Womens Baseball World Cup, RaysUP, MLB Trades

367 BaseballBiz

Mark Corbett: [00:00:00] Welcome to BaseballBiz On Deck. I am Mark, and with me is Mr. Mat Germain. And we are going to dissect that lovely game we all love so much, baseball, right here on BaseballBiz On Deck. How the heck are you doing, Mat? 

Mat Germain: I'm enjoying the summer, Mark, and I hope everybody else is, too. 

Mark Corbett: Oh, yeah. I mean, my gosh, uh, I, I was looking the other day, and baseball this season, we've already achieved 100 games.

It's like, okay, I, I know, I think mid-season just passed, so 81 games passed, you know, and 81 ahead of us. But no, we, we've got 62 games ahead of us, and it has been an interesting season. We'll have to talk about the Rays in a minute. But right now, I wanna talk about the Women's Baseball Classic that's going on right now in Rockford, Illinois.

And boys and girls, if you haven't been watching this, you [00:01:00] should. Uh, we're looking at six teams that are playing there. They're gonna do round robin, and, , right now I think the USA should be playing, uh, here shortly. But Mat, it has been a wonder. I was watching Canada earlier today, and those women are just phenomenal.

Mat Germain: Mm. 

Mark Corbett: And I don't know, it's so easy to blame jet lag on, you know, with Hong Kong coming all the way here and that sort of thing, but man, did they get it handed to them. Now, in women's baseball, you may realize that the bases length may be the same, but what isn't is the number of innings in a game, and that is seven.

If there's a mercy rule, and there is , you're gonna find like today, where with Australia, they, they closed this thing out in the fifth inning, and it was unbelievable. It's, it's, it's kinda sad when you, when you see those kinda [00:02:00] changes, but what really surprised me today was what the , what happened after that.

And then we're looking at, like I said, so Canada did great. Hong Kong just died on the, on the, died on the mound.

Mat Germain: It is interesting though that they have a Hong Kong team, Mark, and like we don't see Hong Kong in the men's leagues, right? Right. Um, so it, it's kind of interesting, like yeah, the jet lag could probably be part of it.

Um, but the, the Canadian women, I think every s- hitter in that lineup got a, a hit at least, and uh, only one of them I think went 0 for four. The rest of them were, were on point. So I think it, it was definitely a group effort. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, I mean, but it was stunning to watch because I, I'm looking here and you're looking at, what it was, at I think 13 to, to two.

Hang on just a moment here. I go on and on about this. 13 

Mat Germain: nothing, I think. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. Yeah, jeez crackers. And then, you have [00:03:00] Australia and Mexico playing, and that was something to behold. But they went seven innings and the score is two to two. Now, their rules are a little different, Mat, than ours when you go into extra innings.

There, there's a lot of things that are different. One of them- Sure ... there's no ABS system, okay? And that's just too bad, 'cause I saw where Mexico, I think, got shafted a couple of times. And the other thing is after seven innings and you're tied They don't have the Manfred rule. It's a little different. You have a person on first and second, so you wanna stack up some runs real quick, that's the way to do it.

And my gosh, Mat, I mean, Australia just took full advantage of it from being two to two to 12 to two, and then Mexico just was unable to come back from that. And it was, it was sad. 

Mat Germain: But again, 10 runs in an inning is impressive. That's, uh ... 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. [00:04:00] It's insane. I mean, it's, it's a great team. They had some great pitchers, and there was a couple of calls, as there is in any game, where you say, "Well, if they actually did call that a strike, it would've been over."

But no. No. Or, or they, they called one person, uh, safe for Mexico, but then they tag them with an out after, you know, they go ahead. The Mexican, , player was, who was initially called safe was called out, and that was kind of a turning point in the game.

There was all kinds of little turning points, but it was amazing. Some fantastic pitchers there, and the players were moving really sharp. But with much, many games like in MLB, a lot of these games also turned on the number of walks and the number of errors that were in a game. And it's one of those ones, you see your favorite player out there on the field, and they do something, and you're like, "Oh, my gosh, how could you do that?

How could you mess [00:05:00] up that? That could've easily been a double play, and we just missed two outs." You know, that sort of thing. I f- I found myself doing that a few times. And r- let's see. We got the Rays playing tonight, but we also got the USA playing, and they're gonna ... USA, I think, will be playing every night the latest game, so that's gonna be a lot of fun to watch as well.

So- 

Mat Germain: Yeah, they're up against South Korea tonight, and they're in the second inning. There's no score. Um, so that, that game is going on. Um, I think all the teams in this, in this kind of play are competitive. So I, I, I think the thing to remember is sort of like when you watch baseball, any team can get blown out in any game- Uh-huh

and come back and look completely the opposite the next game, and I think that's because in this the pitching really does rule. Like, that, that's what dictates the, the, the pace and tone of the game. So when you're talking about that 10, uh, run inning, it all relates back to the pitching, right? The pitching just didn't come through and, and [00:06:00] wasn't tough enough for them to, to get it, get through it.

