- 7 minutes ago
Texas Rangers insider Jared Sandler joined the K&C Masterpiece to recap the first two games of the Mariners series and preview the series finale. Sandler broke down Nathan Eovaldi’s dominant bounce-back performance, the emergence of Jakob Junis in the bullpen, the team’s upcoming series against the Dodgers, and more.
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00:00Hey, before we get into baseball, I've noticed this.
00:04I don't know if you guys have brought it up.
00:07I'm surprised it's not to gain more coverage.
00:09Like the Angel-Reese trade?
00:10Did you guys see that?
00:11Yeah, it's kind of a big deal that nobody really knew about
00:14because it kind of went under the radar.
00:16And we didn't really cover it appropriately.
00:19I would have guessed that Kevin would have been all over that.
00:21Jared, name me 10 WNBA players.
00:23I can easily name 10 WNBA players.
00:25You want me to go right now?
00:27Okay.
00:27All right, Nafisa Collier, Angel-Reese, Paige Beckers.
00:32I was about to say Sue Bird.
00:33Kaitlyn Clark, Sophie Cunningham, Enrique Agumawale.
00:38How many am I at?
00:39Six.
00:40Yeah, you're shorting me, dude.
00:42I give you credit for six.
00:43That was six.
00:45Hands off that kid.
00:45No, no, no, no.
00:47I was trying to respond to a text quickly.
00:49Okay.
00:52Satu Saboli.
00:55Skylar Diggins.
00:56That's eight.
00:57You said easily.
00:59Diamond to Shields is nine.
01:00Somebody got traded.
01:03Did I not say Angel-Reese?
01:04There you go.
01:04Now I got to.
01:05Angel-Reese.
01:05And then we can get into the draft.
01:07And we got AZ Fudd.
01:09You got...
01:09Do you think she's going to go number one?
01:11No.
01:11I saw actually legitimately.
01:13I'm not joking.
01:13I saw a mock that she was going three.
01:15We were talking about that.
01:16There seems to be more dissension than ever on this
01:20with the Wings having the number one pick again.
01:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:23You think they're going to go with the gal from Spain?
01:25Yeah, I mean, I'm not even joking.
01:27No, I know.
01:27That's why I brought it up.
01:29People say we're not being sarcastic.
01:32I will say I do.
01:34I will watch and loosely follow women's college basketball
01:40because USC is good.
01:42And they have the best player in the country, Juju Watkins.
01:46Is she going to be ready to go this time next year?
01:48Yeah.
01:49I mean, she tore ACL over a year ago at this point.
01:53But that's happened a couple of times, has it not?
01:55With her?
01:55I thought it had.
01:56I thought she had suffered that twice.
01:59In high school, maybe not.
02:00You're thinking of Paige Becker.
02:01Paige Becker's...
02:02No, I know that.
02:03No, I know that.
02:05Yeah.
02:06That's not why you're here, Jared.
02:07You're here.
02:09You guys are professional sports news coverage people.
02:14All right.
02:14And so I just want to make sure.
02:15We talked about it two days ago when it happened.
02:18Did you see that guy at the Cubs-Rays game whose pants fell all the way off?
02:23I did, yeah.
02:23Actually, I didn't see it until about an hour ago.
02:25Did you see that?
02:26I have not seen it.
02:27His pants fell all the way off, like everything.
02:30I got you.
02:31Everything.
02:32Sliding?
02:32No, trying to go get a foul ball.
02:34Oh, fan.
02:35Gotcha.
02:35Gotcha.
02:35You got to make sure the pants are right.
02:37I'll watch this real quick.
02:38Yeah, you do.
02:39All right.
02:39So, Jared, I know everyone was saying the right things.
02:42And now that we saw a good start, I appreciate that.
02:46Did you have any tinge of worry about Evaldi going into last night's start?
02:50No, not last night.
02:51And Brad, or Broaddus or Gavin, one of them asked me yesterday, and I said that before.
02:57So, I was on record.
02:58I will admit, I was worried going into this.
03:00What I think I might have told them was if he had a really rough start last night, then I
03:06think it would be worth just asking, like, is he okay?
03:09And trying to get an understanding of, you know, why three straight.
03:14But, no, I really wasn't.
03:16And even after the Brendan Donovan home run, I wasn't concerned yet because that was just kind of a first
03:22pitch, try to steal a strike, and Donovan was ready for it.
03:26And, you know, I also think, though, just to be fair, he could have gone six innings and allowed one
03:33run and maybe not feel great about it if they're just ripping balls all over the place.
