Hey everybody, welcome back to the Thrilling Partners podcast.
It's Kirby and Joseph here.
Coming to you on a Wednesday night, we are going to give you the breakdown of the trade deadline.
Trade deadline ended, it was basically done yesterday at five o 'clock central standard time.
So we are going to go over the winners of the trade deadline, the losers of the trade deadline, how the trade deadline affects our teams.
And then also the teams that are probably going to be better set up for the future.
So Joe, I want to hear about your winners at the trade deadline.
And then I'm going to give you some of my winners and I might chip in.
kind of play back and forth about who we thought were the winners.
So go ahead.
Yeah, so my number one winner, obviously, I mean, they just do it every year.
They get whoever they want.
They pay for whoever they want.
It's the Los Angeles Dodgers.
They made a buzzer beater at the deadline trading with the Detroit Tigers for local kid Jack Flaherty.
And he was honestly the pitcher of the deadline outside of, and this is going to sound crazy, but you say Kikuchi.
he was probably the first, the top arm available and Kikuchi was probably the second, best arm available as stuff wise, for starting pitching and, the Dodgers got Tommy Edmond,
Ahmed Rosario for the second year in a row.
And then Michael Koepke, from the white socks.
and they're, hands down, you know, the winners of the deadline.
For the Jack Flaherty trade, they really didn't give up very much.
I believe they gave up their second prospect, their second ranked prospect and their 25th prospect, their 25th ranked prospect, if I'm not mistaken.
But I mean, it just...
overall for him.
Yeah, I mean, they just they continue to get, I said, whoever they want, whenever they want.
And just I mean, they're set up for the future.
As in this season and just making a huge run.
Although I know a lot of Dodgers fans were complaining that they did not address the real concerns with their lineup because they do have a lot of players out with injury right
now.
And then Freddie Freeman is obviously dealing with some family issue.
issues.
So he's out as well.
But they were frustrated that they didn't address a real bat.
But they've bolstered their rotation for October.
now they'll probably be able to choke in the NLCS this time instead of the NLDS, you know.
Well, I actually, let me give you a fun fact real quick, Joe.
So, you know, you were saying that Jack Flaherty is a native or a local to LA.
Did you know that Jack Flaherty, Lucas Gialito, and Max Fried all went to the same high school at the same time?
Did you know
I did not know that that was a crazy rotation.
Imagine getting out of...
I know what I was just about to say.
I Mean that's unreal.
but Yeah, well I actually want to say this to Joe before we close on the Dodgers because like you said they had a great tread that trade deadline like they always do but I
Actually think they have a really good shot to extend Flaherty and I actually wouldn't be surprised
Absolutely.
within the next couple of weeks just because he is a native to there.
Not to mention they have a really good, you know, picture development system, you know, that they always have arms.
So I can easily see Flaherty being in a Dodger uniform, not only this year, but also in the years to come, which also terrifies me because if Flaherty says, I really like the
Dodgers, well, guess what?
at once teammates with Max Fried, who's also a free agent.
So it wouldn't surprise me to see, honestly, both of them in a Dodger uniform next year, along with Glassnow and Yamamoto and whoever else they feel like going to get.
So the Dodgers, like you said, I think they could be set up just because of that.
And then Michael Kopek too, Joe.
This guy's a hard thrower, just like they like.
was actually, he's been really good so far this year.
I feel like he's only gonna get better in a Dodger uniform.
And then they also got Kevin Keirmeyer, which is basically just outfield depth, but we've all seen the plays that that guy can make.
He can hold down any outfield position and be great at it.
So they did a really nice trade deadline.
Who else do you feel like was a winner, Joe?
Because I got a couple of teams in mind.
I think, this is might surprise some people just because they have a big prospect pool and they really didn't get rid of anybody.
But I think the Mariners were also a winner at the deadline.
They got Randy Rosarena, who if you look at his full season numbers, aren't great compared to the rest of his career.
But in the last nine weeks, he's been on an absolute heater and he's been picking those numbers back up.
And then they got a gritty veteran and someone familiar to the Astros and Justin Turner.
who was always an Astros killer.
I hated playing against him, when he was a Dodger and then during his time with the blue Jays this year, it was also a pest and annoying.
so I think, you know, that sets them up better than what they had, you know, offensively.
And they also added Yemi Garcia to the bullpen who could be a sneaky pickup for them as well.
so I think that, you know,
That addition of Randy Rosarena, I wanted him on the Astros so bad when I heard that the Rays were going to sell.
I've wanted Randy Rosarena on the Astros for so long and I've made so many jokes on Twitter because the Rays always do this.
They always develop a player and then they sell them like, like nobody's business.
But I had been making this joke that Randy Rosarena was going to be a future Astro
like three years now and I'm really sad to see him go to the Mariners because he is now a division foe and he's someone that I honestly rooted for a lot as a Ray and now I can't I
got to put on his downfall.
So that's really it really sucks to see but you know, I do think that they were winners and they didn't give up much for this trade deadline.
I think that they bolstered their rotation.
Sorry, not the rotation their lineup and they got a high leverage bullpen arm
Yemi Garcia.
I agree.
I think there's another winner here just because they had a very simple trade deadline, which is the Cardinals, because Eric Fetty has had a really fantastic year and he's very
cheap.
And then also too, they went and got Tommy Fam, which if there's ever been a fire up the boys kind of guy or fire up the clubhouse kind of guy, it's Tommy Fam.
He's got an edge to him.
People know that he puts up with no crap from anybody.
He hit a grand slam today.
or yesterday, I'm sorry.
So, I mean, this guy hit third on the NL champion Diamondbacks roster last year in the World Series.
Tommy Pham is a ball player.
I don't care that he is in his mid to late 30s.
Tommy Pham is going to give you quality at bats.
He's got good speed on the bases and he plays good defense.
He is a solid player.
So the Cardinals getting Pham and Fetty and not really giving up anything.
But they also got rid of, I don't want to call it dead weight because that's not fair to Dylan Carlson or Tommy Edmond.
But they essentially did away with those guys.
And yeah, I think it was a good trade deadline for them.
Joe, do you feel about the Orioles trade deadline?
Because they got a lot of guys, but I have my opinions about it.
So go ahead, let me hear your opinion about
So I think the Orioles did okay.
They did give up a lot in that trade with the Marlins.
