BRAVES COUNTRY TODAY | ATLANTA BRAVES NL EAST HOT STOVE NEWS, RUMORS, SIGNINGS & TADES | TGIF 10amET
Hey baseball fans, M McGee here for the BCR. Make sure to subscribe and become a member today. All off seasonason, we have a jam-packed schedule to keep you entertained and informed during the MLB offseason. Weekly shows like MLB Today and for you country club members, Braves Country Today going over the world of baseball, how it affects all teams, including the Atlanta Braves. Once Upon a Past time series, Thursday nights, we’ll take a deep dive on the history of this great game. And on Friday nights, Braves Country Theater, we’re going to turn back the clock and bring you historic games from the past. We’ll bring you a game from yester year. That’s Braves Country Radio, the BCR. Coming this spring, the jam-packed loaded spring training schedule, wall- to-wall coverage of Major League Baseball, pitchby pitch, playbyplay, the Atlanta Braves, and our out of town double headers. American League, National League, we’ll see you there for the classic call of the great game of baseball. Lineup for Braves Country by DM McGee. A is for Aaron, the hammer and Hank, the real home run king. Take that to the bank. B is for Bobby. Cox never cowered. He’d give Blue quite an earful on his way to the showers. C is for Chipper. Don’t call him Larry. He would show up in Shay. The Mets he would bury. D is for David. Justice he’d bring a game six solo brought Atlanta their ring. E is for Eddie Matthews. 512 bombs away. Lit skies from Boston to Milwaukee to the A. F is for Fred McGriff. Dogbiting crime. A fire was lit the day he arrived. G is for Glavin. Southpaw wind whines and kicks. Changing speeds east and west. A gem in game six. H is for Harry. And his brother George Wright. The father of baseball. Boston pennants in flight. I is for inning. Ending double play. Riley to Azie to Olsen all day. J is for Jones. Andrew let her fly and his gloves in center is where singles would die. K is for strikeouts. A plenty from Strider. The quads in the stash getting swings from that slider. L is for Lopez. Jav to Bmac. Travis and Smurf. We’ve been lucky to see that. M is for Mad Dog. He won 355. Could swat flies with the change up and still bust you inside. N is for Necro. He got to the hall by bending and knuckling and floating that ball. O is for Otis. Old Nixon could fly. The catch at the wall baffled our eyes. P still for Peterson. We were all rocking pearls with Eddie and Jorge. We were out of this world. Q is a quandry for why Dale is not in Murphy MVPs again and again. R is for ranking. The top pitchers lore. Remember Kid Nicholls 107 war. S is for Smoltzy. The big three in the hall. When the game’s on the line, you give John the ball. T is for Tyler. Matzik and the gift of 2021. The entire night shift. U is for Chavez, but we say Uncle Jesse. The frames the release kept the batters guessing. V is Van Weiran. Skip Carry too. Don Ernie Joe. The tails from the booth. W is Warren. Spawn Johnny sane. They’d write him in Boston and then pray for rain. X is Mazone. Yeah. X marked the spot. Leo rocked next to Bobby and his pitchers stayed hot. Why? It makes us feel young. The game’s main appeal. Chopping through the battery. There’s no better feel. Z is for zip. Boom. Bam. Rama lama dingdong. Throughout the summer we sing that song from AJ to eyeglasses and a hell of a pen. Mad Max, Uncle Charlie, win after win. A cannon from short and RC you later. Aun Bata. There is no one greater. Though you can’t fit them all when you just ate a Z. Think of your favorites. In the rafters we see. I started with three, then 10, 25, 47, 31, and of course 29. Let’s not forget 21, 41,35. The great 44 or 755. An old number six who led his great teams. The pennants were flying. It felt like a dream. From Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta’s TBS, a family a tradition. Braves countries the best. Lineup for Braves Country by DM McGee. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey, hey, hey. [Music] Hey. [Music] You’re a brave country. Good morning, y’all. Yes, that’s right, Charlie. The uh Once Upon a Pime series, Thursday nights. Tonight is the throwback game, as you’re calling it. It’s uh we I mean, it’s as good a name as any I can come up with. We’ve been calling it Braves Country Theater. It’s a long story. the reason why we call it that. But um essentially my dad was a huge Florida State football fan and he taped only reason why he went and got a VCR in 1987. The only reason why I think he ever used his VCR is he used to record on live TV off his VCR floor save football games and he would keep the ones that they won, especially the big ones. He had them logged and and and uh cataloged and whatnot. And anyways, long story short, anyone that ever came off came over during the off season, first thing he would do is he was off your offer you a beard. The second thing he would always ask is, “You want to go watch some Florida State Theater?” And he had every damn game you could think of. And so that’s why I call it Braves Country Theater because it reminds me of him. But anyways, we go to Braves Country today. This is Fridays at 10:00 a.m. You country club members, you get dibs on what you want to ask and what you want to talk about. It may not even be a question, may just be comments, and this is a more relaxed situation that I’m trying to uh answer more of your questions and not just get bogged down in all the news. The MLB today is more of trying to get you all caught up to speed with the news, but this is going to be to talk to y’all as it becomes increasingly difficult to do that during the ball games. And it’s a good reason. It’s because more and more people are are coming in and watching the live games. But if you saw it from my end, you’d understand why I can’t see a lot of your your comments because they go on my screen so quickly. And I for me to keep up with what y’all are doing. I’d have to scroll up read and who wants to hear a bunch of dead air. So