- 1 day ago
The Washington Nationals have some massive decisions to make in the future but Paul Toboni is adamant that James Wood is not for sale. Who should Washington deal near the trade deadline?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00It's President of Baseball Operations for the Nationals, Paul Tivoni. Hey, Paul.
00:04What's up, fellas? What's going on?
00:05How about that fifth inning for Foster Griffin?
00:08Yeah, that was pretty cool, wasn't it?
00:09I mean, the whole story is so awesome.
00:11So it was great to see him go out there and have some success.
00:16I know he was pumped about it, so really fun to see.
00:18Yeah, I mean, just an amazing pickup by you guys.
00:21You know, we were actually kicking around the other day.
00:23What are the rules on that?
00:24You know, as you're trying to sort of turn over every leaf to see where you get some help here,
00:29can you just dig into the Japanese well during the season?
00:33Like, what's the rule on that?
00:34Find another Foster Griffin.
00:35Is it the Wild West? How does that work?
00:36How does that work?
00:38Yeah, no, it's a little bit different.
00:39They basically have to be posted if they're still under contract.
00:45What does that mean, posted? What does that mean?
00:48Yeah, you basically, like the Japanese team, for instance,
00:51has to essentially release their rights,
00:53and then major league teams have to pay a fee in order to access them.
00:59But that can't happen unless they're, you know,
01:02they're actually close in the first place.
01:03So you can't pull off like some sort of weird trade?
01:07No, I mean...
01:08Are you going to trade a Japanese team from your American team?
01:12Yeah, I know. I mean, I'm just asking.
01:14I don't know. It's weird.
01:16Yeah.
01:16I like where your guys' heads are at, though.
01:18It's creative.
01:19Leave no stone unturned.
01:21All right, so, Paul, let me ask you that we were discussing this earlier in the show.
01:26They recreated a scene from the Sandlot during the All-Star game yesterday.
01:32And I argued that for guys of a certain age,
01:36and the guys you're talking to right now, we're all in our mid-50s.
01:38Like, the Sandlot, I know it's a fine movie,
01:41but it doesn't resonate with us because it wasn't really from our generation.
01:45But I know it means a lot to guys like in their 30s and late 30s, maybe early 40s.
01:50Like, do you see that dividing line when you're dealing with guys of our age or older
01:56when it comes to how important the Sandlot is to baseball fans?
02:00So, this is funny.
02:01It probably tells me that my entry music coming on the show means nothing to you guys.
02:05I know it's from the Sandlot.
02:10You know, it's so funny.
02:11Like, there are guys that are my age that, you know, have never seen it.
02:17And it's one of those things, I think, like, where if you watch it for the first time
02:20when you're in your 30s or even in your 20s, like, you can't get on it.
02:24You know what I mean?
02:24I think you had to watch it growing up.
02:26So, but then there are two players on our team, right, that are much younger that I
02:32think it was really the generation before them.
02:34But they, you know, they watched it growing up and they're all about it.
02:37You know what I mean?
02:37So, it's hit and miss.
02:40But I will say, like, if you're working within baseball, you love baseball, whatever it is,
02:45and you grew up watching it, I think there's a stronger attachment to that movie than I
02:50think most baseball movies.
02:51I'm a Field of Dreams guy.
02:53That's more my speed than the Sandlot.
02:56Yeah.
02:57Let me go back to Foster Griffin.
03:00So, Foster Griffin is somebody that is making right around $5 million this year, $5.5 million.
03:06But he's set to be a free agent.
03:09Are we talking extension yet with this guy?
03:11Do you buy into him?
03:12Can you give him big dollars?
03:13Because he's going to want more than that.
03:15Yeah.
03:16No, it's a great question.
03:18And, obviously, we'll keep all those talks between us.
03:21But I'll say, like, man, you know, I don't think there's anyone in D.C. that, you know,
03:28wouldn't want to explore those options, right?
03:29So, he's been so great for us.
03:32He's been such an awesome teammate.
03:34He's been so steady.
03:35I think that's probably not talked about enough.
03:37It's not only, like, how he's performing over the course of the whole year, but it's every
03:42single time he goes out, he gives us a really good chance to win, especially with our
03:45offense, you know?
03:46So, that stability is huge for us.