03:37But the way he did it, you know, with 22 swings and misses and, you know, being able to put
03:43hitters away, which was kind of a little bit of a bugaboo for him, his first couple starts, you know,
03:47I think all is well right now when it comes to Nathan Evaldi.
03:51And I told you, Kevin, right before we got off the air yesterday, I was not concerned.
03:54But if that game last night happened, then it was a rough one.
03:58Yeah.
03:59We trade him for skiing straight up.
04:00And who says no?
04:02The Pirates.
04:03Okay.
04:03But, okay, so, by the way, props for getting the 10 WNBA players.
04:12Yeah, I appreciate it.
04:13And you kind of put me on the spot there.
04:15I could probably do more.
04:17I could probably get to 20.
04:17No, I trust you.
04:18You were able to get 10 pretty quickly.
04:23What I wanted to talk about from last night's game is I get it.
04:27All wins count the same, and I appreciate that.
04:29But against a team that you've struggled mightily against the last two years and a pitcher that you've pretty much
04:35always struggled against.
04:36Did yesterday's win feel like it had a little extra juice to it?
04:40I think winning a series, absolutely.
04:42You know, in 2023, the Rangers, I want to say it was April, went to Houston and won a series
04:47against the Astros.
04:48And I don't remember if the last game of the series was national TV or not.
04:52It probably wasn't, but it was, you know, it was the rubber game of that series, and the Rangers won
04:58it pretty handily.
04:59And I remember asking people, like, does this feel different?
05:05Like, you know, the Rangers have gotten off to that great start.
05:07Yeah.
05:07But, you know, you go and you get your butt kicked by the Astros.
05:11Does it, oh, maybe it's a mirage.
05:13And the answer was almost across the board, yes.
05:16Yes, and this is amongst people who are conditioned, like myself, to just poo-poo every little small sample size
05:24type thing, right?
05:25Am I allowed to say that on air?
05:26Yes.
05:26I can say that, right?
05:28So I do think that there was something to that, you know, winning the series.
05:32And I think there was something to beating Logan Gilbert and George Kirby, even if you didn't really just, you
05:36know, knock them all over the place.
05:38Although we did get a home run off them for the first time in nine starts.
05:42So, yeah, I do think there's something to taking a series against the Mariners.
05:46Now, the Rangers are going to go to Seattle in a week and a half.
05:49And they are even worse.
05:51Yeah.
05:51You know, that's been a haunted house for the Rangers.
05:54So, you know, being able to even just win a game there, maybe win two this year, would be great.
06:00Maybe win a series, baby steps.
06:02But, yeah, beating Seattle in a series the first time in a few years is meaningful.
06:05And I just keep thinking, if you win today, you will have already equaled your win total over the Mariners
06:10last year and the year before.
06:12Yeah, which is wild.
06:12Three and ten and three and ten, yep.
06:14Jared, Jacob Junis and his.
06:17Did you really think his name was Jakub?
06:19No, I was just kidding.
06:20Oh, I don't.
06:21Does G-Bag, do they know that you were kidding me?
06:23Oh, I don't know.
06:24They kind of positioned it like, oh, we think Hagee thinks his name is Jakub.
06:27Oh, no, because I also said Yunis.
06:29So I said Jakub Yunis.
06:31Okay.
06:32I do think that would be like a really intimidating.
06:33I'm sorry, I thought it was humorous, but perhaps I need to.
06:37I like it.
06:37They just were like, they were, I think they were very serious in asking me, like, how do you actually
06:42pronounce this guy's name?
06:43No, no, yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:44I'm sorry.
06:45I will tell them.
06:46That being said, last night, four straight lefties at the plate.
06:51And he's, I went and looked, last year he had a better batting average against left-handed pitchers, or hitters.
06:58Is that something that they take into consideration when considering this closer spot?
07:02Because he looks like he's feeling it well at the moment.
07:05Yeah, you definitely want a closer who is not a platoon liability, right?
07:10It's really tough if you have a closer and it's like, oh, gosh, you know, he can't really face lefties
07:15or can't really, I mean, if it's righties, then you've got a real problem.
07:18Yeah.
07:19Yeah, he, you know, if you look over his career, he's had years where he's been better against one or
07:23the other.
07:23But, like, I think his career numbers are pretty consistent that, you know, he's not a, I mean, I guess
07:30if you look at his career early on, the numbers weighted down.
07:32The last few years as a reliever, yeah, you know, he can get both guys out.
07:35I think that played a role.
07:36You know, we were wondering whether Jacob Latz would just stay in for that third inning, right?
07:40Yeah.
07:41And, you know, the Rangers have options right now.