the first one I’m going to get to Peta’s here and well uh I’ll go ahead and answer Peta’s uh because it’s real simple. PETA AJ Mentor is is a New York Met. He signed a two-year deal with the Mets last off season. He just didn’t play because of injury and he had another setback. They hope to have AJ Mentor with the Mets organization and playing Major League Baseball. By hopefully, what I saw was late June. That probably means July or August. Let’s be honest. Anytime they give us one of these, oh, it’s going to be somewhere in June, you can always add a month to whatever the guesstimations are. And and and maybe he does end up being there by June, but that was the that was the guesstimation. There wasn’t even an actual intelligent question or uh guess. They were just kind of guesstimating. Hopefully by about June, it was really really vague. So AJ Mentor continues to be a Met Unless, of course, he gets traded in the off season. Charlie was wanting to know uh where is it at? Where is it at? Where’s it at? It was about the the trade that went down. Charlie was asking about I wanted to read it verbatim, but I don’t see it now. Uh oh, here it is. Mack, do you think trading Nick Allen will become another Brett Butler trade that bites? Brett Butler was a much better player than than Nick Allen ever thought about being. Brett Butler was a leadoff outfielder, very good glove, decent bat, um, great speed, and he played for the Atlanta Braves in the 80s for for folks who don’t remember him. Nick Allen is a journeyman backup infielder with an incredible glove, but he just does not have any offensive prowess. And that’s the biggest problem. That’s the biggest problem with Nick Allen until he fixes that. And honestly, Nick Allen doesn’t even have to become some power hitter. Even though in today’s game, that’s typically what they do, right? they all the uh that all they ever do is look at and when I say they they I mean all of major league front offices. All they ever do nowadays is look at your power numbers. But if Nick Allen found a way to get on base regularly, and I’m talking about a batting average of 275ish, because he’s never going to hit for a lot of pop, but if he could figure out a way to get on base regularly and have his on base percentage well over 300, we’ll say in the 325 range, Nick Allen would be a phenomenal bottom of the order guy with speed that could get on and wreak havoc once he gets on. and then he has an elite glove. Instead, what he is is a guy that you could see coming in and playing the back end of the seventh, eighth, ninth inning if you have a lead for defensive purposes, but you don’t really want to start him if you don’t have to. So, that’s the problem with Nick Allen. Brett Butler was a much better hitter, a much better hitter. Um, and but I I do get the the reference as far as wondering if he’s I I just for fans who don’t watch a lot of American League baseball, you’re probably not that familiar with Mercia Duban. Do Dub Bond just won the gold glove in the American League for utility players? Because I I think a lot of people know that they do um the they do the gold glove for first base, second base, etc. But they also have a what they call a utility gold glove nowadays. And the utility gold glove went to Mauricio Duban. He’s won it two of the last three years. And it just means he’s the best glove that plays multiple positions. And so Dubon is an upgrade for the Braves. He’s a guy that could be a starter at shortstop, but I don’t think he’s what they want as a starter. What they want him for is to be able to go play second base, go play third, play in the outfield. He can even play center field. He’s he’s that diverse. And give some of these guys a day off. and he hits very well against lefthanded pitching. And why do I bring that up? Who struggles like hell with left-handed pitching that plays in our outfield? Michael Harris II. So, I think he’s being brought in to realistically be his platoon against tough lefties. Maybe not every lefty, but tough lefties. And then, of course, give guys like Azie a day off. try to find a way to get these guys healthy through an entire season. Guys like Austin Riley always seems to have some kind of issue. And honestly, his hasn’t been wear and tear. It’s been weird things. It’s been getting hit by pitches, etc. But still, the proof is in the pudding. He hasn’t made it to the finish line in the last three years. So, see what do we have here? Uh, let me go through this. Yes, throwback game tonight, Charlie. It’s the Phillies. It’s the Braves 1980s version. Looking forward to that one. I still haven’t watched the game, so I’m very excited. I’m hoping we get to I’m assuming we get to see some Dale Murphy and all that kind of stuff. So, very very much looking forward to that. Um, and that really is my wheelhouse as a fan, as a kid growing up. 1980s Atlanta Braves empty stadiums and being locked into every pitch, quiet ass ball games where I think we always, you know, I’ve gone back and listened to some Braves television broadcast and I think to myself, I don’t know if we had the best uh broadcast team or not, but I know in my mind as a kid they were the best because you listen to them now and you’re like, man, sometimes there’s some dead air going on there. There’s some I mean there’s no telling what the hell was going on in the background, but in my mind as a kid that was it, man. Like that was elite. Then you go back and you listen. It’s kind of like if you were a kid growing up and you thought Dukes of Hazard was a really good uh television program, then you go back and watch it now, you’re like, I don’t know, man. I mean, Daisy Duke was cool, but other than that, but I’m looking forward to the game tonight, and we’ll try to give you as much nuggets as we can give you of what was going on at that time. And then also, what I like to do with these is compare it to today’s game because it’s such it is such a different brand of baseball than what we see today. And looking forward to that