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Inside the Diamond is your one-stop shop for everything MLB! From in-depth analysis of the latest games and breaking news, to minor league prospects we've got you covered. Join us for insightful discussions on the game's history, current events, and future trends. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just getting into baseball, Inside the Diamond has something for everyone.
i got it hey welcome back
everybody to inside the
diamonds podcast I'm your
host jc I'm joined again
tonight with my co-host cj
how you doing cj I'm
fantastic how are you not
bad not bad at all got a
A lot going on, as we know.
It's getting into wildcard discussions,
trade deadline, all-star recap.
A lot going on.
It's a busy time of the year,
and it's just going to get
more jam-packed with info happening.
So we've got a lot going on tonight.
I don't want to waste any time,
so why don't we quickly
touch on the all-star game
and kind of recap that from
your point of view.
You got to watch it.
I got to re-watch it.
So what were your takes?
So you rewatched it.
What are your thoughts on
the Paul Skeen start?
It was so, it was really effective,
really good, right?
And I think the thing for me,
the biggest takeaway is
because I watched more of
the players talk about, you know,
who we're waiting to see
and Judge wanted to get up
and face him and all, you know,
the Soto stuff,
trying to get Judge there.
The surprising thing to me,
because we talked last time,
will he pull a Pedro and
strike out the side?
Zero Ks.
Yep.
That was probably – and
that's stupid for me, but, like,
that was something I took away.
He was around the plate and everything,
but all those hitters
wanted a chance to see if
they could hit that speed.
I think he got Soto.
I think that – Yeah, so do I. So do I.
I agree,
but that was the biggest thing for me,
and I think the other thing
is that obviously Jaron
Duran getting the MVP and
hitting that go-ahead home run,
if he didn't, it would have been Otani.
It's just been interesting to me.
It was good for Duran.
I think he's had a hell of a first half.
He's a big reason why the
Sox are where they are right now,
and overall, I
I thought it was a good game.
You know, it was nothing too,
wasn't out of line, a lot of stuff,
a lot of pitching.
It was a good game.
It wasn't a blowout,
so it was worth watching.
What I thought was interesting was,
aside from Tanner Houck struggling,
the American League
relievers really could hold
the whole game.
Mason Miller, inning pitch, two Ks.
Kirby Yates, inning pitch, two Ks.
Emmanuel Glassite, inning pitch, two Ks.
Those were the only three
pitchers on the American
League side that had two
strikeouts in the inning they pitched.
How about Kirby Yates?
Right?
Was it three, four years ago?
It was right before COVID
that he was pretty dominant
there for a little stretch,
and now he's back.
When we were doing the
All-Star preview or whatever,
and we were talking about who made it,
and we were going over snubs,
I had him on my list to start.
And then I looked at his
numbers and I went, actually,
he's not like somebody that
I would say should not be there.
Yep.
Like I just, you don't hear about him.
He's so on the radar,
but it was good to see, you know,
all three of those guys
produce and Mason Miller is
a guy that I'm sure we'll
talk about either tonight
or next week with the training.
And I'm sure there's a big
package for him out there.
Yeah.
so overall not really
anything too big to talk
about we all said break I
think we touched them on
pretty much everything that
needed to play so why don't
we move right into the
atlanta braves and their
injury woes in the latest
news with aussie lbs so
aussie lbs I believe it was
yesterday suffered a left
wrist fracture and so I did
the math looking at it he's
out until probably mid-september yeah
And, I mean, this is a team that, you know,
we could talk about their, what,
five and a half game lead
in the wild card?
Yeah.
I believe.
No, four game lead.
They trickled down after that.
I think they lost one of three,
two or three to the Cardinals.
Yeah.
So the Cardinals cut that
lead that they had for the
fourth seed down.
You know, the question you now have,
you lose Acuna earlier.
They lost Strider.
I believe Freed's now on the injured list.
Yeah.
And now you lose LBs.
It's now the question of
what are they doing at the deadline?
You know, assume they're buying,
but what are they buying?
They just added,
we talked about it before
we logged on with Merrifield today,
and he's supposed to be the
super utility guy to fill
some key holes that they have.
But what if he does what he
did in Philly and he doesn't produce?
that's a team that you could
start asking some questions
because their gap closed,
and now a team like the Mets,
who are playing some good baseball,
move in, or a team like the Pirates,
who we talk about wanting
to see them move in.
And that's where you got
into when we first let off
about the wild card
situation in the National League.
It's tight.
It could be a lot closer in
every aspect now.
I mean,
let's not take anything away from
Sale and Lopez and what
they do still have in the NFL, but
I have a name for the Braves
that is someone that can play,
but also someone that could
be a piece for the future
that would be a little strange.
It hurts to say it,
but I'll bring that up when we get there.
Yeah,
the Whitmerryfield thing there to me,
When I first heard that, I'm like, okay,
you think about all these
other players that go that
maybe struggle with other teams,
but this could be a second life for him,
a wake-up call.
But then I think about it, well, shit,
he was surrounded in
Philadelphia with studs,
and he struggled.
In Toronto, too.
I mean, he was... Yeah,
he was... But he had a good
year in Toronto.
Wasn't the same power numbers, but decent.
I think it was a 270 average, at least.
So I'll be very interested
to see how serious that injury is.
Hopefully, for the Braves' sake,
it's not too bad.
But while the Braves...
Got hit by the injury bug.
It looks like the Mariners
possibly could have dodged
a bullet with Julio
Rodriguez and his ankle
with the x-rays coming back
first look as negative,
which is good news for them.
But if it's a high ankle sprain,
that's still going to be
damaging for a center fielder.
Yeah, I thought it was interesting.
He was day to day and they just didn't,
you know,
in that aspect, why not, you know,
put them on a 10 day IL or
no 10 day and just let them
rest a little bit.
If you did you see the video of it?
I haven't.
Well, I shouldn't say I haven't.
I saw it quick and was in passing.
My son was actually watching
the recap of the game,
and they said someone was injured,
but I was on the phone with work.
And then by the time I got back,
he'd already moved on to his next game.
But he said it looked pretty gross.
It was reminiscent of in the late 90s.
Do you remember when Griffey
had that catch along the wall?
Yeah, it stuck his leg in there.
It ended up fracturing his wrist.
So thankfully it wasn't that for Julio,
but it looked eerily similar to that.
And I think that's, well, like you said,
they dodged a bullet.
I mean, that offense is struggling.
Well, Ty France was DFA'd.
Yep.
And they're a team that will definitely,
if they want to make this
run with the Astros,
they have to be buyers of the deadline.
So here's a question for you.
if Rodriguez is a high ankle
sprain and they say three, four weeks,
do they try and make a
bigger move or do they figure,
let's see what we can do
with a smaller play,
not give up everything.
Cause I mean, that's high ankle sprain.
All I can relate to it is football, right?
He's a center fielder to me.
