Welcome to the Baseball Insiders. Happy to be with you on this Monday. I am Adam Weiner
joined as always by fans. It's MLB Insider Robert Murray and as I see in the comments, yes,
this is the week that the MLB off season actually begins, believe it and you can achieve
it. Uh Shout out to everyone joining us already today, but perhaps most prominently,
certainly most prominently Robert Murray. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being
alive. Thank you for uh still being active and upright after your weekend away. Uh How
are you doing, man? I'm uh I'm not operating at 100% for sure. I spent four days in Vegas
and let me tell you that was uh it was an adventure. I would, I would never recommend
spending more than like two or three days in Vegas, but I was there for one of my best
friends, bachelor party, so I had to suck it up, but I had a great time off season, still
doing its thing. I do anticipate comic things being kind of right here that this might be the
off season that it actually heats up or that might be the week that it finally heats up. Let
me rephrase that. Um But before we dig into that, Adam Winder, how are you? I'm doing well.
I, I saw some, uh we're gonna get to the All Star questions in a bit. Of course, the All
Star only Zoom is tomorrow night five o'clock Eastern time. Uh, reiterating that that will
also be recorded. Of course, if you can't make it had a couple of people be like, I'm gonna be
five minutes late. All good. You can be five minutes late. You could be seven hours late and
watch it on replay, but we got you covered. Um Gonna get to some of those questions in a bit.
Couple of early questions. Where is my dog? Ok . After again, ingesting marijuana last week,
100% you would never know little guys back to normal. I'm gonna do a uh I'll do a dog cameo
by end of show. I'd probably be waking him up a little bit, but when we're getting ready to
wrap it up, I'll go grab him uh during the final ad read, you guys can go look at him and
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why don't you hit that join button? Become a member of the baseball insiders either at the
rumor mill level where you get access to a private conversation between shows with Robert
and myself or at the all-star level where you get priority questions in the stream, private
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more access, more face time seeing a lot of you all stars and rumor mill members here in
the comments, as always faithful audience members, you show up even when my dog doesn't
and uh shout out to All Y'all, but I'd recommend you join that Discord, of course and
comment on the video if you can't figure out the particulars, our producers will help talk
you through it. No, that is exactly right. I, I I'll tell you like the Discord is, is
something that I was even active in while I was in Vegas, which um yeah, I'm a dedicated
guy to the Discord. I like giving people the scoops, like answering questions, like doing
all sorts of different stuff like that. So I could not recommend you that more. Uh You'll be
the most informed fan in baseball. Um And yeah , I'll tell you, I think this is, I think we're
finally gonna get some action this week and I know of a few things that are starting to move
in a particular direction. So that's kind of a nice thing for sure. Uh Should we, we want to
get start with this Mr Win? What do you think? I think we should get going. Uh And well, I
wanted to talk about trade candidates first because we obviously have a couple of deals to
run through. Uh last episode, we did an update on the stagnant markets of Jordan Montgomery
and Blake Snell, both of whom were, have been non participatory in this off season so far. Um
we're gonna obviously get to some of the relievers who did move last week, including the
biggest name on the market in Josh Hater as well as a potential inevitable fit down the
line. But the trade market is, is, is sort of a lot of people are scorning the free agent
market. Like why, why are we not saying why are 20 of the 50 MLB trade rumors based for
agents not moving? You know, why, why are we stuck here? I would add that the trade market
has also been similarly stuck. We heard tell of Corbin Burns Dylan CS Willie Adamus, Shane
Beaver even down to Lazaro Emmanuella, Luis Ara and the rest of the Marlins rotation, we
were sort of, you know, at least flagged the possibility of a bunch of Blockbuster trades
this off season. It feels like either these names are being taken off the market entirely
or taken off and reserved for mid season. So I guess to begin this conversation, where is the
trade market at right now? Or are any of these names still even being considered? Or have they
mostly been pulled off uh the market? And if this isn't moving, then what is? Yeah. So
to, to first answer the question that is in the chat, yes, I do have a Stanley. Um I I
ended up getting that it was a Christmas present for my girlfriend. So that was uh
that's the explanation behind that. But as far as the trade market goes, it is moving at a
relatively like slow pace. And if you look at guys like Corbin Burns and Dylan C, I
anticipate them, look burns. I think Burns is very, very likely going to start this season
with the Brewers sees you can never rule out a trade, but I think it's trending toward a
