a little bit to do
with you know, he he got his launch angle up.
His launch angle is so high up at this point
that he's just hitting. He's hitting a lot of homers
and not hitting a lot else, which is fine. I mean,
you know, it is what it is like. It's like
he's you know, he looks like you know what you

(19:53):
were probably hoping for from Taoscar Hernandez or something like.
He's like, you know, a thirty five homer, two forty hitter.
That's totally fine. I have no problem with that. It's like,
you know, that definitely is a build dependent kind of guy,
Like you don't, I mean, you don't put that next
to you know, all guys that are thirty five homer

(20:14):
to twenty hitters, but you know, on the right team.
I have no I have no issue with Taylor Ward.
I think, you know, he's probably he's actually a guy
you're building off of versus a guy you're building too,
so you know, And what I mean is like, you know,
if you're you're drafting Taylor Ward before you're drafting you know,
someone like I don't know Spencer Torkosen, say, who is

(20:36):
you know, a similar build a similar guy, But Torkolsen's
gonna go after ward, So you may not want to
put those two together. But I you know, it also
depends on the rest of your team. But yeah, I
like Taylor Ward. I have no problem with him. I
think he's in that stadium, in the new stadium, thirty
five two forty sounds, you know, maybe thirty two thirty

(20:57):
two to forty in that rain. And yeah, Grayson Rodriguez
is a flyer at the back end of shallower mixed leagues.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if Taylor Ward continues
with the extreme launch angle or if he kind of
drops back down into where he has normally sat. For
that reason, I'd probably say like twenty five to thirty
just to kind of heads my bets a little bit
in regards to the projection for him. But yeah, I
have no problem with Taylor Ward. He tends to kind

(21:28):
of sit middle lineups because he does have the power,
and you know he can't take a walk as well,
so he's not a complete just drain on that. Despite
some not ideal averages, especially last year again with the
increase in launch angle and fly balls, that definitely didn't
help his average. I will say he does not have

(21:49):
like in an Anaheim or La or what you to recall,
the Angels, like there was nobody to push him off
of hitting in the middle of the lineup. He struggles
in Baltimore. You know, he getting up hit in eighth
or ninth potentially, So that is that is maybe the
only concern I have with Taylor Ward is just kind
of the platoon slash. It's a much better roster than

(22:12):
he was formerly in, but he should be just fine.
The Oils also signed Andrew Kittridge and Leoni Taveras. That's
not big deals. We're not really going to cover that here,
but just wanted to mention it. As the Oils made
a lot of moves moving over to New York. The Mets,
aforementioned Mets who lost Pete Alonzo, also traded away Brandon

(22:35):
Nemo to the Rangers and they got back. Marcus Simeon,
I don't understand this. Gray. If you could unders if
you could explain anything this going on in Mets Land,
that would be that would be well appreciated.

Speaker 2 (22:52):
Yeah, no, I know. I actually I took a bit
of I took some crap for being hard on the
Mats out this trade, because, like I, I feel like
this is an awful trade, But there are Mets fans
who are, like, you know, because Nemo's fielding was so
terrible and a second baseman who can field well is

(23:14):
you know, there's there's some value to that. So I guess, really, yeah, exactly,
I guess realistic. I guess real baseball might look at
this trade as being a little more even than I
look at him, like, this is terrible. It is awful, man,
what are the Mets doing? This is like, I don't

(23:35):
get it. This is just so dumb. I hate it.
I really do not hate. I really don't like this
trade at all. But anyway, for fantasy, Uh, Marcus Simeon,
I think at this point, like he's been steadily declining
for so many years. Uh. I you know, Arlington was

(23:58):
a terrible park, but you know, City feels not gonna
be that much better. His speed has been completely almost
almost gone from his game completely. So you know, if
he's at like a seven to twelve steel guy, which
is actually I feel like might be optimistic. But if

(24:19):
he's at a seven to twelve steel guy and he's
got twenty homers twenty twenty twelve, two thirty, two twenty five,
it's like, it's so bad. It's like it's probably a
am I at the back end of a twelve team
mix league, maybe like two fifty overall, two twenty five overall,

(24:43):
somewhere in that range. It's not great and I and
it's not And it's also not like a place where
you know, in that range you could probably get someone
like a Kleb Durbin or something, and it's like, why
not go for the upside Instead you're going for the downside. Eh,
I love it. I'm not a fan. So there's that,

(25:04):
And then Brandon Nemo has actually been remarkably solid for
like the last you know, handful of years. You know,
he's got a guy, he's uh, he's shown decent speed, uh,
not always using it, not always, not always, not always
stealing bases necessarily, but he's been pretty consistent the last

(25:26):
two years for his speed, and then his power has
been relatively the same too. You know, so you're looking
at say, uh, not too dissimilar from Marcus Simeon, but
a twenty to twelve to sixty hitter.