That's not necessarily a running back,
but at the same time, the cuts,
the backpedaling, you know,
And on that turf and
grass... That's your
quarterback of your outfield right there.
Yeah, and offensively,
he needs his legs lower
half for his power,
and he's got the speed,
so it will definitely slow
him down if it's a high ankle sprain.
So I'll be very interested
to see what comes into that because...
After this weekend moving in today,
the Mariners and Astros are now tied.
And I feel stupid for a
month and a half ago
talking to you about will
the Astros be sellers.
And you had to talk me off
the ledge and let me know
that the Astros are who they are.
The older guys take a little
bit longer to warm up.
And holy fuck has Jordan
Alvarez started to hit.
It's not even that.
They're doing this with all the injuries.
Verlander's out.
It's the under-the-name guys.
Like we talked about,
we were live during Blanco's no-hitter.
Guys like him and Brown who
step up and are producing on the mound.
And then the lineup,
it's not even your Altuve's,
your Bregman's.
John Singleton.
Yoner Diaz.
Peña had a good series
against the Mariners over the weekend.
It's just guys like that
that under the radar,
they're starting to produce and
They're going to be buying too,
and I have a name for the
Mariners later that when we
do our trade deadline stuff
that I think will surprise
some people that I wouldn't
be surprised with this injury,
even if it's not serious,
a name that I think they're
going to be heavily invested in.
Okay.
So let's give a quick – I've
got the standings pulled up.
I'm going to do a quick
update on the standings.
The East is led by the Phillies.
The West, well,
the Phillies have a eight
and a half game lead over the Braves.
The Brewers still have a
five game lead over the
Cardinals and only a seven
game lead over the
Pittsburgh Pirates right now.
Out West,
the Dodgers have an eight game
lead over the Diamondbacks
who have now moved into second place.
In the AL East,
it's Baltimore a game and a
half above the Yankees and
six and a half above the Red Sox.
In the Central,
the Cleveland Guardians
have a five-game lead over
the Minnesota Twins and
Kansas City Royals.
And out West, it is the Houston Astros and
And the Mariners tied.
The Mariners have two games in hand.
Or actually, I should say it reversed.
The Astros have played two fewer games,
but are in first place ahead,
even though they're tied.
The Rangers are only five games back.
And they've got some
interesting things coming up.
In the wild card, in the National League,
the Braves have the first spot.
Then it's the Cardinals.
And then for the last spot
is currently a three-way
tie between the New York Mets,
Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres,
and then the Pittsburgh
Pirates are a half game back.
And by looking at it quick, of those teams,
the Mets have played one more game.
The Pirates have played one
more game than the Mets.
But both the Padres and the
Diamondbacks have played at least one.
a game or two more than the
Pirates right now.
So in terms of making up
ground when the other two
teams aren't playing,
the Pirates still have
opportunity to gain ground
without seeing the
Diamondbacks or Padres lose.
They just don't have to play,
and that's coming.
The Giants are three games back.
The Cubs are three-and-a-half game backs,
and the Reds are four,
as are the Nationals.
So in the American League,
the Yankees hold the first wild card.
The Twins in Royals right
now are both tied with that fourth spot.
The Twins are up ahead
because they've played two fewer games.
But then the Red Sox are a game back.
The Mariners are two and a
half games back.
Tampa Bay is five games back.
And then Detroit and Texas.
Detroit six games back.
Texas is seven and a half games back.
So on both sides,
it's extremely tight right now.
And I think, you know,
we'll get into it near the
end of the show.
But this week's three-game,
four-game series,
and then this weekend's series,
there's some good matchups coming up.
But they also have wildcard
and divisional implications coming.
So it's very tight, a lot going on.
And I had asked you last time, like,
do you ever remember a time
when it was this tight?
tight at this point in time
I'm sure there was but with
it being said and we're in
it so much right now it's
going to be a really really
exciting if you're an
overall baseball fan
It's going to be really exciting.
I mean, me being a Red Sox fan,
being a Cubs fan,
and also all of a sudden
now finding myself cheering for the Reds,
which is really tough
considering the fact
they're division rivals with the Cubs,
and then finding myself
turning on the Twins games,
paying attention to every
baseball game now.
It's going to be really
exciting to see how this
plays out down the stretch,
and I think that's really
good for baseball overall to have it be –
No runaway, not the usual suspects.
You know, there's some,
some interesting things
coming in there and there's
some teams returning
potentially into the
playoff hunt that have been
gone for a while.
That's really good for
baseball pirates being one.
I also think it's really
good for baseball as much
as it's crazy and it's a big market,
but for the Mets to be
involved back again, you know,
the Braves and Phillies
have just dominated that,
that division for so long.
So it's really interesting.
So,
With that said, do you have anything,
any takeaways or anything
interesting that hits you
when looking at these
standings current day?
That Mariners-Astros race is
going to be fun to watch.
That injury really fucks with it,
doesn't it?
Yep.
And I actually looked at it.
It's hard because the
Rangers did what they did last year.
And I don't know if DeGrom's
going to be back,
but I just don't have them
in that division race right now.
And so I broke it down,
and I have the Mariners the
rest of this month.
They have the Angels for three,
the White Sox for three,
and the Red Sox for three.
They have a good chance
right there to go probably five and four,
maybe six and three.
They will get Trout back.
The Angels will,
but I don't think it'll be.
He just started his AAA assignment.
Or he starts it tomorrow.
I'm sorry.
At AAA.
He won't be back in time for that series.
But the Astros go to Oakland.
Then they have the Angels for three.
And then they have the Pirates for three.
So who leads that division
at the end of July with the
trade deadline the day before?
Yeah.
That's the question.
Because, I mean...
At the end of the day,
both teams are going to make moves.
I think the Astros need, realistically,
maybe an arm and maybe one bat.
And then I think that division is theirs.
Yeah.
Yes.
They need two.
And I don't know if they
have the prospects to go get two.
But are they willing to
mortgage the future like
that to go get the two bats
for this year?
Henry Ford's got to be one that would be,
I mean, we'll get into it, but, I mean,
you talk prospects from the
Mariners and you're talking an elite bat,
depending on which team it is,
that's who I'd ask for,
depending on which team it is, right?
If I was a Cubs and they
were looking for Bellinger,
starts and stops right there.
So with all that said,
we mentioned the trade deadline.
Who are your three big bats?
Big prizes,
and where do you see them
potentially landing?
And with that,
do you have an idea of what
you think it might take to grab that bat?
Brent Rooker is the first one.
I think he's game-changing.
The first team that came to mind,
the Pirates.
And I think it would cost
you only two prospects,
and I think you can get away with it
where it's not going to be
anybody in the – it might
have to be one person,
one player in the top 100.
I don't think it's Chandler getting moved.
No.
I said it, I think,
last week or the week
before that I think
Solometo is the guy that's
going to get moved.