direction where it's probably unlikely this off season. Then you look at some other guys,
Willie A Thomas. The Brewers have signaled to certain people that Adamus, they plan on having
him on the opening day roster, which lines up with what Matt Arnold ended up telling us at
the, at the GM meetings, uh and the winner meetings as well. Um Then you look at the
Cleveland Guardians. They are one of the more intriguing teams here as far as potential trade
pieces. And you look at Shane Bieber and you look at Emmanuel Clase, you, I think, I think
Bieber has a very, very, very good shot of remaining in place. I don't anticipate him
being traded clause. You can never really rule out because the demand for relief pitching is
so great. But what do teams love more than anything? They love cheap relief pitching and
like you can get that on the free Asia market and you can also get that in a trade here with
the Guardians, but he's under club control for a few years. He is also signed very cheap and
that's gonna make him a very, um, it's gonna make him an expensive trade target for a lot of
these teams. So it could be tough to pull off a trade. I anticipate him staying in place
despite interest, can I, I would not rule out a trade though? I think that one, um, has more
of a shot than the other players that I've listed, but I still anticipate him staying in
place. But what the common denominator here basically is that the trade market, at least
names that have been mentioned publicly is moving at a really slow pace and it's gonna
make for a very frustrating off season. It's gonna make a, a frustrating off season even
more frustrating. And there's one potential wild card here. I think it could be the Miami
Marlins and as John Hayman ended up writing like they're open to anything and everything
involving the trade market that includes um basically anyone not named Sandy ALCA and Yuri
Perez, uh like Luis Araz is surely gonna be someone that teams are interested in, don't
think he's gonna end up getting, getting traded. Um And I was told an extension there is
really, really unlikely, um at least at this point. So it's gonna, the Marlins could end up
being a team where I mean, they got the starting pitching depth where they could trade
like a Cabrera type and they can overcome that for sure. I don't think uh Jesus Lazaro is
particularly likely either. I think he's, he's very, it's very likely he's going to start the
season in Miami. Basically, this is my long winded version of saying, don't expect much
trade activity, at least for the names that we just mentioned. I'm certainly not. Uh I've,
I've grown to expect next to nothing. Um I mean, I don't know why there is a sort of a
look if you're monitoring this from a Yankees perspective, I think it was in Ken Rosenthal's
notes this morning that said the Marlins, like you said, are interested in dangling Edward
Cabrera and want a shortstop in return. Uh Well, guess the Yankees know that the Marlins
know that the Yankees have ods Parazzo, but there has trade there yet, which would indicate
those two ties are not interested in exchanging those assets with one another. And
uh so that leaves you with Perrera sort of dangling, but I can't figure out the fit. It
would make perfect sense that he'd go somewhere, the other names being held until the
deadline because there will be increased competition then and teams will know more about
their place in the standings at that juncture. So we had grand designs, but the Brewers have
no interest in moving off to enormous assets. Now, when they could very well be competing for
a wild card or the central by the time July rolls around and if not, there they go. No.
Exactly. And I'll tell you if I was a Brewers. That's a really difficult position here and it
is, I mean, you want to compete, but also the fact that you have
two of the most valuable guys in the trademark and you could even argue three. And Corbyn
Burns, William Thomas and Devin Williams, I would like, I firmly anticipate burns leaving
as a free agent and if you end up letting him go and only getting like a qualifying offer in
return or like or a draft pick in return. Um That's tough. I mean, you can still get a like
a meaningful piece or two at like at the deadline, but it still wouldn't be what the
hall is um or what it would be for right now. And sports fan I see you asking here about, I
was gonna ping. Yeah, I was gonna ping. Yeah, like, yeah, I've seen you ask this a few times
in the last couple of minutes um to risk the ball. Um That's the thing here is that with the
starting pitching market so limited with options, you can make the case. Well, actually
let me, I wanna, boy, I don't, I don't know the answer to this. Honestly. I, I genuinely
don't but if they want to get creative and the trade market, so like it's so limited, you,
they can possibly get creative there and listen and see what's out there. But um I can't
say I've heard anything there. Well, uh I feel like this is the contention year or at least
the wild card contention year for the Tigers. So I too would be surprised if they decided to
cut bait on someone who I think many agree if they do make that leap is gonna be a core part
of that. So I would make perfect sense. They would keep that situated, at least to begin the
season. You can't just reload every off season at some point. You have to keep the assets. No.
