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00:00Just Baseball coming your way in 30 minutes exclusively here on SportsGrid.
00:04Let's check in with one of the hosts, Aram Layton from JustBaseball.com.
00:08You can read more about everything happening in baseball's hot stove right now and get the analysis there as well.
00:13Aram, happy holidays. Of course, thanks for coming on the show. Appreciate it.
00:16Let's start off with the big story of the day in baseball.
00:19The Chicago White Sox making two free agent signings.
00:23Wow, not just one in the last 24 hours.
00:25First, they signed Udikawa Murakami for two years, reportedly about $25 million.
00:34He's already making his way to the south side and had a funny little quip also for the media as well.
00:41Hello. My name is Murakami.
00:46White Sox Nation.
00:49You guys are in my house.
00:55White Sox.
00:57Yeah.
01:00All right. If that's not inspiring, I don't know what is from watching that.
01:04We should also mention that they also signed left-hander Sean Newcomb, which surface value may actually be a better signing than this guy.
01:12I have no idea.
01:13So I don't know. I mean, is Murakami a good signing?
01:16Is he Shogo Akiyama?
01:18Like, I have no clue with this sort of stuff, Aram.
01:20And I think that that is the kind of risk that you take with this.
01:23It seems to me that he could have been had by a number of different teams.
01:27Why do you think the White Sox took the plunge here?
01:30Yeah.
01:30You know, I think for the exact concern that you mentioned, I mean, it's for everything to go right and for Murakami to be, you know, the player that I think the White Sox are hoping he can be here.
01:40He's going to have to overcome some barriers, right?
01:43I mean, if you look at the contact thresholds and things like that, he'd be a bit of an outlier.
01:47It's possible, but he's going to have to make some improvements.
01:49I think the positive side of it for both him and the White Sox is, okay, market doesn't materialize the way that you think or hope it will.
01:56He's going to reenter free agency at 27 years old if things do come together.
02:00If they don't, you know, for the White Sox, I think it's just nice to see them take that chance.
02:04You know, financially, I think they can afford.
02:06I think almost any team can afford to take this chance.
02:08And for a team that's farther off from being a contender but starting to get there, this is an opportunity to either have a player that helps elevate you or, you know, have a player here that can turn into a trade ship for you if it does work out.
02:22If it doesn't, it's a little – it costs some money here.
02:25But, I mean, this is a pretty cheap White Sox team overall, especially if they do end up moving Luis Robert, which kind of offsets that money anyways.
02:31I think, as you alluded to, though, it's very clear, teams were very spooked by the lack of contact and also the lack of defensive value.
02:39But at the same time, it's 80-grade raw power.
02:41It's worth a shot.
02:42And I think the White Sox took advantage of, you know, I think a really weak market and, you know, an upside play here that can make sense for a team that can probably afford to whiff.
02:52Yeah, definitely so.
02:54And you mentioned this is not a huge baseball contract in general, which is what Tatsua Imai is probably going to get.
03:01He is waiting this out right to the end, Aram.
03:03And he's supposedly one of the best, you know, free agents out there, even from a pitching perspective.
03:09That is left.
03:10I don't know that I'm certain about that.
03:12And I know that I've heard the teams that are involved.
03:14I still believe, despite what the Giants have said, that they really do make the most sense here.
03:20I'm going to say that maybe there's some posturing going on here.
03:22I know we're not showing them here on the board, but Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Phillies, Red Sox, all the usual suspects here.
03:28He was a fantastic pitcher overseas.
03:31Do you think that this is going to translate?
03:33And what do you think the holdup is here for someone like this?
03:35Because when we saw Sasaki and Yamamoto and some of these others, they didn't wait until the end of the window.
03:41Yeah, it is interesting.
03:42And that's the angle that I'm curious if it's just more of, you know, who his agent is and how they want to go about it.
03:49Or how the market's materializing.
03:51Because it was a really fun dive for me.
03:53And I think with the pitchers, it's a little bit easier to project, you know, how the stuff's going to translate.
03:58And we have some recent success cases and just recent cases in general where you can look at the WIF numbers across the board.
04:06Generally increasing in Major League Baseball.
04:08There is a little bit of, I think, more confidence in how the stuff can translate when you look at the pitch specs and try to model it out to what we have stateside.
04:19And Maya's a unique fastball.
04:20Obviously, the slider is as unique as they come.
04:23And then he's also able to create some difficult angles and had the best season of his career from a command standpoint.