Yep.
And I think if you get Rooker,
you don't have to trade
Termar Johnson either.
I don't think they're going
to ask for both him and Solometo.
I think you can get away
with a prospect the next tier down.
Yep.
Agreed.
The next one I have,
and this is one I said was
going to surprise some
people with what I had to say about it,
Luis Robert.
And I have him to two teams
that I think he could
really end up going to.
And that's the Philadelphia Phillies.
However,
they have seemed to say that
they're not in on him.
The other one is after this weekend,
the Mariners.
Well, they have to do something big.
It's either that or just play it out.
And he could play the outfield.
I don't think he'll play centerfield,
but you put him in right.
He could DH, you know, and realistically,
I think you can get away with him.
You're probably going to
lose one of your three top
100 infield prospects,
and you might have to give
up a pitching prospect a
little bit further down in your rankings.
Who would you put?
Let's just play this out.
Let's say that Rodriguez is,
let's say it's middle of the road.
He misses 10 games.
Who plays center for the
Mariners right now?
That's a good question.
Canzone?
It might have to be.
I'm trying to pull it up right now.
Because Robert, and again,
without studying the injuries,
he kind of reminds me a little bit,
and I hate to even throw
him in this bucket.
but a little bit of Byron
Buxton because of the style of play,
100 miles an hour, you know,
they hit for power, they have speed,
decent defense.
I think he could fill that
gap in center until Rodriguez gets back.
Then you can move him to a corner or DH,
like you mentioned.
They still have Mitch Garver.
They still have, oh, Hannigan.
Yeah.
Oh, they do.
That's right.
They have Victor.
He can play center.
So, you know,
Robert could move in and play.
Yeah,
I think that's a good spot for for him.
And I think the the guy that I bring up.
you know,
can fit there too and play pretty
much anywhere.
But that's, you know, Brent Rooker, great.
I think he would benefit anywhere he goes.
And Robert going to the
Mariners makes a lot of sense,
especially right this minute.
They need power.
They need a guy.
They know him.
They know him.
He's in the division,
so they know him well.
No, he's in the central.
No, I'm talking about, yes, sorry,
I was looking at Brent Rooker.
I was thinking Brent Rooker
would fit there, too.
But Robert is in the central, correct.
He would play center,
and that would give them,
I would probably hit Rodriguez,
Cal Raleigh, and then I would hit Robert.
Yep.
I have another name that I
mentioned that I linked to
the Mariners as well.
They weren't the first team
I thought of for him.
Actually, three teams.
Beaubichette.
This is injury.
I had this comment with, of all people,
my wife.
When I read that first news
this weekend of Bo Bichette's injury,
I was like, ah, that's interesting.
And, of course, I'm looking at my phone.
She's like,
what the fuck happened at work now?
I'm like, actually...
I was looking at a baseball
player and his calf injury.
She goes,
what's that got to do with anything?
I said, well, I said, right now,
with an injury and a trade
deadline coming,
that could hurt the Blue
Jays in regards to their
potential return.
And she's like, you're an idiot,
and just walked away.
But that's the kind of shit
that you see this shit,
and you look about it, and it's like, ah,
now that's a...
Unfortunately,
it's a negative that the
team's going to use to try
to drive down the price, which they know.
She's like, it's a fucking calf injury.
It's not a broken bone.
He'll bounce back.
He'll be fine.
Well, yes, but in negotiations,
they don't look at it like
they're going to buy a
purse or whatever on
Marketplace and they want
to drive the price down.
So, yeah, Bo Bichette.
For the Mariners?
I have three teams for him.
All right, what are the three?
Mariners.
Giants.
and the Braves.
Why the Giants?
I get the Mariners.
I get the Braves, obviously,
but why the Giants in their
current situation unless
you've got something
planned with an extension?
I think that would be the thing.
I think they'd have
something planned with an
extension where he'd be there long-term.
They're right, like we talked about,
they're right there.
Earlier today when we talked
about who could be buyers,
who could be sellers,
I said they're right on the fringe.
They could,
depending on how this next week goes,
and they have a tough
three-game series coming up
with the Dodgers.
Realistically, they could be sellers,
but they come out of that with, say,
two out of three a sweep.
They're buying.
Why not address your offense,
even with the calf injury?
Marco Luciano was their starting shortstop,
and that didn't work out.
They sent Brenton Crawford packing,
and he's been there, what,
his whole career.
So I forget who they're
having at shortstop now.
Is it Dubron?
It might be.
He can slide anywhere.
He can play second.
So I like the intriguing
thing about bringing up the
Giants are they're a smart organization.
So you know your plan.
You know you're planning for the future.
It's always the big picture.
And you bring in Bo Bichette.
You sign the extension.
You always have good pitching.
You're not getting it out of
some of them right now,
Blake Snell for one.
But you have Bo Bichette,
and you're setting yourself
up for the future.
But you're also keeping him away.
from other teams, a la the Dodgers.
Not saying they would ever do it,
but the Dodgers have some issues.
You have other National
League teams like the Braves.
You know,
whoever gets Bouchette is going
to try to keep him.
You're not going to give up
a bunch for a young guy like that.
So I could – that would make
– I would be interested to
see what a trade package
would look like for him.
But I actually – I'm not a
Giants fan at all, but I could –
I like Bo Bichette.
I could see him there with a hair.
Already reminds me of Brandon Crawford.
Brandon Crawford, right?
Great defensive player.
Bichette's more offensive.
That was an interesting landing spot.
And the more I think about it,
the more I like it.
It's an offensive play for the Giants,
but also almost a defensive
play in a certain sense.
Very interesting.
So my three bats,
I have Bellinger from the Cubs.
Cody's going to go somewhere.
He's on the IL right now.
He's on that one year or
whatever the deal it is.
He's got an opt-out out of the first year.
It's a two-year deal, $30 million.
Opt-out out of the first one.
He has not returned to last year's form.
He's halfway in between last
year and leaning more towards his –
middle of the road of
continuing to stink when he
was with the Dodgers.
His average is better.
His power number is a little down.
He's good defensively
wherever you put him.
He can DH.
He can play a little first, center field.
The Phillies were mentioned.
I still think the Phillies
could be a landing spot.
I think the Mariners.
Could be a landing spot with
this situation.
I also think that the Kansas City Royals,
like, they're outside.
That was where I was leaning.
pre-All-Star break.
Right now,
I'm thinking more of just the
Phillies and Mariners make
the most sense if they're
going to get them.
I don't think the Padres
have what it takes to get him.
I don't think the Twins have
any interest in making a move like that.
So I think if he goes anywhere,
I would be surprised if
it's not the Phillies.
My other bat is Jazz Chisholm.
And you and I mentioned it this week.
I think it was this weekend, the Pirates.
Just makes too much sense.
He plays center field.
They can move Jack Swinski
and let him play.