Speaker 1 (25:44):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
And also you're looking at a guy who's probably going
to be leading off for Simeon, who's going to be
at the bottom of a lineup. So I think Nemo
is actually a little bit underrated. I think Simeon might
be a little bit overrated. Nemo is you know, Nemo
z always managed to He's managed to get like a
because of also you know which we call it. Nemo's

(26:09):
managed to get and he's been in front of good
people is in the lineup, so he's managed to get
good counting stats. That could change a little bit in
Texas because the Rangers are really a terrible heading team. Hopefully,
you know, if Seger stays healthy and stays on the Rangers.
I mean there's talk of him getting traded. But you
know Langford, I guess if Langford comes into his own

(26:31):
but there's a lot of question marks in the Rangers lineup,
so you know, Nemo's counting stats will take a little
bit of a hit in the Rangers lineup, but overall
I like it better for Texas. But you know, neither
of the guys are really superstars necessarily, But Nemo is
probably a little bit underrated, and Simeon is.

Speaker 1 (26:52):
Yeah, I mean average defense at second base are slightly
above average. I mean, Simon has traditionally been good at defense,
but last year not so much. It just feels like
a huge overpay for defense at second base, which is
I mean the easiest position to play in baseball.

Speaker 2 (27:14):
Quite honestly, dyd On, Actually I was a second base man.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
Yeah, me too. That's why I can say this, Greg,
I played every infield position, so I feel like I can.
I'm fully capable of speaking to this. Second base is
the easiest. You don't have to have any kind of arm,
and you're asked to cover the least amount of distance.
So yes, I fully believe that second base is the easiest.

(27:43):
And also there's with all the shifting that makes it
even easier. I know that we've gotten away from the
dual side shifting, but still and.

Speaker 2 (27:52):
In and fields in grounded to gray guys coming home
only three hops to get into the sure.

Speaker 1 (28:03):
Yeah, I mean that's a that's about it.

Speaker 2 (28:05):
Gray.

Speaker 1 (28:05):
I mean, you can probably take your glove off and
throw it opposite handed still be all right most of
the time at second base. Uh So that's that's so
what we're going with here. And you know, it's not
like the Mets couldn't have moved Nemo to d H
if they're really not worried about their defense, Like does
Ronnie Maurisio and Jared Young need to really play out

(28:26):
there very often? Like I'm just just asking for a
friend here. Let's move on to the other move. The
Mets actually did bring in somebody, and that is Devin Williams.
He stays in New York but switches leagues. They get
him on a three year deal. I saw just because
the Cubs news. He was actually wanting to go to
the Cubs, but the Cubs low balled him. So he's in.

(28:49):
He's he's a met sixty two innings last year, four
to seven, nine year, A one one three whip thirty
four point seven percent, sreckout nine point seven percent walk.
How do you feel about Devin Williams taking over Fredwin diz.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Well? I would have loved if if I were a
Mets fan, I would have loved to have Edwin Diaz
in the ninth and Devin Williams in the eighth. Now
I feel like, I mean, you're probably okay with Devin Williams,
but I would be a little bit more. I would
be a little bit more worried. I think Devin Williams
is actually a good bounce back kind of though. I

(29:25):
think his uh, you know, his stuff looks fine. He
looks like he was pretty unlucky last year. When it
comes to era, I would I wouldn't guess. I mean,
I would guess that Devin Williams is gonna be a
popular uh not sleeper necessarily because everyone knows who he is,
but you know, like he might be a popular pick
and end up getting moved up in drafts. But I'm

(29:47):
not one to draft a top closer. But if he's
at the right price, I would totally get Devin will
I would be fine with Devin Williams. I think he's
you know, he's probably he's as good as anyone if
his stuff is you know, if he's commanding his stuff properly.
So yeah, I like him. I think, you know, if

(30:10):
if I would say roughly like a bounce back to
you know, like his his Brewers years when he had
like a one and a half array. I don't know
if i'd say that, but he could be a two
and a half array guy with you know, thirteen plus
k per nine and have like, you know, thirty thirty

(30:31):
to thirty five saves. So yeah, I like Devan Williams
a lot. I think he's probably gonna be priced too
high for me. Specifically, I would guess he's going to
be somewhere in the you know, at the latest, maybe
in the sixty to seventy range maybe, but that's me guessing.
I'm not really I'm not sure, but I yeah, I

(30:54):
like him. I think he's probably just gonna be too
expensive for me at least.

Speaker 1 (30:58):
Yeah, I mean that, I feel like that's usually how
it goes for you know, both of us in that
regard for what we'll say it's worth.

Speaker 2 (31:06):
He's currently going at ninety five overall in ADP, but
that's so some of that might be baked in from
before he got before he got signed by the Mets,
So yeah, I mean it may that may not be
completely accurate.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, I mean, if he stays there, might have some shares,
but he's probably he probably gets a bump at some
point potentially, I will say part of that. I think
that the difference for Devin Williams was just the defense. Unfortunately,
the Mets were pretty awful on defense last year. So
I don't know, but I second base, yeah, I mean

(31:45):
it probably is. I mean, I I do like him
for a bounce back. I just don't know if he's
getting back to sub to you are a sub one
whip without the defense behind him, because he is a
little bit more of a ground all closer, which isn't typical.
But I still I still like him. At that draft

(32:08):
cost let's move over to Toronto. They needed a picture
and so they went out and got one. They brought
in Dylan Seas for seven years. Last year he had
one hundred and sixty eight Indians when eight and twelve
four or five five year, a one three three whip,
twenty nine point eight percent strikeout rate, and a nine
point eight percent walk rate. What do you think about

(32:29):
Dylan Sees's landing spot here and and just in general,
because the numbers again don't sound amazing, but he kinda
he kind of had a couple of rough months that
that made it worse.

