Wiggy thinks the Juan Soto sweepstakes will come down to these two teams

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Wiggy thinks the Juan Soto sweepstakes will come down to these two teams. Could the Red Sox be one of the finalists? Where will he sign?

Transcript

00:00I got a question. Why does everybody want Juan Soto?

00:04What is he worth $625 million for?

00:07What has he done?

00:08Shohei pitches and hits.

00:10And he's won MVPs and won Cy Youngs.

00:13Well, I think in the World Series and this playoffs,

00:16he had like an OPS of over 1,000 or something like that, Juan Soto.

00:21So he was really good in the postseason, granted.

00:25They didn't beat the Dodgers.

00:27So I think he's only, what, 26?

00:30Is he 25 or 26 years old?

00:32So he's one of the top hitters in baseball.

00:34I mean, that doesn't excite you, James.

00:37He does excite me.

00:40I'm a diehard Red Sox fan, and God knows he needs a talent.

00:43But you could get two players for that much money and solidify other things.

00:50He's one of the best players in baseball.

00:52That's a lot of money for a guy who hasn't done anything.

00:56Remind me, is this the argument that baseball,

00:58Brett was making on this show a few weeks ago,

01:00is that it's too much, it's all your eggs in one basket?

01:04It's just nonsense.

01:06Not that Brett's nonsensical.

01:08It's just they have plenty of money.

01:10I'd rather them invest in Juan Soto than the NBA team in Vegas.

01:13Well, the Dodgers do it.

01:15So, I mean, if the Dodgers—

01:17The Dodgers are still in on Juan Soto.

01:19We talked about this earlier.

01:21They have a billion dollars.

01:22They hit the billion-dollar mark when it comes to deferred money,

01:25and they're in on Juan Soto.

01:27And the other thing I was whispered to over Thanksgiving

01:30with the family friend who's bloated

01:33was that they print cash with all the non-baseball events at Fenway Park.

01:41None of that money is shared to the players,

01:43to other major league clubs.

01:45They use the park, and that is a cash cow.

01:49They will never sell Fenway for that very reason alone,

01:52that it is a destination for artists,

01:54it's a unique venue to see, whether it's Springsteen or—

01:58Who is the guy that—Courtney's wearing a sweatshirt today.

02:00Post Malone?

02:01Post Malone.

02:02Any one of those guys.

02:03Do you think the Dodgers will have trouble selling that franchise

02:07with a billion dollars deferred?

02:10I mean, they'll sell it for more than they bought it.

02:12I mean, it goes up.

02:14But it has to be—whoever's assuming that—

02:16Right.

02:17It is a billion bucks up until 2045 or whatever.

02:20Right.

02:21Couldn't you make the same argument for the Celtics?

02:23Yes.

02:24I mean, right?

02:25Maybe that's why it hasn't been sold is that there's all that—

02:27Well, and that's why they're talking—like, the whispering on that

02:30is that they're not—the offers are not anywhere near the $6 billion

02:35that they want for it.

02:36Really?

02:37Yes.

02:38Because I would think, like, even with the Dodgers, right,

02:40and even with the Celtics, if somebody bought that franchise

02:44and held on to it for 20, 25 years,

02:48I feel like if you paid $10 billion for it,

02:52in 20 years, how much do you think the Dodgers would be worth?

02:56I feel like it would almost—look at these teams,

02:59and they're, you know—forget about doubling.

03:02The Celtics were sold for, initially, $200 and—

03:06$200 and something million.

03:08$225 or whatever.

03:09And they're worth, now, let's call it $5 billion.

03:12$4.5 billion.

03:13For a 20-year period, what's that percentage number?

03:17It's a giant increase.

03:18Right.

03:19So, I mean, what other business has that type of increase?

03:23Yeah, you're not going to lose money.

03:24I just—it changes the scenario when they push all this money out.

03:29It just changes the financial scenario and whether, you know,

03:34whether you're going to make money or not in those years.

03:36And, Greg, I think you were somewhat onto something with baseball

03:39because, right now, of all the major sports,

03:42it's in the most precarious position because all—

03:45Not if they bring the Golden Bat in.

03:47Oh, your lips to God's ears.

03:49I love the Golden Bats.

03:51I can just picture the 80-year-old already on hold saying,

03:53they're ruining the game.

03:55But, in general, I think a third of the 30 baseball teams

03:59are owned and operated by Major League Baseball

04:02when it comes to their local TV deal

04:05because Valley and another national distributor of sports went under.

04:10Yes.

04:11So, like, teams like—it's really the haves and the have-nots.

04:14The Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Cubs, Braves

04:17are really on an island.

04:19And that's going to reach sort of a breaking point

04:22because you can't have that.

04:23But, clearly, the luxury tax cap system or whatever they call it,

04:28what do they call it?