So, it'll be interesting to see , what the following is with this and whether or not it gets any traction on the highlights and- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: gets something going, um, that grabs people's attention. 

Mark Corbett: Traditionally, women's baseball has never gotten the attention that it needs in the past, but, well, anybody who wants to see some great teams playing or some great players, this is where you need to be.

Now, Mat, when we look at the World Cup, , results, we're looking over nine years. Mm-hmm. And over nine years, do you want to take a guess who has won the most, uh, has the most gold and, who is running second in gold? There's, there's been only nine years, so you want to take a guess? 

Mat Germain: I might, I wanna go with Japan, but I don't think that's going to be right.

Mark Corbett: Uh- Trust yourself. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, I mean, is that right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, tr- sure, trust yourself. That would be good. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: So who would [00:07:00] you put in that second position for gold? 

Mat Germain: - Uh, Canada 

Mark Corbett: You know, I w- I would've thought as much, but it was the USA. Canada has, of the nine years, they have one silver, one bronze. Okay.

The, the USA has two gold, three silver, and two bronze. Okay. And, uh, Japan has seven gold and two silver. Mm-hmm. So they've got gold and silver all nine years. They've got- they've been there. They've been in with it, so that's something for Japan. 

Mat Germain: And- I really feel like the Japanese attention to detail in, in that, in this sport, and in- Yeah

baseball even, their attention to detail and the finer points of how to, to get runs across the board and how to prevent them from getting across. 

Mark Corbett: Right. 

Mat Germain: They are very disciplined and very, cohesive in their mentality of how to play the game, and I think it feeds into both men's, women's, doesn't really matter.

, They do a great job you just have to look at the results. Doesn't [00:08:00] matter who they're playing and, and they tend to be competitive at a minimum- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: but be able to push it across the line in the key moments. 

Mark Corbett: It's really interesting to me watching the women in this tournament because now with the Women's Pro Baseball League, which is gonna start up here in a month- 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm

Mark Corbett: you're gonna find many players who've been on the Women's National Teams. So Beth Greenwood, who's been a guest on here in the past, a catcher for the USA Women's National Team, is also in the Women's Pro Baseball League, and what's really cool about Beth is she's was catching for Sato. I can't, probably not saying

name correctly. Sato, uh, from Japan, who is, oh gosh, she's a killer. And Beth Greenwood was saying, "Yeah, I remember being at bat with her pitching," and she goes, "It wasn't, it wasn't easy." So lo- a lot of good things going on, my friend. A lot of good things. With that in mind, I think we kind [00:09:00] of covered that, um, I, I re- I tell folks to go ahead and find a good way to watch it.

I did Game Time and gave them 15 bucks and got nothing. Nothing, honey. Oh. I got, I got this, uh, an image said, "Something will start soon," or, "We'll be right back," and never really did, did anything. 

Mat Germain: Oh, 

Mark Corbett: man. But then, yeah, yeah. Well, luckily I found what I'd, I'd heard of before, and that's the All Women's Sports Network.

But I said, "Where the heck are they?" You know, I saw something saying something about Pluto, and then I found them on Prime, on Prime Video, and was able to watch the game through that. But because this is still new and they're still trying to figure it out, it, it was a little choppy. It was probably what you would expect at a, at a, maybe a AAA game, okay?

Mat Germain: Right. 

Mark Corbett: That sort of thing. . If you were watching a game in the middle of the inning and sometimes the middle at bat- [00:10:00] They would cut away for a commercial. It's like, what? And yeah. Somebody needs to get their AI figured out is all I gotta figure. Yeah. 'Cause they, you know, it's like, come on, guys.

And one time they corrected it. You know, it only ran for a few seconds, and another time, no. But it was still well worth watching. So if you want, I would recommend trying, if you got Prime Video, go through that. There's other sources as well, and we'll put some notes on that at the end of the show. But, uh, 

Mat Germain: yeah, 

Mark Corbett: crazy.

Great stuff to watch. Really some great talent, and, uh, fun, fun, fun. So what's the score now with the USA and Korea? 

Mat Germain: I believe it is one-nothing USA. All 

Mark Corbett: right. 

Mat Germain: So we've got somebody on the board. 

Mark Corbett: All righty. That's what we like to hear. Mm-hmm. Well, now that we've expounded upon what all is going on with women's baseball, let's talk about our true love for so long, and that, of course, is the Tampa Bay Rays [00:11:00] and the American League East, and it's been fun watching all of it.

I mean, what is it? The, the Blue... Not the Blue Jays. The Red Sox. The Red Sox- Oh ... had 15 games wins in a row. Wow. And we were kind enough to give them four of those wins. Jeez, Matt. 