04:28So there's a lot to like there.
04:30And I think when you look at the Luis Castillo comps and things like that, I think they are pretty uncanny as much as I don't love, you know, comps.
04:37I think with pitchers, you can compare pitches individually and it makes a lot of sense.
04:41I think he's going to get paid a lot of money.
04:42And I think they maybe are just trying to leverage different things.
04:46We know how Boris likes to play it.
04:48But I do feel like he's going to get a big payday.
04:51And I think at his age and the way he's performed and the way the stuff looks like it will translate with that unique fastball slider combination, I think Maya's going to have success stateside.
05:00And I think teams know that, too.
05:02What I do like about this baseball offseason and the hot stove is that there hasn't been a flurry, but it does feel like we're getting a little something every single day.
05:10So it gives us some content to talk about.
05:12And I'm sure you guys to deal with that's different from this offseason.
05:15Last offseason was all at the end.
05:17So yesterday, the Mets part ways with another homegrown player, Jeff McNeil, spent eight years with the Mets.
05:24He's now headed to Sacramento to play with the A's.
05:28He had 12 home runs last season.
05:30He had 243, drove in 54 runs.
05:33Look, the A's are looking for more contact players.
05:35He definitely fits the bill there.
05:37Very clear message being sent by the Mets here that they wanted to break this up.
05:41I cannot imagine that this was not almost completely by design.
05:46Nimmo, McNeil, Ed Alonzo, Edwin Diaz, all gone.
05:53You kind of felt it at the end of the year last year, right?
05:56I mean, it just it probably needed to happen, right?
05:59Like, and I think, unfortunately, for Mets fans who have become very attached to these players, I understand the the fan aspect of it.
06:08But there's something admirable about saying screw the optics.
06:12You know, we need to win ballgames.
06:14And I think Stern's the first year or at least last year, there was a little bit of probably willingness to overlook some of the things that he wanted to do and maybe put that aside for the optics and what comes with being, you know, in charge of the Mets.
06:28But, you know, I think here after another disappointing season, it was clear, you know, let's let's shake this thing up.
06:33And also the run that they made probably helped justify keeping it together and and trying to see if they could do it again.
06:38But I think clearly it just it wasn't going to happen with this group and several of those guys aging.
06:43I love it for the athletics, though.
06:44I mean, you mentioned it just needing more contact hitters.
06:46You bring in a vet as well and the versatility that McNeil brings.
06:50Of course, I think he fits into second base very clearly here.
06:53And that allows you to now shift over your two young guys and get off and Max Munty to just compete for third base instead of banking on both of them, potentially being everyday big leaguers.
07:02I think that also helps.
07:04But also you have an insurance policy in center field.
07:06If Clark isn't hitting enough, if Bolte isn't ready, if Colby Thomas doesn't look like he's performing, you have somebody else that can go out there and be able to plug in in center field as well.
07:14I just I love the bats of all that he brings McNeil is a good air pull guy.
07:19So I think he's going to be rewarded a little bit more power wise in Sacramento.
07:22And I think it's going to be rejuvenating for him from an offensive perspective.
07:26And, you know, he turned in a good year last year.
07:28So I like what he brings to this athletics lineup that all of a sudden, you know, looks pretty well rounded and fun.
07:35Mets, by the way, did add Devin Williams, Luke Weaver, Marcus Simian, the owner says we're not done yet.
07:40So those are the three new names.
07:41And I would imagine he's got to be correct for the Mets to compete.
07:44All right.
07:45So the Orioles, someone in that organization, Aram, really loves Shane Baz, OK, because this is a player that usually does not get traded.
07:54Let's be honest.
07:54So I don't know if it's Mike Elias or somebody that is working with him.
07:58You have to really, really love a player to give up this much of young talent to get a pitcher like this.
08:04Baz was fantastic with Tampa Bay at the end of last season.
08:08He would have slotted in as their two or their three or maybe even their one at the end of the year.
08:12Who even knows?
08:13Why do you think the Orioles did this?
08:16Yeah, I think they're they're clearly betting on the upside here.
08:19And you can see it.
08:20I think there's some some arguments to be made that some just pitch adjustments usage, maybe adding a sinker can put bars on what you hope to be a round type, of course.
08:29But I think for the Orioles, it's the upside, the control and an opportunity to maybe unlock a little bit more here from a guy that it didn't have as great of a year on the surface.
08:38But I think there's a lot to build on.