Right field,
he's not going to DH because
McCutcheon's there.
Let him play right.
He hasn't done well so far
to start this year.
Chisholm's another bat.
Power, speed, combo.
Put him up there with Brian Reynolds,
O'Neal Cruz.
I think they could use another bat,
although Nick Gonzalez has done well.
I think a secondary bat.
I honestly think Brent
Rooker would make a whole
lot of sense there.
And my third and final is
one that it's not the best bet out there,
but it's one with today's recent news.
And it's one I thought early
on when the pre all-star
break and pre Royals Red Sox series.
And I thought the Cubs would
become sellers.
They're not going to trade Dansby Swanson,
right?
They just signed him.
They have James Triantos.
They have Matt Shaw coming
up to play second base and,
I hate to say it,
but Nico just has not returned.
I think last year was more of an outlier.
I think the speed's still there.
I don't think the power's there.
I think the average is
probably between 270, 278 in that range.
I don't think you're going
to see a consistent 280 hitter.
I think that if the Braves wanted to,
and they wanted a
short-term fix at second base,
but then wanted to sign him
to play short because I do
believe defensively Nico
Horner is the best
shortstop on the Cubs roster right now.
It's an outsider.
It's more of a recency bias
being a huge Cubs fan.
I think that he is one that could be moved,
and I also think that
there's an outside chance
with the right trade
package that Vlad Guerrero
is moved at the deadline.
And I think he, of all names,
would probably be the most impactful.
I would really, really, really love...
to see him go to Pittsburgh.
I would absolutely fucking
love it just because I
think it's small market.
There's not that huge pressure.
I mean, I think too often with Bichette,
Biggio,
and fucking Vlad up there in Toronto,
they're too much
pigeonholed into who their dads were.
And Vlad as a baseball player,
if you take his dad out of the picture,
he's still a great baseball player,
but everyone's holding to the standard.
You send him to Pittsburgh,
I would be fucking pumped
for the pirates because
that moves them now with
their core and the young guys coming up.
You signed Vladdy to an
extension that now team
that puts them now right
there for a very long time
in that central division.
So those are the three bats I have.
I don't think corner will get moved.
I think I hate to say it,
but I think Jed Hoyer is
going to fuck it up at the
deadline and try to stay
within that range.
They're not good enough.
Um,
Personally,
I think they fucked up by
waiting so long with Christopher Murrell.
I think they should have let
fucking David Ross remain
the coach and spend that
money on Craig Council for
a third baseman.
Matt Chapman would have been
fine in my eyes.
So those are my bats.
The more interesting side to me,
personally,
is what's going to happen with
the arms race.
There's several arms out there to go get.
There's some that we're not talking about,
not hearing about.
But what are your three big
arms that you see that
could be moved and where do
you see them falling?
So my first one is Garrett Crochet.
Yeah.
I think no matter what,
I think he's getting moved.
My issue with him is this is
going to be the most things
he's ever thrown.
And so our team's going to
be hesitant on moving, like you said,
with Bill Bichette and his injury.
Our team's going to hold
back on the prospects they
move because of that.
Now, Chicago wants a haul.
And rightfully so.
He's pitched well all year.
The two teams that I really
could see him going is the
San Diego Padres and the
Baltimore Orioles.
And I think Baltimore makes
the most sense because they
have the assets to get a deal done.
Whether or not trading...
You know, the sky and the moon for him.
They may have to trade one,
maybe two in the top 100,
but or even two in their top 10.
But I just see him.
He's got it.
He's going to get moved.
They have no interest in
keeping him long term, I don't think.
What would the Padres have to give up?
Because when we talk Padres,
the only prospect that really, like,
and maybe it's because I'm
a huge catching prospect,
kind of like I'm focused
really on the young guy, Ethan Salas.
Like, what do the Padres have left?
Because they've moved quite
a bit in the past few years.
What do they have left to move?
I think you start with Snelling,
who's in the top 100.
He's a Lesko arm.
I mean,
I think you start with him or you
start with Lesko,
who are both in the top 100,
but it's a pitching
prospect arm that you start
the conversation, then you go with a bat.
I think that's really where
you have to start it.
It helps the White Sox pitching-wise.
Do you have a preference
between the two pitchers?
I personally like Lesko more.
Okay.
So I think he'd be the one.
I don't remember who I have
higher as of right now
because I'm still working
on the post-trade deadline one.
What about Azekar?
Would you try to... Jackson
Merrill's kind of make
Azekar kind of an afterthought.
I mean, still got some control.
Throw him in.
Especially if you move Robert, right?
Right.
Why the fuck not?
Okay.
The next one I have is Nathan Evaldi.
come back I'd have him to
there or another team I
have that I've seen that
might be linked to him is
the cardinals which I
really it's both teams if
they want to make the
playoffs they need an arm
with post-season experience
that can go deep into
innings and save their
bullpen eval he does that
fucking love that guy I do
too I wish he stayed in
boston oh my son who's 14
loves the kid he's like man
he was so tough he was so
like he was great for
boston why did you let him
go I'm like well you know
it's business part of that
but that happens yep the
next one and the final one
I have there is one I want
to mention before I get to
him um I didn't actually
have him getting traded but
I think he's traded the
next two days especially
after today james paxton we moved
That's the first move, right,
with a veteran.
You DFA him,
let him know that he's going to be gone,
so now you can talk to everybody.
Where do you think he goes?
I think he goes to either
Boston or Detroit.
The Red Sox need a left-handed arm.
Oh, yeah, no, there's no doubt about it.
He's been here before.
He was effective.
With being a DFA, too,
most of the time you see those trades,
it's for cash or a part of being later,
so you're not moving much to go get him.
And he's, I mean, granted, he, you know,
ran out of gas last year.
And maybe that's why they DFA him now.
I know Kershaw's going to be
back at some point.
He's been rehabbing.
Glasnow, actually, no, he got activated.
Glasnow's activated,
so they had to do something.
So it made sense to move.
You know, it's tough, though,
because they just sent down
Bobby Merrill.
Bobby Miller.
Yeah, Bobby Miller.
Cardinals just lost to the Pirates.
That's one of three.
We'll have to see the next two.
But I had Jack Flaherty when
we talked earlier.
But then, you know,
watching the Tigers game and sitting here,
I question what they're going to do.
And the reason why I add
James Paxson to them is
because they just lost Reese Olsen.
Yeah.
He got demoted to the bullpen.
Yeah.
So they have a big hole in
their pitching rotation where it's just –
Oh, and Casey Mize is on the injured list.
So it's really Flaherty, Montero,
and Skubal that are healthy.
Paxton costs nothing if you
call a crash to fill in that fourth spot.
So I just,
with that team right now and the
run they're on,
I don't know if they're
going to make the playoffs.
I doubt it.
I think now, though,
they have the question of
what do they sell?
Do they try and keep
Flaherty and maybe make a
deep run to get in?