03:49And, you know, we're going to hope that it continues over the course of the next few
03:53weeks, leading into the deadline and, you know, potentially beyond.
03:57So, he's been awesome.
03:59And can't say enough great things about him.
04:02I know you can't.
04:03You got to do your job.
04:04But just know from a fan's perspective, it would be disheartening if he was moved or,
04:10you know, it's just a one-year thing because then you just kind of feel like we're just
04:15a way station, right?
04:16And it's just, you know, guys come and go and we can't keep our stars.
04:20And he, I don't know.
04:21You just know that, right?
04:22From a fan's perspective.
04:23It would be disheartening.
04:24Oh, totally get it.
04:26Totally get it.
04:27And, man, like, if you think it's disheartening for a fan, right?
04:31And I know this is going to sound ironic, but imagine the scenario where, like, you're,
04:36you got a personal attachment to him, right?
04:38And, like, not only do you love the player, but you love the person.
04:40And that's so many of our coaches and myself and so on and so forth.
04:46But at the same time, you know, like, we're not even there.
04:49So it's like we can chat about it all we want, but right now it's been really fun to watch.
04:55And, you know, we're going to continue to roll forward and hopefully win a bunch of games
04:59before the deadline and then be in a good position to roll into September, October with a really
05:06good team.
05:07So there's a lot of scuttle in anticipation of the trade deadline.
05:11I know Bob Nightingale from USA Today had some buzz about C.J. Abrams and James Wood.
05:19And I'm not going to ask you to answer specifically, but would you say there are players on the team
05:25like a James Wood or C.J. Abrams that are untouchable?
05:29Yeah, I mean, for your knowledge, I very rarely do this.
05:33But I reached out to Bob and just said, hey, that's 100% untrue regarding Woody.
05:40And, I mean, it's, you know, Bob's great at what he does.
05:44He's got a job to do, totally get it.
05:46But we were in the draft room and someone sent that to me and I was like, oh, my God.
05:50You know, and so I hit him up.
05:53And then I, quite honestly, in the middle of the draft, I walked right down to the batting cages
05:56and grabbed Woody, I'm like, hey, I don't know if you saw this, but it's not true.
06:01You know what I mean?
06:01And I think you guys know this.
06:03Like, it's one of the things that we've prided ourselves on.
06:06Obviously, we can't tell the player group everything, right?
06:09But we want to be very conscious of, like, what they read out there,
06:14them knowing whether it's the truth or not.
06:16And in some situations, like with C.J., right?
06:20Like, yeah, teams have hit us up on him.
06:24And we've had some conversations, and C.J. knows that.
06:27You know what I mean?
06:27Because we looked him in from the start.
06:29Woody, that has not been the case.
06:31And we've looked him in on that as well.
06:34So it's the way we're going to roll going forward, too.
06:37And I think it goes back to the point that we want to make this a place that players really
06:43want to be.
06:43You know what I mean?
06:44And if they're communicated to the right way, treated the right way, I think, and developed the right way,
06:49I think that's going to be the case.
06:52And so it's going to be how we roll going forward as well.
06:55Well, it's refreshing to hear that.
06:57And I'll be honest with you, when we heard that, somebody was actually telling us during the break,
07:00I'm like, I just, like, I know Nightingale's been around forever.
07:03He's been on the show a bunch through years.
07:05I mean, it just seems crazy.
07:08But the way you're approaching it, it's kind of the way the Wizards are approaching it.
07:12I don't know if you're paying attention, but they're big on culture.
07:15I know everybody says it, but they really are.
07:18They got all the guys out there for Summer League, including, like, supposed disgruntled veterans.
07:23Like, they're all there, and they're all in and creating that certain culture.
07:26And I think that's important, obviously, with what you're trying to do there with the Nats.
07:31So you mentioned, we're talking to Paul Tivoni, president of Baseball Operations and Nationals.
07:35You mentioned, you know, leaving the draft for a while to find Woody and talk to him.
07:41Let's get into the draft.
07:42I know in the first three rounds, you took a couple of shortstops,
07:47and you said that that's maybe a common thing where you focus on the guys in the middle.
07:52Let's start with the first-round pick.
07:54Tell us about this stud, Chris Copian.
07:58Yeah, so I'm sure you guys have seen it.
08:01He's a local kid.
