RaysUp - Tampa Bay Rays need a jump start after Orioles debacle

@Mat_Germain & Mark review the Rays after 

• Discussion about dome stadiums and the necessity of having one with  a dome that can be opened or closed.
• Concerns about player safety with bullpen mounds on the field.
• Specific example of Johnny DeLuca's near injury due to bullpen placement.
• Argument for designing stadiums to better protect players.
• Mention of Oakland's unique bullpen setup.
• Suggestion to use Tropicana 300 levels of the stadium for bullpen areas.
• Comment on the emotional impact of a team's poor performance at home.
• Reflection on the team's lack of energy and production.
• Discussion on the importance of timing with the trade deadline approaching.
• Positive signs with players like Brandon Lowe making significant contributions.
• Mention of specific matchups and players' performances.
• Discussion about Harold Ramirez's role and performance.
• Mention of a Twitter survey about Harold Ramirez's potential landing spots.
• Recognition of Ramirez's character and improved defensive abilities.
• Mention of Mat Germain's presence on Twitter and his valuable insights.
• Commentary on recent changes to Twitter's (X) like feature.
• Observation on the impact of these changes on user interactions.
• Update on Jeffrey Springs' performance in AAA and his potential return.
• Speculation on trade deadline decisions for the Rays.
• Reflection on the emotional rollercoaster of being a Rays fan.
• Comparison of the current season to the previous year's performance in the AL East.
• Rays Catchers options – JT Realmuto, Sean Murphy, William Contreras – where would the Rays be now if one of these guys had been brought to the Rays
• Atlanta Braves, Charlie Morton & Travis d’Arnaud battery is exceptional. 
• Would future Charlie Morton become a relief pitcher like John Smoltz and later as a pitching coach
• Siri bringing back some fire to the Rays
• A view from the Rays farm –strength coming up soon
• Chandler Simpson, in park home run in 14.2 seconds
• Future new roster of Opening Day in the new Rays stadium 
• Rays need a catcher like Orioles’ Adley Rutschman – He is a consistent leader
• Mike Zunino – a steady force for the Rays – could be a good scout for the Rays
• Florida Collegiate Baseball – Florida State & University of Florida heading to the NCAA post-season in Omaha
• Jac Caglione
• Ybor Legacy Awards with Lou Piniella – kicking up the dirt
• St Pete Stadium & Collen Wright update – all-day workshop and then first official vote on the Rays stadium
• Annual Summer Break with the St. Pete Council while Rays stadium is being considered
• Gotta bring Shane Baz & Jeffery Spring up sooner than later
• Chandler Simpson moves up & Braydon Taylor OPS through the roof

Thanks to Mat Germain for bringing his knowledge, wit and wisdom to the show. You can catch more of Mat on Twitter x.com @Mat_Germain_   
 Mark can be found on Twitter x.com  @TheBaseballBiz & and at  http://www.baseballbizondeck.com
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BaseballBiz can be found on iheartradio, Stitcher, Apple, and Spotify
Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music “Rocking Forward"

Transcript

240 RaysUp BaseballBiz

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Welcome to BaseballBiz on Deck! I am Mark Corbett, your host, and with me, of course, is Mr. Mat Germain, our other host. Oh man, how you doing, Matt? 

[00:00:18] Mat Germain: I'm living the dream up north, uh, finally getting some summer heat. So, uh, we're enjoying it. 

[00:00:23] Mark Corbett: Oh, that sounds just wonderful. I just hope you don't get the humidity we have here.

[00:00:28] Mark Corbett: It's insane. 

[00:00:30] Mat Germain: Yeah, I'm pretty lucky. Nova Scotia. We don't get much humidity. We get cooled down by the ocean so far and who knows when it, when that'll change. But, uh, you know, right up until I'd say end of July, we're, we're pretty cozy. And, uh, just the right kind of warm, the kind that you can go and exercise in and not have any issues.

[00:00:49] Mark Corbett: That's good, man. Yeah. Like a little comfort along with the summertime, you know, this always wondered during summer. We got the minor leagues down here playing in all the spring training fields. Yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles field, the Ed Smith stadium. I wasn't there, but I do know that the airport there recorded to 3.

[00:01:12] Mark Corbett: 93 inches in one hour of rain. 

[00:01:16] Mat Germain: Yeah. 

[00:01:17] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:01:18] Mat Germain: A lot of rain. 

[00:01:19] Mark Corbett: I, you know, anybody ever has a question about a dome stadium? These are the moments where you say, yeah, yeah, that's that. We do need a dome stadium. I, I don't know. It's, it's insane for people to me, uh, who's who think otherwise, but I don't, I can't help out people think.

[00:01:36] Mat Germain: Right. I agree. I think the intriguing part is you would think with today's engineering, we'd have a way of, of having a dome when we want it and not having a dome when we don't want it. Uh, you know, something creative, um, that, that would be a little bit like, let's say Rogers Center, but more translucent, like the rays have been suggested.

[00:01:56] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:01:57] Mat Germain: But, you know, I think it's the fixed roof idea that kind of, you know, Turns people off and not having the ability of ever opening it. I don't know how that's going to turn out if they do end up building it that way And then and I know they have plans to be able to open the sides which allows a breeze to go through But it's still not open skies and stars when you have the ability to do that.

[00:02:19] Mat Germain: So I get it, you know mid summer. You're never going to want to do that anyway because of the heat But but you know in between you you may 

[00:02:29] Mark Corbett: Along with that dome, there's one thing I want to make sure we see in that stadium. It's supposed to be ready by 2028. And that is a place for Johnny DeLuca to run to from left field.

[00:02:43] Mark Corbett: Uh, you saw the game last night. Where he's playing left field and I know it's not something he always does. There is absolutely no reason why any team should have a place for the bullpen with a raised mound right by the field or on the field for all practical purposes. And Johnny was running for a ball and he had to go over to right where the, the bullpen area where the rubber on the bullpen area was, plus it looked like the Cubs had left some, some luggage or something packages out, uh, around along on the way and.

[00:03:15] Mark Corbett: Oh, he could have sustained a serious injury from that. 

[00:03:19] Mat Germain: Yeah, there's something to be said. Like if I'm, I don't know, if I'm one of the teams, like the owner, let's say I'm Stu Sternberg and I've invested, you know, a certain amount of money in these players in this program, you would think that you would want a design that protects your players as much as possible.

[00:03:34] Mat Germain: So I don't know how more injuries don't happen to be quite honest with the foul areas being so different across MLB, nevermind, like in one stadium being dangerous and another one not. Um, it's just the, each time you're out there and you're looking up for the ball, you're like, geez, what stadium am I in again?

[00:03:52] Mat Germain: Where's that mound? Is there a mound? I can't remember. You know, like you, you have that moment of, uh, travel, uh, brain fog where you don't really remember where things might be. Now I know the professionals are supposed to know that and be aware of their surroundings, but in the heat of the moment, that's easy to forget whereabouts things are and, uh, and easy to get injured in the process.