Speaker 2 (32:41):
Yeah, no, completely, And it's it looks like his babbitt
was a little bit high, and his left on base
was a little bit low, and maybe his homers allowed
was a little bit high. So there there might have
been a little bit of unluckiness here for Dylan Sea's.
I don't think personally, I'm not going to be in
on Dylan Sees because I think, uh, you know, I

(33:02):
feel like his command is just so wonky that like
it was bad last year, you know, up from the
previous year, and I don't really love that. And I
feel like there's a little bit for me, like the
command is so important because you know, with like the

(33:23):
pitchclock and you know, uh, you know, you got you
walk a guy any that's an automatic double nowadays because
of the pitchclock. So it's like it's really it's difficult,
and the division change, it's a little it's not ideal,
like the the Yankees are gonna be tough. Fenway's tough.
The oreos as we've been talking about or have gotten

(33:45):
a lot better.

Speaker 1 (33:47):
So yeah, I don't love it.

Speaker 2 (33:49):
I don't love Dylan Cees. I mean I think he's
totally fine for the Jays, Like, for real baseball, you know,
you get one hundred and one hundred and seventy five innings.
To me, like, if you can mark down one hundred
and seventy five innings from anyone, it's incredible for real baseball.
But for fantasy, I don't. I don't really love it.
I don't want to pay the price for the CA's.

(34:11):
His k's are good. The era feel like the era
could be anywhere from like, you know, three and a
half to four and a half. It's like, what am
I doing there? What am I doing with that?

Speaker 1 (34:23):
And the command is just.

Speaker 2 (34:24):
So wonky that it's like the whip, you know, like
last year one thirty three, year before was one o seven,
The year before that it was one point four two.
Like it's all You're all over the map. Man. I
can't Yeah, I can't get in on it for fantasy.
But yeah, I mean he seems like, you know, he
seems fine for real baseball. I just I think there's

(34:48):
gonna be uh, there could be some ugly games here
from him, uh in that division. So yeah, I'm not
I'm not a fan of the move for fantasy.

Speaker 1 (35:00):
Yeah, I mean, I don't think I feel one way
or the other. In regards to the move specifically, you know,
four seas. I don't think it really kills him going
from San Diego to Toronto, and regards to the park
or the team or anything like that, probably a slightly
tougher division, But he also doesn't have to face the
Dodgers quite as much, so that probably is kind of

(35:24):
a mixed there. I don't know. I've always liked CEC.
He always brings the strikeouts and I'm just a person
who enjoys chasing the strikeouts. And as you mentioned, it
was a little unlucky next last year, so I expect
the numbers to improve a little bit. I don't know
he's going like seventy five right now at that price,
I'm probably not in, But at like ten picks later

(35:48):
I can see having a lot of them. So it
just kind of depends, I think, in the on the
room that I'm in, whether he's going ahead of that
spot or falling behind a little bit. The blaj is
also brought in Cody Potts for pitching help. They signed
him for three years. He's returning from the KBO. He
was in the Japanese League before that, and he was

(36:09):
a second round pick back in twenty fifteen by Milwaukee,
just because it is somebody kind of returning. That's a
newer commodity here, Gray, Are you interested in Cody Ponts
at all?

Speaker 2 (36:22):
Yeah, I mean kind of actually, because you know, it
obviously depends on the price, but I you know, all
these guys really depend on the price. Like if Dylan
Cees was going at two hundred overall, I would be like, yeah,
what the hell. So yeah, it's really everything is really
price dependent. But yeah, Cody Ponts, I mean it looks like,

(36:42):
you know, he was terrible in the majors and then
he was continue to be terrible in Asia. He was
really he wasn't very good even with even in Japan
in twenty twenty four. But then you know, he see
it seems like he's unlocked at change and that has

(37:03):
you know, from the reports, his change looks like it
just drops off the table and he's had real good
success with it. So you know, I mean, he did
pitch really well in the kbouh he won the MVP.
His his stats in the KBO are like insane, you know,

(37:23):
one hundred and eighty innings at one point eight nine
ar a just like, you know, no one hit him
for the entire season. It appears, so I you know,
I KBO to the US when it comes to pitchers
is not Usually you shave off like three or four

(37:45):
on the k Per nine and the era usually bounced
a little bit. I mean I'm thinking, uh, Merrill Kelly
comes to mind for you know, the last real big success.
I think, uh, maybe there's another guy who I'm forgetting.
But yeah, I mean Meryl Kelly. You know, he was
there and he pitched, you know, he seemed to unlock

(38:06):
something and came back to the States and he's been
good for like, you know, five six years now, Meryl Kelly.
That is so yeah. I mean I don't think it's
a you know, it's not like, you know, just because
the guy is good in Korea means he can't succeed here.
I just think it's probably a success of like, you know,
he goes from being an ace in Korea to probably

(38:30):
you're looking at like a four or five starter, a
fourth or fifth starter in you know, the US, which
is fine. I mean, that's that's totally acceptable. If he's uh,
you know, I'm actually because of what his price could
be in drafts I could see myself having Cody Ponce
more than Dylan. See, so yeah, I'm kind of interested.