08:03He played at Maryland his first two years and transferred to A&M for his third year.
08:09And he's basically just one of the best hitters in the draft.
08:13You know, he's got a really good combination of control in the zone.
08:17He makes a ton of contact, and he hits the ball really hard.
08:20And, you know, he's, I think, on top of that, he's, we see him as an infielder.
08:26And so I think, most realistically, he'll find a home at second base, third base, maybe both.
08:34And, but I think what you're really getting with him is two things.
08:37Like, one, the offensive package.
08:40But then, two, he really fits the character and the makeup that we want in the clubhouse.
08:46And he's a stud leader.
08:48You ask anyone at A&M, I mean, they talk about him like he's one of the best they've ever
08:54had,
08:54both as a player and, like, as a leader.
08:56So, you know, getting back to the press conference eight or nine months ago when I was introduced,
09:02we talked so much about creating a winning culture here.
09:05And the bottom line is you've got to do it with the right type of guys.
09:08We just talked about Woody.
09:09Like, Woody's one of those guys.
09:11We see Chris as one of those guys as well.
09:13So, yeah, we were really happy that he was available at our pick.
09:17We were happy that we had a chance to select him.
09:19And, as he says, like, now it's time to get to work to help him realize the best version of
09:26himself.
09:27You know, Paul, you talked about the timeline maybe a week or two ago for draft choices that come out
09:33of college
09:33versus high school and that sort of thing.
09:35I'm wondering, when you project out, let's say, three years down the road, four years down the road,
09:42do you actually map it out?
09:43Because there's so much variance when it comes to Major League Baseball.
09:46Do you map it out and go, okay, well, we've got Eli Willits.
09:48He's a stud.
09:50It'll be a couple years for him.
09:51We draft this guy, Hacopian.
09:53Do you project out, like, a starting infield three, four years down the road with the guys that you have
10:00in the pipeline?
10:01I do.
10:02Yeah, I do.
10:03And, you know, you do it with a full understanding.
10:05So is that why you've got Hacopian in second?
10:07Because Willits is going to be your short?
10:09Well, no.
10:10Well, so, first of all, Hacopian didn't play short for A&M last year.
10:14So he played some short for Maryland as a sophomore.
10:17So I think he'll find a home most likely at second base or third base, not just because, like, that
10:24could be a need for us at that point in time,
10:26but more so just because that's where he fits best.
10:29But going back to your question, I do think it's really important because, you know, you acknowledge that, hey, things
10:35are going to change over time, right?
10:37But at the same time, I think it does help you, you know, look around corners, so to speak, if
10:42you just do have a good, you know, good clarity in your mind and where your strengths are going to
10:47lie and where you might need to shore up a little bit.
10:51And, you know, once we get on the buying side of trades, whether it's, you know, this deadline, a year
10:57from now, two years from now, I think it gives you a lot of clarity in terms of, like, the
11:01quote-unquote surplus that you can deal from, whether that's on the infield, the outfield, pitching, whatever it might be.
11:08Whenever we get there, being really clear-minded about what those areas are, I think is really important.
11:12Has Willits exceeded your expectations?
11:15He's really young.
11:16I think he's still 18 years old, right?
11:17Played in the Futures game, has been lighting it up in the minors.
11:22He has, yeah.
11:23And, I mean, this is coming from, you know, from a guy in a group in Boston that had him
11:30way, way, way up the board.
11:32But even then, he's exceeded expectations.
11:34I think, you know, if, yeah, if any team around the league had taken him one overall, I think they
11:42would have had really high expectations for him.
11:44But I would guess that every team around the league is also saying right now, like, he's exceeding them.
11:48And that's in part because of how he's played.
11:52It's in part because of how he's played at the levels he's at at the age that he's at.
11:57You know, it's just, it's really rare that you get a kid this young that is this advanced that can
12:02do the things that he's doing at, you know, in high A.
12:06Because at the end of the day, high A is, you know, it's better competition, for instance, than the SEC,
12:11right?
12:12And to think that Eli could be a freshman right now in a league better than the SEC, really having
12:18a lot of success, being a shortstop, so on and so forth, that doesn't come around every year.
12:24So, uh, been really fun and, and, uh, yeah, like, like a lot of these kids I've been talking about,
12:31just an awesome, awesome kid, great worker, um, total, total package.