[00:04:14] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I mean, we've seen this before. We've seen it with tarps up rolled up to the side. Uh, we've seen this though, but I think Oakland, I think whether they, the, the broadcasters like last night may have been Brian Anderson said something to the effect that Oakland was the only other stadium that had, uh, Had the pitching out there on the field, which, you know, as far as the bullpen goes, I think, you know, I'm positive this idea.

[00:04:38] Mark Corbett: Let's, let's go ahead and go up to the 300 level, which you've shut down for all practical purposes of the stadium and we'll use. Yeah, we'll use those corridors as pitching tunnels. As long as there's cameras back there so we can see what they're up to. I love it, man. Yeah. Yeah. And then we'll get a brewer's slide to let them come down from that level to onto the field.

[00:05:04] Mark Corbett: And you know, so Tommy Trumpet blowing it away. So that we'll keep it fun. We'll keep it fun. You got to have fun, but something that could have been a disaster. I mean, but we already had a disaster before the game concluded last night. Okay. Come on, man. I'm sitting here mad and I'm thinking. All right. I've, I've seen us lose a game at home.

[00:05:26] Mark Corbett: I've seen us even lose a series at home, but I can't remember losing a series, being swept four games at home and one series. It's like I was as a fan, I didn't know what to do. I was ready to go bury my head in the sand. 

[00:05:43] Mat Germain: It's not even just that. It's that at no point in time did they have a lead of any significance that would tell you they were on their way to winning a game, at all.

[00:05:53] Mat Germain: So it was more in how they lost, the lack of energy, the lack of production, the lack of everything, pretty much, that left a bad taste in everybody's mouth, I think, after the series. So obviously, you know, as fans and as players, you're not going to want to Dwell on it too much, but you do have to recognize that the timing of it is terrible as well because you have the trade deadline and everything else starting to creep up on the horizon.

[00:06:20] Mat Germain: And so as they're taking stock of everything, this is not the kind of series you want to have. 

[00:06:26] Mark Corbett: No, but we're seeing some good signs creeping through though, the Lao and the lobe, both of them coming out there onto the fields. That's good. Uh, Brandon, my gosh, if it wasn't for him last night, the game over, what was he hit his fifth career walk off last night there in the ninth inning.

[00:06:45] Mark Corbett: I mean, there's seemed like there's been so many opportunities for things to happen, but Brandon made sure he took advantage of it last night. And I was really glad to see that happen. Absolutely. Think about who they're pitching against last night. It was, uh, actually another Florida native, Jameson Taiana, can I ever say his name right?

[00:07:02] Mark Corbett: Anyway, he, he did a pretty good job. I mean, the, the, the Cubs, Cubs are, you know, they've, they're not lackluster this year. Um, No, 

[00:07:11] Mat Germain: Taillon's always pitched well against the Rays as well. Like when he was with the Yankees and, uh, he seems to like pitching at the trough and against the Rays. So I think, uh, I think it was a tough matchup as well because of his comfort level against the Rays, but the Rays are just, You know, they're holding on to their bats a little bit too tight and trying to do too much with each swing.

[00:07:33] Mat Germain: So, um, I think you're right though. There are some good things creeping in. Jose Siri was the first one to sort of start to kick things into gear and, um, and everybody else sort of is falling in line after that. Like Randy Orozarena, you know, Brandon Lau's Home run was, I don't know, like reaching forward the way he did in order to get to that pitch and to pop it over, um, with his back and his health issues that he's had lately.

[00:07:58] Mat Germain: It was great to see. 

[00:08:00] Mark Corbett: You and I've talked about a glue guy and I don't know that he's the glue guy per se. Maybe it's more Josh, but he, his energy with that really made things happen. But you mentioned Siri and come on, Matt, what, what Siri did last night. He's, I mean, he's a showman, but the talent really came through with him running across the field to catch that ball and slides across with his chest and snags that ball.

[00:08:25] Mark Corbett: And I didn't even know if he had it or not. It looked like a magic trick. 

[00:08:28] Mat Germain: Yeah. And he, to be quite honest, he makes that look easier than it actually was, uh, because of his speed and the coverage he gets like, if that had been Johnny DeLuca, the only way he would have gotten to that ball is if, you know, he dove Superman style and had like just the tip of his glove, get to it.

[00:08:45] Mat Germain: So, I mean, it was a great catch. It was definitely, you know, something that lifted the team up. 

[00:08:51] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Those, I mean, those are the moments and it was interesting too, when you think about it, man, because. Yeah. We didn't have Randy out there last night. 

[00:09:01] Mat Germain: Yeah, we didn't have Randy, and I believe that, uh, we don't have him again tonight.

[00:09:06] Mat Germain: And you and I spoke about, you know, the, who is it, the 55 plate appearances that you were going to give him? And then I think, uh, the Rays are, are sort of, uh, They're, they're, they're looking for that consistency, I think. And I do know matchups play into things and giving people breathers plays into things, but the Rays just had a lot of off days.

[00:09:30] Mat Germain: So really Randy shouldn't be, you know, by any means, uh, tired to this point and needing two days in a row off. So that's a sign that they're trying to, you know, force him to perform to a certain level and, or maybe something that he did that didn't go well with the Rays where they, They had called for something to be done and it wasn't done or something of that sort.

[00:09:52] Mat Germain: We never know, you know, those never come out in public, but, um, there's definitely, you know, somebody like Randy Rosarino sitting out twice without any injury news coming out. It's usually a sign of something going on. 

[00:10:03] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I thought I heard something about the hit some tightness, you know, that's, that's, that's kind of a phantom excuse, I suppose, but.

[00:10:11] Mark Corbett: You know, let's see, we'll see what happens. And the 55, I don't know if he got to that number or not, but it was, but they didn't send him down. So he just, uh, not playing. Okay. You talked about something that I was probably gonna talk with you last week and, uh, things popped up where I couldn't. And that was every favorites, uh, every fan favorite for that blue haired fellow we love, and that's Harold Ramirez.

[00:10:39] Mark Corbett: And we know that while he's a great person and I think he's a lot of positive energy, he was not going to be played on the field. He was going to be a DH only kind of guy. And therefore the value of what he was able to deliver the team just wasn't going to be enough. 

[00:11:00] Mat Germain: Right. And I w I would say it's kind of sad the way things turned out.

[00:11:03] Mat Germain: And this is what I mean, if you look at his performance last year, in terms of his, his hit tool, uh, it was very, very, very encouraging, promising something that somebody would want on their team because he was hitting both sides of the plate very well. Um, and, and by that, I mean like against left handers and right handers, he was hitting very well.

[00:11:24] Mat Germain: Um, But and what he did this offseason was he improved his speed to the point where his defensive abilities and left field and right field were well above what they had been historically this year. So if you were able to combine the two, then all of a sudden Harold Ramirez is a very intriguing player and a much larger trade chip.

