- 1 day ago
On The Morning Shift, Grant McAuley makes the case that the Braves "owe it to themselves" to explore a trade for Tigers' pitcher Tarik Skubal. The crew discusses what it would take to land one of baseball's premier pitchers, whether Atlanta has the assets to make a deal happen, and if Skubal is the missing piece for a World Series run.
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00:00Hey, it's Sports Radio 92.9 The Game.
00:02We're The Morning Shift.
00:03I am Allie with Mike and Bo.
00:04Dylan's hanging out behind the glass,
00:06and we are joined by 92.9 The Game's Braves insider Grant McCauley.
00:09Our conversation with Grant is brought to you by Mark Spain Real Estate.
00:13Get a guaranteed offer on your home at markspain.com.
00:16Grant, welcome in.
00:17I'm not going to start off by complaining.
00:19I'm just going to point out there is a pattern of not locking in the sweep.
00:24Is there anything to this?
00:28I don't know that I see anything in particular there.
00:32I'm not sure which direction I need to go here, but, yeah, I don't know.
00:39I think that continuing to win series was kind of the mission,
00:42and they've continued to do that.
00:44So I think you kind of hang your hat there and then work backwards.
00:47They've been fairly good in series finales or at least rubber matches this year.
00:51So it's a couple of things that I think have worked to their advantage,
00:55but, you know, you can't win them all.
00:57Well, before we get to the nitty-gritty of the game yesterday, Grant,
01:00now if you and I had been there last night, are we tarps off?
01:03Are we in the tarps off, Terrace, me and you, or no?
01:05No, we are not in the tarps off.
01:09Oh, man.
01:10I was going to go whichever way you went.
01:13I was going to go whichever way you went.
01:14I was going to be like, yeah, you're right.
01:15We don't need that, Grant.
01:16You're right.
01:17But if you had been, yeah, let's get a cold beer and go up there.
01:19Okay.
01:19All right, I'm down.
01:21I almost got the impression, Grant, watching the game yesterday,
01:24that it almost felt like it was harder for the hitters to prepare for some of
01:29the at-bats based on the fact the other team's going to bullpen.
01:32I think from the surface you look and go, oh, Chris Sale versus a bullpen game.
01:35But the hitters, I've really been dialed in on watching the professional at-bats
01:39that guys like Dom Smith have had all year, Matt Olson.
01:42It just felt like for whatever reason you were getting hard contact,
01:45but maybe the at-bats weren't the same as they normally have been over some of
01:49the big wins you've had.
01:50Yeah, I think some of the hard contact that you look at is definitely,
01:54I mean, that's who the Braves are.
01:56And with the opener that they had, I mean,
01:58that wasn't something that I felt like was going to put them back significantly.
02:01And I don't think Walt really made the starting lineup around, okay,
02:05we've got a left-handed opener,
02:06so we need to change everything about how we do it.
02:08I think you had to give, I think,
02:10maybe just a little bit more credit to Chad Dallas who came in and threw himself
02:14a heck of a game, and it's kind of an unknown quantity for the Braves.
02:17So whenever you face somebody that first time,
02:19I feel like usually it tends to work in their advantage.
02:22But, you know, when you make your hard contact and somebody's there to catch it,
02:26that's just one of the frustrating parts about the game of baseball.
02:28And then you can look at, you know,
02:30an inning that gets away from a pitcher as good as Chris Sale.
02:32Then he's able to lock back in.
02:34And then you feel like you've kind of got a close game,
02:36and then not everybody in the bullpen is going to have it on a given night.
02:39So I think a few different things kind of went wrong.
02:41And, you know, again, it does happen.
02:44But overall, you know,
02:46it's hard to argue with what the Braves were able to do to a Blue Jays team
02:49that's kind of been an enigma this year.
02:50They gave you a little glimpse of what they're capable of.
02:53They've got, I think, the American League's leading hits man.
02:55They've got a guy who should be a perennial MVP.
02:58They've got some pitchers that you would feel like could put you in position
03:00to do some good things.
03:01But they've just kind of been a stagnant 500-ish club all year long,
03:05and it's been a frustration for them.