one. Um, well, I hope everything’s well with you there, Envy. Uh, hate to hear that. I I was wondering where you’re at last night, but I thought, you know, maybe, just maybe, uh, Envy might have a life out outside of this this uh, Braves country. So, I I didn’t fret on it too much, but I did notice I didn’t see you in here last night. So, glad to see you’re okay. And hopefully uh hopefully your younger one is is is doing okay as well. Um who ends up as the shorts stop long-term in Braves country? Um, so I think in a perfect world that you would have seen the Braves bring Okay, in a perfect world, what the Braves would have liked to have seen is Hassan Kim pick up his player option for 16 million and away we go. That’s not what happened. He declared himself free agency. I understand why he did it. I was just hoping because he missed so much time last year that he wouldn’t do it. What I think he’s going to be looking for honestly is a very affordable contract for the Braves. The problem is Scott Boris is his damn agent. He’s always such a pain in the ass and he never gets his guys signed early. And maybe that’s changing with some of the things that have unfolded in the last couple of free agency, but in years past, he has always just dragged out negotiations. And Hassan Kim is a guy that probably isn’t going to sign until February, which I don’t think is ideal for what Enthopoulos wants to do. So Envy’s talking about Rhett Butler. What was the name of the comedian, the female comedian that was on that one sitcom? Was her name Brett? Something like that. Um the uh I can’t remember the name of her show, but she had a really popular sitcom. I thought it was pretty damn funny in the early 90s. I think early to mid 90s it was something Butler. Anyways, um in a perfect world you would sign Hassan Kim I think would be the perfect match for the Braves. You have Mauricio Duban and then you have a really deep bench to go to on what you want to do. You could at that point you could then start talking about having Jerxen Profar play more DH and Mauricio Don in left field. But you got to get a bat for your shortstop if you’re going to do that. If not, you’re going to go out and sign. Now, if he pushes there, the problem is if you keep waiting around on Hassan Kim to sign and he let’s say he’s waiting for the market to clear on a guy like Bo Bashette. Yes, Grace Under Fire. Thank you, Rich. Thanks. I I I could not remember I can’t remember her her name, but uh it was something Butler. Um maybe it was Red or Brett Butler. Anyways, um or maybe I’m just jumbling all in my head. But I actually saw her in a movie recently. Hadn’t seen her in years. I was like, “Man, I forgot all about her.” I thought she was funny as hell. Um, but in a perfect world, we sign Kim and then and we could start getting our ducks in a row with other things we want to do with the bullpen, starting rotation, etc., etc. Maybe even add another may maybe there’s even a a situation where you get Kim in as your shorts stop. Duban is a true utility player that plays all the time and you still can go out and either get a better defensive left fielder or you go out and get a power DH. Not likely, but a guy like I mean every I’ve talked about it all off all season. I’d love to see Kyle Schwarber in Atlanta Braves uniform. He would just fit perfectly with everything the Braves want to do and what power. But I think he’s going to ask for the moon and stars as he should. In my opinion, he was the National League MVP. It was not Sho Otani. You can no longer talk about Shot Otani in the same ilk as far as saying, “Well, he he plays both positions.” No, he doesn’t. He’s a designated hitter, so you can’t compare that along with his pitching, which is very, very minimal in 2025. In other years, okay, I get it. But the idea that these that these dopes that vote for the MVP, they don’t know what the hell they’re doing. They gave it to Aaron Judge even though anybody with any kind of common sense knows that Cal Raleigh was the American League MVP. The guy was behind the plate almost every damn day and hit 60 bombs and carried that offense for quite a part of quite a a good portion of the season before they started getting all the acquisitions, bringing guys in from Arizona and whatnot. It is Brett Bowler. I thought it was Thanks. Thanks, Envy. For some reason, I thought I had that mixed up in my head, but yeah. Okay. Because I thought when she was popular on TV, I would always think of the Atlanta Braves leadoff man, center fielder that they ended up in Dodgerland eventually. But, uh, for some reason, I thought I thought I was mixing that up in my head, but okay, it is Brett Butler. Okay. Anger. She’s in anger management. I I haven’t seen that in years. But they probably did give Shi Otani a gold glove. Ready? Um, you get the gold glove for the designated hitter because you’re Showi. You can you can bet on anything. But in a perfect world, we get Kim, we set him at short, and then you end up getting uh an answer for your your left because, okay, Proofar is a fine hitter. I still think he he belongs at the number two hole. I hope to hell Walt Weiss fixes that. He Ronald Akuni Jr. is our damn leadoff guy and there shouldn’t be any argument about it. Akuna should be batting lead off. I think Proofar is a perfect two-hole guy because what he does is he he’s got a good on base percentage which which can keep the line moving if Akun is at first but also if Akuni gets out in his first then you get you have another leadoff type that’s hitting right behind him and then put Olsen where he belongs where he has thrived in the number three spot. the number two spot is so stupid to put your power hitter, your best power hitter at the number three spot with not only has he got great power, he has no athleticism, no speed. So if he gets on base and Aunia’s coming up, you have literally handicapped the situation. You’d rather have Akuna on base and Olsen coming up to bat. So, the whole thing is stupid. But if the Braves