08:40And the talent is not a question at all.
08:43What do they get back in return?
08:45For the Rays, I mean, it's it's awesome on their side of things where, I mean, you just get so many pieces and none of them are maybe projecting like all stars.
08:56Both looks like a high probability big league catcher.
08:59Slater to Braun looks like a high probability, at least fourth outfielder, but a guy that has the upside to be an everyday outfielder.
09:05Ferret is a guy that I think the Rays are so excited to work on as a pitcher and see what they can unlock more out of.
09:10And then the compensation pick is huge because now the Rays, who have the number two overall pick, are going to have the biggest bonus pool in the entire draft.
09:18So they got a lot to cook with here and a lot of irons in the fire.
09:21All right, we'll continue with Aram next on the Wilson Contreras trade.
09:25Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
09:27Yet another trade between the Red Sox and Cardinals.
09:30It seems like Heim Bloom, you know, just going back to his old buddies with the Red Sox.
09:34Cardinals are in a rebuild, Aram.
09:36This is kind of where they're headed here.
09:37So, you know, certainly anybody is fair game at this point.
09:40And Brendan Donovan could be the next one.
09:42Wilson Contreras waived his no trade clause to go play first base for the Red Sox.
09:47And I think you pretty much know exactly what you're getting here.
09:4920 homers, 75 runs driven in, OPS around 800.
09:53This is exactly what the Red Sox needed, more stability for the position.
09:57But it does open up the question for guys like Tristan Casas and some other offensive players for the Red Sox in the future.
10:03I wonder if they are not done making deals as well.
10:08I feel like they, well, one, I feel like they need to spend on the free agent market a little bit because not only did they make two deals with the Cardinals, they gave up a little bit more prospect capital.
10:17Nothing crazy, but a little bit more to be able to get those deals paid down, right?
10:21Sonny Gray gets paid down a little bit.
10:23Contreras gets paid down a little bit.
10:24But if you're not going to reinvest that into maybe bringing back Bregman or whatever it may be, I think that would be disappointing for Red Sox fans, even though these have been good trades and savvy trades.
10:34I love the move for Contreras.
10:35I felt like he was an underrated trade target because with the money attached to him, even though it's not egregious, it's always going to drive down the prospect price, right?
10:44And the Red Sox leveraging that to include a little bit extra.
10:48Clearly the Cardinals want arms.
10:49Red Sox have a bunch of them and get that paid down a little bit is great.
10:52But as you mentioned, you know what you're getting.
10:54And I think that's huge.
10:55And I think that's been the frustrating point for the Red Sox is even when Casas has been healthy, it's ups and downs.
11:01It's really hot.
11:01It's really cold.
11:02And now, you know, there's a lot of doubt as to whether he'll be healthy.
11:06There's not a ton of precedent of coming back from a patella injury.
11:09I know we have Diaz, but in terms of a young hitter, it's going to be interesting to see.
11:13But even before that, the Red Sox were kind of wishy-washy with him.
11:16So it feels like Casas would probably be shopped around a little bit.
11:20And it also feels like the Red Sox, to your point, are far from done.
11:23Yeah, it can't be.
11:24This can't be the end for them.
11:25By the way, they got Hunter Dobbins back in return.
11:28Dobbins pitching prospect, you know, pitched in the big leagues a little bit, coming off an injury as well.
11:33He's one of the primary players in the trade.
11:35Also, Jokar Fajardo, their ninth best prospect.
11:38Boston goes to St. Louis, and Heimblum knows these players well.
11:42So, I mean, that should go without saying he's part of a lot of these players who are involved in the organization.
11:48All right, last night we got a piece of news from the Miami Marlins, arguably their best relief pitcher last season.
11:53And Ronnie Enriquez is going to miss the entire season next year, not only having Tommy John, but having that internal brace,
12:02which tells you, Aram, this could even be a little bit longer, unfortunately.
12:05He was such a dynamic pitcher in baseball, was among strikeout leaders, among relief pitchers in the National League.
12:12There really is no sort of pivot, to me, going from a player that you get out of nowhere,
12:18who becomes so good that now you get nothing back in return for him.
12:23You know, the Marlins are probably going to have to attack that bullpen.
12:26I think there's such variance every year with this, Aram.
12:28And, you know, I got to say, probably, you know, a little bit lucky last year with the way that some of those guys pitched.
12:34But this is a tough blow.
12:35I would expect them to have to replace him in some way.