Exactly. And like the moves that they made so far, like they've indicated that they want to
compete. And if you end up, like another thing too is that, um, when you hire a guy like AJ
Hinch, you can't be in rebuilding mode forever . And Scott Harris is someone who is extremely
highly thought of throughout the industry. And like they're getting the Tigers, it's like,
it's, that organization was in a bad spot when they inherited that team from Ala Vila. Like,
let's make that abundantly clear. Um, but they're doing a good job in getting themselves
out of there, uh, out of that spot into a better position. And I anticipate being a big
part of that. And that's why I would be surprised if they moved out from him,
especially because if you look, I'm looking right now, he is a free agent in 2027. He's
controllable. He's cheap. That's the kind of guy you, you keep and build around and not just
ship off. I would tend to agree and, and again , AJ Hinch too professional, a manager to just
deal with this last place team for, for too long. Um, before we move on to a couple
specific names and questions, uh, none of these names are gonna get traded before a big
day most likely without with a guardian sort of being in the, I don't, what quadrant of the
pie would you say like 20% 15%? Who knows? Um We've heard a little bit about the mid tier
starting pitching market waking up a little bit. Also, the relievers, we have hard Evans of
that at the end of last week. Um What areas are you monitoring this week? Next week? If you
think things are waking up a little bit? Yeah, I think it's gonna continue to be a run here on
relief pitching and I think it's gonna be in a run on starting pitching. And uh I think some
of the mid tier names kind of like a, a hinge and RYU or James Paxton or an Alex Wood or
names like that. Um I think those are, those could be ones to watch here um in the coming
week or two and relief pitching, there's plenty of different players on the market
besides like even with Josh Hater and Robert Steve Stevenson off the board. Um I, I think
there's plenty of good options that are out there. I think one that is really kind of
underrated, at least nationally is Keenan Middleton. He is someone that I think, uh,
especially last year, he really showed a lot and he's gonna end up being, um, I think he
could end up getting a pretty nice multiyear contract here for agency and there has, in fact,
as has been reported, uh, there's been conversations with, with the Yankees in regards
to Middleton, but I am told nothing is close there. Um But he is someone that is on their
radar along with like a guy like Hector Naris. Um Although I don't know that I don't know
where that that one stands, but as far as Naris because I mean, the Astros were involved
there for sure. Um But I can't imagine they're gonna be in now that they have Josh hater. I
know we're gonna be diving into the hater thing in a little bit. Um The rangers have
interest but they're also, I'm told looking at other relievers in addition to Naris. So that
is, I mean, there's plenty of options there so like it's, but the the market is flush with
options and I would anticipate those guys um really being like or those particular markets
being the ones that are the most active in the next week or two here. I liked Middleton
himself. Uh sort of, he put up a picture of him in the Yankees hat on Instagram with the
caption like mood and some Yankee fan was like you signed with the Yankees and his response
was no. So uh yeah, yeah, another, another thing that I enjoyed too is like Middleton
posted that picture that there was fans on Twitter acting like they had sources saying
that it was happening and it's like, and then you check on it and like you're, you're told no,
like, what are you talking about? And I'm like , yeah, it's, it's, yeah, people who pretend to
have sources like that is pretty funny. I enjoy that. But um yeah, it's, it's crazy,
crazy, crazy or a crazy state of the of what these times are, I guess, you know. Yeah, my
source is for to be fair, Kenya Keenan Middleton's Instagram story is my source most
of the time. So sometimes I'm like, hey sources say Kenan Middleton's having a nice
dinner and it's immediately confirmed by checking Kenan Middleton's Instagram story. Um
Let's uh let's let's go, let's go into the hater stuff a little bit because we did get uh
I mean quite likely the biggest bullpen move of the off-season, you have to imagine. No
one's gonna top the largest present day value for any reliever. So Josh hater probably gonna
walk away with that crown at the end of the year. He goes to Houston, the Astros make a
splash move after losing Kendall Graveman for the year and Phil Maton probably Naris uh to
free agency. They lost a lot of innings in that bullpen, but they didn't lose any pedigree.
They got a bre you Ryan Presley and Hater now lined up Robert Stevenson, who we heard a lot
about as a dark horse candidate to really get paid, got three years, 33 million from the
Angels. Uh, and that's an arm, you know, laugh at the Angels all you want, but that's an arm.
