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00:00Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid. Major League Baseball spring training set to have their first games this
00:07weekend.
00:07Pitchers and catchers reported. Full squads are in action.
00:10Getting to hear from a lot of the participants, and we're going to hear from someone who's very entrenched in
00:15that.
00:16In Jupiter, Florida, it's Jack McMullen from Just Baseball, also of the Marlins radio network.
00:22And I saw Jack at spring training yesterday, and so here we are.
00:27I'm about 60 or so miles now away from you here. You remain. I'm back in my studio.
00:34Yeah, it's good. I kind of look like I'm in a prison cell right now, but I promise I'm just
00:38sitting at an office desk and we're okay.
00:40And I had to MacGyver this a little bit, but you know what? Such is life in spring training, and
00:44I'm ready to go, man.
00:45It's starting to smell, sound, and look like baseball, and that is always a recipe for success and overall happiness
00:52for yours truly.
00:54Yeah, definitely so, and Jack will be on the radio call starting this weekend for the Marlins as well.
00:59But before we get there, we've got to get through some of the, you know, executives and players talking for
01:04the first time.
01:04That's what happens when full squads report.
01:07A couple of days ago, Jack, the Philadelphia Phillies reported to camp, and they did, in fact, get the very
01:13latest from Bryce Harper.
01:15This offseason, some comments were made by the president of baseball operations of the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper, essentially needing
01:22to, I don't know, become elite again.
01:25I guess that was like sort of the comment there.
01:27Harper was seen working out in a shirt that basically said something about being elite or not.
01:33He took it personally, obviously.
01:35He said all the right things, I thought, to the media, but let's play some of those comments back for
01:40you, and then we'll get your thoughts.
01:41I mean, I don't get motivated by that kind of stuff.
01:43You know, for me, it was kind of wild, the whole situation of that happening.
01:49I think the big thing for me was, you know, when we first met with this organization, it was, hey,
01:55you know, we're always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same thing.
01:58And so, you know, when that didn't happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit.
02:04So, I don't know, you know, it's part of it, I guess.
02:07You know, it was kind of a wild situation, you know, that even happening.
02:11Obviously, I didn't have the year that I wanted.
02:12Obviously, I didn't have the postseason I wanted.
02:15My numbers weren't where they needed to be.
02:17I know that, and, you know, I don't need to be motivated to be great, you know, in my career
02:23or anything else.
02:24So, that's just not a motivating factor for me.
02:27You know, for Dave to come out and say those things, it's kind of wild to me still.
02:33It was a little strange, Jack, and I would also add this.
02:36A little weird offseason for Philadelphia with the Castellanos stuff back and forth, the Harper stuff.
02:42They waited a while to sign JT Romudo.
02:44They've got Zach Wheeler coming back from injury.
02:48As they say, I'm not sure where the vibes are right now in Clearwater with the Phillies.
02:52What do you make of all this?
02:54Yeah, it's weird because the vibes have always been good in Philadelphia.
02:57I think over the last couple of years, it seemed like they had a bunch of people that gelled together
03:01in a solid way.
03:03And, you know, it just seemed like they had a lot of like-minded individuals in that clubhouse, and they
03:07were working towards a common goal.
03:08But, you know, for full context of that, it kind of started in November or so when Dave Dombrowski was
03:14doing his, you know, end-of-season availability,
03:16or it might have been shortly thereafter that.
03:18And he said he wasn't sure if Harper was ever going to reach his elite caliber of play again.
03:23And that's an interesting thing to say from a lead decision-maker about a possible future Hall of Famer, and
03:28at this point, likely future Hall of Famer in Bryce Harper.
03:31But, you know, Harper taking it personally to the point where he wore a T-shirt and then saying that
03:36those things don't motivate him, I thought was a little weird.
03:38So that just means that it's pure anger that is associated with this.
03:42So I don't know.
03:44It's interesting.
03:44I thought it was really important for them to retain Schwarber, and they did because Kyle Schwarber has been kind
03:50of the quarterback of that clubhouse.
03:51Like, he's always been a leader.
03:53He's always kind of set the tone.
03:54But you have sort of a changing of the guard here.
03:57I also think Philly is just entering a weird point where they had to ditch the Castellanos contract a little
04:03bit earlier than they were anticipating.
04:05They've got a lot of guys on the other side of 30.