(38:53):
You know, if if the command stays, and the command
should stay, and his command was good, Cody p. Ponset
is his command was good in the KBOU, it was
a two walk per nine. So if his command stays
relatively close to that and he loses you know, four

(39:14):
on the Caper nine, then you're looking at a guy
who's right around an eight k per nine and a
two walk per nine. I mean that's kind of a
number four to number five. I mean that's that's it's
decent enough where you know, maybe I projected him for
a three nine seventy or a with a one point

(39:36):
three whip sounds I mean, it sounds about right. It
sounds about like what you would expect from a guy, uh,
you know coming over. Of course, you know the al
East is gonna be a lot better than you know
where what he was facing in the KBO. But you
know that that comes with the territory and the price
depends on its price dependent. But I think the price

(39:58):
will be okay, good enough where he's draftable.

Speaker 1 (40:03):
Yeah, I would imagine he's going to be pretty much
free until the other thing I could see is like,
if he gets to spring training and he's just just
demolishing people, he might jump up from basically undrafted to
drafted very late. That's about the only change I would
expect from him. But in regards to the changes you mentioned,
the fastball is up over two miles an hour, and

(40:24):
he can he was sitting ninety three, he can get
He was averaging ninety five and a half last year,
touching ninety seven ninety eight. As you mentioned, he developed
a change up as well as a cutter, So there
are marked changes that show why he was better last season.
Whether he can carry those over, we'll see. But it
is an interesting name to jot down for the end

(40:45):
of your you know, the end of your drafts. We've
definitely seen players come over from Japan or Korea in
half success. And as you mentioned, you're not asking him
to be a one at his draft costs. You're not
even asking him to be a five. You're asking him
to be a bench guy that maybe has value and
you can stream and if not, And it does it
look like any of the changes, how did you just
move on? Let's move over to Tampa Bay, where they

(41:10):
have Cedric Mullen there. They brought Sedgric Mullins in on
a one year deal. Last year. He had one hundred
and thirty three games, seventeen to run twenty houstone bases,
he had two sixteen. He had a twenty four percent
strikeout rate and eight ten percent walk rate. This feels
very raise and uh, he'll go back to being in

(41:30):
a platoon just like he was much of last season.

Speaker 2 (41:33):
Yeah, that's almost exactly what I was gonna say. It
seems like it seems like a real Tampa Bay Rays
type move, like Cedric Mullin. Oh, okay, and then there'll
be you know, and then he'll be like he'll play
like one hundred and thirty games, and you know, he'll
he'll have like a two war or something, and it'll

(41:55):
be like, yeah, I guess he was good for the rais,
do you know, I don't know. Yeah, I mean he's
still you know, he's still got like fifteen ish homer power,
twenty ish steel speed. The average is really bottomed out,
and you know, I worry the speed might be the

(42:15):
next thing to go. So I feel like there's a
little bit of like, you know, for an ale only guy, yeah,
for sure, like you know, forth outfield or al only,
but for mix league, I don't know. You're maybe a
fifteen team mix league flyer at the towards the end

(42:35):
of your draft, and you know, you hope that the
average like bounces back from last year at you know,
it was two sixteen last year. Hopefully it bounces back
from that, and hopefully the rest of the stuff stays
where it was. But yeah, I don't have I don't
feel like Cedric Mullins is going to save your your

(42:56):
team probably for drafting them. But yeah, you might be
okay in ale only, Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (43:05):
Yeah, And to be fair, Cedric Baldins was better in
Baltimore than he was in for the New York Mets.
So maybe there's there's hope for Peter Alonzo still to improve.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
The Rays.

Speaker 1 (43:17):
In another truly raised moved Actually that that brings up
a good point.

Speaker 2 (43:22):
We're over here like saying like like Peter Alonzo, like
have we discussed the fact that everything the Mets touch
turns to like terribleness, The fact that the fact that
he's leaving the Mets alone could be like, I mean
that alone could make like Peter Alonzo could become like
a fifty five to sixty five homewer guy.

Speaker 1 (43:46):
It might be better than going to Kors honestly, just
leaving the Mets or leaving the Rockies organization like outside.

Speaker 2 (43:52):
Of imagine the the A's or no that, let's say
the Rays. Imagine the Rays organization. But they played their
home games and cores like, oh.