[00:11:44] Mat Germain: If the Rays did decide to move on, but more than likely in that point, they would actually. Hold on to him if he was still hitting, but the problem is he's not hitting and when somebody who's, uh, primarily still a left handed pitcher specialist, uh, where, you know, you want them in the lineup anytime you're against the left handed pitcher, you know, you only see those maybe 20, 25 percent of the time.

[00:12:06] Mat Germain: So to carry somebody like Harold. Long term without the power without, you know, that kind of thing. It just didn't make any sense anymore, especially when you have Junior Caminero and a whole bunch of other guys that are gonna be looking for spots. Um, so I think they did it right. The timing is good because there's a lot of teams, you know, from Atlanta to the Dodgers just picked up.

[00:12:28] Mat Germain: Keep a visual from the Jays. But yeah, They would have been a decent spot for him as well. And there's a half dozen other teams that are looking for better support on the bench and in their bottom of the lineup, uh, and at DH against left handers, uh, where you can see Harold having a strong role. And right now there's not much competition, you know, it's him and Brandon Belt, basically.

[00:12:53] Mark Corbett: The thing is, where does he go? And you put up actually a survey, I think today. Um, on where Harold may land and see the options you gave were Dodgers, Cubs, Padres, and other, and all those sound like they'd be a good fit for him, but 

[00:13:10] Mat Germain: the Dodgers, you can scratch off now with Biggio. I don't think that would grab another, but I could be wrong.

[00:13:15] Mark Corbett: Okay. I bring up this too, but this post one, see, I'm looking here at this point, your survey has 22 percent Dodgers, 25. 3 percent folks said Cubs, 16. 7 percent Padres and 36 percent said Other. Let's see if they had a dropdown, what other might be, but that's, that's a significant. And I don't want to say he's a, he's the kind of guy you just love to see out there.

[00:13:43] Mark Corbett: He's got a positive attitude and everything but if you haven't, if you can't bring everything to the game. That the team wants, then it's, this is what's going to happen. 

[00:13:54] Mat Germain: If you look across AAA and sometimes it'll shock me too. Uh, when, you know, I'll watch a, uh, Durham bulls game and, and the names on the other side of the field where, you know, they were oftentimes guys that had regular roles in, in major league baseball and, and you're like, Oh yeah, I remember that guy.

[00:14:10] Mat Germain: Oh yeah. This guy. Oh yeah. The other day I was watching Yuli Gurriel, yeah, going up against the Durham. And I was just like, How did, how did he go from being the first baseman of the world series team to, to now hitting in AAA, trying to re earn a role on an MLB team. So, uh, it's not a slight on anybody to be in AAA, you can earn your way back, um, you know, pretty quick.

[00:14:35] Mat Germain: I do think somebody will pick up Harold because of how much he dominates left handed pitching and because of the character he has. And because now he's improved his defensive abilities to the point where you can put him on the field without him being a liability out there. 

[00:14:52] Mark Corbett: Well, we wish him all the best.

[00:14:54] Mark Corbett: And thanks for keeping us in the loop about possibilities for Harold too. Oh, I want to remind folks too, they can find you on Twitter or X. com and that's at Matt, M A T. Underscore germane G E R M a I N underscore. And the reason I bring that up is you, you have your font of knowledge, my friend, uh, I love, I love also, like I said, where you have, uh, the, the surveys here and the votes, but you did folks check Mat out there as well.

[00:15:25] Mark Corbett: And another thing, as long as we're talking about X. com. What do you think this isn't really anything to do with baseball, but it's kind of curious that now if I like A post I'm anonymous so that nobody knows what I liked or I didn't like, 

[00:15:45] Mat Germain: I think it's, um, it serves Elon Musk more than anyone else, um, or, or, you know, the P the people who control the information because they get to see who gets and, and really what will end up happening is nobody will like things anymore.

[00:16:02] Mat Germain: They're just gonna. They're just going to ignore it all together, um, which is kind of sad because the, you know, instead of adding emotions, they're taking emotions away and I mean, we all know that likes don't always mean like, oh, you completely agree with everything. Um, you know, there's other things they could have put in there to kind of.

[00:16:25] Mat Germain: Broaden the way that you interact with people. Uh, I think what they're trying to do, and I don't know if it's the right way or not, is to take out some of the amount animosity, um, from that social media platform, but. The, unless you take comments away, that is not really going to happen with likes, in my opinion.

[00:16:50] Mark Corbett: No, I can't imagine that either. I was just kind of surprised. I thought, well, you know, you can, besides just a heart, you can have the thumbs up, thumbs down, or, or, or like, I always liked that one emoji with the little quizzical guy holding his chin and just looking up saying, Hmm, that's the one I would probably use a lot more often.

[00:17:09] Mark Corbett: I wanted a Fonzie one, two thumbs up.

[00:17:14] Mark Corbett: Come on, Ernie. Ilan, listen up, dude. No, plus, you know, here's another thing you probably notice is you may have to have your notifications turned off because of this, because when people like you, you get ding, ding, ding, you know, And Oh, who's the next person who liked me? Oh, I feel so much better. Now. The cubby musings just loved what I had to say.

[00:17:35] Mark Corbett: I feel so much better, but 

[00:17:37] Mat Germain: I've learned to give myself time limits for those things. Like I'll, I'll go through and listen to comments or whatever, or read comments, I should say, uh, through an answer, you know, those that, that I think, uh, you know, I can add to, um, but yeah, it is funny. I can only imagine like some of the people who have.

[00:17:55] Mat Germain: You know, tens of thousands of followers, it would be endless. 

[00:17:59] Mark Corbett: Jeez. So today is Wednesday, June 12th. And the game is going on tonight. I don't have it in front of me. Can you see what the score is? I can, but I'm not telling you Mark. 

[00:18:12] Mat Germain: I don't think you want to know. Okay. It's actually a zip zip right now, but I have even bigger news for you, please.

[00:18:23] Mat Germain: And that is Jeffrey Springs. Through two innings in AAA, uh, with the Durham Bulls and 16 of 18 pitches were strikes. He struck out three in his two innings and he looked awesome. He looked like, uh, I don't want to say stuff is completely bad cause you know, you have one good outing. It doesn't mean. The world, uh, but there was zip on his pitches.

[00:18:45] Mat Germain: You know, how we saw Shane Boz come back and he needed like a good half dozen games before you could tell he was comfortable letting it loose. 

[00:18:53] Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

[00:18:54] Mat Germain: Jeffrey Springs, no problem. It's loose. It's, it's spotted. And I don't think he's as far away from being back in action as we think. Um, so, so that makes the trade deadline even more entertaining for, if you're a race fan.

[00:19:10] Mark Corbett: I can't imagine what it's like to be sitting in Eric Neander's seat. I mean, every, every time I'm thinking, well, these guys might, man, do I really want to make a big change? It's 

[00:19:20] Mat Germain: funny you say that because last night after the win, I was sitting there, I was like, okay, let's say they sweep the Cubs or they win, you know, three of the next four.