04:07J.T. Real Muto was on the other side of 30 years old, on the older side of 30 years
04:11old, and they brought him back on a three-year deal.
04:13So Philly is one of those interesting teams for me where it could be a bit closer to the window
04:19closing than I think a lot of people around the league would initially anticipate.
04:24Yeah, and I think without winning a World Series, that really is the key because they did get close in
04:29the postseason but really never shut the deal down.
04:3289.5 is their season win total to win the East, plus 190 to win the NL, 8-1.
04:37To win the World Series, they are 16-1, but this is the lowest win total they've had in several
04:43years.
04:43Part of it, of course, because of the injury to Wheeler, I would guess as well.
04:46That guy is a several-war player.
04:49All right, so a couple of big stories of baseball today.
04:53One involving the Players Union.
04:54I want to get to that here when we take a break and come back.
04:57I want to get your thoughts on that.
04:59But let's go on the field here because the Minnesota Twins, one of those teams, Jack, that had a very
05:04peculiar offseason,
05:07really are not projected by any of the projection systems to have a good season, may have just been taken
05:13a, I mean, is it a death blow to lose this guy?
05:16I mean, Pablo Lopez, if he's not their best starter, he's their second best starter.
05:20He had some elbow issues yesterday, had an MRI.
05:23They're reporting out of Fort Myers today that he's probably going to need Tommy John surgery.
05:28I know the Twins weren't going to win the division.
05:30I'm not saying that they were.
05:31But, I mean, Jack, could they be headed for one of the worst seasons with the Twins in a long
05:36time with this injury?
05:37I don't know how they come back from this one.
05:39I don't know, and it's interesting.
05:41And I think we have to start at last year's trade deadline to really assess what the Minnesota Twins will
05:45look like in 2026
05:46because they sold off a lot of pieces.
05:49They had some really good bullpen arms, and they opt to trade Yohan Duran to Philly.
05:53They opt to trade Griffin Jacks to Tampa Bay.
05:56And then they send Louis Varland to Toronto, where Varland was one of the best relievers in the MLB postseason
06:02in 2025.
06:03So, you know, they did a fire sale.
06:05And really the only people that they held on to that had serious notoriety were Joe Ryan, Byron Buxton, and
06:12Pablo Lopez.
06:13And you were thinking, okay, you know where the rest of them going?
06:16Is this going to be a total start from scratch rebuild?
06:19The answer from ownership and that whole ownership dispute this offseason was no.
06:24I mean, we're going to try and, you know, be middle of the pack and compete for a wildcard spot.
06:28And once you get into that, you know, postseason tournament, really anything can happen.
06:32But this is a humongous blow for Pablo Lopez.
06:35I know you got to know him during his time in Miami.
06:38This is one of the great dudes in Major League Baseball that happens to be one heck of a pitcher
06:42as well.
06:43So for Pablo, the guy, I feel really bad for him.
06:46And for the Minnesota Twins, it just feels like they lack a direction when it was a directionless season and
06:52offseason for them in 25 and coming into 26.
06:56The new manager, general manager, president, just so much happening with the Twins.
07:00And you're right about Pablo.
07:01I always joke that he's the guy that cleans up the stadium after it's all over.
07:05That's how nice that guy is.
07:06He'll literally do anything to stay in the game.
07:10Twins are 8-1.
07:11And I think that this is a sinking ship, unfortunately, for them.
07:15Win total, I believe, 73, 74 and a half.
07:18Low as it's been in years.
07:19Maybe the White Sox catch them, but certainly not going to be a division contender, I don't think.
07:23Okay, so the big story since we talked last week, speaking of Philadelphia, they parted ways with Nick Castellanos.
07:30And Castellanos landed very quickly, Jack.
07:32I actually was surprised that he landed this quickly with the San Diego Padres.
07:36We know that he's going to play.
07:38And we know that he's going to hit.
07:39But it was going to have to require a special clubhouse to make that fit correct.
07:44What do you make of this clubhouse in San Diego, or at least for the time being, in Arizona with
07:49Castellanos there?
07:51I find their last four to five days absolutely fascinating because it felt like they were pretty dormant over the
07:56course of the offseason.
07:57And then all of a sudden, they are on this incredible run of signing minor league free agents or one
08:04-year free agents.
08:05In the midst of that, their lead decision maker, the president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, signed a multi
08:11-year extension on Monday.