Mat Germain: I think they earned them. I don't know if we gave anything away, but, uh, the way they're playing is, is hair on fire. And, and we have to remember that they're without Garrett Crochet, um, who's, you know, getting back to, to health.

So this is a dangerous team. Like, this is one that you have to pay attention to because when the year started, and I think I've spoken to that a, a couple of times, where I had them, you know, being one of the most competitive teams in the division. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So just because the pitching was so good, and it took a long time for the hitters to catch up to the pitching.

But I think now they're there. Like, they're actually get- firing on all cylinders. They have guys pulling in all different directions that they need. [00:12:00] Um, and, and the poor Blue Jays are just the complete opposite side of that. 

. 

Mat Germain: You feel the tension in the crowd and the fans. Like they, Mark, they had 41,000 plus at every game against the Rays this week, even on a Monday.

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: And they still got this lackluster kind of, eh, performance from the players. And, and I, I know George Springer is finally starting to come back into form. Vladdy is just struggling so much. What the 

Mark Corbett: heck? I mean- 

Mat Germain: Yeah ... 

Mark Corbett: I don't think he's had a single home run this year. - I 

Mat Germain: don't 

Mark Corbett: know ... it's just amazing.

Mat Germain: Yeah. There, there's a lot of different things that we can talk about. Like Bo Bichette leaving, I think, has had a bigger impact on him than people wanna admit. But in general, I still relate back to this and I said this , to Matheson because I, I, I used to work with him on, uh, FanSided. Right. And then I was like, you know, Vernon Wells used to talk about the contract weight , and how much that, puts [00:13:00] pressure on you.

, And when you're looking at the season the Jays had last year- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: and needing to do it again, knowing that you have to carry a bigger load because Bo Bichette left, you're putting a lot of that weight on your shoulders. Um, but the other thing people don't talk about, and I don't know that he would ever even admit to it, is what if there's an injury?

You know? What if he's playing through something that nobody really knows about? Uh, because it is so unlike him. Like, even when he was struggling a couple of years ago, he had the bat speed going. He had, you know, some knocks that made it, made him look like himself again. Had a, and a ri- roller coaster ride was a lot smoother.

Now it just seems like a complete, you know, "L- I'm lost. I don't know what I need to do to get back to it," sort of thing. 

Mark Corbett: , And you look at what's going on as far as Junior, Guerrero Jr. Mm-hmm. Jeez, come on, Mat. I mean, he had, he didn't go to the All-Star game and one of the reasons [00:14:00] was he gave, I think, 'cause of his back was bothering him.

Mm-hmm. Did you hear about that? I mean, to me, that's the sort of thing you're saying, okay, he's... How old is he? I mean, pardon me. He's not in declining years, but he's not young , anymore either. 

Mat Germain: But the thing is, when you're looking at the bat speed, right? Like right now with Baseball Savant, you can go online, you can find the bat speeds.

He's in the top 15 in the league. So the bat speed is there. Um, whether or not he controls where the bat goes, it, like I g- again, this is what I'm saying is when he's in h- at his best, he's making the right decisions. So it's swinging at the right pitches at the right counts, you know? And maybe people are attacking him differently than they used to- Yeah

and he's just not making that adjustment back, , because they've found something that, that's effective. , Whatever it is, he needs, he needs to figure it out, you know, and, and do the work to, to kind of, uh, get himself back set because that team [00:15:00] without him is just not going very far. And it, and it's not only him.

There's A- Addison Barger as well who's been dealing, again, like you just said, a back issue. He has a back issue. I don't know if it's from the couch that he was sleeping on before. He's having a hard time getting back to form as well. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So taking those two big bats out of the, the Jays lineup, and I don't know if you saw the play where Dalton Varsho slammed into the wall in center field, and all I kept thinking was, "Oh man, there's another injury."

Mark Corbett: Oh, gosh. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, you see that happen , and you think, "Oh my gosh, "that player, what's, what's actually gonna happen to them for the rest of the season?" It's like, uh, y- you expect to see an imprint into the wall there's just too much going on.

So Springer seems to be Okay. I mean, he seems to be a, a regular. All right. And are you saying about Bichette that you think that is there, is there an energy? Is there, uh, a spirit that when he was extract- I should say extracted, when he left the Jays 

Mat Germain: , I think that, you [00:16:00] know, I watched personally Bo and Vlad come up together through the ranks from, like, teenagers, right?

Essentially going up together, hanging out, being together every day basically. Whether or not they got along completely the entire time, I have no idea. But what I do know is that there's a familiarity. People talk about when they get traded to another team, you know, there's a whole new, uh, every single person you come across is different, whether or not you know them and you have to rebuild those relationships.

Um, and I think for Vladdy, especially somebody who is not really comfortable speaking English a lot of times- Yeah ... in a lot of different settings, um, you know, having to remake those other connections with other people, uh, can take some time. Now, the guy they did bring over at third base is, is, you know, having a rough time defensively, and they've been talking about that in the series with the Rays, where overall their team defense has just been horrendous.