It's too bad Baez isn't
hitting any better than he is.
That's the thing.
What a slug of a contract.
Him and Torkelson.
Torkelson's killing that.
I mean, AAA, he's not doing much better.
I mean, thankfully,
Rochelle is providing over at first base.
And, quote,
Keith just hit his 10th home run.
Yeah, he just hit it tonight.
Horner would make some sense
there at short.
But, I mean, you still got bias.
Unless you can move him,
there's no sense of doing anything.
What could they go get?
You know, I mean, that's where I question,
are they going to buy?
Are they going to sell?
I think they just stamp out.
If they do sell, it is Flaherty.
But I think it's tough right
now with the stretch run they're on.
Yeah.
So the name that I did come
up with is Chris Bassett.
Mm-hmm and talked about him.
I have four teams that I
think he could really go to
like I just even think
about Flaherty I just took
Flaherty's now put
Bassett's name in it's the
same four teams the Orioles Yep,
the Brewers the Cardinals
and The Red Sox.
Yeah,
and I think with him though thing you
could do with him as a
right as a Red Sox fan and
watching this team is
you could get a package deal
where you're not giving up
any of the big three and
you might have to give up York,
which is fine,
but you get Bassett and you
could possibly get Justin Turner too.
And he'd probably hand it
back to the lineup.
And like I said,
it's not going to cost you much.
It's going to cost maybe, like I said,
York and maybe a mid tier,
maybe a 10 to 20 prospect, you know,
and a lot of those guys are blocked.
So,
It's not a bad idea to look
into that kind of move
where you get two things
you need this year.
I mean, right now they're down to nothing.
The Rockies in the third inning.
So it's it's from what I've heard.
It sounds like Breslau for
the Red Sox is not still sold on buying.
I don't know if that was
over after the weekend.
I don't know what happened.
I can very easily see that
because I was there the
Saturday against the Royals and
A lot of beers and a lot of talk about it.
I could see them being the
guys that are in bidding on people,
putting their feelers out
with a low offer that they
wouldn't accept to see what
they can take.
But being those middle
feeders that are for
players that are going to help them,
not now.
They'll help them now,
but more of control a year,
two years down.
And I've got a couple of, you know,
it's going to be very
interesting because they've
got a deep young core.
And you and I talked about
what it would take to get
crochet from them.
And with the draft and this, that,
the next thing of, you know,
who's now kind of blocked.
I don't,
this is one year where I honestly
don't really have a preference,
which way the socks go.
I think a gray, you could be a meme.
You watch get moved.
Would you agree that right
now that the Red Sox are
outperforming what they
should be with what they have?
Yes.
On paper?
Yes.
Would you be happy if they
made secondary moves that
are now – let's say they go
out and get a left-hand
pitcher with some control
and still going to be able
to compete now and maybe
even make a push.
World Series is really pie in the sky.
but be set up for next year.
I'm not saying it's outside the realm,
but like being realistic,
coming from a wild card
where they're not even in
control of right now.
But if Breslow goes and does
something smart and is planning,
kind of like what we were
talking about with the
Giants and Bichette,
they do that with a lefty arm.
I can get behind that.
You know what I mean?
I could see them buying Ansong.
I could see Pavilion.
A little bit of both, yeah.
Abreu get moved,
and you bring guys for the future.
Get rid of some of the log jam,
but bring in some pieces at
the same time.
We talked about this name a
lot in the first couple of episodes.
Max Fried's a free agent after this year.
He's hurt.
Abreu didn't really have any
extension offers.
Oh, my God.
They're not from Rockies.
Who?
The Red Sox.
What the fuck?
That's the one team I can't watch.
I have to listen to because
I'm in fucking Maine.
Hauk is pitching.
What the fuck is going on with him?
It's his innings.
He's pushed the most innings
he's ever pitched in his career.
You're seeing his arm taxed.
Yeah.
Fuck.
You're going to see them
probably skip a start coming up.
They're not skipping a start
for pushing back a day.
Yeah.
I almost wonder if you could
trade Pavetta and a
prospect for the Braves, get freed,
and you could sign to an extension.
I wish Grissom was healthy.
Same.
So you could just be like, here,
take him fucking back.
I want no part of this sale deal anymore.
Take him back and just give us free.
I personally think he's
going to be blocked next
year because it sounds like
stories talking about coming back in 2024,
which is wild to hear the other day.
I think he could... Story, to me,
with his history... Again, Buxton, Robert,
the way he plays.
Balls to the wall, all out.
But you've got Mayer.
You've got fucking Rafaela,
who can play short if you need him to.
If you move Yoshida,
Story could be your DH.
Worst case.
I think Devers is there.
Would you...
Would you then think about
moving Stewart to third?
No.
Never?
No.
He's second to me.
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Yep.
I was going to say second to me is a more,
not safe by any means,
but a more comfortable spot
now for an older, injury-riddled,
talented offensive player.
He doesn't kill you either.
He doesn't kill you at seconds.
Good defensively, too.
I don't rule him out of short, though.
No.
Because his injury, it's not a ligament,
you know?
He's diving for a ball, and it's bullshit.
Bullshit injury for him sucked.
Can you imagine if he was healthy?
Yeah.
Holy shit.
That's the right-handed bat you need.
Yeah.
Tyler O'Neal's been great.
But having Story there, too.
Sandwich, Devers, Story, and O'Neal.
Yep.
Wow.
Okay.
So those are your arms.
I have some arms that are a little, I mean,
because obviously these arm
names that we're talking
about aren't shocking, right?
These are names that
everyone's been talking about.
I think the lefty from Toronto,
Coochie or Coochie is gone.
I don't really know.
I think he could go anywhere
from Houston to,
I think he could land with the Red Sox.
I mean, it's far-fetched, you know,
because into division.
But I could also see him
going to the Cardinals, right?
The other name I have is
another lefty who hasn't been brought up,
and I don't think he would
be expensive because he's
not the power name, is J.P.
Sears from Oakland.
He's another guy, just a lefty –
He's not going to kill you,
but he's also not going to
come in and be lights out.
He's not number one, not number two,
but he can help you.
Eats innings.
Exactly.
He's not going to kill you.
He'll throw innings.
He'll eat innings.
He's that guy you need to throw,
and you know if you need five to six,
you're going to get it.
The other lefty that's out there that,
again –
Pains me a little.
There's a lefty and a righty.
And it both comes from this NL Central.
The lefty is Justin Steele.
If Tarek Skubal is not going
to be traded...
If you think about lefties
on teams that are going to be sellers,
supposedly,
now the Cubs have Jordan Wicks,
who I'm not high on.
I think he's a five at best.
But Shota Imanaga has shown
that he can be Justin Steele.
He can be that guy in there.
So there's Justin Steele.
There's James Tyon and
Frankie Montez from the Reds.
And I focused on that
because these guys I'm more
familiar with in there a little bit.