Speaker 1 (44:07):
My god, man, that'd be that'd be some fun baseball
to see. I'm sure it'd be much more fun than
the current uh dinver team. That's that's for darn shore.
Gray Rays also claimed Jake Freiley off of Waivers. I'm
just gonna mention that no reason talk about it. The
Ray's just gonna do actually what everybody does with Jake Frayley,

(44:29):
So no big deal there. Moving over to the Dodgers,
of course, they went out and filled their only hole
that they have, which was closer. Uh. They brought an
M and DS three years, sixty six sixty six innings
last year, won six three e ah eight seven, went
thirty eight percent strike out rate, eight point one percent
walk rate, and so the Mets said, screw it, we

(44:50):
don't need them. We'll pay down Williams instead and let
him go to La Thanks a lot Mets and uh
quite frankly, everybody in the NL who let the Dodgers
sign anybody?

Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, no, completely, Yeah, I mean the Dodgers should not
have been allowed to sign Edwin Diaz like that, not
like not saying like the Dodgers can't sign people, but
they like other teams should have been like no, no
you can't. That's like like they like someone should have
stepped like there's twenty nine other teams, Like someone else

(45:24):
should have been like, no, we'll go a million dollars more.
Just so the Dodgers can't have the best closer in baseball.
I mean, come on, they have like the best hitter,
like the best rotation. I didn't come on, man, like
this is ridiculous. And I live fifteen minutes from Dodger Stadium,
and I think it's ridiculous. I mean it's like it's

(45:47):
so like competitive balance is just a mess right now.
It's not it's not looking good for twenty twenty seven.
Oh man, Yeah, so Edwin Diaz I think, you know,
like I like I mentioned, I think he's the best
closer in baseball. If not, I mean, he's like close
to Mason Miller, and you know he's up there. It's

(46:10):
like Mason Miller's one A and Edwin Diaz is one
B maybe, but you know it's they're very close to
each other. And yeah, Edwin Diaz is you know, probably
in line for you know, I project him for thirty
seven saves just you know, it's probably even being a
bit pessimistic. I mean, he could easily save forty five

(46:33):
games easily with the Dodgers, you know. And his k's
have been his k's have been solid, his ratio hasn't
been solid for now like his whole career basically. So yeah,
I mean, Edwin Diaz is amazing. I assuming he's healthy
all year, I don't see why he won't be either

(46:55):
the best closer or the second best closer.

Speaker 1 (46:59):
Yeah, I would. I agree with pretty much everything you said.
I mean, it seems, uh seems ridiculous they got them.
I guess the one thing in regards to the saves total,
it would be that the Dodgers do obviously have more
than just regular season aspirations, and they tend to kind
of to sit and rotate their bullpen. I don't know
if they're going to do that with Edwin Diaz, who

(47:21):
is you know, they're they paid to come in and
close everything, but that has been kind of the Dodgers
m is to spread it around a little bit. Still,
that would be my only thing. But I still think,
you know, thirty plus saves is pretty much locked in
barring health there with Edwin Diaz. You know, I accepted
my Cubs are not signing Kyle Tucker back, but like

(47:43):
we couldn't have addressed the bullpen in this in one
of these manners here that could have that could have
helped too. So thanks thanks Chicago. Love love my baseball team.

Speaker 2 (47:52):
The Chicago Cubs, and uh well a lot of teams.

Speaker 1 (47:57):
Not basically the Mets. We are becoming the Mets.

Speaker 2 (47:59):
That's yeah, I mean it's I mean it's like I
could say this probably about like twenty five to twenty
seven teams. So not to pick on the Cubs or
the Red Sox, but like the Cubs in the Red
Sox were they they kind of like they feel very similar,
and like both teams are basically printing money for any
like they could print money basically, like they could be like, oh,

(48:23):
here's season tickets are now, you know, fifteen thousand dollars?
Oh what you're not gonna pay it who cares, like
we're we'll just get someone else to pay it like that.
The Cubs in the Red Sox are such huge organizations,
like like to make money, and yet they feel like
they're low balling everything, Like it's just like what are

(48:44):
you doing? Why are you? Like why are the Red
Sox looking to trade for Sonny Gray rather than like
sign Framber Valdez or something like what are you doing?
Like you're the Red Sox? You makes you have the
Cubs too. The Cubs are the same way. It's like
the Cubs are like, oh, yeah, we weren't able to
meet the price for Devin Williams, like why he went

(49:05):
so much money? Like what ridiculous? Anyway, I think we
should talk about Sunny Gray.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
Yeah, let's go ahead and nerve on. Let's talk about
the Red Sox they bring in Sunny Gray through the
trade they send over Richard Fitz and Brandon Clark. Fitz
is a fairly solid prospect for them, had minor league
game major league experience, but Sunny Gray last year had
one hundred and eighty innings, fourteen eight record, four to

(49:32):
eight year a one two three twenty six point seven
strikeout rate, and five percent walk Sonny Gray in Boston.
What are your thoughts here? Gray?