07:45But, yeah, you know, Skip Schumacher talked about how, you know, he just doesn't walk guys.
07:50He gets a lot of weak contact.
07:51Now, I'll say this, and I think Skip knows this, obviously.
07:55You get guys who swing and get swing and miss, then you eliminate some of the variables.
08:00Like Luke Grayley inside outing a ball.
08:03Yeah, right?
08:04Thank gosh he didn't touch first base.
08:06Otherwise, he would have been at second with a double, and then, you know, who knows what happens.
08:10So, but Jacob Junis gets weak contact, and he throws strikes, and right now, as the Rangers are trying to
08:19sort this out,
08:20he has been super awesome as a stabilizer there.
08:23I don't know if he is going to be the closer all year.
08:26I don't know that the Rangers have an idea yet, you know, who that guy is going to be to
08:32permanently take over that role.
08:34But right now, there are a lot of question marks, and Jacob Junis is helping you answer them.
08:38Is Cole Wynn an option there, too?
08:41I think so.
08:42I think we're pulling for that as a show a little bit.
08:43Why's that?
08:44We like him.
08:45Yeah.
08:45We just, and we're ready to see that project turn into something.
08:49Yeah.
08:49Especially, I think, because it feels like he's gone through the hype roller coaster, right?
08:54It's like, this is the dude.
08:55Here we go.
08:56Here we go.
08:56And then, he's nothing, never going to make it, and he's kind of rebuilt himself.
09:01And so, I think that helps his rootability.
09:04A hundred percent.
09:05No, I think Cole Wynn is a, when I asked why, I was just curious your perspective,
09:08because I think he's a guy that could absolutely get some safe chances.
09:12And heck, maybe today.
09:14You know, I don't think they're going to go to Jacob Junis.
09:17Skip kind of told us that earlier.
09:19Skip said it is very unlikely.
09:20He goes, I can't throw him every day.
09:22And I was like, all right.
09:24Does Cole have to be contained at one inning, though?
09:28It's a good question.
09:30I don't think so.
09:32You know, he's already had an outing.
09:33I want to say he had a four-out outing earlier this year.
09:37But, you know, I think if you're looking,
09:39I don't think he's a guy that you're going to try to get four-out saves with regularly.
09:44Yeah, yeah.
09:44You know, the swing and miss with the splitter is certainly there.
09:47He's got velo.
09:48I think the swing and miss will improve.
09:50The question with Cole, I think, is that next step is just limiting the walks, right?
09:55He was not quite a walk every other inning last year, but he was close.
09:59And you can do that.
10:01But if you're going to do that, let's say you're at a, you know, a four-per-nine walk rate,
10:08you need that strikeout rate to really be good, right?
10:10Because that's how you can neutralize that.
10:12But I think Cole Wynn is absolutely a guy who, you know, I would certainly be confident
10:16if he jogged out of there for the ninth inning in a one-run game.
10:18Let's do it.
10:18And early on, the pitching staff as a whole has been phenomenal at keeping down that walk rate, have they
10:24not?
10:24Yeah, and, you know, it's funny, the whiff rate for the Rangers as a whole, best in Major League Baseball.
10:30Now, that's weighted heavily by the rotation because the bullpen not near the top there.
10:34But the bullpen ERA is best in the American League and third in Major League Baseball,
10:38which I'm not sitting here trying to tell you that this is a lockdown best bullpen in the American League.
10:43But for all the frustration and the concern, they are getting results right now.
10:49And I think once you stabilize the ninth inning, it allows everything else to kind of fall into place.
10:55Be okay, because that was going to be my question on the flip side then, just a little devil's advocate.
10:59Your bullpen can be one of the best in Major League Baseball, but if you ask the bet in the
11:04ninth inning,
11:04that's going to wipe that all out, right?
11:06100%.
11:06Yeah, if you give up one run in the ninth inning or two runs in the ninth inning to lose
11:11a game,
11:12that's not going to ruin your ERA, but that ruins your taste.
11:15Yeah, but you're going to be like, this bullpen sucked.
11:16Yeah.
11:17Now, just as an...
11:18Just, your word with suck.
11:21I'm just saying, that's fan perception, right?
11:26Your ERA can be good, but if you have those blown saves, that's going to be the sentence that you
11:32hear.
11:32Now, I love talking with you because you can break down not only Ranger stuff, but all across baseball.
11:37Yes, and WNBA.
11:38Hey, you hit those 10, and you could probably get 20.
11:41So, we talk with Chris Young on Friday.
11:44Maybe 25.
11:45Hey, next week.
11:46I think Rangers are fourth best in walks given up.
11:48I know.