I saw yours,
and obviously the pitchers
you're talking about are
all names that have been mentioned.
I think that Justin Steele
could be a guy for the Cubs
that you can't have three
starters in your rotation, in my opinion.
I don't like it.
I didn't like it to begin with.
He struggled this year ever
since he came back from –
The IL, he hasn't been the same.
Last year was kind of not a
fluke by any means,
but I think that's a
stretch for his ceiling.
I think James Tyon is a
righty that could be beneficial.
I heard the Red Sox were looking at him.
I'd be okay with that.
Justin Steele is a name that
I think it's a 30-70,
30% chance he gets traded,
70% chance he stays put.
But if Scooble stays put with Detroit,
I don't know if there's a
lefty arm that has a 1-2
potential like Steele does
to come in and be that
power pitcher unless Freed
becomes available,
which I think that's
hopeful for us in Boston.
But for me, that's a guy that would be –
Interesting in regards to
perhaps making a move along
with tie on and Frankie Montez.
I think those are arms are
going to get moved.
The last arm I have to
mention is not necessarily a name,
but reference to a team.
The Mariners,
if they're going to make a
big splash for a bat,
do they trade Wu or Miller?
You're muted, bud.
You might have to.
Right?
I mean, looking at their prospects,
other than Ford,
there's some that are out there.
They still have Emerson
Hancock that can throw.
To me, that's something to watch.
If the Mariners go all in,
they may have to get rid of
something that's at the
tail end of their rotation
to make it work.
And that, to me,
would be huge for whatever
the team is getting because
they're both young.
Yeah,
just I don't know if you want to blow
that rotation up.
No, I mean, I wouldn't.
But we listed some bats.
There's not a lot of huge
impact if Rodriguez is
going to be out and they're
going to try to hang with it.
You're going to try to go get someone.
You know that their teams
are going to ask.
They're going to start there.
You have to.
It's going to be interesting.
Those are the names I have.
I saw your list and knew the list before.
We talked a little bit last episode.
Those were just some off-the-wall names.
I don't think Hunter Green
gets traded from the Reds.
I don't think Andrew Abbott
gets traded because I think
the Reds situation has got
more to do with health.
Yep.
You know, Fredo's been injured all season.
Matt McClain's been injured off and on.
Fredo's been off and on.
McClain's been injured all season.
And they've got some pieces coming.
So I don't think this is the
year they make a big trade.
I think you could see Montez go.
Other than that, I think they stand pat.
So is there any other trade
piece that we haven't
mentioned before we kind of
wind down the evening?
Estevez is the only one that
I'm very interested in.
At first,
I had mentioned last time about
sending him to Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh doesn't need a
fucking setup man.
They've got one of the best
quiet setup man in the game
in Colin Holderman.
38 games, 3-1 record, 1.72 ERA,
a 1.20 whip,
and he's got 45 strikeouts in 35 games.
And Bednar's back,
and he seems to be figuring
out whatever the injury was.
He's back healthy,
and they've got Chapman as their lefty.
I think Estevez and Matt
Moore as a lefty reliever,
someone will grab.
Tanner Scott.
Tanner Scott, yeah.
The Marlins, if they trade Chisholm,
Scott's next.
And Berger, perhaps, you know,
as a power right-hand back,
could be something like a
middle-tier team goes and gets.
I'm excited for the trade deadline.
I'm nervous.
to see what both the Cubs and Red Sox do.
I'm interested to see what
the Twins do because I do
believe the Twins are a
team that the Twins have a
lot of young prospects that
seem to play similar positions.
Brooks Lee is a name that
I like, I don't see the Cubs needing it,
but I do like Brooks Lee.
They've got some guys out there.
So I'll be very interested
because I do think the
twins with a all
right-handed rotation need that lefty.
So it'd be interesting to
see what they do.
JP Sears would come cheap.
You throw him in there
instead of Chris Paddock,
and it gives him a different look.
I'm excited for the trade deadline.
It's going to be very interesting.
It's right around the corner.
I think it's, what, nine days away now?
So is the next day.
Yeah.
So, so eight days away, technically, um,
you and I will have some
discussions in regards to
how the hell we manage that.
I I'd love to say, Hey, look,
I'm going to call in sick
on Tuesday for anyone that
I work with that listens, you know,
shut up or I'll fire you type deal.
I do have that kind of, you know,
that kind of control.
Um,
It's something that I
seriously thought about, you know, like,
geez, I'd love to, for once,
kind of pull an opening day,
go live and just have some fun with it,
even a half day.
But I think even like you
would mention previously,
I don't have anything,
I don't have softball practice,
even if we went alive from like...
seven and did big ending, whatever,
watch some games and just talk baseball.
I do believe Monday from now
till next Tuesday,
we're going to see some shit happening.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We'll have something to talk about.
All right.
So unless you've got another
name to mention trade wise,
why don't you give us your
miners recap before we get
into the series that we're
interested in watching this
week to wind down the night.
So the first one I'm going
to start with is Jackson holiday.
Okay.
As the header of the week,
number one overall prospect,
came back from the break.
So minor league did the same thing.
They didn't have an all-star game,
but they had the same break
as the majors did.
In his three games,
went four for eight with a double,
two home runs, six RBIs, five runs scored,
two walks and a stolen base.
He had a 280 average, 948 OPS,
10 home runs, 37 RBIs, 73 runs scored,
and eight stolen bases.
On the pitching side,
it's the 13th ranked prospect,
and I wrote an article about this.
Jackson Jobe,
he's pitching a double A for the Tigers,
for the Erie Seawolves.
They pitched a no-hitter on Saturday.
He got the win, six innings,
didn't allow a hit, obviously, no runs,
two walks, five Ks.
This season at Erie,
he's now made eight starts.
He's 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA, a 0.86 whip,
45 Ks,
and 32 and two-thirds in his pitch.
I wouldn't be surprised if
you start seeing him get
called up to AAA relatively soon here.
Speaking of Tigers prospects
getting called up,
The 11th ranked prospect
outfielder Max Clark and
the 91st ranked prospect
infielder Kevin McGonigal
have both been promoted
from low A or single A to
high A West Michigan.
And finally, not top 100 related,
Drew Hackenberg pitching a
double A for the
Mississippi Braves in the
Braves organization went
seven innings and struck out 16 batters.
Holy shit.
That's... I don't think
anyone's done that in minor leagues.
This year, at least.
This year or not as much as last year,
I can remember.
Who pitches that long to get that?
You know what I mean?
These days.
And again,
the Braves just keep fucking
grooming these pitching prospects.
They just keep grooming them.
Hurston Waldrop, A.J.
