00:00A question sort of popped into my head because it feels like it keeps coming up.
00:05We're talking about athletes who are sort of big time and therefore what kind of juice
00:13do they have within their organization, right?
00:17There's LeBron, there's Steph, but think about this even in the Rafi Devers story.
00:23He's in Boston.
00:24He's like, I'm an all-star third baseman.
00:26They acquire a new third baseman.
00:28And he's like, the what you say?
00:31And so it caused a big fight.
00:33And it led to the Giants acquiring Rafi Devers.
00:36And then when there was that whole Bryce Eldridge thing, the Giants are dealing with,
00:42hey, we need to get him in the lineup.
00:44You know, maybe we have some days off in here for you guys.
00:48And all the B-Riders are like, eh.
00:52Wasn't well received.
00:54You're not going to be able to go to that card very often because Devers wants to play first.
01:01Adamus and Chapman don't want days off.
01:04Devers will do the DH thing here and there, but it feels like they've kind of been doing
01:09the Devers two days at first, one day at DH thing.
01:13Yep.
01:13For the most part.
01:15Bryce Eldridge then hits a walk-off Grand Slam.
01:19And he says directly into a camera, I want to be the face of this franchise.
01:26Okay.
01:27Let's talk.
01:30How much longer does Bryce Eldridge play like this before he gets a voice?
01:39Because we're still very much in the space where Bryce will be like, hey, I'm not going
01:47to make any waves.
01:48You need me to DH if you need me to HD.
01:52Like, whatever you need me to do.
01:54I'm happy to be here.
01:55I'm going to do it, but watch what happens when I go do it.
01:58I'm going to hit the ball in the water.
02:00I'm going to walk.
02:02And that's pretty much it.
02:03I'm going to walk and hit the ball in the water.
02:05I'm going to hit the ball the other way.
02:07And yeah, I'm going to absolutely flash.
02:09I'm going to be awesome sauce.
02:11And I'm going to force your hand.
02:13And he's already done that with regard to getting into the lineup.
02:16At what point, and I haven't asked him this question, and he won't answer it, you know,
02:22in that sort of a way yet anyway.
02:23But how much longer before Bryce goes, I want to play first base?
02:29I think it's probably the balance of the year until he, you know, he's able to put words
02:35onto that.
02:36He already said he wants to be the face of the franchise.
02:38That wasn't received great by everyone.
02:40I thought it was awesome.
02:41I think it actually wasn't.
02:43Matt Steinmetz was the only one.
02:45That's fine.
02:45And he doesn't want to be a curmudgeon, but, you know, occasionally he will, he will
02:49curmudgeon.
02:50True fits.
02:50Yeah.
02:51So I think that it would have to be a full year and then you get ready to go to,
02:56to camp
02:57next year.
02:57And it's like, Hey guys, I mean, I only played first 38 times last year.
03:01I'm kind of looking for 149 of those.
03:04Can you be, this is a side question.
03:06Uh, if you may, your honor.
03:08Yep.
03:08I'll allow it.
03:10Can you be the face of a franchise as a DH?
03:13I think he can.
03:14Wasn't big poppy a DH?
03:16He was.
03:16David Ortiz.
03:17That's a good, that's a good example.
03:19I'd like to, I'd like to say that he was the face of the franchise.
03:21I think you're right for the most part.
03:24Right.
03:24When they, when they were going through their run.
03:26Yeah.
03:27I can, can we think of any others?
03:30Is, is Kyle Schwarber the face of the Phillies?
03:33I think it's still Bryce Harper.
03:35Bryce Harper.
03:35Yeah.
03:36Any other DHs that are the face of the franchise?
03:38I mean, he's a very unique DH, but Otani.
03:42Sure.
03:43But also a pitcher.
03:44Right.
03:45But also a pitcher.
03:47Um, but it's a fair answer.
03:49Yeah.
03:49I'll allow it.
03:50All right.
03:51Like, all right.
03:52So now back to the regular line of questioning.
03:55I don't know if we know, or if even he knows yet, to what level does being in the field
04:02with a glove on a daily basis matter?
04:05But maybe we are a little bit in a race against time.
04:10You know, Grandy asked the question about, do we think that they quote should trade Rafi Devers?
04:16I don't even know if they can.
04:18And I'm not in a hurry right now because the rest of this year is whatever it is.
04:23And they do have the DH.
04:26And so if Devers is here for another year or two or like seven.
