00:00This is Anthony Kastrovitz, please. You're on the Make It Right Call Kyle Wright Hotline.
00:04Thank God Anthony's laughing about it. Hello, Anthony.
00:07Good morning, guys. This might be the first time this wasn't my fault in some way.
00:12It's not yours. I'll take it.
00:13It's not yours. John made you a very hard target, so I apologize for the inconvenience here.
00:18Chase DeLauter, his type of, how do you describe, one word to describe his start?
00:25Because I'm thinking remarkable. What's a word that you can think of?
00:30My favorite concert description is transcendent.
00:33And so this has been a transcendent first week plus for Chase DeLauter,
00:39really exceeding every conceivable expectation you could have for the young man.
00:43I think there's way too much pressure on him and the way this lineup is constructed,
00:47but you've got to give him credit, man.
00:49This guy just shows up and hits.
00:51When he's healthy, he's done nothing but hit in his professional career,
00:54brief as it has been because of the injuries,
00:57but he just has that natural ability to adjust to whatever's in front of him.
01:01You know, short swing helps, and he's in their guiding light offensively, which is crazy.
01:11How soon, and this kind of stokes the fire a couple days ago.
01:14We talked about it, and we still thought it was a little early, but, you know,
01:17you see Connor Griffin get a big contract from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
01:21I know there's an injury history there with Chase DeLauter,
01:24but, I mean, how soon do we start talking about a big contract to kind of set everything up?
01:29Yeah, I mean, they obviously have a long organizational history.
01:33They kind of, you know, pioneered that concept of signing, you know,
01:38pre-arb young players to extensions.
01:41We're seeing that now at the major, you know, across the major leagues,
01:44we're seeing that now into the minor league ranks of guys who not only haven't debuted,
01:49but we've seen a couple examples in recent weeks of guys who aren't even close to debuting, really.
01:53So that's just kind of the way the game has trended.
01:56And, yeah, you know, if I'm then, it doesn't usually happen, those negotiations in season.
02:02If so, it would be like this very early juncture of the season,
02:06or perhaps, you know, finish something off at the All-Star break or what have you.
02:09But, so I don't know to what extent they had those discussions, if at all, you know,
02:15during spring training, that's the time, that's the meat of the time to, you know,
02:18get the meat of a deal done.
02:20But I do know that the teams across the majors are trying to get some of those deals on the
02:24books,
02:24you know, before the next CBA with the thought that they might be grandfathered in or what have you.
02:29But I don't know, you know, to what extent they've had any luck in getting anywhere with Chase DeLauter.
02:35Anthony Kastrovitz joining us on the show.
02:37Anthony, I don't want to go too far in the weeds with it, but if there's a way that you
02:40kind of boil it down
02:41to tell us how it would go, because we hear rumors about, like, okay, after 2027,
02:45David Blitzer would take over full-time.
02:47We know that he was in conversations with Jose Ramirez's contract extension
02:51that just happened over this winter.
02:53Like, how much would David Blitzer, say they wanted to do it during the All-Star break this year
02:57or during, right after the season this year.
03:00How involved would David Blitzer be then to making that deal happen?
03:05Yeah, I would think pretty involved because, you know, I know, and it's the first time to my knowledge
03:11that he was, you know, directly involved in conversations with Jose Ramirez, you know,
03:16in that extension that they signed a couple months back.
03:19You know, he was involved in that process because the reality is, you know,
03:23the bulk of that contract, you would think he would be the controlling interest,
03:27you know, from an ownership standpoint.
03:29So I would think it would be the same thing with the Chase the Louder deal.
03:32There's been a lot of mystery to just the David Blitzer experience.
03:35You know, I've never met the guy.
03:38He's never talked to the media, and there's no reason he has to at this point.
03:42But he just hasn't been as present, you know, as like John Sherman when he was minority owner.
03:47He was pretty present.
03:49David Blitzer, that has not been the case.
03:50So I don't know what the exact, you know, timetable will be or what his interest is at this point.
03:55And as you said, you know, exercising that option to take over a majority, you know, following 2027.
04:02We don't know.
04:03But I do think that, yeah, realistically, if you're going to sign a guy to an extension
04:08that's going to cover probably a fair amount of his early ownership,
04:12I would think he would be deeply involved in those talks.
04:14Anthony Kastrovins joining us right now on the hotline.
04:16So I said the great thing about the start to the season is you played three playoff teams
04:22and you haven't lost a series yet, and you're getting by with one of the bottom five offenses
04:27in almost every metric.
04:28You have a negative run differential.
04:30Now, that's the good part of this is you've got that record.
04:34The bad part of it is how sustainable is this?
04:37Yeah, it's probably not super sustainable.
04:41And we saw, like, it's weird because last season was obviously, you know, in the end,
04:46it was a great season.
04:46It was fun that they had this historic comeback.