[00:19:29] Mat Germain: Then they're back at 500 again. And you're like, every time I think I'm done with the season, they pull me back in, they get the 500 and then I'm wondering, huh, well, if I add just a bit more,

[00:19:44] Mark Corbett: man, just add a little more spice to that recipe there, Eric. I don't know, but yeah, it's, it's a tough time to be a race fan. I mean, you see it just brimming beneath the 500. And if we look at like last year, I'm trying to think, let's see, it brings us up, uh, last year at the end of the season in the AL East, you had, what's Baltimore led with six 23, uh, average Tampa Bay.

[00:20:14] Mark Corbett: We were six 11 Toronto, five 49, New York five Oh six and Boston at four 81. So virtually all five teams were above 500. I mean, Boston just needed a couple more wins and they would have been there. And you know, you look at where the Yankees are this year. Geez, it's just crazy to do a comparison. But 

[00:20:35] Mat Germain: I will say that they've been fortunate in terms of their pitching health overall and their big star health until Soto got banged up here recently.

[00:20:44] Mat Germain: Um, but the big thing is when you get to the dog days, so we saw with the Rays last year, they had some internal issues that kind of, you know, Their, uh, their record and led this to a slide, but every team has their own issues that happens somewhere in the season. So the question is going to be once they start having, you know, that slide or that awkward time, whatever you want to call it, are they going to be able to bounce back and how well, um, so with the Yankees personalities, they're big, they're large.

[00:21:18] Mark Corbett: Uh, 

[00:21:20] Mat Germain: you know, they could go a lot of different ways. So I'm, I'm curious to see if Jared Cole comes back healthy. And they also have, uh, Jason Dominguez who's, uh, uh, in triple eight now and he looks raring to go. So they have depth, they have a great team. They're going to be hard to stop whether or not they pull it off in the playoffs.

[00:21:39] Mat Germain: Uh, this year is going to be, uh, the big thing for them because for them it's world series or bust every year. So, yeah. You know, making the playoffs isn't really that big a deal. Not making the playoffs is a big deal. 

[00:21:50] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I saw 

[00:21:51] Mat Germain: that last year. 

[00:21:52] Mark Corbett: But, 

[00:21:53] Mat Germain: uh, 

[00:21:53] Mark Corbett: yeah, Al Steinbrenner has to be shaking his head, but not this year.

[00:21:57] Mark Corbett: I mean, and Juan Soto has been a great investment for him, but they, without him, let's say they lost. Two of the three games with the Dodgers at Yankee stadium and see, Oh, one game is 11 to three. So that must have been fun. That's I'm I'm 

[00:22:15] Mat Germain: so I don't want to mean to cut you off mark. No, but there's a thing that that I'm watching right now And it's like a soap opera with the Yankees Where you have, uh, you know, Hal Steinbrenner said, Oh, we want to extend Soto.

[00:22:27] Mat Germain: We want to have in season talks because he knows that if it goes to free agency, you know, the Dodgers all offer Juan Soto a billion dollars and, uh, and defer it until 2075. Um, so, you know, he, he doesn't want to get into that kind of fight with whoever else joins into those kinds of crazy contracts, which I think should be illegal.

[00:22:50] Mat Germain: But, uh, if, if. So the, he went there, he basically said, we don't have the money to give Juan everything that he wants. And then Juan was like, well, I'm going to the free agent market if I don't get what I feel I deserve. There you 

[00:23:04] Mark Corbett: go, baby. 

[00:23:04] Mat Germain: You know, like he pretty much put the, the law down where if you're going to want me, then you're going to have to pay up, dude.

[00:23:10] Mat Germain: Like I'm not giving you a discount because you're the Yankees. So that's the premise, right? The base. And then you have Juan Soto's. Arm issues now and you're like, oh, well, does that bring the price down? What does one think of that? What did the Yankees think of that? Like, where does that fall? Uh, the Yankees are not haven't I want to say they haven't always been lucky with these long term deals, right?

[00:23:35] Mat Germain: You look at Jacobi Ellsbury Aaron Hicks Especially with outfielders more than anything else. So There's a lot at play here where the Yankees aren't a guarantee to bring back Soto. I think the best thing that they probably could do would be to clear room for Soto in their budget by moving Giancarlo Stanton somewhere, and eating a small portion of the contract if they have to, and then pairing him with a really good prospect so that the other team will take on a lot of the contract.

[00:24:06] Mat Germain: Giancarlo's, uh, money instead. 

[00:24:09] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Giancarlo. I mean, he's been hot and cold, but he hasn't been, I think, worth what they're paying him these days. So we'll see. I'm looking here at the raise notes. It's talking about hot and cold. Now there's, Oh, no, let's go to another. This is something from the race notes from today.

[00:24:27] Mark Corbett: And, uh, it's called Homer unhappy. The Rays have allowed an MLB high 89 homeruns ahead of the White Sox 88 homeruns and Blue Jays 87 homeruns. The 89 homeruns are tied with the 2007 club for the second most long balls allowed through 67 games in franchise history, ahead of only the 2000 Devil Rays 99 homeruns.

[00:24:51] Mark Corbett: Oh gosh! Yeah, it's been bad, 

[00:24:55] Mat Germain: but you know, I, yeah, I do want to caution something though. Like I know, I know the young guys are giving up a lot of home runs and Savali and a couple of other ones, but you do have to look at who's given up the home runs and a lot of Tyler Alexander, a lot of Roswell Ramirez, a lot of, you know, players that, that weren't going to be part of the core longterm as well.

[00:25:16] Mat Germain: Um, but I do think it's a, it's an overaggression on the part of pitching staff, uh, overall that's led to that. 

[00:25:25] Mark Corbett: Well, Matt, let me ask you about the catching. Do you feel good about what we have right now? Are you ready to bring back France, Frankie Maria or Renee Pinto, the betting court, pull them from another team and bring them back.

[00:25:38] Mat Germain: The only time I felt confident about Rays catching is when we had Mike Zanino abort. Yes. And, and since then, and even before then, you know, yes, Travis Darnold for this flash that he was with the Rays was great. Uh, same with Wilson Ramos, they were, you know, with two very solid catchers, but I, I think the Rays have to do a better job of weighing the offensive capabilities of their catchers as well as their defensive abilities, especially when we know.

[00:26:05] Mat Germain: Yeah. That the framing is, is going bye bye within the next three to four years. You know, it's not always going to be the reason why you're getting a guy catching. So the arm is going to get really amped up. The blocking abilities are going to get amped up. And being able to call the game, the wit, Of of being able to call the right pitch at the right time with the right location and how you set up that's going to be what drives catcher ability as well as they're hitting Dominic Keegan becomes an even better catching prospect in that case because he's not a great framer per se doesn't have a great arm as well so you know when you look at those things you're like yeah okay that makes him a mediocre catcher well that's pretty much what the Braves have developed overall throughout their history.