can bring in a guy like Kim because I just I think Bo Bashette is going to get himself he’s going to get his number out of the market because of his batting ability, but remember he is a below average shortstop. Now, what you could do with that is obviously now we traded away Nick Allen, but you could put Dubon in late in games to play shorts stop and maybe that’s how you you make this work. But I just I have my doubts that the Braves are going to break the bank on a shortstop with limited defensive ability when it is a key need that you need to build this offense and have it go forward because you’re constantly in late in ball games. There’s always going to be that conundrum. Do we pull him yet? I don’t know. The game’s tied. We’re going to the eighth. we’d like to we’d like to keep his bat in the lineup, but at the same token, Tuesday night, we watch him we watched him kick the ball into the dugout. It’s always going to be going on like that. So, I even though I like Bo Shett Boashett in theory, I just don’t think he works well for the Braves. And honestly, when you’re talking about guys that could fill the need at shortstop for the Braves, Kim really is the top of the list. He really is because you look at the guys that are available out there at shortstop and I’m gonna see. Let’s do this here. Um, so the guys that are available at shortstop after Taylor Wall’s club option was exercised. Nobody wants to see a repeat of Orlando Aria. Am I right? Bob Bashett’s out there. Hassan Kim. To me, those are the the the two top ones outside of that. And that’s what’s the problem. That’s what’s going to drive this price up. There’s nothing really out there at the shortstop market. And that’s why Taylor Walls, even though he hasn’t been that impressive, Tampa Bay brought him back. And that’s why the Braves went out and got a Mauricio Dubon because he may end up being the starting pitcher. Because you’ve got teams like the New York Yankees who will spend the money and we all know that. They need a shortstop because most people believe that Vulpi is done in New York that they’re going to figure something else out. Could he possibly be a a piece that ends up in Atlanta? I I don’t know. But he’s not what Hassan Kim is. Hassan Kim, I know we just saw a small sample size, but what you can expect from a Hassan Kim is elite defense and a guy that’s going to hit around 20 home runs a year and a guy whose batting average is probably going to be closer to the 275 range and an OPS somewhere around 800. And so basically what you got out of which was the ceiling for Orlando RC in 2023 that would be the floor and what you can realistically expect for Hassan Kim and Hassan Kim is see where is he at here? He is, they don’t have his age listed, but I do know that he’s um late 20s. They don’t have his age listed, but I I’ll look it up in a second, but Hassan Kim is to me the guy that the that the Braves would love to bring back. It’s just it’s the Scott Boris situation. It’s the Scott Boris situation. He’s 30. Okay. He he just turned 30, hust This is his chance to strike gold. This is his chance to get a f we’ll say somewhere around a five-year deal. Could be four. And he’s going to want what do I think gets it done for him? What would knock him off his tracks if you gave him a five-year deal, $100 million deal? I think he signs it instantly and maybe that fifth year is a club option. He would take four years 20. Remember, he was set to make 16 this year. But I think what the Braves are going to try to do is get somewhere around four years. And we’ll say, let’s say that that the first three years is right on track with that and then the fourth year they try to save some money. Let’s say that the Braves as opposed to like four years 80 go with four years 70. Are they willing to go that route when a guy’s going to be 34 years old and playing the one the most important defensive position in all of major league baseball is shortstop. Right behind that is your center fielder. Do you want a guy playing 33 34 years old? And that’s the big question. You also just here’s the other thing. You also just spent three draft picks on your first three draft picks of this last draft. They were all on shorts stops. Two guys that could get to the majors in a couple of seasons. one guy that that’s a long-term project. So, are they even interested in going the the four-year route or are they going to try to play hard ball and go two years, three years? I think Atlanta’s going to be looking for a three-year 5055 million deal. I just don’t know if Hassan Kim is gonna want to do it because I think Boris is gonna fight like hell to get him that fourth year hoping for a fifth year. So that’s it as as far as shortstop. I mean the guys that are out there if you’re wondering well what you say those are the only two guys who who else is out there. Nick, Sergio Alcantara, Orlando Arcia, Vimel Machin and Pagarero. That’s it. That is it. So really, there’s only two options for the Braves because the Braves aren’t looking to bring in one of these other bums. They want to bring in in Kim and they wouldn’t they wouldn’t not sign Bo Bashette, but Bob Bashett’s I’m telling you, Bo Bashett’s going to be looking for 2530 million a year and the Braves aren’t going to pay that. Not for a guy who who can’t play defense. I think the Braves are going to look at to have very solid defense on the shorts stop side and maybe spend because when you look at some of the other things that that are out there and and we’ll just take outfield for instance because you could move an outfielder back and forth in and out to to the DH spot and have that kind of routinely go back and forth with uh Jerks and Profar. You could bring in some guys from the outfield. You could bring in a Cody Bellinger who’s going to be cheaper than than Bo Bashette. He’s a much better defender in in left field and he and he gives you a left-handed power bat. I’m not saying that’s who they’re going after, but he’s available out there on the free