And I'm just going to give a, I think the Marlins are also very clear winners here at the trade deadline.
I just want to point that out.
They made some really good trades at the deadline and even in May trading Luis Arias.
But I mean, they got a haul for Chaz Chisholm and
for Tanner Scott.
mean, you're talking about a rental, high leverage reliever, and you've got Connor Norby and I forgot the other prospect, Kyle Stowers, who they both great out to be some pretty
decent prospects for the Marlins, only continuing to build their system after having it depleted over the last couple of years.
But I
You know, the Orioles did okay.
I don't think there were really winners or losers.
I think they did what they thought they had to, to really solidify their spot as being a top team in the AL.
I don't, I mean, I don't, like I said, I don't think that they, I don't think that they did too bad, honestly.
I think that they had a decent deadline.
I agree that they had definitely had a decent deadline.
I mean, the haul that Trevor Rogers got Joe basically told me that the Braves were not going to go get a starting pitcher when they traded Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers for him.
When I saw that return, I said, there is no way that the Braves go get a starter.
It's not happening because first of all, Alex Anthopoulos does not give up top prospects.
And he's for sure not going to give up a top five one.
for a starter like Trevor Rogers.
He's not good, by the way.
He's just gonna be an innings eater for them.
The Zach Efflin trade that they did, I thought that was a really solid move.
The one that, it was just surprising to me that they went out and got Eloy Jimenez from the White Sox.
That move to me was kinda odd, but at the same time, we have seen, first of all, we have seen the Orioles draft extremely well.
But not only have they drafted well, they have also developed well.
Because most of the guys that they have developed that have come up to the big leagues have had success in the big leagues If they can keep it loyal him in as healthy he is in a
very valuable asset to them We saw what he did in his rookie campaign.
I Mean this guy was fourth and rookie of the year voting.
I think he hit 31 homers that year Joe he could very well be a superstar in Baltimore, especially he's going to have lineup protection He's gonna have some of the best player
development
in the country, in Baltimore.
We have seen that with their players.
So I'm interested to see what they squeeze out of him.
And you know what, maybe he is just an off season, an off season move where they move him and they get more prospects back or they get an arm back or something like that.
So that one to me was probably the most shocking because he's not the guy that we all thought that the White Sox were going to trade in either Garrett Crochet or Luis Robert.
And I apologize.
I've got the pitcher who the Orioles traded for mixed up.
It was not Tanner Scott that he went to the Padres.
It was Trevor Rogers who went to the Orioles, the lefty that has, I believe it's like two or three more years of control on his contract.
But yeah, they went out and surprised everybody getting Aloy Jimenez
I think the White Sox, if you want to talk about a real loser, they were, them and the Tigers and the Ashrows were all losers, all for very different reasons, but we can get
into that in a little
I gotta ask you this, okay?
How do you feel about what Garrett Crochet said when he said that if I'm going to be traded to a playoff contender, I want an extension before playoff time comes?
How do you feel about that personally?
I'll tell you how I feel after you tell me how you
So I think it's a complete loser move, but I think it's very selfish also.
You've got teams that are willing to go out there and trade a boatload of prospects for you and give up a lot of talent to go get you in hopes of bringing a championship to their
city.
And the fact that you're thinking about yourself before you're thinking
a potential team that you'd be going to and I get it.
It's a cutthroat business.
The business side works both ways.
You could be ripped from your team like Joey Loperfito out of nowhere and have your whole life completely uprooted without even knowing it.
And I get it.
He's looking out for himself.
He also, you know, doesn't want to pitch in October, have an arm injury and then not have that security of having a contract.
So I can understand, you
where he's coming from and kind of the disappointment from the White Sox front office and fans for not being able to get anything for him because he's not going to sign back with
them at the end of the season or in the off season.
So, I think that it's pretty interesting.
I think it's kind of like a Josh Hader move where he said when he was
the Padres that he wasn't going to pitch in a non -safe situation or he wasn't going to go two innings.
He was only going to pitch in certain situations and it was only going to be one inning and he wouldn't pitch after that because the Brewers, when he was with the Brewers, held
that against him during arbitration and they really screwed him out of some money there using that argument against him.
So I think that that's part of the reason why Garrett Crochet didn't
you know, really want to go to a team without having that security.
And like I said, I get it.
It's a business and the business side works both ways.
You know, teams can be cruel to their players and, manipulate their service time and then go fight them in arbitration.
And this is kind of his way of fighting back.
So that's kind of how I see
I definitely agree that there are two different sides to this because we know that, know, Crochet has gone through Tommy John already.
He's already gone through that whole process and that process sucks.
It is not fun.
But then also too, I mean, we saw guys like Matt Harvey.
Matt Harvey basically gave his whole arm for the city of New York on the Mets playoff run to the World Series in 2015.
That didn't pay off for him because that basically killed his
But we saw somebody like C .C.
Sabathia give his whole body for the Brewers in I think 2008 and Sabathia just shoved four of them all the way to the NLCS.
But I mean, he ended up staying healthy after that.
He got a nice bag from the Yankees and whatnot.
I thought that that when Crochet said that, I thought that that had a big market team's name all over it.
that wanted to extend a guy like the Dodgers or the Red Sox or maybe the Yankees or maybe the Braves because Alex Anthopoulos loves to extend young guys and he's young.
So I thought that that move could happen, but I'm sure that the asking price for him was just astronomical.
I'm sure that it was unreal because we saw the return from Trevor Rogers.
We saw the return from Yusei Kikuchi.
So it's just I'm there's a reason that this overall was a very mediocre deadline when it came to pitching especially Because the asking price for starting pitching Was just unreal
like I know people get so attached to prospects but prospects are prospects until they become superstars and Rarely do they become superstars?
So to me it's just it's one of those things when I started seeing the returns for some of these guys that are
middle of the rotation to back half of the rotation.
I was like, man, there's just no point in going to get a starter.
Like you're better off throwing some guy from AAA that has a good shot to make it in the rotation than going to trade off two or three prospects.
So it was really interesting.
But I just wonder too, Joe, do you think that Crochet is mad at the White Sox for even drafting him?
Because he sure seems like a guy that's mad that he plays for them and it's like it's almost like he wanted to Not only did he maybe screw his own value by saying that but he
also may have screwed the club by saying that too Because they're probably not gonna get the same return now, you know what I mean?