12:34Paul, do you ever have to, like, talk those guys off the ledge if you didn't specifically pick them, if
12:39they were picked by a different regime, like you're coming in, there's always that, that kind of outlook that, well,
12:45this wasn't a player that we selected.
12:47Was there any of that with Eli or any of the other players that are high in the pipeline?
12:51Yeah, you know, I think we tried to get it out in front of that a little bit, like, um,
12:56you know, it's cool because, uh, for instance, Eli, right?
13:00Like our, our assistant GM that oversees player development, Devin Pearson, uh, he had a relationship with, with Eli because
13:07he was the scouting director with the Red Sox at the time, right?
13:10And so a lot of this, whether it's Eli, um, or quite honestly, like Woody and CJ and other guys,
13:18like it's dating back to, uh, or reminding them of high school and like the home visits that we had
13:24and, uh, how much we liked them as players.
13:26And I think, uh, it's not us just trying to, you know, fluff them up.
13:30It's just telling them the truth.
13:31Like we liked so many of these guys, uh, at our previous stop that, uh, you know, quite honestly, it
13:37informed a little bit like, you know, why this job was desirable for me and for others is because we
13:42knew a lot of these guys, we knew they were going to be good players and we wanted to be
13:45around them.
13:46So kind of last question for me here, uh, you know, how timely is this break for you guys?
13:52Because, you know, kind of running on fumes, you're really stressed with the bullpen.
13:56You guys, I don't know if anybody's made more transactions and more moves, you guys trying everything, uh, guys get
14:02a few, uh, days here to maybe rest up a little bit.
14:05Does it, does this kind of come at the perfect time potentially?
14:08Yeah.
14:09You know, I think, uh, I think so.
14:12Um, the good thing about our team is we got a really young team.
14:15You know what I mean?
14:16So, um, I think they can use like the mental break, um, but I actually think that their bodies are
14:21in pretty good shape and, uh, it's actually been a great thing for us in the first half.
14:27I mean, we'll knock on wood here, but, uh, we haven't had many, um, many position player injuries, uh, at
14:33all.
14:34Right.
14:34And so, uh, still, even with that said, being able to, uh, take these four or five days to, you
14:40know, let them get a little bit of a blow and then come back here on Friday against the A's
14:44and be ready to perform.
14:45It's, uh, it's big.
14:47So, um, yeah, to answer your question, I do think it's coming at a good time and, uh, we'll be
14:51ready to roll coming out of the break.
14:53All right, Paul, we wish you the best of luck the next couple of weeks.
14:56Look, you made some news.
14:57James Wood, untouchable.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Appreciate it, guys.
15:01Love it.
15:01All right.
15:01Thank you, Paul.
15:02Appreciate it, buddy.
15:03Okay.
15:04Talk to you.
15:04All right, man.
15:05That was refreshing to hear, right?
15:06Yeah.
15:07And reassuring.
15:08You know?
15:10Tells me that CJ Abrams isn't untouchable.
15:12Well, I mean, they said they've been up front with CJ.
15:14They've had some talks.
15:16The one that will kind of break my heart is they got this great deal on Griffin.
15:19They give him five for five million.
15:20And I know he wants to get paid.
15:21He deserves to get paid.
15:22Are we just going to let our best pitcher go?
15:26I mean, I'm sure he's going to be interested.
15:27It's just a matter of can it be at the right price for both sides.
15:31Well, the right price would probably be what the going rate is.
15:33Yeah.
15:33At some point, you got to start paying those guys.
15:35At some point, the right price is what the going rate is.
15:37Here's a guy who's made the All-Star team.
15:40Had a couple strikeouts in the fifth inning last night.
15:42He's been producing for you.
15:44This guy's an absolute boss.
15:45You want to keep him there.
15:46You just going to let him go?
15:47Yeah.
15:48I'm with you, EB.
15:49Yeah.
15:491-800-636-1067 is the number.
15:52A little bit later on a game show Wednesday, we're going to give you a chance to win tickets
15:55to go see Soja with special guest Pigeons playing ping pong.
16:00And we also have tickets to go see Bob Dylan in concert.
16:02That's coming up at 945 here on the Junkies.
16:05Got the entertainment page next.
Comments