agent market. There’s not a ton of stuff on the outfield this go around, but you do have some guys that you can bring in. I’m a little surprised that he’s even being mentioned because I just assume that he’s going to go out go back and sign with the Dodgers. Kik Hernandez is a very good bench player that you could bring in. Um, other guys of note that are out there in the free agent market, they got Max Kepler listed. I’m just not interested. Starland Marte, I’m not interested. Starling Marte, I think he is on the back end of his career. And honestly, when it’s all said and done, I’m just not a big fan of of grabbing guys who were on the tail spin down and you’re trying to to hopefully get, you know, maybe you I could see bringing them on a one-year deal, but I don’t want a multi-year deal. Now, the guy that I want is Kyle Schwarber, but Kyle Schwarber, you bring him in. Yes, he can play left field, but he’s literally coming in as your DH and you’re going to have to pay him top dollar because Kyle Schwarber hit 56 home runs last year and 132 RBI. But I don’t hate the idea of spending big money on Kyle Schwarber because yeah, he can’t play defense, but he’s an elite bat. So, not only can he give you great offense, limited exposure to injury because all he does is designated hit. Uh, other guys that are out there, Kyle Tucker, that’s an interesting one. He’s a guy that because of his numbers, and I really believe it was because of Chicago where he was, because of his numbers, Kyle Tucker’s value has gone down the drain. What you may be able to because I’m telling you, before he was traded to the Cubs, they were talking about him insanely. I thought it was insane cuz his his numbers have never played out this way, but they were talking about a 400 million plus contract last winter. What I think you may be able to get from Kyle Tucker if you’re the Braves trying to to reset something is you give him a high AAV for this year, give him an opt out and lower AAVs for the next two years. So he has a chance to reset his market. So for instance, 3 years and the qualifying number was 22. So you’re going to have to go well north of that. Let’s say you go 27 to 30 somewhere in that neighborhood. And then the next two years are much lower. But you give him an opt out and he comes to Atlanta with that short porch there at the chop house as a left-handed bat and a great defensive glove and overall five tool player and he can reset his market and away he goes. That’s a real thing that could happen. I just don’t know if that’s what the Braves are going to go into. But when you talk about the designated hitter role, I mean, you could go a number of different ways as far as the position and the guys that are out there that um by the way, if you go to look up on MLB, if you go to look up DH, there’s only one DH out there that’s just a DH that can’t play any other position, and it’s Marcelo Zuna. So that is that’s another reason why I don’t think he’s coming back because the Braves are just done with the guy that at this point is only hitting 20. Maybe maybe there’s some um maybe he regressed a little bit last year but but he bounces back to the norm. Maybe he hits 30 home runs this year, but his batting average, you got to figure, is going to be somewhere around 275 at the if he has a great season and his he can’t run, he can’t field, but he made up for it last year for not by not being able to hit down the stretch. So, I the Braves are done with him. I I I would be shocked if he comes back. If he comes back, it’s on a very club friendly deal and they’ll still be looking for another bat. Um, the the other thing that I did want to hit on is the new coach, first base coach for the Atlanta Braves, Antoine Richardson. And I can’t play you the audio, but what I can tell you is what I saw today. And this is coming from the New York Post. John Haymon was saying that. Losing a guy like him was actually a much bigger blow than people realize for the Mets. He was offered to to double his salary at $300,000 by the Mets. He turned it down and went to the Braves. I don’t know the details. They haven’t released all the details, but whatever he was sold as a bill of goods, maybe they were talking about being able to move him at some point up the ranks and maybe m maybe he just wanted to be out of the city of New York with as expensive as it is. I don’t know the but I do know this. He left the Mets and they have given everything that came about with Juan Soda this year is improved base running. They all attribute it to Antoine Richardson and supposedly he’s like a base running guru. And so the idea is you bring him in and do we get another 4070? Do we get a 4080, a 49? Does Ronald Akuna Jr. steal 100 bases? Because now he’s o over a year removed from the knee surgery and he’s got Richardson who can retach that entire group. Does Aussie Alb get 50 stolen bases? Does this team of the Atlanta Braves become, if you remember last night, we were talking about the go-go White Socks of the of the 59? Do do the Braves resemble this? Do they become a team that is running? We didn’t see a lot of it last year. Some of it was because, you know, Aun’s coming off injury. Other was they didn’t have great base runners and I don’t think they have great great base running techniques. And there was a philosophy behind Brian Snicker’s entire regime which was more of the wait for the three three-run home run type of philosophy as opposed to putting pressure. you would see steel, you know, the stolen base from time to time, but it was really just a couple of players over over the last several years. This may be a game changer for the Braves. So, now I’m really interested to see what Antoine Richardson can do. And it’s a very important position, though. Most people look at the third base position as the most important coaching position on the field because he’s the one that makes the decision who goes home, right? You got to be able to read the defense. It is an art form. It is not something you can put