08:12So you've got Preller signing an extension, going to grab Herman Marquez on a one-year deal, going to grab
08:18Walker Bueller on a minor league deal, going to grab Ty France on a minor league deal.
08:21And sprinkled in there, Nick Castellanos finds a new home in San Diego on a one-year deal.
08:26Nick Castellanos, the first baseman.
08:28We're seeing him get some reps at first base.
08:30So I find what San Diego is doing absolutely fascinating.
08:33I had a feeling that there was going to be a major league team or two that viewed Castellanos as
08:38somebody that can play at least against left-handed pitching for the majority of the season in the big leagues.
08:44I didn't think that this guy was going to have to settle for a minor league deal because, at the
08:49end of the day, he is a couple years removed from being a nine-figure outfielder that the Phillies ain't.
08:55So, Castellanos, this is bounce-back 101 for him in San Diego.
08:59They absolutely need players to bounce back, given their roster limitations and given their payroll limitations right now with recent
09:07ownership changes.
09:08So, San Diego is on an absolute heater right now.
09:13Yeah, minor league and major league mini heater there in this hot stove that's ending.
09:19All right, we'll ask Jack about this Tony Clark news with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
09:26Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
09:28Jack McMullen joining us.
09:29Just Baseball Show coming up in about 15 minutes from now.
09:32So, stay on the grid for that.
09:34Now, one of the things that may not be discussed on that show is the breaking news that we had
09:38just about a couple hours ago here, Jack,
09:40which certainly can't be viewed well for the Players Association.
09:44I mean, make no mistake about it.
09:46Regardless of how you feel about Tony Clark, he has been the head of the players for 15 years.
09:52And today, in a season where it's supposed to be binding the players together, where there's going to be a
10:00potential CBA break here at the end of the season,
10:04Clark announces that he's going to step down.
10:07Or I don't know if he's announced it.
10:08It's been being reported that he's going to step down.
10:10So, they'll have someone interim.
10:12Naturally, the players are being asked about this.
10:14They're all sort of shocked as well.
10:17I don't know any other way to view this, Jack.
10:19Like, I think the players in the end, and I'm hopeful that the players and the owners come together and
10:24work something out.
10:26But if you're sort of keeping score at home, I would have to imagine, even though Major League Baseball's owners
10:31aren't going to comment and say anything about this,
10:33they have to be looking at this like, hey, this is one that is in our corner, I guess, if
10:40it's some sort of battle.
10:42Yeah, and I guess I'm waiting for, like, the tell-all article from somebody that, you know,
10:47understands it a heck of a lot better than I do as to how this pertains to, you know,
10:51the upcoming labor agreement expiration at the beginning of December after this 26 season.
10:56So, it's just a weird time for this to happen.
10:59But Passin reported, and you saw that on the tweet, that, you know,
11:03this is in the midst of ongoing investigation about financial improprieties with the Players Association.
11:08So, you have to assume that that played some sort of a factor.
11:12I saw Marcus Semien was asked about that at Mets Camp in Port St. Lucie earlier today.
11:17And he said it has to be something along the lines of that because, you know,
11:22in terms of the labor conversation with the commissioner's office and everything,
11:26he felt like Tony Clark was, you know, the perfect guy to do that because of how long he has
11:30been in that role.
11:31You mentioned it's been 15 years for Tony Clark in that role.
11:35So, for this to happen now, it was just really weird when he is at the center of the baseball
11:41universe.
11:42It does, like, I would love to be able to focus on baseball and the players,
11:46but Tony Clark and Commissioner Manfred are two of the biggest pieces,
11:50two of the main characters in the 2026 MLB season.
11:54Without a doubt.
11:55We'll be talking a lot about that in the summer and even into the fall and beyond.
11:59All right.
11:59So, back to the field we go.
12:00Let's talk about the one major free agent that was still left out there last week
12:05and ended up signing a one-year deal in Zach Gallin.
12:08He returns to Arizona.
12:10And knowing Zach the way that I do, Jack, from his time here in Miami,
12:14you can always appreciate his candidness and honesty when it came to this sort of stuff
12:18where he basically said, looking back on it now,
12:20maybe the qualifying offer was what he should have essentially done.
12:24I mean, you don't hear players say that a lot,
12:26but he has always been really honest and forthright, even in the media as well.
12:30I suppose that this could, in my opinion, Jack,
12:34work out maybe better than any off-season deal.
12:37Because Gallin's a pitcher.
12:38He's still very young.