Um, and that tends to get people down [00:17:00] on each other and down on themselves. Yeah. And, and, you know, like, it's, it's hard to pick each other up all the time when everybody is having a rough time defensively. So, uh, the pitchers start feeling it. They start to get frustrated with the, uh, with the fielders at the same time because they're doing work and they're not really being supported in the way that they feel they should.

So there's a whole tension in the team at that point. So everybody's walking around on eggshells at that point and trying to get some sort of positive rhythm going, which is what they were able to do last year. Last year they were stellar defensively. They worked counts. They wore down pitchers Why that same, similar anyway, not same, but similar team can't do it again, I don't know.

I, I think what, it's a, it's a product of success. When you're that successful, people will study you to be able to attack you correctly, right? , People probably don't study the Rockies as much as they do the Blue Jays

Mark Corbett: , Yeah. It's, uh, you know, we're, we're... If we look [00:18:00] into it, the AL East, and we look at these 15 games, I know that the, the Boston's, y- you know, their little streak going on here.

I think they said there's been nothing like that for about 80 years as far as Boston. And tonight they are playing the Orioles. 

Mat Germain: Mm-hmm. 

Mark Corbett: And the Orioles have gotta have, I mean, probably the worst record right now. Let's see if I can find it. And hang on. But, uh, anyway, the Orioles have been, you know, they've been at the bottom of this beast for some time.

Let's see. I mean, well, the Blue Jays now. Let's see. So the Orioles are 49 and 53. The Red Sox aren't that much different. I mean, they're 52 and 48. And I was looking earlier tonight, and the Orioles were ahead, like, four to nothing or something like that over, um Over the Red Sox and I thought, wow, that's, that's kind of crazy.

Mat Germain: The crazy thing about it is if you're the Blue Jays, right, the bottom team in the AL East, you're only six [00:19:00] and a half games out of the wild card. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: So right- Oh, come 

Mark Corbett: on, man. Yes. 

Mat Germain: So in the American League, there's only three teams you can say are completely out of the playoffs, really. The Athletics, the Royals, and the Angels.

Everybody else is in it. So th- that's the hard part about now you're getting to trade deadline and why that is so slow because you have every single team in the American League except for three- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: targeting those three for the best trade chips that they might have. So there are those three are just gonna sit back and say, "Wow, I'm getting so many phone calls.

I'm just gonna wait until the price keeps going up and then I'm gonna lock it in once, once I get my, uh, my favorite ask." But the American League is ridiculous this year, Mark. Like I've, I haven't seen anything like this in a long time. Um, I think a lot of the people that wanted to keep it just the division leaders going to the playoffs will say, "See?

I told you. I told you." 

Mark Corbett: Oh, man. Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Yeah. But... [00:20:00] Yeah, go ahead. 

Mark Corbett: Well, no, no. So if, if the, the National League mirrored what's happening in the American League- Mm ... and you're saying what, that 20, what, uh, you could have 26 teams, couldn't you? Or is it 24 teams that could be in the post season? Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I think the, um, yeah, that could aim for it, yeah.

The, uh, the, the National League mirrors it in terms of, like, the number of teams that are, um, in contention. So there's three teams in the National League you could count out, which are the Mets, the Giants, and the Rockies. The difference is that the, the last team that we would say is sort of in the hunt is the Reds.

They're five and a half games behind, but they're just under 500 by eight games, right? 

Mark Corbett: Hmm. 

Mat Germain: So that's the, the line that they are. Whereas the Jays are nine games out of 500 a- and a whole whack more are out of 500. So- In, in the American League, all the teams right now that would be in the [00:21:00] playoffs are the only teams that are above 500.

Whereas in the American, or sorry, National League, there's actually four teams over 500 that would not make the playoffs. Oh, God. As an example, right? 

Mark Corbett: Oh, gosh. 

Mat Germain: So, so it's interesting to watch the, the differences between the two. But all that to say, Mark, that when you're s- you're the Detroit Tigers and you're ahead of the Blue Jays, right?

You, you're closer to making it into the playoffs, and you're sitting with Tarik Skubal, what do you do? Like, do you trade him? Do you keep going? You're, you're not only sitting there, and, and we gotta think about this from a, a Kevin McGonigal sort of point of view. You're the Tigers. You're grooming this young kid to have a frame of mind of a certain mentality, of, of, of a winner- 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm

Mat Germain: essentially. So if you go and trade your ace pitcher instead of investing in your ace pitcher, what does that tell him? [00:22:00] Right? Like, what kind of tone does it set? So sure, you could argue if we're getting a great deal and we're still able to ke- stay competitive and we have something that's better for the long term, et cetera, you can make that argument, but you'll never make an argument that what you're getting back is better than Tarik Skubal.

So- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: it's a, it's a catch-22. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. We're, we're in building mode, Matt. That's what we're gonna say if you're doing that. And pardon me. And let, let's take a peek at that for a moment because with trades going on, the deadline's gonna be here, what is it, August 3rd, I believe. And then, I mean, that's like, what, a week away.

So that in mind, are most of the trades going to foc- focus on a, uh, a long-term obj- objective, or are many of them just looking at, I want to be postseason? And my trades are gonna be about that. I need to build a team that can get us into and further down [00:23:00] into postseason. 

Mat Germain: So I think there's a lot , of different approaches - depending on the team.

So for instance, if I'm the Los Angeles- Dodgers, I could not care less about my prospects right now. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: I will hand you whatever you want. If you're the Tigers, call. The vault is open. Yeah. 

Mark Corbett: You 

Mat Germain: know? Take your shopping cart, go through it. Uh, tell me who you want. I just wanna replace Shohei Ohtani in the rotation, and I'll go win another championship with Tarik Skubal.

I'll worry about the contract after that. We're the Dodgers. We don't... Yeah. If he doesn't wanna sign with the Dodgers, where is he going? So they're going to be able to offer the moon and then some, ? Yeah. So then you're every other team, you're going, "Yeah, w- well, the Dodgers can offer that. What am I gonna do to match?"

So it, it's a very tedious league right now because of how MLB's allowed the perversion of the league to occur, which is, you know, p- price is no object for certain teams, and it is for everybody else. [00:24:00] Um, I, I don't know how this one rolls out, but I do know that, that, um, uh, fans are being very demanding, I guess, in a lot of, of ways from their, their ownership.

Like, y- just as an example, like, the Orioles fan are letting them have it in terms of all the decisions they've made to bring them to this kind of season where they're not moving ahead like they were expecting to happen. , So if you're the Orioles ownership , you're kind of stuck going, "Okay, well, do we s- do we trade Adley Rutschman?"

As an example. 

Mark Corbett: Mm. 

Mat Germain: Who's been a core piece of, of what you were building, right? 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: Uh, and not only to trade Adley Rutschman, but to trade him after you traded away Caden Bodine to the Rays, who's becoming a, you know, stud prospect behind the plate. 

Mark Corbett: Mm-hmm. 

Mat Germain: So now, like, if you do trade Adley Rutschman, and you did trade Caden Bodine, you're essentially creating a hole at a key position on your team.

, There's a lot of that going on all around the league, and I could point to a whole bunch of different ones. But I think what you're gonna [00:25:00] see is, a last-minute trade deadline. Like, everybody's gonna be very active, but it's going to take that extra week before everybody starts getting, very, , aggressive in, in locking in those deals, and that includes the Rays.

And I have no idea... And the, the first team that I could see actually cashing in on some of their chips is the Rockies. I think they know where they stand. They know they're move- they're building for the future. They're not afraid to trade anybody. Hunter Goodman is under demand by so many teams that, um, I think you're gonna see him, uh, him be moved probably, uh, before Adley Rutschman or anybody else does behind the plate.

And then once he goes or they start getting active, then maybe the Angels, Royals. The Royals just lost Bobby Witt Jr. for a while. They know what their, their future holds. Um, so, you know, and sadly, the Mets. The Mets are one of the more intriguing teams because we just spoke about Vladdy Guerrero Jr.,[00:26:00] 

okay? And you're the Jays front office. You've worked with Francisco Lindor in the past. You know the Mets are having a hard time. You have money to offer. Your stands are full of people. You had to let Bo Bichette go. If you go out and get Francisco Lindor and bring him in, there's a new energy in the team.

You've refocused everybody. He speaks Spanish. He can ha- get along with Vladdy Jr. You know, if he's open to that trade, and I think he probably does have a trade, clause in his, , in his contract. 

But if he's willing to go to a winner, maybe he's open to

doing that. And, and Toronto's not too far away from, from New York anyway, so that travel for him back and forth, if he does wanna maintain residence there, , is doable. , So I w- I think that is an intriguing one. Um, I also, I don't know that the, the Mets are happy with what Juan Soto's provided since he's gotten there and how he's, you know, binded the team together.[00:27:00] 

So again, if you're a team, uh, and I think about the Mariners, right? If the Mariners wanted to get really, um, aggressive and Jerry Dipoto said, "You know what? We think that there's a there's something we can bring in here with Juan Soto to add the oomph that matches our pitching," maybe he does something like that.

The Texas Rangers are another team that I could see getting involved. They have young outfielders to offer. Um, anyways, it's that to say that I think there's enough intriguing pieces once the things start rolling that the deadline will be at kind of an exciting one. I, I think, uh, Cohen, Steve Cohen is, is, uh, willing to, to make some moves happen and, uh, and so are the Rockies.

So just that starting the ball rolling will get other teams getting to be aggressive. 