Speaker 2 (49:44):
I feel like Sonny Gray probably couldn't have found the
worst place to be. I mean, I I've always liked
Sonny Gray. I you know, I'm like one of Sonny
Gray's big as defenders. But you know that's like, you know,
because I love k minus Walks. I mean it's like
my it's my jam. That's all I care about is
Case minus Walks. I literally don't care about anything else

(50:07):
when it comes to pictures except for Kay's might as Walks.
I mean, you know, it's a little bit of exaggeration,
but it's close to true. It's very close. And Sonny
Gray is like for Ks minus Walks. I mean, he's
like one of the best, but he really gives up,
like his babbit is this Like it's it's there's a

(50:28):
reason why his x fib is always, you know, so
much better than his e arra. It's because, like you know,
he gives up some contact and that ain't gonna be
better in Fenway. So I don't know, man, I Boston,
I will say Boston is a cheap team, but they
are usually a smart team, so I mean they might

(50:50):
they must see something with Sonny Gray that I'm not seeing. Uh,
But I'm really concerned about Sonny Gray with Fenway, I
don't think I think it's probably the worst place for
him to be with you know, the balls going off
the wall, off the monster. So yeah, I'm I'm out
on Sunny Gray.

Speaker 1 (51:08):
Man.

Speaker 2 (51:08):
I you know, I've liked him for years because of
the case might as walks, but I can't get in
on I can't get in on him being in Boston.
I just you can't sell me on it. I'm I
feel like there's a there's gonna be a serious issue there,
even though, like his stats say, he should have been
much better last year. I just I don't see it.

(51:31):
I'm I'm worried about him in Boston. So yeah, I'm
out on Sunny Gray.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
Yeah. It's gonna depend on draft costs, of course, but
I'm probably out on Sunny Gray as well. And it
really doesn't even have to do with Boston. It just
has to do with this. Stuff's been declining in the
last last two seasons. The velocity is going down, the
spin rates are going down. Everything looks worse than it has.
So I'm just I'm concerned that he's kind of fall

(52:00):
in addition to the fact that he is going to Boston,
so I'm probably out on Sonny Gray as well. I
think it's a good move for Boston. They get, you know,
a guy who's gonna give them innings, and that pitching
staff is gonna need somebody who can give them just
dedicated innings. So I understand it from Boston's point of

(52:20):
view and what they're doing for our purposes. I don't
I don't particularly love it for Sonny Gray, and I'm
with you. I don't think I'm necessarily gonna be in
on him, probably gonna be reaching for or taking some
more exciting pictures in that realm that have more, at
least in my mind, perceived upside. But of course I

(52:41):
say that in sunny Gray, I'll throw two hundred innings
of three year a ball and we'll both look terrible.
Boston also brings in Johann Oviedo. They did that with
a trade from the Pirates. They gave up Johnston Garcia.
Oviedo comes into presumably help the bullpen, but nothing really

(53:02):
changes here in regards to the bullpen, so we'll just
keep moving. They also traded Von Grissom, former Braves stand
out that we overdrafted for probably two or three seasons,
going back, traded, traded to the Angels, Boston gets back
Isaiah Jackson. This feels just uh, you know, Boston didn't

(53:25):
need him, and the Angels can use literally anybody.

Speaker 2 (53:29):
Yeah, well, the and the Angels also appel like the
guy at the table where it's like, if you don't
know who the sucker is at the table, it's probably you, Well,
it's probably the Angels, as probably the Angels. Angels have
no idea who the sucker is at the table. That's
that's what we've learned. I won't say though, back to uh,
you know, the the Pirates getting Yosti Nixon Garcia totally

(53:55):
set his name correctly. That's I mean, that could be
interesting from you know, if the Pirates play him, which
I would guess they will because you know, what else
are the Pirates doing? So yeah, I mean he had
he had real problems with his contact last year and
sort of a little bit through the minors, So there

(54:17):
could be a little bit of an average issue like
maybe he he hits like you know two twenty potentially,
so there might be that. But he does have power
and speed there could be something there, especially, I mean
we're talking NL only obviously, but I think there could
be something there for you know, possibly if he gets like,

(54:40):
you know, four hundred plus at bats and he gets
into you know, gets into May twenty homers steals, maybe
ten bags might hit two twenty. Not it's not gonna
be all it's not gonna be all great, but there
could be something there. So yeah, I mean that's someone
to keep your eye on for sure, only if nothing else.

Speaker 1 (55:03):
Yeah, good power has always been able to take a walk,
especially so obp leagues, he's gonna get a little bump,
even if the average doesn't necessarily come from come up
from where it was in the miners, I guess translate
from where from the miners to the majors. I will
say it's the pirates. So there's a better than zero
chance that they just bring in some random veteran to

(55:25):
play for two months until they bring him up. But
if they're gonna play him from from day one, I agree.
I think that's an interesting name to kind of keep
in the back of your head, especially for you l
only in deep leagues. But he may end up, you know, again,
if he plays every day they have more value than
that potentially. Yeah, moving over to Atlanta, Roberts, they bring

(55:46):
in Robert Suarez for three years. They pair him with
Ryce sel Iglesias. I assume Surez will have the lead
in the closer role to begin with. Last year he
had sixty nine innings two nine seventy or a nine
whip instruc out rate, six percent walk rate. I mean,
I think I feel like a lot of people were
really worried about Robert Suarez last season and then he

(56:09):
just pitched amazing. What are your thoughts on him moving
from San Diego to Atlanta? Is this the fall we
were thinking was coming last season? Or do you think?
Do you like this move?