Smith-Shauver.
couple of those guys but
they could again that's a
you know I got names like
that they can move at some
point I think wall drips up
when I was updating the top
100 today Smith Chauvers
back at triple-a and
Hackenberg's and double I
see they just keep coming
yeah that's why I mentioned
freed earlier I just know
they send him with the
names coming yeah I think
the Braves are in that
The Braves are very similar to the Red Sox,
except the Braves have
injuries that keep them
from being World Series contenders.
This year, in my opinion.
I mean, do they say, well, shit,
we have no intent in signing Freed.
We know we can still make a
wild card and make a push
and look good by moving Freed,
get something for the future,
and in a spot that we need.
and just continue to make
the playoffs but improve
and then reload next year
on their pitching staff, I mean,
that'll be an – I mean,
I don't know if I see them doing it,
but that would be extremely
intelligent to see what
they do because they're deep.
They're just – they've got
so much fucking talent.
They keep doing it.
Yeah.
It's sickening.
Okay, anything else with the minors recap?
I think it was a short week, three games.
Minor leagues,
like I'm going to Virginia in –
couple of weeks now and I
asked you know I was the
first thing I was looking
at is like when does
Norfolk play their home so
the next stop is like how
far is it from a hotel you
know I want to get down and
see some games so I think
before we wrap up tonight I
think it's a good time for
anyone listening for a
couple of things two
important things that I
want to touch on in regards
to one if you like baseball
Make sure you write to CJ,
go to the webpage,
insidethediamonds.com backslash join us,
and let us know what you're
thinking about joining the group,
what you can add,
any questions you may have.
Let us know if you have any
interests specific,
whether it be minor leagues,
whether it's the AL Central, AL West, NL,
whatever it may be.
If you've got a niche group,
whatever you want to call it
that you want to cover uh
let us know cj is doing a
great job kind of
navigating and
orchestrating the writers
that we currently have
right now and like I had
mentioned several times
this is part-time and a
side like hobby for myself uh
I cover a couple of different teams,
try to help out where I can
with CJ to cover some gaps.
But the idea is we're
looking for like-minded
folk that love baseball,
want to get involved.
We'd love to incorporate
other writers to the
podcast just to get a
different perspective.
I think that would add some
value to our listeners that
want to hear someone else
other than CJ and I talk
about different things.
And the other thing is for anybody,
That is subscribing,
listening to the podcast all the time.
If you have any questions or
anything specific you'd
like to see us change or at
least mention or you have questions,
if you send us questions or
things or topics you want covered.
Let us know.
We're not perfect.
We're just trying to grow
this the best we can.
Two guys talking baseball
from what we see from our point of view.
We want feedback,
and we would love and entertain.
Is that a Friday beer?
Sorry.
No.
What beer is that?
What is that?
A Mikkel?
What is that?
It's a Bud Slug 55.
I thought it was one of those Friday beers,
you know,
when you see the guy chugging and, like,
I don't know what I'd do.
I'd probably go broke if I
saw that guy trying to beat him.
So, yeah, just reach out to us.
Let us know if you have questions,
interesting things.
Especially to anyone that
has interest in minor
leagues or any questions about
I'm not doing this to blow smoke, but CJ,
for a guy doing this part-time,
you have pretty good rap on
a lot of these guys in the minor levels.
I know that you do the top 100.
but you've mentioned several
names from several teams
that aren't included in that top 100.
So if you're a baseball fan
and you have questions in
regards to how deep is,
what are your take on, you know,
the Colorado Rockies farm system?
CJ will do a – you know,
give him five minutes.
He'll let you know exactly
what he thinks and how long
it's going to be until
they're going to be
relevant again with a competitive squad,
what they have in the minor
system for pitching,
what they have for bats coming.
You know, if you want something covered,
let us know.
You know, we'd love to, you know,
kind of interact with the
fan base and see what they want.
So –
Let us know what you're thinking.
See how we can help you out.
Answer some things and maybe
tweak how we roll things out each week.
With that said, this week,
Monday through Thursday,
Monday through Wednesday,
what are the series that
you're interested in right now?
I had two.
One started tonight.
I think you mentioned that
it already wrapped up.
It was Cardinals-Pirates.
Yep.
Game one did.
Two games separating them in division.
Now one because the Pirates won.
Yep.
So, you know,
we talked about – I mentioned
a couple weeks ago that I
think the Brewers don't win
the National League Central.
This is a series that can go
a long way into doing that,
especially with probably –
I'm sure both these teams
have a series with the
Brewers coming up here in
the next couple weeks.
So that's the first one.
The other one, I love a good subway series,
and especially after the
Mets swept the Yankees in
two games last time.
I want to see it again.
So I'm happy to see that
series taking place this week.
I also saw the schedule came up for 2025.
Yeah.
Doing a rivalry weekend.
I like that.
And then we'll get a
three-game series of Mets-Yankees.
I like that.
I do like that.
So this week, like, again, I agreed,
you know,
Cardinals-Pirates is one that
when I saw that come up
that the Pirates won, I'm like, oh, boy.
The Mets-Yankees, I mean,
I'm not a fan either,
but it's good baseball.
The one for me, being a Cubs fan,
is Cubs-Brewers.
Because what's going to happen,
the Cubs are going to win that series.
All they're doing is
benefiting the Pirates right now.
Or the Cardinals,
was my thought before today's result.
The Cubs will go in, win that series,
give the Cubs fans some hope.
But all it's really going to
do is push the Pirates further,
push the Cardinals further.
The other series,
and I mentioned this to you beforehand,
there was two.
The Rangers need to go in
and handle their business
against the White Sox if
they have any chance of anything.
Right now, in the bottom of the sixth,
they're tied 2-2.
If they can't sweep that series,
win the series at the least,
but sweep is what they need,
it kind of really drains
them of all hope of,
really doing repeating and
getting in the playoffs,
making a deep run.
The other series that I'm
disappointed to see the
score right now was the Diamondbacks.
I'm a little disappointed
for the NL wildcard, but at the same time,
I really fucking like the
route for the Royals.
So the Royals are winning
that game right now, 8-3.
And the Royals are further back,
but they're also a team that has...
room to add that could push the, uh,
Minnesota for a wild card spot,
in my opinion.
Um,
I don't know if their brass will make
the moves,
but that's a series right now
that I was interested in seeing.
Will the diamond backs go in
and roll off of what they
did to the Cubs and win
another series and put some
distance between them and the Padres.
So that seems to be interesting to see.
Um,
What about this weekend?
Well,
you had quite a few that you
mentioned that I was all in
agreement with,
but why don't you tell
everyone what you're
looking forward to this weekend?
The first one we're going to
start with is Guardians Phillies.
Yep.
And the reason I have that
is because the Phillies are
running away with the National League,
or the National League East at least,
but they have a pretty good
lead in the National League
altogether for the one seed.
The Guardians are right there, too,
for the one seed in the American League,
which nobody really had
that going into the year.
I don't think either of us did.
No.
You might have.
I have to look back at it,
but I think you might have.
Well, no,
I had the Guardians doing really well,
not to this extent.