[00:26:53] Mat Germain: Uh, they've had a really hard time the time, the few times when they had a, you know, what would you call maybe an above average catcher in, in, in one way or another, like Omar Narvaez, they let him go, Luke Miley, they let him go, uh, they, they do a, they have a, a strange way of evaluating their catching core.

[00:27:12] Mat Germain: Now, having said that. They have gotten enough of their entire roster all together with the catchers that they get to have a really good pitching staff. So how much do you credit the pitch, the catchers for that? How much of it is scouting and them preparing the catchers for it? You know, like, so in my mind, it's probably more of the cat, the scouting and the preparation that they do with the catchers so that they.

[00:27:40] Mat Germain: You know, ask the catchers to do that's, that's allowed the pitchers to have as much success as they have overall, then it is the catchers, um, I could be wrong. They get to see a lot more of it firsthand. And I do. I do think when you look at this year's two guys, uh, Jackson and, and Rordfeld, the framing.

[00:27:59] Mat Germain: For this year, which is still counting for this year, uh, they're both within the top 10 to 15. When you look at the statistics and baseball savant and you dig into the numbers, they're within the top half of catchers. So the rays are right in that front. And Alex Jackson has a lot more potential with his bad than he's showing.

[00:28:17] Mat Germain: He really does. And I think we saw that with the home run, the center, the power is there when he connects, like he just, I don't know if you is. Working too hard on the defensive abilities to the kind of, you know, or holding the bat too tight because he's trying to do a lot at the plate as well. But, uh, he, he has potential and you can see it.

[00:28:38] Mat Germain: So if the framing is top notch and he can come around on the, on the hitting side of things, and he would be an intriguing guy, same with Ben Rorfeld. So I get the patients they're showing with these guys and it's not easy to go out there and find another, I just wish. When he was available, they would have gone for Joey Bart, who had X excellent time with Pittsburgh while he was healthy.

[00:28:59] Mat Germain: I think he's a little bit dinged up right now. Um, but, but he would have been a great addition in my opinion, because he's got the experience as well with a great team, with, you know, a team that develops strong catchers and knows how to gear them up and, and they actually drafted them at one point. So they must've liked them enough to do that.

[00:29:18] Mat Germain: So. You know, that's, that's the kind of example where I'm like, ah, you know, you could have kept out Jackson and triple a a little longer and had Joey Bart there with, uh, Ben Rohrfeld. And I probably would be more comfortable with it. Now there is Logan Driscoll in triple a, who's an intriguing bat and he's left handed bat and the rays do need better performances against right handed pitchers, so either him or Pinto, but he would have to be added to the 40 man roster, and then you get to another, you know, Whole thing.

[00:29:45] Mat Germain: And he just came off of IL now. So I don't know what the issue is with him. Health one, but the rays do have some options that are decent. It's just, you know, having lived through the whole JT, real Muto, uh, trade from Miami to Philadelphia, having had the, uh, Sean Murphy deal when I was screaming for them to get him a board and William Contreras go into the brewers instead of the rays.

[00:30:11] Mat Germain: All those things. You're, you're looking back on them going, where would the race be in those years? And now if they had one of those two guys, right. And it's, it's frustrating. 

[00:30:22] Mark Corbett: I would love to sing Contreras. I gotta tell you. Yeah. You know, this week, Karen and I are going to go visit Atlanta and watch the race play up there.

[00:30:34] Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah. You know, and that's, you and I've talked before about following the laundry or following the players. And the longer you're, you're watching this stuff, the more you get to, you, you find somebody you like and they move on. Like I'll be following later on, see how Harold's doing, but I've definitely always enjoyed turning on the Braves when he got that battery between, you know, Mr.

[00:30:56] Mark Corbett: Darno. And Charlie Morton and that I always enjoyed him while they're here. And I, I love watching Darnell punch one out there and put some more on runs on the board. So he's a guy sometimes, I mean, Z, I would love to have Z back as a catcher. Hell, there's no doubt about it, but, uh, Darnell, Darnell, I'd like to have him as well.

[00:31:19] Mark Corbett: Either one of those guys. 

[00:31:21] Mat Germain: Yep. My, uh, my dream is that, uh, you know, it, let's say the Rays don't, uh, don't win it all this year, which I know is a stretch, but, um, If they go into, uh, 2025 still looking for the first World Series, uh, I would not mind at all having Charlie Morton back as the Rays closer. That would be just It's amazing to have, you know, you talk about somebody who's nails in the playoffs and when the games on the line, if you put them on a shorter tempo at his age, uh, I think he would become John Schmoltz.

[00:31:55] Mat Germain: Like I don't know if you remember when he was a reliever, but that he was just awesome. He was. Yeah. Basically took that role on, uh, with, without an issue. And I think Charlie would be open to it if it meant extending his career and maybe winning one with the Rays. I don't think he's opposed to coming back either.

[00:32:11] Mat Germain: I don't know what his contract is with the Braves and, and how many more years he plans on playing. But I do know the Braves and the Rays are probably the only two locations he would consider based on how he was talking about how important that is for him, uh, when he was with the Rays. 

[00:32:27] Mark Corbett: I think we're going to see more of that too, some, uh, Some pitchers who've done a great job at starting pitchers and later on in life, we'll find them as a reliever, you know, and they're the guy who comes in and closes the talents there.

[00:32:41] Mark Corbett: They may not have the strength to go five, six, seven, eight innings, but they can be that juice that's needed at the end of a game. And Charlie, I, yeah, I can see that in the future. 

[00:32:53] Mat Germain: Yeah. And then you keep them on as a, as a pitching coach. If Kyle leaves. 

[00:32:57] Mark Corbett: There 

[00:32:57] Mat Germain: you go. I like it. 

[00:33:02] Mark Corbett: Oh, you know, we, we talked about this before about the height of a pitcher actually can impact what they're able to do simply because the size of their hand and how they can control those threads on the ball, you know, and get the twist or whatever they want on to spend.

[00:33:17] Mark Corbett: They want on it and. I was watching the other day and there was Kyle Snyder out there in the dugout. And he was looking at what was going on in the mound. And he puts his hand around his chin and face. It's like, good Lord. That, that was huge. I'm not trying to criticize what a man looks. I just thinking, boy, I could see how that could really help you, Kyle.

[00:33:39] Mark Corbett: If you're, if you're trying to control the pitch. 

[00:33:41] Mat Germain: Yep. Jose Siri just hit a home run, by the way. Ah, yes. Yes. 

[00:33:47] Mark Corbett: I want his fire back, man. I mean, it's a lot of the rays just kind of had a hard time keeping sustaining a real kind of positive flow with what they're hitting. I mean, you look at the numbers over the last few weeks, I haven't totaled up the number of runs, but it ain't high, buddy.

[00:34:06] Mark Corbett: Um, There needs to be something coming this, hopefully this thing with Siri, hopefully what happened last night with, with Brandon, we'll kind of build the juice for everybody for throughout the rest of the season. 