11:49Yeah, they've been tremendous.
11:50Strike rate, all that stuff.
11:51So, we talk with Chris Young on Friday, and he mentioned, like, this has happened in the Major Leagues before,
11:57but it feels like we're seeing way more long-term contracts for people who literally have zero MLB experience
12:03or, like Connor Griffin today, have, like, three or four games, and he gets a massive deal.
12:08Do you think this feels like we've seen an uptick in that, and will there be continuance of that going
12:14forward?
12:15Not necessarily just for the Rangers, but across the league.
12:17So, it's an interesting conversation because we're now getting the zero service time contract, right?
12:23And, you know, I even heard someone classify the, you know, one of the deals that's given out is a
12:28negative one service time contract
12:30because he's slipping my mind.
12:33He never played above double A?
12:34Well, no, the kid that Milwaukee just extended, they don't even know if he's going to come up this year.
12:39The Mariners signed Colt Emerson.
12:40Yeah.
12:41He will likely come up this year.
12:42I can't, the Milwaukee kid now, all of a sudden slipping my mind.
12:45I'm thinking about all these WNBA players.
12:49But, yeah, I, there's, it obviously wouldn't be done if they didn't think that the ROI would make sense.
12:56The thing that stands out to me is that for a lot of these deals.
12:59Cooper Pratt.
12:59Cooper Pratt, there you go.
13:01For a lot of these deals, we worry, like, oh, what if it doesn't work out?
13:04And usually these deals aren't so expensive to where, like, you're hamstrung by it.
13:09Now, Pittsburgh's not an organization that spends a lot, but even the Connor Griffin deal, I mean,
13:13that's not going to totally melt down their ability to spend if it doesn't work out.
13:18And, you know, what does it mean?
13:19It's not binary.
13:20It's not it does or it doesn't.
13:22So, like, let's say Connor Griffin's good, not great, or great, not amazing.
13:25Like, yeah, I think it does make sense.
13:28And for a lot of these guys, it gives them guaranteed financial security.
13:31Some people will take the approach where you want them to keep chasing that carrot.
13:34The other thing is, you know, the other side of that is, no, no, give them the peace of mind
13:38and let them just worry about baseball.
13:40Don't have them worrying about whether they're going to get that contract
13:43or how much money they're going to make in arbitration.
13:45Do you feel like sometimes we underrate how many of these players are intrinsically motivated
13:49where they're like, hey, that's great.
13:51I want the money, but I want to be great.
13:54Yeah.
13:55That's hard to classify.
13:57Listen, there are guys in every clubhouse who they will tell, yeah, they like baseball,
14:01but it's how they're building generational wealth, and that's what they like most.
14:06There are other guys who understand that they're going to build generational wealth.
14:09That's just a byproduct, but, like, they love baseball, right?
14:12I think it's just like society.
14:14You get a little bit of everything.
14:16But I will say this.
14:17I think front offices are smart in understanding which players tend to make money in arbitration
14:21and which don't, right?
14:22You can have two players who are both, like, equally as good,
14:25but maybe the statistics or the way that one player gets to his success
14:30is going to be rewarded more in arbitration, and I think teams factor that in.
14:34But I do think that it's a very viable strategy, and I think it's also one, too,
14:38fan bases love because then they have the peace of mind knowing that this guy's going to be around
14:42for, you know, X amount of years.
14:44It's so early in the season, but going to the Dodgers after you wrap up this series,
14:49do you feel like there's some extra charge with the team, maybe even with y'all,
14:54about, like, getting to play the back-to-back defending champions,
14:57especially so early in the season?
14:59I think that's great.
15:00Now, the Rangers finally are getting a little bit of pitching luck here.
15:03You know, having to go Gilbert, Kirby, Wu, they're going to miss Yamamoto and Otani.
15:08You still have to deal with Tyler Glass now and Justin Robleski, who's really good,
15:12and I think Roki Sasaki is like it's just kind of a grab bag.
15:16But I think it's better facing the Dodgers now than it would be, like,
15:20when they're chasing something.
15:22Right.
15:23I think it's a great opportunity for the Rangers to go to L.A.
15:26I mean, they took two or three two years ago.
15:28That was the David Robertson Hero Series, if you guys remember.
15:31But it'll be a fun environment, and I know I'm looking forward to it.
15:35USC has a big series against Iowa that weekend as well.
15:38You know, they're the second-best baseball team in Southern California right now.
15:42Do you think the Blue Jays?
15:42Sadly, third, actually, because UCLA just swept them.
15:44Do you think the Blue Jays think they caught the Dodgers at the right time?