The Dodgers coveted, that's an arm. A lot of top teams coveted. Uh, you just had to spend a
couple of minutes in the discord to see people sending Robert Stevenson to their teams. Uh
What's the industry appraisal of these two relatively large relief deals? Obviously, one
is seismic. He doesn't beat Edwin Diaz in total value, but he beats him in present day
value. And the other is a guy who you tell me last off season, Robert Stevenson is getting
third, $3 million. I ask if there's a Robert Stevenson. I've never heard of who isn't the
reliever because I don't get that at all and it made sense. It did. Oh, absolutely. And like
to start with hater. Um, he was, he was always going to try to beat Edwin Diaz's deal and in
terms of present day value, he beat that and he ended up getting 19 million a year, which is
a really, really strong deal. Um, he also got a no trade clause in it too. No
options. It was, it was, uh, uh to me it was a really strong contract and I remember as soon
as the news came out that hater was going to the Astros, it was instant praise um for the
player uh and the deal because getting $19 million for a leaver, especially on a five year
contract, damn damn good deal. And if they have other agents praise that deal, um says a
lot about it, but I think this deal was particularly done because of the astros'
desperation for a reliever because they ended up losing Kendall Graveman most likely for the
remainder of the season and they needed to do something and they were in on Hector Neris, but
hater was always a player that they wanted and the deal got done like that because it was
about five days before that, I had heard hater was nowhere close to signing and all of a
sudden the night before the deal happens, you hear it's, it's at the goal line and I, I was
told it was first in goal at the 10 and ultimately a deal ended up getting done and
the Astros they needed to make a move. They ended up getting hater who is, he's in the
conversation at least statistically to be the best reliever in baseball history like that is
how good he has been. And I know people are gonna say, well, what about Trevor Hoffman?
What about Mariano Rivera? I'm not forgetting those guys, I promise. But if he continues at
this pace. He's gonna end up being in that conversation and I'm told now that he has a
long term deal, he's gonna be open to different usage and that could end up being
multi innings. I mean, he's gonna, he like, publicly, at least I think if I remember
correctly what Dana Brown said, they're gonna use him like they're still gonna figure out
what role Presley is gonna end up being in or what role hater is gonna be. But if you're
paying a guy $19 million he's gonna, he's gonna have the ninth inning and I think this is
finally gonna be the time where he ends up going more than one inning, uh, if he's needed.
So, um, good signing for, for Hater, good signing for the Astros and Good deal all around,
uh, for Hater who's now the highest paid reliever in baseball history, at least from a
present day value. And that was a long winded answer for Josh Hader. Um, Robert Stevenson
deal. That was another one where I had other, other agents and other teams reach out and
they're just, they were impressed by that $11 million annual average value. Um, to me
for the, for the Angels, this signals the first of a bunch of moves that are yet to come.
I like I would not rule out a Bellinger or a smell type like they have
sniffed around that market for sure. I still am of the belief that it's unlikely. And, but I
have said it continually on this show that it depends on how Artie Moreno wakes up that
certain day. He is as unpredictable of an owner as possible. But he is also a guy that
likes the big move and those would be two big moves or, well, let me, let me rephrase that
they're not getting both. I want, they're, they're not getting both. Um, but yeah, like
the, the angels and I'm getting questions and you're asking what exactly they're looking at.
They're looking at starting pitching, they're looking, they've looked at relief pitching and
now they got it with Stevenson. They got, they're looking at uh infield help. They are
looking at um outfield help like you wanna know who I think could be of interest to them
like this is just, I wonder if like they, they could use some more infield depth. I wonder if
a guy like Joey Votto would make sense there. I wonder that, you know, I still think that
whoever gets Vato and whoever gets Brandon belt, you're gonna be looking at yourself in
June being like, I'm glad we did that. That makes sense. Like there are a lot of
interesting free agents still available and a lot of energy is being paid to the Bellinger
Snells and Montgomery who aren't signing yet, but there are guys in this mid tier who are
gonna make significant differences. JD Martinez, Justin Turner Reese Hoskins. Uh shout
out to Jr the kids 77 seven, our all star chat too for asking about the angels next steps. So
we addressed that I was about to if we hadn't. Uh But another great question from the All
Stars in the Discord uh was about that mid tier. Uh Josh asked do quote unquote lower tier
Boris clients like Reese Hoskins wait until Bellinger and Chapman sign. Uh I think there's
a lot to be mined from that so called lower tier. And I think a team like the Mets that
keeps getting thrown into the comment section here uh by our Gny Mets report guy grant. Um
They're probably gonna need a DH and there are plenty of effective DH options to be peruse
through Mets Brewers. Uh Perhaps the Reds will be looking, the Padres should be looking. What
do you think about these lower tier free agents quote unquote? Uh The Cubs that's a
Hoskins team. Uh Are those guys waiting around ? Yeah, I think my, my
guess is a guy like Hoskins signs before Bellinger. Um I Bellinger to me is screams a
guy who is going to be on the market come February. Um that could change depending on
if a team gets desperate because we just saw what ended up happening here with Josh hater
and the Astros like the Astros got desperate and instantly put their foot on the gas pedal
to try to get that deal done. But I think Hoskins ends up signing before Bellinger. I
think we're gonna end up seeing some, some DH movement here for sure. Um, I, I know we've
talked about on the show. I mentioned Jorge Soler and what his market could look like that
involves the Blue Jays. Uh, the Diamondbacks have been involved there. Um, I had mentioned
the Mets, I don't know where they, that stands now. Uh, because I saw Andy Martino who was
very plugged in with the Mets say that they have around like $10 million more to spend, uh
this off season and, and, or to add to the peril, I should say, and he's gonna command a
contract that's gonna be more than that. So where I'm talking, so that could make it
unlikely that just me dot Connecting or whatever. Um Not me firmly reporting anything.