[00:34:18] Mat Germain: I agree. And, and I, like I said before, I think the raise now that we're getting healthier, so that they get more and more options on, on moves they can make.

[00:34:26] Mat Germain: I, there are going to be guys available out there that they might want to grab for the long term, not just for this year, but that'll still help them for this year to compete well in the second half. So the rays are in a weird spot where they, they're going to be looking very, very, very hard at 2025. So I think as long as the players they pick up are still under contract and control for 2025, there'll be.

[00:34:49] Mat Germain: They'll be in the hunt for those players. And like, for example, Louis Robert would not be, you know, out of the question for the race because he is, his contract is within the realm of, of their payments. And I think he is still under control for 2025. So, uh, I don't think they're going to pull the cord on, on 2024 necessarily altogether.

[00:35:10] Mat Germain: They're just going to re tinker to both help themselves this year. And next. 

[00:35:16] Mark Corbett: Well, let's take a look at the future from the farm and a couple of guys, if you can address one, I'm being of course, Chandler Simpson, one of them being, uh, what I guess in Florida coastly, is that Braylor Guerrero? Oh man. 

[00:35:33] Mat Germain: So my, my thing that I like to keep on the mail, my finger on the pulse is where the strings of a system are.

[00:35:41] Mat Germain: So when I look at the raised system, what I see is that there's going to be a revamp of the infield. Within, you know, within the next year. So between now, all the way to the end of the season and the first half of 2025, you're going to sort out the infield. That includes bringing up Carson Simpson, uh, that and, and Xavier Isaac is another one.

[00:36:06] Mat Germain: Uh, so, and I think they're still going to keep Isak Paredes. They have him playing first base today and they have Caballero at third. I think you're going to see Caballero play all over the place now. I wouldn't be surprised soon to see him in the outfield as well. So that's going to sort that out and open up some space, you know, for Carson Williams, whether it's shortstop or third, I think because of the hitting.

[00:36:28] Mat Germain: Taylor Walls also goes into a utility role and does a lot of what Caballero can do in the infield. So between those two, you have two really strong utility players if you look at them in those roles. So then you put Caminero at third base with those guys, you know, and then you have second base, you have Jonathan Aranda, you have Curtis Mead as an option.

[00:36:49] Mat Germain: So then you've got your youthful infield. So the reason the guys you mentioned are so exciting is because they're right behind those guys. And I would say Chandler Simpson. Might even come up at the same time as the rest of the guys. And he's the prototypical, you know, you think if you think that Yandy Diaz is a great hitter, wait until you see Chandler Simpson.

[00:37:09] Mark Corbett: It's 

[00:37:10] Mat Germain: amazing. The contact ability that guy has and the speed that he can use to, to make it even better, because let's face it. Yandy Diaz out of the box. Not lightning quick. Chandler Simpson leaves smoke trails that blind the catcher as he's going towards first base. And it's amazing to watch. We clocked him for a, uh, his, he has, uh, an inside the park home run earlier this year.

[00:37:37] Mat Germain: And I sent it out to, uh, JJ Cooper and Mat Eddy of baseball America, because I wanted to know if he had broken the record. And a record supposedly is somewhere around 13. point some seconds, um, around the bases from home, you know, back to home. So he did it in just over 14 seconds. When you're looking at that kind of speed, it's amazing.

[00:38:02] Mat Germain: So when you have him at lead off and on base percentage through the roof, He would be, uh, he's the best base here because I grew up an Expos fan that I've seen since Tim Raines, uh, Ricky Henderson. He's going to break records. He's on pace now to steal about 120 bases this year and the way that they treat stolen, you know, the bases with the extra inches added on, yadda, yadda, yadda, uh, he's going to just terrorize other teams eventually.

[00:38:27] Mat Germain: Um, so when you have him and then behind him, there's two elite Outfielders coming up and Braylor Guerrero and Leonardo Panetta, uh, the DSL just started their season, but the kids just turned 17, Leonardo Panetta. And, and he honestly, he just should be moved up to the FCL right now because he's just, he's laughing at the pitchers down there, um, hitting doubles like crazy.

[00:38:53] Mat Germain: I think he has an OPS over 1400. Uh, same thing with, uh, Braylor Guerrero. He's about, you know, he's, he's cooled down a tiny bit, but, uh, he's about at three 40, I think his averages and his OPS is about three 70 Braylor Guerrero profiles more of a, as a right fielder, because he's got a strong arm and they think he's going to bulk up a little bit.

[00:39:15] Mat Germain: High wise, a little bit stockier too than a Panetta, but Panetta is going to be a center fielder. So when you're looking at the long term future of the raised outfield, and we haven't even talked about Brock Jones, Ryan Cermak, uh, Drew Baker, a lot of really high quality outfielders that get raised system, just looking at those three elite athletes, because they are guys that, that when you, when you.

[00:39:40] Mat Germain: Look at their statistics and you look at the way they play. They look like future superstars. Not, not a star. A guy that will make the all star game. Right? And then there's a difference between the two. Um, so when you look at Chandler Simpson possibly in left field with, uh, Leonardo Panetta in center field and Baylor Guerrero in right field.

[00:40:01] Mat Germain: It's exciting when you know about the infield the Rays are building. So, you know, when, when I'm excited for that, I think the guys that are from the international league as well, the rays are more prone to pushing them quickly through the system than some of the guys that are coming in through the draft, what it seems like anyway.

[00:40:19] Mat Germain: Um, so, you know, it doesn't mean that we're talking about five years from now, but when the stadium opens, that raise roster is primed to be one of the most exciting in Yale East. I think 

[00:40:33] Mark Corbett: when you say this. I can't help but think about the Orioles that are on the field right now, and such a young team, they, I mean, the energy is there, the activity, what they're doing as far as the speed seems to be there and somewhat naivete sometimes too, but the performance that they have with everything that you just said.

[00:40:58] Mark Corbett: I see that's something that the Rays will become the way, but they're missing one thing that is Adley Rushman. 

[00:41:06] Mat Germain: Uh, raise. They, they need to talk to the brewers at some point in time and whatever the best brewers catching prospect is, they need to go grab that guy because brewers can, can develop catching.

[00:41:21] Mat Germain: Like there's no tomorrow. Maybe, you know, you find another one somewhere else. That might be a, you know, whatever the case. Thanks. You have to make that investment. You have to make the uncomfortable trade of sending three top prospects, if that's what it takes to get that catcher, because when you look at the Orioles, the leadership that Adley Rushman brings to that team is just, you can't, you can't put a price on it.

[00:41:46] Mat Germain: You can't put a value on it because it's just so Integral to what keeps them level, keeps them playing hard every single game. That's what Adley Rushman is. He doesn't take a day off. He's consistent. He demands the same from his teammates and he supports them when they're doing it. To me, that's what the Rays are missing.

[00:42:07] Mat Germain: I think at some point in time, they thought Wander Franco would build up to be that. As a shortstop, it's still not a catcher, which I think is more important on the team. Cause you look at some of the great teams, right? Buster Posey with the, the, the giants, you have a real Muto with the Phillies that just won the world series.