Mark Corbett: Well, I'm looking forward to it, but yeah, you know, that's the whole thing with Skubal and like I said, how that would impact. And looking at the Blue Jays and seeing that 40,000, [00:28:00] 40,000-plus fans out there, you wanna keep them happy.

You want, you wanna show that, you know, you guys share the love. And, and the owners can do that by putting somebody like Lindor in there. And I think it's a good point you mentioned too, uh, b- him being Spanish-speaking, that he and Guerrero and some other ones, they can kinda support and buoy one another up a little more with that too.

There's, there's no doubt. I tell you, you know, a- one of the things I'm thinking about too is that commercial that MLB is running about you the fans, we love you so much, you asked for it. We put a pitch clock in there, and y'all love it. And oh, and now, now you're concerned also about g- teams at being fair, having some level ground.

Well, we need to get that players association to, to take care of that. Okay, stop. Stop, because here's the deal I'm sorry, you're the frigging MLB, you're a group of 30 owners, and you can tell the Dodgers where they can go. [00:29:00] And my gosh, a team that has, uh, deferred salaries for so much. You know- Mm ... there's, there's so much there.

And, and they can afford to pay all the penalties. Uh, but they... You would think that that organization could be strong enough to just say, "I'm sorry, this is your budget. There is no more." Instead of saying, "Oh, we need to have a CBA and talk with the Players Association, and then we can do that instead of doing some self-discipline ourselves."

But I don't know. Well, 

Mat Germain: I don't know. The... When you think of it from a, uh, a business, which is what MLB.com is. Yeah. It's MLB.biz essentially. Uh, they're, they're not in it for you, they're not in it for me, they're not in it for even their own kids and grandkids. They're in it to make money. Uh, and I think if, if I'm a player, I'm, I'm looking at my career, right?

And I'm saying, "Okay, [00:30:00] uh, how many MLB players m- may, uh, play for 10 plus years?" Not very many. 

Mark Corbett: Right. 

Mat Germain: So whatever system you do put in place, you want to try to build one that adds longevity. If you keep paying mega stars, like Shohei Ohtani and others, 500 million plus, that is never going to happen. Because the churn of players needs to continue so that they, they don't end up paying them out too much.

So as an owner, you're forcing your ownership or your groups to abuse pitching, because you don't wanna have to pay pitchers to a certain point. You want them to get injured and hurt, that way they don't get paid, and you wash them off of your whatever, and you start over with a young, fresh arm who's getting paid 800,000 a year, or I think the new CBO will probably be one million.

But whatever that is, it's a lot cheaper and allows you to go out and get the mega stars afterwards. Yeah. The system is broken because it, it leads to abuses that are beneficial [00:31:00] to the financial terms of the, of the teams. So to me, the salary cap, and the reason I like it, and, and the floor, is because it actually allows them to be smarter about the utilization of their players.

Because each one will be valued at a greater amount as a whole, as a team, instead of being, "Oh, now I gotta keep churning to keep myself on budget and not overpay guys constantly." And that includes arbitration. How many guys do we see not get offered arbitration because the team doesn't think they're valuable, that valuable?

Well, change the system so that you're not having to deal with that, right? And, and get to free agency earlier, and get yourself in the door while you're still having a productive, you know, career. Instead of at the back end when all of the sudden, after years of you going up and down from AAA, whatever, then you get the playing time, and boom, they say, "Oh, well by the way, we don't wanna play, pay you now that you're in arbitration."

And then you're 32 years old and you're going, "What the..." And you know, like the system doesn't... [00:32:00] And it's built for the owners so that they can actually benefit from those things. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah, but you gotta wonder though, Mat, it's built for the owners, but some of these owners are spare, spending so little. And it's like they're just there to get the gravy from MLB, whatever sales are being made.

You know, whether you're, uh, uh, sales for Dodger shirts, for Ohtani, that you're still getting a piece of it and you're, if you're in the smallest market, spending the smallest amount of money. And that there is s- lessons to be learned, and w- I think we talked about this to ad infinitum. But when you look at the Rays and how they spend money, they're smart.

The, the one thing I don't like is it goes back to what you were saying, they're willing to burn up arms to, to k- to do that, and I'm not a fan of that at all. I just, I see that. So I would hope, and again I don't wanna go too, down too much the CBA tunnel, we'll do that another [00:33:00] time, is that there's a way to tighten up the number of years a player has to go before they can be a free agent- Mm

and make some real money.

We'll see. I 

Mat Germain: think, especially on the pitching side. I don't care about the hitters side as much because I do think, , they, they're starting to add incentives, like for rookies, for this, that, the other thing where there's , a fund of money that goes out for performance bonuses, right?

That is the right idea. That's a good approach. I, I don't mind that very much. But on the pitching side, they, they should get their arbitration after five y- or through arbitration after five years and be free agents. Yeah. As an example. They should only have, uh, maybe two years of MLB time required before they get to arbitration so they get paid earlier.