So it's almost like well if you're gonna screw me I'm gonna screw you back So it was just one of those things that I was like man, man I think this he actually may have done, you
know done this intentionally and said it intentionally
Yeah, I mean, I don't know what that's got to do for like the clubhouse culture in there.
I heard that it's horrible right now in the lights off organization.
They're on like the franchise record losing streak right now.
And so I can only imagine I can I can only imagine that they haven't won a game since the All -Star break.
So I think that I think that it's, you
It's got to be very toxic there and I still can't believe that they didn't trade away Luis Robert Jr.
I know that he's not having the best year ever.
He's been struggling offensively and I'm sure that they still wanted that.
They were probably dangling him out there if they were like he was still that 2021 Luis Robert Jr.
where he was a perennial MVP candidate.
But he's just not that guy this year and they were probably
you know, valuing him like he was, 2021 Luis Robert, Robert Jr.
and I just, I think they're a horrible franchise.
mean, they had one good year.
and they just, I guess they put all the chips in and now they have no player development, honestly.
And they're just a mess of a franchise.
I don't, don't really know what that front office was thinking.
I
And like you said, Garret Crochet pretty much screwed them out of, you know, a big haul at the deadline because of what he said.
So, yeah, I mean, just another organization that just doesn't know what they're doing.
It's gotta be the Colorado Rockies.
I mean, they did nothing.
They are horrible and they did nothing.
I'm pretty sure they have like one of the worst ranked farm systems and they just sat on their hands.
They had a couple guys
Qualicom Quantro that could have been dealt at the deadline who's actually got better numbers at course field than he does outside of course field.
I don't get that either, but that's neither here nor there, but they did nothing.
The Tigers were also a mess.
They I'm pretty sure panicked at the buzzer and just traded Flaherty for
the best available offer.
But at the time, at the point of the deadline, there was really only one team bidding left because reports came out that the Yankees were concerned with Florida's medicals.
So it was really just the Dodgers bidding against themselves.
And they obviously didn't end up giving up near as much as the halls for Tanner Scott and Rogers and Kikuchi.
I think they overplayed their hand and I think they waited too long to deal him and I've heard multiple people close to the tiger's organization say that they are just so fed up
with the front office and their lack of ability to make this trade deadline, which was a sellers, A seller's deadline Make it into a mech deadline.
I mean You know what the astros gave up for kakuchi They were in they were in on flirty for the longest time up until that kakuchi trade
And the fact that the Astros felt like they needed to get Kikuchi the day before the deadline, and that was their offer, just makes me think what they were offering for
Flaherty if they were in serious talks.
Like if that was, I'm sure the Tigers fans would have much rather had the deal that the Astros gave for Kikuchi for Flaherty than what the Dodgers ended up giving them.
And I know that the GMs and front offices value prospects differently.
just based on the way that they analyze and project numbers and they all have their own models and systems that they use.
But I've got to imagine that the upside on the players that the Astros gave up are going to be higher than the two that the Dodgers gave up.
I just got to imagine.
Agree.
Well Joe, there's a couple other teams that I feel like had a really good deadline that we haven't mentioned so far.
The first one is the Royals.
The Royals went out and got Paul DeYoung who basically swapped dugouts because he was with the White Sox.
They also got Michael Lorenzen who is going to be an innings eater for them and I thought that was a pretty good pickup for them.
But the key haul for them was they got Lucas Ersig.
If you've never seen Lucas Ercig pitch, he is must watch TV.
This guy throws hard.
He's got a hard slider.
He's got really good stuff and I think he's going to excel on a team like Kansas City.
He was lights out in Oakland for the most part.
He is a big power arm and they their bullpen needed help and they went and got it.
So shout out to the Royals.
I love to see them doing well.
Another team that I actually felt like had a good deadline was the D -backs.
The D -backs went and got Dylan Floro and AJ Puck to add to their bullpen, who are both great arms for their bullpen.
And then they went and picked up Josh Bell too, just as kind of reassurance with Christian Walker having some issues.
So those were both really good moves for those teams.
I don't really know what in the world the Cubs are doing.
trading Christopher Morel and they're getting Esau Paredes back.
The Cubs are not competitive, Cubs suck.
Their offense is atrocious.
We had the Guardians go get Lane Thomas.
I really liked that move for the Braves.
I wish they would have done that because they need some speed.
The Guardians already run pretty well for the most part and they just added to it getting Lane Thomas.
Now let's see who else I got
The Phillies actually had a decent deadline too.
They got Carlos Estevez for their bullpen.
That's a good armor going there.
And then they got Austin Hayes from the Orioles, which was a very interesting swap as well.
And then they got rid of some dead weight out in their bullpen.
So more of addition by subtraction.
The Mets actually had a decent trade deadline as well.
They went out and got an innings eater in Paul Blackburn from the Oakland A's and they went out and got Jesse Winker.
To fill an outfield spot, which I that was another move that I thought the Braves could have made because he's a rental He's very cheap, but they didn't and now he's placed for
the Mets The Mets also got Ryan Stanek, which I thought was a good move before he played against the Braves and he gave up two home runs to the Braves So that was great for the
Braves and not so much for the Mets That was great one more move Joe that I want to talk about real quick because we were talking about the Orioles and their
their player development.
I'm not sure which deal it was, but Christian Pache came to the Orioles from the Phillies.
So it must have been the Austin Hayes deal.
For those of you who don't know, Christian Pache was the Braves top prospect at one time.
He is still very young.
I think he's in his early to mid 20s.
He came up in 2020 during the COVID season.
the Braves organization thought that Christian Pache was going to be the next Andrew Jones.
It did not turn out that way.
He has had his he's had some real struggles at the plate.
He couldn't hit the broadside of a barn for a long time.
But let me tell you something Joe, if Christian Pache goes to the Orioles and gets with the right guys in their player development system
and just learns how to swing a bat and be good at it, Joe Christian Pache could be an all -star.
He has a great glove.
He's got decent speed.
He's got all the tools, all the tools are there, but man, he just cannot hit.
So I'm interested to see, for one, if they even keep him around or maybe they DFA him.
They may have already DFA'd him.
I don't know, I haven't looked.
But that is one guy that I hope makes it.
is a great quality human.
So we'll see.
But it's just one of those things that was kind of coming to mind.
I was like, okay, well maybe if he gets with the right guys over there, they can figure out his swing.