any schmuck out there. We s because we saw it because Freddy Gonzalez can’t can’t can’t read a damn play from the outfield to save his life. But Antoine Richardson’s going to be over there at first base and a runner gets on to start the inning. Whoever it is, whether even it’s not someone you expect like an Akunia, what if it’s an Austin Riley or whatnot, someone with solid speed and he works on technique and he is and he’s a guy that is known I do know this about Richardson. He’s a guy who is known to study the pitchers that they’re going to face in a series and see if they have any tells, which is what you’re supposed to be doing. We just haven’t gotten a lot of that from our first base coaching in the last several years. But you’re supposed to be studying along with the players, along with the base runners because you only have so many hours in the day and a lot of these guys are focusing on their hitting technique. He’s got to come over and tell them pregame. All right, your starting pitcher today, whoever it is, when you see him do this, that’s when you go. When you see him do that, you do not go. And it can be the smallest little things that they pick up on tape and get from the and and of course also reading the scouting reports, but it can help. And then the actual technique itself, they’re saying that he is very good at teaching the base runners technique leaving first base to get a jump on a catcher with great pop time as they call it, which is the the pop of the glove to home plate to the pop of the glove down at second base. So, it’s going to be an interesting addition. One that I wasn’t really that aware of until I heard them. I mean, this is the third post I’ve seen in the last 72 hours. One by Haymon and two by other sports writers in the New York area that follow the Mets. They’re talking about how devastating of a loss that will is going to be because not only did he leave the Mets, he went to a rival and hopefully that ends up being something of note guy now major free agents that are out there on the market. I do want to hit this up real quick. Kyle Tucker, we just talked about him. Franber Valdez, Cody Bellinger. Those are looked upon as the top three. You’re going to hear about Alex Bregman. No shot in hell being an Atlanta Brave. The first three, I could I could get a solid argument from anybody to tell me why the first three could be an Atlanta Brave. And though I don’t necessarily believe it’s going to happen, I can honestly see it. Now you look at Cody Bellinger. He they’re saying he’s projected at a 27.5 AAV. But the other big thing is he’s 30 years old, but he feels like an older 30 and six years 165. If that’s the number, the Braves aren’t paying that. That’s almost exactly what the Braves offered Freddy Freeman a couple years back. And Freddy Freeman’s a much better batter than what Cody Bellinger is. I like I like Cody Bellinger, but not at six years, not at 30 years old. Because then you got a guy who can still play he can still play center field, so he could give a day off to Harris from time to time, but you you got a guy in a few years who is going to be a corner outfielder at best, most likely a left fielder, and he’s sucking down most of your your salary. I just don’t see it. Same thing with Framber Valdez. They’re saying projected contract six years 168. He’s 32 years old. No way in hell the Braves do that because if they were going to give a long contract to a pitcher who’s going to be on the back side of his backside of 30, a southpaw, Max Freed would still be an Atlanta Brave. They’re just not going to do it. And Kyle Tucker, they’re still I I don’t believe this one, but they’re still projecting him. 11 years now at 418 million. Now before the one I was seeing before his decline this year was 10 years 450 and I would have believed it last spring but I I think he’s going to have a reset himself type of the only team that’s going to pay that and it won’t shock us would be the LA Dodgers. I don’t think the Yankees are gonna step up, especially after uh Trent Gisham just screwed him by picking up the qualifying offer. Bregman, I do believe he goes back to the Red Sox and the Braves don’t really have a spot for him. He’s a third baseman. Yeah, you could put him other places, but he he’s a third baseman. Guys of interest, that’ll be interesting to see where he ends up at. So there is a picture that has been posted by the Sabu Lions in the NPB. Tatsuya Amay starting pitcher 27 years old. They’re talking about six years 135 million. The biggest question mark you have when you pay a guy like that, is he going to be worth it? because they’re already projecting him as a two, maybe even a three starter with some with some risk to get there as possibly an ace one day. But the only thing you have to lean on is Yamamoto and how great he’s been. Okay, that’s fair. But Yamamoto, I believe, is a generational talent. So I I the the Braves have yet to show any kind of interest like that. Dylan CE is out there on the market. Dylan C’s had a 455 RA. He’s been like this his whole career. I don’t want anything to do with him. He They’re saying he’s going to get a an AAV of around 30 million. Five years. 