I just wanna make that clear uh for all the aggregators out there. Um But now at the time
in the show, when I search your Twitter handle to see which aggregators are watching today.
That's one of my favorite parts of the show. So I'm doing it now. Yeah, because I'll tell
you like I'm getting, uh, I'm, I'm getting notifications. I mean, MLB Deadline News, he's
an avid watcher of the show. He loves to aggregate it. He does it the right way though.
I will, I will say that he's of all the aggregators out there. That guy does it the
best so shout out to whoever runs that account . Um but the, the DH markets gotta see some
movement. I mean, as far as like, I mean, the solar types or if we go to other hitters, I
mean, Adam Duval, I don't like, I don't believe that signing is close. Uh despite some
indications publicly otherwise, I don't think that's close. Um but uh I,
I think based on my conversations with other people around the league, II, I think it's
gonna be in a pretty active week or next two weeks and then leading up into spring training,
there's certainly going to be players that are , that are on the market. Come on, pitchers and
catchers report for sure. Um, but II, I think we're gonna see a good amount of movement here
in the next 14 to 21 days. It's very funny because I think we've, I've been conditioned at
least for January to be about this slow. Like this feels like a normal January. I mean,
December was the jarring month where I was like, shit always goes down like where, where's
the, where's the shit? I'm like looking around over my shoulder, January, this feels normal,
but then again, look at the sheer volume of talent that still remains unsigned and it only
feels normal because in a normal off season, it might be this slow, but this, uh, this was
not a normal November or December. And so we are left with a big pile the questions not to
even be reductive about it. But the questions that are like, are, are some of these guys
gonna be unsigned when spring training starts? People are reporting to spring training in less
than three weeks. Like people, people gonna be unsigned into March. Uh, you would have to
think and, and significant names. Yeah, there is definitely gonna be people that are on
signed, come, come pitchers and catchers reporting time and it's, this has been a really
frustrating off season and the fact that it's just been so slow, like I get everyone who's
been frustrated here. Um, but I'll tell you, it's, it sucks. This is a tough one but, uh,
like, especially considering we have probably what, 30 of the top 50 guys that are still
unsigned in terms of free agency. Like there's , there's gotta be movement at some point and I
think, I think based on my conversations early on there is going to be, there's going to be
movement. But, um, man, I, I'm just curious, like it's a matter of just how many players are
on signed income pitchers and catchers reporting like it's, they're not all going to
be signed by then. Um, and we're gonna end up seeing some stuff happen. But, um, during
spring training. But man, oh man, I, I cannot remember an off season ever like this and it
just, yeah, it's just where we are right now, you know, even the teams that have done the
most like the Dodgers. I mean, we, we see the comment section asking they, they still need
1/5 starter. Walker Bueller is not going to start the season there. It could be internal.