Maybe he has to go through a JD Martinez type life cycle in the big leagues.
But the talent is there.
But he's definitely going to have to make some kind of swing adjustment to make it in the big leagues.
Do you want to talk about any more winners, Joe?
Are you ready to move on with the winners?
Because the only thing we'll little bit about is the winners
Chisholm.
I think, you know, they didn't add as much as a lot of their fans would have liked, but I think that his addition is going to bring a spark into their ball club.
It already has.
They just got through sweeping the Phillies and he is the first Yankees player to make his debut and hit four home runs and it was like two games.
Now granted, one of them was off of a position player,
I mean, he's really been a boost to them already and the three games that he's been with them.
So I mean, I think that, you know, he brings an aura to the team that they didn't have before.
And I think that he's going to be a great Yankee, especially with that, that smooth left -handed swing with the short porch.
I think that he's going to probably hit a little bit, hit for a little bit more power than we're used to seeing him hit for.
So I think that was a good trade for them as well.
I agree.
I think that was a wonderful trade for them, especially if he's probably going to hit, I think honestly, I think you should hit lead off.
But overall, the Yankees didn't really have a great trade deadline because they didn't do anything else to really help the rest of their lineup.
Well, like I mentioned, they were in on Jack Flaherty, but they were knocked out due to medical concerns, according to people close to the situation.
that was their guy that they were going after and they didn't acquire him because as I mentioned, they were concerned with Flaherty's medical history.
Yup.
Joe, I know that...
I'm just laughing, sorry.
Tell me how you feel about what the Astros did and then I'll tell you how I feel about what the Braves did.
Okay, so I've gone back and forth on how I feel about what the Astros did.
I hated it at first because of the not the prospects.
It's really not about the prospects.
I think the Joey Lopifito will probably be the best player out of that trade.
I'm not too high on Jake Bloss.
A lot of people keep saying that it's Jake Bloss and people are that the Astros are going to regret letting go
and all of his starts that he had this year, and I know that he just got drafted last year and he's not Paul schemes, but every start that he had, he hit a wall where after three
innings, his fastball velocity was dipping and he already had an arm injury.
He was dealing with an arm injury after his first start.
I don't, I don't see the upside that a lot of people do.
I know that he progressed really, really fast.
into the Astro system and then obviously to the Major League roster.
But I think that Joey Lopofito has the potential to be a Joey Gallo type, someone that has real raw power.
I honestly believe that he's just a rookie and he can cut down on the swing and miss.
Everybody talks about his strikeout numbers.
He had almost a 40 % strikeout percentage.
But I like they're acting like he's a fifth year veteran in the league.
This is his rookie year.
He has, think.
Under a hundred at bats, if not just over a hundred at bats at the major league level, he has plenty of time to go out there and make an adjustment to his swing.
I mean, like I said, he's a rookie.
so, and he already showed so much potential.
You know, coming up in clutch situations and being a very good defender.
So I think that he is going to be the real, the real piece of the Astros Miss.
Will Wagner, I know this person on Twitter.
He loved Will Wagner and some of his batted ball data was like, you're putting him up there with some really, you know, top prospects and the minors and then, you know, some
major leaguers that
you know, the best of the best like Rafael Devers, Juan Soto, you're on Alvarez type of batted ball data.
But his problem was that he sucks at defense and he doesn't lift the ball.
So while he has this really good batted ball data, he's not hitting for very much power because his launch angle just isn't there.
But if the Blue Jays are able to, you know, make that adjustment to a swing and their player development, then he could be somebody that's a real, you know, power threat.
But I'm not really concerned about losing him.
He was kind of blocked due to his lack of ability to play defense.
And if he was playing defense, he would be a second baseman, obviously with Jose Altuve, signing a five -year extension at the beginning of the year, there was really no place for
him.
So I'm not really mad about that.
But the reason that I was hung up on this trade was because we gave
a lot of team control on these players for someone with two months of control and someone that we're probably not going to extend after the season or possibly in the next two
months.
And I thought that at the time, you know, this hall could have gotten a throw in and either the bullpen, which I thought that we still needed to add.
The Azores would go on to add Caleb Ferguson.
from the Yankees who hasn't been pitching well, they're hoping that they can pull a Taylor Scott and fix him.
But I think that Diastro, Sal Cucchi, and a higher or a brighter light than most, people do.
And I think that they really took a hard look at the underlying numbers
thought that there was something there that most teams weren't seeing.
think that they got their guy.
I think that they see him as a, thought at the time that they saw him as a three starter.
And that's why they paid such a high price for him.
And that's exactly what Dana Brown actually came out and said today on the flagship station for the Astros is that they see Kikuchi slotting in as the number three starter
for the Houston Astros.
So he's somebody that they believe will play a big role in their postseason run.
Which I find very interesting because a lot of people kept saying that, when Verlanger gets back or when Garcia gets back, he's just going to be the fifth starter and he's not
going really factor into the postseason very much.
He'll probably go to the bullpen.
But people forget that Hunter Brown and René Blanco are already at an inning count that they've never seen before in their career, both of them.
This is Renell Blanco's first year as a starter and he's already hit his maximum innings that he's ever thrown in professional baseball.
And Hunter Brown is a third year starter at this point and he's already getting close to where his maximum innings pitched is at.
And you've kind of seen the fatigue set in for both of them.
They have both
had very good starts the last few times out.
Renell Blocko is three and four in his last couple starts, and he hasn't been pitching well.
And I think that has to do with fatigue.
And adding Kakuchi gives them another day of rest, especially when Verlander comes back.
They'll have a six -man rotation, and they'll be able to give each guy an extra day of rest.
And then when you look at Hunter Brown, I'm just going to say it.
He hasn't pitched well against a good team.
Like he had this start against the Pirates last night and he pitched well.
He did pitch well.
I will say that the defense did not help him and himself included on the defensive side.
He had a misplay, but he ended up giving up five runs.
I think a couple of those were unearned, but I have to go look back and look at the box score because like I said, the defense didn't help him out.
But if you look at the teams that he's pitched against,
Like they're like the A's twice, the Angels twice.
and then just not really good teams, which are teams that the Astros have been playing while they've gotten hot and they've gotten back into this race.
and so I think that they see something in the Kikuchi that they believe that they can just go in there and fix, whether it's his pitch usage, or something mechanical.