03:07Grant, Mauricio Dubon is, I mean, he has been an unbelievable addition to this team.
03:15He's on pace for like 80-something RBIs, which his career high is 47.
03:20He hit his fifth home run last night, I think back-to-back games with a home run.
03:24Some people don't think you can win a World Series with him as a starter on your roster.
03:28I disagree.
03:30But I thought the most interesting thing is the way he pointed at Chipper
03:33after the home run on Wednesday night.
03:37What is his relationship with Chipper?
03:38Is that something they've been working together?
03:41What's going on there?
03:43Yeah, it kind of dates back to spring training where Mauricio was another one of those guys
03:47that you can track back to, like, who was your favorite player growing up?
03:51What was your favorite team?
03:52Who were you watching?
03:53And it was the Braves, and it was Chipper Jones.
03:54So when he had the opportunity to meet him in spring training,
03:56I think they had a little bit of a connection there, the opportunity to talk some hitting.
04:00Clearly, Dubon has done plenty of hitting this year for the Braves,
04:03and more so than he does most major league seasons that he's had thus far.
04:07He's just not known for his bat.
04:09But while you might look at his stat line and say, okay, it's adequate, it's nothing special,
04:14then you look at what he does with runners on base.
04:16He just dials in in those spots.
04:18And I can't give all that credit to Chipper Jones.
04:21I don't think he's looking to take all the credit for the hitter's successes.
04:24But I think they had a little conversation before the game on Wednesday, if I heard right.
04:28And so you saw the acknowledgement right there, which was just basically maybe just
04:33Chipper kind of giving him a reminder of what that approach needs to be,
04:36where you want to be looking as far as the field is concerned when you're looking to put that ball
04:41in play.
04:41And it seemed to work out.
04:42A home run out to right center field, you'll certainly take it,
04:45because that off the bat of a right-handed hitter is usually a pretty good sign
04:48that they're seeing the ball really, really well.
04:50We are joined by our Braves insider, Grant McCauley, on the morning shift.
04:54And earlier this week, Grant, we heard from Alex Anthopoulos on Braves Vision.
04:57He did say they could be looking for a sixth starting pitcher.
05:02And then yesterday, there were rumors about Tarek Skubal starting up.
05:05Where are you on the chances of Tarek Skubal becoming a Brave?
05:08I mean, it's an exciting concept, right?
05:11And, you know, the Braves, I think you're finally in that position
05:14where you look at that farm system that they have,
05:16and you can look at this one of two ways.
05:18A, you're excited because that pipeline seems to be replenished
05:21with a lot of quantity of the quality.
05:24We've seen, you know, big players, you know, homegrown stars come up,
05:28like Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris and Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach.
05:32I mean, it's not like they haven't produced big league players,
05:35but you've kind of looked down there, and the cupboard's been a little bit bare.
05:37So if you were thinking about swinging a big trade,
05:40you didn't really, I feel like, have those pieces to dream on that for too terribly long,
05:45because then you started having to think about,
05:47all right, we just got used to this young star that we just brought up,
05:50or we're going to have to trade him to go get somebody.
05:52And you're not trading guys like that for rentals,
05:54but that's what prospects and farm systems are for, for contending clubs.
05:57So if the Tigers decide that they want to deal with Tarek Skubal,
06:01there'll be no shortage of suitors, including, I'm sure, the Los Angeles Dodgers
06:05who'll be ready to park out front and bring a Brinks truck or two
06:08to figure out what they have to do to get involved with that,
06:10because their starting pitching's been a mess this year,
06:12outside of, basically, Shohei Ohtani,
06:15and that's just who you're going to have to deal with in that regard.
06:18And I think that with Tarek Skubal,
06:21that's the kind of difference maker that you just don't find too terribly often.
06:24So if you are the Braves, if you're Alex Anthopoulos, I'm sure,
06:27if you're really sizing it all up,
06:29the opportunity to do something like this doesn't come around too often.
06:33So if you look at a club that's done the things the Braves have done this year,
06:36and you feel like you're that one piece away,
06:38you owe it to yourself to explore that.