04:32Yeah, maybe.
04:33Like, I feel like they can wrap their head around that, but maybe they can't.
04:38Because quite frankly, you are one Bryce Eldridge sentence away from a big ass problem.
04:45That, and I do think you would like to have positional flexibility to where you could have, if somebody's throwing
04:52a lefty, you could have a right-handed hitting DH.
04:54Because right now, you have to have Devers and you have to have Bryce Eldridge in the lineup.
04:59Absolutely.
05:00And Devers has played in all 72 games.
05:0354 at first, 18 as a DH.
05:06I wonder if he's happy with that split because he's starting to lose games to Bryce over at first.
05:13Because you want to give him some seasoning.
05:14Yeah, and I know it's hard for all of us when we're doing the whole, like, I wonder if he's
05:19happy.
05:20Like, most people who are listening to us right now are thinking to themselves, you know what, for $30 million,
05:28here's a cup of shut up.
05:31You'll be happy, period.
05:33Period, but at the same time, if he's not happy.
05:35But it doesn't work that way.
05:36Yeah, it doesn't work that way.
05:37He can call the agent.
05:38The agent can, you know, call Buster Olney and say, hey, they're open to shopping him because we asked him
05:43to shop him.
05:43If Eldridge keeps playing baseball like this, he's not that far off from being able to call his own shots.
05:50That's just the reality of sports.
05:53Yeah, I mean, baseball's different because he's pre-arb and he's not even close to an arb.
05:58I'm not saying that he can force a maneuver.
06:00I'm saying that he can, even if just behind the scenes, he can cause a huge problem here.
06:08What if it's not?
06:09I know our mind goes to, ooh, like, all right, there's a standoff.
06:13What if Bryce just goes into Tony B's office or Buster's office?
06:17Hey, guys, I want to play first.
06:21Like, it's really important to me.
06:23I want to be in the field.
06:25It helps me feel like I'm in the game more.
06:27What if that conversation's already happened?
06:31Yeah, it's possible.
06:32Like, what do you do if you're the Giants?
06:35You've got to figure it out.
06:36You don't trade Bryce Eldridge.
06:37That's for sure.
06:38That's the only, I mean, that is, quite frankly, the number one non-negotiable in the entire organization.
06:46That's even less negotiable than Logan Webb.
06:48Agreed.
06:49I mean, Logan's got two more years and then he can be free to go anywhere he wants at that
06:54point when he's a free agent.
06:55So, yeah, Bryce is your prospect and looks like you probably hit on one.
06:59So, that's the non-negotiable.
07:01But if it gets to that spot where he feels like he can be better and the numbers prove that
07:06he's better when he plays first,
07:08I'm just looking here and he is, when he plays first, he's OPS is 7-0-8, six games, very
07:15small sample.
07:16When he DHs, his OPS is 1,008.
07:19Again, a bigger.
07:20Is it my Bryce?
07:21Yes.
07:21Okay.
07:2126 games at DH, 1,008.
07:24Six games at first, tiny sample, 7-0-8.
07:28So, right now, he's hitting better as a DH.
07:30I mean, I don't know.
07:31Maybe he's like, I hate playing the field.
07:33Right.
07:34And so, maybe it's okay.
07:35I don't want to get yelled at by Matt Chapman if I don't catch the bleeping ball.
07:39Right.
07:40Right.
07:40Although, I've got to think if I'm Matt Chapman and Willie Adamas, I'm like, put the 6'7 dude over
07:45there.
07:45The target is huge.
07:48Right?
07:48He's throwing a football at Kyle Pitts or something like that.
07:52So, that's, you know, look, I don't know.
07:55Yeah, maybe he's not tied to this at all.
07:58And maybe we're creating a problem that doesn't exist.
08:01Maybe he wants to be a DH.
08:03It's possible.
08:04And then Rafi Devers can just play here for seven years and hopefully he plays better.
08:08Rafi has a first baseman this year.
08:1054 games.
08:11OPS is 6-62.
08:13Of 18 games at DH, OPS is 8-41.
08:17So, and again, a small sample.
08:19Maybe they should take the gloves away from all the Giants.
08:22That's right.
08:23They're not very good at it anyway.
08:25Play Casey at first and then just put one of those guys in the outfield.
08:29Let Rafi run around left field.
08:31See how that works out.
08:33I don't know.
08:33I don't know.
08:34I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
08:35I don't know.
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