I think it has more to do with usage and location of his pitches that they believe that they can go in there and tweak because the underlying numbers for Kikuchi aren't as bad as
a lot of people see when they actually take a look at his more forward -facing numbers and more like casual numbers.
But Chandler Roe mentioned this the other day or actually today.
giving an interview to the Astros flagship station.
Damn it.
I can't speak.
He said that, you know, part of the reason that Kikuchi could have such an inflated ERA is because he was coming out of ball games with runners left on base and the Blue Jays had
one of the worst bullpens in all of baseball.
I think they had the worst bullpen in all of baseball.
So if Kikuchi is coming out of these games and these Blue Jays relievers are coming in in these high pressure situations.
I know there's bullpen in baseball.
It's easy to assume that there were a lot of inherited runner scoring from those relievers, which could inflate Kikuchi's numbers.
Now, I'm not sure that's the case.
He said that he would look into that, but I'm sure that that might have something to do with the reason Kikuchi's numbers are a little bit inflated.
He had a really good first seven starts to the season.
I think he had like a 2 .19 ERA.
So if the Astros can just unlock that, figure out how to adjust his usage, I think that he'll be fine.
I really do.
His baseball savant page looks pretty good.
He's got a 91 percentile extension.
He's got a great K rate and a great whiff rate, and he does not walk a lot of batters.
And he can also get the up there and V -Lo.
He throws hard, so he sits.
95 and that can get it up there to 98, 97.
So I'm hoping that they can just figure out how to unlock, you know, that one thing that he's been missing for the last few weeks.
And I'm hoping that they can really, you know, turn his season around for the betterment of the Astros.
And then the Caleb Ferguson trade.
Like I said earlier, I think that they're going to try to pull Taylor Scott.
His numbers were horrible with the Yankees this year, but historically he
He had pitched pretty well for the Dodgers.
That's who he'd been with before joining the Yankees this year.
But he'd been really bad this year.
He has like a five something ERA.
I can't find it right now, but he's a 5 .13 ERA and we really didn't give up much for him.
We just gave up one prospect and $750 ,000 of international bonus pool money.
So I'm not too mad about that.
they can turn his season around too, I think that he'll be a real weapon.
And they needed another arm in the bullpen because they just, can't keep relying on Brian Abreu, Josh Hader and Ryan Presley because as we saw Monday, they once again melted down.
Ryan.
Brian O 'Brien you pitched really well and then Ryan Presley came in gave up a leadoff double ended up giving up the tying run and then Josh Josh Hader Again, I'm gonna keep
saying it has a home run problem He gave up another home run home to Michael a Taylor someone who had like two or three home runs on the season before facing Josh Hader and the
ninth on Monday and I was actually at that game I saw that coming from mile away as soon as Presley gave up the tying run
I was really frustrating to watch.
saw Libby Dunn's boyfriend pitch.
That was pretty cool.
There was a really good crowd out there on Monday.
He wasn't all that impressive.
I'm not going to lie.
He was okay.
He was just okay.
But that was just like, I'm hoping that they can turn Caleb Ferguson into something.
He's another, you know, he sits like 93 and he's a lefty.
So I'll be interested to see how they utilize him.
But I
I had been saying that they didn't need a bat and I'm not gonna lie, I was kind of disappointed when they didn't get Yandy Diaz from the raise, even though I had been saying
they didn't need a bat.
Their offense has been struggling as of late, they're 3 and 6 in their last 9 games.
They're currently winning 5 to 4 against the Pirates in the top of the 9th.
Their offense hasn't been great and I think that they really did need out of hat now, now that I look back at it.
There's still a mystery question mark surrounding Kyle Tucker.
We don't know what his timeline is like.
He's still not really doing very much baseball activity.
We did get updates on Justin Verlander and Luis Garcia.
They both threw live bullpens on Tuesday.
And they said that they both felt great after and they're just waiting for, you know, their recovery to see how they feel.
then they'll probably go make a rehab start.
So I think that the Astros are going to get some real reinforcements in the rotation there.
but yeah, I think that the offense needed a real boost with the bat.
they haven't been playing well offensively, after ever since that Alex Bergman walkoff, they just haven't been playing good offensively, which is crazy because that was probably
the highest moment of the season.
they've now gone.
to a pretty low point with the trade deadline passing and not getting a bat.
But I just want to say one thing, man.
mean, so the Astros gave up Jake Ballas, who was their number two prospect.
They gave up Joey Loprofito, who I think was ranked 15th, and then Will Wagner, who was ranked 22nd in there.
And their farm system and those numbers are probably wrong other than Jake boss.
I know he was for sure the number two prospect But they were they're addressing a need that they quite frankly could have answered in the offseason There were plenty of starting
pitchers available in the offseason that could have given the Astros Some depth some rotation depth and they didn't do it And this is the second offseason in a row where they
did not do anything that they needed to
and I think that you know the frustration with this front office all comes back to Jim Crane and being a stubborn asshole and Telling James click to go f himself And I just I'm
I'm still very frustrated with the whole the whole situation I'm gonna keep saying I know that I've had these rants before on the podcast, but he was a World Series winning general
manager he fleeced team after team making trades to build the
best bullpen in postseason history.
He's got Yiner Diaz who is currently leading the league in batting average for catchers and who has been on a heater as of late.
Fomaila Schraw.
and he also got Phil Maitan for that who was again huge in the Astros bullpen.
I don't understand.
I mean, I do understand it's because Dusty Baker is also a stubborn asshole.
and
He didn't like James Click and Dusty Baker had the ear of Jim Crane and Jim Crane did whatever he thought Dusty Baker would like as well as Jeff Bagwell and Reggie Jackson.
And this all has to stem from Jim Crane's distrust from the science stealing scandal.
I get it.
But James Click knew what the hell he was doing.
He knew how to operate a front office
You just have two trade deadlines in a row where you give up some top end talent in a farm system that is not very good.
When you look back at the Justin Verlander trade, again, that is something they could have addressed in the prior off season by just signing him.
If they had just signed him, they would still have Drew Gilbert, who was their number one prospect at the time, and Ryan Clifford, who was, think, at the time, their number three
or five prospect.
And they have now traded in two deadlines.
They're number one, they're three and they're five prospect.
And that frustrates the hell out of me.