They have plenty of top prospects there and I've accidentally misspoke on a show once and,
and tried to minimize the impact of the top prospects. It's not that, I don't think they're
good. It's just that, you know, they've all already been shopping like crazy. I would have
looked, I would have thought they would go external to start the season. Uh, and in the
All Star chat, we had Dodgers fans asking about the relief market, about Tanner Scott,
about Jacob Junis. Like, are the Dodgers still in on these top options that that comes from
punk rock, Poppy? Who please never change your screen name because I always want to say you on
this show. Keep it that forever. I wanna say that myself. Yeah, they, I can't, to me, I
can't anticipate them being in the market for like the top, top, top names here. I think it's
gonna end up being something where, um, they, they like, they have to like, that's the thing
is they have to add though to that rotation to me. They still have to add it to the bullpen
and like they could still use, I mean, they could still use like some other players on
offense too. Like, so the Dodgers to me should not be done. But I think the just the impact of
guys that they add isn't gonna be to the caliber of what they ended up doing this early
this off season. That being said, that being said, I do wonder like with all the moves
they've made like this off season and added it to the roster. So from what it was last year,
there's players who are going to want to be in L A and I wonder if they could take less to go
there because we saw it last year with Nelson Cruz. He ended up siding with Padres for $1
million which he had offers elsewhere that was going to pay him a lot more, um, or a decent
amount more. I think a lot more is probably stretching it there. Um, but I wonder if that
could end up being the case here for the Dodgers, but they're gonna add, but just, I
would not think it's gonna be the high end market here, uh, either. Yeah. Well, I mean,
it's not like they haven't, they haven't done enough in the high end market. But, uh, yeah,
there, there is 1.3 bill on the guys. I mean, I think you're, um, I think you, you, you, you
have the right to not spend on the rest of the , the high end market for the rest of the off
season. Yeah. Where have you guys been? Hey, aggregators Aggregate this. I'm calling out the
dos I demand, they spend more money in the high end market, help somebody out give Cody
Bellinger his next deal. Um There was some, there was some loose, we got a lot of Cubs
people I know on the show. So I, I mean, there was some loose speculation. Mark Feinstein had
a column run this weekend that said there is quote, widespread belief within the industry.
Bellinger and the Cubs reunite um inevitable might feel strong. But while we talk about that
fit, uh we talked about Jordan Montgomery and the Rangers just circling each other last week
on the show are Bellinger and the Cubs still circling each other at this point. Or could a
team a man like Artie Moreno, could somebody step in and, and you know, put a wrench in the
relationship or is that another situation where it's being held up? Just because so I, I
saw the report that a reunion is like inevitable between the, the Bellinger and the
Cubs. But like that's the thing is if it was inevitable, wouldn't it have happened already?
Like the clearly the Cubs don't want to pay what Bellinger is asking for. And that's the
reason he's still on the market. And when a player lingers on the market for this long,
like nothing is inevitable. And they could, there could be a team like the Angels that
Hopson, there could be another team that gets desperate and wants him there could, there's
just a lot of different factors and I think saying anything is inevitable is a really
dangerous game to play. Um, but that being said, like a reunion between Bellinger, the
Cubs makes a whole lot of sense because the Cubs need to add to that offense, they need to
add to that line up because where it is right now and what the state of that team as is its
lesser than what it was last year. And I know the Cubs are really high on what Craig Cosell
can do for that team and how he can end up maximizing that roster, but he needs high end
players to get them from a, like a playoff team in order to a World Series team.
And that's why I think they're gonna, that's why I think they're gonna be one of the more
aggressive teams for the remainder of the off season, but nothing is inevitable. Um And
there's a lot of things that that team can still figure out like Jed Hoyer, contrary to
popular belief is not sleeping. Um, he is maintaining conversations with teams, he's
maintaining conversations with agents and he's seeing what's out there, but he is not going to
overspend. He is going to do deals that are right for the Cubs. We've seen that early on so
far. He operates in silence Cubs fans. I'm telling you remain patient, Jed Hoyer is not
done, um, which is maybe taken a little bit longer than a lot of people would hope I would
be remiss. I think I'm gonna ask before we sign off for you to just open up the notebook
and anything I forgot to address we'll get to, but we are getting some Yankees questions. And,
uh, bizarrely enough, there was also a little tidbit in that fine sand column that said the
Yankees Stroman offered to Blake Snell was the only offer that has been presented to Blake
Snell so far. That feels like a question of semantics. But it does have my Yankee fan
friends being like, are we the only team in on Blake Snell? Uh There's no way because I would
say that the Yankees probably aren't even in on Snell at this juncture. The fact that they
couldn't come to a conclusion there or a midpoint is the reason behind the Marcus Roman
Fit. But is that commensurate with what you've been hearing? And, and if he has received other
offers, where are they coming from? And what, what are you smelling in that market? Yeah,
there's, um, as far as smelling in the snow market, what are you smelling out there? Yeah.
