Dodgers trade deadline: Brandon Gomes explains Dustin May trade, acquiring Brock Stewart & Alex Call

Dodgers trade deadline: Brandon Gomes explains Dustin May trade, acquiring Brock Stewart & Alex Call

[Music] Hey, Brandon. First, can you just uh walk us through with Brock and Alex what you guys liked in them and kind of how you see them uh fitting into what you’re going to do the rest of the year? Yeah. uh coming into the deadline, um we felt like, you know, our our focus and acute need was going to be a right-handed uh high-end reliever after we lost Evan for the year. Um you know, and being able to reunite with Brock, uh we felt like, you know, he’s in the upper tier of right-handed relievers. He’s been absolutely dominant uh against Wright this year and performing really well. And then obviously knowing the person and how hard he works and uh you know the relationships he’s had here, we’re really excited to get him back in the mix. Uh and then with Alex um you know addressing some verse left um outfield depth and like this guy’s just a straight grinder. Works at bats. Um playing against him he’s always incredibly frustrating to try to game plan for and get out. So, I think it was a nice uh balance to to fill some u you know some holes and continue to build out with a really like functional roster uh on top of the already really strong talent we had. Uh obviously, you know, and those are the two things you guys are kind of targeting coming into the deadline. Um but, you know, over the years, I think you guys have also kind of conditioned some of your fans to expect bigger moves. I mean, how how difficult was it when you guys were looking at like bigger names at the top of the market, especially on the relief side with just some of the prices and and was there anything bigger that you you guys felt like you did get close on? I mean, we’re always, as we’ve shown in the past, we’re always having those conversations on um ways to, you know, add impact type talent, and we feel like, you know, what we did with Brock is adding an impact type right-handed reliever. So, we’re always in those um those conversations and trying to figure out how to make this team better. And we felt, you know, what we came away with is, you know, a really strong core of of talent that we already had and then were able to address um some needs and continue to make this team better. Was trying to do deals where you guys, you know, were able to protect kind of the key parts of your farm system a priority in this or was it just kind of how the individual conversations you had kind of shook out? Yeah, I think it’s always about how do how does everything uh fit together with what our current roster is, what our what our needs are, and you know, we went into this season with a really high bar of talent. And uh you know outside of losing Evan, we’re in we’re in that same spot. So we felt like this is an incredibly talented group that uh as we get healthy and these guys hit their stride, we’re you know we feel like we’re in a great position for another deep run into October. Thank you. Next question is from Fabian. Go ahead Fabian. Hey Brandice. Do you guys sort of envision Paul has splitting time and left with Conorto then especially kind of mentioned how good he is against left? Yeah, I think the way Michael’s swinging it right now and he’s he’s handling both sides. I think we have the opportunity to mix Alex around. Um and obviously sometimes there’s off days that are needed in different scenarios. So that’s, you know, kind of how Doc wants to use him, but we know we really like the talent and how he can fit in and if guys need a day or two or if there’s a specific matchup that uh, you know, Doc prefers, we can go down that path and feel really good about the at bat quality and and what he’s going to do to lengthen the lineup. And then with moving Dustin, how much of that sort of reaction to seeing what the prices kind of were out there for pitching and being able to recoup some stuff to the farm system there? Look, I I you know, we had a lot of like really respectful conversations with with DA and he’s been a huge part of the organization for a long time and you know, through those conversations, you know, it was uh apparent that like starting was very important to him and you know, while we felt like, you know, he could have been a a a contributor out of the bullpen um in an impact type piece, like trying to understand like the mindset and his desire to to to continue to start, we took took that into consideration. Um, you know, and if there was a deal that we felt like made sense, we were we were going to be open to do it. So, that’s kind of how it came together. And, you know, I think it worked out for both sides there. Just to clarify, did he ask for a trade then? No, these were just conversations that we had. Yeah, he did not ask for a trade. Okay. Thank you. Next question is from Sonia. Go ahead, Sonia. Hey, Brandon. Um, Brock has obviously changed a lot as a pitcher since um, you know, the time he was in this organization. I was wondering like what have you noticed him from afar do like specifically differently kind of in the in the interim? Um, yeah. I mean, when we had Brock early on, obviously he was mostly starting. So that’s, you know, when you get shortened up and head into the pen, you’re going to see an increase uh in stuff. And he’s, you know, he’s worked incredibly hard uh on his delivery and his, you know, his pitches. He’s added, you know, a double plus breaking ball on top of the change up that he had when he was here. So, you know, it’s a it’s a dynamic arsenal. Um, and being able to deploy him in in high leverage situations is something we’re we’re really excited about. Do you kind of see him being used um as like a setup role? Is is he potentially a ninth inning option depending on you know matchups? I mean, I think how our bullpen is constructed and especially once we get um some other guys back, like Doc will have a lot of different options to go to. And I think that’s the beauty of having a really talented deep uh pen and it’s, you know, going to be like who’s up that day, who’s, you know, where does the matchup uh make the most sense and just have a high level of trust in a bunch of different guys and to be able to go out and finish a game that way is is kind of the best way to go out and do it. And when when a team in your division that’s three games back um you know has a day like the Padres’s did today like you’re obviously focused on your own roster but does that you know how does that kind of change the the calculus of the deadline for you? Yeah I mean obviously there’s a lot of action today throughout the game and um you know a lot of teams improved. We feel really good about this group and coming into the year felt like this was as talented of a roster as we’ve ever uh ever had and you know we’re in the position to we’re in first place. Um and I don’t even think we’ve played our best baseball yet. Uh so as we continue to get some of our starters back uh you know and then adding these pieces and our guys just kind of playing up to uh their potential, we feel like you know still a really really strong team and we don’t feel any differently about you know our aspirations um than we did at the beginning of the year. Cool. Thank you. Next question is from Kirsten. Go ahead Kirsten. Brandon, you kind of just hit on it, but just how challenging was it approaching this deadline, just understanding all the injuries, guys getting healthier, uh, and understanding that, and maybe not understanding, but having the confidence that kind of guys are going to get back to where you’ve been seeing pre-injjury. Yeah, I mean, I think we have guys on the horizon that are coming back will obviously be be big boosts to this team. um and feel confident that the current group while like I said playing well and performing well we haven’t even come close to playing our best baseball and as we saw last year what’s most important is to peak at the right time and hit our stride when we um you know in that second half and and be strong going into October. So like I said the the belief in this group and um you know what we can accomplish is is really strong and feel great about what we can do. Thank you. Next question is from JP. Go ahead JP. Hey Brandon. Um what can you tell us about the outfield prospects that you got from Boston? What’s the scouting report on those guys? Yeah. Uh, Tibs is somebody we had really high in our room last year, uh, coming out of the draft, just a a really, uh, advanced field to hit and working at bat. Um, you know, and it was somebody that had he been there, we definitely would have taken and obviously he went well ahead of us at 13. Um, so we’re excited to get our PD group working with him. And then, you know, Airheart is somebody who’s really intriguing that we feel like, you know, from the right-handed side can really play defense, uh, and with some upside from talking to our, you know, performance group. Uh, he’s a really good athlete and we feel like we can continue to, um, you know, work with him. And we’re excited about adding both of those guys as, you know, future talent and hopefully factoring in at some point, uh, you know, down the line in the big leagues with us. Any other questions for Brandon? I think that’s it. Thanks, Brandon. Thanks, everybody. You too.

Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes discussed what the club did at the trade deadline, acquiring Brock Stewart, Alex Call and trading Dustin May, and their pursuit of high-end talent and how the San Diego Padres affected their plans.
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