[00:42:24] Mat Germain: You have, uh, uh, or not, they got to the world series. You have, uh, The Sean Murphy with the Braves, you have, um, Yadier Molina with the Cardinals for a whole bunch of years, you know, every team that's gone out there and actually had really good success in the playoffs have had the catcher you can point to and go, that guy knew what he was doing and he was controlling the, the pitching staff, the way it needs to be controlled, um, and leading, uh, The team on the field and Will Smith with the Dodgers.

[00:42:57] Mat Germain: I mean, you can go through and through all the teams that have done really well in the playoffs. That's where I come back with Mike Zunino. He was really important to the Rays and their success in the playoffs as well. Uh, people kind of overlooked that a lot, but he was a steady force back there. You really.

[00:43:13] Mat Germain: You know, he really took the pitching staff under his wing and kind of said, you know, you listen to me, you're going to have success. And I I've got the plan in my head. We can go ahead and execute it. And you're going to, you're going to like what comes out of it. 

[00:43:28] Mark Corbett: Well, maybe we need to hire Z as a catching coach.

[00:43:31] Mark Corbett: You 

[00:43:34] Mat Germain: never know he's out there. 

[00:43:36] Mark Corbett: He retired, man. So, you know, Hey, why not? Oh gosh. As 

[00:43:40] Mat Germain: a scout either way. I'll take it. 

[00:43:42] Mark Corbett: Yes, yes, indeed, because yeah, we're definitely lacking in that capacity. Oh, I got to tell you, we're going to, I'm going to back out of this just a little bit, let you know, it's been an interesting week here in Tampa.

[00:43:53] Mark Corbett: I told you about all the rain, but I should say in Florida overall. Because collegiate baseball just went absolutely nuts. 

[00:44:03] Mat Germain: I saw that. 

[00:44:03] Mark Corbett: Oh my gosh, you know, Florida state going to the world. Well, in the world series up in Omaha, there's, uh, I guess eight teams and who else is going to be up there? The university of Florida and my gosh, so of the eight teams, we got two teams there plus division two university of Tampa, whether we're won the championship, uh, NCAA championship for that.

[00:44:26] Mark Corbett: Yeah. The USF didn't do too bad, but immediately, I think as the season ended, they hired a new coach. Oh, it's baseball is a fickle beast, but it's, it's been fun to watch, uh, a guy that I'm going to be really interested to watch in the future is from university of Florida. And that is Jack Caglioni. So he's amazing.

[00:44:52] Mark Corbett: He's a beast. We'll see how he does, but if Florida, you know, and here's another fun thing. Last week, I was at the legacy awards for the Ybor museum society. And each year it's, you know, it's kind of West Tampa where a lot of the, uh, players have grown up over the years, including Lou Piniella, and they actually have an award with his name on it.

[00:45:14] Mark Corbett: He, he gave out, man. It's great to see him out there still, you know, glad handed people and, uh, signing autographs for folks. He said in his speech, if, while he was announcing the new winner, he said, yeah, if there's only one thing I'd change, maybe I wouldn't kick as much dirt up. It's 

[00:45:35] Mat Germain: funny you say that.

[00:45:36] Mat Germain: Cause I, I put out a tweet this week where I was saying, you know, do you think back to all those times those guys were kicking dirt on the umpires? And today you look at the strike zone box and where, what calls are not being called. And you're like, yeah, I get it. If, if, if the manager believes that they're making calls that bad and they probably are, then there's probably good reason to start kicking dirt on, on a few guys.

[00:46:03] Mark Corbett: Yeah, I don't know, man, I'm trying to figure out who's going to be my, my next favorite umpire to earn my continual are, you know, we've, we've got Joe West gone, you know, and then angels now gone. And I guess Buckner's catching my attention a little bit. I don't know who else I may put in there. That, uh, screen or not, but it's always fun to have an umpire you point at and say, he's what they shouldn't be.

[00:46:26] Mark Corbett: And whether it's true or not, have somebody good to poke at. 

[00:46:30] Mat Germain: Yeah. You can't have a hero without a villain. 

[00:46:32] Mark Corbett: That's it. Oh gosh, man. Well, as long as I'm talking Tampa. It's, I might as well mention what's going on with the stadium in St. Pete. You know, we, we were fortunate enough to have Colleen right on here with us a couple of weeks ago, and she's been following it for the Tampa Bay times, a lot of the activity with the St.

[00:46:54] Mark Corbett: Pete council and trying to get the Kumbaya between the rays and the St. Pete council. And then I think that there's also county. The government over as well. Well, I saw her tweet today saying, she said, uh, my 1st vacation of the year starts tomorrow meeting today. So I won't be covering the St. Pete city council's raised stadium workshop.

[00:47:14] Mark Corbett: Our 1st votes on the stadium, but I'd. Did write a preview, so she's getting out of town, dude. She's for, for good reason though. Cause today they, the council over in St. Pete did meet at nine o'clock and they had a whole day long workshop. I haven't seen anything. I thought it was gonna be broadcast lab, but I couldn't find it online.

[00:47:36] Mark Corbett: And I'll be curious to see what happens with that. And Colleen and her story mentioned that they will be gathering again on Thursday for a four o'clock meeting where they'll take the first. official votes on the project. Um, to go on a little further, she said, if all goes well for the raise, the action thursday would set up the city council for final votes on what's been dubbed the new history gas plant district currently scheduled for july 11th.

[00:48:01] Mark Corbett: Votes by Pinellas County commissioners also are needed on whether to approve the county's share of the stadium costs with tourist tax dollars. County Administrator Barry Burton said monday that no date has been set, but you know, it goes on. And to think that, let's see, did it, there's 1 other thing I want to mention.

[00:48:19] Mark Corbett: Um, yeah, the city council's annual summer break is scheduled from June 14th to July 7th. So whatever votes taken tomorrow, I don't think it's going to be anything final. And then that's why she's probably taking a break while they're all going on vacation as well. Be interesting to see what comes from this baby.

[00:48:39] Mat Germain: Yeah, I don't know. I've, I've taken part in some of those, uh, political meetings, not in the, in the States, obviously, but in, in certain Canadian areas where, you know, you kind of get to see a little bit how these things work for, for certain bigger, You know, money expenditure deals, and a lot of times the agreements are already there.

[00:49:03] Mat Germain: They're already, you know, the, the only things that are left to be worked out are the finer details and a couple of checks in the boxes for, for making sure that, uh, that the agreement overall is palatable to everyone. Um, so. I feel like that's probably what's going on with the raise, uh, at this point in this deal is to just try to get, you know, as many councillors as possible with with their priorities, um, addressed, uh, as much as possible.