Well, so basically I saw what, what was reported there that the Yankees are the only
team that has made an offer. I cannot confirm that on my end, but I do know there has been
interest elsewhere in Snell. It's just the, I think the big hold up at this point is the, the
price. And if that comes down at all, then, you know, Scott Boris's agent, he is not a guy
who typically moves his asking price down. Um, it could, it could keep teams hesitant to
end up going to that price. But, um, there's other teams that are involved in the snow
market besides the Angels or be besides the, uh, the Yankees. I mean, sorry, that was, uh,
miss speaking, that wasn't me accidentally sharing some info. Um But no, that was just me
misspeak, but there's more teams that are involved in the snow market. I just can't
confirm the, the amount of offers that he's gotten there. Um But as far as uh I'll just go
through some comments here in the chat here are the pirates close to any deals. No. Um Let
me get that aggregated. I want that aggregated . That's what it does. And like, I think this uh
not at all. Not even a little more. I, sorry, I had to do it. But yeah, that answer to that
is no uh any news in Mike Clevenger's market. Uh Nothing close as far. Let's see. How many
Montgomery to the Red Sox are we talking? Um I'm assuming you're talking about Jordan,
Montgomery. I don't know if any, I mean, maybe Mike Montgomery. Um and Benny. Oh, good, good
shot. I forgot about Coulson. But as far as Jordan, I, I think that price is gonna be too
high for the Red Sox unless it comes down. Uh especially considering the owners comments most
recently that is not an encouraging sign for the amount they're gonna spend this off season.
So I would get your, I would not get your hopes up there. Um Let's see, I'm gonna keep
going through, through the comments here. Um See Greinke back to
KC. Um I mean, I, he likes it in Kansas City. I'll, I'll say that I just don't know
how much, how much more the, the Royals have to spend and they did just add two starting
pitchers in Seth Lugo and Michael Walker. So the need for a guy like that is lesser, but he
likes it in Kansas City, Kansas City likes him . So I guess you can't rule anything out there.
Um, when is the Stevenson deal going to be announced? Uh I don't think it'll be too long.
Um I mean, I think the physical is coming in pretty shortly. Um Let's see, Brewers in the DH
market, I think. So, what I do know about the Brewers is that they've shown
interest in Gary Cooper, they have shown interest in Carlos Santana. They have been
looking at first basement types. Um I haven't heard of any traction there but that is
there. There's certainly poking around in that space there for sure. Uh Blake Snell to the
Yankees. I don't think that's particularly likely it's official. Blake just texted me that
he and Keenan Middleton are on Keenan Middleton's Instagram story and they locked
down. They're both having a nice dinner. Boy, I wonder what they're having for dinner. Uh, uh
Mets relief pitching targets. Um, Aroldis Chapman was reported, I think it's gonna,
they're gonna probably go in a different direction. Um, but, um, that is Chapman is
someone that they like and they've had con they had conversations with Brent Suter. So
clearly they're looking for, um, clearly they're looking for a left handed reliever for
the Mets and I would anticipate them adding one. I just don't know which one. Jacob Z is
saying, eat the message bud. Uh Jacob Z Canyon owns you. Uh So just don't forget that because
Canyon absolutely owns you and now, so do I, so there you go. Uh Let's see. Uh Red
Sox in general just don't get your hopes up there. Uh Fernando Rodney, um maybe he wants to
get back in major league baseball, but I can't anticipate that being particularly likely. So
there we go, Padres news, uh Preller sleeps job. Well done. I mean, this is, that's about
what a powerhouse plow through the comments there. I was like, I was just gonna give you
like, yeah, let's do some Red Sox chat and well, you call it a name and you just address.
It's, that's what we call fan service right there from the one and only Robert Murray.
There you go. We gotta do it. That's, um, yeah , that's, that's what we do here at the Baseball
insider. We give the people what they want. We , um, we give them answers and we tell Jacob Z
that I own him. So, by the way, Grant, I appreciate that because Tyler o'neill is
absolutely jacked. Um, I am not the size of Tyler o'neill, but I have gotten Mike Soroka
before I've gotten that from probably about five different people that I look like him. So
um between Soroka and Tyler o'neill, that's a pretty good combo. I'll take that. Yeah, I've
never gotten anybody. I used, I used to get Tyler hand bro in college, but it's been a long
time. So if anybody has a look alike for me, uh drop it off in the comments, comment, uh if
you want to get it, if maybe get in the discord and then drop it off. I could use one
even if it's somebody who I look at and like, yeah, like that guy, I would still enjoy
hearing it from you. Uh become a member if you aren't yet join the Discord at either the rumor
mill tier or the All Star Tier. Come in here and uh drop off a drop off your questions.