So that's a big series,
especially with both teams
heading to the playoffs.
The next one,
just because it's who the two teams are,
Red Sox-Yankees.
Yeah.
Especially I like the
pitching matchup on the Red Sox side.
I want to see Bayo.
He seems to pitch decent
against the Yankees.
I believe it's cutter on Saturday Yeah,
I believe is on Saturday,
I don't know Friday.
Yeah,
either way Tanner Hulk has Sunday So
that'd be fun to see I
think Strowman's also
Sunday or Saturday I think
Cortez and I think we're
going are all this weekend
as well Then the next one
is the Braves Mets.
Like I said,
that's division gap tween
Second and third is getting
a little slimmer the series
we can go a long way into
making that even closer and
So that'll be a fun series to watch.
And the final one is Dodgers-Astros.
Because I just have a
feeling that Joe Kelly is
going to punk someone.
Why?
But why?
It's just in his nature.
I wish he was back with the Red Sox, too.
That guy was a fucking baller.
I loved him.
Same.
Especially when he punched a
whole bunch of guys from the Yankees.
Why can't I remember his name?
I can see it,
but I can't... I can't remember.
I'm going to have to pull it up.
When I think Joe Kelly,
I see that meme or the reel
of the kid from... Was it
the college pitcher from...
I don't think it was Vanderbilt,
but he had the glasses,
and all he's doing as he's
walking off the mound is
mouthing F-U to the batter.
Louisville, yes.
That, to me, is who Joe Kelly is,
a complete lunatic on the
mound that wants the fucking ball,
and he'll give you his very best,
and there ain't nothing you can do.
Like,
if you see Trevor Bauer and his shit
in Mexico when he's talking
shit to Luke Voigt, who I'm pretty sure –
Any college pitcher that's
going to be anything off
speed could strike out.
I see Joe Kelly doing that
at the pro while Bowers
doing that in Mexico
against these guys that.
you know, whatever.
Joe Kelly just goes out
there and gives you his best every night,
night in, night out, and he'll own it.
He kind of reminds me of
fucking Fairbanks from Tampa Bay, who,
again,
I think is another psychopath when
it comes to the mound.
I don't think he's really a psychopath,
but he's one of these guys that, like,
you want pitching for you
because nothing can touch them,
but they own their shit.
You know what I mean?
If they suck, they suck.
They'll tell you.
The name is Tyler Austin, by the way.
Tyler Austin.
I mean, that was two, three years ago,
but I just remember seeing that.
It was fucking great.
That was 18, wasn't it?
Was it really that long ago?
You're getting old.
Anyway, so this weekend,
I agree with your matchups.
The matchups I have have a
lot of different implications.
I have the D-backs versus the Pirates.
That one right there is both
the Pirates trying to make a push.
They're both fighting for
the similar spot.
Same spot in the wild card.
Then I have the Cardinals
versus the Nationals.
Because the Cardinals still
need to make that climb.
If they fall back and lose
that series to the Nationals,
you could see the Pirates jump over them.
Then I have the Marlins
versus the Brewers for the
same fucking reason as the
Pirates because the Brewers
hold that stronghold in the
National League Central.
But they're an injury away.
They're a bad series.
They played like shit three
of seven before the All-Star break,
and they're currently losing to the Cubs.
So if that slide continues,
the door is open for not
just the Cardinals but the Pirates.
Who's going to grab it?
My last series that I want
to watch all stems from
what the Cubs are going to do.
If the Cubs come in and take
the series against the Brewers,
and then they go in and
take the series against the Royals.
Where does that leave them?
What hope do they truly have?
Does Bellinger come back
healthy and start hitting?
And do they hold on to him
and then get stuck in the offseason?
What do we fucking do?
It's going to be very interesting.
The reason why I have the
Cubs is more to do with the
fact of the one against the
Brewers is going to benefit
the Pirates Cardinals,
provide false hope.
But the Cubs Royals...
I think it's going to hurt
them if they beat the
Royals in that series.
I think it's going to hurt
them if they beat the
Brewers in that series.
I do not believe the Cubs
right now unless something
changes and Swanson, Horner,
Bellinger comes back healthy,
and they add a catcher that can hit,
which if you look on the market,
it won't be.
I mean, who else is out there?
Shane Langeleers?
I mean, Jesus Christ,
you might as well throw
Christopher Murrell back there to catch.
Same fucking guy, batting-wise.
So it'll be very interesting
to me to see how the Cubs
play because it's going to
impact what they do at the deadline.
It's not going to impact
where they go the rest of
this year if they were to
grab a wild card, wild card, and done.
They just don't have it this
year at this time.
So those are my series.
A lot of interesting things
to impact other teams,
but it's going to be very interesting.
So that's what I had for the weekend.
Do you have any last
thoughts on this weekend
that you think can add?
All right.
We're at an hour and eight minutes.
We're going to try to continue to,
you know,
probably maybe not next week
because the deadline's coming.
But we're going to kind of
keep these between the 45 minutes,
hour and 10 minutes.
I want to thank everyone.
I want to remind everyone to like,
subscribe, all our social channels.
Pay attention to Inside the
Diamonds on Facebook.
You know, check out the website.
Uh, if he, if this is your first episode,
make sure to go back and
listen to the rest, um,
and pay attention.
Cause I think as this goes
on and things kind of free
up for us both personally,
I think the live stream
route is something that is
very interesting if it
lines up for us both personally.
to be effective, um,
that we'd like to do some more of,
because that was something that was fun,
uh,
to do in the right atmosphere can be
even that much better.
So I want to thank everyone
for paying attention and
listening in again.
I encourage you to reach out, uh,
to either join us or just
write in some comments,
some questions you have.
Other than that,
it was fun talking to you again tonight,
CJ.
A lot of baseball to come
this coming week that's
going to make the trade
deadline that much more interesting.
Absolutely.
It's going to be a fun week.
And we never even talked
about Mason Miller and the
massive fucking haul it's
going to take to get that
guy out of Oakland.
I don't know if he moves.
I think teams are hesitant
now that he wants to start again.
It scares me.
I mentioned it last week.
So the other name, too,
that we didn't mention and
you and I talked about,
I think if Tarek Skubal goes to Orioles,
don't even talk to me
unless Jackson Holiday is
going to be the Detroit
Tigers starting shortstop.
It starts there.
Right?
Three others in the top 100.
A hundred percent.
A hundred percent.
So it's a lot of fun.
If you baseball fans pay attention,
reach out with questions,
interact with us on all our channels.
Let's get this going.
Let's get this growing.
So CJ,
I really appreciate you again tonight.
It was a great time talking baseball.
I'm really looking forward
to our conversations daily
with what's going on.
I want to thank everyone
again and looking forward to next week.
So thanks again, folks.
This is everyone inside the diamonds.
Have a great day.
Have a great week, everybody.