04:49But why did they have this historic comeback?
04:50Well, because they stunk for most of the year offensively.
04:53It was a really tough watch.
04:54And there's times you look up at the scoreboard at these games
04:57and look at the bottom half of the lineup and you're like, you know, what are we doing here?
05:02How does this team score any runs?
05:03You know, how do you produce from that lower half?
05:06But, you know, they do have a couple tricks up their sleeve,
05:10and Chase DeLauder was one of them.
05:11And, again, he's exceeded what you could reasonably expect, and he'll cool off.
05:14But I do think that's a, you know, it's healthy.
05:17That's a very productive player, you know, in the making.
05:20And you've got another one in Travis Pazana who's just not far off, I don't think.
05:25And that can change you in a hurry.
05:27You know, going, it sounds funny to say about what has been traditionally
05:31one of the youngest lineups of baseball anyway.
05:33But they could get younger, you know, as the season goes along
05:36and get some youthful, you know, injection of upside, which is what they need.
05:41But, yeah, it's never going to be a juggernaut offensively.
05:44It's just not built that way.
05:47And you're going to have to just fight through games like they did yesterday
05:51in the nightcap.
05:52You know, that was a really impressive win in cold, brutal conditions
05:55and, you know, just not great offensive conditions
05:57and really fought back against the Cubs' bullpen
06:00and came out with a series win as a result.
06:03Anthony Kastrovitz joining us, MLB.com.
06:05You mentioned Gabby Arias.
06:06Are people being a little bit too critical of him right now
06:10because his name is not Travis Pazana?
06:13Well, it's just we have a long sample of just real inconsistency.
06:18You know, he'll have these moments where he just steps up out of nowhere
06:22like he did at the home opener.
06:24And, you know, and he can make some great defensive plays.
06:27I just think he's miscast as, you know, as an everyday shortstop, you know,
06:33on a contending team.
06:33I think he'd be better served as a, you know, middle infield, you know, bench piece.
06:39You know, I just think that's what he probably should be on a really good team.
06:45I mean, and they want to be a really good team.
06:47So I think it's natural that you're going to have a drumbeat
06:49for a guy who was the number one overall pick in the draft.
06:51Like, that's totally reasonable.
06:54And we have a long track record to suggest that Gabby Arias
06:57is not necessarily like an everyday middle infielder.
07:00But, yeah, when he steps up, it's fun.
07:02I mean, I'll give a shout-out to his daughter goes to my daughter's school.
07:07So they know each other a little bit.
07:08And so that was a fun moment to see her in the press conference
07:12after the home opener.
07:14So I root for him from that standpoint.
07:17And, you know, again, he'll come through in the clutch on occasion
07:20and just make you shake your head like, you know, just when it's the dumb
07:25and dumber thing.
07:26Just when I think you can't get any dumber, you go and do something like this
07:29and totally redeem yourself.
07:30So, Cade Smith, we were wondering if we are, like, month-to-month on Cade Smith
07:38as the closer, week-to-week, day-to-day.
07:40How do you feel about him?
07:42Yeah, it's early.
07:43I don't know.
07:45It's April 6th.
07:46I try not to freak out about anything, especially guys with a discernible track record.
07:53And he has that.
07:53The only thing I'd say about Cade Smith is, I mean, this guy has not even reached arbitration yet.
07:59And he's at, what, like 150 appearances in the six leagues or something like that.
08:06I'm looking at it now, 155 innings, 156 appearances.
08:09I mean, he's been used.
08:10And I'm not going to say abused, but he's definitely been used, you know, 70-plus appearances
08:14in his first two seasons.
08:17And that's tough, man.
08:18I mean, I think about, remember Dillon Batances, you know, with the Yankees and Mets?
08:23Yeah.
08:23You know, he had a shorter career than he otherwise would have just because he, to his credit,
08:31he had instant success in the big leagues, was instantly a high-leverage guy, and they
08:36rode with him, you know?
08:37And it's the same thing going on here in Cleveland with Cade Smith.
08:39So, I'm not sweating, you know, a handful of appearances at the start of the season, but
08:44relievers are funky like that, right?
08:46I mean, it's very hard to have a three-, four-, five-, six-year track record of elite performance
08:53in a big league bullpen because the league figures you out, or just the attrition of just,
08:58you know, getting up and down so many times.
08:59And he's gotten up and down a bunch in the last couple of years.
09:02How do I get consistency out of Stephen Kwan?
09:04We hadn't had it at the end of last season, and it's been a bit up and down this year
09:08so far.
09:10It really has, you know.
09:12To his credit, there's a high floor there just because of, you know, the discipline he has
09:19and the defense, of course, you know.
09:21And his ability to just go slide into center field this season is so huge for them.
09:26It just makes their lineup make more sense.
09:29You know, if this is going to be the construction of the lineup, then having Stephen Kwan in center
09:33makes the most sense.