150 is what they’re talking about. And he’s already 30 years old. I just don’t see it. Now Bo Bashett has been recently revalued at 5 years 130. If that’s the number at 28 years old, if that’s truly the number, five years, 130 at 26 AAV, AA should jump on that immediately. He gives you a bat at shortstop and you can figure out putting Duban this year and you can eventually just find a guy who’s a backup shortstop, good defensive player for the foreseeable future. And if you do sign him, then I would say getting rid of Nick Allen was a huge mistake because Nick Allen still has three years of control and and that could have been your game plan. Bo Bashette at short, Nick Allen coming off the bench late in games. But Bo Bette before I I saw this updated version just a second ago, they were talking about him getting closer to an AAV of around 30 plus and a because of his age at 28 years old of getting a seven eightyear deal. If he’s 5130, sign it today. But I I just don’t see it. 5130 exactly ready. I just do not see it. see if anybody’s got any more comments or questions. Um, I don’t believe I’ve missed anything. Um, yeah, to me the best answer is Kim at shortstop unless you can really get Bob Bashette for five years 130, but come on now. Kyle Schwarber there. This is another one. I think this is incredibly low. I know he’s 33 years old, but they’re saying four years, 128, a 32 AAV. If I can pick between one or two, give me Kyle Schwarber. We’ll we’ll put Dubon at at shortstop. Schwarber banging 50 home runs out of the building and being a stalwart right there in the middle of the lineup. Holy crap. Can you imagine that? There’s a number of ways you could go with the offense, but just imagine your three, four, five guys in some version. Any way you want to mix it together, whether it’s a righty or lefty starter, Olsen, Schwarber, and Austin Riley. And then you’re talking about at that point guys like Azie Alb’s and Drake Baldwin batting six. I mean, six, seven. You’re talking about a long lineup. If if 4128 gets it done, AA would be an idiot not to do that. But I I I don’t see that. I think he’s going to want a fifth year. And a fifth year maybe 5130 gets it only because of his age and because he’s only a designated hitter. But I I would still sign up for that. He’s gonna age well. He’s just one of those guys that you’re not going to have to worry about falling off a cliff because he’s got a solid First of all, the guy’s just a natural hitter. Second of all, he keeps himself in relatively good shape. He’s not a great athletic player, but he’s relatively good shape. He’s a better base runner than what Ozuna is. And you don’t worry about the fact that he can’t play in the outfield bunch because that’s not what you’re paying him for. So, give me that all day long. I mean, the guy had 56 home runs this year. And the porch in right field in Atlanta is just as as advantageous as it is in Philadelphia. Pete Alonzo’s out there on the on the market. Four years 110. I don’t know if he I don’t think he’s going to get that. Pete Alonzo can still hit, but unless somebody really wants that right-handed power, and he’s, let’s be honest, Peter Lonzo is a designated hitter at this point. You can’t bring him back if you’re the Mets and ask him to be your first baseman because he’s just not good. He’s a terrible defensive first baseman. He needs to go somewhere because Juan Sodto is going to transition into their DH. He needs to go somewhere where he just becomes the DH. Four years 110. I think he’s more likely to get something like uh three years because he’s 31 years old. Three years and south of 100. Maybe a little higher. AV three for 90. May maybe he gets that high, but if you go four years with Alonzo, hell, you might as well go five and drop that AAV cuz he’s going to be a designated hitter. Uh, let me see who else we got here. Uh, another guy that was was posted from overseas, Munakaco Makami. Not an not an interest for the Braves, but when he gets signed, it opens up other players across the board. He is a third baseman. He’s being projected at five years, 80 million. Ranger Suarez, that guy is very enticing to me. First of all, the Braves can’t hit him. So, if you can’t beat him, get him to join you. He’s 30 years old, four years, 92 million. And his war this year, by the way, was 4.0 with with an ERA of 3.2. He has been very good and a lefty at that number. I’m really surprised that’s how low his number is. Four years 92 million 30 years old. He’s going to be looking for five years. Maybe five years 125 gets it done. I’d be all over that. You’re talking about uh Cleveland ready. Um, Pete Alonzo would be a great addition to the Cleveland Guardians. Just put his ass at DH and call it a day. And you talk about now you’re all of a sudden forcing teams to pitch to Jose Ramirez. Put Jose Ramirez in the three hole and the cleanup batter is Pete Alonzo. Holy crap. That changes that offense dramatically. I’m I’m right there with you. Um, someone was trying to make parallels of Ranger Suarez and Jordan Montgomery and Rod saying that the that they don’t have that he doesn’t have elite stuff. You never watch Ranger Suarez pitch if you don’t think he’s an elite lefty. I mean, he’s really damn good. Now, he’s a guy in the postseason I don’t think you get more than about five or six innings out at the most. He’s not a guy who’s going to go seven eight, but nobody does that anymore. So, you worry about what he does in the regular season, which is usually he is quality start Ranger. Ranger is a quality start guy. He’s going to go out there and give you six innings and three runs or less. There’s nothing wrong with that. They had Trent Gisham on this list, but obviously that hasn’t been updated. He is he came back to the Yankees. Zack Gallon, hard pass on him. I I’ve just seen him decline year after year after year. I just don’t see anything with Zack Gallon. Fouryear 76 is what he’s being being offered at. I don’t see it. Edwin Diaz who chose free agency. So realize he had three years. Is it three years? Maybe it was he had two years left at four. So he had two years 40 left. They’re saying that he’s going to come out four years 60 million left. If he resigns with the with the Mets, Uncle Steve, he’s going to overpay like he always does. I think Edwin Diaz comes back to the Mets. We’ll say four years 75 70 somewhere in that neighborhood. Michael King’s out on the market. He is a guy that is an affordable, very good starting pitcher. Three years, 57 million is what his 19 million AAV. I mean, do we believe that with the qualifying offer being 22 this year? I think it’s more likely three for 60. He’s 30 years old. Three for maybe just north of 60. I think I think he gets more than the 57 number. Glaver Torres. He’s an interesting cat that’s out there. Pretty much a second baseman