12:38Yeah, it's funny because I think it's very fair to say lucky with the way some of these guys pitch.
12:43But the one guy that I think you and I would both agree didn't look very lucky was Enriquez.
12:47That's the one guy that, you know, you never, again, you never know with relievers, but higher confidence interval of him being able to get closer to replicating what he did last year.
12:56And I think that's what makes it hurt even more, especially with the success he had at Leverage.
12:59And, you know, maybe this was part of the reason why we saw the Marlins careful with the workload.
13:04I don't know exactly what, you know, the timeline was on this, but it is really unfortunate.
13:10And the Marlins already went into this offseason saying we need to get some more established relief help.
13:14So I can't imagine what the scramble looks like now.
13:17They've been in on Fairbanks.
13:19They've been in on some other guys.
13:20Now it feels like you really need to finish the mission here and bring in, you know, an established relief farmer too.
13:26If you're going to try to piece together this bullpen and, you know, hope to get anything close to what you got last year production wise.
13:32Because as you allude to, I do think there's some regression inbound for, you know, some of these relief or relief arms that they experimented with and brought in.
13:40Yeah, they were fantastic.
13:42And usually bullpens are the hardest thing to predict going into a year.
13:45So we'll see if Miami pivots there.
13:48Would have been hard to predict who's going to end up playing for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
13:52But it appears as though most of the players are all in, Aram.
13:55Like for every Mookie Betts who says he's not playing, you get five guys who say that they're in.
13:59The latest is Bryce Harper who will man first base for Team USA.
14:03He made it official this morning.
14:06And with the pitching that Team USA has from the left and the right, from the Cy Young and the NL to the AL, my gosh.
14:14I mean, Team USA absolutely stacked.
14:17And Japan coming off, by the way, winning the World Baseball Classic, definitely not going to be the favorite.
14:22And I think the key is this.
14:24So many more players from the U.S. have decided to go this time around.
14:29And I think that was the energy even right after they lost, you know, a few years ago, right?
14:34It was, oh, man, you know, we got to put the best foot forward here and win this next time around.
14:41And I think that combined with how much of a success it was, right?
14:45I think you had the players that weren't playing in it maybe kicking themselves saying, man, I should have maybe considered playing in this thing because it was so much fun.
14:52I think it kind of transcended the baseball community.
14:55It seemed like the whole sports world was locked into that the last time around.
14:59And it feels like everyone's geared up for it as well.
15:01It's at the winter meetings.
15:01And three years ago, there was like 10 people in the media scrum for the WBC announcement and presser.
15:07And this time there was 250 plus.
15:09And I think that excitement also seeps into the players as well who are very eager, but also I think don't want to see themselves see Team USA lose.
15:18It's been cool.
15:19It feels like they've assembled the Avengers here.
15:21And the pitching staff is the big difference where you have these starters and then you can hand it off to a Mason Miller.
15:25I don't know how you beat Team USA.
15:27And I know those are dangerous words to share there because it's baseball and you never know.
15:32But when you've got Scooble and Skeens and then you can hand it off to forget the bats.
15:36How are you going to score?
15:37And that's where I'm really excited.
15:39I think it's going to be cool to see these arms all together and performing.
15:44One of my favorites was Adam Wainwright, maybe all time pitching for the Cardinals.
15:48But that was like their de facto ace.
15:50We're the number one or number two guy going into the last World Baseball Classic.
15:54And he was toward the end of the line.
15:56OK, so one more signing I want to get to.
15:58And I don't know if you have a strong opinion on this, but I do remember Foster Griffin getting drafted by the Royals many years ago.
16:04And just falling out of favor going overseas.
16:06And now you've got a pretty nice contract with the Washington Nationals.
16:11They're not afraid to do this, Aram.
16:12And they've done it again.
16:13Foster Griffin gets a one-year deal.
16:15He'll be in that Nationals rotation.
16:16I love what the Nationals are doing right now.
16:20And this is a different Nationals ball club where I think they're going to be a little bit more forward thinking with their pitching development.
16:25They've already shaken a lot of things up with that front office and the player development in general.
16:30And I think Griffin's a guy that they look at and say, hey, maybe we can unlock a little bit more here and get him into a back-end rotation role.
16:36I wouldn't rule it out.
16:38He really performed well this past year.
16:39Game previously, now the future is back in the big leagues.
16:44Thanks again, Aram.
16:44Appreciate it.
16:45Happy holidays.
16:47Thanks always.