06:40I'll put it that way.
06:41What will it cost?
06:42I think it's the big question,
06:44and I think you have to start looking at some of the young pitching we've already seen.
06:47Didier Fuentes, J.R. Ritchie,
06:49but if you start dipping into some of your young position player prospects,
06:54are you really ready to go down that line,
06:56since it took so long to build up a few,
06:58that you're actually excited about again?
07:00Last year's first-round pick, Tate Southacene, has looked terrific.
07:04Eric Hartman up in Rome has also been terrific.
07:06He's gotten a lot of heat across the prospect lists,
07:10and these are the kind of discussions you have to have.
07:13How much is three months of Tarek Skubel worth?
07:15If you win the World Series,
07:16you can make the argument it's worth every penny of what you've craved away for him,
07:20but if you don't,
07:21you have to kind of go see what those players become in another organization,
07:24and that can be the difficult part of it for GMs,
07:27but also for the fan base,
07:29if things don't work out the way that you're hoping they will.
07:31Grant, I want to ask you about that.
07:33Yeah, if you make a move like that where you give up so much,
07:36don't you have to do it with the mindset of,
07:40we're not just trying to win the World Series this year,
07:42we're going to re-sign him,
07:43and basically give him the Brinks truck, so to speak,
07:46because the Braves just aren't built,
07:49they're not a team that can give up so many players like that
07:53because of kind of how they operate on a pseudo-cap, so to speak.
07:58Yeah, but then you have to apply that same logic
08:01to what it's going to cost for Tarek Skubal
08:03because I think, you know,
08:05we're staring at this,
08:07let's take the CBA and put it off to the side
08:09and pretend it's not the giant elephant in the room.
08:11Tarek Skubal is going to go to free agency.
08:12He's not signing an extension with anybody that he gets traded away to.
08:16He's going to sign, I think,
08:18the richest contract, free agent contract, by a pitcher ever,
08:21so you're talking about a huge deal that could, you know,
08:24span $45 to $50 million annually over I don't know how many years.
08:29We couldn't be looking at a, you know, $350, $400 million contract.
08:34I mean, I'd have to really break down
08:35what all the biggest deals that have ever been given out are,
08:38but he's looking for one.
08:39So what is the signability of a guy like that?
08:42Because he's not coming here to take a hometown discount so he can win.
08:45He's a guy that has won a couple of Cy Young awards.
08:48He can find a team that you could be capable of winning
08:50over the course of a long contract,
08:52especially if you've got the Dodgers involved in this.
08:54It's not like they have to sell winning.
08:56That's something they do as well.
08:57So if that were the normal circumstances that we're looking at,
09:01that's the situation.
09:02Then I look at the CBA and wonder,
09:05what is this going to look like on the other side
09:07with regard to the salary cap
09:09and the distribution of different players
09:12if you have to stay under that cap?
09:14Because the Dodgers, from my understanding,
09:16can't keep a $500 million payroll
09:18if the salary cap is $245 million.
09:20So I'm still fascinated to see how all of these different dominoes fall
09:24once they figure that out,
09:25if they can figure that out in a timely manner,
09:28is probably my biggest and most pressing question right now.
09:31Grant, last week, one week ago,
09:33in this very segment,
09:34I came on here and I pleaded the case for Hassan Kim
09:38and said he needs another month
09:40to be able to kind of acclimate.
09:41And I think you agreed with me,
09:43and more times than not, though,
09:45over the last week he has not been the starting shortstop.
09:48So what is the future of this position?
09:52Are we simply,
09:52you think Walt Weiss is just kind of waiting on Hassan Kim
09:55to get hot in his plate appearances,
09:57or do you think that this is something that could carry over
09:59into the second half of the season
10:00where you're kind of sharing time there?
10:02No, I mean, Walt was saying this week,
10:04because there's a lot of questions about that,
10:06and justifiably so,
10:07because they are trying to win games,
10:09and it's hard to watch somebody struggle in that way
10:13and not feel like you are giving the lineup
10:16the best opportunity.
10:17And Jorge Mateo has been a guy
10:19that has swung the bat well this year
10:20and has gotten some increased plate appearances
10:23as a result of that.