I just, that's because that's not a way to operate a front office, especially when you could have addressed the needs at the beginning of the season in free agency.
If Jim Crane would have just opened his wallet like he did for Josh Hader, who I think is a horrible contract.
Again, I'm going to say it.
I was happy at the time.
But $95 million is a lot for one player.
And I just, I still don't understand it.
I don't understand the way that Dana Brown has been operating.
I think that he's got a great eye for talent.
I really do, but I think that he might be a little in over his head when it comes to negotiating trades and contracts in the off season, because I just, cannot understand the
way that the front office has been operating.
And I get that he is not the only one making decisions.
He alluded to that earlier in his press conference saying
we as a whole front office are making these decisions as a team.
And that also frustrates the hell out of me because if he's not the one, you know, flying the ship, then like all of this is wasted breath because he's not the one actually making
these moves.
It's Jeff Bagwell, Craig Bisio and Mr.
October, Reggie Jackson making these moves.
And that really frustrates me because if they're not going to let him operate,
Like honestly, I just, at this point it's more frustrating because I don't know where to point my frustration.
I don't know what moves are Dana Brown moves and I don't know what moves are being led by those three.
and that's probably the most frustrating part because I want to be able to place my blame somewhere so that I know who's head to call for when it doesn't go wrong.
But at this point, I just have to blame everybody and Dana Brown is getting the most of it because he's the head.
He's the face that we see.
So that's just, that's been really frustrating to me.
Dana Brown, like there are some moves that I can see where Dana Brown definitely had more input than not.
Like the Taylor Scott trade was definitely his move.
The Josh Hader acquisition, I know for a fact was not his move.
But it's interesting to see how these last two trade deadlines have played out.
The Justin Verlander trade also, I do not think was
a Dana Brown move.
think that was a Jim Crane move.
He wanted his golfing partner back.
So it's been interesting to see how this front office is operated.
I'm going to keep screaming it from the rooftop.
think that this is all stemming back from James Click being outed in place of a manager who literally only ended up coaching one more season.
You gave up your future, you know, when it comes to talent evaluation and potential trades.
for a manager that refused to not hit two of the worst qualified hitters in the league in 2023, which I think ultimately led to our downfall.
But that's another story for another day.
Kirby, let's get into the Braves.
How did you feel about their trade deadline?
Well, Joe, I'm glad that overall you see both sides of the Astros trade because some people are calling for Dana Brown's head when in fact, if you look at a lot of the
underlying stats on Kikuchi, I don't feel like it was a horrible trade.
The what you were talking about with the bullpen issues for the Blue Jays is possibly why his ERA is inflated.
I thought that was a very interesting point because his FIP is actually like almost a whole run lower.
than as he are right, which is really good news for the Astros.
The Astros also played really good defense, which is going to be huge for him as well, because he does give up a lot of hits.
He does have a little bit of a home run problem.
That's OK.
That can be solved too.
That does worry me because he does give up a lot of homeruns to right handed hitters and I don't know if they know this or not but we play in a stadium that is known for giving up
ranking decom runs to right handed hitters.
This is another thing that I just never understand.
The Astros never pursue players that have good career numbers in MinuteMate.
They always go for the guys that have some of the worst stats I've ever seen.
playing at Minute Maid Park and that also frustrates me.
But they also play 81 games or 82 games outside of Minute Maid.
So I do see, you know, if they can manipulate the rotation to where he's not pitching at Minute Maid, unfortunately, his first start will be in Minute Maid.
But if they can manipulate it outside of this, then I'm going to be okay.
I'm just hoping that he pitches well after this.
And like you said, I think that they project him as a three starter.
So I do not think that they gave
too much at the end of the day.
If that's really where they see him, then I think that they gave up what they thought was best.
Then I'll let you
I agree.
I just hope that he has a very soft landing in his first start because they play the Rays this weekend, right?
And then who they play?
Hopefully since they kind of offloaded a bunch of guys then hopefully it'll be a nice soft landing at Minute Maid for him.
If not, be ready for more of the worst on Twitter.
Okay, Joe, so let's talk about the Braves for a minute.
They made one trade
Party like it's 2021.
Yeah, well, okay.
Let me let me start by saying all the good and then I'll Talk about how I feel about it So let me just say this so the Braves went and got Jorge Soler and Luke Jackson back from the
Giants in exchange for basically nothing They gave up Sabine Sabayos who is probably like their number 20 number 20 prospect overall He's got good bat to ball skills.
He plays a little third base Doesn't have a lot of
could be a, it could be a decent major leaguer.
I don't think he's ever going to be that great to be honest.
and then they also gave up Tyler Matzik, who has arguably one of the best moments in praise postseason history, for striking out the side against the Dodgers and the LCS in
2021.
so, thank you, Tyler Matzik, first of all, for all that you did during that postseason run and the prior postseason run in 2020.
so I, I, those memories will forever be ingrained in
I hope that he is able to make it back and continue to have a successful big league career.
Anyway, so let me just say this, Joe.
First of all, the Braves need a leadoff hitter.
If you have looked at the Jorge Soler leadoff numbers, his leadoff numbers are unreal.
Ronald Acuna went down, they tried the Jerry Kelnick experiment, and it worked quite well up until about the last month.
And it just went south in a hurry.
So they desperately needed a leadoff hitter.
Now let me say this.
The top five now with Soler hitting leadoff, this is what it looked like today.
It went Jorge Soler batting first and playing right field.
Then it went Austin Riley.
Then it went Marcelo Zuna.
Then it went Matt Olson.
And then it went Travis Darnow.
That is the best top five in Major League Baseball right now.
I can honestly say that with Jorge Soler, especially the way he hits out of the leadoff
Because hitting lead off, his stats, I've got them right here.
Let's see, let me scroll
Hitting leadoff this year, Joe, he's got an 866 OPS with an OBP of 380.
There are not many guys that hit leadoff in the big leagues that have an OBP of 380.
380 is elite.
If they can get a 350, 360 OBP out of him hitting leadoff, they're going to win a lot of ballgames because they need guys on in front of Austin Riley and Marcel Ozuna and Matt
Olson, who hit two home runs today, and Travis Darnoe, who hit two home runs
So the top five automatically looks a lot better.
A lot of people in Braves country wanted the Braves to go and get a second baseman or another outfielder.
That did not happen.