There was a point in time where I didn't even know if Drew Rasmussen was ever get paid very much because he was having the injuries at the worst timings in terms of his contract. So luckily the Rays stuck with him. But Shane McClanahan's another example, where he had never reached that [00:34:00] level, and now finally he's having that bounce back season that says, "Yeah, okay, he'll get paid."

But if he hadn't had this season, he would've been in a world of hurt. 

Mark Corbett: Wow. Well, we'll see. So if we come back just a moment to the trades and talk about our lovely Rays. Let's see, what's the score tonight? It's... Ooh, wow, I was looking back a few moments ago. It was one to one. I think four to one. Some action's happening on tonight with the Rays.

It's Wednesday night playing the Jays again. Mm-hmm. And so what are we in? We are in, oh, the top of the seventh already. Ah, I blink, blink. It's amazing how the time flies. 

Mat Germain: Yeah, and it's a Chandler Simpson show tonight. He's got two stolen bases, a sacrifice fly. Um, he's just churning and burning. And, uh, I think, like, if you're a Rays fan, no matter what, like, there's ups and downs this season, and they were lackluster against the, uh, the Red Sox.

Yeah. But you have to be happy with the pitching. Like, to me, that's the, the, the stabilizing factor. I keep [00:35:00] picking on Jax because I keep thinking that he's gonna hit a wall at some point, and he's not gonna be able to continue, you know, performing the way he has. And tonight- Right ... he threw six innings.

One run allowed. Looked great. Uh, everything looked sharp. So, you know, maybe because he's 32, Mark, , and he's an older reliever. 

He just doesn't seem to be getting tired the way that I expected him to, to get. 

Mark Corbett: Well, that's good to hear, 'cause I've, I've had mixed feelings about Jax. Mm-hmm. And I'd rather see him shine than not.

Mm-hmm. So I'm glad to see he's performing better. That's good news. No, I d- I tell you, Mat, it, it has been f- uh, just you were talking about Chandler Simpson and the number of steals I'm gonna go back to WBSC for a moment. Watching those women play, I could not believe how many steals there were during those games.

Mat Germain: Mm. 

Mark Corbett: So I'm going to encourage folks to make sure they do see that. And like I said, we'll put some links at the bottom of the show. What else you [00:36:00] got on the plate? 

Mat Germain: Um, well, I think the, the Durham Bulls are 16 and four in the second half. Mm. And they're having a great time. Um, so they're, they're showing that the Rays have a lot of depth to draw from when they need to.

I think some of those pieces are gonna get dealt pretty soon. Um, I think the minor league promotions are coming through. 

Mark Corbett: Yeah. 

Mat Germain: We still have to sign Grady Emerson. That hasn't happened yet, but from the signings they've done so far, from what I've calculated, they have saved over a million dollars already in the other bonuses that they've given out.

So I think the money will be there to get him signed. It's just a matter of working out the deal however, uh, however they need to. Uh, I'm excited. Everything I'm reading on Grady Emerson, Mark, and everything that is actually going out there in terms of the timelines of when we can expect him to get to the Rays, uh, they're saying that he- he's probably gonna be...

Like I remember Evan Longoria made it to the Rays in lightning, you know- Yeah ... form in [00:37:00] terms of when he was selected and when he came through, but I think this might be faster. I think, uh, there's a good chance that, you know, by the time he's s- uh, well, they're saying early 2028 is what they're expecting.

So what are we now? Mid-2026? So you're, they're giving him basically one full season in the minors and saying then he's ready. So they, they literally say there is no holes in his game. Defensively, he's sound. Uh, speed-wise, he's sound. Power-wise, he's f- sound. His mature approach at the plate is sound. So why would you hold that back if he, if he does end up dominating at each level that he hops to?

So I'm curious to see with the Rays where he starts, first of all. Does he go to rookie and then jump up? Does he start at Low A? And then do they go one month at a time, two months at a time, whatever it ends up being? Um, because I, you, we, we know the stadium issues. We know what's happening with Junior Caminero.

Mark Corbett: Right. 

Mat Germain: But [00:38:00] if the Rays can put Grady Emerson next to Junior Caminero, I would argue they would have the number one pairing in all of Major League Baseball- 

Mark Corbett: Mm ... 

Mat Germain: to attract fans with I don't think it's even close. I think it's that level because of Junior Caminero's trajectory and where he's headed. Um, I think it would set the lineup on fire.

It would wear down pitchers. Defensively, with W- Emerson, it would take a lot of pressure off of Junior 'cause his range is gonna be excellent as well, so it's not gonna downgrade from what Walls is offering right now, uh, defensively. Um, so I just think if I'm, if I'm the Rays right now, I go and get that catcher.

If it's Adley Rutschman, sure. If it's Hunter Goodman, sure. Like, go finish off the pieces of your team that are the weakest points traditionally for your team- 

Mark Corbett: Yeah ... 