Speaker 2 (56:20):
You know, it's interesting. They actually they went out and
they got Robert Suarez to a guy who everyone was
worried about last year. They paired him with a guy
who everyone's worried about this year with rossiel Iglesias. They're
the same last year it was and last year I
guess too. Yeah, it's just like, here's here's some issues
to work out. You do you guys go work him

(56:42):
out together in the bullpen. I don't you know, this
is a tough one, because, like I feel like Rossiel
Iglesias has been the closer for them. I know he
struggled last year a bit, but then he came back
and he is fine. I don't know, man, I don't

(57:02):
know Robert Robert Sworez would appear to be the closer
if you're just looking at like money wise, like why
would they go out and get him to be the setup? Man?
But I don't know.

Speaker 1 (57:19):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
This is this is a tough one. I mean, I
feel like we're gonna we don't have to wait until
the Braves like say something for like who exactly is
the closer? You know, if Walt Weiss the new the
new Braves manager, Walt Weiss who waits till thirty seconds

(57:40):
before game time to release his lineups, If Walt Weiss
makes a decision anytime before March on who the closer
will be, that'll be amazing. But I yeah, I don't know.
I don't know who the closer is here to be
totally honest. I mean we are recording this like minutes
after the swoar As, so I mean I would guess

(58:02):
it's swore As. But I also don't understand bringing back
a Glacias like I feel like this could be a
glacious until the trade deadline and then swore is maybe.
I don't know, I don't I don't know.

Speaker 1 (58:18):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (58:18):
To be honest, not enough has been said, uh for
me to really uh get a clear picture on it.
You're you're you think it's gonna be swore As though
for sure.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
I mean I think it's swore As. Just because they
went ahead and brought him in, I would assume he
comes in assuming he's the closer. Uh. He feels like
he's one of those guys like wherever he was gonna go,
he was gonna get the closer role. But then again,
maybe they just one of the maybe they were just
paying him the most. A Glacias, for whatever it's worth,

(58:50):
was just awful the first three months and then was
pretty much Christine August September.

Speaker 2 (58:57):
So they re signed him.

Speaker 1 (58:59):
So it's yeah, so I don't know, like which I
sell Iglacias we're getting or we're getting the sixty ear
a guy from.

Speaker 2 (59:08):
Troll may tricky too because there's a new manager, Like
if it was Snicker again, I'd say, for sure Glaciers,
but a new manager, maybe a new philosophy, maybe like no,
I want Robert Suarez, or it's an open competition even
in the spring. I don't know.

Speaker 1 (59:24):
Yeah, it might actually just be an open competition see
who earns it. Or maybe uh maybe a Glaciers pitches
away and Suarez pitches at home since they both had splits.
They would say that that's the way that they should go.
But who who really knows? Here, Gray, We'll keep it
our eye out for it, and we'll cover that as
we get into rankings and everything. And I'm sure if

(59:47):
you pay attention to Gray's articles as well as our
social media, you'll see different things as we get news
as well. The Braves also bring in Micah Strimsky. I
don't know if you want to say anything about him
doing that, but uh, just go ahead and mention that, no, not.

Speaker 2 (01:00:04):
Really, I mean he's fine for NL only. I feel
like he's the guy who without Like this might be
anecdotal and untrue, but I feel like I've drafted Mike
Yastremski in an NL only league every year for like
the last five years. I mean, he's so he's so
like whatever that it's like as a fifth outfielder in

(01:00:25):
NL only, it's like, nah, he plays for one hundred
and thirty games, he gives you seventeen homers, five steals,
two thirty average. I mean it's awful for Mixed league,
but for NM only it's like you could do worse.

Speaker 1 (01:00:43):
Yeah, I mean he pretty much is at one month on,
one month off.

Speaker 2 (01:00:46):
Guy.

Speaker 1 (01:00:46):
You know, he's getting old. So that's about. That's about
all I can give you is a month and he
has to take a month off. But he does have
he does have his moments of usefulness in deeper leagues
for sure. A couple of minor ones here, Gray, We'll
just throw them out there and then we can talk
about him if you want to. Harry Ford and Isaac
Leone traded to the Nationals. Seattle gets back jose A Ferrer,

(01:01:08):
the Diamondback, signed Mike Soroka. Angels spring in Alec Manoa,
and the White Sox bring in former Mets top prospect
Anthony Kay who is returning from Japan. Anything you wanted
to say about any of those moves, I.