12:39If he has a great year, he's going to square off against the Dodgers a lot
12:43and really good teams out West.
12:44There could be a huge payday for him at the end of the season.
12:48He said he had multi-year deals,
12:49but I kind of feel like maybe being back where he had his most success
12:54as a big leaguer could really help him down the line.
12:58Given what he signed for,
13:00you would assume that those multi-year deals were in the two-for-30 million dollar range,
13:04and he viewed a one-for-22 million dollar offer as the best thing for him.
13:09And I, too, love the candidness from him,
13:11saying he probably should have just signed the qualifying offer.
13:14There were a couple of things that intrigued me about Gallin's free agency.
13:18He was the guy where it felt like it was the most delicate,
13:21the qualifying offer saga with him,
13:24because of what the contract year actually looked like.
13:26And we often see guys put together their best year during a contract year,
13:31when they enter free agency and they can really get paid
13:34because there are some financial implications there.
13:36Gallin had the worst healthy year of his career, really,
13:41since the very, very beginning in his walk year.
13:44So I was always going to be fascinated as to what type of contract
13:48he actually got on the open market this offseason.
13:52The other thing is,
13:53I think the draft pick attached to guys that are extended the qualifying offer
13:57and don't take it was really something that impacted his free agency.
14:01If he were to sign somewhere else,
14:04they were going,
14:05the Diamondbacks were going to get a pick at the end of the first round,
14:08and this would have forfeited a comp pick for the team that signed him.
14:11So I really don't know if there was too much incentive to forfeit a draft pick
14:18for a two-year, $30 million deal for Zach Gallin.
14:21So if he had those offers, really cool.
14:23But I think it's going to work out for him going back to a place
14:26where he's supremely comfortable.
14:28Agreed.
14:29All right.
14:29We got Merrill Kelly, by the way,
14:31going to start opening day for the Diamondbacks.
14:34And I think that's probably the right move,
14:35given what was going on with Gallin.
14:37But here are some of the opening day starters in baseball.
14:40We've got Kelly for Arizona.
14:43Garrett Crochet gets the call for the Red Sox.
14:46The Astros named Hunter Brown their opening day starter.
14:49And the Marlins have named Sandy Alcantara the opening day starter there.
14:54In fact, he has more opening day tenure than any of those names on the list,
14:57starting for the sixth time.
14:59So naturally, we know a lot can change between now and opening day, Jack.
15:03But I think that very well-placed decisions, I think, by all teams.
15:07Red Sox could have went a couple of different ways.
15:09But I think, in the end, these were the best ideas for them.
15:14A hundred percent.
15:15Yeah.
15:15And Garrett Crochet is one of the brightest young stars in Major League Baseball on the Mount.
15:19The two that intrigue me, Sandy Alcantara starting his sixth opening day for the Marlins,
15:23is really cool because I think you look at the baseball reference page,
15:26and you see the season-long numbers, and you say,
15:28oh, it was a bad year for Sandy.
15:30There's a lot of context missing in those full-season stats.
15:33I think for Sandy Alcantara, the way he finished in the final six to eight starts that he made
15:38is really encouraging.
15:40And you get to see this reinvigorated Sandy Alcantara get the ball on opening day on that
15:45Friday night.
15:46The other one that jumps out to me is Hunter Brown in Houston.
15:48Because for me, this is a changing of the guard for the Houston Astros.
15:53Justin Verlander was their guy for several years.
15:55Frambois Valdez was their guy for several years.
15:58And now you make the pivot to acknowledging Hunter Brown as the clear-cut, undeniable ace
16:04of the Houston Astros.
16:05It is no longer Frambois rotation.
16:07It is no longer Verlander's or Garrett Cole's.
16:10Hunter Brown is the star of the show in the Space City.
16:12And he's got complimentary pieces in Tatsuya Imai and Christian Javier and Mike Burroughs.
16:17But it's Brown's show.
16:21Jack, as always, great to catch up with you here on Newswire.
16:23What's coming up here on Just Baseball?
16:26We've got a lot of good stuff.
16:27We're flying around the headlines.
16:29And we're going to talk about that Preller extension and what San Diego is doing right
16:32now.
16:32Trying to thread the needle in San Diego.
16:36I'll see you this weekend.
16:37Thanks for coming on Newswire.
16:38Appreciate it.
16:39Sounds good.
16:39Appreciate you, Craig.
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