Since they got Solair back, I am actually okay with them not going to get another outfielder because in roughly two weeks they're getting Michael Harris back.
Michael Harris will hit sixth, seventh, eighth or ninth.
He'll hit somewhere in there but he
automatically sit probably Eddie Rosario or Ramon Lloriano or Adam Duvall, whoever, he will probably sit one of them and that's who spot he will take and he'll be back in center
field in his, you know, his prime position.
And then also a lot of people were mad because they didn't go get a middle infielder to replace Ozzy Albies.
According to Alex Anthopoulos, he said that Ozzy Albies will be back in early September.
For those of you who don't know, early September is five weeks from now.
They can live with Whit Maryfield playing second base.
Whit Maryfield gives you good defense.
He also gives you quality at bats and he's going to give you great speed on the bases.
I like Whit Maryfield.
I enjoyed watching him when he played in Kansas City.
It didn't work out for the Phillies, but this guy is going to get regular A -Bs.
He's going to be just fine playing second base until Ozzy gets back.
And then he's going to be a really great depth piece on the bench.
So like I said, a lot of people are mad that they didn't do more.
I don't really think they needed to do more, especially with what they were going to have to give up.
First of all, their farm system is not the best because most of their guys that were in the farm system are now on the big league club.
And know, some of their top prospects being AJ Smith Schaver, Hurston Waldrub, Nacho Alvarez, Drake Baldwin, guys like that.
Three or four of those guys will be on the big league roster next year, more than likely.
So there's no reason for them to give those guys up when they are a part of their future.
are not...
Alex Anthopoulos is not going to leverage the future for a rental or for a mid to back of the rotation starter when they already have that.
A lot of people were mad too because Jorge Soler has been a DH all year.
It does not matter what his defense looks like in right field if you strike out 10 to 12 batters a game as a pitching staff.
They have the best pitching staff in the National League.
Probably in Major League Baseball as well.
If not the best, they are a top two and or a top three in every single category.
It does not matter what his defense looks like.
Who cares?
Let him play right field.
He has a decent arm.
It's not the best.
It's, you know, it's for sure not the worst.
When the pitching staff strikes out 12 a game, you've only got 15 more outs that that come via
Ball put in play And most of those are not going to the right fielder anyway Especially if you've got a right -handed hitting team or a majority right -handed hitting team So his
defense really doesn't matter They already said today that if they have a nice, you know Probably if they have a nice comfortable lead in the later innings They will just sub him
out and let Ramon Moriano play right field who was actually a very talented right right fielder So a lot of people in Braves country were mad
That, well that's all they did, I'm not gonna be very invested in the team now, blah blah blah, a bunch of crap like that.
If you don't wanna listen, if you don't wanna watch them, don't watch them.
But this team now has a very nice top five in their lineup.
He adds a component that they haven't had all year, which is an O .B .P.
guy.
They need that at the top.
It doesn't hurt to have any more power in their order because we have seen in every single year.
that the team that hits more home runs wins the World Series every single time.
Home runs win World Series, so does pitching and good defense, but mainly home runs too.
So with that being said, he adds what they need to the lineup.
Would I have liked for them to go out and gotten a Brandon Lau?
Yes, that would have been fine.
Or a Jesse Winker, Tommy Pham, Randy Arroz Arena?
Absolutely.
But Jorge Soler gives them what they need.
Ozzy Albies is gonna be back in five weeks, Michael Harris is gonna be back in two weeks.
All of a sudden, you've only got one hole in your order, and that's Orlando Arcia.
And for those of you who haven't paid attention in the past seven to 10 games, Orlando Arcia is hitting a lot better.
He is not gonna be put on the bench because of his batting longer, because he's actually hitting quite well, which is great for them because they're gonna need it.
So overall,
I can't really complain about this trade deadline.
The guys in the Braves Clubhouse, they love Jorge Soler.
They love Luke Jackson.
They are good guys.
Jorge Soler hit the biggest home run in Braves history.
guess...
Okay, okay, okay, let's pop the brakes there
If it's not him, it's maybe David Justice, okay?
But regardless, they love him in the clubhouse and they are going to keep him further on into next year and the year after.
I think after the 2025 season, I think he transitions to being the full -time DH after Marcelo Zuna probably goes because they are going to pick up that team exercise or that
team option that they have on him for next year.
So,
I think overall it was a great move especially because they didn't give up anything.
I'm excited to see what they're going to do over the next few weeks because their schedule coming up is not great.
They play the Rockies a little bit, they play the Marlins, they go out, I think they play the Giants, and then they play the Phillies shortly after that.
So overall, I'm actually excited to see what they're going to do in the next few weeks.
I think they can actually make up some ground.
with the Phillies, who as of Saturday, they were nine and a half games back.
Well, guess what?
The Phillies are on quite the skid right now, especially after the way they played against the Yankees, which I wish they'd the Yankees more often because the Yankees just
absolutely curb stomped them.
And now as of today, the Braves are only six and a half back.
We still have two months of baseball, Joe.
The Braves and the Phillies play seven more times.
That division is not out of reach just yet.
no, it's not.
mean, we've seen the run that the Astros were able to go on making up, you know, 10 games on the Mariners and just, yeah, and just like a month.
So there's no telling what the Braves are going to be able to do.
You know, I want to mention one thing about this trade deadline that I think was absolutely crazy.
While it was a seller's market, I believe I heard this correctly.
There wasn't a single top 100 prospect move.
So a lot of the teams were looking for quantity.
over quality, in my opinion.
don't know if that, I believe that's correct.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that that's what I heard, which I think is absolutely insane.
All things considered, because over the last couple of years, you've had trade deadlines where top 100 prospects were flying off the shelf left and
Did not hear that but if that is true that is absolutely wild Because there were some good names that are moved that were moved like Connor Norby He's really talented There were
several guys that were moved and I'm like, wow, that's that's great Let me think what
Yeah, that's what I'm seeing.
Zero top 100 prospects dealt at the 2024 trade deadline, which I think is crazy.
That is nuts.
We talked about the winners, the losers, how it affects our team.
We talked about the teams that are best set up for the future.
You know, overall, Joe, this trade deadline, there weren't any extremely talented, you know, big name guys traded.
Overall, was kind of a, let's get better pieces to add to our puzzle instead of one big piece to add.
There was no Trey Turner, Max Scherzer trade to LA this year.
There was nothing like that.