nowadays. He used to play a little more short, but second baseman, three years, 57 million. Not something that the Braves give a damn about, but once again, these guys get signed and starts dropping all the dominoes. And then Josh Naylor um for the Mariners. We just talked about him not too long ago, so that hasn’t been updated. Eugenio Suarez, though, they’re saying 2 years 45 at a 22.5 AAV. I know he’s 34 years old, but Suarez can still bang, and I think he’s going to get more than that. I would say bare minimum at 34 years old, third base, you can eventually move him to a DH. He’s going to get a three-year deal and I think he’s going to be looking closer to around the 70. Kind of like what Tioscar Hernandez got last year for the Dodgers. Devin Williams, he did not perform well in New York. His erra went from 1.7 in Milwaukee to 4.79 in New York. Yankees are not bringing him back. They’re saying three years 45 million. If he signs for that low, I believe he’s going to have an opt out after year one. I still think he’s got good stuff. I just don’t think he he he meshed well in New York. Some guys just can’t can’t deal with the with the big lights. And we already talked about Mel Kelly on the last show. So that’s that’s about it. If anyone’s got any more comments or questions, let me look up here. Um, I don’t think anyone’s got any questions. Is it normal to have this many free agents? Yeah, it’s it’s it’s actually a weak free agent market, Envy. Um, there’s a lot of free agents that are out there and a lot of solid free agents, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a little low on the the upper echelon of free agent. Last year’s free agency was was much deeper and next free agency is going to be Cookie Dukes because of the work stoppage. If you remember in 2021 when we had the work stoppage and they finally lifted the or at the end of 21 going into 22 I should say. Um when they finally lifted the curtain and the CBA got it started flying off. I mean I mean I I remember we were we were doing uh daily shows on radio at that point and you couldn’t keep up with it. We would be in the middle of doing some kind of of segment over something. I remember during that time period it was impossible to cover any other sport because we were a sports talk show. It wasn’t just a baseball show at that point. And you couldn’t get a word edge-wise about anything coming up with the Masters, with uh March Madness, anything like that, the the NBA plus, you couldn’t get any of that done because the moment we would start to talk about NFL free agency, the moment you would start to talk about something, bang, something else happened. Freddy Freeman’s a Dodger, Matt Olsson’s a Brave. I mean, it was coming in hot and heavy. And if that happens again, it’s exciting. But the the long lockout is depressing. So, uh, but those are the top 25. You do have guys like Chris Basset who may come back to the Blue Jays, but these are the more guys the guys on the more affordable end. I could see the Braves going after a Basset, but he is 37 years old. Uh, Lucas Gilo, 31 years old. JT Realm Muto, I can’t believe they let him get to free agency. He’s not someone that the Braves want obviously unless they were to trade uh if you traded Shawn Murphy for we’ll just say like a pitcher and you sign JT Realm Muto as your everyday defensive catcher then Drake Baldwin is your designated hitter and you don’t have to worry about anything. There’s still just a lot of question about Shawn Murphy, but I think that they’re gonna double down on it. I think they’re gonna have him as the everyday catcher. Most likely Drake Baldwin’s going to be the everyday DH. You’re going to carry an extra catcher, but what he’s going to be worth, I don’t know. They are projecting, by the way, Barcelo Zuna’s $30 million. I don’t think he gets that. He’s 35. He gives you no defensive he he he gives you no flexibility on the defensive end and he can’t run. There’s nothing with him now. Last year was a down year. I get it. But he’s also 35. Is that just one bad year or is that a sign of bad things to come? Nick Martinez. We we’ll mention him one more time before we leave out here. I like him as an option as a swing man out of the bullpin. But they’re saying his AAV is 15 million because he wants to be a starter. If that’s the case, I’m out. If if they get his AEV around 10, I’m fine with it because we don’t know what we’re going to get from Ronaldo Lopez. We really don’t. We don’t know what we’re going to get from some of the other guys coming back from injury. Guys like Sch Swellenbuck and you may have to have spot starts. you may have to have a total of 10 starts out of Nick Martinez this year or whoever you bring in like that. If that’s the case, I’d really just say the hell with it. A guy you could get very affordable and keep him in the bullpen at a decent AAV. But this is a this is a hope that his velocity comes back because it did slip a little bit in 2024 is Luke Weaver coming out of out of the Yankees. I I don’t hate that idea at all. All right, we’re gonna go ahead and get out of here so I can keep my voice for tonight, 6 pm, Braves Country Theater. Braves versus Phillies, baby, as we’re going to head to Atlanta Fulton County Stadium for this one. We’ll see you tonight. Goodbye, sweetheart. Well, it’s time to go. We’re back tomorrow with another show. Well, unless we’re fired, we’ll talk to you then. Goodbye, sweetheart. Goodbye. Goodbye. Guys and gals, it’s time to go. But we’ll see you on the next show. Same that time, same that channel. It’s closing time, y’all. You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. Have a great one. On your way out, please like and subscribe. And don’t forget to tip your favorite bartender. We’ll see you. I’m Mac. McGee signing off for Brace Country Radio. Can I get another cigarette, please? Can I get another cigarette, please? Yeah, I know. I live to regret it. Just give me another cigarette, please.
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