We'll have a private All Star Zoom. We've got one coming up on Tuesday, January 23rd 5 p.m.
leading right into the Hall of Fame election announcement. Who do you got in your Hall of
Fame class by the way Robert, I think, um, if it were up to me, I'd put all four of the top
dudes in. I put Beltre Mauer, Helton Wagner in there and I think Carlos Beltran should be in
this year too, but he's not gonna be. Andrew Jones is not going to be, and I think Wagner is
gonna miss it by like, three votes. I think Wagons gonna miss it by like a crazy number and
then he gets in next year, but I don't know what your take is there. Yeah, I'll be honest,
I have not done a lot of research on the Hall of Fame stuff. I take way too much. I've been
like refreshing the spreadsheet like a crazy person. Yeah, I'll tell you, I, I typically I
stay away from it. It's, there's so many people who get so worked up over it. I just
decided to stay out of it. So that's, um, yeah , I, what, what is his name? Uh, that does the,
the Hall of Fame tracking. Yeah, Ryan Thibodeau. Not Mr Tibs. Just a public service.
An unmatched public service guy the best. Yeah , he's, uh, yeah, he's as good as it gets. I
could not recommend more following him. Uh, especially for Hall of Fame stuff, but I'm, I'm,
I'm staying out of it. I'm, I'm staying out of it. Today's show is, of course, always
internally sponsored by joining the Discord. Also sponsored, as I said earlier by Draftkings.
The code is baseball insider gets you 100 and 50 in bonus bets. If that, if you put that $5
1st bet on anything, you instantly claim the bonus bets. You get a separate no sweat, single
game parlay every single day when you opt in as long as you are a new user. So get in there
in time for the conference championship games. Sorry, Bills fans. Should I go bring the dog in?
Should I say farewell with the dog? I, I feel like I probably should. I think you absolutely
should. Yeah, give me, give me five seconds. Yeah, we, we need, we need the puppy here. But
hey, while, while Adam is doing his thing there, appreciate everyone who's tuned in to
the Baseball Insiders here and Yeah, Canyon, you, you do own Jacob. Don't let him tell you
otherwise. Um But hey, while Adam is doing his thing here, has anyone got any questions for me?
I'll answer some more. We got any questions when you,
yeah, when, when you hear that, uh you got a little, a little guy who's uh you know, the
face of marijuana consumption in this country. Um This is who you're talking to. So everyone
would be very careful when you utilize substances, whether they are legal or otherwise.
Um And, and Biscuit has told me that he is in on Cody Bellinger. So the market has gotten 11
dog deeper. There you go. That's, that's what Bellinger turns out he does have a market after
all with, with, with your puppy being in there so that we like that. It's, it's always a good
thing. We appreciate you all. Uh Thanks for checking in on the dog. Of course, shout out to
the All Stars. Join us next uh show. That'll be Thursday. But if you're in the All Star call,
that'll be tomorrow and recorded for posterity . Yes, Jacob Z Biscuit owns you. Uh Shout out to
everybody for dropping by as always robust crowd today despite very little movement after
the hater news. But hopefully we get some fun ones coming up soon. Uh for Robert Murray, I am
Adam we but Robert, we can't do this show without you. So I thank you for rallying and
showing up and being great today as always. Yeah, I appreciate you. I appreciate everyone
who's tuned in and I like, I want to just address this one question before we go. Um
hurricane rain. Uh can, can I genuinely say any deal is close? I wouldn't say close,
but I know of a few that are starting to progress. So I'll, I'll, I'll give that much.
And if you, I'll tell you, I this is my incentive to join the Discord right now. If you
end up joining the Discord, I will put in there when this player is close to signing. Um
could not like it'll be on there before anything is public. So you will be literally
the most informed fan at baseball. Just join the Discord. That's, that's your incentive to
join. But I appreciate everyone who's tuned in . I'm glad biscuit is ok. Now, um, Adam, well,
I'll see you tomorrow in the, uh, in the All Stars chat and Thursday. Wait, I think we got a
show Thursday. Don't wait, Adam, I think we do . I think we do. I believe we do. Let's go, baby.
Well, I'll see everyone then who's not in the All Star chat on Thursday then. Yes, sir.
That's how it's done for Robert Murray and biscuit. I am Adam Weiner but we will see you
later in the week. Turn your notifications on take care everybody. Thank you everybody.