Speaker 2 (01:01:23):
You know what, if anyone could fix Alec Manola, I'm
gonna guess it's not the Angels. That's what I'm gonna
go out on a limb. It's a I'm out on
like a limb that is basically a five hundred year
old tree in Yosemite. This limb is so sturdy. I'm like,
I'm on the most sturdy limb in the world. And

(01:01:44):
I am saying, without a doubt, I don't think the
Angels are gonna fix alc Manola. But you know what,
good luck guys. Hey, Hey, hey, Alredie, Ardie Marie. You know,
Angels owner, Hey man, I got an idea. Why don't
we bring in a guy who's been awful for the

(01:02:06):
last three years? Tell me less Man, tell me less
that's incredible. I like how you're thinking we're gonna bring
in guys who are bad. Yes, perfect, you know what.
That's why we call ourselves the Los Angeles Anaheim Angels,
because we bring in terrible players.

Speaker 1 (01:02:29):
Yeah. I mean, if we could pick organizations, Angels and
Rockies definitely at the very bottom of the pitching development.
And I don't even blame the bit of Rockies pitching development.
There's there's really not anything you do. I mean, I
should I really do right, same time, Like it's core,
So I give them a little bit of a pass
for being terrible. The Angels like they're just they're just

(01:02:52):
they're just a bad organization. It's not park related, it's
not money related. They're just they're just a terrible organization.

Speaker 2 (01:02:59):
So yeah, Alec Manoa, Alec Minola and Triple A last
year had a five walk per nine five. I mean
in Triple A where they're like, I'm gonna swing it
everything because I want to get out of Triple A's
that's what we're dealing with here with alg Manola. Yeah,

(01:03:21):
I don't know, man, maybe the Angels sees something I don't. No,
they don't, they do, they don't, They absolutely don't.

Speaker 1 (01:03:30):
Yeah, And for our game, even if Alec Manoa is fixed,
like even had his best, which by the way, was
one season, we had one season of Alcanoah being a
solid pitcher, and we still think he's gonna be a
good picture. Even at his best, he was a three
seven e ar a one of three whip was was
just phenomenal. But that was twenty four innings. Great, he

(01:03:53):
did twenty four innings of that, Like that's the best
we've ever seen from him. I guess that's not true.
That's that's he came back from a surgery. He did
obviously have two great seasons back in twenty one and
twenty two.

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
Yeah, but in that is low striking, Like even in
those seasons when he was he was legitimate great in
twenty twenty two, but like even then it was like,
I mean you could point to like a two percent
left on base, a two forty four babbit. I mean,
there was a lot of like red flags even in
his profile when he was quote unquote good. So yeah,

(01:04:28):
I don't know, man.

Speaker 1 (01:04:29):
Yeah, and the strikeouts have never been really special from
him since that point pretty much twenty twenty two dropped
to twenty three percent and it's never really gotten back
above that. So I really hope Alfanoa gets healthy and
gets back to it. I am not betting anything anything
on any odds you want to give me that it's happening,

(01:04:49):
and it's happening for the Angels.

Speaker 2 (01:04:51):
So Oritually, he's a guy who I feel like I
could see drafting him in the ale Only League in
like the free round, and then putting him on your
bench until you actually see a good start, because I
wouldn't start. I wouldn't start him out of the gate,
even if he was guarding. Yeah, I mean, even if
he were starting, which I I mean, if the Angels

(01:05:12):
start him like from the jump in April, Like, I mean,
the Angels are just such a they're such a funny team, man.
I mean it's just like, why would you a guy,
a guy who struggled in Tripa. They're like, he's oh
my god, bless.

Speaker 1 (01:05:32):
Yeah, it's it's not great. Would you rather take a
shot on him or Anthony K and the White Sox?

Speaker 2 (01:05:40):
Oh god, Anthony K for sure, man, I mean it's
Anthony K. At least. It's like he was good in Japan, right,
I mean, like I don't know, I mean, he wasn't amazing,
don't get me wrong. I mean he still had like
he couldn't really strike out anyone in jam but at

(01:06:00):
least he had a one to seven four era in Japan, Like,
I mean, I don't know, Yeah, taking Anthony KA all day.

Speaker 1 (01:06:09):
Yeah, man, he was, you know, a former very highly
talented prospect as well. People, not that Alec Banoa wasn't.
That's that's probably unfair. But Anthony K. The Mets really
loved him, uh and that just uh that turned out
how everything the Mets love turned out poorly, uh and
then it left them. So that's that's pretty much the

(01:06:30):
Mets mantra. Now, if you have any questions or you
want us to talk about anything specific as we get
into positional rankings, you can find us on x I'm
at rasbeat on Gray is of course the owner of
the at rasball count. You can come to YouTube dot
com slash Rasballfantasy, leaf comments out there, and of course
you can go to rasball dot com and leave comments there.

(01:06:50):
Subscribe to us wherever you listen to your podcast or
on YouTube, and we'll talk to you when we get
back into positional rankings at again, probably the middle January,
and we are going to plan on doing one or
two per week so that we can try and get
that done earlier. We did hear the thoughts from last year,
so we're gonna try and get those done earlier, and

(01:07:12):
we'll have some spring training talk and everything leading up
to the season. Great, I'll see you in about a month.
And have a good Christmas. Well Christmas out there listeners.

Speaker 2 (01:07:22):
Great, you have a good honky things, Happy New Year,
all right. See it leads