Mat Germain: to amp it up for those two guys, and sign them long-term, Mark. I wanna see the Rays spend significant money on those two [00:39:00] players so that when they go to the s- the stadium and they say, "Listen, we've got two megastars on our plate.

Do you wanna host them in your city or do you wanna see them play for Houston?" Or, or, sorry, for, uh, Nashville, for Montreal, for wherever. Like, what do you want to do? And then that'll be the biggest leverage that they can provide to that stadium effort is to say, "We've got these guys locked up for eight, 10, 12 years," whatever it is.

Uh, and then, uh, I think the Rays fans deserve it after all the pain of, of stadium talk that's been since what? 2007? 

Mark Corbett: Jeez. 

Mat Germain: That's almost 20 years, Mark. 

Mark Corbett: Ugh, nuts, nuts, nuts, well, here's a thing to think about, too. , The investment into players on a team, that could actually be something to show-- That could be something to actually show the city of Tampa.

So the city of Tampa, we're asking for this money if I'm the owners of, [00:40:00] the Tampa Bay Rays, and I've talked about the halo effect of what all money's gonna be coming into Tampa from having a baseball team in Tampa proper. But on top of that, I'm showing a commitment to making that team a success by bringing in and spending money, you know, whether it be for Caden Bodine, whether it be for Emerson, whoever.

That that is also an investment above and beyond a s- a structure, but still an investment in the future for a team here in Tampa. And I, I don't think you can forget that completely when they're trying to measure everything that's being spent 

Mat Germain: Right. Well, nobody wants to, uh, to spend that much taxpayer money for a dud, right?

In terms of a franchise. I think the Rays have done a good job of earning a good reputation in Major League Baseball in general. I think they're seen as one of the top 10 teams in Major League Baseball annually, front office-wise, [00:41:00] ownership-wise, even product on the field and performance-wise. Uh, so they're, they're shooting way above their pay grade when it comes to when you're looking at the budget that's involved with, with the Rays.

And the fact that they play out of St. Petersburg, they're not Tampa. They're St. Petersburg, . So if you look around the country how many cities are bigger than St. Petersburg, , They're shooting way above their weight when it comes to- ? So the potential growth of this franchise, Mark, if they're able to not get, uh, inflated egos when they get into a new stadium in Tampa- Yeah

and suddenly start changing their moxie or their way of thinking to something that's gonna be less productive for them, if they're able to stay level-headed and maintain the course with the added money that they have, it's gonna be a dangerous team. And, and really, uh, when you're looking around the league and the salary cap coming in and everything else, they're gonna be the best equipped to deal with that if it does get put in.

Mark Corbett: I mean, they have been leading the American League for a while as far as, you know, the winningest team, [00:42:00] and that's even with the that bad stretch after the All-Star t- games, you know, going to Boston and losing four. It's like, my gosh, how can that happen? Oh, we have to get Nat, Mat, uh, Mat, we've gotta get, uh, Nat Gordo back on the show and talk about the, uh, the Red Sox again.

The resurgence. Yeah, the resurgence. Exactly. But- 

Mat Germain: I know. I think he'll be afraid to talk just to, to not change what's happening. Like, "Oh, like, I gotta keep my, my rhythm going." "I don't wanna do anything out of 

Mark Corbett: the ordinary." That's true. That's true. Yeah. Oh, goodness. Well, that's all I got, brother. If there's anything else I'd...

I mean, well, one, I'm going to recommend everybody look to the Women's Baseball Classic that's going on. And again, this World Cup, it's the first stage. It's the group stage this year, and from there they will go ahead and next year, again in Rockford, Illinois, have the finals.

So b- think of this as the semifinals. It's just that you got a year between your [00:43:00] semifinals and your finals. But that and the Women's Pro Baseball League, plenty to see and do with that 

Mat Germain: USA are up, uh, 6-2 right now, and, uh, uh, uh, Olivia Pichardo has a home run, so- 

Mark Corbett: Mm ... 

Mat Germain: uh, that's the, uh, the way it's going right now against South Korea.

Mark Corbett: Wow. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying that. We're gonna head out now here, and again, being Wednesday the 22nd of July, and the bottom of the seventh. Again, the Rays are still leading 4 to 1, so looks like a good game here, too. Just wanna thank you all for joining Matt and I here once again on BaseballBiz On Deck.

It's always a pleasure having you here, and make sure you go ahead and like us, leave a review and give us your notes, give us your ideas, because we're always looking for something new and fresh, and we wanna keep it exciting for you, too.

So once again, I wanna thank you all, and Mat, any other parting words? 

Mat Germain: Nope. Go head out there, watch some baseball, enjoy some baseball. [00:44:00] Buy some popcorn, peanuts, whatever it is you want, and, uh, get your families together and enjoy the game. 

Mark Corbett: There you go. Well, thank you all again for joining Matt and I here once again, and hope to be talking with you again real soon.