15:48Well, but I was actually thinking about that because there's motivation for the Dodgers, right?
15:53They're going to Toronto.
15:54They're getting booed.
15:55You know, they know that the Blue Jays are going to take this.
15:59Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:59Whereas, like, the Rangers, we don't care.
16:03The Rangers are the last non-Dodgers world champion.
16:06They should care.
16:07They should.
16:08You're right.
16:08This is the meeting of the last two sort of World Series champions.
16:13No, it is, yeah.
16:14You're not sure.
16:15Nobody else has won one.
16:17I don't know if people would be like, well, they won two.
16:19So, yeah, these are the last two World Series champions.
16:22Get the hype up, Jared.
16:24It could be.
16:24I could be the only two after this year, too.
16:27That's true.
16:28And which side are you going on that one?
16:31Oh, the Rangers are winning.
16:32Yeah, okay.
16:32I mean, come on, guys.
16:33You've seen what's happening out here?
16:35But don't you think nobody can score on us?
16:36But that would be an amazingly positive prediction, right,
16:39if I said the Rangers will make it to the World Series.
16:41Even if you said they lost, that would be pretty good.
16:44Oh, I think people would be thrilled about that.
16:46Yeah.
16:47Name one.
16:48Me.
16:48Name 10.
16:50I can't because Corey was 20.
16:52No.
16:52Come on.
16:53No, I said one.
16:55One only.
16:56I think that would be, listen, the Rangers, they absolutely,
17:00like, if they were to win the division,
17:02that would not be some David versus Goliath underdog story.
17:06But understandably, like, nationally,
17:08the narrative for a team that's missed the playoffs two years in a row
17:11that didn't go out and make a bunch of splashes
17:13is not that, you know, they're a viable World Series contender.
17:16But I think if you look at the roster,
17:19like, why couldn't they, with this pitching,
17:22get through a postseason and just be nails?
17:24At the deadline, they go and add a reliever or two.
17:27You get Jock Peterson to get going,
17:30and he's been better the last few games.
17:32He legged it out yesterday.
17:33He did, yeah.
17:35All of a sudden, like, you start to see what the front office
17:38and everyone else saw last year and maybe even the year before.
17:41And if Jacob Latz just never gives up a hit.
17:43I mean, that might be a record.
17:45It is already a Rangers record.
17:47It is.
17:47How about that?
17:48Yeah, beat you, Darvish.
17:49That's tomorrow with Gonzalez.
17:50Absolutely.
17:52Yes.
17:52Yeah.
17:53That's true.
17:54All right.
17:54Name one.
17:55Name one of anything.
17:58Just name him.
17:58Hey, Matt Hicks.
18:00Okay.
18:01Oh, man.
18:01Smart move.
18:02That's a good one.
18:03You know, Matt Hicks doesn't say the word unbelievable anymore.
18:06Why?
18:06Because he doesn't feel it's appropriate to say something's unbelievable
18:10if it actually is, like, maybe believable.
18:12He told me that if Martians landed on the field,
18:15then he would say unbelievable.
18:16Okay.
18:17Wow.
18:17But then that would be believable at that point.
18:20Well, but maybe not in that moment.
18:21Okay.
18:22Yeah.
18:22See, that was something we worked on when we edit at the newspapers.
18:24People would put really unbelievable in their story,
18:27and I'm like, well, by its nature, unbelievable is unbelievable.
18:31You don't need to put really unbelievable.
18:32I want to say one thing since you guys are a recent pet peeve of mine,
18:38and you guys have the expressway coming up, like, whatever.
18:41Nope.
18:41Not today.
18:41Not today.
18:42We don't.
18:42Oh, that's right.
18:43You're right.
18:45I appreciate when people add the appropriate L-Y ending to, like,
18:51in an adverb situation, like, smartly.
18:54Yeah.
18:55And also, I really don't like when people, he's real good.
18:59No, no, he's really good.
19:00Like, it's not real.
19:01It's not about, like, real or fake.
19:04Yeah.
19:04So those are two pet peeves of mine recently.
19:06You know what I would like?
19:09If every segment we do with you from now on starts with a top ten,
19:14has lots of baseball info, and ends with a grammar tip,
19:18I think that that would be amazing.
19:21It's a good sell.
19:21I like it.
19:22I don't know that I'm the best for that.
19:23I think I'm pretty limited in my grammar stuff.
19:25No, you're going to be all right.
19:26You're going to be all right.
19:27You did real smart today.
19:28No, I'm just kidding.
19:30All right.
19:30There you go, ladies and gentlemen.
19:31Jared Sandler right here on 105.3 The Fan.
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