09:34And I give him a lot of credit as a veteran player with four gold gloves, you know, to be
09:38willing to do that for them.
09:40But, yeah, offensively, there's no doubt.
09:43I do think he's a player who, you know, gets in his head a bit.
09:47But it is, you know, that's a growing track record now because you have all the second
09:51half of last season.
09:52It's just been kind of erratic in general with him offensively, you know, through his
09:57big league career for the most part.
09:58So, how do you get him on track?
10:00Heck, I don't know.
10:01I'm not their hitting coach.
10:03But I would say that, you know, that's a player who knows the strike zone so well and, you
10:10know, has the capability of, even if he's not getting his hits, can find his way on base.
10:16And that's what they need from him, ultimately.
10:1830 seconds, because Lime has a very important question to ask you.
10:21But I just want to run it by you.
10:23Is there, is it fair to wonder if he's pressing a little bit because of the contract stuff?
10:28It's very fair, I think.
10:30Just because we, I mean, that's a player who's let us into his mindset, you know, more than
10:35most, I would say.
10:37And it's a very mental game.
10:39And I would be shocked if that doesn't play into his thinking.
10:42I really would.
10:44You know, I get asked a lot, like, would they trade Stephen Kwan this year?
10:47And I'm like, I don't know why you would trade him at this point.
10:50Like, it's kind of not the peak value, you know?
10:53I think first things first, they got to get him straightened out offensively and then
10:56worry about if he's going to be here, you know, beyond this year.
11:00Anthony, it's always great to get others' perspective, especially on something like
11:05baseball.
11:06So yesterday, family was over.
11:08We're watching the games.
11:09And my wife's sister goes, what's this challenge thing?
11:13And so we explained it to her with the ABS.
11:15Then she goes, oh, that's cool.
11:17But what's the point of even doing these challenges?
11:19Why are we even wasting time on that when we just have the computers telling you what
11:24the ball is and what the strike is?
11:26Right.
11:26So right now, everybody's loving this situation right now.
11:31Do you think we ever just go all the way?
11:34Well, going all the way would be a lot like trying to take two young kids to an Easter Sunday
11:38mass.
11:39And, you know, one of them starts crying and then the other one starts crying.
11:42I believe that was your experience, right?
11:44It would be, yeah, it would be, it would take a lot out of the experience because they
11:51did test it pretty thoroughly in the minor leagues.
11:53And I never say never.
11:54And maybe the drumbeat will get so loud that they do go to full, quote unquote, robot umps.
11:58But they did it in the minor leagues.
12:00And it was pretty much universally despised.
12:03It really was because it's so precise.
12:07And we've seen some of these challenges where it nicks the strike zone by like a fraction of
12:10the ball, you know, and, um, but it was so, it was so precise that it just didn't look
12:16like baseball.
12:17That's the best way I could put it.
12:18It slowed the game down.
12:19There were more walks, um, and, and people hated it.
12:23You know, catchers really, there, there's a nuance to the game with the way catchers frame
12:27pitches.
12:27There's a nuance to the way umpires call games, move them along when it's 10, nothing, you
12:32know, the strike zone gets a little wider, that sort of thing.
12:34And with the ABS challenge, it's just nice because it's conceivably the biggest spots.
12:39It's not always the biggest spot.
12:40Sometimes guys get greedy and challenge when they shouldn't or, or whatever.
12:43They challenge early in the game when it's not really clear.
12:45That's a high leverage moment, but it is limited in its nature.
12:49And it's fun, man.
12:50I, it's just fun to be in the park when, when the, everybody's heads turn to the scoreboard
12:54and all right, let's see.
12:55And it's so quick, you know?
12:57Um, so they're in a really good spot with it.
12:59I think it's worked.
13:00It's functioned pretty well.
13:01I know there's been some, some online chatter from people who don't necessarily know much about
13:06the baseball and the strike zone, but, um, it's, you know, it's, it's functioning pretty
13:11well.
13:12I think you watch some of these sequences where it really livens up the crowd.
13:15Um, it's a spot that never would have done so otherwise.
13:18And I just love the strategy of it.
13:20You know, I love, I love this really, it's putting onus on the teams to figure out when
13:24to do this, how to do this, how aggressive to be.
13:27And, um, you know, it's just one more thing to critique after the game.
13:30I love it as a fan.
13:32I love it.
13:32Anthony, I love your time with us.
13:34Thank you so much for the time at Castervince on Twitter.
13:36Anthony, take care.
13:38Yeah.
13:38Thanks guys.
13:39We'll see you.
13:40Anthony Castervince, MLB.com, MLB network, the make it right, call car, right?
13:44Hotline.
13:45I didn't want to be unfair to Steven Kwan.
13:47I think it's something you have to wonder though.
13:49He has let us in.
13:50So when you let us in like that, I thought it was a great answer by Anthony.
Comments