So a lot of teams got better.
Some teams did nothing, which is going to screw them even more in the long run.
And then you've got some teams who set themselves up for the future, like the Marlins.
The Marlins got some good prospects back, but unfortunately for them, they don't know what direction they're going in either.
So more than likely, they'll be a wild card team in about four years.
And then they'll trade those pieces off and, you know, the cycle just continues for them.
So, I mean, it just, sucks for their fans, even though there's not many of
but I would hate to be a fan of the Morelands.
Yeah.
one last thing I want to mention about the Astros, because they did release Rafael Montero today.
I'm just going to read out this tweet.
And this once again goes back to my disdain for Jim Crane and the, the post 2022 world series, front office operation.
Six days after winning the world series, Jim Crane partnered waves with GM James Click over the next six weeks without a GM, the Astros would sign.
Montero, Jose Abreu, and Michael Brantley, while Verlander and Uli signed elsewhere.
Brantley played 15 games, Montero and Abreu got paid to go away.
All in all, the Astros owner spent $105 million on players who would combine for a negative 1 .9b war or a negative 2 .7f war.
That is just insane.
That's nuts.
That is nuts.
I'm sorry, I could not get through that without laughing because that's just so unimaginable.
Once again, I don't think there was anything wrong with the way James Click operated.
I just don't understand it.
I will never understand
You know, the whole thing with the Breyew is we could all see all of his whole stat -cast page was going downhill every single year.
Okay, we knew that that was going be bad.
The Montero one, Montero had one good season and then got paid.
I don't understand that.
Like, James Click found a diamond in a Roth and I swear that if he had been there, he would have just let Montero walk because all the projections showed that he was going to
regress based off of career statistics.
And I don't think that that's something that...
Like, it's so frustrating because the Astros built this dynasty off of analytics.
And once they got rid of or parted ways with James Click, they said, no, we're going to move away from analytics, which makes no sense to me because that's exactly what Jeff Leno
did to build this dynasty.
And that's what James Click did to extend it to what it's been now.
I just don't understand.
And that's, that's another one of my Ashraf run office
I agree.
I'm interested to see how our team is doing from here.
Both of our teams won today, which was very nice.
Yes, the Actors just capped off a 5 -4 win against the Pirates and they are now back in first place over the Mariners.
one last thing I was going to share with you, Joe.
So the Braves have this rookie right now.
I don't know if you're familiar with him or not.
His name is Spencer Schwellenbach.
He was a shortstop in college, turned pitcher at the University of Nebraska.
Okay.
He has been fantastic for the Braves so far, pitching out of that fifth, basically that fifth spot in rotation.
He's got a 4 .06 ERA.
He doesn't walk anybody.
He's got several quality starts already.
He looked good against the Padres.
He looked good against the Mets the other day.
He went seven innings, struck out 11.
And did you know, that since starting pitching was such a priority for a lot of teams that are wanting to contend for a postseason, he was the most asked about brave at the trade
deadline, which I found very fascinating.
So teams that called, called about Spencer Schwalombach.
They didn't call about Max Fried.
They didn't call about Charlie
They didn't call about Chris Sale or Renato Lopez.
They called about Spencer Swellenbach, which I thought was really interesting.
It says a lot about him and this organization for drafting him.
So shout out to Swelly.
I hope he has a good start this weekend against the Marlins because they need it.
They need to gain some ground, at least on the wild card, if not on the Phillies, which nothing will make me happier, Joe, than like three weeks from now if we were talking about
the Braves being within like two to three games of the Phillies.
Because man, I you know as much as divisions are kind of boring they've won it six years in a row So like I'm kind of selfish now like I gotta have that first before we go to the
postseason So I don't know it's gonna be interesting to see and like I said they play the Phillies in a few weeks So hopefully by that time Michael Harris will be back or very
close to it So that would be huge for them to have back as well Joe is there anything you want to close with?
you mentioned the Phillies collapse and the Braves coming back to win the division and it just gives me flashbacks to 2021 all over with the Mets just crumbling after the deadline
and the Braves overtaking them for the division.
So I would like for that to not happen because we all both know how that ended.
So I'm praying on your wild card.
that year in 2021 when they won the World Series first of all, they played I don't remember if they played Padres Phillies last two series or Phillies Padres But they ended
the they ended the Padres season in that series against them They ended the Phillies season in that series with them and then every single series that they played after that
they ended that team's season
So then they ended the Brewer season, who nobody picked the Braves to beat the Brewers in that postseason.
And then they ended the Dodger season.
Well, and then they ended the Astro season because they won the whole damn thing.
So to me, was just, it was a wild turn of events.
They were the best team in baseball after August 1st.
So I'm hoping they can turn it around again because the division is not everything, but that is something to at least put in the ballpark, which is kind of nice.
Because nobody wants to put wild card participator in the in the ballpark that just that's just I mean, yes, it is a postseason run, but
you're the Seattle Mariners.
Yeah, or yeah, I mean, my thing is too Joe.
I don't know how you feel about this.
I think like nl champion rings Are just like, you know pin it pin it rings is just stupid.
because like They're probably champions.
Well, you didn't win the whole thing, you know,
Well, but you won your league, which I do understand that, but I get what you're saying.
You lost in the World Series, so you don't win the whole thing, but you did win your league, which I think is still a pretty big accomplishment.
Yeah.
But okay, Joe, well, are we going to reconvene on Sunday?
And we're going to go back to our regular scheduled programming.
We'll give our business update.
We'll see how some of these teams are doing since the deadline has ended.
And we'll get you guys caught back up on all of that.
But thanks again, everybody, for listening to our trade deadline special.
Remember to like, share and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
That really helps the show.
Our views have been going up, Joe, and I am happy to see that.
Yeah, we are up.
And then also too, guys, remember that we are also now on Apple Podcasts as well.
So whether you're going to work or going to the gym, there is always a time where you can listen to us talk about ball.
And I think that's it, Joe.
So.
I just want to give an update.
Our Instagram at has changed.
It is no longer the underscore throwing underscore partners underscore pod.
It is now shortened.
I shortened it earlier.
is TP podcast underscore.
So
got it got it.
Okay.
Sounds great.
Fair enough Fair enough to me.
Definitely I agree.
I agree.
so thanks again everybody.
We really appreciate it Have a wonderful rest of your week and we will see you on Sunday