[00:49:36] Mat Germain: Um, but I do think we're heading towards an agreement. We're going to know, you know, within a month. So what is it that's. You know, 29 or 30 days, whichever one that is, um, which is kind of exciting when you've been waiting for what seems like forever for some sort of direction, right? So I think the 30 days is going to fly by and then we're going to sit here and we're going to hash it out and how it's going to look and who's going to pay what and, and how we're going to get tickets to the first game for free from the raise.

[00:50:06] Mat Germain: That's right. Uh, all that kind of 

[00:50:08] Mark Corbett: stuff, I've got to get that figured out, man. That's, that's gotta be on my vision board. Okay. Yeah. 

[00:50:16] Mat Germain: Yeah. I'll be there in mind or spirit. I will be there. 

[00:50:19] Mark Corbett: All right, brother. All right. We'll get you set. We'll get it set up. Wow. Sounds good. Well, what's the time? See, I'm looking here on MLB and says the score now is 2 to 1.

[00:50:32] Mark Corbett: How's Sovali looking? Have you seen anything on his performance? 

[00:50:34] Mat Germain: Looks good. He's looked good overall. He's a little bit more consistent than norm. Uh, so I, I think. Yeah, I still see him as a new Ray, but I always say that as long as he's not walking guys, he tends to be a pretty effective and he can give him six.

[00:50:53] Mat Germain: So as long as that's all you're expecting and you're going to allow somewhere between one and four runs. Um, You know, that's where Aaron Sovali should be on a day on a game to game basis. I'm curious to see if, if Shane Boz continues building on what he's doing and Jeffrey Springs, you know, looks to be well on his way back.

[00:51:12] Mat Germain: What do you do with Aaron Sovali? What do you do with Zach Efron? What do you do with some of these guys that might may have trade value? And some of them wouldn't look great in a pen to be quite honest. Can you picture Aaron Sovali in the pen? 

[00:51:26] Mark Corbett: No, no. 

[00:51:27] Mat Germain: Um, Zach Eflin? No. Uh, you know, Taj Bradley? Either. I don't think he's, he's someone you want to move to the pen with the length that he can give you.

[00:51:35] Mat Germain: Same thing with Ryan Pepio. So it doesn't really give you that many options. Zach Littell has just been their most, you know, steady, you know,

[00:51:47] Mat Germain: So when I look at it, and knowing that the salary that Zach Geflin is going to make next year at 18 million, I feel like he's the odd man out the first one anyway, where I think, you know, whatever priority they have set for the return that they want, and man, Mark, if it ends up being an elite catcher, prospect, whatever it is, like, I will, I will be elated.

[00:52:13] Mat Germain: Uh, but, but the, hopefully they get good value back for whoever they move out of the rotation, because I do think that move has to come. You can't keep Shane Boz and AAA forever, and you can't keep a Jeffrey Springs down there forever either. So, uh, at some point in time, the next three to four weeks, they're going to probably pull the trigger on a, on a deal of that sort.

[00:52:35] Mat Germain: Well, I'm 

[00:52:35] Mark Corbett: definitely going to be waiting for that, my friend. I'll tell you what. Do you have a prediction 

[00:52:41] Mat Germain: on where Harold Ramirez will land? 

[00:52:44] Mark Corbett: You know, you had Padres as one on there. I think that might be a good fit. 

[00:52:51] Mat Germain: It makes sense. Like, Luis Urias is there already. Uh, but if you have him as well, I mean, the giants are chock full of left handers.

[00:53:00] Mat Germain: Um, so, You know, that would do really well against them and amp them up a little bit. Clayton Kershaw is going to come back eventually with the Dodgers. So, uh, having Harold behind Louis Arrayas would give you a really strong one two at the top, uh, or it doesn't have to be hitting second, obviously, but, uh, Somebody that can actually amp up.

[00:53:21] Mat Germain: That's what I feel. I look at the corner outfielders and the Padres and I, they, they have a lot, you know, lacking and Harold doesn't make big money per se. So the Padres could afford them for sure. Yeah. 

[00:53:34] Mark Corbett: Yeah. I actually, I just want to see him somewhere soon. Oh, one other thing I want to, before we part, I want to mention, you know, Lou Schiff, baseball in law on Twitter.

[00:53:45] Mark Corbett: He's, I don't know if you've seen or not, he's over in Japan, watching some games, man, I said that Texas of the back to him, I said, you mean you couldn't get enough of the, uh, world's classic rather in Miami this past year. I'll be like, there's a, by the way, they're going to have it again there in three years.

[00:54:02] Mark Corbett: So that's going to be cool. 

[00:54:03] Mat Germain: Yeah. Oh, I love that. Yeah. That's serious. 

[00:54:07] Mark Corbett: Well, I'm about Tucker now, brother. I'm looking forward to see our race closer. So now and be nice to get a couple of wins after that forced straight losses with the Orioles at all. I'm looking for something good. Yes, 

[00:54:20] Mat Germain: I agree. I'm hoping this is why the rays are frustrating right now because I just want them to go on a winning streak.

[00:54:27] Mat Germain: Hey, give me 10, 11 wins, get us back comfortably above 500 so that we can dream and then I'll be happy. 

[00:54:35] Mark Corbett: That's it. That's it. All right. I want to see the blue Jays in our dust. I want to see red socks in her dust. I'd say, you know, I want to keep moving on up. So yes, man, let's go. Let's get those 10.

[00:54:51] Mark Corbett: Any other parting words you can think of, man, you want to share with everybody? 

[00:54:54] Mat Germain: Uh, I'll just put a throw out there that ever since Chandler Simpson's been promoted to double A, Braden Taylor has been one of the hottest bats in high a he's leading off now with Chandler Simpson out of the way, and his OPS is through the roof.

[00:55:10] Mat Germain: He's hitting home runs. I think he had nine extra base hits in 41 at bats. Five stolen bases. So he's really chugging. Um, so don't, don't lose sight of Braden Taylor. He's he's one name to keep, uh, your ears on. 

[00:55:24] Mark Corbett: All right, everybody. You heard it here again, uh, Mr. Mat Jermaine. And again, you can find him on x.

[00:55:29] Mark Corbett: com at Mat underscore Jermaine and that's G E R M a I N underscore on Twitter. Matt, he, he keeps his eye on the ball, literally. So not just in the. What's going on in major league baseball, but all the way down through the farm and Matt, thank you for your insights as always, brother. It's a, it's a pleasure to know you and always happy to hear you share with us.

[00:55:53] Mark Corbett: What's going on with the race. 

[00:55:55] Mat Germain: Always a pleasure, Mark. I love it. And, uh, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it. 

[00:55:59] Mark Corbett: All right. Okay. Thank you all again. Once again, for joining us here on baseballbizondeck, and just remember you can find us on iHeartRadio, Spotify. Oh, Google. What can you find us on Google?

[00:56:09] Mark Corbett: Sure. We're on YouTube for that matter. And of course at baseballbizondeck. com. So thanks again for joining us here and we look forward to talking with you again. Real soon You should keep that in there Maybe I will Special thanks to XTaKeRuX for the music “Rocking Forward”