04:29Collective bargaining tax.

04:31Right, CBT? Know what it is?

04:34It has no effect whatsoever when it comes to a team like the Dodgers

04:37because they're in on Juan Soto.

04:39Like, that payroll is going to be astronomical.

04:42Ridiculous.

04:43Competitive—sorry, competitive balance tax.

04:45Yeah.

04:46I think they were in on him, but then they realized—

04:48No, they're still in on him.

04:49I see.

04:50I don't know if they—I mean, I know those are the reports out there.

04:54They might be in, but I think it's more of like

04:56how people would say about the Red Sox.

04:58Like, they're feeling around,

05:00but they know they're not going to be in on it when it comes to,

05:04all right, we need to now put a bid in.

05:07Well, if you want to win and you're him and the offer is competitive,

05:11why wouldn't you take that offer?

05:13Because they probably want him to sign there and get this money deferred.

05:17I wonder if baseball will make some sort of a rule

05:20that bans future deals from being that way.

05:22I would assume they would because it's not—

05:24It feels like a loophole.

05:25It is.

05:26And I guess if the players are okay with it, like, I guess,

05:29then maybe there won't be, but—

05:30Yeah, if you're Blake Snell and you don't mind being paid, you know,

05:33your final paycheck in 20 years,

05:38I mean, there's some risk there, I would think.

05:40You know, when it comes—it's like the lottery.

05:42Do you take the payout or take the lump sum?

05:46I guess maybe the risk might be minimal because he might be looking at it

05:50or he has the ability to pass it on to his wife

05:53or if he has any kids, like, that way.

05:57Where I don't know—I'm not sure if you can do that with the lottery.

06:00So maybe he might look at it and go,

06:02I got a giant piece of money coming.

06:05I've already made a bunch of money.

06:06And now when I'm done playing, I never—

06:08I'm set up forever.

06:09I never have to worry about it.

06:10Yep.

06:11This is Paul from East Boston, from Eastie.

06:15And apparently, Paul was your Little League coach, Wiggy,

06:19for the White Sox?

06:20Well, I didn't coach him actually, literally his team,

06:25but I coached two All-Star teams that he was on.

06:29And saw Jermaine grow.

06:32I grew up right around the corner from where I grew up.

06:35And it's such a pleasure to see Jermaine give back

06:41the way that he does to his community.

06:43And I don't think anybody—any kids that are in need.

06:45I don't know if you've seen him recently.

06:47He's still growing outward.

06:49But yes.

06:52And proud of it.

06:54I am.

06:55Wiggy, catcher?

06:56Catcher.

06:57I was the same.

06:59I either hit home runs or struck out.

07:03No, Jermaine was quite an athlete as a kid growing up.

07:06And we've talked recently.

07:09He's going to help us out with a fundraising that we're doing.

07:11And he does so much for the Solutions Boys Club.

07:14Yep.

07:15It was always the fat kid who was a catcher.

07:17That's the way it always goes in Little League.

07:19Be honest, Paul.

07:20Can't confirm.

07:21Paul, how long were Wiggy's mound visits?

07:25Well, I wasn't—I wasn't doing it because I wasn't his coach on his team.

07:31But with All-Star Games, he was pretty impressive for us.

07:35We never got to the finish.

07:37Keith Kachuk.

07:38Now, not to diminish Jermaine, we just didn't have that great a team completely.

07:42But I had Keith Kachuk on the team that we almost won the state championship with.

07:46Another East Boston kid.

07:48Yeah.

07:49Another East Boston kid.

07:51So, you know, I just want to—I want to say that, you know, when guys like Jermaine come back and give back—

07:57and I didn't call for that, but it's my first time calling the show.

08:01I had a comment about the Celtics.

08:02But, you know, it's really heartwarming to know that we—you know, we cultivated kids like that for East Boston.

08:09And he's always given back.

08:11And we're very grateful for that.

08:13But I called to talk about the Celtics.

08:16I was blown away the other night with these bench guys.

08:20You know, it's what you build.

08:22It's what you work to build to get the confidence of these guys on the bench.

08:26You know, they're all in.

08:28And to see them come out with these four guys from the bench playing so well and pound the Hawks the way they did,

08:34like that—to me, that was like the best part of the last couple of years for the Celtics.

08:39You know, it was really heartwarming to see that.

08:41We were talking about it yesterday.

08:43Peyton Pritchard, legit six-man when it comes to the NBA.

08:46Oh, yeah.

08:47He's got more threes than Steph Curry does, I think.

08:49He's a walking bucket.

08:50He's on fire.

08:51I love the way his attitude is because, like, he's proven—trying to prove to everybody.

08:55Trash talk.

08:56Well, I deserve to be here.

08:57You know what I mean?

08:58I deserve to be playing in the NBA.

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