10:24And then you've got Mauricio Dubon,
10:25who I don't think any of us need to plead the case for.
10:27He deserves the playing time
10:28if that's how you want to augment your lineup.
10:32But I think with Hassan Kim,
10:33they're just trying to give him that opportunity
10:35to really get himself going,
10:37some of the work that he's doing behind the scenes,
10:39get comfortable at the plate,
10:41and he does have a role to play.
10:42Nothing has changed in the last week
10:44with regard to that.
10:45Some playing time has been handed out
10:47to some other guys.
10:48The Braves' number one goal is to win.
10:50Hassan Kim, I still think,
10:51is going to be a part of that.
10:52It's just been a little bit quieter this week,
10:54and maybe he needed a little bit of a slowdown
10:56after kind of having to get shot out of a cannon
10:59from go down, get yourself healthy,
11:01all right, run out to the minor leagues for a little while,
11:03and I'll come back and jump right in the lineup
11:05of a contending club,
11:06and please don't miss a beat.
11:07That felt like the expectation for Hassan Kim,
11:09and I don't know that that's necessarily realistic
11:12for everybody.
11:13Grant, I do have some plans for you tonight.
11:15First of all, I want you to order a large pizza,
11:17and then I want you to eat everything
11:20except the crust.
11:21Just leave the plate of crust right there
11:23in the middle of the kitchen,
11:24and Allie is going to be so excited
11:26when she walks in and sees only the crust.
11:28She's just a crust dominator, it turns out.
11:31I have stolen his crust before.
11:32I know.
11:33Oh, shocker.
11:34I could see that coming.
11:35My goodness.
11:36She's like, this is the best part of the pizza.
11:38What are we doing?
11:39Grant, I think I owe you an apology.
11:41Okay.
11:42I made the mistake.
11:44I did not realize that you were sneaking around
11:46going to press conferences late at night,
11:48and I kind of outed you on the air.
11:50I was like, yeah, I think I heard Grant
11:51ask a question to Bryce Elder,
11:53and then I got a look,
11:54so I apologize if I got you in trouble.
11:57He said he was on his way home.
11:58He wasn't supposed to be talking to Bryce Elder.
12:00On my way home, we just had to make a quick stop
12:02downstairs and ask him some burning questions.
12:05So if anybody outed themselves,
12:07I did it on Braze Day.
12:09Grant was trying to make his way home,
12:10and a press conference broke out.
12:12Right there in the press conference room.
12:14Of all places he could be,
12:15I'm a-okay for the press conference.
12:17All right.
12:19Hey, I know you've got From the Diamond
12:20coming up this weekend, Sunday 5 to 7.
12:22What do you have lined up?
12:23Yeah, big, big show.
12:25I'm very excited about this.
12:26I got the opportunity to sit down with David Justice
12:28for about 20 minutes a couple of days ago
12:31when he had his bobblehead night at the park.
12:33Got a lot of great stories from the 95 World Series,
12:36from his time kind of establishing himself
12:38as a big leaguer, rookie of the year.
12:40We talked about the Dale Murphy trade,
12:41which hurt my heart but opened a big door for his career.
12:45He talked about a whole bunch of great memories
12:47of Bobby Cox and playing for those great 90s Braves teams.
12:50So that's a really, really, really fun conversation.
12:52One of the best that I've had in a long time
12:55with anybody about baseball anywhere.
12:57So David Justice will be on the show.
12:59I also got to catch up with Dom Smith
13:00and talk about the season that he's been putting together
13:03for the Braves and how much fun he's having
13:05being a part of this 2026 club.
13:07That's From the Diamond on Sunday, 5 to 7.
13:09Two hours of Braves and Baseball Talk.
13:10You can find it wherever you get your podcasts
13:12and on the Odyssey app.
13:14Awesome.
13:14Thanks for the time, Grant.
13:15Appreciate it.
13:16Thanks, everyone.
13:17That is Grant McCauley, our Braves insider.
13:19You can find him on all the socials at Grant McCauley.
13:21Yeah, we'll be right back.
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